Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

CCTV!

CCTV!

"Dear viewers, you are now watching the opening match of the men's football tournament at the Beijing Olympics, China vs. New Zealand!"

Inside the CCTV-5 studio, the familiar duo of Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu were still providing commentary for the match.

Both of them were very excited today. They had commentated on so many matches, but they had never commentated on the Chinese team's matches at the Olympics before, and they were inexplicably excited.

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both teams."

China's starting goalkeeper will be Liu Zhenli from Qingdao Jonoon.

The left-back is Sun Xiang from Shanghai Shenhua, and the right-back is Sun Jihai from Manchester City in the English Premier League.

The two center-backs are Li Weifeng from Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League and Feng Xiaoting from La Liga giants Barcelona.

In midfield, the two defensive midfielders are Zheng Zhi from English Championship side Charlton Athletic and Cui Peng from French Ligue 1 side Marseille.

In the attacking third, the right winger is Hao Junmin, who plays for Schalke 04; the left winger is Chen Tao, who plays for Werder Bremen; and the attacking midfielder is Lin Feng, the captain of the national Olympic team, who currently plays for La Liga giants Real Madrid.

Up front, Dong Fangzhuo, who plays for Premier League giants Manchester United, is starting today!

After Zhan Jun introduced the national football team's starting lineup, many viewers watching the live broadcast were shocked:
This national Olympic team has only one domestic player; the rest are all players who have played abroad.

Among them are three players from top clubs in the five major European leagues!

When did Chinese football become so arrogant? Is this still the Chinese team we know?
Because many people don't pay much attention to football, the Chinese national football team is still seen as a useless team that only knows how to work behind closed doors.

They felt that playing abroad was something only football powerhouses like neighboring Japan and South Korea could do, and that Chinese football simply didn't have many decent players, so even if they wanted to play abroad, no one would want them.

However, reality is completely different from what they imagined. Unbeknownst to them, so many Chinese footballers have actually gone abroad.

No wonder so many people and media outlets were promoting it before the competition, saying it was the most promising edition yet.

Does this mean that Chinese football has truly stood up?

With a skeptical attitude, these viewers did not choose to change the channel, but continued watching.

Compared to the star-studded Chinese Olympic team, the New Zealand team's lineup seemed rather lackluster.

Apart from their captain Nelson, who plays for Ben Blackburn in the English Premier League, and their key midfielder Kieran, who plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, the rest of their players mostly play in the New Zealand domestic league and are not well-known.

That's why the New Zealand players felt so nervous.

They faced a formidable host nation in their very first match, which was extremely unfavorable for them.

Amid the enthusiastic atmosphere created by the fans at the stadium, the Chinese team adopted an attacking stance right from the start.

After the opponent kicked off, the Chinese team pressed forward very aggressively, not giving the opponent any chance to control the ball.

The New Zealand players were already nervous, and they were particularly uncomfortable with the aggressive pressing from the Chinese team, resulting in a series of passing errors in their own half.

Seeing their opponents so timid, the Chinese team's confidence soared, and after gaining possession of the ball, they launched a fierce attack on their opponents without hesitation.

In the 2nd minute, Hao Junmin broke through on the right wing and quickly swept the ball in front of the goal. Dong Fangzhuo was a fraction of a second too slow, and the ball was cleared by the opposing goalkeeper.

A minute later, Lin Feng also launched an attack from the right flank.

After a tactical maneuver with his teammate on the wing, Hao Junmin moved towards the center, drawing away the opponent's full-back. Lin Feng, off the ball, suddenly accelerated down the wing, received Hao Junmin's pass, and surged to the left side of the penalty area, drawing the opponent's center-back to pass back in a triangular fashion.

Zheng Zhi, who was receiving the ball in the middle, unleashed a long-range shot, but unfortunately, he couldn't control it and it went high.

At this point, only three minutes had passed since the start of the match, and the Chinese team had already launched a mini-offensive.

This scene thrilled the audience, who cheered even louder.

China's attacking momentum continued. In the 3rd minute, Dong Fangzhuo was fouled just outside the penalty area, giving China their first free kick in the attacking third.

[What a pity! If King Dong had gone in just a little further, this could very well have been a penalty!]

Although winning a free kick is already quite good, the majority of fans are still not satisfied.

Therefore, when they watch the replay on TV, they see that the foul occurred right on the penalty area line. If the opponent's foul had been committed half a second later, the outcome might have been completely different.

As China's primary free-throw shooter, Lin Feng naturally chose to take this shot.

