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

Chapter 403 Group Stage Round 2, First Match Against an African Team!
On June 21, there were only two days left until the second round of Group F matches between China and Senegal.

The Chinese team players traveled 1000 kilometers from Moscow to Rostov, the city where their second match was being held.

The plane landed at 3 p.m. As soon as he got off the plane, Tang Ye pulled up his T-shirt and fanned his stomach.

"Holy crap, this must be 30 degrees Celsius! How can we even play football here?"

When we played Germany, the stadium temperature was only around 17 or 18 degrees Celsius, which was a comfortable temperature.

But this one won't work today.

"I heard it on the plane just now, it sounded like 34 degrees Celsius."

"No exaggeration, I feel like it's almost 40 degrees Celsius."

Tang Ye continued to fan himself with his clothes.

"Um...maybe it's because I was standing in the sun?"

"The problem is, we're standing in the sun when we play, aren't we?"

Tang Ye hung his head.

Based on his experience, if he were to play football at this temperature, he would definitely sweat a lot and be very thirsty.

It's like I haven't had water for hours!

If that's the case, then the match against Senegal will be very difficult.

If the water inside GGBond's body evaporates halfway through the kick, wouldn't he become a dried-up corpse?
This is a terrifying thing!
……

Dongqiudi Match Preview: Group F Round 2 China vs. Senegal, can the dark horse Chinese national team create another miracle?
In two days, the Chinese national football team will face their second opponent in this World Cup.

The outstanding physical attributes of Senegalese players have always been a concern for Chinese fans.

Senegal easily defeated Sweden in the first round!

As is customary, CCTV5 aired a special program before the match, featuring renowned commentator Zhang Lu providing tactical analysis.

According to Zhang Lu, Senegal's greatest strength lies in their tough wing play and set-piece attacking ability, which is why they were able to defeat Sweden and will also be a guarantee for them when facing China.

"But there's a problem..."

"If Senegal has a sophisticated passing and control system, that would be good, as the Chinese team could make targeted tactical adjustments to limit the Senegalese players."

"However, Senegal is not a refined team. Their exceptional speed and strength make physical differences the most difficult to overcome in football."

The logic is clear: even if the Chinese team comes up with a better tactic, Senegal's 11 players will always have an advantage in speed and strength.

Many fans noticed during the previous warm-up match against France that the Chinese team's defenders, Mbappe and Dembele, were basically helpless.

Perhaps only the Moscow police can stop these two French strikers.

In martial arts, speed is the ultimate weapon!
……

In Manchester, England, Sky Sports interviewed Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Because Ten Hag is Dutch, the reporter wanted to ask him about his thoughts on the Netherlands national team failing to qualify for the World Cup finals.

"Of course, I'm disappointed, but there's nothing we can do about it. Our performance in the European Championship qualifiers was just too poor, and even some of Van Dijk's excellent players couldn't make it to Russia."

Ten Hach looked regretful.

Although he is temporarily unable to enter the Netherlands, the Manchester United manager's affection for his birth country is genuine.

Suddenly remembering something, Ten Hach added.

"If the Netherlands had a Tom, I think qualifying for the World Cup finals wouldn't be a problem. Well... I even think the knockout stages would be fine. I wouldn't say a top-class midfielder can completely transform a team, but that's the reality."

Well!
The reporter was somewhat surprised.

He originally intended to ask Tom about the Chinese team later, but Ten Hag directly linked Tom with the Netherlands.

"The Dutch Football Association should have pushed for Tom's naturalization when he was still at Utrecht, but it's too late now."

Ten Hach spread his hands.

"You mentioned Tom, so could you comment on Tom's performance in the last match between China and Germany?"

"As expected, yes, as expected. Everyone thought the German team was very strong, but that's a mistake. No team can dominate a competition forever. I said that once last season in the Premier League."

"Tom performed exceptionally well, just as I expected, but..."

Ten Hach then changed the subject.

Just when the reporter thought the Manchester United manager was about to point out Tang Ye's problems, Ten Hag suddenly brought up Lippi.

