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

Chapter 895 How can the football of our great China be inferior to that of foreigners?
"This World Cup is the most exciting World Cup in football in recent years."

These are Morgan's exact words from a radio program.

In this radio program, Morgan also clearly expressed his support for Portugal, as he has always maintained – Ronaldo is greater than Messi.

The Portugal vs. Argentina semi-final is certainly something to watch, but the rematch between China and France, a true test of gratitude, is arguably even more exciting. At least in terms of ticket prices, the latter will be about 15% more expensive.

Rodri, De Jong, and De Ligt all suffered defeats in the war against TY and were ruthlessly beheaded.

Next up is Dembele. Whether he can stop the Chinese team's advance is indeed a question worth considering.

Tang Ye and Dembele are also quite something; they were constantly interacting on Instagram past 11 p.m., as if their match was already over.

[Dembele: Why did we get drawn against China? (crying) (crying) (crying)]

[Tang Ye: Haha, it's okay, we're not as powerful as you think, don't worry too much.]

[Dembele: No, Tom, I mean, I feel a little bad about kicking you out of the game]

Tang Ye: ...

Tang Ye: (Middle finger) (Spanking) (Insults)

[Dembele: Do you think I can win next year's Ballon d'Or if we win the semi-final?]

Tang Ye: You're awesome, bro. I think it'll work. (Thumbs up)

They chatted from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., using Instagram like WeChat, leaving long, long replies, each with at least 500 likes.

Dembele is really outrageous, directly asking Tang Ye if he could win the Ballon d'Or in 23. It's hard not to suspect that these two guys are getting paid by Meta to boost their Instagram traffic.

……

[Denbe, have you finally revealed your ambition? I knew Dembele had ill intentions! Tang Ye should have killed him before he got up!]

[Dengzi: Tom, how heavy is the Golden Globe Award trophy? Can I lift it?]

Thankfully, the Ballon d'Or voting ended early this year, otherwise, combined with this World Cup...

Well, unless Dembele scores 10 goals in the next two games, Tang Ye should still win the Ballon d'Or this year.

Overall, Dembele's chances of surpassing Tang Ye and winning the Ballon d'Or are less than 1%, but he's just talking big.

Whether or not I can defeat the big brother, I'll just have some fun talking during the World Cup, otherwise I won't be able to do anything when I get back to the club.
In Dembele's home country of France, the national team's talented striker's remarks garnered support from many enthusiastic fans, with some even creating comics and short videos in response.

[Title: What's on the other side of the mountain?]

Snapped!
clap clap!

Waves from the Atlantic Ocean crashed on the beach as Dembele, whose face had been swapped by AI, walked forward alone.

Looking up ahead, a massive mountain rises from the seabed, soaring into the clouds.

No matter how fierce the Atlantic waves are, they cannot cause the slightest damage to this mountain. You can even feel the divinity behind this mountain through your phone screen.

Upon reaching the mountaintop above the clouds, you'll find a pink pig's head affixed to the very tip of the peak, with the Arabic numeral "10" written below it.

The mountain peak forcefully separates the beach from the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean, preventing people on the beach from seeing the gleaming golden trophy on the other side.

The protagonist gazed into the distance and began to mutter to himself.

What's on the other side of the mountain?

You don't need to tell me.

I will go see it myself.

The scene shifts to Dembele and Tang Ye, both wearing French national team jerseys, facing off from a distance.

[6 PM Paris time, December 15th, Qatar World Cup semi-final, France's God-Slaying Sword]

The so-called "French God-Slaying Sword" is actually just Dembele, who has been repeatedly suppressed by Tang Ye in the Ballon d'Or rankings.

Compared to France, AI face-swapping videos in China are much more brazen.

"It's not good, it's not good!"

In the magnificent palace, several eunuchs rushed in: "The foreign troops have attacked!"

"That's unreasonable!"

Empress Dowager Cixi, whose face had been swapped to resemble Tang Ye, was furious: "Rather than trying to survive in humiliation and bringing shame upon ourselves, wouldn't it be better to launch a full-scale attack and settle the score? How can the football of our great China be inferior to that of foreigners?"

"Declare war on France!"

……

Daily Sports – Even if China cannot beat France, TY is still favored to win the World Cup Golden Ball.

