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

Chapter 500: A Showdown on the Asian Mountain Peak - Powerful Qatar Coupled with Powerful Black Whistleblower (Bonus Chapter, Please Vote!)
No. 1: Asian Cup Final.

No. 2: China vs. Qatar.

"The opponent will most likely play a high-pressing game, so we need to be mentally prepared. Then there's the counter-attack; if that happens, we need to quickly move through midfield."

"Tom, you handle this."

Tang Ye nodded, indicating that he understood.

He excels at quickly getting through the midfield, which basically means playing long passes and penetrating attacks.

"Everything is ready!"

Zheng Zhi delivered his final remarks: "Everyone must be on their toes today and give it their best."

"Because today is the day we make history!"

"Wow!!"

clap clap clap!
Applause erupted in the locker room as the players stood up one after another.

"Make history!"

Tang Ye shouted.

However, it's unclear whether he can truly grasp the meaning of those words like Zheng Zhi.

"Tang Ye, come here!"

Zheng Zhi gave up the center position, and Tang Ye rubbed his hands together.

"3, 2, 1!"

"champion!"

"champion!!!"

The players ran out of the locker room, and Madaloni's words came from behind: "Stay calm."

"Screw it, let's just go for it!" Tang Ye shouted.

"..."

Madaloni put his hand on his head: "Hmm... that's fine too."

……

As expected, the stadium was packed today. After the national anthem was sung, the Chinese team players gathered in a circle.

"It's the last game, brothers!"

"Done!"

Beep beep beep!!!
"China Central Television! This is a live broadcast of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Final, the match between the Chinese national team and the Qatar national team."

"Now I will introduce the starting lineups for both teams!"

"First, let's talk about the Chinese team. Today, they fielded a 4-4-2 formation. This is quite unusual, because since Tang Ye first joined the national team in 2017, the Chinese men's football team has consistently played a 4-2-3-1..."

The semi-final match used a 5-3-2 formation, while the final match used a 4-2-3-1 formation; the formations in the two matches were quite different.

Lippi has also burned out.

He probably never imagined that his skill level would be brought to its peak in an Asian Cup match.

"Then Qatar!"

Qatar (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Sieb

……

Forwards: Afif, Alli, Lavez

Head Coach: Sanchez

The game is on!

In a 4-4-2 formation, Zhang Yuning kicked off, looking for Zhang Linpeng in the backfield.

Logically, Zhang Linpeng should have sent a long ball forward or made a through pass at this point, but instead, he chose to pass the ball sideways to Shi Ke.

The Chinese team's action at the very beginning of the match demonstrated their attitude towards the game.

Focus on defense!
The camera panned to Lippi on the sidelines, where the Italian coach's face was contorted in a grimace.

Even as a veteran coach who has experienced the World Cup final, Lippi can still feel the pressure of this match.

"Go!"

Afif, Ali, and Ravi pressed forward together, while Tang Ye kept a close eye on his opponents' positions from his own post.

China's defense is not very strong, so Tang Ye can take on the responsibility of directing the team to ensure that the goal remains safe.

"Look at number 11!"

Tang Ye gestured for Wu Xi to come closer, while he went to find Qatar's center forward.

The Chinese team was still passing the ball around in their own half.

Snapped!
Zhang Linpeng passed the ball to Liu Yiming on the right, who then ran forward.

This was the key tactic for the Chinese team in this match: widen the defensive line in the backfield and then use that to launch an attack.

Liu Yiming made a long pass to Wu Lei.

Wu Lei gets the ball and gets past his marker!

Run forward!

"Wow!"

Wu Lei evaded the defender beside him while receiving the ball.

It's the 4th minute of the first half, and this is the first time the Chinese team has kicked the ball into the opponent's half of the game.

"Get them! Get them!"

"Run faster, Wu Lei!"

Chinese fans can already picture Wu Lei cutting inside into the middle, then making a three-pass pass to the penalty area to finish with a shot.

It's a pity Wu Lei isn't Hazard; he doesn't have the habit of eating hamburgers.

Snapped!
The ball was passed across to Zhang Yuning in the middle lane.

Zhang Yuning stopped the ball in place, and Tang Ye ran up from behind.

Tang Ye got the ball!
"Middle, middle!"

He signaled Wu Lei to move towards the center, Tang Ye dribbled the ball, adjusted his position, and then played a through ball directly.

The ball is passed to Wu Lei, who is cutting inside!
"Pretty!"

"China's counter-attack has paid off."

"This should be the Chinese team's tactic for this match: utilizing Tang Ye's long passes and through balls to launch an attack."

Qatar's midfield defense may appear impenetrable, but that's only how it seems to the average person.

No kidding, the master spotted the flaw in the defense at a glance!

The Chinese team is pressing forward!

"Give it to the left!"

