Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"So fast!"

Inside the Beijing Olympic Village, several sprinters from the track and field team couldn't help but exclaim in admiration after watching the goal.

"This guy is amazing!"

"Of course! He's last year's Ballon d'Or winner, the best active player in football, and the pride of Chinese football!"

Zhang Peimeng is a die-hard football fan. He has not only watched the national team play live many times, but also knows the names of the current famous players in Chinese football like the back of his hand.

Ever since Lin Feng made a name for himself at the World Youth Championships, he had taken notice of this young player who was about the same age as him. From then on, whenever he had time, he watched every single match involving Lin Feng.

So when his teammates praised his favorite player, Zhang Peimeng felt a sense of satisfaction, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

He loved football when he was a child, and before he started sprinting, he had considered playing football.

Unfortunately, he lacked talent in football. After a brief attempt, he realized he wasn't cut out for it and had to give up his football dream.

Hu Kai, the bespectacled man, looked at his teammate and said, "I don't know if he's as good as you say, but I feel like he's very fast."

After a pause, Hu Kai asked, "What do you think his 100-meter time is?"

Zhang Peimeng thought for a while. Based on the many races he had watched Lin Feng compete in the past, he felt that Lin Feng's 10-meter speed should be around 50 seconds, or even faster.

"So fast? That's impossible. The standard for a national-level athlete is 10.50 seconds. He hasn't even trained and can just run like that to become a national-level athlete? What's the point of him playing football? He might as well train in sprinting!"

Hu Kai expressed disbelief at this result. Currently, there are only a few dozen national-level athletes in the 100-meter category, and even these athletes may not be able to run under 10.50 seconds when they are not in good condition. How could Lin Feng, who has never trained in sprinting, have this speed?

I won't believe it even if I beat him to death!

"I think you don't need to argue anymore. Why don't we find an opportunity to have him come to our base for testing later?"

Lao Yi, who was watching the game from the side, saw that the two were about to start arguing and quickly spoke up.

The two exchanged a glance and both agreed that it was a good idea.

Hu Kai wants to know Lin Feng's true achievements, while Zhang Peimeng wants to take this opportunity to meet his idol.

However, a very real problem faced the two of them:
None of them knew Lin Feng, so how could they extend an invitation to him?

……

The Chinese national football team's four goals in the first half have turned this match into a massacre.

However, in the second half, the Chinese team continued their offensive.

In the 51st minute, China's continuous passing in the attacking third created an opportunity. Lin Feng played a through ball into the penalty area, assisting Dong Fangzhuo to score another goal.

The score became 5-0, and the New Zealand players' eyes gradually turned from numb to fierce.

Even a clay figure has a certain fire element, let alone a living person.
This is the opening match of the Olympic men's football tournament, and at this moment, not only viewers around the world, but even their family and friends are probably watching this game.

The thought of being humiliated like this by their opponents in front of their family and friends filled them with rage.

In the following game, the New Zealand players on the field became increasingly aggressive in their movements and committed more and more fouls.

In the 61st minute, Lin Feng was brutally fouled by Olde after passing the ball in the middle, causing an uproar in the stadium.

Many people felt that the opponent was targeting the player, because Lin Feng didn't have the ball at his feet when he fouled.

So even though the referee showed the offender a yellow card, it still made the fans in the stadium very dissatisfied.

Everyone felt that a yellow card was too lenient a punishment and that the guy should have been sent off with a red card.

But the referee clearly had no intention of changing his decision, which drew boos from the crowd.

"Have Zhou Haibin warm up, and replace Lin Feng!"

On the sidelines, Klaus Toppmöller was calmly leaning back in his chair, comfortably enjoying the game.

But when he saw Lin Feng being violated, the smile on his face disappeared.

A few minutes later, Zhou Haibin finished warming up, and the Chinese team immediately used their substitution to replace Lin Feng.

Although there were still about thirty minutes left in the game, and it seemed a bit early to make a substitution, Klaus Toppmöller couldn't care less about that now.

Lin Feng is the absolute core of the Chinese team. If he were to get injured, it would be a devastating blow to the Chinese team.

He dared not take the risk, and with the Chinese team currently leading by a large margin, keeping Lin Feng on the field would not only increase his goal difference but also raise his risk of injury.

