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Chapter 240 Things Are Getting Better
"...Unlike the last game, we didn't take the lead after just six or seven minutes..."

On the sidelines, assistant coach Cai Bokang sighed.

He successfully made head coach He Zhenyong, who was standing next to him, laugh.

The latter covered her mouth and said to him, "You're dreaming!"

Cai Bokang laughed as well: "Your appetite has been whetted..."

Actually, they were just joking.

Cai Bokang certainly knew that the Chinese team could not score within the first ten minutes of every game.

The goal they scored at the start of the last match against Iran wasn't actually requested by their coaching staff; it was accidental, a kind of unexpected, albeit a good one.

He just wanted to say that Australia played well at the start of the game.

The match between China and Australia has been going on for thirteen minutes, and the score is still 0-0.

But Australia had the upper hand in the game.

Australia certainly has more reason to fight hard.

With Australia performing well, the Chinese team also played very well.

Facing an aggressive home team, the Chinese team played with composure and experience.

They remained calm and didn't give Australia much of a chance.

Australia dominated possession, but had very few chances to actually threaten the Chinese goal.

Of course, the match only lasted for a dozen minutes, so it doesn't prove anything yet.

But even what they showed in those ten-odd minutes was enough to make the Chinese team's coaches feel gratified.

At the very least, this shows that the Chinese team players did not relax after qualifying early.

Because if they only appear to be training seriously on the surface, but are actually indifferent in their hearts, they will be exposed as soon as they get to the real competition.

It's impossible for them to remain so composed when facing an aggressive home team.

The passing, positioning, and receiving were all well-organized, demonstrating the skills learned in training.

Neither Cai Bokang nor He Zhenyong cared much about the outcome of this match.

What they value more is how much quality performance the Chinese players can demonstrate during this match.

Because Wang Lie clearly stated that the goal for next year's World Cup is to win the championship, it is equivalent to greatly advancing the preparation time for the Chinese team.

In the past, after qualifying for the World Cup, players would have a period of relaxation. From coaches to players, they would need to go through warm-up matches to find and adjust their form and experiment with tactics.

But this time is different. From now on, the Chinese team has officially entered the World Cup preparation phase.

He Zhenyong hopes to extend the feeling everyone had during the World Cup qualifiers directly into the World Cup finals through match after match.

※※※

The Chinese team played very steadily, which made Cyrus Clark, sitting in front of the home team's coaching bench, frown.

Although it was only a dozen minutes, he could still tell that the Chinese team players did not show any signs of losing their will to fight.

The assistant coach was wrong.

He could only keep gesturing to his players from the sidelines, signaling them to maintain pressure and apply high pressure to the Chinese team in the midfield and forward areas.

With the cheers and encouragement of the home fans, the Chinese team might make a mistake and score the first goal.

If they can score the first goal and take the lead, the players' confidence will be greatly boosted.

In the 27th minute, Australia almost scored.

They first won a corner kick through a series of attacks.

During the corner kick, their center-back Zach Ortiz headed the ball towards the goal!
The ball had already passed Yue Hang's hand and was lobbed towards the far post.

Both the Australian fans in the stands and the Australian players in front of the bench were ready to raise their arms and cheer.

As a result, Qin An, the Chinese team's wing-back who was guarding the far post, jumped up and headed the ball off the goal line!

"Qin An! A beautiful header clearance!"

Cyrus Clark raised both hands, but seeing Qin Anmen clear the way, he put his hands back on his head: "Damn it!"

This was Australia's most threatening attack so far in the match...

After withstanding Australia's threatening attack, the Chinese team began to counterattack.

As a result, they scored on a counter-attack...

In the 30th minute, Chi Zhen received the ball outside Australia's penalty area.

Wang Lie pulled himself out of the penalty area and moved closer to Chi Zhen, making a gesture as if he wanted to cooperate with him.

Australia's defensive attention was naturally all focused on Wang Lie.

