Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

Fans were filled with worry, feeling even more pressure watching the Chinese team play against the British team than they had felt in the previous match against Argentina.

In the 7th minute, Gerrard and Ashley Cole combined on the left wing before Gerrard delivered a cross, and Rooney made a spectacular save in the penalty area – he controlled the ball and attempted a bicycle kick.

But the ball slid past the goal, and he didn't manage to score.

Nevertheless, the British fans at the stadium still cheered loudly for Rooney.

Rooney is a flawed guy; he's made countless mistakes.

But British fans have forgiven him time and time again, mainly because the British team really can't do without him!
The Chinese team, which was in a passive position, did not manage to get their first shot on goal until the 10th minute of the game.

British midfielder Barry's foul on Lin Feng earned China a free kick.

The ball was too far from the goal to shoot directly.

Lin Feng chose to coordinate with his teammates, with Chen Tao lobbing the ball into the penalty area, where Dong Fangzhuo got to the ball and headed it towards the goal.

But under Ferdinand's interference, his header went wide and posed little threat to the British goal.

The game quickly returned to the control of the British team. The Chinese team struggled to get the ball under the opponent's relentless pressing, and even when they did get the ball, they found it difficult to pass it across the halfway line.

In contrast, the British team, with Gerrard and Lampard constantly attacking the Chinese penalty area in the middle, used long-range shots to test Wang Dalei's basic skills.

Ashley Cole and the other winger frequently crossed the ball, feeding Crouch, who had a clear height advantage in the penalty area.

It seems that the British team's attack is disorganized, with attacks coming from all directions.

But when they use this move on the field, the pressure on their opponents is still immense.

In order to defend against the opponent's attacks from the flanks, the Chinese team was forced to widen their defensive line and send their defensive midfielders to the flanks to provide support.

But this leaves the middle lane empty again.

Gerrard and Lampard are both very good at long-range shots; if you give them space, they'll show you how to shoot.

Meanwhile, England's striker Rooney is the kind of striker who has a certain organizational ability and likes to drop back to receive the ball.

Every time he retreated, it made the Chinese team's defenders hesitate, unsure whether to follow him.

In a battle between masters, such a moment of hesitation is often a fatal flaw.

In the 14th minute, when Rooney dropped back again, Li Weifeng, who was marking him, failed to keep up in time.

This gave Rooney the opportunity to pass the ball to Beckham, who was unmarked on the other side, from the edge of the penalty area. Beckham unleashed a powerful shot, the ball arcing across the penalty area and nestling into the top corner of the goal.

Wang Dalei was helpless against the shot. Although the opponent's shot was not fast, the angle was too tricky and the shot was too sudden. He was unprepared and could not save it at all.

The score became 1-0, with the home team England taking the lead.

"Well said, Wayne!"

Beckham smiled and gave Rooney a thumbs-up, then glanced provocatively at Lin Feng not far away, his expression seemingly saying:

So, how was my kick? Not bad, right?

Lin Feng nodded and gave him a thumbs-up.

Beckham is 34 years old this year, and it's really impressive that he can still maintain such a competitive level at this age.

In particular, besides playing football, he often attends various business and fashion events with Victoria.

Logically, his condition should have been greatly affected, but this guy is a master of time management. He managed to arrange his training, competitions, and fashion shows in an orderly manner, showing no signs of being affected.

Conceding a goal so early dealt a significant blow to the morale of the Chinese team.

"Cheer up, everyone! Conceding a goal is inevitable. Don't forget that our goal isn't just to win, but to play our own game and try to score a goal!"

As the team leader, Lin Feng had to step up and boost morale; he couldn't let his teammates continue to be so demoralized.

His reminder was very effective. The players were initially a bit frustrated, but after hearing Lin Feng's words, they all felt relieved.

The captain is right. We didn't come here to win; we came here to practice tactics and gain experience playing against high-level opponents.

Since it's a warm-up match, we shouldn't take winning or losing too seriously, but rather focus on tactics.

After figuring these things out, the Chinese national football team players on the field felt much more relaxed. They were no longer as hesitant and fearful as before, as if they were playing football in shackles.