The New Zealanders were getting impatient. Lin Feng had been responsible for almost all of China's previous five goals, and if he were on the field, he would likely attract all of the New Zealanders' hatred.

Seeing himself being substituted, Lin Feng still felt a little unsatisfied.

It was his first time participating in the Olympics, and he was quite excited. Plus, he was in excellent form today. If he had stayed on the field, he might have had another chance to score.

But since the coach wanted to substitute him, Lin Feng didn't say anything. He jogged to the sidelines, gave Zhou Haibin a high-five, and left the court.

The crowd erupted in enthusiastic applause, mixed with screams and shouts from female fans, who were expressing their respect for Lin Feng in this way.

Seeing this, Han Qiaosheng chuckled:
"Hehe, Lin Feng is really popular!"

"However, his performance in this game fully deserved the applause from the entire stadium; he deserved it!"

……

After Lin Feng left the field, the Chinese team still maintained the advantage, but the connection and passing in midfield were not as smooth as when Lin Feng was on the field.

Although Zhou Haibin performed very actively, he lacked finesse in terms of vision, overall strategy, and the details of ball handling.

On the contrary, Chen Tao's passing was a pleasant surprise. In this national Olympic team, Chen Tao is probably the only midfielder whose strength is closest to Lin Feng's.

Because he played the role of an organizing midfielder at the club, Lin Feng's brilliance overshadowed his own when he was on the field, but Chen Tao's role became apparent after Lin Feng left the field.

New Zealand still couldn't control the midfield, so they simply used the traditional English long pass and cross attack to deal with China.

Their players have an advantage in height and strength, so a high-post, high-ball attack is a good option.

However, the accuracy of this style of play is hard to guarantee. Many times, the ball is passed out but the teammate does not receive it and instead becomes the opponent's counterattack.

However, their attacks put some pressure on the Chinese defense. After Lin Feng left the field, the Chinese team did not have any good attacking opportunities for nearly ten minutes.

In the 77th minute, the Chinese defense passed the ball around repeatedly, seemingly having given up and intending to control the pace of the game without launching any attacks.

The New Zealand team members have relaxed their vigilance somewhat due to their current situation.

They thought that China's next opponent was Brazil, and they would definitely need to conserve their energy to face this strong team, not wasting too much effort on them. However, just as they were thinking this, Feng Xiaoting saw an opportunity and suddenly launched a long pass to the left wing of the attacking third.

Zhou Haibin, who had just come on, made a quick run down the wing and passed the ball into the penalty area. Dong Fangzhuo missed the near post, but Hao Junmin, who had made a forward run, seized the opportunity and calmly pushed the ball into the net at the far post, making the score 6-0!

Hao Junmin, who scored the goal, was so excited that he rushed to the sidelines and performed a passionate knee slide.

His teammates followed suit and slid down on their knees, creating a spectacular sight.

The fans at the stadium were thrilled, giving Hao Junmin a warm round of applause and cheers for his goal, which further motivated the young players on the national Olympic team, making them play even more aggressively and fiercely.

The New Zealand players were cursing. They had already been scored on six times, and the game was almost over, but these bastards still wouldn't let them go.

Under intense offensive pressure from the Chinese team, the New Zealand players were on edge.

In the 82nd minute, New Zealand defender Alder made a mistake in the heat of the moment, committing a handball foul under pressure from Zhou Haibin, receiving his second yellow card and being sent off.

Trailing by six goals and having a player sent off, this is not just adding insult to injury for New Zealanders, it's like adding hail to snow!

In the final moments of the match, the New Zealanders were pinned back in their 30-meter zone and unable to get out, while the Chinese players took turns testing the opposing goalkeeper with various shooting techniques.

In the 84th minute, Hao Junmin crossed from the right wing, Dong Fangzhuo passed the ball back, and Sun Jihai's follow-up shot was blocked. The second ball was still at the feet of the Chinese team, but Cui Peng's long-range shot went high and wide.

In the 86th minute, the Chinese team once again displayed fluid teamwork, making several passes near the opponent's penalty area in a short period of time, confusing the opponent's defenders.

Unfortunately, his final shot fell just short, going wide.

