Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"Han Peng scored a valuable goal, which may help the Chinese team secure three precious points away from home!"

“目前A组的积分情况是澳大利亚2胜1平积7分高居榜首，伊拉克队1平2负小组垫底，中国队和卡塔尔队争夺小组的第二个出线名额。

Previously, Qatar had a one-point lead over China with 3 points from 1 win and 1 loss. However, if China wins this match, they will overtake Qatar and move into second place in the group!

Both commentators in the commentary booth were very excited.

This match against Qatar, a direct competitor, is of paramount importance to the Chinese national football team.

Winning the game would put the Chinese national football team in an advantageous position, but losing it would put them in a desperate situation.

"Han Peng has given the Chinese team a good start. I hope the young men of the national team can continue to work hard, not be arrogant or complacent, and score more goals. The situation in Group A is very complicated. In the end, there may be a tie, and it may be necessary to compete on head-to-head record and goal difference. Every goal scored now is extremely precious!"

Zhu Guanghu thought so too. This dreamlike start slightly exceeded his expectations, but he was not satisfied with it.

China's next opponent is still Qatar. If they can win big away from home, it will greatly boost the morale of the Chinese team and destroy the confidence of their opponents, making it easier to play at home in the next match.

Compared to the excited Zhu Guanghu, Qatar's head coach's brows were furrowed so deeply they looked like the Chinese character "川" (chuan).

Judging from the Chinese team's formation at the start of the game, the opponent's intention to score points was very clear.

For Qatar, facing a team that dares to attack, they actually have an opportunity to take advantage.

If they can withstand the opponent's attack and then take advantage of the opponent's impatience after a prolonged siege to launch a counterattack, they are very likely to succeed in a surprise attack.

Qatar has several fast wingers on the field, and once they find an opportunity, they will use their speed to break down China's defense.

Unfortunately, before they could find such an opportunity, their goal was breached.

After conceding the goal, the pressure on Qatar's defense increased dramatically. Their players are now not only unable to attack, but it's also questionable whether they can hold their ground against the opponent's relentless attacks.

The key to the problem lies with China's number 8, Lin Feng.

Every breakthrough and every pass he made terrified the Qatari coach.

Damn it, how can there be such a freakish guy in the Asian arena? This is so unfair to us!

He specifically devised a strategy to counter Lin Feng before the game, even going so far as to deploy multiple players to double-team Lin Feng.

But apart from a few successful double-teams, they failed most of the time.

Moreover, with each defeat, Lin Feng always managed to pinpoint the weaknesses in their defense and pass the ball to his teammates in open positions, putting the Qatari goal under constant threat.

In the 15th minute, the Chinese national football team launched another attack on the left wing.

Seeing that the opponent's formation was heavily tilted to the right, Lin Feng directed Sun Xiang to pass the ball to the far post during his run. Han Peng then passed it back to Chen Tao, who followed up and unleashed a powerful shot that found the back of the net!
The score is now 2-0!

Qataris suffer another heavy blow!

Despair and confusion spread among the Qatari players and coaches.

Watching the Chinese players celebrating wildly on their home turf, they had only one question at that moment:
How did Australia and Iraq manage to draw with the powerful Chinese team before?
It's worth noting that the Iraqi team was defeated by Qatar. If the Iraqi team couldn't even beat them, how could they possibly force a draw against the much stronger Chinese team?
"Beautiful goal! It's a goal from Chen Tao, a very decisive and brilliant shot!"

"Sun Xiang's pass was absolutely brilliant; he silenced all the criticism that his passing was terrible!"

The two commentators were in high spirits, as it was a rare sight to see Sun Xiang deliver such a precise cross, and they couldn't help but praise him even more.

[Brother Xiang is awesome! If you can deliver a cross of this quality next time, I'll call you Master Xiang!]

Sun Xiang's pass was excellent, Han Peng's pass back was beautiful, and Chen Tao's shot was simply superb—a textbook goal!

These two goals made me forgive the Chinese national football team; I simply ignored the previous two matches!
Have you noticed that Lin Feng is the soul of this national football team? Since his return, the team is completely different!

[I noticed it a long time ago: whenever he's on the team, even if he's just sitting on the bench, the players play with more composure and discipline. But in the games he missed, the national team seemed to lack a backbone; the whole team was like headless flies, playing terribly!]

Fans are incredibly relieved that Lin Feng was born in China; if he were Korean or Japanese, they would only be able to envy him.

