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

Chapter 818 Eskreva becomes a clown, Eric frames the Chinese team

【? ? ? ? 】

Holy crap, Mateusz!

【Wait, what's going on???】

Although it was a draw, I still have to say, FIFA is truly incompetent.

[Argentina + Germany... 66666, game over, guys. You absolutely have to boost Tang's strength, right? FIFA is truly disgusting.]

The comments section on Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform) is full of question marks.

It's not just Dongqiudi (a sports betting platform); Weibo and Tieba (another sports betting platform) are also buzzing with discussion.

The hashtag #China's World Cup group stage draw surged 20 places, jumping straight into the top three.

Argentina + Germany + China.

This combination...

Well, unless there are some other surprising draw results later on, Group C will most likely be the "group of death" in this World Cup.

"This……"

"Hiss... This draw result, well, cough cough. This result might not be very good for the Chinese team..."

"Well, I think it's not just bad, it's absolutely terrible."

"However, it's too early to draw conclusions. Let's wait and see what happens with the fourth team in Group C."

The two commentators from CCTV were in a somewhat awkward position.

As professional commentators, they naturally prepare a script before the live broadcast begins.

They imagined many terrible draw results, and the two commentators also had corresponding explanations for those results.

But Argentina + Germany is a bit too abstract; Zhan Jun didn't see the word "Germany" in his paper draft at all.

He never imagined that the Chinese national football team would face Germany in the group stage of two consecutive World Cups!

"..."

The camera never left Eskriva's head.

The moment the Chinese team's head coach saw "CHINA" on the note, his face turned pale.

The Spaniard pursed his lips, wrinkles appeared on his cheeks, and he didn't blink for a long time.

As it turns out, laughing too early is never a good thing.

I shouldn't have been secretly laughing when Japan drew Spain!
damn!

Baidu's No.1 trending search: World Cup group stage draw.

No. 2: China, Argentina, and Germany are in the same group.

No. 3: The Group of Death in the Qatar World Cup.

……

No. 7: Tang Ye secretly shed tears in front of the screen.

【Group C】

1. Spain.

2. Mexico.

3. --
4. Japan.

Japan has learned of their second rival besides Spain.

Although Moriyasu Hajime's face showed no expression, everyone knew that the Japanese coach was quite happy.

South American teams are indeed tough, but it's still better than playing against Germany.

Judging from the current draw, Escriva is indeed the clown.

They were secretly pleased when Japan drew Spain, but the next second their own team, China, was caught in a pincer attack by Argentina and Germany!

After the "group of death" was drawn, the subsequent draws seemed much more normal. The defending champions, France, were drawn against Tunisia, and it is expected to be another one-sided crushing defeat.

Then there's Portugal, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.

Portugal drew Cameroon, which is a pretty good result.

However, Portugal's draw is not particularly favorable overall, as their Group H includes Uruguay.

Cavani is from Uruguay!
This team is by no means weak!

"..."

"So now all four teams in Group A have been determined. Actually, we say that the host country Qatar has a pretty good draw, but I think the team we need to be most careful of among Qatar's three opponents is the Netherlands. We know that the Netherlands is a very strong team."

"Group B..."

Soon it was time to move on to Group C, where the Chinese team was located.

The scene remained relatively quiet, but Chinese fans in the Dongqiudi comment section were practically kneeling down in prayer.

[Mateusz! Please, damn it, stop this nonsense, give us a Canadian team!]

[Don't even mention it, just smoke an Ecuadorian cigarette and you'll self-destruct.]

Don't tank, guys! Let's wait for a good draw and watch Tang the King of Football pull off a miraculous comeback against Germany.

The current situation of Chinese football fans can be described as "polarized".

After drawing Argentina and Germany, some fans have already given up hope, thinking they might as well draw something even worse in the fourth draw and send the Chinese national team home.

However, most fans remain relatively optimistic!
Chinese fans believe in miracles!

As long as the teams in the fourth tier are weaker, the Chinese national football team will still have some hope!

Let's see the results!

"Euro Play-off"

"..."

