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Chapter 283 Haste makes waste
After the match against East London United, it will be the international break.

For Tyne's team, the international break is also a source of frustration.

They didn't have this problem before, because they had few national team players and the team's performance was not good, so the impact of the FIFA virus was negligible.

But it's different now.

Tain is ranked first in the league and also first in their Champions League group.

The impact of the FIFA virus will then become apparent.

If a key player gets injured while playing for the national team, that would be a real problem.

Therefore, before the national team match day, the club negotiated with the Chinese Football Association, hoping that the Chinese team could give Wang Lie, the team's main player, more rest time and arrange for him to play less.

This request sounds absurd—why should the national team listen to the demands of your club?
But the Chinese team actually listened.

They agreed to the request from the Tyne club and would not allow Wang Lie to play in both matches.

The reason the national team is so accommodating is, of course, because the Chinese team has already qualified for the World Cup and doesn't have to participate in the playoffs like other teams.

During the previous international break, the main stage of the Asian qualifiers concluded, with the Chinese team topping their group with nine wins and one loss, accumulating 27 points and easily advancing to the World Cup finals.

During this national team match day, the Chinese team arranged two friendly matches.

Since it was a friendly match with no performance requirements, the Taien Club naturally hoped that the Chinese team would "go easy" and give Wang Lie a chance to rest.

In fact, McNeil's initial idea was that the Chinese team should not have called up Wang Lie at all.

Why would it be necessary for Wang Lie to fly all the way back to play two unimportant warm-up matches?
However, from the perspective of He Zhenyong, the head coach of the Chinese team, he would not consider these two warm-up matches to be unimportant.

China's World Cup preparations began at this time. The two warm-up matches were also part of the preparations, and the main purpose of these matches was to test the team's integration with the new tactics.

If Wang Lie doesn't return, it's like the Chinese team is missing its "key player".

The process of integrating new tactics will naturally be significantly hampered.

At the same time, Wang Lie's return also has a certain symbolic meaning, which shows the importance attached to the warm-up match - even Wang Lie has returned, so what reason do others have not to attach importance to or care about it just because it is a warm-up match?
Therefore, Wang Lie may not play the full match, but he must be in the national team.

He is like a pillar of strength; as long as he is there, even if he doesn't play, he can still play a leading and exemplary role.

Since the Chinese national team insists on calling up Wang Lie, the only things that Taien Club can do are to negotiate with the national team to prevent Wang Lie from playing the full match, and to provide the best logistical support to minimize Wang Lie's fatigue during his travels and reduce the risk of injury.

Therefore, Wang Lie returned to the national team for the competition this time, and again took a chartered plane provided by the club.

Meanwhile, Chi Zhen, Feng Qiyuan, and Yue Hang, who also play football in England, were able to benefit from the situation and hitch a ride on Wang's private jet.

Once again, Wang Lie extended the invitation to them. After playing their respective club matches, they came to Newcastle to meet Wang Lie, and then took a private plane directly from Newcastle back to China.

Upon arrival in China, they were still picked up by a dedicated business vehicle and taken to the hotel where the national team was staying.

The last time they did this, it sparked a lot of online debate about whether it was appropriate.

But it was quickly explained.

So this time, no one questioned the national team players' flaunting of wealth.

It's clearly a Middle Eastern tycoon showing off his wealth. What's wrong with a rich dog showing off his wealth?
Although no one questioned the national team players' flaunting of wealth, the matter still sparked discussion online.

However, this discussion mainly focused on the fact that Wang Lie had invited several national team players to ride on the private jet provided by the club.

The previous incident was thought to be a coincidence, but now Wang Lie has arranged for his national team teammates to ride on his private jet twice in a row, as if he intends to make it a regular practice.

Many people have noticed the changes in Wang Lie, which seem to indicate that he is different from before.

Previously, Wang Lie's relationship with all the players in the national team was simply a "working relationship"—they only got together to train and compete for the honor of the national team, and he didn't have any particularly good personal relationships with any of the national team players.

Even if someone idolizes him, it's only a one-sided relationship, not a two-way one.

Sometimes, it even makes people feel that Wang Lie is somewhat indifferent to his national team teammates.

Now, Wang Lie is actually sharing the private jet service provided by the club with his national team teammates...

This is something I've never seen before!

In a short time, many videos and articles appeared online analyzing why Wang Lie did what he did.

