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

Chapter 494 Japan's flank attack tactics, Tang Ye's Baka Yarou

The shot flew out from a distance, finally grazing the crossbar and crashing into the stands.

"Grass!"

Tang Ye was unwilling to accept defeat because he failed to capitalize on China's first shot on goal so far in the match.

"It's so uncomfortable."

With a sigh, Wu Lei, who was running back, gave Tang Ye a thumbs-up.

"It's a bit of a pity. Judging from the replay, Tang Ye's long-range shot really was just a hair's breadth away from scoring."

"This is China's only shot on goal so far."

"Yes, that's right. It's still unclear what Lippi's tactics will be."

Many fans at the stadium are glancing in Lippi's direction from time to time, because they are genuinely curious about his thoughts.

This is a knockout stage; you need to score goals to advance.

However, the tactics that the Chinese team used didn't seem like they could score goals.

What is Lippi trying to do?
Fans now have two possible guesses.

1. The Chinese team played relatively steadily, and in the second half they switched to attack and scored a goal, catching Japan off guard.

2. The Chinese team wants to drag the game into a penalty shootout!
Of the two hypotheses, the first one is more reasonable, as for the second one...

It's difficult for the Chinese players to out-strength the Japanese team, especially since China has already lost a substitution. If the game goes into extra time, they might have a very tough time.

Of course, there's no point in speculating now.

The Chinese national football team coach had no expression on his face, and the fans couldn't figure out what he was thinking at all.

[Lippi, what exactly are you trying to do?!]

The camera then cuts to another Japanese attack, this time a corner kick.

"be careful!"

Madaloni always shouts a few times when defending a corner kick, and this time was no exception.

Tang Ye went straight to the edge of the penalty area, ready to defend at any moment.

Japan's corner kick...

Snapped!
Instead of attacking directly into the penalty area, the Japanese team opted for a tactical corner kick.

Yuto Nagatomo passes the ball to Wataru Endo!
Wataru Endo!
Snapped!
A 45-degree cross reached into the penalty area, where Takumi Minamino was ready.

Chest control!

Then, a volley!

boom!
The idea was good, but he clearly underestimated the Chinese team's defense in the penalty area.

Takumi Minamino's shot was blocked by Zhang Linpeng's body!

"Handball! Handball!"

Takumi Minamino suddenly started shouting, and the Japanese players immediately followed suit, placing their left hands on their upper right sides to signal to the referee.

"Damn, how is that possible?"

Tang Ye saw it clearly: Zhang Linpeng definitely did not handle the ball, so he immediately started arguing with the Japanese players.

Tang Ye doesn't speak Japanese, but he can still say the simplest phrases.

"Baka yarou, baka yarou!"

Tang Ye and Endo Hang were entangled together.

The referee was touching his headset with one hand, seemingly listening to advice from the backstage staff.

"Beep!"

Suddenly, the whistle was blown, and the referee drew a square in the air with his index fingers.

"Oh, here it comes."

"Let me explain this to the viewers at home. Starting from the quarterfinals, this Asian Cup will use VAR, or semi-automatic offside technology, to help referees judge possible penalty kicks..."

If you started using VAR from the quarterfinals onwards, why didn't you use it in the group stage and the round of 16?

You'll have to ask the AFC, because even the commentators don't know.

Tang Ye stood there, furious at the Japanese players' actions: "No, didn't you see clearly? It was obviously a shot to the shoulder. Ugh... Baka yarou!"

The referee returned from the sidelines and drew the box again.

"Beep!!"

Clearly, this was not a penalty.

Tang Ye ran up to Endo Hang and exclaimed, "You guys are really, really bad!"

Well, Tang Ye didn't know if the other party would understand what he was saying, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

At the 22-minute mark, the Chinese team managed to regain some possession after an attack, but they still couldn't break the 25% mark.

Since the start of the match, the Chinese team's possession rate has never exceeded 25%.

It's a bit upsetting, but there's really nothing I can do.

"I come!"

Zheng Zhi and Minamino Takumi collided and both fell to the ground, but the referee made no call.

"Please take this, please take this!"

He gestured for Hao Junmin to get the ball, and Tang Ye ran forward immediately.

Hao Junmin got the ball and pulled it away from the defender.

Run a few steps forward first, then go directly to Tang Ye.

Shibasaki Gaku ran alongside Tang Ye, which did indeed cause problems for Tang Ye's ball control.

Let me take a look...

Jump up!
boom!
Tap the ball forward with your heel, then run forward again.

Shibasaki Gaku reached out and pulled Tang Ye down.

But it was dodged!
Wow!!!

They got another good attacking opportunity, and the hearts of the Chinese fans in the stadium were in their throats.

Look to Tang Ye!

As Tang Ye slowly approached the top of the arc, he was met with defense from Tang Anli.

