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

Chapter 918 Goodwin, Don't Save Me
6 month 21 day.

Dalian Suoyu Bay Stadium.

[Asian Cup Round of 16: China vs. Australia]

"Wei Shihao! Hmm, that's a bit of a pity."

"However, the Chinese team still has a relatively large overall advantage at present."

"With a 2-0 lead, if Australia doesn't score in the next 30 minutes, China will advance directly to the quarterfinals. And due to the draw, if China wins, they will become the first team to advance to the quarterfinals."

As the host country, the Chinese team has played very strongly in this Asian Cup. So far, they have only drawn one match with Uzbekistan and won all the other matches. This momentum has continued until today's Round of 16 match against Australia.

The Chinese team will also defeat Australia today, maintaining their winning streak!
Here we go! Let's start warming up!

[Holy crap, is this the Goodwin you guys were talking about? I checked, and he's only worth a million euros, but you guys are calling him a billionaire. Is that fair?]

【sit down!】

Goodwin, don't mess things up this time! This game is crucial for us!

"Australia's substitution."

"Goodwin comes on as a substitute for Fornaroli!"

"Hmm, Australia's substitution is probably... cough cough, it's probably a last-ditch effort!"

Fans could tell the commentators were trying not to laugh.

Goodwin is indeed very strong, but his gambling tendencies are prohibited on CCTV5.

"Goodman, don't save me!"

"Goodwin, get down!"

The fans at the scene at Suyu Bay seemed a bit anxious.

Goodwin is a star player for Australia, often scoring crucial goals in the final moments of matches to save some fans from despair.

but!

Goodwin's opponent today is the Chinese team!

Don't try to create any miracles when you play against the Chinese team!
"come on!"

Goodwin handed Bacchus a note, then stared intently at Tang Ye in front of him, as if he were ready to meet the challenge.

Australia's performance in this Asian Cup hasn't been too bad, but this year it's China's home ground, so it's going to be a bit difficult for them to beat the host country.

"Liu Yang, you're moving fast, you're making progress!"

"Although we are already leading by two goals, the Chinese team shows absolutely no intention of lowering their attacking intensity!"

"They don't want to give their opponents a chance!"

After dribbling for several dozen meters, Liu Yang found an opportunity and immediately passed the ball to the center.

Zhang Xizhe has the ball!
Zhang Xizhe got the ball and looked for Tang Ye's position, but the Chinese team captain was surrounded by defensive players, making it impossible to pass the ball.

Hmm, that feels familiar!
"Give me!"

Wei Shihao raised his hand to ask for the ball, and Zhang Xizhe thought for a moment and chose to pass it back.

Snapped!
Possession of the ball has fallen to Gao Tianyi!
Pilling!

Gao Tianyi tried to lob the ball into the penalty area, but Zhang Yuning failed to reach it, and Australia cleared the ball.

"Damn it, give it to me!"

Wei Shihao and Zhang Xizhe shrugged: "I asked you for the ball, but you wouldn't give it to me, even though I'm in such a good position."

"My mine."

Zhang Xizhe raised his hand to signal, and soon Eskeriva's voice could be heard from outside the arena.

"Slow down! Don't rush! Let's take it slowly!"

The Chinese team's head coach made a downward pressing motion with both hands, and looked like he was already drenched in sweat.

Eskreva always gives the impression that he's more nervous than the players on the field...

"Team China!"

"come on!"

"Team China!"

"come on!"

"Long live Team China!"

On the first tier of the stands, there was a shirtless man from Northeast China with the words "China will win" written on his chest and the words "Serve the country with utmost loyalty" tattooed on his back.

He looks to be over 70 years old, but this uncle is still full of passion.

“Dai Weijun…”

"Take the corner kick!"

"Tang Ye, at the forefront!"

"Just sweep it with a kick!"

"The ball is in!"

"The ball is in!"

"Tang Ye broke through the goal!"

"3:0!"

In the second half, nearly 80 minutes in, Tang Ye completed his brace for the match.

"Ha ha!"

After jogging a few steps along the baseline, Tang Ye high-fived Dai Weijun, who had assisted him: "Awesome, awesome!"

"Tang Ye, this is a classic case of 'dimensional reduction attack'."

"Haha. 'Using a lower dimension to attack' is the right way to describe it. We're saying that a player like Tang Ye must be an 'ultimate dimension attack' in the Asian Cup."

Tang Ye only scored one goal in the group stage match against Syria, and after the game, he received a shocking 6.0 rating on Hupu, the lowest in the team.

Even though you're the MVP of the game, Chinese fans don't care about that.

