Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"The ball is in!"

"Han Peng's calm shot helped the Chinese team change the score!"

"Let's take a closer look at the process of this goal. Lin Feng dribbled the ball to create space for passing, Hao Junmin moved forward and forced the opponent's left-back to retreat, Han Peng dropped back and was right in the blind spot of the opponent's center-back, Lin Feng then delivered a precise through ball to assist Han Peng to push the ball into the goal!"

"The whole process was as smooth as flowing water, a feast for the eyes!"

Xu Yang also praised:

"The Chinese national football team's attack was very well-organized, and their teamwork was exceptionally smooth. This kind of attacking coordination is rarely seen in Chinese teams or even Asian teams in the past. Iraq's defense had no way to deal with this kind of attack!"

The Iraqis were indeed somewhat stunned; they were already behind just a few minutes into the game.

For the Iraqi team, who needed a victory to keep their hopes of advancing alive, this result was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

Their head coach paced anxiously on the sidelines, racking his brains for a way to win the game under such extremely unfavorable circumstances, but judging from his constantly furrowed brow, he didn't seem to have come up with any good solutions.

On the other hand, Zhu Guanghu and his coaching staff were already celebrating with high fives!
"That goal went in earlier than expected!"

"Isn't this a good thing? The earlier the goal is scored, the better it will boost the team's morale, allowing the players on the field to play freely in this game!"

Before the match, Zhu Guanghu was mainly worried about two things: first, he was worried that the players' mentality would be affected by the pressure on and off the field;

Secondly, there are concerns that the referee's decisions might be unfavorable to the national team.

Although Iraq has fallen on hard times, they are still a West Asian team, and there's no guarantee that someone from the West Asian faction won't secretly help them.

This early goal has at least dispelled half of his doubts.

"Keep up the good work, keep the offensive going, and don't let your guard down!"

Zhu Guanghu ran to the sidelines and loudly reminded the players on the field.

As the saying goes, one should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane and eventually be exhausted.

This is the perfect time to press our advantage. If we give up the attack and wait for the opponent to regain their footing, the game might become a stalemate again.

Considering that Iraq's striker Younis is a very formidable player, especially adept at counter-attacks.

If the Chinese national team's defense were to give the opponent an opportunity by mistake, the situation could be reversed.

The Chinese national football team had no intention of holding back; their goal was to defeat their opponents in one fell swoop and advance from the group stage early.

Only by defeating Iraq in advance can the Chinese national football team compete with Australia for first place in the group without any worries in the next match.

Furthermore, this match can also be seen as a revenge match for the Chinese national football team, as they avenge the previous draw they were forced to play away from home.

Therefore, they will be even less lenient!

In the 10th minute, Lin Feng was pulled down by a defender while breaking through in the middle. Seeing that Han Peng was in a good position, he decisively chose to take a quick free kick and passed the ball into the penalty area.

The Iraqi defenders were startled, and chaos erupted in the penalty area.

The ball was blocked by the opponent while rolling, but it did not go out of bounds.

Han Peng reacted quickly, chipping the ball into the empty net from a zero-angle angle just as it was about to go out of bounds. Unfortunately, the ball was headed away by an Iraqi defender who was blocking the shot in front of the goal.

Han Peng immediately raised his hand to indicate that the ball had crossed the goal line.

However, the referee made no call, and the headed ball landed at Zheng Zhi's feet outside the penalty area.

Zheng Zhi saw the opposing defender rushing towards him and quickly took a shot, but unfortunately it went high.

After the ball went out of bounds, Lin Feng and several teammates, including Han Peng, ran to the referee and appealed the shot.

Lin Feng couldn't see it very clearly, but Han Peng took the shot near the baseline. He clearly saw that his shot had gone in, and Han Peng's attitude was extremely firm. So Lin Feng firmly stood on his teammate's side and chose to support him.

The referee was initially unwilling to change his decision and kept gesturing for them to step back, appearing impatient and ready to pull out his cards.

Seeing this, Lin Feng pulled the agitated Han Peng down and went to the referee to negotiate:

"Referee, it was indeed difficult to determine whether that ball went in from other angles, but you can watch the replay on the big screen. It was definitely a goal!"

"There's an old Chinese saying that goes, 'Heaven helps those who help themselves.' My teammate risked injury to save the ball near the byline and score from an impossible angle. We shouldn't take away the fruits of his labor!"

The referee can ignore Han Peng's protest, but he can't be so casual when it comes to Lin Feng.

