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

Chapter 894 It's an honor to be China's opponent in the semifinals.

According to Baijiahao, although the Qatar World Cup has a rule that yellow cards are cleared in the semi-finals, red cards are mandatory and are not affected by this rule. This means that Zhang Linpeng will not be able to play in the semi-final match.

As the first team to advance to the semifinals, the Chinese national football team arrived in the city where the match was held in advance to await their opponent in the next round.

France and Brazil will be the two teams that will determine China's opponent in the semi-finals.

"Actually, I think Brazil would be a more suitable opponent for the Chinese team."

In a CCTV5+ special program, a Chinese football expert shared his thoughts on the semi-finals: "We say that China's journey to this point is already a miracle, and that's certainly true. But we also know that everyone hopes the national team can continue to create miracles. Well... in my opinion, and in the opinion of some other experts on the program, China's semi-final opponent would have been Brazil, which would have been much better."

Brazil is a traditional football powerhouse.

Even some netizens who don't follow football closely believe that the word "Brazil" represents the highest level of football, and that Brazil is unrivaled.

However, in reality, Brazil's strength has declined significantly in recent years and it is not as powerful as it was decades ago.

For the Chinese team, Brazil is better than France, and the program's experts offered a series of arguments on this point.

1. The French team has Mbappe and Dembele, and either of these players is someone the Chinese team cannot handle.

2. After the first two knockout matches, the Chinese players were exhausted and found it difficult to withstand France's fierce offensive.

3. Brazil made frequent mistakes in the group stage of this World Cup, which was considered a sign of poor form among the Brazilian players.

4. The Chinese national football team has experience playing against Brazil in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. For the Chinese team, Brazil is not invincible.

Based on these arguments, the task for Chinese fans is now quite clear.

Go Brazil!
Brazil must defeat France!

……

Match Preview: Quarter-final France vs. Brazil, who will meet China in the semi-finals!
[Click to follow and receive match start notifications]

The World Cup can be quite dramatic sometimes. Brazil was the culprit that eliminated China four years ago, and now Chinese fans need to stand up and cheer them on.

Neymar, if you can beat France, then we can wipe the slate clean of what happened four years ago!

Go Brazil!

You know, I've always been a Brazil fan.

Actually, it would be good if France advanced; I quite like France. How about this: Neymar goes up and swaps a red card with Mbappe.

[Rodri and De Jong have already repaid their elder brother's kindness, it's time for you, De Jong. Referee, a red card!]

Does anyone have the WeChat payment QR code for the referee of the France-Brazil match? Could you send it to me?

Who does Tang Qiuwang favor?

The Chinese team players are taking an ice bath in the hotel pool.

"French is definitely going to win, Brazil has no chance."

Zhang Yuning was somewhat surprised by Tang Ye's straightforward answer: "I thought you would say you wanted to cheer for Brazil."

"That's different. I really want to cheer for Brazil."

"Didn't you say France was sure to win?"

"I'm cheering for Brazil and I'm sure France will win, but these are two separate things, Ning!"

Tang Ye shrugged: "I know Brazil will lose, but I hope they win, so I'm cheering them on."

"Then your friends on the French team must be feeling pretty bad."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ye raised an eyebrow and touched his nose: "Hehe, let them make a sacrifice."

"Haha! Damn, that's awesome!"

"But indeed, I feel we have a chance against Brazil."

Feng Xiaoting beamed with joy: "I don't even know what level I am anymore. After beating Spain and the Netherlands, I feel like I can beat Brazil now. Haha, this is just crazy."

"That means we're awesome."

Tang Ye's tone was firm.

"Hmm, really, didn't we play Brazil once before? It felt like there was some truth to it. We're definitely stronger now than we were four years ago."

What was it like playing against Brazil four years ago?

Wei Shihao turned to look at Zhang Yuning.

"How you feel is exactly how I feel. Aren't we the same?"

"I wasn't even on the roster four years ago."

"Oh?"

Wei Shihao's words startled Zhang Yuning: "What's going on, Brother Hao? Didn't you play in Russia? You're not good enough, can you stand up straight? Your name is Wei Shihao!"

"stupid*."

Poor Zhang Yuning got scolded by Wei Shihao. Zhang Xizhe, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "You guys are really confident, huh? You think you can beat Brazil for sure? Judging from your attitude, do you think you can recover in 4 days?"

"It's covered."

After saying that, Tang Ye's body began to sink, with half of his head submerged in the icy water.

Realizing that his words were a bit imprecise, he stood up again: "Anyway, I feel like I can recover, although my shoulder is still a little sore."

Massage your right shoulder; Tang Ye really took a bad hit yesterday when playing against the Netherlands.

Other players also have their own problems, and their situations may even be more serious than Tang Ye's.

Young players in their 20s are fine, but for those over 30, recovery is indeed a challenge.

Especially Feng Xiaoting, this center-back is almost 40 years old!

"Will Brother Ting be able to run at that time?"

"You should worry about yourself first!"