You're doomed! Scoring fewer than two goals per game in the Asian Cup means you're slacking off!

If you're lazy, you can only get a passing grade of 6.0!

"Suta's long pass was a bit off-target."

"But Zhang Linpeng made a mistake!"

"Eh!"

"To Goodwin!"

"Goodwin!"

"Goal in Goodwin!"

"3:1!"

"Australia has scored!"

"..."

After Goodwin scored, Tang Ye gave him a thumbs-up from a distance, a gesture that seemed a bit odd to the Australian players.

But after a few minutes they understood what Tang Ye meant by giving a thumbs-up.

"Oh!!!"

"Holy crap!"

"Tang Ye is awesome!"

With a Cruyff turn at the baseline, Tang Ye blocked Beych's body and cut inside.

The ball repeatedly touched the baseline, but Tang Ye controlled it very well, causing the ball to repeatedly cross the line but never run out of bounds.

The defenders in the penalty area were on high alert. Tang Ye made a feint and stopped abruptly, then unleashed a powerful shot from an impossible angle.

boom!
4: 1!

"..."

Matthew Ryan stood on the goal line.

He now understood the meaning behind Tang Ye's thumbs-up. Goodwin's ability to score in the final moments had earned the approval of the Chinese team captain.

The price of being recognized is being brutally beaten by Tang Ye.

Goodwin is receiving the same treatment as Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi!

"Beep, beep beep—!!!"

"Alright, the match is over!"

"The final score of the match was 4-1. As expected, the host team, China, successfully advanced to the quarterfinals, and Tang Ye completed his second hat-trick in this Asian Cup."

Goodwin, why aren't you working anymore!

[Hahaha, what a stomp! If Tang Ye were serious, he could probably beat Australia 7-0?]

What's the point of stomping weaker teams? The quarterfinals are the real test; everything before that is secondary. Guys, let's stay calm. Don't celebrate prematurely in professional matches.

[2023 FIFA Asian Cup China]

【China Win】

……

“Awesome!!!”

"Damn, that felt good!"

The Chinese national football team players returned to the locker room one after another, and about half of them took off their clothes.

"Summers in Northeast China are unbearable! It's so hot, it's no different from the South."

The temperature here today is over 30 degrees Celsius, so playing football in this weather is definitely not very comfortable.

The good thing is that the Chinese team's strength completely overwhelmed the opponent, so the players felt very relaxed playing this game.

"How about it."

Zhang Yuning raised an eyebrow at Dai Weijun: "You're going to make it to the quarterfinals in your first Asian Cup. Are you used to it?"

"Haha, Brother Ning, we still need to see if we can play in the later matches."

Dai Weijun was also modest, saying that he didn't care even if he didn't get a chance to play, because his team was strong enough that they could just win without any effort.

"Dai Weijun".

At this moment, Tang Ye returned and clapped hands with Dai Weijun.

"Brother Ye!"

"Hey, don't be nervous, haha, why do I feel like you're nervous?"

As soon as Tang Ye entered, Dai Weijun stood up on the spot, making Tang Ye feel awkward: "You really played very well."

Tang Ye pinched the muscles on Dai Weijun's arm: "Hiss... You're the first Hong Kong player I remember."

"Brother Ye, yes. I was born in Hong Kong, and my home should not be far from yours."

Dai Weijun seemed a bit reserved. Tang Ye shrugged, indicating that the new signing still needed some time to adjust.

Tang Ye sat down next to Dai Weijun: "Where do you play football?" (in Cantonese)

"Shenzhen team, but..."

"Quiet down, quiet down!"

Escriva's hurried entrance interrupted the players' passionate celebration.

"I really don't understand. This is only the first elimination round, how can you guys be like this?"

"If you start celebrating now, how are we supposed to play the rest of the matches? Which of the remaining matches won't be more difficult than this one? Do you think we can win the championship just because we won the round of 16? That's not how you use the host country's power."

"..."

Escriva surveyed the players in the room: "Although we've had some pretty good scores in our recent games, we still have some serious problems. I hope you'll take your training seriously from now on."

"We have only one goal: the championship! Nothing else matters!"

……

Dongqiudi Match Report: Tang Ye scores another hat-trick, leading China to a dominant 4-1 victory over Australia and securing their place in the quarterfinals. Hong Kong player Tai Wai-Chun delivers an outstanding performance in his national team debut. (763464 comments)

Forwarding AFC announcement: Tang Ye was selected as the MVP of the China-Australia match, and his MVP rate remains at 100%.

CCTV

"Hello, Tang Ye."

Tang Ye nodded to the reporter, then looked at the billboard behind him.