After all, he is the world's number one footballer, a favorite of FIFA and the AFC, and making a big fuss about it would not do him any good.

If it turns out that he made a mistake in the final judgment, then his refereeing career will probably be over.

The referee tried his best to maintain his composure, raising his hand to signal Lin Feng to stay calm, while communicating with his colleagues through his headset. During this time, he glanced back at the replay of Han Peng's shot on the big screen.

A few minutes later, after communicating with the two linesmen and the fourth official, the referee finally made his decision: he turned around and raised his arm to point to the center circle kickoff point!

This is the gesture indicating a valid goal!
Upon seeing the referee's action, the stands at the Water Drop Stadium erupted in deafening cheers.

The fans were especially excited about this hard-won goal.

When the referee didn't call the foul immediately, everyone thought the ball was going to be disallowed.

Unexpectedly, after some protests and efforts by the players on the field, they eventually managed to win the ball back.

This feeling of regaining what was lost was even more exciting for them than seeing the players score a goal.

The Chinese national football team's fans were happy, but the Iraqis were not.

How can that be considered a goal?

Didn't you not boast before?
Just because the opposing team has a star player doesn't mean you should give them special privileges.
Dissatisfied with the referee's decisions, the Iraqi players surrounded him, demanding an explanation.

In their view, the referee was clearly biased towards the Chinese team, which was unfair to them.

However, the referee showed them no mercy. After repeated warnings proved ineffective, he issued yellow cards to the two Iraqi players who had the worst attitude and even physically assaulted him.

The referee's yellow card still worked. Although the Iraqi players were not convinced, at least they did not dare to openly continue to confront the referee.

When it rains, it pours. As the saying goes, when you're down on your luck, even drinking cold water can be a problem.

Having fallen behind by two goals at the start of the game, the Iraqi team has been pushed to the brink of elimination.

If the match hadn't been so long, they could almost have been eliminated long ago.

In an attempt to seize that last glimmer of hope, the Iraqi team launched a fierce attack on the Chinese team after the restart, trying to turn the game around through offense.

However, their attack had only just begun when Iraq's star striker, Younis, suddenly collapsed in midfield during a physical challenge with Zheng Zhi, clutching his thigh and writhing in pain.

Zheng Zhi looked completely bewildered, shrugging to indicate his innocence; he genuinely hadn't touched the other person!

But with the example of Cissé's broken leg, everyone looked at Zheng Zhi with suspicion.

It was you last time, and it's you again this time! It's hard not to be suspicious!

The referee quickly stopped the game, ran over to check on the situation, and then signaled for the team doctor to come onto the field.

The Iraqi team doctor rushed onto the field with his medical kit. After examining Younis, he determined that Younis had a hamstring strain and could not continue the game.

So they could only signal to the head coach to make a substitution, and the Iraqi team had no choice but to replace him with Mahdi.

Younis has been really unlucky. In the last game against China, he strained his muscles and had to leave the court. And now he's strained his muscles again, and the opponent is China again.

It seems his birth chart is incompatible with the Chinese team; he's prone to trouble when he plays against them.

Why am I suddenly feeling a bit sorry for the Iraqi team?

[Haha, I feel a bit sorry for them too. They conceded two goals right at the start, and just as they were about to launch a counterattack, their top scorer got injured and had to leave the game. They really must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving home!]

Holding a two-goal lead after 10 minutes, and with the opponent's top scorer injured and forced to leave the game, I really don't know how the Chinese national football team could lose this match!

[Don't open the champagne halfway through the game, upstairs! (Afraid of being pranked)]

Although they said they didn't want to open the champagne at halftime, the fans had already assumed that the Chinese national team would win the game.

Such a dominant situation is actually very difficult to reverse.

Especially with Lin Feng on the field, even if the Iraqi team manages to score one or two goals, they still can't stop the attacking force of the Chinese national team's forwards led by Lin Feng.

……

The Iraqi team was more tenacious than expected; despite suffering a series of setbacks, they did not give up.

In the 20th minute, Iraq intercepted the ball in their own half and launched a counter-attack.

However, their ball was intercepted by the Chinese national team while it was still in midfield, and their counter-attack was aborted.

Five minutes later, the Iraqi team found another opportunity.

This time they learned their lesson and stopped forcing their way through the middle. Instead, they passed the ball directly to the flanks, letting the wingers attack the Chinese national team's defense.

If you can break through, cut inside and shoot; if you can't, cross from the wing into the penalty area to create chaos and see if you can find an opportunity to win in the confusion.

