"Whoa—"

With the huge momentum created by the Nizhny Novgorod Arena, Zhang Linpeng threw a powerful sideline ball.

The football flew into the Croatian penalty area, and many players from both sides became entangled together, and the Chinese fans in the stands were full of antiquity, while the Croatian fans became nervous.

A number of Chinese players and Croatian players in the front and middle failed to jump to the highest point under mutual interference, the football leaked, and Tang Zheng, who was dragged by Lovren, lit up his eyes, subconsciously raised his right foot, stopped the falling football firmly at his feet, and then picked up his right foot.

Lovren and Mandzukic, who were half a beat slower, fell to the ground to block Tang Zheng's shot angle, but Tang Zheng's right foot did not complete the shot, but quickly retracted it, and then slammed the football to the left with the inside of his instep to open up space.

In order to increase the suddenness, Tang Zheng did not pick the thigh of his left foot after landing with his right foot, but stabbed the football with his toes.

Tang Zheng's whole action was smooth, and it was completed between lightning and flint, Rebic, who was standing at the near goal post, subconsciously stretched out his foot and did not touch the football, and it was too late for goalkeeper Subic to sink his center of gravity to the right side, and the football hit the snow-white net from the turf between him and Rebic.

"Whoa, whoa—"

Suddenly, the entire Nizhny Novgorod Arena became boiling, and the Chinese fans subconsciously created a huge chant like a deafening one.

No one expected that the Chinese team would make a dream start less than a minute after the game started, and the score was ahead!

Therefore, the Chinese fans were particularly excited about the unexpected goal, and the Chinese fans echoed in the fan plaza outside the stadium, and those sitting in front of the TV could hear the noise from the scene.

You must know that at this time, most of the fans watching the game in China have just set the alarm clock, and the whole person is still in a state of confusion.

The fans who got up early to wait for the game to start were no better, and according to the regular game, the goals would not be produced so early, so they were not prepared for the Chinese team to break the deadlock first.

"The ball is in! The ball is in! There was a scuffle in the Croatian penalty area, Tang Zheng faked a shot and really buckled to find a good opportunity for his feet! His left-footed shot broke through the Croatian goal!1:0! We are ahead of the powerful Croatia!!"

With the passionate commentary of Yang 5 commentator He Wei from the loudspeaker, these fans reacted and chanted hysterically.

Countless cities, neighborhoods, bars, streets, and fan squares temporarily built by the government erupted into a sky-like roar after Tang Zheng's goal.

The British Sky commentator Andy Gray got into the groove very quickly, and he said in high spirits: "The goal in the opening less than a minute! It's wonderful! This is what the all-powerful Don can do on the field! Croatia is really strong for the Chinese team! But don't forget...... The magic of Don is that no matter how strong the opponent is, he is always stronger than the opponent! This goal is his fifth goal of this World Cup! Overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku, equaling England captain Harry Kane and topping the scorer charts!"

At the same time, the head coach of the Chinese team in front of the away team's coach's bench, Lippi, was stunned for a moment and then hugged and celebrated with his assistants Madaloni and Li Tie.

Because...... It's a good thing for the Chinese team to score first!

Taking an early lead would give Croatia the lead and then retreat to half-time to execute the pre-match counter-attacking tactics.

If everything goes according to plan, it is very possible to win Croatia and advance to the quarter-finals of this World Cup!

Unlike Lippi's excitement was Croatia coach Dalic, who had an ugly face.

The goal was conceded just a minute into the game, so you don't have to think about how difficult the next game will be......

In addition, it is not to be ignored that the VIP seats, the live director gave the heads of state a close-up shot pushed to the face, so that the fans in front of the TV also know that the giants will also have emotional moments.

After the crazy commentary, He Wei's voice changed: "Tang Zheng's goal occurred in the 57th second of the game, which is the fastest goal in this World Cup!"

※※※

Tang Zheng, who scored the goal, was particularly excited in the frenzied atmosphere of the scene, constantly inciting the excitement of Chinese fans.

Croatian Modric, who was still standing at the top of the arc of the big penalty area, put his hands on his hips, looking helpless, Tang Zheng's ability he had personally experienced, and he could turn decay into magic, but he didn't expect that this ability would continue to the World Cup.

There is nothing that can be done, and you can only be helpless.

How can such a Tang Zheng be defeated?