At Tang Ye's request, Wu Lei passed the ball back to Zhang Yuning on the left wing and then continued forward.

The Chinese team now has an inverted triangle-shaped attacking line in the frontcourt.

Zhang Yuning and Wu Lei were in front, while Tang Ye was in the middle and rear.

Just like a formation of fighter jets, the first two are escort aircraft, used for reconnaissance.

Then there's the plane behind it.

What kind of plane is this?

This is a bomber!
Zhang Yuning was blocked by the defender, and after pressing forward a few steps, he suddenly passed the ball back.

It was given to Tang Ye, who came from the middle route.

A cannon set up by Zhang Yuning!
boom!
A long-range shot was unleashed, and the ball soared into the air.

He tried to fly the ball into the goal just past the post, but goalkeeper Seebo punched it away from the limit.

"Well!"

"Tang Ye's performance in the last few matches has been really quite good..."

"Yes, the very first shot on goal successfully threatened the opponent's goal."

The Chinese national football team players begin preparing for a corner kick, while the camera focuses on Lippi, who is standing.

The Italian coach's tactics were successful.

Qatar played very aggressively from the start, but it was actually the Chinese team that won the first corner kick!
Corner kick opportunity...

Snapped!
Wu Xi takes the corner kick, looking for Zhang Linpeng at the far post!

boom!
The ball was headed to Wu Lei, but Wu Lei was immediately blocked by a Qatari player as soon as he received it.

At this point, there was no chance to shoot.

Qatar gets the ball!
[You guys played pretty well!]

I'm under a lot of pressure right now, but I've prepared some nitroglycerin tablets!

We should play more cautiously; if the Chinese national team concedes even one goal, they're finished.

Having watched so many of Tang Ye's matches, many viewers have gone from being novices to seasoned veterans.

The Chinese team played defensively, which made it difficult for both sides to score.

Therefore, scoring the first goal is crucial, as it can directly establish the team's advantage in the match!

18 minutes.

The Chinese team currently has 38% possession.

The situation doesn't look too optimistic, but this possession rate is indeed within Lippi's expectations.

Lippi doesn't actually care too much about possession; he focuses on the number of effective attacks.

By the 18th minute, Qatar had launched five effective attacks, two of which directly threatened the Chinese goal.

A 40% attack conversion rate is what Lippi is most worried about right now.

"Stretch the defensive line a bit!"

"The midfielders should drop back; no one should stay up front." A simple tactical adjustment.

Originally, the Chinese team would have kept Zhang Yuning up front to play counter-attacking football, but now, in order to increase the defensive strength, Lippi wants to bring Zhang Yuning back as well.

The initial formation was 4-4-2, but in the actual match it was played as 5-3-2, where the "2" was not a striker, but an attacking midfielder.

"Fuck!"

The Qatari coach cursed when no one was watching.

The Chinese team played too steadily!

"cough cough"

Chewing on a throat lozenge, Madaloni sat on the bench and smiled.

Marcello really understands the opposing coach's mentality.

As long as Qatar fails to score, their players will become increasingly anxious.

On the contrary, the Chinese team is in a more comfortable position. As long as they can maintain the 0-0 score, their chances of winning will gradually increase over time.

Tang Ye and Ali started fighting on the left flank.

Ali bumped into Tang Ye, and Tang Ye bumped into Ali in return. As a result, Ali fell to the ground, clutching his head and crying out in pain.

Beep!
Hey!

Tang Ye, of course, didn't think he had committed a foul, and directly spread his hands to indicate to the referee: "Flop, isn't this flopping? Did you see me use force?"

Tang Ye didn't even push off the ground, so the force he generated was certainly not enough to knock Ali down.

But the referee wouldn't listen to him!

In the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE, Qatar will also enjoy home-field advantage!
Tang Ye rolled his eyes at Ali as he got up from the grass.

call!
Dongqiudi Real-Time Match Report: Was the referee biased? Ali's suspected dive led to Tang Ye being called for a foul.

"Beep beep beep!!!"

Viewers started criticizing on Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports website), while fans at the stadium were verbally abusing the players.

Damn it, how many barrels of oil did the Qataris use to bribe you?
In the 26th minute, Qatar had a corner kick opportunity.

"Go in, go in!"

Pushing Zheng Zhi into the penalty area, Tang Ye pointed to Qatar's midfielder and full-back: "Give me both of those."

One player defending two during a corner kick—honestly, that's a bit pretentious. But Tang Ye's attitude was firm, so Zheng Zhi didn't say anything.

Snapped!
A corner kick!
He collided with a Qatari player, and Tang Ye was the one who headed the ball away first.

The goalkeeper is Afif, who is positioned outside the top of the arc!
boom!
A long-range shot was fired, hitting Zheng Zhi directly.

"Give me!"