The free kick was positioned too close to the wall, making it difficult to shoot directly. So he gestured and then opted to lob the ball towards the far post of the penalty area.

Dong Fangzhuo, who was lurking at the far post, leaped high and headed the ball in mid-air, changing its trajectory and sending it flying straight towards the goal.

The goalkeeper was helpless against this close-range header, but just when he had given up, there was a 'bang' as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out of bounds.

"No!"

"I rely on!"

"They won't even go in!"

An uproar erupted in the stands. The fans were ready to celebrate the goal, but to their surprise, Dong Fangzhuo's header was blocked by the crossbar.

"That was such a pity! Dong Fangzhuo headed the ball very well, but he just lacked a little luck!"

The two commentators also expressed their regret over the goal, but still praised Dong Fangzhuo's performance.

He managed to win the header in front of a group of tall center-backs and finish with such quality, so he must be in really good form today.

They were initially worried that Gao Lin's injury would affect the Chinese team's attacking firepower, but after seeing Dong Fangzhuo's form, they have somewhat eased their concerns.

Seeing the opponent's offensive wave after wave, the New Zealand team's head coach could no longer sit still.

He ran to the sidelines and ordered his players to push the battle line outwards, preventing the opponents from staying in their danger zone.

As the saying goes, a prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat. Given the attacking firepower that the Chinese team displayed at the start of the game, if they continue to be so passive, it will only be a matter of time before they concede a goal.

The New Zealand players tried hard to pass the ball out, but the Chinese team was playing a high-pressing tactic today. Under the relentless pressing of the Chinese team's four forwards, the New Zealand midfielders simply couldn't hold onto the ball.

Apart from Kieran, who plays for the Celtics, who can control the ball somewhat, the other players simply cannot withstand the Chinese team's pressing.

They received the ball as if it were a hot potato, wanting to pass it out immediately, not daring to keep it under their control for even a moment.

However, most of the forward passing routes were cut off by the Chinese team members. In their haste, they had no time to observe and naturally dared not risk passing forward.

The plan was to attack, but as the ball was passed around, it somehow ended up back at the goalkeeper's feet.

The Chinese team's forwards were charging towards them, while several defenders were surrounded by opposing players.

The New Zealand goalkeeper had no choice but to kick the ball forward, hoping his teammates could get lucky and launch a counter-attack.

Unfortunately, the Chinese team's defenders didn't give the opponents any chance.

Li Weifeng and Feng Xiaoting, the gold medal duo, controlled the ball through their tacit cooperation. Feng Xiaoting then dribbled forward and passed the ball to Zheng Zhi, who had dropped back to receive it.

Zheng Zhi was followed by an opposing player, so he couldn't turn around and passed the ball back to Feng Xiaoting.

As expected, the opposing team abandoned him and pressed forward with their teammates to pressure Feng Xiaoting. However, Feng Xiaoting, who was used to the highs and lows of La Liga, remained calm in the face of the pressure and calmly passed the ball to the right side.

Seeing his teammates tearing apart the opponent's defense on the right flank, Sun Jihai's sword was already itching to strike.

Upon receiving a pass from Feng Xiaoting, Sun Jihai took full advantage of his speed, dribbling the ball along the wing at lightning speed, and within seconds he had already crossed the halfway line.

The situation on the field changed dramatically. Just moments ago it was New Zealand's offensive turn, but now it has immediately become China's offensive turn.

Sun Jihai, who has spent many years in the English Premier League, has accumulated a wealth of experience.

Facing the New Zealand defensive midfielder who came forward to intercept, he used a step-back feint to get close to the opponent, then nutmegged him, and accelerated to easily overtake from near the sideline. The whole action was smooth and won enthusiastic applause from the fans at the scene.

"I'm doing well!"

"Well done, Sun Jihai!"

"Truly the best right-back in China!"

At this moment, the New Zealand team's formation was rapidly retreating, and after Sun Jihai got rid of the opponent's defensive midfielder, no one could control him.

So he moved forward and, after a one-two with Hao Junmin, delivered a cross from the byline.

To avoid being intercepted by the opponent, Sun Jihai deliberately added some power when passing the ball, making his pass extremely fast.

Dong Fangzhuo maximized his explosive power advantage, kicking the ground a few times to shake off the defender, and then slid in to give way to the ball.

The ball changed direction after hitting his toes and rolled towards the goal.

Dong Fangzhuo and the fans at the scene stared wide-eyed, holding their breath and staring intently at the football.

