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

Chapter 408 The World Cup Do-or-Die Battle Arrives, Namo Amitabha Buddha
The hashtags #China's World Cup Do-or-Die Match, #China's Sweden, and #China's National Football Team and Brazil easily dominated the trending topics list.

The logic is simple: if the Chinese team can draw or even defeat their opponents in the final round, they will have a chance to enter the knockout stage of this World Cup!
This will be the first time in the history of the Chinese men's national football team that they have qualified for the World Cup finals!

People's Daily -- Creating the impossible, a new chapter in the "Great Tang Dynasty"—China's team miracle reappears?
China defeated Germany 2-1 to secure their first victory in the World Cup, marking the first miracle achieved by the Chinese team.

Will a second miracle happen today?
Popular discussion on Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports forum): If the Chinese national football team advances to the knockout stage, they will face Brazil directly. (87321 comments)

【6】

Stop with all this nonsense, let's get into the knockout stage first, okay? Losing to Brazil isn't shameful anyway.

To be honest, Sweden is a tough opponent; let's focus on the group stage first.

It doesn't matter, my brother Zhengxiong said the national football team has already secured a place in the knockout stage with a loan, they're guaranteed to win.

I went to a temple to draw a fortune stick for the Chinese national football team, and it turned out to be the worst possible one. But it didn't matter; I gave the abbot 200 yuan, and it immediately turned into the best possible one.

The comments section was bustling with activity, as fans from all over the country predicted the outcome of the match in their own unique ways.

In a poll on Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform), who do you think will win the China-Sweden match?
China: 99%.

Sweden: 1%.

Wow, the Chinese team's winning percentage is absolutely unmatched.

However, fans' opinions are not the same as the team's actual winning percentage.

Looking at the sports lottery data, the odds for the Chinese team to win are now 5.25 to 1.

The match against Germany boosted the confidence of the fans, leading many to choose to side with the Chinese team when buying lottery tickets.

Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou.

Lingyin Temple has been very lively since yesterday. The Zhejiang government is very considerate; during the World Cup, tourists from all over the country can enter Lingyin Temple without buying tickets.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Squeeze in, push forward, don't block the way!"

The stone steps were lined with red decorations, and wooden signs with messages like "China will win" hung on the trees. These were all requests made by fans for the Chinese team.

Thick smoke rose, turning the area in front of the temple gate a sea of ​​red.

The tourist knelt before the prayer mat, holding three sticks of incense in his hand, and silently chanting.

"China will win! China will win! China will win!"

The fans stopped the monks in the temple.

"Master, master, can you tell the fortune of the Chinese national football team? Can we beat Sweden?"

Being called a master pleased the young monk: "This... I can't do that, but I can give you something."

After saying that, the little monk took out a wooden plaque from his pocket.

Tourists gathered around.

May Guanyin bless you! May Guanyin bless you!

【amulet】

[Disaster Relief] [Longevity]

Noticing the tourist's strange expression, the young monk quickly took the items back.

"You've got the wrong one, you've got the wrong one, this isn't it. This is it, this is it!"

They pulled out a new wooden plaque.

The wooden sign is very clean and looks newly made.

The wooden plaque should be viewed vertically. At the top are the four large characters "Guanyin bestows blessings," and at the bottom is written "Good luck charm." This indicates that the wooden plaque is of this type and can bring good luck.

Then, in the very center, and most importantly, let's see what's written on this wooden plaque.

[The Chinese national football team is awesome!]

Tang Ye is invincible.

The two sentences, one on the left and one on the right, looked extremely arrogant.

"This this……"

Holding the wooden plaque, the tourist's hands trembled: "Master, is this talisman genuine?"

"Of course!"

The monk turned the sign over and pointed to the three large characters "Lingyin Temple" on the back: "This is officially certified by the temple. Look over there."

The monk pointed to a long, winding, S-shaped queue on a distant mountain and said, "Everyone over there is buying this. It's 25 yuan each. You're lucky; I'm giving it to you for free. You don't need to queue."

"By the way, I'll tell you how to use this."

As he spoke, the monk took the wooden plaque in his hands and gripped it tightly.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha..."

"Tang Ye is invincible! Tang Ye is invincible! Tang Ye is invincible!"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the tourists, the monk completed his blessing: "It's a pity the competition starts tonight. If you had come a day earlier, you could have recited it twice, which would have been more effective."

"This……"

After receiving their wooden signs again, the tourists glanced at the long queue stretching up the mountain in the distance.

Well... it doesn't seem like he'll make a difference this time, does it?
"I feel like even Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy) would recognize Tang Ye now."

"That's what the tourist said."

That's for sure.

