Football: I am only 16 years old, and you want me to retire and make a comeback?

Chapter 390 Why should we be afraid? We don't need to be afraid.

On his way back to the locker room, Tang Ye kept scratching his head.

Well, the initial feeling was actually quite good, but after falling behind in the score, the team's problems were magnified.

The experience and confidence that had been painstakingly built up in the first three warm-up matches were completely destroyed by a 0-3 defeat in the first half.

Tang Ye found it hard to accept this result, because in his plan, he was able to lead his national team teammates to a great performance in the World Cup.

He knows very well the strength of those European national teams. If the Chinese national team plays with the same form they showed in today's game in the World Cup, they will be completely crushed!
"Hey Tom!"

Dembele ran up from behind and put his arm around Tang Ye's shoulder.

"Ottoman!"

Tang Ye raised his hand and joked, "You've brought in too many Ottomans; we've all been overwhelmed."

"Haha, my problem, my problem, I'm not going to score in the second half, haha."

Dembele jokingly replied, "Actually, you guys played pretty well at the beginning. Your number 7, the one whose name starts with W, he's quite good, but I feel like he's not good at shooting?"

The person Dembele mentioned whose name starts with "W" is, of course, Wu Lei.

"I think so, but it's okay. I think it's alright. Lei-ge is much better than last year."

You're much better than last year.

Mbappe appeared out of nowhere and gave Tang Ye a fist bump.

Mbappe and Tang Ye have faced each other before, and because of those two matches, Villarreal lost their qualification to play in the Champions League in the 2016-17 season.

On closer reflection, if Villarreal had Tang Ye from the 16-18 season instead of the 17-17 season, then Monaco, where Mbappe plays, would probably have fallen in the Champions League qualifiers.

"Play a little more aggressively, we're not really going to score five goals against you."

Mbappe said jokingly.

"No, Kylian, Osman, I can't talk to you anymore. I need to go back and study tactics. We're too far behind now."

Thinking of something important, Tang Ye quickly ran towards the locker room.

"Haha, go for it, Tom!"

Snapped!
After closing the locker room door, Tang Ye quickly found a seat and sat down.

The atmosphere in the Chinese national team's locker room was quite good before the match started, but it's not so good now.

Everyone knew that they didn't play very well in the last 5-15 minutes of the first half.

"You all need to maintain your composure; that's the most important thing in the game."

Madaloni was not very happy; his brow was furrowed, and his tone was not good.

Lippi stood on the sidelines, leaving the task of criticizing the players to his assistant coach.

"The only good news in this match is that our strikers found their rhythm. Zhang Helei and others played very well, and our full-backs also made excellent forward runs."

"But we only lasted 30 minutes, or even less."

Madaloni looked surprised: "Just because we're temporarily behind, does that mean our previous three warm-up matches were a waste? Where are our agreed-upon tactics? Were you even thinking when you were passing and receiving the ball?"

"..."

The players remained silent.

While players like Tang Ye and Wu Lei who have played abroad are doing alright, the players in the team who grew up in China and played for other Chinese Super League teams are now somewhat bewildered.

Two wingers worth 100 million euros each, and one center forward worth 90 million euros each.

Where have Zhang Linpeng and Wang Shenchao ever played a match like this?

After shouting a few words, Madaloni stepped aside from the center and handed the time to Lippi.

Lippi wasn't very happy either, but compared to Madaloni, he was much better at controlling his emotions.

"I know you weren't comfortable playing because the gap in ability is real, and we need to accept that fact. But the gap in ability isn't the only reason we lost."

Even if the opponent is very strong, extremely strong, we still have to find a way to win.

Adjusting his glasses, Lippi continued speaking before he could finish.

"I know this is hard to accept, but the fact is, we'll be spending the entire World Cup under these circumstances."

"Our first-round opponent is Germany, who is even stronger than France. If we play like this, what will we do? Will we concede 10 goals? Or 15?"

"I'm exaggerating, I'm exaggerating, but you should understand what I mean."

Lippi briefly explained the situation and then analyzed the tactics for the second half with the players.

At this moment, he noticed Tang Ye trying to stand up and asked, "What's wrong, Tom?"

"Uh, it's nothing, it's nothing."

"It's okay, just say you have a question."

All eyes in the locker room were on Tang Ye, who seemed a little embarrassed, but eventually stood up.

"Well... I just wanted to say that we don't actually need to be afraid."

"I feel we played a bit timidly, but there was no need for that. It's mainly a warm-up match, and even if it weren't a warm-up match, we wouldn't need to be timid."