Owen predicts the score of the China-France match: France will shut out China 3-0.

The editor-in-chief of Mundo Deportivo stated that the so-called "French sword of slaying gods" does not exist. If France wants to defeat China, it needs to pay equal attention to both the left and right flanks, otherwise it may pay a heavy price.

Recently, major media outlets have been offering advice to Escriva, hoping to come up with a surprising strategy to defeat France.

Fans have a very rich imagination, and have even come up with many abstract tactics that are "theoretically feasible".

As China's opponent, French fans were extremely nervous.

There's no way around it, China is the biggest dark horse of this World Cup. Spain and the Netherlands, who underestimated their opponents, are now out of the game. Although France is strong, we still need to be wary of them.

The standoff between the two sets of fans led to a magical exchange before the semi-final began: Chinese supporters came up with a tactic, and French supporters immediately studied the tactic and devised a way to break it, giving the feeling of challenging a chess endgame.

For example, the "five-flower pork" tactic proposed by Chinese fans (referring to Tang Ye playing as a makeshift full-back to limit Dembele) was countered by French fans with the "turtle and little brother" tactic (referring to Mbappe and Dembele flying down the flanks together) within just 10 minutes of being posted online. This is because no matter how strong you are, even if you are the best "little pig" or the best "five-flower pork," your individual ability is still very limited.

Pork belly can defend against turtles? No problem!
Pork belly can defend against a lackey? No problem!
Pork belly can defend against turtle minions?
Big problem!

There aren't just one turtle brother, but two of them, which goes beyond the scope of single-target defense.

As for other things like swapping red cards, players fighting in the tunnel, and the tactic of James disguised as a striker, these things are outside the scope of serious competition and don't need to be discussed. They are just fans having fun on their own.

The truth is, you can't bet on the Chinese national football team winning the World Cup just because you dream about it. There will always be a gap between dreams and reality.

……

Match Preview: In the early hours of December 16th, the Chinese national football team will face defending champions France in the World Cup semi-final for the first time in its history.

Marca predicts the starting lineup for the China-France match: Dembele and Bappe will outmaneuver TY.

Reprinted from The Telegraph – The French national team's official media released a poster to promote the semi-final: Godslayer.

……

Time quickly came to the day of the competition, and the Qatari capital, Doha, was covered with posters of the four semi-final teams.

French fans are obsessed with YouTube videos, and regardless of copyright, they directly use Dembele's "French Godslayer Sword" poster.

And so, the photo of Dembele gazing up at the mountain was put on a small flag. French fans held a small national flag in their left hand and a "French Godslayer Sword" in their right, looking incredibly cool.

"Dembélé!"

“Dembélé!”

“Mbappé!”

"Kylian Mbappé!"

"Beat TY! (Down with Tang Ye!)"

Actually, because of Tang Ye's connections with Dembele and Mbappe, the relationship between Chinese and French fans has always been relatively friendly.

However, this friendliness is limited to off-field situations. If they really encounter each other during the game, neither side can do anything about it and a winner must be decided.

To cheer on their team, French fans chanted their slogan: "There can't be only one king in football."

Football is fair, and every outstanding player deserves to be celebrated.

Only when two kings, like in the Messi-Ronaldo era, check and balance each other, can fans enjoy exciting football matches.

But what are people looking at now?
Tang Ye led Manchester United to dominate the world!
How can this work!
Fans resent Manchester United, but they lack the ability to defeat them. So, they have no choice but to target the Chinese national team.

The punitive expedition has officially begun.

After this match ends, a new king will emerge.

That's right, it's Dembele!

Ousmane Dembélé!

Having been the underling for so long, today I must stand up and be the big brother!
……

"Tom."

In the tunnel of the stadium, Dembele came over and hugged Tang Ye: "Long time no see."

Haha, it hasn't been that long, has it?

Tang Ye put his arm around Dembele's neck: "So, what do you say about today, a hat trick?"

"A hat trick is a must!"

Dembele made a bold statement: "I'll send you to the third-place match, and I'll take the championship."

"Haha, can I play in the championship match? I also want to play in the World Cup final."

"nonono!"

Dembele shook his head: "The third-place match suits you better!"

"Ha ha!"

Tang Ye pushed Dembele away: "Good luck in the game!"