Some people also take advantage of this to quickly obtain a number.

The internet is buzzing with excitement.

The national team, however, remained relatively calm.

He Zhenyong's insistence on recalling Wang Lie achieved the desired effect.

Every player who returned to the national team saw Wang Lie, and even though he didn't say anything or make any expression, they immediately felt like they were preparing for the World Cup.

Because when they see Wang Lie, they will remember his many explosive performances in the new season, and then they will think of what he said during the national team training camp before the start of the season.

No one questions his determination to lead the team to the World Cup title—whether they can actually win the World Cup is another matter, but at least when Captain Wang says he will lead them to the championship, he's not joking!
During this training camp for the Chinese team, He Zhenyong made some adjustments to the final roster.

Most of the players who participated in the previous two training camps were called up, but some were not.

Some of those not selected were injured, while others were excluded by national team coach He Zhenyong due to recent poor performance or perceived lack of fighting spirit and determination.

Twice in a row, He Zhenyong has once again demonstrated to all the national team players that being selected once does not guarantee being selected every time.

The brutal elimination process within national teams will continue until the World Cup begins.

Even after the World Cup has started, this elimination process will continue—those who perform well, train harder, and are more motivated will get starting opportunities, while those who cannot give their all, even if they were originally starters, will sit on the bench.

He Zhenyong would mention this point every time the national team held a training camp, as if afraid that they would forget it.

Both of the national team's warm-up matches were against opponents from North America:

The first opponent is Honduras, and the second is Canada.

For the current Chinese team, neither of these opponents is considered strong.

This was actually something He Zhenyong did intentionally.

In the process of a team working out new tactics, weaker opponents can help them become familiar with the tactics in actual combat.

Some people might think that the opponent is too weak to be of any practical significance.

On the contrary, in the initial stage, easier opponents help the team familiarize itself with tactics and build confidence.

If you start by arranging an evenly matched or stronger opponent, then the team won't be able to execute what they've learned in training in the match. What's the point of such a warm-up game?
He Zhenyong will only consider warm-up opponents who are evenly matched or stronger when the World Cup finals are approaching.

In the first match against Honduras, the Chinese team fielded its full starting lineup in the first half, and He Zhenyong began making substitutions after half the game.

He kept his promise and did not let Wang Lie play the full game, but substituted him during halftime.

Wang Lie scored a goal for the Chinese team in the first half.

The score at halftime was 2-0, with China leading by two goals.

After making numerous substitutions in the second half, the Chinese team's performance declined as more substitutes and rotation players came on.

This allowed Honduras to seize the opportunity and pull one back.

The final score was 2-1, with the Chinese team winning.

In the second friendly match, Wang Lie was not included in the starting lineup and remained on the bench until the 67th minute before being substituted on.

Just after coming on, Wang Lie took a shot from outside the penalty area. Although it didn't hit the target, it excited the commentators and fans.

They believe that Wang Lie will soon extend his scoring streak across all competitions with a goal.

League, Champions League, national team... Wang Lie has scored in all 21 previous competitions. If he scores in this match as well, this record will be extended to 22 matches.

Actually, this record was set by Wang Lie; everyone was just very interested to see how many games he could extend the record to.

He has already achieved something unprecedented. As for whether there will be anyone who surpasses him, that depends on when Wang Lie stops.

From April 28th of this year, starting with the 33rd round of last season's league, until October 16th, a total of 171 days.

Maintaining excellent form and goal-scoring touch over such a long period is extremely difficult.

Form is always fluctuating, and being able to score in five or six consecutive games is already a very top-level performance.

Scoring in 21 consecutive matches requires not only top-level skill but also an exceptional amount of luck.

League matches, national team matches, Champions League matches, League Cup matches—different opponents, different scenarios—the only constant is that Wang Lie always manages to score.

The stability of this state is truly terrifying, utterly frightening.

At first, no one took it seriously, thinking that given Wang Lie's form, it was normal for him to score consecutive goals.

But as he scored in more and more consecutive matches, it became increasingly noticeable.

Even knowing that Wang Lie wouldn't be starting in this match against Canada, everyone was hoping he could continue his record.

After all, Wang Lie had scored after coming on as a substitute before, so not starting wasn't a big problem.

Perhaps Wang Lie thought so too, which is why he took a long-range shot as soon as he came on the field.

