Football: Starting from the 05 World Youth Championship

"We're only down by one goal, one more goal and we'll equalize!"

"Cristiano Ronaldo is a hero of our Portuguese team, and he will definitely lead the team to achieve this miracle!"

The commentators on Portuguese television went wild after Cristiano Ronaldo scored.

They stirred the emotions of the Portuguese fans with their fast-paced Latin accents and passionate words.

On the Chinese side, the two commentators were saying similar things after conceding the goal:

"Believe in Lin Feng, believe in the Chinese team!"

As the competition progressed to this stage, the focus gradually shifted to the two superstars.

After the restart, the players immediately passed the ball to Lin Feng's feet.

The Portuguese team, riding high on their morale, immediately pressed forward aggressively, applying high pressure on the Chinese team in an attempt to equalize the score as quickly as possible.

This is often the most difficult and dangerous moment for the leading side. If they fail to withstand the opponent's offensive, their lead will be quickly wiped out.

It's not uncommon for a team to concede several goals in a short period of time on the football field.

However, Lin Feng remained calm and composed in the face of Portugal's relentless pressing, managing to keep the ball firmly under his feet even when one of them tried to challenge him.

When double-teamed, he would pass the ball to his teammates to break free.

If the opponent deploys three or more players, he will stop dribbling and become a passing machine, running around to support his teammates and ensuring they can always find a safe passing lane so they are not forced into a desperate situation.

Normally, when faced with this situation, the Chinese national football team players should be scrambling to catch the ball, as if the football were burning their feet, wishing they could pass it away immediately upon receiving it, not daring to dribble it for even a second longer.

With Lin Feng drawing fire in front and helping them share the pressure, the others were not the main targets of the attack, and the pressure on them was much less.

They can not only pass and coordinate with Lin Feng to get rid of the opponent's pressing, but some of the more capable national team players, such as Zheng Zhi, even dare to seize the opportunity when the opponent gathers heavy forces to double-team Lin Feng, and take the ball forward to launch a counterattack.

Under Lin Feng's leadership, the Chinese national football team withstood the opponent's offensive wave.

From the 63rd minute to the 70th minute, a full seven minutes, the Portuguese team didn't manage a single shot on goal.

High pressing is very physically demanding, and with the initial burst of energy from the goal gradually fading, Portugal's offensive finally came to an end.

Although the Chinese team was exhausted at this point, Lin Feng immediately pushed forward with the ball after seeing the opponent's offensive slow down, and took the initiative to attack the opponent.

In the 72nd minute, after a series of passes, Lin Feng delivered a brilliant backheel pass from the edge of the penalty area, and Hao Junmin, who was making a high-speed run from the flank, had his shot saved by Eduardo at the edge of the six-yard box.

Although the ball was saved, the game had already shifted into the rhythm of the Chinese team.

In the 74th minute, Lin Feng cut past Coentrao on the right side of the penalty area and unleashed a powerful left-footed shot, but Eduardo once again made a brilliant save, diving to push the ball out of the far corner.

The corner kick was taken, and the first ball was headed away by the opponent. The Chinese team's long-range shot from outside the box hit a player inside the penalty area and bounced out, but the ball was still at the feet of the Chinese team.

Lin Feng reached out for the ball, controlled the pace, and did not rashly shoot, but patiently continued to organize the attack.

Portugal's goalkeeper is in excellent form, having made several crucial saves against China's shots, which has helped him regain his form from the first half.

The Chinese team's formation is too far forward, making them vulnerable to counter-attacks from the opponent. Therefore, they cannot blindly take shots at this time.

The best approach is to keep possession of the ball, patiently organize the attack, look for better scoring opportunities, and run down the clock.

Old Zhu clearly understood this principle as well. He used two substitutions to replace Sun Jihai, who was physically exhausted, with Zhang Linpeng, a fresh addition to the team.

In addition, he replaced Han Peng with Dong Fangzhuo in the forward position.

Although Dong Fangzhuo's heading ability is not as good as Han Peng's, he is younger and has better stamina and explosiveness.

The Chinese team is currently dominating the game, and they must continue to apply pressure to the opponent in the penalty area.

Seeing that the Chinese team had made a substitution, the Portuguese team also made a substitution.

Pepe, who had a yellow card, was substituted off, and Pedro Mendes came on as a substitute. Simão, who was in the forward position, was also replaced by Liedsen, number 9 of the Portuguese team.

