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

Chapter 905: The First World Cup Medal in Asian Team History, the So-Called "Problem"

"The match is over!"

"The match is over!"

“4:3！在经过93分钟的比赛后，最终中国队是以4:3的比分击败了葡萄牙，拿下了队史的第一场三四名决赛！这也意味着中国队将成为历史上首个获得世界杯季军的亚洲球队！”

"Just today!"

"Let's congratulate Team China!"

The moment the whistle blew, the Chinese national football team players on the substitutes' bench rushed out.

Eskeriva finally stood up.

"Vamos!"

"Vamos!"

boom!
On both sides, Chinese team members ran out. Eskeriva and Matti bumped into each other: "We won! We won! Haha, Vamos!"

"We won! Vamos!"

"Haha, Ferran, calm down, Ferran!"

A little sore from Escriva's actions, Matti pushed his coach away forcefully: "I know, I know we won."

"Vamos!"

Before Matti could finish speaking, Escriva yelled into the assistant coach's ear again.

"Okay, okay, I understand! But..."

"Could you please not kneel on the court next time? It's making me very embarrassed!"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Haha, we won!"

Perhaps because it was too noisy at the scene, Escriva seemed not to have heard Matti's complaints at all. He shouted "vamos" again and then finally ran away.

"..."

"alright."

Marty flung his hands out: "Then you kneel down yourself, it has nothing to do with me."

Seeing that Escriva was about to join the players, and worried about being left out of the celebration circle, Marty hurriedly sped over: "Hey, wait for me! Damn it!"

……

Top post on Dongqiudi: 4-3! Wu Lei's last-minute powerful shot sealed the victory for China, who defeated Portugal in the third-place match to win the Qatar World Cup bronze medal!
【Awesome! 】

【6666】

This is another historic moment. Actually, I had a feeling a long time ago that the Chinese national football team would beat Portugal.

[Fun fact: The Chinese national football team only lost to France in this World Cup. I feel that if France didn't have Dembele, they wouldn't have been able to easily beat China, right?]

[Medals! Medals! Haters, speak up!!!]

The players on the field are Chinese players running at high speed.

Everyone ran with a very uniform posture, with their arms fully outstretched, as if this was the best way to release the psychological emotions after winning the game.

Feng Xiaoting and Wu Xi had already shed tears.

Both players are veterans of the Chinese team, and this is likely their last World Cup.

They seized their once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a World Cup medal!
Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, seemed to be in pain. Two bulges appeared on his cheeks, likely from clenching his teeth tightly. His eyes were also red, though no tears were visible. His expression suggested the Portuguese captain was enduring considerable discomfort.

Bruno Fernandes stood with his hands on his hips, staring blankly at the staff setting up the podium in the middle of the stadium.

"..."

Tang Ye noticed this and walked over to Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bruno Fernandes didn't show much expression, but Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to notice Tang Ye walking towards him. He decisively pretended not to see him and turned to walk into the players' tunnel.

Ok.

Tang Ye was also helpless. Cristiano's desire to win was too exaggerated, which caused him to become very resistant to everything after losing a game.

"Bruno".

Tang Ye and B Fei hugged.

"congratulations."

Bruno Fernandes patted Tang Ye on the back: "You guys played very well."

"Thank you."

"..."

The two stood facing each other and suddenly fell silent.

"...I'm heading back to Carrington now. Congratulations!"

B. Fei and Tang Ye embraced again.

"See you in Carrington!"

This was the only suitable thing Tang Ye could think of.

……

[FIFA World Cup Qatar]

【2022】

Third Place: China

"gentlemen."

Tang Ye and Eskeriva embraced and took a step back.

"Ok?"

Eskeriva shrugged, while Tang Ye pointed to the steps of the podium: "You go first."

"Haha, okay, thank you!"

Eskeriva jokingly bowed slightly to Tang Ye before walking toward the podium, with Tang Ye following closely behind.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino was already waiting on the podium to present the medals to the Chinese players as they stepped onto the stage.

"China Central Television! Viewers, as you can see, we are now holding the award ceremony for the third place winner of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. After more than 90 minutes of fierce competition, the Chinese team has finally defeated Portugal."

"It was indeed a very exciting match."

"Yes, you could say that the Chinese team almost had no chance, because we saw that Portugal actually played quite well."

"Haha, of course we still made it to the end."

"Let's congratulate Team China!"