Their changes quickly caught the attention of the British team members:

"What's going on? These guys are clearly behind, but it feels like they're in the lead, and they're actually playing better and better?"

On the sidelines, Capello glanced at Zhu Guanghu with some doubt, a thought creeping into his mind:
Could it be that this guy is behind this?
He had never heard of this person before.

But since the opponent was able to lead the Chinese team to draws with Argentina and France, and even defeated Germany, it means that the opponent really has something to offer, so it seems that we can't underestimate them.

Thinking of this, he gestured to the players on the field to play more steadily and not give the Chinese team any chances.

Capello never expected that his advice to play it safe would actually do the Chinese team a huge favor.

The Chinese team was at a disadvantage in physical confrontations, making it difficult to hold onto the ball when advancing and unable to launch threatening attacks.

However, Capello's decision to calm his players actually gave the Chinese team more space to play the ball safely from their own half.

The British players thought they had everything under control by marking Lin Feng and several of China's midfielders, but little did they know that there was another center-back in the Chinese team with a strong ability to distribute the ball!
In the 29st minute, the Chinese team launched an attack.

Seeing that his teammates were surrounded by opposing defenders, Feng Xiaoting boldly dribbled forward, eventually reaching the vicinity of the center circle.

Seeing that he was about to break through the halfway line, the British players couldn't stand it anymore. Rooney took the initiative to press him, trying to force Feng Xiaoting to pass the ball back.

This tactic has proven effective time and again. When Chinese players are interfered with, they usually choose to play it safe and pass the ball back to their teammates.

But this time, Feng Xiaoting did not do that.

Facing Rooney's pressure, he skillfully and daringly dribbled past Rooney, then accelerated forward, passing the ball to Lin Feng who suddenly accelerated before another defender could close in.

The moment Feng Xiaoting dribbled the ball across half the court, Lin Feng realized that this was an excellent attacking opportunity.

The moment the opponent pressed forward, he spotted the passing lane and accelerated toward the open space in the flank.

The chemistry the two had developed since the World Junior Championships came into play at this moment.

Feng Xiaoting immediately understood his intention and passed the ball out the instant he ran into open space.

Upon seeing Lin Feng receive the ball in open space, several British players, including Beckham, Gerrard, and Lampard, who had been his teammates or had experienced his prowess on the field, immediately felt alarmed and realized that something was wrong!
Beckham rushed toward Lin Feng almost without thinking, trying to intercept him.

Lampard reacted a beat too late, but quickly followed suit, attempting to join his teammates in creating an encirclement around Lin Feng. But it was too late!
The reason Lin Feng ran to the left instead of the right was because...

Besides making it easier for Feng Xiaoting to pass the ball, another important reason is that the left flank is Beckham's area of ​​activity.

Beckham was very strong offensively, but his defensive ability was only average.

He's competent as a winger, but his ability falls short as a defensive midfielder.

Lin Feng had been his teammate for half a year and was very clear about the man's strengths and weaknesses.

So they specifically chose the left wing, hoping to find a breakthrough by targeting Beckham.

His choice proved to be very wise; the 34-year-old Bei was clearly struggling to keep up with the 21-year-old Lin Feng.

As soon as the two met, Lin Feng made a quick outside-in-in-direction change of direction, causing Beckham to lose his defensive position and have to use small tricks to pull Lin Feng.

But his attempts to push him aside were completely ineffective in stopping Lin Feng's breakthrough, and didn't even slow down Lin Feng's progress.

England's right-back Glenn, seeing the situation was not good, tried to come forward to intercept, but as soon as he made a move, Lin Feng passed the ball behind him.

Gao Lin somehow ended up on the wing. After receiving Lin Feng's pass, he immediately crossed the ball without hesitation.

Dong Fangzhuo fought his way out of Ferdinand's clutch play and headed the ball into the goal from 10 meters out.

The score became 1-1, with the Chinese team quickly equalizing less than fifteen minutes after conceding the goal.

The two teams are back on equal footing!
"Great news, Brother Gao!"

"That's right, why don't you go out and ask around? I'm known as the Westfalen assist king, this kind of cross is a piece of cake for me!"

Gao Lin is really easily flattered; give him a little credit and he'll start to act recklessly.