Modric quickly shook his head and put the negative emotions in his mind, Tang Zheng is certainly strong, but the Chinese team is not a strong team, at most it is a quasi-first-class team in Europe, and there is no way to compare with a real first-class team like Croatia.

It's only been a minute into the game, and there's still plenty of time to equalize or even overtake!

No matter how strong Tang Zheng is, it's useless, because football is a team sport!

The game restarted, and the morale of the Chinese team who got a dream start was greatly boosted, Wu Sanshi and Sun Jingbo pressed very high when Rakitic took the ball to organize the attack, but Rakitic's skills at his feet were very good, and his vision was quite broad, even under the pressure of Wu Sanshi and Sun Jingbo, he still completed a precise long pass.

The football flew from the middle of the Croatian defensive half to the right-back Fosariko who crossed the halfway line, who used his right foot to pad the ball directly forward, and the Chinese left-back Jiang Zhipeng did not kick accurately under the interference of Rebic, and the football flew to the left side of the defense that Jiang Zhipeng should guard.

Fortunately, at the beginning of the game, Rebic didn't expect Jiang Zhipeng to not kick the ball, half a beat slower, Jiang Zhipeng did not lose his position, but just ceded control of the football to Rebic, who was closer.

Rebic stopped before the ball flew off the right sideline and tried to break through to Jiang.

Jiang Zhipeng fought and retreated, without giving Rebic any space to break through, but his teammate Fosarico ran very smartly, and Fosarico, who was pretending to be on the side, suddenly accelerated to the inside line, and Lu Liang, who was following the defense, didn't expect that it was too late to start again, and Rebic very covertly stuffed the ball between Jiang Zhipeng and Lu Liang.

Feng Xiaoting first Yes Ah Jin pulled out to defend, Fosarico didn't care about 3721, and directly pumped the football to the goal with his right foot on the right rib of the penalty area.

Gao Zhunyi and Mandzukic both ran over, and Zhang Linpeng, who was adducted at the back point, took the initiative to meet the football and picked up his left foot to clear the siege.

But...... The unexpected appeared.

No one thought that Zhang Linpeng's left-footed clearance was just kicked to Li Kui near the penalty spot, Li Kui couldn't react, and the football smashed on the side face of Li Kui who was trying to dodge, and then bounced back.

The most lethal thing is that the bouncing football just fell within the controllable range of Mandzukic, Gao Zhunyi and Yan Junling were shocked and pounced forward, but Mandzukic reacted too quickly, and completed a sideways volley against the incoming ball, and the football flew to the upper left corner of the goal, and goalkeeper Yan Junling could not do anything about the shot that was less than three meters away from the goal, and could only declare that the whip was beyond reach.

The ball crashed into the snow-white net, and the Croatian fans in the stands were relieved and made a loud cheer: "Whoa, whoa—"

Mandzuki, who helped Croatia equalize, raised his arms and shouted in a frenzied atmosphere, and frantically vented the huge pressure brought by the goal with his teammates.

Captain Luka Modric was even more excited to kneel and slide towards Mandzukic, which shows how important Mandzukic's goal is for Croatia.

The goal was conceded less than a minute into the game, and then the game equalised in the fourth minute.

If the Chinese team is a dream start, then Croatia is a lightning equalizer.

The Chinese team in this World Cup mainly plays a quick counterattack, if there is no equalizing goal, maybe ...... It's hard to score again.

Tang Zheng's vision, Lu Liang, Sun Jingbo and Wu Sanshi's speed.

It's desperate to think about.

Fortunately!

Mandzukic equalised.

Immediately, the on-site director gave Li Kui a close-up shot of him pushed to his face, and there was an obvious red mark on his right cheek.

That...... It was Zhang Linpeng's clearance kick on his right cheek that caused the mark of an own goal assist.

At this time, Li Kui kept shaking his head, and there was a sentence in his heart that MMP didn't know whether to say it or not.

Of course, he didn't blame Zhang Linpeng, but blamed himself for his bad luck?

"The Chinese team had a dream start, and I didn't expect that the mighty Croatia would take advantage of a defensive mistake by the Chinese team to equalize two minutes later, hey~"

Yang 5 commentator He Wei sighed: "But the game has only started five minutes, and we still have a lot ......of time to exceed the score again, so the fans in front of the TV don't need to be discouraged!