Tang Ye gestured with his hands, his movements somewhat stiff.

The main problem is that he's not good at discussing such formal tactics in a locker room setting.

"It was okay when we played Saudi Arabia, but when we played against European and South American teams, I had this feeling that you guys were playing cautiously, like you were afraid, and you didn't dare to make any moves. There was really no need for that."

Tang Ye got carried away as he talked.

"Why be afraid? Is Pogba that strong? What's so strong about Pogba? Kanté isn't that great either. Why be afraid? We'll just kick him directly. Why care who the opponent is?"

"Don't panic when you get the ball. Just do whatever you want. I'm always right here. Lei, if you want to dribble past someone, go for it. If you can't, it's okay, we'll just run back together."

Tang Ye first looked at Wu Lei, then at Zhang Yuning, and then at Zhang Xizhe.

"When I lose the ball, you all run back, but now that the roles are reversed, you're embarrassed to lose the ball. What's going on?"

Spread your hands.

"Why are you so embarrassed to let me track back? It's not like I can't run. If we lose the ball, we can run back together. We can't score if we don't attack more aggressively."

The team is always trying to create special privileges for itself, which is not something Tang Ye is happy about.

A team has 23 players, 3-5 coaches, and 8 support staff.

There are nearly 40 people in total. He is pursuing an equal status, which is what teammates should do, and it is the environment he wants to be in.

"Hiss... I know this isn't good, because I'm not the captain either."

“You said it’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Feng Xiaoting quickly interjected.

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just meant that if we want to win, we can't be afraid of those teams from Europe and South America."

"Um, I'm sorry..."

Tang Ye sat back down in his seat.

The locker room was quiet, and the Chinese national football team players looked at each other in bewilderment.

Indeed, we shouldn't be afraid.

Captain Feng Xiaoting stepped forward at this moment: "The other side has players from the top five European leagues, and we also have players from the top five European leagues. I think Tang Ye is right. We don't need to be afraid of the other side. If they score, so be it. If we don't concede goals in a warm-up match, we'll concede goals in the World Cup."

"Come here, all of you!"

Suddenly they got into the zone, and the players quickly gathered in the middle.

"3, 2, 1!"

"China!"

"Long live!"

As Tang Ye walked out of the locker room, he kept recalling what had just happened.

He didn't know if what he was doing was right or wrong, but he really needed to say what he wanted to say.

Only in this way can the team perform better.

This is what they need to do.

……

"Okay, brothers, welcome back. Although it's supposed to be halftime (15 minutes), there seems to be some issue on the Chinese side, so we've extended it to 20 minutes."

"But it's all the same, the second half is about to begin."

"Tang Ye has a verbal agreement that he must play the full 60 minutes, so brothers, don't rush to leave!"

"Let's see how the Chinese team performs when they are down by 3 goals!"

The second half has just begun, and neither side has made any substitutions yet. China's attack quickly found its footing!

Snapped!
The long through ball was passed directly to Wang Shenchao, who was making a run down the left flank.

Wang Shenchao made a cross to Zhang Yuning in the middle!

Zhang Yuning stopped the ball, turned around, and stood still.

"Just attack!"

Tang Ye shouted, and Zhang Yuning, after regaining his composure, decisively chose to shoot.

Lloris saved the ball!

"Ok, Ok!"

Tang Ye clapped and ran forward to prepare for the corner kick attack.

The Chinese team suddenly started playing very aggressively, which surprised Deschamps.

Because he really didn't expect the Asian team to launch such a fierce attack!

It's the 62nd minute of the second half!

France began making some substitutions, with Kanté and Mbappé coming off the field.

Surprisingly, Lippi chose to keep Tang Ye on the field and even increased the number of forwards.

The Chinese national football team is currently playing a 4-2-3-1 formation!

Receive a pass from your teammate!
Tang Ye, with Pogba overhead, flicked the ball forward with his heel, easily getting past the French defensive midfielder.

Then comes the attack!
Dribble the ball towards the top of the arc!

There are defenders ahead!
Seeking to coordinate with Zhang Xizhe, Tang Ye regained possession of the ball.

Pointing to the forbidden zone: "Inside!"

The through ball was delivered precisely to Zhang Yuning inside the penalty area.

A perfect opportunity!
boom!
Zhang Yuning's shot went in.

Because they were too close, Lori had absolutely no way to get there.

"The ball is in!"

"Holy crap, it's in!"

"Zhang Yuning! Zhang Yuning!"