Chi Zhen also dribbled towards Wang Lie, and then just when everyone thought he was going to pass the ball to Wang Lie, his right foot suddenly flicked the ball through the gap between the two Australian defenders in front of him!
At the same time, he instantly changed direction, chasing the ball diagonally through the same gap and into the Australian penalty area!
"Great shot! Beautiful shot!"

Luo Jin cheered loudly.

The Australian fans in the stadium responded with deafening boos!

Seeing Chi Zhen dribble into the penalty area, Wang Lie immediately turned and ran towards the center.

His action caused the Australian defender next to him to hesitate briefly.

They wanted to tackle Chi Zhen, but were worried that Chi Zhen would pass the ball back to Wang Lie in the middle.

Although it was a very brief hesitation, just a moment, it was enough for Chi Zhen.

He seized the opportunity when the Australian defense didn't immediately close him down, caught up with the ball, and approached the Australian goal.

Although Wang Lie had already run towards the middle, he did not pass the ball there.

Instead, he decisively chose to shoot!
He leaned to his left and used his right foot to curl the soccer ball into an arc.

The football bypassed the Australian goalkeeper's outstretched fingers, struck the inside of the far post, and bounced into the goal!
"Great goal! Great goal! In the 31st minute, the Chinese team broke the deadlock and took the lead! 1-0!! Chi Zhen opened the scoring for the Chinese team!"

When Australian head coach Cyrus Clark saw the goal conceded, he turned around, sighed deeply, and walked back to his bench with his head down.

He had nothing to say about conceding the goal, and even when he missed the chance earlier, he had a vague feeling that wasting opportunities would be punished.

Now the punishment is here, isn't it?
When replaying the footage of Chi Zhen's goal, Zhao Chuanfeng praised him:

"Chi Zhen and Wang Lie completed a no-touch pass! The brilliance of this play lies in Chi Zhen's feigned pass to Wang Lie, but ultimately didn't... He used Wang Lie's presence to cover for his own breakthrough. I think this is the most important and noteworthy aspect of this goal..."

Luo Jin naturally knew what his old partner was talking about, because they had discussed the Chinese team's tactical switch quite a bit in private.

So now he quickly picked up the conversation and explained it to the viewers in front of the television:
"Yes. At this time last year, when Wang Lie and Chi Zhen were both on the field, both of them struggled quite a bit. Chi Zhen seemed to be holding back; whenever he had a chance, he would always think about whether he should go for Wang Lie first... This situation still existed until June this year when we played North Korea away, but in the last two games, this situation has almost disappeared. This shows that Coach He's new tactics for the national team are working!"

Zhao Chuanfeng nodded and said, "If we can really solve the problem of Wang Lie and Chi Zhen coexisting, I believe that the Chinese team will definitely give us all a surprise at next year's World Cup!"

Having already qualified for the knockout stage with one round to spare, everyone's attention has turned to next year's World Cup, and they aren't paying much attention to this match right now.

The Chinese team scored against Australia, but Luo Jin and Zhao Chuanfeng were talking about next year's World Cup, and no one thought there was anything wrong with it.

Although everyone felt that the match against Australia was insignificant after the Chinese team had already qualified for the next round.

However, if the current matches demonstrate the national team's preparations for the World Cup, then I believe no Chinese fan would object to He Zhenyong's arrangements.

The two commentators were essentially explaining things to the fans on behalf of He Zhenyong, helping to create a relatively relaxed public opinion environment for the national team.

After all, He Zhenyong is really bad at dealing with the media and online public opinion; otherwise, he wouldn't have been subjected to a lot of continuous online harassment for removing Wang Lie from the core position of the national team.

The national team is doing well now. Wang Lie has recovered his form, and Chi Zhen seems to have found his place in the new tactical system. His chemistry with Wang Lie is getting better and better, and the biggest potential problem has been eliminated. As pure supporters of Chinese football, Luo Jin and Zhao Chuanfeng certainly do not want any discordant voices to come out at this time to interfere with or ruin the Chinese team's eighth World Cup journey.