【6666】

【666666】

[I have a feeling, guys, that Tang the Ball King is going to appear on my monthly exam paper next week, and I reckon he'll be on the college entrance exam physics paper next year too, doing force analysis!]

The barrage of comments was full of "666" and "awesome," and all 20-plus Chinese players and coaching staff had found their place on the podium.

Wu Lei grabbed his medal with one hand and shouted Tang Ye's name.

"Ah? What's wrong?"

"Damn it, don't just stand there! They're counting down 3, 2, 1!"

"Oh, right, haha. I'll do it!"

Tang Ye shook himself and stood with Feng Xiaoting in the middle of the first row.

"3!" "2!"

"1!"

"Awesome! (China)"

Wow!!!

"Damn, why are they calling it differently?"

"Stop talking, it's awesome! Awesome is enough! China is awesome!"

"Ha ha!"

With a medal hanging around his neck, Tang Ye received a small trophy from the staff as one of the three or four final MVPs.

"Tang Ye is awesome!"

"Tang Ye is awesome!"

After greeting the fans in the stands, Tang Ye thanked the staff on site.

"Yeah, you must be really excited. But actually, I'm still..."

"hiss……"

The scene suddenly fell silent, as the fans vaguely sensed that Tang Ye wanted to say something.

Indeed, Tang Ye wanted to talk about his regrets in the semi-finals, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

The match against France can be described as regrettable, but it's hard to call it regrettable, since the gap between the two sides is obvious, so there's not much to say about it.

"...I'm really happy to beat Portugal. They played very well, but we still won."

"TY, from your perspective, do you think this World Cup was a success? You pulled off some upsets in the knockout stages, defeating Argentina, Spain, the Netherlands, and today Portugal."

"Maybe, maybe not."

Tang Ye felt a little tired of holding the MVP trophy, so he handed it to Mati next to him and asked the coach to put the trophy away for him.

"We did a really good job in some aspects; we won a lot of key games and made history. But if you break the whole process down..."

Tang Ye shook his head: "I still found a lot of problems, a lot of problems that need to be solved."

"There is still a huge gap between us and some of the top teams in Europe and America. I don't know how to describe it. But I feel that this gap cannot be solved by simple tactics or a few strong players. The problems we are facing are very difficult. I, I may not even be able to figure out the answer to this problem."

Unexpectedly, Tang Ye would bring up these issues during an interview at the awards ceremony, and the entire Lusail Stadium fell silent.

Because it was a statement that came to mind on the spot, Tang Ye's words were a bit disorganized, but that did not prevent fans from understanding the meaning behind them.

Every step of the knockout stage was a struggle. The Chinese team in this World Cup is very similar to Dortmund in the 2021 Champions League knockout stage. They are very, very similar.

Both teams have obvious problems, but the Chinese team's problems are more pronounced.

There is only one core problem: the team's overall strength has not reached the world's top level.

This situation is very dangerous, and Borussia Dortmund serves as a cautionary tale.

After the departures of Tang Ye and Haaland, Borussia Dortmund lost their chance to compete with Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title, and even struggled against Bayer Leverkusen at one point this season.

"I think some things can't be done in a short time."

Tang Ye had a helpless expression on his face, and his eyes were a little red, which made the fans in the stadium feel sorry for him.

"So TY, you mean the Chinese national team needs to make some changes?"

The reporter became serious: "Could you elaborate on what specific aspects of the change are involved?"

"I do not know."

Tang Ye shook his head: "That's the problem."

"Actually, you don't need to be too discouraged."

The reporter comforted him, saying, "Although you may not have made it to the World Cup final due to bad luck, your current strength is still among the top in Asia."

"Speaking of the Asian Cup, what are your thoughts on the Asian Cup to be held in China next year, and what are your specific goals? Japan's head coach (Hajime Moriyasu) has stated that he will prove Japan's strength once again in the Asian Cup."

"That's something for when the time comes. Some things aren't as simple as they seem. This is experience I've only just figured out this year."

……

Eskeriva: We have made history in Asian football, and we will continue to succeed. Not beating France was my problem, but we can do it again. I will definitely lead the Chinese team to next year's Asian Cup.

In an interview, Tang Ye said he might win the World Cup Golden Boot and Golden Ball, but it didn't matter to him, and he wasn't interested in watching tomorrow's final. Although they won third place, the Chinese team has serious problems, and he didn't know how to solve them.

[GG is completely stunned by France's attack!]