……

"Dembele, to the right! Come closer!"

"Griezmann."

"Blow the door open!"

"The ball is in!"

"Dembele!" Although a goal was scored, He Wei unusually didn't shout "Beautiful!" or even cheer for Dembele's goal.

The reason is simple: from the perspective of the Chinese team, He Wei actually did not want France to advance.

"..."

"Block them!"

"Is Neymar going to track back? It's too late."

"Hernandez".

"Long shot!"

"Goal! Hernandez!"

"2:0!"

【66666】

What is this referee doing? Hurry up and send Dembele off, or even Giroud would be fine.

[Mbappe has committed numerous fouls, why hasn't he received a red card yet? Referee, have you forgotten you already have a red card?]

Seeing Brazil being heavily suppressed by France, Chinese football fans changed their prayers, hoping that the French players would receive more red cards.

Unfortunately, today's match was a bit too civilized. It wasn't until the 76th minute that the French team officially received their first yellow card of the match, which came from center-back Varane.

"..."

"Giroud, goal!"

"In that case, Brazil probably doesn't have much of a chance..."

"..."

"Beep, beep beep—!!!"

With a score of 4-1, France defeated Brazil almost effortlessly.

After watching the entire match, you might even get the feeling that Dembele and Mbappe were holding back their energy.

If we don't dominate in the quarterfinals, when will we ever dominate?
No need to ask, it's definitely going to be a stomp in the semifinals!

Who will be his opponent in the semifinals?

GG King is located in China!

"Haha! Pretty surprising, right? I didn't watch the whole match, and I was really shocked when I saw the result."

Dembele responded to a reporter's question about the China-Netherlands match: "I didn't expect China to beat the Netherlands. TY often told me he would create miracles, but now it seems I underestimated him. He can create more miracles than I imagined."

"Some fans have expressed their hope that you will not play in the semi-finals, otherwise China will have no chance."

"Ha ha!"

Dembele burst into laughter: "Sure, of course. But only if TY doesn't play either. If TY doesn't play in the semi-finals, I can sit on the bench with Kylian, and neither of us will play."

"I think this is quite fair."

Dembele shrugged and joked, "If China is willing, I'll certainly accept."

"Haha, so what would you like to say to the Chinese players? You will be facing them in the semifinals in four days."

"..."

Dembele thought for a while, then looked at the camera.

"It is an honor to be China's opponent in the semifinals."

“TY, I’m just a junior member in the club, but now it’s the World Cup, and I’m going to be the senior member.”

"Wow!!!!"

"What the fuck!"

As soon as Dembele finished speaking, screams erupted from reporters and fans in the mixed zone.

The French national team doesn't have Tang Ye, and that damn Dembele guy!
He wants to be king!

……

Match Report: Giroud scores with a header, Hernandez scores a stunning long-range goal, France defeats Brazil 4-1 and will face China in the semi-finals. (192732 comments)

Interview with Dembele: It's an honor to be China's semi-final opponent; I'm the junior at my club, but this is the World Cup, and I'm going to be the senior here.

Dembele is absolutely arrogant!

Although I know it was a joke, Dembele's words were indeed exaggerated for the sake of the show, and it was as if he was declaring war on the Chinese team.

In addition, head coach Didier Deschamps stated that France's opponent in the semi-finals is the biggest dark horse of this World Cup, so even if France has the advantage, they must not be complacent.

Now things are really complicated. Of the three opponents the Chinese national football team has faced in the knockout stage so far, Spain was a complete underestimation, the Netherlands was taken more seriously, and France is now a team we are fully prepared for.

It's worth mentioning that this will be the first time in history that the two teams have met in the World Cup.

France has never scored against the Chinese team, and neither has the Chinese national team.

Then came the matches in the lower bracket, where both Argentina and Portugal narrowly advanced.

Especially Portugal; if Bruno Fernandes and Dalot hadn't seized their opportunities, Portugal might already be eliminated.

Because of Bruno Fernandes' outstanding performance, the second half of the World Cup bracket has brought the Messi-Ronaldo showdown that fans have been eagerly anticipating.

……

FIFA official: The semi-final matchups for the Qatar World Cup are now complete.

Upper bracket: China (home) vs. France (away).

Lower bracket: Argentina (home) vs. Portugal (away).

With the French duo battling it out in the upper bracket and Messi and Ronaldo in the lower bracket, Qatar, as the host country, is undoubtedly the biggest winner of this World Cup.

Another hidden big winner is Manchester United. According to data analysis by Thescored, the average match rating of all Manchester United players during this World Cup is 8.2, far higher than England's 6.7 and France's 6.5. Even now in the semi-final stage, there are still 7 Manchester United players who have not been eliminated (Tang Ye, Dembele, Ganacho, Bruno Fernandes, Dalot, Varane, and Lima).

Great club!

Manchester United players are just amazing!
The Sun – TY social media reposted a poster teasing the semi-final, with Dembele commenting: "Boss, let me beat you head-on this time!"

……

(End of this chapter)