※※※

Losing the ball is never a one-person problem, but the responsibility of the whole team, captain Tang Zheng sighed lightly, and then comforted his teammates.

There's still a lot of game time, and if morale drops because of this goal, it's going to be a problem.

After all, this is a knockout game, and once there is a problem with the psychological condition of the players, the hidden dangers brought by it are absolutely fatal.

Fortunately, the players of the Chinese team are now very good in psychological adjustment, and when they restarted the game, they did not show eagerness to exceed the score again under Tang Zheng's control, but looked for opportunities through the patient passing of the midfield.

Croatia's midfield combination is among the best in the world, but China's midfield is not bad.

Tang Zheng is currently recognized as the world's first person in world football, and he is also the first midfielder.

In addition, Croatia's midfield strength is more reflected in the attack, Rakitic and Modric are both organizational midfielders, the attack is strong and weak, the defense relies on the cooperation of the whole team, and the retreat of Tang Zheng has also brought some problems to the Chinese team's offensive and defensive conversion, and Hao Junmin, who is one year old Chinese New Year's Eve today, is completely unable to send good balls in the dense defense.

However, this aspect is also reflected in Croatia's attack, Tang Zheng and Li Kui's midfield partner is solid in the middle of the defense, and does not give Modric and Rakitic a chance at all, so Croatia's attack relies more on two wings.

As the score turned into a draw, the attack of both sides of the game became more cautious, and the game came to the knockout stage, and no one had a way out.

If you lose, you will be out!

The quadrennial football feast will be attended again in four years.

Professional footballers have limited careers, and no one knows if they will be able to play in the World Cup in four years' time.

Living in the moment is what every professional player pursues.

The stronger Croatia gradually controlled the rhythm of the game, and the Chinese team fully retreated to the half, even if there was a counterattack opportunity, it would not attack in a big way, but relied on the small cooperation of the three players in the front court to create a killing opportunity.

Unfortunately, the counter-attack was slow to score a goal.

In the blink of an eye, 20 minutes passed, and neither side could find the opponent's goal, but Croatia had more strength in the proportion of possession, the number of shots on goal, the number of shots hit the woodwork and the number of corners.

From time to time, the managers of both sides came to the sidelines to make tactical adjustments, hoping that the team's attack would improve.

"Whoa—"

Although the scene was relatively stale, the mood of the fans in the stands did not decrease, but broke out into waves of shouts.

In the thirtieth minute of the game, the fans in the stands played the 'Mexican Wave' in a frenzied atmosphere.

Fans sitting in front of the TV can see the fans jumping from one to the other, and the visual impact is particularly strong, and they can't wait to be part of it.

Yang 5 commentator He Wei's mood calmed down as the game reached a stalemate, and he said in a deep voice: "The balance that was broken in the case of a tie has returned to calm, and it is not easy to have an open attack, unless one side breaks the balance again, but ...... This possibility is very low, the 1/8 finals are different from the group stage, once the goal is conceded, it may lead to the quarterfinals, which is ...... It was a result that neither side of the game wanted to accept, but ...... This is also the cruel ...... of the tournament system."

Another 10 minutes passed in the game after He Wei's eloquent talk, and when Croatia, which dominated the attack, changed its tactics and appropriately reduced possession, allowing the football to stay more at the feet of the Chinese players.

Rapid counterattacks are not only a means of livelihood for weak teams, but also a necessary skill for strong teams.

Croatia coach Dalic apparently wants to force the Chinese team to spend more time organizing the attack by reducing possession, which will lead to offensive errors.

However, the attacking core of the Chinese team is Tang Zheng, as the first midfielder in world football today, his reading of the game is almost unmatched, and he can naturally detect something from Croatia's tactical changes.

Regardless of whether the football is at Tang Zheng's feet or not, he will signal his teammates to be more stable.

Because before the game, head coach Lippi had a key advice, the knockout game is not to seek merit but to seek no fault.

It's normal to not be able to beat Croatia in regular time, even if it's a draw in extra time, so in the process of preparing for the 1/8 finals, there was also targeted penalty training, in order to beware of possible penalty shootouts!

Besides, the current attacking players of the Chinese team are very brainy, and they are aware of what in Tang Zheng's deliberate control of the rhythm, and there is not much time left in the first half, so there is no need to risk a possible goal.

Be careful to sail the ship of ten thousand years!

Don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case!