Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

After the match, the Iraqi players had red eyes, and many stood on the field for a long time, unwilling to leave.

Their World Cup dream was thus shattered.

Due to the internal conflict, this Iraqi team does not have its own home stadium; its so-called home stadium is merely a neutral stadium.

There is also no stable and safe training environment, and many people are unable to return home, having been wandering outside for several years.

They don't receive a salary for playing for the national team, and they can't even guarantee their meals. It was some countries in the Gulf region and the Asian Football Confederation that provided them with sponsorship and paid for their travel expenses. They couldn't even afford plane tickets to away games!
Apart from some star players in the team, the other national team players are mostly playing in leagues in other West Asian countries, supporting themselves on meager incomes and living very frugally.

But their love for football is genuine. They dream of achieving something on the field to bring some comfort to their war-torn country and countless compatriots living in fear and turmoil.

However, they failed, and failed once again.

Perhaps it was bad luck, but the Iraqi team encountered the Chinese team twice.

They were defeated twice by the Chinese team in the Asian Cup qualifiers, missing out on a spot in the Asian Cup.

They faced China again in the World Cup qualifiers, and this time they showed some improvement, avoiding being defeated twice by the Chinese team.

But they were unexpectedly defeated by Qatar, putting themselves in a desperate situation.

Even if they defeat the Chinese team in this match, they may not be able to advance in the next round against Qatar.

Moreover, facing a Chinese team with all its key players back, Iraq had no chance of winning. Their so-called glimmer of hope was nothing but a self-deceiving lie!

Even though they knew this would happen, they still couldn't accept it when it actually became a reality.

The crowd erupted in applause, a heartfelt gesture from the Chinese people to comfort the Iraqi team and the Iraqi people.

I hope this country, ravaged by war, can restore peace soon!

……

After the match, Lin Feng, who contributed two assists and one goal, was unsurprisingly named the best player of the game.

Since his return to the national team, he has been named MVP in all three matches he has participated in, making him a veritable MVP harvester.

Of course, this also directly reflects Lin Feng's important role in the national football team and his dominance in Asian competitions.

However, considering that neither Qatar nor Iraq is particularly strong, they can only be considered second-tier teams in Asia at best.

The final match against Australia will be the true test of his dominance in Asian competitions.

While the Chinese team defeated the Iraqi team at home, on another field, the Australian team unsurprisingly defeated the Qatari team.

At this point, the two qualifying spots in Group A have already been decided.

目前保持不败金身，3胜2平积11分的国足和3胜1平1负积10分的澳大利亚队，提前一轮晋级。

The Qatari and Iraqi teams, who suffered a regrettable defeat, will fight for honor in their final match.

In other groups, Japan and Bahrain in Group B have already qualified for the knockout stage with one round to spare. Similar to Group A, the final round match between Japan and Bahrain will determine who finishes first in the group.

It's worth mentioning that Bahrain defeated Japan at home in the first leg and, like China, achieved an unbeaten record of 3 wins and 2 draws in the first five matches. This makes the final match in Group B full of suspense. Bahrain, the dark horse, may continue their upset run, defeat Japan twice, and snatch the top spot in the group from the Asian Cup runners-up.

In Group C, North Korea and South Korea have the same points and the same number of wins and losses, both securing 11 points and advancing to the knockout stage with one round to spare. The final round will be a direct confrontation between the two teams to determine who finishes first in the group.

Based on their previous group stage results, the South Korean team scored more goals and was better at beating weaker teams.

However, North Korea's defense is more solid, and they are currently the only team in the Asian region that has not conceded a goal in the World Cup qualifiers.

In Group D, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan are far superior to the other two teams, and both have already qualified for the knockout stage with two rounds to spare.

The final round of direct confrontations will determine who finishes first in the group, but although Saudi Arabia is a long-established powerhouse, Uzbekistan seems to be favored by outsiders.

Because they are currently the only team with a perfect record.

Group E is the most complicated, with both the UAE and Syria having a chance to advance, in addition to Iran, which has already qualified.

However, the situation is clearly in the UAE's favor. They not only lead by 3 points in points, but also by 5 goals in goal difference.