Coach Carlos's intention was to strengthen the defense against Lin Feng. Because Pepe had received a yellow card, he dared not make any big moves when defending, which resulted in poor defensive effectiveness.

Now that we've brought on a player who doesn't have a yellow card and is willing to make moves, the defensive intensity will naturally increase.

The idea was good, but Mendes received a yellow card from the referee for a tackle as soon as he came on.

Well, Portugal's substitution was a waste of time.

Aside from having slightly more stamina, Mendes' impact on the field is even less than Pepe's.

The opponent's substitutions had little effect, but the Chinese team's substitutions had an unexpected success.

In the 79th minute, Lin Feng passed the ball through the middle, and substitute Dong Fangzhuo rushed into the penalty area at high speed. After controlling the ball with his chest, he volleyed it without letting it hit the ground.

The ball was very fast and the distance was very short, so Portugal's goalkeeper Eduardo had no chance to make a save.

The ball grazed the inside of the post and went into the net.

The score became 3-1, and the Chinese team extended their lead to 2 goals!
Just three minutes after China made their substitution, substitute Dong Fangzhuo scored!
Zhu Guanghu's substitution has been praised to the skies by fans!
[Old Zhu is amazing!]

[That substitution was absolutely brilliant! The effect was immediate!]

Dong Fangzhuo is awesome! Old Zhu is awesome!

[Those last ten minutes or so after the opponent scored, I was absolutely terrified! Thankfully, the Chinese team held on!]

It's been almost 80 minutes now, the other party probably can't catch up now, right?

After securing a two-goal lead again, Chinese football fans who had been on tenterhooks finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Once bitten, twice shy. This time, no one dared to pop the champagne early, even though there were only a dozen minutes left in the game!

After scoring, Dong Fangzhuo was just as excited as Hao Junmin. He took off his jersey, revealing his muscular upper body, and rushed to the sidelines to show off his physique to the camera.

These two chose to take off their shirts to celebrate; anyone who didn't know better would think the Chinese team players were exhibitionists!
"Awesome, Lao Dong!"

"That was a beautiful play!"

"That ball control, that shot—definitely at the level of the top five European leagues!"

"If I were Manchester United, I would already regret letting you go!"

After spending several years on the bench at Manchester United, Dong Fangzhuo finally faced reality and, at the urging of his agent, chose to sign with a Belgian First Division team. In hindsight, this decision has proven to be very wise.

Although the intensity and exposure of the Belgian First Division A are far less than when he was at Manchester United, he is now the team's main striker and no longer has to worry about playing time.

After getting consistent playing time, Dong Fangzhuo's performance improved rapidly, and his skills also improved significantly.

He might not have been able to execute that smooth, controlled shot so effortlessly in a match before.

"Tch, what's so great about staying at Manchester United? Isn't it better to be a local tyrant in the Belgian First Division?"

Dong Fangzhuo's words really surprised many people. In their impression, Dong Fangzhuo was a very shy, introverted person who was not good at socializing.

Why is he starting to resemble Gao Lin, becoming incredibly arrogant?
However, this is a good thing. If you want to succeed abroad, a quiet, unassuming personality is not suitable. A boss-like demeanor like Fan Zhiyi's is more likely to be popular.

Dong Fangzhuo, who took off his clothes to celebrate, undoubtedly received a yellow card.

On the sidelines, Lao Zhu, who had just high-fived his assistant coaches in celebration, laughed in exasperation upon seeing this scene:
These little rascals are such a handful! Why did they have to take their clothes off to celebrate?
I don't know how many people in China watched this game, and who knows how many of the kids were in it? Aren't you setting a bad example for children?

But Lao Zhu only complained in his heart and did not actually criticize the team members.

It's a small matter, no need to make a big deal out of it.

After this match, all the yellow cards received will be cleared, as long as you don't get another yellow card or red card and get suspended.

China's goal was truly unexpected for Portugal.

Dong Fangzhuo barely played in the national team's previous matches, which led to them not paying enough attention to him and focusing their defensive efforts mainly on players like Lin Feng, Chen Tao, Gao Lin, and Hao Junmin, who just scored.

If they had known Dong Fangzhuo had this ability, they certainly wouldn't have been so careless.

But it's too late to say anything now; Dong Fangzhuo's goal has pushed Portugal into a desperate situation.