Okay, I don't know the result.

"This……"

Zhan Jun gave a wry smile.

The draw for the group stage of this World Cup was completely out of the ordinary.

"The fourth team in Group C has not yet been confirmed, but it will be limited to Wales, Ukraine, and Scotland. That is, the winner of the European play-offs."

Escriva made no comment on the fourth result.

Ferran's heart seems to be dead!

【Group C】

1. Argentina.

2. China.

3. The winner between Wales, Scotland, and Ukraine.

4. Germany.

Regardless of which team is in the fourth tier, the World Cup group stage is already confirmed to be hellish for the Chinese team.

I thought the round of 16 in the Russian World Cup was just the beginning.

I never expected it to be the peak!

……

Today's Headlines - The draw results for the group stage of the Qatar World Cup are out. China is in the "group of death" with Argentina and Germany, while South Korea will face Brazil.

Attached are the draw results for the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup:
A: Qatar, Ghana, Senegal, Netherlands.

B: Winners of England, USA, Iran, Peru vs. Saudi Arabia and Australia.

C: Argentina, China, Wales vs. the winner of Scotland and Ukraine, Germany.

D: Spain, Mexico, Canada, Japan

G: Brazil, Switzerland, South Korea, Morocco.

H: Portugal, Uruguay, Poland, Cameroon.

Any normal Chinese football fan would probably feel their blood rush to their head upon seeing this draw result.

First up is Argentina, in the first tier!

There's also Germany, pretending to be in the second tier when its real strength is actually in the first tier!

The last opponent is completely unknown and cannot be studied in advance.

The buffs are maxed out!
"Japan's goal remains unchanged: to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Drawing Spain doesn't determine anything. At least I think the final draw result is acceptable for Japan."

Hajime Moriyasu was in a lot of pain when he first collided with Spain, but he seems much better now during the post-match interview.

The Japanese national team's goal is also very clear - that is to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup!
For any Asian team, advancing to the World Cup quarterfinals is an extremely difficult task.

In addition, Japan is still in the same group as Spain.

If Hajime Moriyasu can truly achieve this goal, then its significance is quite remarkable.

After the new FIFA rankings were released, many Japanese supporters called Japanese football "the pride of Asia" because they were currently ranked number one in Asia.

Of course, these comments were immediately refuted by other fans, because Japan was defeated by the Chinese national team in the Asian Cup qualifiers!

If Japanese fans want to retaliate against Chinese fans, the World Cup is the perfect opportunity.

What is meant by "Light of Asia"?

Only by advancing to the knockout stage can they truly be considered a source of pride for Asia! This is one of the goals of the Japanese team!

Moriyasu was cautious and calm.

And what about Eskeriva?
Look at Eskeriva next to me, he doesn't seem very happy.

It's fair to say that if it weren't for the regulations, Escriva might not have even agreed to this interview.

"It seems you've gotten a less than satisfactory result?"

"..."

"It's not just that it seems bad, it's that it's terrible."

Eskeriva rolled his eyes at the reporter.

"...Okay, so what do you want to say about this result? You mentioned before that the Chinese team's goal for the World Cup is to advance to the knockout stage, that is, the round of 16. Now that the draw results are out, will you change the team's goal based on the draw?"

"..."

Eskreva did not directly answer the reporter's question, but only said that the Chinese team would make a series of efforts to achieve good results in the World Cup.

As we chatted, the topic naturally drifted back to the Asian Cup qualifiers.

As is well known, the Chinese team simply let the final round of the Asian Cup qualifiers go.

So if China hadn't given up on the final round and instead used its core lineup to fight Oman to the death, would they have replaced Japan as the only second-tier team in Asia?

Based on the data, it's hard to say, and even Eskeriva himself couldn't be sure.

“I can confirm it.”

Eskreva suddenly said, "I regret it now, I really regret it, because China and Japan are only one place apart in the FIFA rankings. If we had gone all out in the match against Oman, replacing Japan would not have been a problem at all."

