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

Chapter 857 Be prepared for a huge psychological letdown.

We can't beat them, brothers, the gap is still huge.

[Fun fact: The Netherlands were considered a semi-favorite to win the tournament, so their performance was already quite good. Are you still not satisfied with a 0-1 loss to the Netherlands?]

The problem is that the first half isn't over yet...

[Calm down, Xizhe! Don't injure De Jong. Manchester United still have to compete for the Champions League this season.]

Honestly, Tang Ye could have been a bit more independent. Ai Sheng, be bolder, or you'll have no chance!

The fans' cheers were loud, but unfortunately Escriva couldn't hear them.

As the head coach, Escribá naturally has a more comprehensive perspective on issues than the fans, which also leads to him having more concerns than the fans.

Some things are far more complicated than they seem!

In the 30th minute, both sides took a water break. Escriva found Wu Lei and Wei Shihao and said, "Your positioning is too far forward. Move back! TY can't go too far forward. If you position yourselves too far forward, there will be a gap in the middle!"

"The transition must be done well!"

The veins on Eskeriva's arms were bulging.

Oh, Alexander!
Gulu!

puff!
Tang Ye took a sip and spat it out, then handed the water bottle to Wang Shenchao, his eyes fixed on the Dutch player's position in the distance.

As a strong team in Europe, the Netherlands played exceptionally well...

It’s difficult!
"If we can beat the Netherlands, we should also have a chance to beat Argentina and Germany."

Tang Ye seemed to be deep in thought, while Marty, who was standing beside him, was somewhat speechless: "...Can you say something useful?"

"Hey, isn't this helpful? Just keep going, everyone has a chance."

Marty shook his head and stopped talking.

The game resumes!

They are now down by one goal, but the Chinese team has been playing rather conservatively.

This is mainly reflected in Tang Ye.

The national team captain adjusted very quickly. After returning to the national team from his club, his playing style changed significantly, from being extremely aggressive to being slightly more conservative.

Fans have only watched 30 minutes of the game so far, so they can't judge whether Tang Ye's change is good or bad.

37 minutes.

"I come!"

Tang Ye proactively came to the baseline to provide defensive support, and after observing the positioning of the players behind him, he signaled to Zhang Linpeng to cooperate with him.

Just as Zhang Linpeng pressed forward against Blind, Tang Ye suddenly kicked out from behind Blind, directly blocking the pass that Blind was originally going to deliver to Aké.

Snapped!
After passing the message back to Zhang Linpeng, Tang Ye turned around and started running forward.

Zhang Linpeng made a through pass from behind!
Tang Ye lifted his foot, letting the ball roll naturally in front of him.

First, hold onto the ball with your first touch, and while running, use your peripheral vision to observe the positioning of the players on both sides.

"Zhang Xizhe, hurry up!"

After shouting, Tang Ye suddenly changed his pace and walked directly past De Rong.

De Jong tried to chase back, but Tang Ye, who had come to a sudden stop, seized the opportunity and nutmegged him.

!

De Jong had a chance to pull Tang Ye down, but there was no need to do so in a warm-up match.

Slightly closer to the center, Tang Ye delivered a precise left-footed pass to Zhang Yuning in the attacking third.

Zhang Yuning receives the ball with his back to the goal!
Zhang Yuning tried to turn around, but Van Dijk, who was coming up quickly, didn't give him a chance.

Depend on!
There was no other way but to contact Wei Shih-hao first.

Wei Shihao played more aggressively, accelerating suddenly after receiving the ball, trying to use his speed to overtake Aké, but unfortunately he failed.

Ak kicked the ball out.

"Oh shit!"

"Brother Hao! That kick was too over the top!"

"That's the Netherlands over there, not Vietnam!"

"..."

"Give us a corner kick."

"Wow, that's a high amount, it feels a bit like my Tang Qiuwang (King of Football) style."

"Look at the next part..."

boom!
Van Dijk jumped up and headed the ball in.

Wang Dalei's fingers reached the ball, but it was of no use.

The ball went in!
2: 0!

"What a pity, brothers..."

"Then there's probably no chance of turning the game around in the first half..."

"Still thinking about turning the tide... Well, of course you have to think about turning the tide. If you don't want to win, what's the point of playing? I feel like China still has a chance."

Wang Chao's national team bias was so strong that he overlooked the huge gap in strength between the two sides!

In fact, you can roughly tell whether the Chinese team has a chance or not just by looking at Tang Ye's expression, because this guy basically doesn't hide his emotions.

The camera focuses on Tang Ye.

The captain of the Chinese team stood on the grass, contemplating life.

hiss!
That's really difficult!

"..."

"Beep, beep beep—!!!"

……

Halftime.

"Actually, we played quite well in the first half, especially at the beginning, when we made good transitions between the left and right flanks."

"My main point is that the wingers must not be positioned too far forward, even if we are behind right now."