[Isn't this Brazil's fault? In the quarter-final against France, Neymar didn't even bother to give Mbappe a red card. How were we supposed to play against two supercars like them?]

Those who only criticize Mbappe and Dembele are simply ignorant about football. Didn't they see it? Hernandez was the key to France's victory over us. The difference in full-backs was too great; if one full-back pushes forward, the team collapses.

[What are you babbling about? The Chinese team is awesome! If they don't give the Ballon d'Or to Tang Ye, I'll just shove Infantino instead!]

Come on, Dembele! Beat Argentina! Don't let Messi steal our Ballon d'Or!

Although Dembele was one of the main culprits for the Chinese national team's elimination in the semi-finals, it is still hoped that Dembele can perform better at this time.

In this World Cup, Dembele mainly played the role of a dribbler and passer. Because he scored few goals, he had virtually no chance of winning the Ballon d'Or.

Since that's the case, you must perform well and outperform Mbappe and Messi. That way, your brother's efforts in nurturing you will not have been in vain.

……

Dongqiudi Match Report: A last-minute winner! China defeated Portugal 4-3 in the third-place match to claim third place in the World Cup. Tang Ye scored twice, bringing his total World Cup goals to 11, making him the second-highest scorer in a single World Cup history and the first in the 21st century. (1098235 comments)

[Attached is the World Cup single-season goal record]:
1. Fontaine (1958), 6 appearances, 13 goals.

2. Tang Ye (2022), 7 games, 11 goals.

3. Gerd Müller (1970), 10 goals in 6 games

4. Kocsis (1954), 5 games, 11 goals.

The second-highest single-season goal record is indeed a bit exaggerated, considering that Tang Ye is only a midfielder.

Of course, Tang Ye's ability to recover was a key factor in his success; he is also one of the few players in World Cup history to start all seven matches and play every single one.

Another even more outrageous one is the all-time World Cup goalscoring list, which is currently being hotly debated by fans.

TA – Scoring twice in the third-place match to eliminate Portugal, TY's total World Cup goals rose to 15 (11+4), second in history, equaling Ronaldo's record.

Compared to the single-season goal record rankings, the historical rankings of total goals are quite exaggerated, at least for Tang Ye.

It's a very simple reason: Tang Ye has only participated in two World Cups and is just 23 years old.

[All-time World Cup Goalscorers]:
1. Klose (Participation periods: 2002-2014), 16 goals.

2. Tang Ye (2018-2022), 15 goals.

2. Ronaldo (1998-2006), 15 goals.

4. Fontaine (1958), 13 goals.

5. Kocsis (1954), 11 goals.

Tang Ye ranks second in both the single-season goal rankings and the all-time goal rankings, only 2 goals and 1 goal away from first place respectively, which is very close.

It's fair to say that as long as Tang Ye doesn't get injured before the USA-Canadian-Mexican World Cup, and the Chinese team secures a spot in the finals, Tang Ye has a very high chance of breaking both of these super records during the group stage.

After winning the bronze medal, Tang Ye's words were full of regret and disappointment. However, no matter which statistic you look at, this young captain of the Chinese team seems to have a bright future and great potential. This made some supporters of the Chinese team completely ignore the "problem" that Tang Ye mentioned.

Of course, since it was Tang Ye who spoke, and it was at such an important occasion as the third-place award ceremony, Tang Ye's remarks still received widespread discussion and reflection.

The front page headline of the China Football News – A Huge Gap Between Us and the World Cup Title? What exactly is the "problem" Tang Ye is referring to?
The China Football News has some connections with the Chinese Football Association, so some things can't be explained too clearly, but other newspapers have spoken for them.

Guangzhou Youth – Is the “problem” mentioned by Tang Ye directly related to the Chinese Football Association? Will other members of the Football Association be purged after Li Tie and Chen Xuyuan?
"We are 95% certain that the 'problem' Tang Ye mentioned is related to the Chinese Football Association. The direct reason for China's loss to France was the lack of top-class wingers. In addition, the problems that Li Tie was accused of started in 2015, but he was still active in the Chinese national team's coaching staff for seven years afterward, and even served as interim head coach at one point."

"The Chinese Football Association needs to be responsible for the players of the Chinese national team, and even more so for the fans. It seems that the Football Association has failed to do so, which means they need to be held accountable. This is the best response to the Tang Ye 'problem.' As Tang Ye himself said: 'It is impossible to win the World Cup without solving the problem.'"

……

(End of this chapter)