Even if they lose to Syria in the next match, as long as they don't lose by more than three goals, they will still advance in the end.

……

Although the Chinese national football team has already qualified for the next round, the outcome of the final match will not affect that result.

But Zhu Guanghu did not relax. After the match against Iraq, he began to study the next opponent early on.

Since the Australian team joined the Asian Football Confederation, the Chinese national team has not played against them much.

Old Zhu was filled with curiosity about this Asian team that had a distinctly European football style.

In terms of pure technique, the Australian team is actually just so-so.

Their dominance in Asian competitions is mainly attributed to their physical attributes.

Australian players are tall and strong, with a clear advantage in physical confrontations. Even traditional West Asian teams struggle against them.

However, this Australian team also has obvious weaknesses: they are too cumbersome and are very vulnerable to fast, agile football styles.

Last year at the Asian Cup, the Australian team was completely outmatched by Thailand and Singapore in Group A and almost failed to advance.

In the subsequent knockout stage, Australia fell to the Japanese team, which emphasized technique and ground attack, lacked physical advantages, and was even somewhat short overall. This speaks volumes.

"The stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade," Zhu Guanghu thought to himself after studying these match videos.
Should we follow the example of these teams and arrange a more flexible and mobile lineup, using ground attacks and short passing penetration tactics to deal with Australia?

He decided to give it a try; if he won, it would mean he had mastered the secret to dealing with Australia.

It's okay to lose, it won't affect the final result of advancing. Losing now is better than losing in the final round of ten!

There is no policy of avoiding opponents from the same group in the final round of 10 matches. All opponents are determined by drawing lots. It is normal to draw opponents from previous group stages. Therefore, the probability of the Chinese national team playing against Australia in the next round of 10 matches is still very high.

Just as Zhu Guanghu was pondering how to deal with the Australian team, the Australian team's head coach was also racking his brains about how to deal with the Chinese team.

The head coach of the Australian team is a familiar face to Chinese fans – Pim Welbeck.

This man was the head coach of the South Korean national team last year, but his poor performance at the Asian Cup, coupled with disagreements with the players regarding the starting lineup, led to his departure.

Some players resented his discipline, causing a locker room conflict scandal. Then, they suffered a humiliating defeat in the semi-final against China, which led to him being heavily criticized by South Korean fans.

He himself was very principled; he resigned voluntarily before the Korean Football Association announced his dismissal. One would think that with such a poor record as coach, he wouldn't be able to find another job.

However, after Hiddink left, Australia's performance worsened, and they thought Welbeck's coaching record seemed quite good, so they invited him to become the head coach of the Australian team.

The rest of the Australian team didn't know how formidable the Chinese team was, but this guy had experienced it firsthand, so he was very wary of them.

In his view, the strengths and weaknesses of this Chinese team are very clear.

Their number 8 player, Lin Feng, is China's biggest advantage and also the biggest threat to Australia.

As for the weakness of the Chinese team, it is actually Lin Feng.

With him or without him, the Chinese team is a completely different team, and its fighting strength will be greatly reduced.

So, is there any way to perfectly limit Lin Feng and prevent him from unleashing his full power?
This is indeed a troublesome problem. He studied the videotapes of the Chinese team's previous matches and found that both the Qatari and Iraqi teams had thought about this problem and made some attempts.

However, these methods were not very effective. Although they could interfere with and influence Lin Feng to some extent, they could not completely restrain him.

So he could only continue studying Lin Feng's performances in the Asian Cup and even at the club level.

European football is teeming with talent, and the managers of major clubs, especially the top clubs, are all renowned figures in the football world. Their minds and wisdom are certainly far superior to those of an unknown coach like myself.

Perhaps we can find a way to deal with Lin Feng from them?

However, after watching over thirty videotapes, he still couldn't find the perfect answer.

The more they watched, the more desperate they became. It felt like trying to stop Lin Feng with Australia's current lineup was simply a pipe dream!
They have neither a top-class midfielder nor a top-class defender, so how can they defend against Lin Feng?

In the Champions League semi-final, Chelsea, who boasted two top-class defensive midfielders and a strong backline, were still overwhelmed by Lin Feng, weren't they?