Knock on the mountain and shake the tiger!

※※※

"Liu Jinxuan forces his way to the byline...and crosses! Wang Lie—oh no!!!"

Wang Lie forcefully contested a header over the Canadian defender.

He managed to get to the landing point and head the ball.

However, with two defenders in between, it was impossible to accurately reach the target position.

So he headed the ball high over the crossbar... After completing the header, Wang Lie roared upon seeing the result, looking both regretful and angry.

Not only him, but also the Chinese fans in the stands let out huge sighs of regret and resentment.

This is because, like Wang Lie, they all knew this was their last chance.

Sure enough, right after the ball went out of bounds, the referee blew his whistle—not once, but three times!

"Match over... We defeated Canada 3-1... Wang Lie ultimately failed to score... His streak of consecutive goals in all competitions has ended at twenty-one. Of course, this is still a remarkable record, after all, besides Wang Lie, the closest player in football history to him is Arthur Eloun, whose consecutive goal-scoring streak in all competitions was a mere eleven..."

Although commentator Luo Jin said this, his tone showed no excitement whatsoever for Wang Lie creating a "remarkable record".

All that remains is a deep sense of regret.

The fans in the stands remained silent, and the Chinese players on the field did not celebrate happily after winning the game; instead, they appeared disappointed and depressed.

It's as if they were the ones who actually lost the game...

This result was indeed far beyond their expectations, which is why everyone behaved this way.

Not just in this match, but before each game, Chinese media and fans didn't deliberately mention the record. On one hand, they feared that saying certain things would backfire—the so-called "setting a flag" (or "making a promise"). On the other hand, everyone felt that given Wang Lie's form, scoring in 21 consecutive matches across all competitions wasn't particularly exaggerated; it was commonplace. The hope was that Wang Lie could break this record to an even higher level.

The national team players must have thought the same way, because before Wang Lie came on, the score was 3-1, with China leading Canada, and the outcome was no longer in doubt.

The only remaining significance of this match is to allow Wang Lie to continue his record.

So after he came on, everyone was creating opportunities for Wang Lie.

But I still didn't expect the record to end so suddenly, and against an opponent like Canada, in a friendly match...

Now the friendly match has turned into a game that ruins friendships!

Many people felt as if a breath was stuck in their chest, unable to escape.

※※※

When he heard the final whistle, Wang Lie was completely stunned.

He then realized that the game was indeed over and he had failed to score.

This is the first time since he started playing exceptionally well that he has been so determined to score a goal but has failed to do so.

He even felt a sense of unreality because of it.

Why the obsession with scoring goals?
It's definitely not, as the outside world thinks, that he wanted to continue his record of scoring in consecutive competitions.

In fact, he hadn't thought about that at all before the match.

He's obsessed with scoring goals because he's just one goal away from making his body a year younger—since scoring two goals in the first round of the league, lowering his physical age to thirty-two, he has already scored twenty goals in all competitions. According to the Fibonacci sequence, he only needs to score twenty-one goals to become young again.

This is something he cares about even more than the record.

He wanted to get it done during the game.

Although the head coach assigned him to come on as a substitute in this match, he didn't object. He felt that with his ability, scoring a goal against Canada would be a piece of cake.

After coming on, he actively looked for scoring opportunities and kept shooting.

However, after failing to hit the target with his first three shots, Wang Lie realized that he wasn't feeling well in front of goal today.

But he didn't give up; instead, he continued to seize every opportunity to shoot.

He plans to use a high number of shots on goal in exchange for one goal.

But he didn't succeed.

It was as if some force was working against him.

The more he wanted to score, the less likely he was to succeed.

Later on, he even fell into a state of emotional struggle against this force, feeling anxious, angry, and resentful.

He only had eyes for the opponent's goal, and frequently raised his hand to ask for the ball.

Once the ball enters his shooting range, it basically has only one destination – heading towards the opponent's goal.

But he still didn't score...

Until he heard three whistles.

Just like the tides on the Qiantang River, it jolted him awake from a deep dream.

Looking back now, I realize I was completely out of my mind, disregarding everything else.

He was probably thinking, "It's just one ball, surely I can score!", but he really couldn't.

Once he realized what was happening, Wang Lie put his hands on his hips, stood there, and gently shook his head.

Haste makes waste...

Coming out of his trance, Wang Lie finally remembered the things he had been recording.