As a result, the Portuguese players on the field became noticeably more impatient.

In the 81st and 83rd minutes, Thiago and substitute Dani were both shown yellow cards by the referee for fouls.

To prevent the situation from getting out of control, the referee noticeably tightened his grip on the penalties. However, it wasn't just the Portuguese team that was punished; the Chinese national team was also penalized – in the 84th minute, Zhang Linpeng received a yellow card for a foul while defending against Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the 85th minute, when Chinese national team goalkeeper Wang Dalei took a goal kick, he hesitated for a few seconds. The referee considered this as intentional time-wasting and awarded him a yellow gem card.

Wang Dalei felt wronged. He also used the same speed to kick off in the first half. How could he have deliberately delayed the game?

Was the referee deliberately trying to cause trouble?

The referee is the most powerful person on the field. Wang Dalei, who was being penalized, didn't dare to confront the referee and obediently kicked the ball out quickly.

The ball landed in Portugal's half, and Lin Feng, positioned himself, jumped up and passed the ball to his teammate.

The Portuguese team immediately pressed forward, but his teammates quickly passed the ball back to Lin Feng, who had run out of position.

Lin Feng didn't stay put and wait for the opponent to surround him. He walked to the sideline, pulling out the opponent's defenders, while looking for a suitable passing route to prepare to pass the ball out.

Unexpectedly, Cristiano Ronaldo himself rushed over.

He was waiting for the ball in the attacking third, but he saw his teammates being outmaneuvered by Lin Feng, unable to win the ball back no matter how hard they tried.

Realizing he couldn't wait around, Ronaldo had no choice but to come back and join the pressing himself.

The audience at the stadium and those watching on television were immediately intrigued when they saw the two facing off. They all stared intently at the court and the screen, eager to see how the duel would end!

Lin Feng acknowledged that Ronaldo has a certain defensive ability and his defensive attitude was quite positive at this time.

But diligence doesn't equate to strong defensive ability. Lin Feng didn't use many feints; a simple fritter was all it took to get past Ronaldo.

This is a common mistake made by rookies like him who don't play defense often and lack defensive experience.

They were either too focused on the ball to notice the opponent's movements.

They either focus only on the movements and fail to notice the opponent's footwork and changes in their center of gravity.

Those who can take care of all these things at the same time are definitely midfielders and defenders with a lot of defensive experience; forwards are basically unlikely to have this ability.

Ronaldo, who had been beaten, was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting to be beaten so easily.

But he didn't give up. Instead, he immediately accelerated to catch up and called on his teammates to surround him.

Lin Feng had no intention of getting entangled with Ronaldo. He quickly passed the ball to his teammates, then directed them to make runs before going to receive the ball himself.

With little time left in the match, Lin Feng decided not to continue his attack, but instead tried to use this method to waste the remaining time.

Portugal clearly saw through China's intentions, and without the coach's instruction, they all pressed forward to relentlessly attack China.

The Chinese team was equally ruthless, immediately pressing back to win the ball back as soon as they lost possession, even resorting to tactical fouls, just to prevent Portugal from launching a fast break.

The court was in chaos, with players falling to the ground and every exchange of possession inevitably accompanied by fouls.

The referee kept blowing his whistle, and even Lin Feng, who rarely gets cards, received a yellow card for a foul.

Time ticked by, and fans on both sides were in agony.

In the 87th minute, the Chinese team used their last substitution, replacing striker Gao Lin with center-back Du Wei to further strengthen their defense.

In the 88th minute, Portugal crossed from the left wing, and Ronaldo headed the ball from 14 meters inside the penalty area, but the ball grazed the right post and went wide.

A sigh came from the stands; the Portuguese fans were all incredibly disappointed that the ball hadn't gone in.

If that ball goes in, they might still have a chance to tie the score.

In the 89th minute, Danny forced a shot from the edge of the penalty area, but it was blocked by Du Wei, who had just come on as a substitute.

In the final minute of regular time, Portugal's right-back Ricardo Costa elbowed Feng Xiaoting during a challenge and was shown a straight red card by the referee.

This red card has essentially extinguished Portugal's last hope.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Cristiano Ronaldo's long-range shot went over the crossbar, and the referee blew the final whistle.

Ultimately, thanks to goals from Lin Feng, Hao Junmin, and Dong Fangzhuo, the Chinese team defeated Portugal 3-1, advancing to the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in history! (End of Chapter)