……

After conceding two goals, the Qatari team became somewhat anxious.

In the 17th minute, Yaser made a strong run down the right flank, drawing a foul from Sun Xiang. The Qatari free kick was saved by the Chinese defense.

After regaining possession of the ball on the perimeter, they attempted to reorganize their attack.

However, the Chinese team's midfield counter-pressing was very decisive. Zheng Zhi and Zhao Xuri, the two defensive midfielders, worked together to dispossess the ball from the opponent's feet, and the national team once again sounded the horn for a counter-attack.

The ball quickly came to Lin Feng's feet. At this moment, Lin Feng was near the center line, and the nearby defenders were almost all attracted to him and rushed towards him.

Lin Feng glanced at Han Peng's position, because Han Peng's outstanding performance in the previous match had aroused the opponent's high vigilance.

At this moment, Han Peng was blocked in the middle by two opposing defenders and had no space to receive the ball.

It seemed there was no chance in the middle lane, so he turned his attention to the side lanes.

Because the opposing full-backs didn't have time to recover, large gaps appeared on both flanks.

Without a second thought, Lin Feng quickly moved the ball here.

A gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

From the audience's perspective, there was no one in this area at all. Sun Xiang, the left-back of the Chinese national team, was still in his own half. Who was Lin Feng planning to pass the ball to in this position?

The answer was soon revealed—it was Gao Lin!

Gao Lin doesn't like to fight with opposing defenders in the penalty area, and with Han Peng already on the front line, he wisely chooses to drift wide and support his teammates.

Just as Lin Feng discovered the gap on the flank, Gao Lin also noticed it.

After discovering the gap, Gao Lin took the initiative to approach it.

If his teammates were other people, he most likely wouldn't run this way.

But his teammate is Lin Feng!

Previous successful collaborations have convinced Gao Lin of the tacit understanding between the two: as long as he runs this way, the ball will definitely be delivered to his feet.

He made the right bet!

Amidst the gasps of Qatari fans in the stands, Gao Lin received a pass from Lin Feng and decisively cut inside, charging into the opponent's penalty area.

The two guards double-teaming Han Peng had to send one of them to defend Gao Lin.

Gao Lin's dribbling and passing abilities are not strong, and he doesn't intend to act recklessly.

Seeing that the opponent had sent players to their own side, he decisively passed the ball into the penalty area.

Han Peng resorted to the same tactic again, choosing not to shoot himself but instead setting up his teammate.

But this time, the person who received his pass was Lin Feng instead of Chen Tao. A muffled thud.

The ball pierced the goal guarded by Qatar's goalkeeper Mohammed for the third time.

The score is now 3-0!

The stadium was deathly silent. More than 30,000 Qatari fans stared at the bright red score on the scoreboard, their faces filled with shock.

My God, the game has only just begun, less than 20 minutes in, and we're already down by three goals!
This can't be real, it must be fake!

The Qatari man, who had been kicked unconscious, even began to wonder if he was having a nightmare.

For them, it was indeed a nightmare, but it was a real nightmare that was still unfolding.

Lin Feng, who scored the goal, did not choose to celebrate. The opponent was too weak, and the goal came too easily. He felt no urge to celebrate.

After high-fiving his teammates in celebration, Lin Feng heard boos coming from the crowd.

At first he thought it was directed at him, but he soon realized that it seemed to be the home team's fans booing their own team.

Well, it's normal to get booed by the fans when you play like this.

If the Chinese national football team lost this badly on its home turf, it would definitely be criticized.

……

The Qatari players have been completely overwhelmed by the Chinese team's three-pronged attack.

After the game restarted, they were unable to recover for a long time and couldn't even mount a decent counterattack.

With no offensive threat, the Chinese national team pressed forward into the opponent's half with even greater impunity, launching a siege around the opponent's goal.

In the 24th minute, the Chinese team launched another highly threatening attack.

The Chinese national football team executed a series of one-touch passes from the right wing to the center, creating a dazzling display of passing and movement.

After breaking through the opponent's defense with a pass, Lin Feng suddenly passed the ball to the right wing. Sun Jihai received the ball and unleashed a low, angled shot at the goal.

The shot came suddenly, but unfortunately the aim was a little off, and the ball grazed the post and went out of bounds.

Although the ball didn't go in, the more than 3,000 Chinese fans who came to the away game still gave the national team a warm round of applause and cheers for this attack.