BYD, Moutai, Estée Lauder, Hisense... these are all well-known companies.

It seems that achieving good results in the World Cup can indeed increase the attention paid to Chinese football by domestic and foreign companies, which is quite positive.

"Tang Ye, has your Bubble Bond considered sponsoring the Asian Cup?"

The reporter noticed that Tang Ye had ideas about the billboard.

"Haha."

"I won't."

Tang Ye shook his head: "Sponsoring the Asian Cup is too expensive. I don't think it's necessary to spend this money."

"Indeed, with you around, it feels like Bubble Bond doesn't need to sponsor anything."

Tang Ye took a deep breath: "I wouldn't say that. If it's suitable later, I think we can indeed sponsor it, but our situation is not very stable right now, so we can't rush it."

"And for this match..."

……

Hupu Community: Post-match ratings for China vs. Australia.

Wei Shihao (3 attempts to dribble past a defender, 1 successful; 2 shots): 9.8 points.
-
[Go Hao Ge! We won't criticize you during the national team matches, just win a championship to shut the haters up!]

武磊（2次尝试过人1次成功，射门4次进球1个）：9.9分。
-
Although they won, Wu Lei didn't seem to be in great form. He needs to get back into form as soon as possible, otherwise it will be difficult to beat South Korea and Japan later. Come on, Wu Lei!

Dai Weijun (2 corner kicks, 2 on target, 1 assist): 9.9 points.
-
【…】

唐业（8次射门6次射正、帽子戏法、6次过人4次成功、8次身体对抗全部成功、官方MVP）：8.5分。
-
[The game's superior performance is undeniable, but I have a feeling GGBond was playing recklessly in the first half. I'll give it 1 point for now.]

中国队大名单23名球员，一共有19人得到了9.9的高分，另外3个9.8分，到唐业这里突然就变成8.5分了。

This is mainly because many fans are messing around, deliberately giving Tang Ye half a star or one star, which has led to Tang Ye's overall rating being pulled very low.

It's worth mentioning that 8.5 is the highest rating Tang Ye has received on Hupu during this Asian Cup.

The reasons why fans punished Tang Ye were quite diverse:
I'll give it one star if it doesn't score 10 in a single game, hehe.

[What? GG, why are you taking a walk again? 1 point]

[The hat-trick deserves a 10, but after taking the lead in the second half, they clearly started to throw the game, so I'll deduct 9 points and give you 1 point.]

Please, please stop punishing me, Tang Qiuwang! (crying) (crying) (crying)

[Australia doesn't seem that strong, how did they get wiped out so easily... Goodwin still needs to practice.]

……

Oriental Daily Sports Section – Hong Kong Football Glory! Tang Yip Praises Tai Wai-Chun: Stunning Performance.

Sing Tao Daily – Tang Yip-sheng's hat-trick routs opponents! Is Hong Kong's rookie midfield tough enough?
Sports News: Hong Kong residents with Asian Cup tickets can enjoy a 8.5% discount when taking the High-Speed ​​Rail from West Kowloon Station to the Mainland!
Tang Ye probably shouldn't have praised Dai Wai-tsun in front of the media, because his praise caused almost all Hong Kong sports media to focus on reporting on Dai Wai-tsun, with some even directly regarding him as "Hong Kong's future first midfielder" and "expected to start in the Asian Cup." This will inevitably put a lot of pressure on the young Dai Wai-tsun.

Everyone thinks that Tai Wai-Chun is likely to start in the Asian Cup. If Escriva doesn't give him a chance in the knockout stage, then the hearts of Hong Kong fans will be broken.

The day after the match between China and Australia, South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia in Chengdu, becoming China's opponent in the quarterfinals.

The Chinese and South Korean teams have a strong connection and know each other quite well.

However, to be honest, the Chinese team's luck in running into South Korea in the quarterfinals can only be described as mediocre.

Although South Korea and Japan don't have the same impressive record as China in the Qatar World Cup, their development in recent years can only be described as "rapid".

The South Korean team has a total of 6 players from the top five European leagues!
……

Toutiao – Tang Ye plans to receive his bachelor's degree certificate (i.e., undergraduate degree) before the start of the quarterfinals.

"In the summer of 2019, Tang Ye was admitted to the Department of Physical Education and the School of Economics at Peking University with a score of over 99 in the skills test. Over the past four years, he has completed all the courses arranged by the school with excellent grades."

"Because of his double major, Tang Ye will receive two graduation certificates. In addition, Tang Ye may continue his postgraduate studies at Peking University."

……

(End of this chapter)