"Well... I might be being a bit too absolute with that statement. But as you can see, we are indeed only one place apart in the rankings, so it's a high-probability event no matter what. Moreover, we defeated Japan, so in terms of both points and overall strength, we should be number one in Asia and should be considered a second-tier team."

Click, click, click!

"So you regret the decision you made?"

"Yes, that's my problem."

Escribá didn't shirk responsibility and took the blame: "We should have gone all out from the start. I shouldn't have let TY go straight back to Manchester United."

"That was the original plan, but Eric interfered with it."

When Ten Hag's name was suddenly mentioned, the reporters at the scene became excited, as if they had sensed some important news and hoped that Escriva could provide further explanation of the incident, which was exactly what the Spaniard wanted to do next.

“I gave TY the choice to decide whether to leave, but I think I made a mistake because I overlooked one thing: that someone might interfere with TY’s decision.”

Eskeriva's eyes sharpened: "Based on my understanding of Tom, he should have thought about this kind of serious matter for a long time."

"But what was the result?"

Eskeriva shrugged: "He got the answer in a few minutes and then found me."

“I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it at first, but I thought about it later.”

“I’m fairly certain that someone tampered with things. Tom’s decision wasn’t his own.”

Escriva gritted his teeth, appearing to be in a state of great agony.

He wasn't planning to talk about it, because he thought he could just keep quiet and it would pass.

Ten Hag has too many fans, and going against him will come at a very heavy price, something Eskeriva has already experienced before.

but!

Today's draw results are truly...

This is absolutely terrible!
"I think it's all Ten Hach's fault."

Eskreva concluded: "I roughly calculated that if Eric hadn't interfered with TY's decision, TY would most likely have stayed, and we would have beaten Oman away to become a second-tier team. Well, then we would naturally have avoided the current draw result."

“Eric framed the Chinese team, and I am furious about it.”

Click, click, click!

Click, click, click!

"So Ferran, you think it's all Ten Hag's fault, is that right? But if Ten Hag is interfering, you should be able to fight back. As the national team coach, you have the right to demand that TY stay with the team and participate in the final round of matches."

"That's right, of course. But, well, you probably didn't listen carefully to what I just said."

"Teng Hah interfered without my knowledge; I never expected things to turn out this way."

The scene was quite quiet; you could even hear Eskeriva breathing through his nose when there were no camera shutters clicking.

His eyes were even a little red now, and he kept shaking his head from side to side.

"...I don't know what to say. I...sigh...I feel like all my efforts have been in vain. Because of that match against Oman. I've let down the Chinese fans, and I've let down TY..."

Just moments ago, they were saying they would work hard to achieve good results, but Eskeriva immediately exposed his true colors.

"The feeling that all efforts have been in vain"—doesn't that mean that even Escriva doesn't believe the Chinese national football team can advance to the World Cup knockout stage?
Click!

Click, click, click, click!

“I think I, well, I may have been too polite to Ten Hach before. I know he’s not a good person, but I trusted him time and time again, and now I’m sure that all my trust was a mistake. A bad person is always a bad person, and I won’t make that mistake again.”

"This……"

The reporter took a deep breath, his heart pounding.

I initially thought it was just a simple "acceptance speech by the head coach of the Group of Death," but it turned out to be such a sensational news story.

Will you take some kind of revenge against him?

"Revenge? No!"

Escriva shook his head: "What revenge can I take? I coach the national team, he coaches the club, and there's no way we can cross paths again. I know there's nothing I can do. I want revenge, but I have no way to get it, and that's why I'm angry."

"Why don't you arrange to have dinner together and talk things out? Maybe that can clear up some misunderstandings? I think there must be some misunderstandings between you two."

A Qatari journalist in the audience offered his suggestion.

The Qatari journalist's suggestion was correct, but it also inspired Eskeriva.

"Hmm, maybe we can arrange to have dinner together."

"Once all the dinner dishes are served, I'm going to punch Ten Hah in the head."

Eskeriva continued through gritted teeth: "There is no misunderstanding between me and Eric, and he needs to pay the price for his actions."

"..."

……

(End of this chapter)