Chapter 54: Being called upon to take charge in times of crisis "The Japanese referee's decision is questionable!" In the commentary booth, the guest commentator invited by CCTV had some complaints about the referee's decision. In their opinion, although Li Weifeng did touch the opponent's player, giving him a red card was too much. Although the opponent's player's movements after falling to the ground are exaggerated, he actually did not suffer any injuries. This kind of action would at most result in a yellow card warning, but the referee directly took out the red card and penalized the wrong person. It looks like there is something fishy going on! The game had just begun and the Chinese team was forced to play with only ten players. This match might be difficult to play. "Coach, do you want to make a substitution?" On the bench, the assistant coach came over and asked Zhu Guanghu. Zhu Guanghu shook his head: "Not for the time being!"
If it was Li Weifeng who was sent off, then this substitution would have to be used. Without a complete back line, the Chinese national football team would not be able to hold out for more than a few minutes. But Gao Lin's sending off has little impact on the overall impact of the Chinese national football team, after all, Gao Lin plays as a center forward. His absence will weaken the Chinese national team's offensive capabilities, but will not have a particularly large impact on the overall defense. But with one person missing so early in the morning, all the tactics previously formulated were useless. The Chinese national football team must now retreat and counterattack! In the opening stage, the Chinese national football team fought very hard, which made the Koreans feel very uncomfortable for a while. At this time, seeing that the opponent had one player sent off and the overall formation was shrinking, the Koreans immediately became bolder. They began to try to launch a more fierce attack on the Chinese national football team! Tens of thousands of Korean fans in the stands also cooperated very well to create exaggerated momentum when their team was attacking, trying to overwhelm the Chinese national team with their home court momentum. However, to their disappointment, the Chinese national football team did not collapse under the frenzied attack of the South Korean team, but instead withstood the pressure. The opponent's cheating tactics have completely infuriated them. The anger of the national football players is rising, and their fighting spirit is also rising. They fought with all their might, using ferocious tackles and strenuous running to disrupt the South Korean team's attacks time and time again. Among them, the best performances were from forward Jiang Xie Hui and midfielder Zhao Xuri. After Gao Lin left the field, Xie Hui, who acted as the lone striker, was under greater pressure. He not only had to fight in the frontcourt but also look for opportunities to attack. You also have to retreat to defend when the opponent attacks to make up for the numerical disadvantage. This is a huge test of the physical fitness of a veteran over 30 years old, and it is even more of a huge test for someone like Xie Hui who is injured. But Xie Hui withstood the pressure and impressed everyone with his outstanding performance. As for Zhao Xuri, the new defensive midfielder of the national team, he and his teammates set up an iron gate in the midfield, blocking the offensive coefficient of the South Korean team and leaving the Koreans helpless countless times.
