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

Chapter 877 Rhodes, this is a pre-arranged match, right?

[Japan National Team Head Coach]

[Hajime Moriyasu]

"This was a great game, and it proves that the Japanese team can do anything. I am proud of our players, and I am proud of Japanese football."

"Did you ever imagine today's match would end in a 1-1 draw?"

"Yes, I have thought about it."

Hajime Moriyasu smiled and nodded. After winning the game and securing first place in Group D, the Japanese coach was truly riding high: "I have considered all possibilities, including beating Spain, but unfortunately we have not done so yet."

"Japan's goal is to win the World Cup in 2030, and this goal will not change."

Because you advanced as group winners, your opponent in the Round of 16 will be Argentina. Have you considered this? Perhaps you could lose this match, so your next opponent wouldn't be Argentina, but China.

"..."

Upon hearing this question, Moriyasu remained silent for the first time.

"In fact..."

"We are more looking forward to facing Argentina in the round of 16 than China."

It's a bit embarrassing, but that statement does accurately reflect the current situation of the Japanese team.

The Japanese team can create miracles, but there is an even bigger miracle ahead of them.

At least in the eyes of the Japanese team's coaching staff, the probability of them advancing by upseting Argentina is greater than that of advancing by defeating China.

Poor Moriyasu-san still hasn't been able to escape the shadow of Tang Ye!
Click, click, click!

"Mr. Moriyasu, are you influenced by the Asian Cup qualifiers? You haven't beaten China in the past few Asian Cup qualifiers and Asian Cups."

Click, click, click!

"...That's right, it's true. We've lost to China repeatedly, and our best result in recent years has been a draw."

Moriyasu lowered his head, then quickly raised it again: "I admit that the Chinese team is very strong, Tang Sang is a historically great player, and Ferran is a great coach. Japan is currently inferior to China in many aspects, but I promise all Japanese fans that Japan's current lag is only temporary."

"Chinese players are great, but we Japanese players have the determination and courage to catch up!"

"Arigato! (Thank you!)"

After speaking, Moriyasu bowed 90 degrees to the camera.

Fans from other countries didn't react much to this, but Japanese fans were already in tears.

Moriyasu-san!
We are willing to follow you for the rest of our lives!

With determination and courage, and by forging great friendships and bonds, catching up with the dark horse China is truly only a matter of time. At least, that's what Japanese fans believe.

……

Rodri's interview: TY called me before the match to wish me good luck, and I feel bad for him. I never thought we would lose to Japan. Japan's passing and possession system was excellent; they played a high level of football.

In an interview, Hajime Moriyasu stated that he would prefer to face Argentina rather than China; he believes the Japanese team can create a miracle; he plans to catch up with China by 2026 and aims to win the World Cup in 2030.

Sky Sports commentator Jansen: The match between Japan and Spain was probably a fixed game; only Rodri and Olmo were playing seriously for Spain throughout the entire match.

How could a top European team be defeated by Japan?

If you say that China beat Spain, that's understandable, since China has a big brother.

But what gives you, Japan, the right?
How could Japan possibly beat Spain?

After the match, many European fans and even media reporters spoke out, with Jensen being the most furious.

The Sky Sports commentator stated that Japan's draw against Spain was mainly due to Flick's reluctance to face Argentina in the round of 16, thus limiting his players' effort in the match.

Think about it from another perspective.

If the Spanish players really gave it their all, then why did they only score one goal against Japan?

And that sole goal came from Rodri, who was playing as a makeshift defender!
"There is only one truth: in the match between Spain and Japan, only Rodri was determined to win. The others had ulterior motives and thought that China was easier to bully than Argentina."

“I am very disappointed by this. Spain’s approach is absolutely wrong. China’s victory over Argentina in the group stage was definitely not due to ‘pure luck’ as some people online have suggested. TY will cause trouble for Spain, who want to advance to the quarterfinals.”

……

The group stage went very quickly, and the results of all the knockout stage matches were released just a few days after the Chinese national team's match ended.

Appendix: 2022 Qatar World Cup knockout stage groupings (Round of 16):
Upper bracket: [Netherlands vs. USA], [China vs. Spain], [France vs. South Korea], [Brazil vs. Uruguay].

The lower bracket: England vs. Senegal, Japan vs. Argentina; Switzerland vs. Poland, Portugal vs. Morocco.

At first glance, it's surprising to find that there are three Asian teams participating in the Round of 16, with China and Japan advancing as group winners, truly shining examples of Asian talent.

However, judging from the group stage draw, none of these three Asian teams were lucky.

Spain, Argentina, France...

These are the opponents of the three Asian brothers in the first round of the knockout stage!

Seeing this result, you might even suspect that FIFA is deliberately targeting Asian teams and doesn't want any Asian team to advance to the quarterfinals.

In reality, FIFA is also innocent, because your half of the bracket and your opponent in the knockout stage are determined by the draw and results of the group stage matches, and are not affected by any other factors.

If you finish first in your group, your opponent in the first round will inevitably be the second-place team in the group; if you finish second in your group, your opponent will naturally be the first-place team in the group.