The ball is pushed closer.

Bring the ball back!
Push it forward again!

When pushing the ball for the second time, Tang Ye leaned forward and lowered his center of gravity, then took a step forward with his left foot, successfully deceiving Tang Anlu.

"Wow!!!"

The fans screamed, and Tang Ye fell to the ground.

A tactical foul by Ritsu Doan gives the Chinese team a free kick opportunity in the attacking third.

"Depend on!"

Tang Ye pounded the grass with his fist, then stood up again.

The Chinese team players gathered at the front.

Tang Ye and Hao Junmin covered their mouths with their hands and whispered to each other.

"No need, you can just go in."

Tang Ye was very confident, so Hao Junmin simply ran away.

"The Chinese team still chose to let Tang Ye handle this set-piece opportunity."

"If it's Tang Ye, then they'll probably just attack the door directly. Let's see how the Japanese side responds."

call……

woohoo...

Adjusting his breathing, Tang Ye positioned himself to the left and slightly behind the set point.

A wall of Japanese players stood before them.

At that moment, the camera suddenly shifted to the top of the home team's bench.

Tang Zhengxiong stood with several Chinese fans. When he saw the camera moving over, he quickly raised the portrait of Tang Xianmin in his hand.

No need to say more, our ancestors have been watching all along!
"Beep!"

Tang Ye's eyes suddenly narrowed into slits, and then he began to run.

3, 2, 1.

boom!
The knee is forcefully tightened at the moment of impact, a standard elevator shot technique.

The ball soared to its highest point and then fell just above Takehiro Tomiyasu's head.

It grazed the post and went into the net.

"This……"

"The goal went in!"

"Tang Ye!"

"A goal from Tang Ye!"

"This goal is perfect, it's a goal for the Chinese team!"

"China is in the lead!"

The moment he confirmed his goal, Tang Ye spread his arms and ran towards the stands, tearing off three stripes at top speed.

"Roar!!!!"

With his face flushed, Tang Ye pulled a female fan from the bottom of the stands into his arms.

Goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda sat on the ground and sighed.

[Damn it!]

[Am I going to score first?]

[The Japanese are too short, but Tang Ye's aim at Tomiyasu Kenjiro's head was really clever; I never expected that.] [Directly sniping the Japanese from a distance, huh?]

"Come!"

Breaking free from his teammates' embrace, Tang Ye faced the roaring fans in the stands and pounded his chest with his right fist.

"Tang Ye!"

boom!
"Tang Ye!"

Bang bang bang!
"……call"

Lippi took off his glasses, took out a cleaning cloth from his pocket, carefully wiped his glasses, and then put them back on.

So far, the Chinese team's counter-attacking tactics have not been very successful. The biggest problem is that they have not been able to execute counter-attacks well after defending.

However, one player on the team alleviated the team's offensive problems with his individual skills.

In just one minute, the phrase "China's national football team takes a one-goal lead over Japan" climbed to 28th place on Baidu's trending topics list.

"It's okay, it's alright!"

Moriyasu Hajime comforted the Japanese players: "It was just luck. With that kind of shot, Tangsan couldn't hit a second one, so falling behind was our chance."

Cheer up!

"Ganbatte! (Go for it!)"

clap clap clap!
The Japanese players applauded each other to encourage each other, then walked back onto the court to restart the game.

"Let's take another look at the replay. Hmm, that shot was incredibly tricky in terms of both angle and speed."

"Yes, Tang Ye's free-kick technique has improved this season compared to last season, which could be a variable in this match."

The match statistics for this game pop up in the lower left corner of the CCTV screen.

Possession: Japan 73%, China 27%.

Shots on goal: Japan 7, China 3.

Shots on target: Japan 2, China 2.

Goals scored: Japan 0, China 1.

China trails Japan in almost every statistic.

But they're leading in goals scored!

With their possession dropping a bit, Japan quickly picked up their attacking play.

In the shot, a small notebook suddenly appears in Moriyasu's hand, and the Japanese coach is writing on it with a pen.

Tang Ye retreated to the backfield with his teammates, and Yoshida Maya quickly played a through ball to Minamino Takumi on the edge of the penalty area.

!

The Japanese striker showcased his ball control and acceleration in tight spaces, shaking off Zhang Linpeng and entering the penalty area.

However, Takumi Minamino did not choose to go deep into the box himself, but instead stopped after stepping on the ball.

Make a ball for Gaku Shibasaki in an inverted triangle shape!

Shibasaki-dake tells the story of Osako Yuuya again!
boom!
Yuya Osako's shot was saved by Wang Dalei with his hand.

"Wow!"

It was a very good save, but the Chinese team was not out of danger immediately.

Genki Haraguchi retrieved the ball that Wang Dalei hit and then passed it to Takumi Minamino.