South Korea's best chance in the first half came in the 38th minute, when they passed the ball into China's penalty area through a series of passes in the frontcourt. South Korea's No. 18 striker Kim Jung-woo volleyed the ball without stopping before the two Chinese national team defenders closed the door, making a very threatening low shot. But the Chinese national football team's goalkeeper Li Leilei focused and quickly fell to the ground to save the ball, defusing the crisis. After that, the South Korean team never found such an opportunity again. Facing the fierce defense of the Chinese team, they could only try long shots from the outside to see if they could try their luck. But unfortunately, Koreans don't seem to have much luck today. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the Chinese national football players, although the South Korean team outnumbered the opponent for more than 40 minutes in the first half, they failed to score even a single goal. The score remained 0:0 until halftime. Throughout the first half, the South Korean team, which had a numerical advantage, only created five shooting opportunities, only two more than the Chinese national team. This result is definitely acceptable to the Chinese team, but it is a bit unacceptable to the South Korean team. "Well done, national football team!" "Well done!" "I won't scold you even if this game ends in a tie!" "Damn it, I won't scold you even if we lose!" Domestic fans were very satisfied with the mental outlook and fighting spirit shown by the national football players in the first half. Many people even feel that with the mental outlook and fighting spirit shown by the Chinese national team in the first half of the game, if Gao Lin had not been accidentally sent off due to Li Weifeng's foul, the Chinese national team might have been leading by now. "Brothers, drink some water. I'll give you a massage to relax you!" In the locker room, Lin Feng and several other substitutes took out the prepared water, energy drinks and clean towels, and greeted their teammates who had just left the field. Everyone is taking the time to rest. Zhu Guanghu came to Xie Hui and asked with concern: "Xiao Xie, can you still hold on in the second half?" In the first half, Xie Hui did a very good job of retreating to defend on the front line, effectively disrupting the opponent's offensive organization in the backcourt and helping the national team win a lot of time to defend. Xie Hui gritted his teeth and nodded: "It's no problem to hold on for another 30 minutes!" When Zhu Guanghu heard his answer, he immediately understood what was going on. He walked to the middle of the locker room and coughed heavily: "Ahem, everyone, be quiet and listen to me!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at their head coach. “Everyone performed very well in the first half. We withstood the pressure and did not fall behind away from home!” Zhu Guanghu first praised the players' performance in the first half, then changed the subject and began to raise requirements: "But our goal is not a draw, but victory. If we can't beat the Korean team here with all our main players, we will have no chance in the future!" As soon as these words were spoken, some people immediately disagreed.
"Coach, we are one man short. We should play more conservatively at this time. If we want to win, we must attack. But how can we attack in this situation?" The person who spoke was Li Weifeng, and when Zhu Guanghu saw him, his face didn't look very good. If you hadn't touched the opposing player, how could Gao Lin have received a red card? If it weren't for that damn red card, would all the tactics we arranged before the game have been overturned? But Zhu Guanghu knew Li Weifeng's hot temper, so he suppressed his anger and did not lose his temper at him in front of everyone. Because if you lose your temper with him, he might talk back to you in public. Once an internal conflict breaks out between the head coach and the players, the morale of the Chinese national football team will be completely ruined. He took a deep breath and said, "In the second half, we will still maintain the original defensive counterattack tactics. I will make personnel adjustments in the midfield and frontcourt, replacing them with Lin Feng and Shao Jiayi who have stronger offensive capabilities." Having said that, Zhu Guanghu looked at Zheng Zhi and Chen Tao and told them: “Once there is a suitable counterattack opportunity, don’t hesitate, immediately pass the ball to the front court and give it to Lin Feng to create a chance for him to shoot!” Chen Tao didn't feel anything, as they did the same thing in the World Youth Championship. But Zheng Zhi, the absolute main force, was shocked after hearing what Zhu Guanghu said: Is Lao Zhu planning to make Lin Feng the core of the attack? Although he is also optimistic about Lin Feng's potential, is it really appropriate to let a 17-year-old young man take on such a heavy task in his national team debut? Is it too risky? Zheng Zhi subconsciously looked at Lin Feng, but saw that the other party's expression was not nervous at all. Instead, he had an urge to try. Okay, I was overthinking it, this kid doesn’t look nervous at all! After Zhu Guanghu finished explaining to Chen Tao and Zheng Zhi, he quickly looked at the others and said loudly: "In the second half, we will use counterattacks to destroy the South Korean team and break the Korean phobia of Chinese football in their home stadium!" Lao Zhu's words were very encouraging, and the players also gave him face and echoed him loudly. The fifteen-minute break ended quickly, and the national football players returned to the field with their heads held high and full of energy. Sharp-eyed fans soon noticed that there was a new young man in the national football team. That person was Lin Feng wearing the No. 8 jersey! The Chinese team made the first personnel adjustment in the second half, with 17-year-old Lin Feng, who was selected for the national team for the first time, replacing No. 11 Cao Yang. The Chinese team showed their attitude with this substitution; they are not aiming for a draw! The Chinese team is here for victory! (End of this chapter)
