Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 458 It seems we have no choice but to fight Australia to the death.
Shenyang Wulihe Stadium.

The scoreboard showed the time as 15:54, just one minute after the last goal.

The score on the scoreboard is 3 to 1!

Just 15 minutes have passed, and the two sides have already scored 4 goals. Such a scoring efficiency is truly amazing.

However, considering that Shan Yongzhuo played in this match, many people felt relieved.

The audience at the scene was stunned by the goal.

They had just celebrated China's comeback when, after the game kicked off, Japan made a mistake, and China scored again on their first counter-attack!

从14分10秒到现在的15分54秒，短短不到两分钟时间，这可以称之为日本队的黑色2分钟。

They conceded two goals in such a short period of time, making the score a difficult and unfavorable one for them.

This is really frustrating.

What's even more frustrating is that despite their all-out defense, Shan Yongzhuo still easily completed a hat trick.

Are you preventing the other player from receiving the ball?

They didn't need to receive the ball; they simply used their positioning to score the second goal.

This time, however, it was only a brief mistake, a momentary lapse in defense, which the opponent immediately seized to score another goal.

How can this match even be played?
The Japanese players were somewhat desperate.

Shinji Kagawa, standing in the frontcourt, stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head and sighing.

Incomparable!

It’s really infuriating to see people compare to each other.

Keisuke Honda was even more frustrated. He had to take the biggest blame for this play. He made a mistake in receiving the ball, which gave the Chinese team a direct counter-attack opportunity. From the time he lost possession to the time the Chinese team scored, only two passes were made and six seconds had passed.

This was really discouraging. Even though Keisuke Honda has always had a strong mentality, he couldn't help but feel discouraged.

If this is the case for both key forwards, then it goes without saying that it's the same for Maya Yoshida in the backcourt.

He felt he had tried his best, but the other party was being unreasonable. What could he do?

However, Konno Yasuyuki came over and offered him some comfort.

"Senior Yoshida, it's not your fault. After all, that's Shan Yongzhuo..."

Yoshida Maya thought about it and realized it made sense; after all, this was Shan Yongzhuo.

Shan Yongzhuo, the world's number one.

Even world-class center-backs like Pepe, Ramos, Mascherano, and Pique couldn't handle him, let alone himself.

That way, even if the opponent beats you to a pulp, you don't seem to have to take the blame.

Maya Yoshida's mood instantly improved.

Japan's head coach, Zaccheroni, was quite disappointed. Although his defensive strategy seemed to limit Shan Yongzhuo's effectiveness, the opponent still managed to score three goals.

That's not a good thing.

Zaccheroni exclaimed in disbelief at Shan Yongzhuo's performance, "How could it have turned out like this!"

"This is completely unreasonable..."

Therefore, Zaccheroni realistically changed his mind. It was unrealistic to think that competing against the Chinese team was something the Japanese team couldn't do.

At this moment, his thoughts became the same as those of the Australians.

"It seems we have no choice but to fight Australia to the death!"

The game quickly resumed. The Japanese team is indeed a very tenacious team. Although the score disappointed them, they did not lose heart. After the game restarted, their players were still able to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the match.

They are now the losing side and must control the pace of the game, focusing more on their offense.

The Chinese team players were happy with this.

They just need to focus on defense. Although their defensive strength is not yet up to par, if the whole team puts their energy into defense and doesn't think about offense, they can still unleash considerable defensive power.

Anyway, the Chinese team isn't good at controlling the pace of the game.

Even though Gao Hongbo spent a long time training and honing the national football players' ability to control the pace of the game, they still couldn't achieve it.

This is not just a matter of skill, but also a matter of long-standing competitive habits.

The pace of the game they've adapted to in the Chinese Super League doesn't allow them to handle top Asian teams like Japan with ease.

Therefore, counter-attacking is actually the most suitable tactic for this Chinese team.

There are several players who are quite good at passing, such as Feng Xiaoting, Zheng Zhi, Deng Zhuoxiang, and Hao Junmin. In particular, Zheng Zhi and Feng Xiaoting both have excellent long passes.

This ensures the quality of the counterattack.

And the game is now stuck in that kind of rhythm.

The Japanese team launched a full-scale attack, bombarding the Chinese team relentlessly. The Chinese team, on the other hand, retreated completely, practically parking the bus, even more so than Chelsea had done years ago.

However, many people could see that although the Chinese team's goal looked very precarious, they didn't have many truly threatening attacks.

Japan's attack relies too heavily on its three midfielders, especially the performances of Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda.

Their only striker, Ryoichi Maeda, is not good enough and is not the kind of player who can deliver the decisive blow.

Shinji Kagawa is very talented, but his strength lies more in playmaking and distribution. His playing style is somewhat like a weaker version of David Silva, leaning towards attacking midfielders on the wing. He lacks the ability to truly deliver the decisive blow.

Therefore, in the future, the most threatening attack for the Japanese team will actually come from Keisuke Honda's long-range shots.

While shooting from outside the box is one of Keisuke Honda's strengths, he doesn't often create truly threatening opportunities.

On the other hand, the Chinese team's counter-attacks are getting better and better, and more and more mature.

In particular, Feng Xiaoting, as a center-back, is quick, accurate and ruthless in his direct long-distance counter-attacks. Moreover, he doesn't always target Shan Yongzhuo, which often catches the Japanese team off guard.

The training he received in Granada, coupled with the experience gained in the last match against Australia, has made Feng Xiaoting more and more confident in himself, and he is increasingly showing a tendency to develop into a playmaking and orchestrating center-back like Bonucci.

With the tide turning and the momentum shifting, the Japanese team's fighting spirit is waning.

This momentum was finally broken after 40 minutes.

This time, Shinji Kagawa's breakthrough was directly intercepted by Feng Xiaoting, and Shinji Kagawa fell to the ground, but the referee did not blow the whistle.

Feng Xiaoting didn't hesitate or pause. He had already targeted the striker and made a long pass, directly finding Yu Hai who was running forward on the wing.

Yu Hai ran forward a short distance and easily received the ball, then continued to dribble forward.

The Japanese team retreated to defense across the board, but Yu Hai is a fast winger. He was very quick and soon rushed to the vicinity of the Japanese team's penalty area on the wing.

Then, he saw Shan Yongzhuo vying for position with Yoshida Maya and Konno Yasuyuki inside the penalty area.

Then came a high cross.

While fighting against the two men, Shan Yongzhuo leaped high into the air.

Then, a surge of joy welled up in his heart.

Because he headed the ball inside the penalty area.

(End of this chapter)