"Does a winger's advanced position guarantee a goal? No, at least not for us."

Escriva and Martí studied a lot of data about the Chinese team. In fact, there is not much relationship between the Chinese team's goal-scoring data and the forwards' positioning. Since that's the case, Wu Lei and Wei Shihao don't need to be so aggressive: "Move more towards the center. I said we are passing the ball back and forth between the left and right wings, but our real center of gravity, the real center of gravity, is actually in the center. You must not forget this key issue."

“You could actually ask me to cooperate more often.”

Tang Ye suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of his teammates in the locker room.

"I still had a lot of energy after the first half, you guys didn't come to me enough in the first half."

"The main problem is that their two midfielders were constantly hovering around you," Wu Lei explained.

"Yeah, I know, but that's okay. Don't just hold the ball and wait for me to make a run. You guys need to keep running and passing the ball, and then their positioning will change."

Tang Ye shrugged: "As long as they change their positioning, I'll definitely be able to run into open space, and then you guys can just pass the ball."

"They have two defenders, I can't go out and run to open spaces by myself, you guys have to help me."

That's the point!

Marty suddenly nodded: "We're still running too little. Lei and Hao should reduce their forward and backward running; we need to run more laterally."

Noticing Tang Ye's change in mood, Zhang Yuning placed his hand on the captain's thigh.

Although Tang Ye has a good temper, Chinese players actually feel a lot of pressure when playing with him.

It's good when people don't swear, but once they start swearing, it's really bad, and the entire Chinese national team is not spared.

Tang, you must stay calm!

……

The second half has begun.

Both teams' benches were full of players, but it seemed that neither Van Gaal nor Escriva made any substitutions, as they did not seem to have enough information gathered.

52 minutes.

"Hey guys, it feels like we're picking up the pace in the second half."

"Although they haven't taken a shot yet, they're leading the Netherlands in possession. Ester must have something going on."

"Wu Lei, find Tang Ye in the middle."

"Cross-positioning!"

"Holy crap, that's handsome."

Tang Ye made a very fast cross-run and, after regaining possession of the ball, moved to the right wing and temporarily took on the role of winger.

Tang Ye plays much more aggressively on the wing than Wu Lei, alternating between his left and right feet to control the ball and constantly changing his rhythm.

When Tang Ye plays as a right winger, it gives the impression that Dembele is playing.

This is because a large part of Dembele's technique was learned from the masters. "Cross!"

"Hey, Cruyff turned! Beautiful Tang, the King of Football!"

"Don't pass the ball immediately, just dribble past the opponent!"

Leaving Aké behind, Tang Ye tightened his control and played a through ball to Zhang Xizhe, who was in open space at the top of the arc.

"Just attack!"

It's rare to have such a good opportunity, Tang Ye
It was almost a shout.

Look at Zhang Xizhe's.

boom!
Norbert sat down to make the save, but luck was on his side; Zhang Xizhe's shot went through his arm and thigh.

"The ball is in!"

"The ball is in!"

"Fuck!"

"1:2!"

"Bros!"

Bang bang bang bang!

"The tide is about to turn!"

【66666】

Zhang Xizhe! You are a football king too!

So can anyone tell me why Wu Lei's performance as a winger isn't as good as Tang Ye's...?

[Hey upstairs, stop your ridiculous criticism of Wu Lei. There are probably very few players in the world who are better at playing on the wing than Tang Ye. Only players like Salah and Vinicius can rival my Tang Ye.]

Wow, they can really score goals...

With the score at 1-2, Tang Ye jumped up on the spot the moment he scored.

However, he knew of course that this was a warm-up match, so he quickly regained his composure.

"It's awesome!"

Give your teammate a thumbs up.

It's getting better!

"..."

In the 58th minute, the Dutch team made seven substitutions at once, with almost all of their key players leaving the field.

There's no other way; it's just a warm-up match, so we definitely need to let the substitute players come on and warm up their form.

The Chinese team handled the situation similarly. About five minutes later, Eskrima also began his large-scale substitutions, keeping Tang Ye on the field in accordance with the gentleman's agreement before the match.

It was after this substitution that the situation on the field suddenly changed dramatically.

The gap in ability between the national team's substitutes and starters is too large. Tang Ye and the substitutes couldn't coordinate at all, and the result was that they were dominated and pressured, which gave Eskeriva a real headache.

"..."

"Depay! Just kick him!"

"Hold!"

"The ball is in!"

"Damn, those Dutch forwards are really accurate with their shots."

The number of viewers watching the live stream reached a peak of approximately 80 the moment Depay scored, before plummeting.

It's clear to everyone that, objectively speaking, the Chinese national team's reserve squad is no match for the Dutch reserve squad.

The situation worsened further after Tang Ye was substituted in the 72nd minute.