The current situation faced by the three Asian nations still falls on Argentina and Spain.

Ask Messi and Rodri why their FIFA top ten teams played like this in the group stage.

Of course, most journalists would much rather have the opportunity to interview Tang Ye directly.

Mr. Tang, how do you feel now that your prediction failed and you were forced to leave the broadcast in disgrace?
……

[Incoming call]

【Rod】

drop!
The voice call connected, and Tang Ye pressed the phone to his ear: "...Rhodes."

"Hey, Tom? Did you see the news? Listen to me, really, I didn't know it would turn out like this... I never thought we couldn't beat Japan." "..."

Tang Ye didn't speak, but Rodri on the other end of the phone could clearly hear the Manchester United captain's sigh.

Disappointed!

Disappointment from my older brother!
"So... Rod, this was a fixed match, wasn't it?"

"..."

Rodri turned his head left and right to make sure no one was around before speaking: "Okay, it was definitely a fixed match. Because only by losing to Japan or drawing with Japan can we avoid facing Argentina."

Just as Tang Ye was about to sigh again, Rodri suddenly added.

“But Tom, let me explain. Although the whole team was playing a fixed match, I played with all my might. I promised you before the game, and I didn’t lie. Flick assigned me to play defense, which wasn’t my decision, but I didn’t lie to you. I gave it my all, and I scored a goal, you should have seen that, right? I’ve never lied to you!”

Rodri was genuinely panicked: "And I had Olmo and the others cheer too. Even though it was a fixed match, the rest of our players didn't hold back too much. Well, mainly on my end, I assure you, I didn't hold back at all, I promise!"

"Actually, I can see that your midfield attacks are too hesitant."

Tang Ye sighed again: "There's nothing we can do about it."

"I assure you, I didn't hold back. I never lie to you. You know that."

“I know, I know! You don’t need to explain this to Rod. If your coach arranges for you to play fixed matches, then you should play fixed matches. You should follow the coach’s instructions.”

"Yes, that's right, but you called me before the match, so I couldn't... If I had played as a defensive midfielder, maybe I could have changed the outcome."

"Well, the results are already out, there's nothing we can do about it."

Tang Ye shook his head and told Rodri not to blame himself.

As a player for the Spanish national team, Rodri's first priority should be to follow Flick's instructions, rather than being swayed by Tang Ye's cheers.

"Ok."

Rodri inhaled: "But... well, I can feel it, Japan is playing really well."

"Even if we go all out, we might not win."

Rhodes made a startling statement: "I have a feeling they must have done some research on us."

Rodri's words made Tang Ye realize that what Moriyasu Hajime said in the interview was true: after the group stage draw, Japan did indeed intend to defeat Spain and Mexico to advance.

That guy's ambition is truly enormous!
"Japan is indeed very strong, but I think the main problem is that you underestimated them. If you had studied each other seriously, they probably wouldn't be a match for you."

Tang Ye still maintains his opinion, putting aside the possibility of a fixed match, he believes that Spain's overall strength is at least half a level higher than Japan's.

"Um, thank you... So what do we do now?"

"Hmm, what do we do?"

"The Round of 16..."

"Oh yes."

I lost focus and wandered off again, almost forgetting that the upcoming World Cup Round of 16 was the most important thing.

"Then we'll have to kick it."

boom!
The sound of Tang Ye's butt slamming onto the sofa could be heard over the phone.

Although it wasn't a video call, Rodri could roughly imagine Tang Ye's expression right now.

The Manchester United captain is in a very bad mood because he originally envisioned that the Chinese team could defeat Japan in the round of 16 and then advance to the quarterfinals to make history for the team.

Now that their opponent has suddenly changed to Spain, a traditional powerhouse from Europe, all their previous plans are no longer working.

"...Tom."

Rodri took a deep breath; he still felt a little sorry for Tang Ye: "Good luck in the knockout stage."

"Well, good luck, Rhodes!"

……

After ending the call, Rodri sat on the stool without saying a word.

Gritting his teeth, he suddenly threw his phone onto the sofa next to him.

"Fuck!"

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Olmo, look over here.

"No, why are we in Group D? Can't we be in other groups?"

Rodri shrugged: "Damn it, you know what? When Tom was at Manchester United, he would talk to me every day about how he was going to make it to the quarterfinals in Qatar. I would cheer him on every time because I knew how tough it was for the Chinese team. They had never played in the quarterfinals before."

"result……"

"This idiot's group assignment! I've become the one preventing him from advancing to the top 8!"

"Grass!"

Having not been in the same situation, Olmo couldn't understand why Rodri was so agitated.

He reflexively took a step back, then quickly stepped forward: "Hey, calm down, calm down!"

"There's nothing we can do about it, Rhodes!"

"This is fate. We were destined to eliminate China in the round of 16 in Qatar. This is God's arrangement. It's not your fault, nor anyone else's. This is the result of the group stage. There's nothing we can do about it."

"They're destined to be out, don't overthink it, Rhodes! I know you want to help them, but this is beyond your control!"

"TY and China's fate are in their own hands!"

……

(End of this chapter)