His record of scoring consecutive goals in all competitions was set at 21 games.

However, he was much calmer now; he only felt some regret, but no anger or resentment.

He looked around and saw the indignant expressions on the faces of most of his teammates, especially Liu Jinxuan, who had been substituted on alongside him. The boy was lying on the ground, covering his face with his hands, as if he were the one who had missed the goal...

So Wang Lie went up to him and comforted him.

"Get up, Koyanagi."

Upon hearing Wang Lie's voice, Liu Jinxuan released his hands and saw Captain Wang standing beside him, looking down at him.

Because the stadium lights were right above him, he couldn't see Wang's expression clearly in the backlight, nor could he discern anything special in his voice. So he quickly sat up and apologized to Wang:

"I'm sorry, Captain Wang, I'm so sorry..."

Wang Lie shook his head: "What do you have to do to wrong me?"

"I passed the ball too hastily just now, and I didn't have the precision to make the pass..."

He was referring to the final attack of the match, where he passed the ball towards the goal from just outside the byline, but it ended up in the defensive zone of two Canadian players.

Wang Lie replied, "Your pass was fine—otherwise it would have gone out of bounds."

“I still have one penalty kick I didn’t win…” Liu Jinxuan stood up and said in a muffled voice.

This time he was referring to the first minute of stoppage time, when he dribbled into the penalty area, and after clearing the ball from the Canadian defender, he suddenly fell to the ground.

At that moment, all the Chinese fans in the stadium were chanting "penalty!" Liu Jinxuan also screamed and lay on the ground, begging the referee for a penalty.

He didn't get the penalty, but he did get himself a yellow card – the referee thought he had dived.

The decision drew deafening boos from the crowd.

However, the replay footage from the VAR video referee clearly shows that Liu Jinxuan did indeed fake a fall—the other player pulled back their foot, but Liu Jinxuan deliberately stuck his foot up on it.

Wang Lie slapped him hard on the back: "You faked that fall!"

Liu Jinxuan shrank back, his body hunched, after being slapped: "But Captain Wang, your record is gone just like that..."

Wang Lie laughed and said, "So what if it's gone? What's the big deal?"

Now that he was standing up, Liu Jinxuan could see the expression on Captain Wang's face clearly—he had been laughing when he spoke, and his expression was indeed one of laughter!

Seeing how relaxed Captain Wang looked, Liu Jinxuan asked in confusion, "Captain Wang, don't you feel regretful and sorry? You clearly tried so hard in the game, desperately trying to score..."

He was puzzled because the Wang team was clearly playing so hard in the game, constantly trying to shoot and not letting go of any opportunity.

These things cannot be faked.

But now he can speak to himself with a smile and such ease.

So, is Captain Wang just pretending to be relaxed to comfort himself?
Wang Lie shook his head: "To say that I have no regrets or pity would be a lie. It is indeed a pity that it is gone, but it's only a little bit right after it ends, and then it's over."

He knew Liu Jinxuan was referring to the record, but what he really cared about was that scoring another goal would make him a year younger. However, he couldn't tell outsiders about this, so he could only go along with what Liu Jinxuan meant.

"Besides, this record is already mine, and it will still be mine even if it ends here."

Liu Jinxuan muttered, "That's true, but who wouldn't want it to be as long as possible?"

Wang Lie laughed: "The longer the better, but when will it end? It has to end eventually, it's not like we're Louis XVI."

Liu Jinxuan didn't react for a moment:
Louis XVI?

What Louis XVI?
We're talking about records, what does that have to do with Louis XVI?
But he quickly realized: This sounds like an ancient, lame joke...

Captain Wang actually told me a lame joke?

Does this mean that Captain Wang really doesn't care about this record being broken?!

When Liu Jinxuan came to her senses and looked up at Captain Wang again, she found that the latter had already walked far away.

He greeted his teammates along the way, patting one on the shoulder and patting another on the head...

He even went and chatted with the opposing players for a bit.

What to talk about?
Did his record really end with a North American team that was virtually unknown in the football world?
Liu Jinxuan couldn't figure out what Captain Wang was thinking, nor did he know if Captain Wang was pretending to be relaxed in order to lessen the guilt of his teammates.

But he was not comforted by this.

He had secretly resolved that next time Captain Wang needed him, he would never let Captain Wang down again, no matter what!

(End of this chapter)