Tang Ye got the ball!

The defender stretched out his leg to steal the ball.

But Tang Ye remained completely calm!
By pulling the ball under his body and waiting for the defender to shift their center of gravity before pushing the ball out, Tang Ye successfully broke free at the first point.

Another Qatari player came up, Tang Ye pulled the ball and turned, and a series of maneuvers successfully completed the second point of escape.

"Beautiful Tang Ye!"

"That was a perfect ball-handling and dribbling move!"

Tang Ye then showcased his exceptional ball control, almost overwhelming the opponent, before dribbling the ball forward himself.

It's a pity Tang Ye isn't De Jong; otherwise, he could probably easily dribble the ball to the center circle.

Snapped!
A long pass was sent to Wang Shenchao, who rushed out from the left flank, and the Chinese team launched a counterattack.

"Slow down, slow down!"

Tang Ye gestured to Wang Shenchao not to rush, and then went up with his teammates.

"Wu Lei, come to the middle!"

Pooh!
The commander had to keep talking, so Tang Ye was forced to spit out his chewing gum.

The offensive and defensive lines advance together.

After advancing several dozen meters, Wang Shenchao encountered a defender and his speed finally slowed down.

Tang Ye and Zhang Yuning ran over together.

Tang Ye cleverly chose a position behind Zhang Yuning, aiming to use his teammate's body to his advantage.

Patting Zhang Yuning on the back, the national team striker suddenly turned and cut inside, while Tang Ye continued to support him on the left.

The Qatari players seemed somewhat flustered by the overlapping runs in the attacking third.

Wang Shenchao passed the ball low to the ground!

Facing the defender in front of him, Tang Ye pretended to press forward to receive the ball, but actually lifted his foot to let the ball roll under his body.

Then he cut diagonally into the penalty area!

boom!
Zhang Yuning's through ball was perfectly positioned.

Boom!

By tapping the ball between his right and left feet and then jumping up, Tang Ye successfully bypassed the center-back and entered the penalty area.

The remaining center-back stuck close to Tang Ye.

Get ready to shoot!

Just as Tang Ye was swinging his leg to hit the ball, the Qatari defender grabbed Tang Ye's chest, causing the latter to shift his center of gravity.

Eh!
The wild, erratic shot went straight into the goalkeeper's hands, and Tang Ye fell to the ground.

“Beep beep beep!!!”

Okay, the atmosphere has reached its climax.

"Penalty!"

"Penalty!"

The referee immediately spread his hands to indicate that it was not a foul, and Qatar immediately launched a counterattack.

"Beep beep beep!!"

"idolt!"

"Referee is an idiot!"

With the referee not blowing the whistle, the Chinese players had no choice but to retreat and defend.

"There's a controversial decision here. From our perspective, it should have been a penalty..."

"The referee didn't give a signal immediately, so the Chinese team can only focus on their defense for now."

Qatar's next attack lasted for about two minutes until Liu Yiming cleared the ball out of bounds, finally putting it out of play.

The Chinese players rushed toward the referee.

"Foul! A foul in the penalty area!"

"Penalty!"

Zheng Zhi and Wu Lei looked like they wanted to beat up the referee in front of them, but fortunately they still managed to stay rational.

"No penalty! No penalty!"

The referee put his hand in front of his chest and rejected the Chinese team's complaint.

“var! (Video Assistant)”

"var!"

Tang Ye pointed to a camera outside the venue.

VAR is available from the quarterfinals onwards. If a penalty kick is possible, the referee can confirm it by watching VAR.

result!

"Huh? The referee didn't choose to look at VAR?"

He seemed convinced that the play wasn't a foul.

The commentators and fans alike stared wide-eyed.

At this point, the director played a replay.

After Tang Ye dribbled past his opponent, he engaged in a physical confrontation with Qatar's center-back.

Preparing to open the door...

It was clear that the defender's hand was on Tang Ye's chest, which served to disrupt the offensive player's balance.

Even a fool would know that Qatar profited illegally.

But the referee didn't know!

Tang Ye flung his hand away, his upper molars clenching tightly into his lower molars.

"referee!"

"Stupid!"

The referees from Qatar and Iran quickly became the target of widespread condemnation.

The game continues!

[Holy crap, is this blatant blackmail?]

[Referee, give me back my Asian Cup title!]

[UAE Asian Cup? Qatar Asian Cup!]

[Can someone come up and slide tackle this referee?]

Netizens are so active; the hashtag #AsianCupFinalBlackRefugee entered the top 50 trending topics on Weibo just 5 minutes after the incident.

Besides the despicable Iranian referee, the photo also shows poor Tang Ye.

When the camera focuses, faint red marks can be seen on Tang Ye's neck.

This was caused by the fingernails of a Qatari defender as he was scratching his chest.

……

(End of this chapter)