"I think protecting a 19-year-old player is the top priority. You can't sacrifice a player with a bright future just for the sake of the team's victory."

Ten Hag suddenly looked at the camera: "Someone is coaching Tom the wrong way, but I won't say who."

……

Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) is abuzz with discussion: Ten Hag seems to be subtly criticizing Lippi, questioning where Marcello's tactics went wrong, given his flawed coaching style and inappropriate playing time.

Ten Hag made a veiled criticism of Lippi, and shortly after the news broke, the well-known data website Thescored published a lengthy article.

In this lengthy article, the website compiled data on all of Tang Ye's starting appearances in the league during the 2015-2016 and 2017-2018 seasons, excluding data from a few substitute appearances.

2015-16 season (Utrecht): Average playing time 82 minutes. (9th in the Eredivisie)

2017-18 season (Manchester United): Average playing time 88 minutes. (1st in the Premier League)

A Sky Sports employee leaked information that Ten Hag wanted Sky Sports to retract his interview video, but Sky Sports refused, citing contractual obligations.

Ten Hach was wise throughout his life, but he never expected to throw himself into a boomerang at this moment.

The target is Marcello Lippi.

But it actually hit Eric Ten Hach!
……

Top post on Dongqiudi: England thrashed Panama 6-1, Kane scored a hat-trick, and Rashford came off the bench to score.

The front page headline of Deutsche Encke is: The German machine restarts, Germany defeats Sweden 3-1 to secure their first victory in the Russian World Cup!
Attached is the standings for Group F of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

1. Germany, 3 points.

2. China, 3 points. (One round less played)
3. Senegal, 3 points. (They have played one game less)
4. Sweden, 0 points.

After losing to China, the German players quickly adjusted their form and ultimately overtook China by one goal difference, jumping from third-to-last place to first in the group.

Of course, this ranking is not stable.

After the match between China and Senegal, Germany's ranking will drop to second or third.

Then the problem is coming.

Who will be the winner of Group F after the second round?

……

The day of the match arrived, outside the Rostov Stadium.

There were three types of people at the scene, but these three types of people were not distinguished by race.

The first type of people are normal people, wearing normal clothes and normal pants, including normal Chinese fans and normal Senegalese fans.

The second and third types of people are not normal people.

The second type of people are Chinese fans wearing GGBond suits or masks; they are loyal supporters of the Chinese team.

The third type of person was a local fan in Rostov who wore a Stalin mask.

They were originally neutral fans, but after the match between China and Germany, all of these neutral fans joined the Chinese team's camp.

The French and Chinese teams are good friends because Mbappe, Dembele, and Tang Ye have a good relationship.

The Russian and Chinese teams have a good relationship because Tang Ye was the second strongman after Stalin to prevent Germany from winning in Moscow.

"GGBond's passion flows in our hearts!"

"Hurrah! Stalin, Hurrah!"

"Do it in the GG Bond fairy tale..."

"Hurrah! Stalin!"

Russian fans, shirtless, pounded on the Chinese team's bus, chanting, "China! Go China!"

Stalin's emergence awakened the fighting instincts inherent in the Russian people!
"..."

"Forehead……"

On the bus, Tang Ye took off his headphones.

The chaotic noise outside left him somewhat bewildered.

"Just relax."

Lippi's voice came from the front: "You are not Stalin."

"..."

“Mr. Marcello, I know this, you don’t need to emphasize it…”

The bus arrived quickly, and Tang Ye and his teammates exchanged fist bumps before slowly getting off.

Chinese and Russian fans pulled out all sorts of strange things for Tang Ye to sign, but because of his agent Boll's specific instructions, Tang Ye only chose to sign jerseys and photos.

Thank you, thank you.

"Thank you, okay?"

Tang Ye had just written a surname on the photo when he suddenly realized something was wrong and took the photo back.

Upon closer inspection, the black-and-white photograph shows a group of soldiers, seemingly from nowhere, ascending the Reichstag building in Berlin and raising their own flag.

"..."