Klaus Toppmöller, watching from the sidelines, couldn't stop his mouth from twitching. He hadn't thought much of it before, but after Lin Feng left the field, he suddenly felt that the Olympic team's shooting technique was a bit too bad.

Although not many of these shooting opportunities were guaranteed to result in a goal.

But it shouldn't be this bad, right?

Of the six shots he had just seen, only one hit the target; the rest went wide.

This is a bit too outrageous. It seems we need to strengthen the players' shooting training when we get back.

Against weaker teams, wasting one or two opportunities occasionally isn't a big problem.

But if you're facing a top team, you might only have one or two chances to score in the entire game. If you waste those chances, you might lose!
Ultimately, the score remained 6-0 until the final whistle.

The Chinese team achieved a winning start to the Olympics, securing their first victory in Olympic history.

All the players were excited and thrilled. After the game, they draped themselves in the national flag and circled the field to thank the fans who came to support them.

The fans in the stands responded with enthusiastic applause and cheers.

Go China!

"Let's keep up the good work in the next match and crush Brazil!"

For fans who bought tickets to this match, being able to see the Chinese team play such a thrilling game at home was a real treat.

But the fans' ambitions don't stop there. After watching the national Olympic team's outstanding performance in this match, they have already begun to look forward to the next game.

If the match against New Zealand was just an appetizer, then the next match against Brazil will be the main course.

Winning not only means advancing from the group stage early, but also gives us hope of winning a medal.

Although they knew their opponents were very strong, the national Olympic team couldn't possibly win as easily as they did today, and might even lose.

But the fans still hold out hope, what if they win?
……

When the Chinese national football team's match ended, the players from the Brazilian and Belgian teams had just arrived at the stadium.

Fifteen minutes later, they will face off here.

However, before that, the two teams discussed the match between China and New Zealand.

"This Chinese team looks quite strong, and they might become an obstacle for us to qualify!"

Marcelo, who had been Lin Feng's teammate, knew how formidable Lin Feng was, so he tried his best to remind his teammates not to underestimate the Chinese team with Lin Feng, because doing so would come at a price!

"Heh, the only one worth mentioning on the Chinese team is Lin Feng. The rest of the players are guys whose names I can't even recall. How strong can they be?"

Golden Boy Anderson looked disdainful, clearly not agreeing with Marcelo's statement.

Another golden boy, Pato, nodded in agreement:
"Lin Feng is indeed very strong, but his teammates said I don't think they have anything particularly outstanding. As long as Lin Feng is contained, this Chinese team is not so scary!"

The two Golden Boys are at a young and arrogant age, and having won the Golden Boy Award, they are somewhat conceited.

If Lin Feng didn't have a Golden Globe Award in his hands, they wouldn't even dare to put him in their eyes.

Marcelo didn't want to argue with those two kids, so he turned to look at Ronaldinho, the team's veteran, but Ronaldinho didn't respond.

Seeing this, Marcelo couldn't help but worry. If the Brazilian team continued to play in this state, they might suffer a great loss.

In the other team, the Belgians completely lacked the arrogance of the Brazilians.

After watching the Chinese team's match, they immediately identified China as their biggest competitor in the group stage.

Brazil is too strong; they have essentially given up on the match.

However, this means there is only one spot for advancing from the group stage, and to advance, the team must defeat the Chinese team.

But given the strength the Chinese team displayed in the match just now, this matter seems to be more complicated than they imagined.

Many Belgians even felt that, given their strength, they might not be able to beat the Chinese team.

If that's the case, shouldn't their objective for this match against Brazil change?

If Belgium can defeat their opponent, they will gain an advantage in the group stage qualification race and won't have to fight tooth and nail with China.

Even if they can't beat Brazil, a draw would give them the upper hand when facing China.

The current situation has forced the Belgians to adjust their original plans.

We weren't originally planning to go toe-to-toe with the Brazilian team, but now we have to fight to the bitter end.

However, the gap in strength between the two teams was ultimately too great. The Belgians held on tenaciously for 80 minutes, but still could not change their fate of having their goal breached, losing 0-1 to Brazil.

Thus, with a six-goal advantage in goal difference, the Chinese team temporarily tops Group C, ahead of Brazil! (End of Chapter)