However, this tactic also failed to work. The Chinese national team's full-backs and defensive midfielders effectively blocked the flanks, giving the opposing wingers no chance to cut inside and shoot.

As for crosses from the byline, Iraq lacks tall players and is at a disadvantage when contesting headers in the penalty area.

Feng Xiaoting and Li Weifeng, relying on awareness and experience respectively, were able to position themselves in advance and prevent the opposing strikers from heading the ball, making Iraq's counterattacks more bark than bite and posing little threat to China's goal.

On the other hand, for the Chinese team, counter-attacking became easier after the opponent launched their attack.

In the 31st minute, Lin Feng received the ball in midfield and made a high-speed run, then seized the opportunity to pass the ball to the edge of the penalty area.

Unfortunately, Han Peng was too slow to react due to the risk of being offside, and the ball was poked by an Iraqi defender.

However, just when everyone thought the Chinese national football team was about to miss this counter-attack opportunity, the opposing goalkeeper either had a mental lapse or didn't see that the ball was passed to him by his own teammate. In response to the ball coming from the other side, he instinctively grabbed the ball and fell to the ground.

Beep!
The referee blew his whistle quickly, ruling that the Iraqi goalkeeper had committed a foul—a goalkeeper cannot touch a back pass delivered by a teammate's foot with their hands.

The referee awarded the Chinese team an indirect free kick inside the penalty area.

This kind of indirect free kick cannot be shot directly at the goal, and the position is too close to the goal, so it is not easy to handle.

Lin Feng discussed it with Zheng Zhi: "Should you do it or should I?"

Zheng Zhi thought for a moment and said, "You come over, I'll cover for you!"

Lin Feng didn't refuse and readily agreed: "Okay, just move it a little to the left!"

The penalty area was packed with people, leaving very little space to shoot. Lin Feng could only aim for the corner of the goal.

Zheng Zhi nodded to indicate that he understood. After the two finished discussing, they stood on either side of the football and waited for the penalty kick.

Because they were so close, the Iraqi team members heard the two whispering and discussing something.

Unfortunately, they couldn't understand Chinese and had no idea what the two were saying. They could only watch the two nervously, not daring to even blink.

Beep!
The moment the whistle blew, Zheng Zhi gently flicked the ball.

Lin Feng followed up with a powerful shot, the ball sailing past the Iraqi player who rushed to block it and into the top corner of the goal.

"Goal! 3-0! China scores again, extending their lead!"

"Lin Feng's shot was extremely difficult to execute, and the opposing goalkeeper had no chance against it!"

"The outcome of the match is gradually becoming clearer, and the Chinese team is beckoning to advance early and even take first place in the group!"

The atmosphere at the Water Drop Stadium was completely ignited, and Lin Feng's goal was met with enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Many of the fans who came to the stadium were there specifically to see the superstar Lin Feng.

When they saw Lin Feng finally score, everyone started cheering and jeering. Before Lin Feng could even make his signature celebration move, they had already started yelling "SIU".

Lin Feng was amused by the fans' actions. "I haven't even started yet, and you guys are already having fun."

He didn't pretend to be reserved or go against the fans. Seeing the fans eagerly anticipating his arrival, he ran to the sidelines and struck his signature celebration pose, fulfilling the high expectations of the entire stadium.

"Siu!"

The instant Lin Feng leaped high into the air, a deafening roar erupted from the crowd, even louder than before.

The sound was so loud that many people had to cover their ears with their hands, and it took a long time for their ears to recover. They had to shout to speak, otherwise they couldn't hear anything at all.

Wow, the power of 70,000 people shouting together is amazing!

Lin Feng's goal seemed to completely shatter the Iraqi players' mental defenses, and they were unable to mount any effective attacks throughout the first half.

In the second half, the Chinese national team made a large number of substitutions, with Lin Feng, Zheng Zhi and Han Peng being replaced one after another.

Han Peng was substituted in the 84th minute. Having already scored twice, he had been trying hard to complete a hat-trick, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and he couldn't achieve his goal.

On the contrary, after he was substituted, Gao Lin won a penalty kick in the penalty area as soon as he came on, scoring in the first minute of the game.

This left Han Peng speechless; perhaps this was just fate!

Iraq capitalized on the Chinese national team's lapse in concentration during stoppage time to score a consolation goal, ultimately bringing the score to 4-1.

After a resounding victory over Iraq at home, the Chinese national football team has reached 11 points, securing qualification for the knockout stage with one round to spare.

In the next round, they will travel to Australia to compete against them for first place in their group! (End of Chapter)