Tang Ye looked up at the Russian in front of him. The two stared at each other, and then the Russian fan grinned at Tang Ye.

"What are you laughing at, damn it!"

Tang Ye put the photo in his pocket: "I'm confiscating this photo."

Feeling that what he was doing wasn't quite right, Tang Ye took out a small stack of 5000 rubles from his backpack: "Buddy, I can't give you this photo, I'll buy it from you."

Seeing the disappointment of the Russian fans in front of him, Tang Ye sighed and reached into his hand to pull out a stack of 5000 rubles.

Feeling it still wasn't enough, Tang Ye pulled money out of Zhang Yuning and Wei Shihao's bags, stuffing it full into the Russian man's hand: "I'll buy this photo from you, I'll buy it from you. Really, brother, please, sell it to me."

"what happened?"

As they entered the stadium, Zhang Yuning looked at Tang Ye with a puzzled expression. The latter then took out the photo he had just bought from his pocket.

"Ha ha!"

"Don't laugh, don't laugh, or I'll die on the spot."

Boll had emphasized this point to himself many times, and the national team leader had also said so; otherwise, Tang Ye wouldn't have spent money to buy this autographed photo.

The photo is correct, the signature is correct, but the photo and signature don't match, and that's the problem.

After looking left and right to make sure no one except his teammates had seen it, Tang Ye secretly slipped into the restroom and successfully disposed of the autographed photo.

"I'll pay you back when I get home tonight."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Tang, you must take good care of yourself." With the Senegalese national football team about to arrive in front of him and Russian fans with ulterior motives beside him, Tang Ye was under a lot of pressure.

Putting the autographed photo aside for the moment, Tang Ye sat in his seat in the locker room and began to recall the characteristics of the Senegalese players, then simulated the match situation.

Lippi and Madaloni were doing tactical analysis.

3 hours later.

The players and coaches gathered together. Feng Xiaoting prepared to speak, while Tang Ye made eye contact with each of his teammates in turn.

There's nothing more to say.

"3, 2, 1!"

"China!"

"come on!!!"

……

“FIFA World Cup 2018…”

"This is the 2018 FIFA World Cup..."

The match was being introduced in various languages ​​on the field, and then the screen switched to a different screen, and the stands suddenly became lively.

In the shot, Tang Ye leans against the wall of the corridor, looking up at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

To be honest, based on Tang Ye's analysis of both teams' players, they have a high probability of not winning this match.

However, Tang Ye wouldn't tell his teammates about this.

Let's at least try it first!
Wu Lei walked over, and Tang Ye gave him a fist bump: "Brother Lei, remember, I'll be right behind you."

"I will never forget this."

Wu Lei reached out and patted Tang Ye's arm again.

……

"China Media Group, China Media Group! This is a live broadcast of the 2018 FIFA World Cup group stage matches in Russia..."

"As you can see, both teams' players are now in position."

"Now let's introduce the starting lineups for both teams, starting with the home team, China!"

"Then it's the away team, Senegal!"

Senegal (4-1-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Ndiaye

Defenders: Sabaly, Koulibaly, Salif Sané, Wague

Midfielders: Mane, Badu Ndiaye, Gueye, Alfred Ndiaye, Sarr

Forward: Niang

Head Coach: Cissé
Just as Lippi predicted, Senegal played a relatively uncommon 4-1-4-1 formation today, which is quite difficult for the Chinese team to deal with.

Then there's the Chinese team, who used basically the same formation as in the last match.

4231, but it seems that because of the Bible's influence, Lippi moved Tang Ye's position up quite a bit.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Beep!!!"

“The game begins!”

……

“China!”

Boom!

“China!”

Boom!

The match against Germany earned the Chinese team many foreign fans, and today's match also saw many fans from other countries supporting the Chinese team.

Tickets for this game were a bit easier to get, so there were about 2 Chinese people at the stadium.

Including 2 neutral fans and 1 Chinese fans from other countries, there are fewer than 3000 Senegalese fans left.

This match can almost be considered China's home game.