The monk nodded repeatedly, pointing inside the temple, where thick gray smoke seemed about to engulf the entire palace.

"Although I don't understand football, I think the Chinese national team's opponents wouldn't be able to withstand the power of Guanyin Bodhisattva."

"The amount of incense burned is already enough for Tang Ye to ascend to heaven in broad daylight."

……

China has announced its starting lineup for the third round of the group stage. Tang Ye leads the team, with Zhang Yuning and Hao Junmin starting, and Zheng Zhi on the bench.

"Damn, if we win, we'll play Brazil!"

In the locker room, Tang Ye and his teammates sat on benches and talked about what had just happened.

"It doesn't matter anymore, the main thing is this match."

Feng Xiaoting chewed the gum that Tang Ye had given him.

He shares the same view as the fans.

Regardless of whether they face Brazil or Switzerland in the knockout stage, the Chinese team's primary task is to advance to the knockout stage.

If they make it to the knockout stage, these 23 players on the list will become heroes in the history of Chinese football.

The kind that fans will remember forever!
Want a banana?

Madaloni, who was eating a banana, walked over and handed all the bananas in his hand to Wu Lei, who then distributed them to Tang Ye and Zhang Yuning.

"You don't seem nervous at all, sir."

Tang Ye slowly peeled the banana, expressing surprise at Madaloni's current state.

Because I knew we would win.

Madaloni said with a smile, "Come on, eat quickly. You can come over when you're ready. Come over here!"

The players quickly gathered together, and Lippi and the players reiterated some details of the match.

"We don't know if this is the last game yet, but I do know that we have no way out now. Sweden is very strong, and very few people believe we can win, but we must win this game."

After Feng Xiaoting finished speaking, the players all looked at Tang Ye.

Feeling a little embarrassed under his teammates' gazes, Tang Ye said, "Um... I think Brother Ting is right."

"Come come come"

Tang Ye placed his hand on top.

"Let's do it, brothers!"

"come on!!!"

As the players walked out of the locker room, Madaloni suddenly called out to Tang Ye, "Tom!"

"Hmm, what is it, sir?"

Tang Ye turned around, and Madaloni pointed at Lippi: "Marcello has something to say to you."

The focus shifts to Lippi.

"Free yourself"

"Ha ha"

Tang Ye gave Lippi a fist bump from a distance.

……

Running through the crowd, I couldn't see it.

"Occasionally, I encounter loneliness, and end up spinning in circles..."

"..."

"I'm chasing the light of my dreams!"

"It is because of courage that one is not afraid of danger."

"The Light of Dreams," voted out by Chinese fans today, is the theme song for the animated series "Little Heroes of the Sacred Stones."

This song was clearly requested by fans for Tang Ye, hoping to boost his performance. Unfortunately, the players were still in the locker room when the song started, so Tang Ye didn't hear it.

The opening song prepared by the organizers was in English.

CCTV5 then switched the camera to show the players from both sides walking out of the tunnel together.

"I'm unstoppable!"

"I'm a Porsche with no brakes."

"I'm invincible!"

"Yeah, I'll win every single game!"

This song is also on Tang Ye's playlist.

The song was energetic, and combined with the cheers from the fans in the stands, Tang Ye felt he was in a great state for the game.

"come on! Come on!"

……

"China Media Group, China Media Group! This is bringing you a live broadcast of the FIFA World Cup..."

"The match has begun. Now I will introduce the starting lineups for both sides, starting with the home team, Sweden!"

Sweden (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Olsen
Defenders: Augustinsson, Granqvist, Lindelof, Lustig

Midfielders: Forsberg, Ekdal, Sebastian Larsson, Claesson
Forwards: Toivonen, Marcus Berg
Head Coach: Andersson

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

Like Sweden, the Chinese team has not made many changes, with Hao Junmin replacing Zheng Zhi as the starting defensive midfielder.

Zheng Zhi exposed too many problems in the first two games.

There's nothing we can do about it; that's just how it is when you get older. The Chinese team needs to play at a faster pace in this match, so Lippi had to pull Zheng Zhi off the court.

The camera pans to Lippi on the sidelines of the pitch.

The Chinese team changed its tactics in the first two matches.

I wonder how Mr. Marcello will handle this crucial final group stage match?
Lippi remained calm, a stark contrast to Swedish coach Andersson.

"We can go now, we can go now, hurry up, hurry up!"

Simonson yelled at the players on the field, startling the linesman who kept a close eye on his position, fearing that Simonson might run onto the field.

boom!
Lustig played a through ball to Marcus Berg in front of him.

"Wow, beautiful!"

"That was a very accurate pass; Sweden launched their attack right at the start of the match."