"1-3! China has opened the scoring against France!"

Zhang Yuning's face turned red; he really wanted to see the roar from below the stage.

However, remembering that this was a warm-up match, Zhang Yuning ultimately decided against doing so.

France's goal!

He opened the scoring for the French team!
"Haha, Brother Ning!"

Tang Ye opened his arms and hugged Zhang Yuning.

Dongqiudi Live Match Report: Tang Ye's through ball assists Zhang Yuning's close-range finish in the penalty area, China pulls one back!
【Awesome! 】

[Fuck?]

Lori is still too inexperienced.

Why not promote Zhang Yuning to the main position? Gao Lin is getting old.

[King Tang easily gets past Pogba!]

After the goal, Lippi made substitutions. Tang Ye and Zheng Zhi were both substituted, while Zhang Yuning and Wu Lei remained on the field to experience the intensity of the game.

This substitution reveals a piece of information.

That is, Lippi decided to rejuvenate the national team's forward line!
A young Tang football king should be paired with a young forward line!

"Brother Hao!"

Tang Ye and Wei Shihao exchanged fist bumps, and then Tang Ye sat down on the side.

"Yu Ning is seriously awesome, damn it!"

Wei Shihao's eyes were shining.

Although it's a warm-up match, this is still the French team's goal.

This is something I can brag about for the rest of my life!

"Yeah, you're already really good, why be timid?"

Gulu gulu!

Tang Ye gulped down some water: "As long as I can shoot, a goal is bound to happen sooner or later. That's what my coach says, even though I'm not very good at shooting."

……

Dongqiudi Match Report: In a warm-up match, the Chinese national football team lost 1-3 to France. Tang Ye provided an assist, and Zhang Yuning scored, becoming the first player in the history of the Chinese national team to open the scoring against the French team.

Baidu's No. 6 trending search: China's men's football team scores a goal in a warm-up match against France.

"wowhoo!"

Tang Ye and Wu Lei returned to the locker room together and kicked the door open with a bang.

"Um, won't this cause any problems?"

Wu Lei stared wide-eyed.

He felt that Tang Ye's actions in opening the door were a bit too rough.

"That's how the locker room door opens."

Tang Ye was puzzled by Wu Lei's question and answered it as a matter of course.

Pointing to the locker room door: "We always open it this way. I've been at Manchester United for a year, and apart from Eri... apart from Ten Hag and Van der Gagh, no one has ever opened this door with their hands."

"Actually, I used to open the door with my hands, but they all used their feet. Lei-ge, don't you think it's cool to open it with your feet?"

"...Okay, fine."

If Tang Ye sees something his teammates do, he might try to learn from it.

But there's a prerequisite for learning from others: your teammates have to do something cool enough.

Rashford's donations, Ashley Young's door-kicking, and Uncle Mata's grass-eating are all very cool things, so they are all things that Tang Ye should learn from and emulate.

The Chinese national football team players boarded the team bus one after another, and Tang Ye helped Zheng Zhi pick up his hat that had fallen to the ground.

Just as Tang Ye stepped onto the bus, he was stopped by Dembele and Mbappe who were passing by in the distance.

"Hey Tom!"

See you in the knockout stage!

"Haha, even if we make it to the knockout stage, we might not even meet again, right?"

Tang Ye raised his hand, holding up his hat.

"See you in the finals!"

Dembele is probably very confident now because he has been on a winning streak in League of Legends and has gained a lot of points.

But what he didn't know was that there are significant differences between League of Legends and football!

"Ha ha!"

……

[A Look Back at the 32 Teams of the 2018 FIFA World Cup: Germany, the German Machine]

"The head coach of the German national team is Joachim Löw, the coach who led the team to victory in the 2014 Brazil World Cup!"

"The goalkeeper position is occupied by Neuer, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper who guarded the national team's goal for nine years. Also there's Ter Stegen, the Barcelona young lion, a classic case of 'why did fate create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang'!"

"In defense is Bayern's key player, Jerome Boateng, who is known as the world's best defender!"

"..."

"In midfield, Real Madrid's Toni Kroos, Arsenal's midfield maestro Mesut Özil, and Dortmund's soul Marco Reus!"

"In the forward position, veteran Thomas Müller will partner with RB Leipzig's scout Timo Werner!"

"The four-time world champion German national team, with a total squad value of 7.85 million euros, is the top favorite to win this World Cup. In their first group stage match, they will face the Chinese national team, ranked 54th by FIFA and third from the bottom in the odds of winning the World Cup!"

……

(End of this chapter)