They have the advantage in terms of momentum, but the fans are still under a lot of pressure.

The reason is simple: having a small number of fans does not mean that Senegal is a weak team.

On the contrary, after Germany's poor performance, Senegal is very likely to be the strongest team in Group F!

"Come on, come on, get past him!"

"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"One-on-one!"

Wu Lei received the ball on the wing and immediately began to direct the play.

The fans' comments were a bit nonsensical, but Wu Lei didn't listen to their advice and instead remained calm.

Tang Ye and Zhang Yuning cut in front of them at an angle!

This is an opportunity!

Wu Lei made a through pass forward, accurately finding Zhang Yuning, who then flicked the ball with his heel as instructed by Tang Ye.

Tang Ye has the ball now!

Wow!!!

Whenever Tang Ye gets the ball in the attacking third, the fans in the stands will shout, and this time was no exception.

Dribble forward with the outside of your foot!
Tang Ye controlled the situation in the attacking third, applying pressure to Senegal's defense based on his understanding of the game.

"Let's go!"

Zhang Yuning, move forward!
Tang Ye executed a one-two pass, easily evading the Senegalese attacking midfielder's defense.

"Go up!"

The goalkeeper's adrenaline surged, and the Senegalese defensive midfielder and center-back came out together, trying to surround Tang Ye.

Take a look out of the corner of my eye.

If your teammates aren't in the right positions, then you'll have to do it yourself.

Get closer first!

then……

Swish!

Tang Ye tossed out the fried meatballs and tried to walk between the two defenders.

The Senegalese player was clever; he immediately closed the goal, trapping Tang Ye in the middle.

China has lost possession of the ball!

"Depend on!"

Tang Ye raised his hands to cover his head, somewhat regretting his actions.

That was too reckless!

There was no time to think about anything else. After calling out to his teammates, Tang Ye quickly began to retreat to defend.

Senegal launched a quick counter-attack, with Koulibaly sending a long ball forward, which Ndiaye then controlled.

"Ndiaye's first touch wasn't great, but he ran into space, so he had plenty of room to adjust!"

"Let's take a look..."

"Hey, give it to Mane up there!"

After getting the ball, Mane accelerated forward and ran alongside Zhang Linpeng.

Zhang Linpeng applied a protective sticker!
After trying to keep up, Zhang Linpeng realized he couldn't keep up and prepared to reach out and pull her.

Mane was brought down, but before falling, he passed the ball to center forward Niang, who had made a diagonal run to the left byline.

The referee signaled that the attack had the advantage!

"Follow them! Follow them!"

Zhang Linpeng abandoned Mane to go find Niang, while Tang Ye was on his way at breakneck speed.

Contrary to some expectations, Senegal's playing style is rather cautious.
Send it back first!
then……

Snapped!
A 45-degree cross directly into the penalty area!

Mane!

Jump up!
Mane has great speed and impact, but he is indeed a bit short. Mei Fang cleared the ball away first.

"call……"

Relieved, Zhang Xizhe, having received the clearance, quickly kicked the ball to the wing.

Dongqiudi live match report: In the 12th minute, Ndiaye took a long-range shot, but it was too straight and was caught by Zeng Cheng.

The fans were on edge, and the clock ticked into the 18th minute.

China: 30%.

Senegal: 70%.

Compared to Senegal, the Chinese team's possession rate was indeed somewhat low.

It was even lower than when they played against Germany.

Of course, there was nothing that could be done about it. Lippi devised a rather special tactic for the team in this match: to play defensively at the beginning of the game.

Let Tang Ye figure out Senegal's rhythm and characteristics, and then the Chinese team can start a large-scale attack.

"The Chinese team needs to find a way to get Tang Ye and Zhang Yuning to touch the ball more often."

Feng Xiaoting made a low, straight pass forward.

However, the pass was flawed, and the Senegalese player got to the ball before Tang Ye could reach it.

Depend on!
My heart suddenly jumped into my throat.

Tang Ye's subconscious told him that something might be wrong with the team.

……

(End of this chapter)