Takumi Minamino makes a run down the left flank!
"Take a look, take a look!"

Tang Ye reminded him.

Liu Yiming is following.

Takumi Minamino shook off the defenders on both sides before delivering a cross.

Snapped!
This was a low cross, and Zhang Linpeng made a sliding tackle.

The ball was touched, but the slightest touch of the toes couldn't change its trajectory.

Yuya Osako scored with a low shot.

"..."

The Japanese players are celebrating, and the score has changed from 1-0 to 1-1.

"Offside, wasn't it?"

Tang Ye appealed to the referee, but quickly received an answer from the referee.

It was an offside pass, but a Chinese player touched the ball during the pass, so it wasn't considered an offside for Japan.

"Um... okay."

Tang Ye shook his head.

There's nothing we can do about it.

"Why did you let him in?!"

Wang Dalei shouted at his teammates, clearly dissatisfied with the performance of the defenders in the penalty area.

Logically speaking, the opposing striker shouldn't be able to get to the cross in this situation!
"Slow down, slow down!"

"Be slow and steady when defending, and be bold when attacking!"

Madaloni spoke in Chinese.

Tang Ye and Wu Lei next to him gave each other a high five.

In the 31st minute of the first half, with the score tied at 1-1, the situation on the field calmed down a bit.

The Japanese team hasn't been able to mount any particularly good attacks yet, and the Chinese team's defense hasn't made any major mistakes either.

Soon, thanks to Zheng Zhi's interception in the backfield, the Chinese team regained possession.

The opportunity has arrived!

Tang Ye decisively asked for the ball, but stopped a second before passing it.

The original plan was a one-on-one opportunity, but the two forwards of the Chinese team were positioned too far back in the 5-3-2 formation.

Going straight behind them is definitely not going to work; the Chinese team can only take it one step at a time.

"..."

"Tang Ye sends a through ball into the penalty area!"

"Wu Lei!"

boom!
The shot was saved by Shuichi Gonda, and the Chinese team got their second corner kick of the match.

Tang Ye walked over to prepare to kick, and Hao Junmin saw through Tang Ye's intention, so he took the initiative to hand the ball to him: "Do you want to kick it?"

After hesitating for a moment and taking into account all aspects of the situation on the field, Tang Ye finally gave up.

"Beep!"

Snapped!
The corner kick was taken, and Shi Ke was given the first spot.

boom!
He managed to get a header, but unfortunately Shi Ke doesn't have a very good heading ability, so he didn't score.

The Chinese players began to retreat.

From the 33rd minute to the 40th minute, neither side managed to create a single shot on target in nearly 10 minutes.

"If that's the case, then I think it's good news for the Chinese team."

For the Chinese team, a 1-1 result is certainly acceptable, since Lippi's plan never intended for the Chinese team to take the lead before the first half.

but!

Moriyasu's plan is for them to take the lead in the first half.

Japan needs to conserve its energy for the final against Qatar; it absolutely cannot afford to waste time on the semi-final against China!
"Let's go!"

Tighten the core, Gaku Shibasaki played a through ball to the byline.

It's Takumi Minamino again!

Japan is determined to attack down the left flank, but fortunately, the Chinese team has a dedicated defensive setup.

Liu Yiming and Zheng Zhi came together!

Takumi Minamino used a feint to deceive the defender, then passed directly between Liu Yiming and Zheng Zhi into the penalty area.

"Oh!"

boom!
The cross was delivered again, based on the information provided by Yuya Osako in the penalty area.

Isamu Osako steps on the ball!

Fake shot!

Then the ball was passed back to Gaku Shibasaki, who immediately shot it.

"GOOOO-AAAAA-LLLLL!!"

Wang Dalei stood on the goal line, watching the ball fly past him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to try to save them, but he genuinely had no other options.

2: 1!

Japan completed a comeback before the end of the first half!

The players ran out to celebrate, and Gaku Shibasaki clenched his right fist and swung it upwards.

When the camera should have been focused on the Japanese players, the director instead focused on Tang Ye, the number 10 player from the Chinese team, with his hands on his hips and his head down.

"Listen to me, we can win, but you need to concentrate!"

Tang Ye found Shi Ke and Hao Junmin: "We shouldn't have played like this. We could have played better. Why didn't we play better?"

In Tang Ye's view, the Chinese team's performance so far is unacceptable.

Tang Ye would get a little angry whenever he was focused on defense and had no time to attack, just like when he played against Germany in the World Cup.

"The defense needs to constantly change according to their positioning, so they don't score too easily!"

……

Dongqiudi Halftime Report: Tang Ye's tomahawk-style free kick opened the scoring, but Osako Yuya and Shibasaki Gaku scored to turn the game around. China trails Japan 1-2.

(End of this chapter)