But his luck was really bad. Just as the ball was about to roll into the goal, the goalkeeper blocked the direction of his shot and stretched out his leg to block it.

Dong Fangzhuo lay sprawled on the ground, covering his face and almost crying.

Two excellent chances, and they failed to score!

Is it really that hard to score a goal?
"It's alright, there's still a chance!"

"The competition has only just begun, everyone please don't rush!"

In these attacks, the Chinese team came within a hair's breadth of scoring.

The series of missed opportunities has affected the players' mentality to some extent.

Seeing that things were not going well, Lin Feng immediately stepped forward to reassure his teammates.

The game has only been going on for five minutes, there are still more than eighty minutes left, what's the rush?

The opponent isn't a pushover; do you expect to finish the fight in just a few minutes?
This must be a dream!

Even Real Madrid often finds themselves unable to break through the defense when facing some Segunda División teams in the Copa del Rey, and there have even been instances of them suffering unexpected defeats.

However, words are not very effective in comforting someone in this situation; the best approach is to score a goal as soon as possible.

Since the ball was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper, the referee awarded China a corner kick.

Lin Feng glanced at the situation inside the penalty area and realized that his teammates were not tall enough, so sending the penalty directly into the penalty area might not be effective.

So he made a tactical hand signal, preparing for a tactical corner kick.

Chen Tao understood immediately and took the initiative to move closer to him.

The New Zealand players were on guard and instinctively extended their defensive perimeter slightly outside the penalty area. This way, if the opposing player received the ball and chose to shoot, they could immediately rush in to block it.

The idea is good, but the direction is wrong.

As the whistle blew, Lin Feng quickly passed the ball to Chen Tao, who also drew his bow and prepared to shoot.

However, when the opposing players rushed out in a swarm, Chen Tao pretended to pass the ball and passed it to Lin Feng again.

The New Zealand player who was rushing towards Chen Tao cried out that he had been tricked. He turned around and saw Lin Feng dribbling the ball along the baseline and heading towards the penalty area.

The New Zealand players were clearly unprepared for this, and their captain, Nelson, rushed over quickly to try and block Lin Feng's shooting angle.

Facing the aggressive defender, Lin Feng deliberately slowed down, and when the opponent approached and took a step, he suddenly changed his pace, accelerating along the baseline to shake off his opponent.

Seeing that the ball had escaped Lin Feng's control, the opposing center-back immediately stretched out his leg to intercept it.

However, he did not expect Lin Feng to reach the ball faster than him. His outstretched foot did not hit the ball, but instead hit Lin Feng.

Beep!
The moment Lin Feng fell, a sharp whistle blew, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

The New Zealand players surrounded the referee, trying to argue their case, but the referee pointed to his eyes, saying he had seen it clearly and it was an indisputable foul.

Giving New Zealand a penalty kick instead of a card was already a lenient gesture.

"Brother Lin, are you alright?"

"You're not hurt, are you?"

His teammates had no time to worry about the penalty kick; they rushed into the penalty area to check on Lin Feng's injury.

The value of a penalty kick is far less than that of Lin Feng, the backbone of the team. If Lin Feng were to get injured as a result, that goal would be the most worthless goal ever scored by the national Olympic team.

"It's nothing serious. The opponent held back at the last moment, and it only hit the instep. It's not a big problem!"

That's what they say, but it really hurts.

Seeing Lin Feng limp to his feet, the fans breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time began to worry about him, wondering if his injury would affect the upcoming matches.

On the sidelines, when the head coach of the national Olympic team, Klaus Toppmöller, saw Lin Feng fall to the ground injured, he jumped up from his seat with a 'whoosh'.

His brows were furrowed deeply, his eyes fixed on the court, and he was extremely anxious.

Please don't get injured! This national Olympic team can do without anyone else, but it absolutely cannot do without Lin Feng.

Seeing that Lin Feng stood up and moved his legs, seemingly without any major problems, he breathed a sigh of relief.

I must tell Lin Feng later not to push himself so hard; it's not worth taking such a big risk for a single goal.

But Lin Feng himself felt it was still worth it!

Because Lin Feng is the team's primary penalty taker, and he created this penalty himself.

So no one contested his right to take the penalty, and Lin Feng took the penalty himself, winning the one he had created.

The New Zealand goalkeeper was very nervous, but whether he was nervous or not didn't really matter.

Lin Feng's penalty kick went straight into the top corner of the goal, giving him no chance to save it.

The score is now 1-0!

Lin Feng's goal finally ended the embarrassing history of the Chinese team having zero goals in the Olympics! (End of Chapter)