"Let's see how the Chinese team handles this..."

Before the match, the coaching staff had specifically emphasized Sweden's fast break, so Hao Junmin was already in position when Lustig passed the ball out.

Cooperate with Wang Shenchao!
"Hao Junmin and Wang Shenchao are trying to double-team Berry!"

It's closed!
Berry was very fast and passed the ball before Wang Shenchao could extend his foot.

Give it to the marathon later!
Laszlo passes to the baseline again!

The score given is near the baseline!
"Eh!"

Tang Ye shouted, "Look further back!"

boom!
After Claesson reached the byline, he delivered a cross.

It will likely be the back position.

Toivonen!

The Swedish striker controlled the ball in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked by Feng Xiaoting and Mei Fang.

Pass the ball to Forsberg behind!
boom!
"Oh!!"

He unleashed a long-range shot.

But it flew away!
Chinese fans in the stands covered the back of their heads with their hands.

The Swedish team was playing a bit too hastily, and some verbal altercations broke out between several forwards.

However, their fast breaks were indeed quite good.

It's the 3rd minute of the first half, but Sweden already has a threatening shot on goal!

Sweden is currently ranked last in Group F with 0 points, leading many new viewers to believe that Sweden is very weak.

But this is absolutely wrong!

With his chewing gum in his mouth, Tang Ye slowly ran towards the front of the field.

The intensity of Sweden's attack exceeded their expectations.

Take a look at Lippi in front of the substitutes' bench.

The coach did not give any indication.

That means it's happening as planned!
The Chinese team was in a slightly passive situation, but the players were still very decisive after gaining possession of the ball.

Come!
A teammate cleared the ball, and Tang Ye, with his back to the defender, stepped on the front of the ball and shot it forward.

That familiar one-touch pass!
The fans stood up as Tang Ye's through ball accurately found Wu Lei making a run forward.

The Chinese team dribbled the ball to the right baseline!
There were defenders in front of him, but Wu Lei did not choose to approach them. Instead, he controlled the ball himself at the baseline.

Clearly, he's waiting for someone!
Tang Ye is already on his way!

"TomTom!"

The Swedish coach called out Tang Ye's name, and the defenders on the field rushed towards Tang Ye.

Wait for an opportunity!
Tang Ye used a feint to try and get rid of the defender!
Unable to shake them off immediately, Tang Ye signaled Hao Junmin to come and help.

Wu Lei passes the ball to Hao Junmin!
That should do it!

Hao Junmin pointed to the small open space in front of him with both hands and passed the ball to him.

Tang Ye gets the ball!

As Tang Ye made his forward run to receive the ball, he kept his eyes on his surroundings. When he noticed that the Swedish defender was about to charge at him, Tang Ye quickly dodged.

But it still knocked it down!

boom!
With his arm pressed against the grass, Tang Ye rolled half a circle.

"Beep!!"

The referee called a defensive foul on the Swedish team!
In the broadcast footage, Tang Ye was sitting on the grass, sighing.

Fans felt the scene was familiar, as if they were watching a replay.

This is not a replay, of course; it's just that there have been too many scenes like this in this World Cup.

"Come!"

Zhang Yuning pulled Tang Ye up from the ground, and the Chinese team began to deal with the set piece.

The location wasn't ideal, so Tang Ye's choice was rather conservative.

Snapped!
The ball should be passed into the penalty area!

Feng Xiaoting!
boom!
The Chinese team captain's header!

But it was saved by goalkeeper Olsen!

"Grass!!!"

Feng Xiaoting grabbed his head with both hands and roared angrily at the stands.

Missing the chance to score in the World Cup is something that professional players find completely unacceptable.

A chance to become famous with a single goal!

But unfortunately, I missed it!
"Ok, Ok!"

Tang Yechao gave a thumbs-up in the penalty area and then began preparing for a corner kick.

It's a pity, but the Chinese team quickly launched an attack in this game, which Tang Ye sees as good news.

This is... a sign of a goal!

……

Dongqiudi live match report: Ekdal's free kick was saved by Zeng Cheng, marking the Chinese national team goalkeeper's 9th save of this World Cup.

Dongqiudi live match report: Kroos took a free kick from the left, but it went slightly wide.

[My blood pressure is rising, guys, this is making my legs shake.]

[How did Sweden lose to Germany with such a fierce attack? Isn't this more powerful than any German tank?]

[Here's a scary story: Chinese football fans think Germany is terrible.]

[China > Germany, Germany > Sweden, therefore China >> Sweden!]

The incense offerings should have arrived by now, so why hasn't Guanyin shown her her power yet? My whole family has bought incense.

……

(End of this chapter)