They already have three goals, one more won't make a difference.

But the passing and teamwork of the Chinese national football team players on the field just now was really cool!

If it weren't for the fact that the Chinese national football team's red jerseys lacked white trim, one might mistake them for Arsenal playing a match!
After taking a commanding lead, the players were exceptionally relaxed, both mentally and physically, and their confidence soared, which led to that series of one-touch passes.

The Chinese national team then attempted similar passing combinations several more times, but the opponents were clearly prepared. They adopted a dense defense and interception strategy, cutting off the Chinese team's passing routes.

The Chinese national football team is not Arsenal or Barcelona; they cannot consistently produce such fluid passing and teamwork.

After 30 minutes, the pace of the game slowed down.

The Chinese national football team no longer launches whirlwind attacks as before, but instead begins to control possession of the ball and patiently uses passing to look for opportunities.

This slow, insidious tactic left the Qatari players feeling incredibly frustrated. They desperately wanted to counter-attack, but they simply couldn't win the ball.

We can only helplessly watch the Chinese national football team attack, counter-press, control the ball, organize, and then attack again, repeating the same cycle over and over again.

Because the Chinese team maintained possession of the ball, the Qataris couldn't find any opportunities to attack. They only managed two shots in the entire first half, both of which went wide.

On the other hand, the Chinese team's attack was somewhat hampered because the opponent's formation was all tucked into their own half.

Although possession increased, scoring opportunities decreased.

Fortunately, the Chinese national team was already leading by three goals, so they weren't too concerned about it.

Moreover, with their repeated passing and pulling, Qatar's players are rapidly losing their stamina.

At this rate of attrition, they will likely not be able to hold on in the second half. If the Chinese national team still wants to score, they will have plenty of opportunities in the second half.

During halftime, Zhu Guanghu praised the team's performance.

Leading by three goals at halftime, as long as they don't open champagne in the locker room, they've definitely won this game.

With these three points, the Chinese national football team's situation immediately improved.

Considering that Iraq had already lost to Australia, winning this match would elevate China's ranking to second in the group, bringing their total points to 5. This would not only widen the gap with Qatar by 2 points, but also narrow the gap with league leaders Australia to 2 points.

The situation is developing in a positive direction!

The situation in the second half was not much different from that in the first half. Although Qatar launched an attack at the beginning and even drew a foul from Li Weifeng at one point.

However, the opponent failed to seize the opportunity, and the situation of the game quickly fell back into the control of the Chinese team.

In the 55th minute, Lin Feng made a strong run into the penalty area, drawing a foul from the opposing defender and earning the Chinese national team a penalty kick.

He took the shot himself and calmly converted it, helping his team extend their lead to 4-0.

In the 61st minute, Lin Feng began his solo performance.

He proactively moved to the wing and used his speed to get past the opponent's defensive midfielder. He then dribbled the ball from the wing into the penalty area. Facing the opponent's defender, Lin Feng used a "cow tail" to get past the opponent's full-back. He then used a cut-ball change of direction and an extremely fast "fried meatball" to get past two of the opponent's center-backs in succession, and then fired a shot into the far corner to complete the goal.

The entire stadium erupted in cheers, not just from the Chinese fans who had traveled with the team.

Even the Qatari fans at the home stadium were captivated by Lin Feng's almost miraculous individual performance, and they actually turned against him and cheered for their opponent!
Having completed his hat-trick, Lin Feng finally felt a surge of emotion. He rushed to the corner flag, crossed his arms, and leaped high, completing his signature goal celebration.

"Siu!"

A unified shout suddenly erupted from the crowd.

The Qataris have truly defected; it would have been impossible for the few thousand Chinese football fans alone to create such a commotion.

Aside from the die-hard Qatari fans who couldn't bear to watch any longer and left early, many of the fans who stayed were Lin Feng's supporters.

Even though their own team couldn't win, being able to see their favorite stars perform up close was still worth the ticket price.

Unfortunately, Zhu Guanghu, that clueless guy, substituted Lin Feng shortly after he scored.

Now there are no star players to watch!

Unfortunately, the Chinese national team's substitutes, such as Shao Jiayi, Cui Peng, and Zhou Haibin, immediately launched a fierce attack on Qatar with great enthusiasm.

By the end of the match, the score had widened to 6-0.

That night, the Qataris developed Sinophobia... (End of Chapter)