Since we can't stop Lin Feng, let's stop his teammates!

Surely his teammates couldn't possibly be as strong as him?
……

Sydney Stadium, July 22.

The crucial final match of Group A's group stage was played here.

Although both teams had already qualified for the next round, both head coaches took the match very seriously, fielding their strongest lineups and showing no intention of holding back.

Zhu Guanghu wants to use Australia as a whetstone to help the national football team build up its momentum.

The Australian team also wants to defeat the Asian champions, China, to prove their strength.

Their decision to leave the Western world and enter Asia is not just to be a runner-up, but to compete for the position of Asian hegemon!

Although the two teams were tense on the field, their head coaches were not at all hostile off the field.

On the contrary, both coaches were praising the other team before the match.

Zhu Guanghu stated that the Australian team is strong and a regular participant in the World Cup, and is worthy of learning from by the Chinese national team.

Welbeck stated that the Chinese team is strong, and their tactics, especially their ground attack tactics, are worth learning from for Australia.

What he actually envied more was the youth storm of the Chinese team. Zhu Guanghu was able to field a young lineup with an average age of under 23 in the game, something he could not do at all.

这支澳大利亚队的阵容明显已经老化了，几个主力球员像施瓦泽（36岁、卡希尔（29岁）、卢卡斯·尼尔（30岁）、布雷西亚诺（28岁）、埃默顿(29岁）等人，都已不再年轻。

It's manageable now, but by the time the 2010 World Cup starts, the Australian team will be two years older, and will likely be the oldest team among the 32 participating teams.

Therefore, we must consider the issue of generational transition within the team.

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

The Sydney Stadium is larger than the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium. This main stadium, built specifically for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, can accommodate 11 spectators.

However, Australia is sparsely populated, with Sydney having a population of just over 400 million. Although the venue is large, there are not enough spectators.

The match attracted approximately 60,000 fans, setting a new attendance record for a World Cup qualifier in Australia.

Of these 60,000-plus people, approximately 10,000 are international students from China and overseas Chinese residing in Australia.

The Chinese team has come all this way, so even if it's just out of curiosity, they should still come and take a look.

Moreover, this national football team has an excellent record, which gives them a sense of unfamiliarity, making them even more eager to come and see it in person.

After all, it's common for the Chinese national football team to lose frequently, but it's rare for them to not lose.

In addition, the Chinese team has a superstar like Lin Feng, and just because of his name, many people came to join in the fun, mostly young women.

Anyway, the tickets weren't expensive, so I figured I might as well come here to see my idol.

In fact, many of the Australian fans who came to the scene were there specifically to see Lin Feng.

Although Australia is far from Europe, they always pay attention to the matches in the top five European leagues.

Although La Liga doesn't attract as much attention as the Premier League, Lin Feng's team has played against Premier League teams quite a bit, and in the last two years, they have even become a nemesis for the Premier League.

As a result, most Australian fans have heard of Lin Feng's achievements, and many have gradually become attracted to him and eventually become his fans.

After the match started, the Chinese team showed a good spirit and was not intimidated by the fact that it was the opponent's home ground. Instead, they took the initiative to launch an attack.

The Australian team didn't back down and chose to engage in an offensive battle with the Chinese team.

This is their home ground, they have no reason to be afraid of the Chinese team!

However, good fortune seems to be on the side of the Chinese team!
In the 11th minute, the Chinese team won consecutive throw-ins on the right flank.

After receiving Sun Xiang's throw-in, Lin Feng dribbled to the byline and passed the ball across the goal. The Australian defender tried to clear the ball with a long kick, but the ball hit his own teammate and bounced back, landing right at Gao Lin's feet.

Gao Lin's body reacted faster than his brain; instinctively, he stretched out his foot and poked the ball, which rolled into the Australian goal before the goalkeeper could even touch the ground.

The stadium fell silent; the Australian fans were stunned.

The Chinese players nearby were equally stunned!
Even Lin Feng couldn't help but envy Gao Lin's incredible luck!

This is practically heaven feeding him good fortune! Could he be the true lucky charm for the Chinese national football team? (End of Chapter)