Chapter 29 National Team's Attention Feng Xiaoting didn't know that he had been spotted by Barcelona. At this moment, he was working hard and loudly directing his teammates to defend. As a central defender, you can't do your job without a loud voice. Because defense is not a one-person job, it is something that can only be accomplished when all teammates on the entire defense line work together in unity and tacit cooperation. Therefore, not only do the players themselves need to stay focused at all times, but they also need to remind their teammates loudly and frequently. Feng Xiaoting is a football player who relies on his brain. He has excellent overall view and defensive awareness. He became the captain of Sichuan Guancheng at the age of 18, becoming the youngest captain in the history of the A-League that year. If he didn't have some ability, the team would never let him be the captain, and his teammates would never obey him. Under the command of Feng Xiaoting and the tacit cooperation of his teammates, the Nigerian team's counterattack in the final stage of the first half was successfully resolved by the National Youth Team. The score of 2:0 remained until the end of the first half. This score is very favorable for the Chinese team, but for the Nigerian team, it has almost pushed them to the edge of the cliff. The score on the field was directly reflected on the players' faces. The expressions on the faces of the national youth players were very relaxed. They were talking and laughing along the way, and even had the energy to respond to the cheers of the fans in the stands.
However, the atmosphere on the Nigerian side was extremely heavy. The players had solemn expressions and kept their heads down without saying a word. Although Nigerian fans in the stands tried to comfort them, the Nigerian players did not show any reaction after hearing it, and did not even raise their heads. "Oulei~~Oulei~Oulei~Oulei..." The national youth fans at the scene sang songs and happily played human waves. The Chinese national youth team holds such a huge advantage that the Chinese fans who come to watch the game feel extremely comfortable and relaxed. I have never had this feeling before. When I went to watch the Chinese team's games in person in the past, the national football team was either behind or in a disadvantageous situation, which made the players nervous and unable to relax at all. But this national youth team is different! From the group stage to the final, they never lost a game and won every time! Even if you are at a disadvantage, you can still catch up. When winning became a habit, the fans of the National Youth Team gradually developed a sense of trust in them and firmly believed that they would win. This is why the fans are so relaxed when watching the game. During the halftime break, fans who stayed up late to watch the game took the opportunity to chat on major forums in China: "I can't believe it. In half an hour, we will be able to win the World Youth Championship!" "Don't be so rude, buddy upstairs. The game isn't over yet, so don't open champagne at halftime!" "Haha, my my, I just said it out of inspiration, I really don't mean to be mean." "I understand. Not only you, but everyone else can't believe it. Chinese football has never achieved such outstanding results in a world-class competition before." "In fact, it's not just this championship that's important. What's more important is the existence of our group of young players, which brings great hope to Chinese football!" "Winning this championship will definitely have a huge stimulating effect on the development of Chinese football!" "With this group of outstanding young people, the Chinese national football team's combat effectiveness will be guaranteed in the next ten years. It is just around the corner for us to enter the World Cup finals again. We may even make a bigger breakthrough and get out of the group stage and advance to the knockout stage. Each step is a huge breakthrough for Chinese football!" "Brother, please stop talking. You're making my blood boil in the middle of the night!" "I really look forward to these players joining the national team!"
As the fans look to the future, their hearts are filled with hope, as if they see a beautiful blueprint unfolding before them. While the fans were chatting, the newly appointed national team coach Zhu Guanghu was also thinking about this issue. Since Milu resigned, the Chinese national football team has entered a period of turbulence. Successive defeats in the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup forced the previous Chinese national football team coach Ali Han to resign. It also caused the Chinese national football team to bear a huge infamy in public opinion. When Zhu Guanghu took over the team, he was faced with such a severe situation of internal unrest, maximum external public opinion pressure, and an aging overall team lineup. To reverse this situation, we must produce sufficiently convincing results to explain to the fans. And the Chinese national football team really needs some fresh blood! "Although these guys are young, they have outstanding abilities. Perhaps we don't have to wait that long and can now recruit some of their best players into the national team." Zhu Guanghu thought to himself that players like Lin Feng, Chen Tao, Feng Xiaoting and Zhao Xuri could definitely join the national team now. Even if they couldn't be the main players, they could at least be substitutes. Recruiting them into the national team can also show the country's attitude to the outside world and let the outside world know the country's determination to learn from its mistakes and seek change. The 2nd East Asian Football Championship will kick off at the end of this month. The Chinese national football team's opponents are North Korea, South Korea and Japan, all of which are very strong teams. If we can win this championship, it will be of great help in reversing the current poor public opinion environment for the Chinese national football team. Especially in the match against the Japanese team, if we can beat them, it will greatly reverse the infamy of losing to the Japanese team in last year's Asian Cup final. Thinking of this, Zhu Guanghu made up his mind. …… The fifteen minutes ended quickly and players from both sides returned to the field to continue the second half of the game. The Nigerian team made a substitution during the half-time break, replacing a defender with a forward. This posture clearly showed that they wanted to intensify the attack in the second half and try to equalize the score as soon as possible. After the start of the second half, Nigeria's attack was very fierce. They pressed hard in the midfield at all costs, and after getting the ball, they immediately moved to the flanks, allowing the attackers on the flanks to cut inside or make crosses from the bottom, allowing the forwards in the penalty area to take shots. This tactic looks very simple, but it is very practical. Due to Zhou Haibin's injury in the last game against Argentina, the strength of the national youth team in the midfield has declined. Lu Lin, who replaced him, was only 168cm tall and weighed only 65kg, and was unable to replace his role. The Nigerian team itself is a very tough team, and their players have excellent physical fitness, which further magnifies the shortcomings of the Chinese national youth team on the left side. In the 52nd minute, Nigeria once again completed a cross from the wing. The pass was not very good. The forward Ogbuk who was lurking in the penalty area was blocked by two defenders of the National Youth Team, and he was double-teamed by the two defenders.
However, under such circumstances, he squeezed out and completed an extremely difficult diving jump to the top. The ball hit the post and flew into the net, and the score became 2-1. This ball is extremely difficult. Even if Ogbue is given ten more chances, he may not be able to score. But he just went in! This made the Chinese fans in the stands smell a hint of danger, and the opponent's goal made them feel dangerous. With at least 40 minutes left in the game, the National Youth Team's lead had shrunk to 1 goal, and their psychological safety net was gone. After scoring the goal, the Nigerian team was in high spirits and launched an even more ferocious counterattack than before. For a moment, the Chinese National Youth Team's formation was completely suppressed in its own half and could not expand at all. The situation of the game became confusing again. At the critical moment, Lin Feng remained extremely calm. He recalled Wenger's previous warning that the Nigerian players were mentally unstable and prone to making mistakes. Thinking of this, Lin Feng suddenly had an idea. In the 61st minute, after the National Youth Team resolved an attack from the opponent, Lin Feng quickly rushed to the opponent's half and reached out for the ball. When the opponent's players are concentrated in your half, this is simply the best time to counterattack. The opposing players obviously knew this and did not give Lin Feng any chance to sprint with the ball. Before he could speed up, they committed a tactical foul and knocked him down. Beep! The referee blew the whistle quickly and showed a yellow card to the Nigerian player who committed the foul. Lin Feng took a look at the player who committed the foul. Since he couldn't remember the other person's appearance, he remembered his jersey number. The next breakthrough will come from you! (End of this chapter)