But I must say, the quality of his cross was actually quite good.

At least left-back Sun Xiang isn't up to that level!
Watching Lin Feng celebrate wildly with his teammates, Beckham shrugged helplessly at his teammates.

He tried his best to stop the ball, but there was nothing he could do.

Among the British midfielders, Beckham, Gerrard, and Lampard are all relatively weak defensively, with only Gareth Barry being a strong defensive player.

But he alone obviously can't cover such a large midfield.

Lin Feng was familiar with the characteristics of the British team's midfielders, so he specifically targeted their weaknesses.

Of course, if Capello had been more realistic and taken either Gerrard or Lampard off the field to add a defensive player and make the overall formation more balanced, the British team might have been even stronger, and he wouldn't have had that opportunity.

But both Lampard and Gerrard are very popular among British fans.

Capello couldn't withstand the immense pressure to substitute either of them.

Therefore, even knowing that it is difficult for De Bruyne and Gerrard to coexist, playing together would not only be ineffective but would also drag down the team.

But to avoid criticism from fans and the media, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue using it.

Watching Lin Feng's exceptionally active performance on the Chinese team, Capello felt incredibly envious:
If I had a midfielder of Lin Feng's caliber, would I be struggling with the issue of having both De Bruyne and Gerrard coexisting?
Unfortunately, the British team doesn't have a playmaker midfielder like that!

His gaze swept over Scholes on the bench, he sighed, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Ginger Head was clearly not his ideal choice either. Like the other midfielders in the team, he was an attack-oriented player.

Bringing him on will only make the team's defensive lapses worse.

When the Chinese team scored, the stadium erupted in commotion, with British fans expressing their dissatisfaction that the score had been tied so quickly.

They failed to see the team's problems in midfield; they only saw that despite their hard work and numerous shots, they had only managed one goal, while the opponent scored with a simple counter-attack.

This made them feel that their team's defense was as fragile as paper!
[Does Ferdinand even know how to play football? He can't even stop a former Manchester United player like Dong Fangzhuo. He should just retire; why is he still playing?]

Why is this guy so dominant for Manchester United, but always falls apart for the national team?!

Could it be that the national team isn't paying him, so he's not putting in the effort?

Players who lack a sense of national honor should be completely expelled from the national team!

Faced with a torrent of criticism from fans, Ferdinand felt more wronged than Dou E (a legendary figure known for her tragic fate).

That play wasn't his fault at all; Terry went up to intercept, and he was the only one in the penalty area.

He had to keep an eye on Gao Lin and also be wary of Dong Fangzhuo, so he naturally had to compromise on his position. As a result, because he was a little too far away, he failed to keep an eye on Dong Fangzhuo.

Since the player he was marking scored the goal, it seems like he bears the most responsibility.

But in reality, the midfielders and his partner Terry bore more responsibility for the goal conceded just now than he did.

He was just the last one to appear on camera, so that's all the fans saw.

After conceding a goal, the British team, like the Argentinian team, was eager to attack and regain the lead.

But the more anxious they are, the more likely they are to make mistakes.

Taking advantage of the opponent's focus on attack and their neglect of defense in the backcourt, the Chinese team launched several counterattacks.

Although these counter-attacks failed to result in a goal, they certainly gave the British fans watching the game a real scare!
Seeing that things were going badly, Capello quickly called a halt to the team's attack.

Although their attack looked impressive, it was all bark and no bite, and the actual threat was not even as great as the Chinese team's counterattack.

If this continues, the next goal might still be scored by the Chinese team.

Only now did he finally understand why the Argentine team was surprisingly held to a draw by the Chinese team.

Although the Chinese team's overall strength is significantly inferior to that of top teams like these, their dominant midfield ensures that the Chinese team's counter-attacking threat remains constant.

They cannot confidently commit all their forces to an attack; they must always be wary of the enemy's counterattack.

What worries Capello even more is that the Chinese team is not fielding a speed-type striker.

If the opposing team brings on a fast winger in the second half, their counter-attacks will likely become even more terrifying!

Thinking about this, a strange idea came to his mind:

Will they lose to the Chinese team? (End of Chapter)