Fortunately, Van Gaal wasn't the kind of person to be ruthless. When he realized that the opponents were struggling, the Dutch players gradually reduced their attacking intensity. In the last 20 minutes, they only managed three shots and failed to break through the Chinese team's goal again.

"Beep, beep beep—!!!"

1:3, that was the final score of the match.

The camera focused on Tang Ye on the bench.

Many fans then realized that Tang Ye wasn't actually sitting on the bench. He was squatting next to Mati, pointing at Mati's laptop screen. The team captain and assistant coach were having a heated discussion, and they were already sweating profusely just from talking.

……

Dongqiudi Match Report: In a warm-up match, the Chinese national football team lost 1-3 to the Netherlands. Tang Ye's precise cross assisted Zhang Xizhe's goal, and Van Dijk scored with a header. (398572 comments)

I don't know how well the Chinese national football team is playing, but the hype surrounding this World Cup is much higher than that of the one in Russia four years ago, according to data from Dongqiudi (a Chinese sports betting platform).

In the past four years, the number of Chinese football fans has experienced a truly exponential growth.

It's a pity these guys got into this mess at the wrong time!

New fans' eyes lit up, while veteran fans, like teachers, calmly explained the history of Argentine and German football to the newcomers.

After listening to the veteran fans' stories, the new fans' enthusiasm was almost completely extinguished.

Heaven is going to destroy China!

……

Mundo Deportivo – FIFA has rejected Ukraine's lawsuit, with Infantino stating, "Ukraine cannot replace Iran in the World Cup because it does not comply with the World Cup rules. They lost the qualifiers, so they cannot participate in the World Cup."

Phoenix News – Unbelievably extravagant! This World Cup will be the highest-paying World Cup ever, with the champion team receiving $3500 million and all participating teams in the group stage receiving $950 million.

Manchester Evening News – Due to the large number of players participating in the World Cup, Manchester United will receive a subsidy of $15 per day from FIFA during the World Cup finals (the subsidy is $1 per player per day).

As a Middle Eastern country, Qatar has indeed put a lot of effort into hosting the World Cup, with prize money for the national team alone exceeding $4.8 million. In addition, they can generate income from other sources, such as the World Cup mascot "La'eeb," which is quite adorable and resembles a dumpling wrapper.

Strangely, Raib's sales during the World Cup preparation period were far lower than those of previous World Cup mascots.

To be honest, PPB Bond has to take the blame for this, because fans all went to buy pig-themed blind boxes, which caused the sales problem for Raib.

The Sun – Despite China’s poor draw, PPBnd’s stock price has risen more than 80% during the World Cup warm-up period, and the company’s stock price has far exceeded its fair value. The bubble may burst during the World Cup.
……

"It's much better than I expected."

At dinner time, Escriva and Matti walked together.

Although they lost the game, the Chinese team's head coach did not seem too upset, as if he had taken everything in stride.

"Hmm, Marty, why aren't you saying anything?"

Escriva put his hand on Marty's shoulder, who simply shook his head: "It doesn't seem like there's much of a future..."

"Hey, we haven't even started yet, how come you're less confident than me!"

Marty continued to shake his head: "Phelan, do you know what Tom told me?"

"what?"

Marti recalled what Tang Ye had said to him during the warm-up match against the Netherlands: "He said he thought we could beat Argentina."

"..."

Eskeriva raised an eyebrow: "Um... he actually told me this too."

"Did I tell you that too?"

Marty seemed surprised: "Well, it's all the same anyway. Have you ever wondered why he would say that?"

"Because of confidence, young people should be like that, especially since he is a genius. All the geniuses I've met are confident."

Escriva didn't think too much about it, but Marty still looked stressed.

"Yeah, I didn't think much of it at first, but later on the bench I kept thinking about it..."

Martí looked into Eskreva's eyes: "Have you noticed that Tom has hardly encountered any major setbacks since he officially started playing for the first team at Utrecht?"

"That... seems to be true."

"His talent is so high that he rarely encounters major failures. You know, Ferran, in his eyes there is nothing that cannot be done, and his own experience proves it. His experience makes him always feel that he can handle everything."

As they talked, Marty unconsciously became anxious, and his tone of voice became somewhat harsh.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"He will find out in this World Cup that what he has been insisting on is wrong."

"He can't handle this drop in status!"

"If we lose to Argentina in the first game, we'll have nothing left."

"...Well, I know it's not good to talk about this now, but the players aren't around right now, so I think you should prepare yourself mentally first."

Marty sighed: "You should know what happened in Russia, right? China played against Germany's midfield. Germany pulled it back then, so everything's fine. But what about now?"

Eskeriva stood in front, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

During the warm-up matches, the Chinese team does not need to specifically train their competitive spirit, because the team's overall momentum is directly linked to Tang Ye.

If the team loses a game and Tang Ye loses his composure, then the outcome of the next game is no longer in doubt.

……

(End of this chapter)