"Go Tom!"

"correct."

Dembele raised an eyebrow and whispered in Tang Ye's ear, "To be fair, I'll tell you a secret."

"What's the matter?"

"Our starting winger today is..."

"Fuck!"

Tang Ye shoved Dembele aside: "Where is your professional ethics?!"

"Haha, that's my problem! I'm mainly worried you'll lose too quickly."

"Our starting wingers are me and Kylian, it's no secret, I'm just telling you."

"Go Tom!"

Dembele and Tang Ye bumped fists: "To be honest, it would have been better if we had met in the final, but there's nothing we can do now... Good luck to you."

"Good luck to you."

Tang Ye and Dembele bid farewell.

The starting wingers are Dembele and Mbappe, one on the left and one on the right...

Well, this is definitely not useful information.

Leaning against the wall by the toilet door, Tang Ye looked up at the ceiling.

Although the semi-final result had exceeded expectations, the thought of playing the World Cup semi-final next made his body tremble uncontrollably.

Damn it, they've already won three Champions League titles!

A full 3!
……

[Pre-match Press Conference – France]

"Your opponents today are the biggest dark horse of this World Cup, having upset both Spain and the Netherlands. What would you like to say to such an opponent?"

"Hmm... The Chinese team is very strong. I know how difficult it was for them to advance to the semifinals, which proves their strength."

There was a lot of talk about it online, but now that the match is about to start, Dembele has suddenly started showing high emotional intelligence again for some reason.

"I'm still very nervous because China used very novel tactics."

"And then there's Tom... I've said it many times before, Tom is the best player in the world, bar none. His presence will cause us a lot of trouble, I don't really like playing against Tom... but our coaching staff has also done special research on Tom."

Dembele nodded and revealed a piece of information to the reporter: "We spent almost three-quarters of our time studying Tom, so I believe we can play very well today."

"With open play completely restricted, Tom's free kicks could be the key to breaking the deadlock." This was a reminder from a reporter.

"Of course we've taken that into account."

Dembele brought the microphone to his mouth: "But I don't think that's a problem."

"We were very well prepared."

"We've come here today to kill gods."

Dembele made a joke about the deepfake video on YouTube showing the Atlantic Ocean from a beach.

……

In a pre-match interview, Dembele said: "Tang Ye is the best player in the world, without a doubt; but France is ready."

Mbappe: The coaching staff has done special research on Tang Ye, and our goalkeeper is very familiar with his penalty and corner kick habits.

Tang Ye: Dembele is absolutely capable of winning the Ballon d'Or; his talent is Ballon d'Or level. Dembele, Mbappe, and Rodri are all Ballon d'Or contenders in my opinion.

"This is our opportunity. No matter what we face next, you must remember that all you need to do is to give full play to your abilities."

"Because this may be the only opportunity some of us will ever have in our lives."

"This is the World Cup semi-final!"

Escriva has been incredibly excited since the round of 16, and now, in the semifinals, he's acting like he has hyperthyroidism.

"France is the defending champion and the favorite to win the title this year."

"I do not care!"

"You shouldn't care either!"

"Who our opponents are doesn't matter! Don't be blinded by their halos; we just need to keep making history after we've already made it. The whole world will be watching us, watching us succeed!"

"I won't scold anyone today, no matter how well you play, no matter how badly you perform, it doesn't matter. Play freely, we have nothing to fear!"

"..."

Tang Ye placed his left hand on Chi Zhongguo's shoulder and his right hand on Zhang Yuning's muscle.

"3, 2, 1!"

"come on!"

“Come on! Come on! Come on!!!”

……

"China Media Group, China Media Group! Good evening, viewers. You are now watching the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final match between the Chinese men's national football team and the French men's national football team."

“除了CCTV5之外，您还可以通过CCTV1、CCTV2、CCTV5+、CCTV7等频道收看本场比赛。”

The giant camera at Lusail Stadium moved over the stadium, and as it passed over the 8-seat mega stadium, fans stood up and screamed, hoping to appear on the big screen.

After the camera finished shooting around the entire stands, the scene on the big screen suddenly changed, showing a man in the players' tunnel touching his hands and shaking his legs, seemingly extremely agitated.

……

(End of this chapter)