Watching Wang Lie and Chi Zhen on the screen, their arms around each other's shoulders, they turned and ran back to their own half of the court from the corner flag area.

Luo Jin and Zhao Chuanfeng exchanged a knowing smile.

From Wang Lie inviting Chi Zhen to ride on the same plane when the national team reported for duty, to this scene now, it seems that what they were worried about before... will not happen again.

※※※

After Chi Zhen helped the Chinese team take the lead, the Chinese team launched a fierce attack on the Australian goal for the remainder of the first half.

Meanwhile, Australia, playing at home, adopted a more defensive approach under the guidance of head coach Cyrus Clark.

Clark's goal is to get through the first half. Don't concede another goal in the first half.

Trailing by only one goal, they were still able to turn the game around in the second half.

Being down by two goals makes things difficult...

His decisive action saved Australia's life.

When the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, the score was temporarily set at 0-1.

Australia, playing at home, are only one goal behind.

Don't be discouraged!

As the Australian players walked off the field with their heads down, the commentators on Australian national television cheered them on.

"Your performance in the first half was actually very good, you were just a little unlucky. But as long as you keep playing like this, victory will definitely be ours! The Chinese team will definitely make adjustments at halftime, they can't possibly let so many key players play the whole game!"

He was right; He Zhenyong was indeed planning to make a substitution during halftime.

However, Wang Lie found him:

"Coach He, are you planning to substitute me at halftime?"

He Zhenyong did not admit it, but instead asked, "What are your thoughts?"

As Wang Lie and He Zhenyong walked back, Wang Lie said, "I hope you can let me play on the field a little longer."

"why?"

"We're only leading by one goal, and I don't think this score is secure..."

He Zhenyong was amused by Wang Lie's words: "The outcome of this match is not important, Wang Lie."

The Chinese team has already qualified for the next round, so the outcome of this match is irrelevant.

Wang Lie nodded: "I know. But Coach He, you don't want Australia to control the rhythm of the second half, do you?"

He Zhenyong was persuaded.

Although the purpose of the second half is to train the players, training can be effective or ineffective.

If the Chinese team is completely led by the nose by Australia in the second half and loses the initiative, this kind of training will not achieve the desired effect.

At the very least, the substitutes won't gain anything useful from this kind of game...

So He Zhenyong nodded in agreement: "Okay, then I won't substitute you at halftime. But I definitely won't let you play the full match, after all, your age is a factor. After the game, we still have to go back to Europe. If I dare to let you play the full match, I reckon Tyne Club will send a letter of protest to the Football Association... Haha!"

He was joking.

Wang Lie laughed too: "If you think I need to be replaced, then replace me."

Upon hearing Wang Lie's understanding reply, He Zhenyong sighed inwardly:
really……

※※※

When the team returned to the locker room, He Zhenyong made a substitution.

He changed three people in one go.

Current football rules allow for five substitutions per match, but only three substitution opportunities are allowed. Substitutions made at halftime do not count towards the substitution limit.

He Zhenyong only had three players at halftime, which meant he wouldn't be able to use all three substitution opportunities.

But he doesn't care.

The second half was originally intended for training purposes; all we needed to do was use all five substitutions.

Chi Zhen, Fu Xiaofeng, and Qin An were all substituted.

He kept Wang Lie's promise and kept him on the field.

When He Zhenyong didn't call out Wang Lie's name, the national team players in the locker room were somewhat surprised and all turned to look at Wang Lie.

Clearly, they hadn't expected that Wang Lie, the oldest player on the team, would have to play the second half...

He Zhenyong did not explain to everyone why he kept Wang Lie on the field, but instead took the opportunity to give the players their requirements for the second half:
"We were only leading by one goal in the first half, which will make Australia think they still have a chance. So their attack will be more intense in the second half, and the team needs to defend well while resolutely launching counter-attacks! Treat it like a World Cup match—in the World Cup, counter-attacking is a universal tactic..."

Despite the Chinese team's dominant performance in the Asian qualifiers, securing their place in the next round with a full game to spare, they still managed to qualify.

However, when it comes to the World Cup, strong teams from the Asian region may not necessarily be strong teams on the World Cup stage...

Therefore, there are many times in the World Cup when the Chinese team plays a defensive counter-attacking style.

It's perfectly reasonable to use Australia as a practice target.

※※※

The fact that Wang Lie wasn't substituted surprised even the Chinese team players, let alone the opponents...

So when the second half started and the commentators on Australian national television realized that the Chinese team had made three substitutions but hadn't taken Wang Lie off, their defense crumbled:
"What is He doing?! He's keeping the oldest player on the Chinese team on the court! Does he really think that 38-year-old Wang has unlimited stamina? I'm sure Tyne's head coach McNeil will want to kill someone when he sees this!"

Whether Tyne manager McNeil had murderous intent is debatable, but Australia's head coach Cyrus Clark certainly did...

During halftime, he encouraged his teammates, telling them that the Chinese team would make significant adjustments and that the team should seize this opportunity and launch a strong attack from the start of the second half.

As a result, he ran headfirst into a rock – Wang Lie was still on the field!

What does it mean?
It's obvious to anyone with a brain that the goal is to avoid putting too much pressure on the Chinese defense when Australia pushes forward with all its players. As long as Wang Lie is on the field, Australia will have to focus on defending him and won't be able to put all their energy into the attack, which will greatly reduce the effectiveness of their attack.

So when the Australian players on the field realized that Wang Lie hadn't left the field, they hesitated for a moment, unsure whether they should play as the coach had instructed during halftime.

They all turned their gazes toward the coaching bench.

Faced with these stares, Clark gritted his teeth and gestured to the players to "play as planned."

Now the die is cast, and there's no turning back.

Even if he wanted to make temporary adjustments, it would be too late.

Might as well take a gamble.

If they can get off to a good start in the second half and tie the score, then the negative impact of Wang Lie will be much smaller.

Clark was betting that a 38-year-old veteran wouldn't have much energy left to threaten Australia's goal after playing a series of matches.

After all, Wang Lie has not scored in this match so far, while he scored in the seventh minute of the last match against Iran.

This change might indicate that Wang Lie's physical condition is no longer sufficient to support him in scoring goals.

The reason he remains on the field may simply be to serve as a symbol, providing spiritual support to other Chinese players...

※※※

Cyrus Clark was right.

Despite the cheat code, Wang Lie's actual physical age is not thirty-eight, but thirty-two.

However, since the start of the new season, he has been competing continuously, especially this time when he returned to participate in the competition. He first flew from the westernmost part of Europe to the eastern part of the Asian continent, and then moved to Australia.

He played matches across three continents in ten days, and he gave his all in every game.

The physical exertion was indeed significant.

His physical functions have indeed become younger, but being younger does not mean that he has unlimited stamina. The body will still get tired according to the laws of physics, especially in a dense game. The stamina that is recovered cannot keep up with the energy that is consumed, which will also affect his performance on the field.

However, this impact applies to Wang Lie playing the full match, not to the fact that he couldn't run anymore after playing only half a match.

Even after the second half started, he still had fuel in his tank.

Then, in the 52nd minute, Wang Lie scored a goal.

Lu Changqing crossed the ball from the left flank, and Tan Xingchang, who came on as a substitute in the second half, attracted the attention of the Australian defenders at the near post.

This created a header opportunity for Wang Lie at the far post.

Wang Lie made a powerful overhead strike!
The football flew into Australia's goal!

2: 0!

China is leading by two goals away from home!

(End of this chapter)