Chapter 146: Patron Saint!
"Woooooooo
Cristiano Ronaldo ignored the huge boos created by the Chinese fans at the Fisht Olympic Stadium and picked up his right foot in an exaggerated way, deceiving Tang Zheng's body center of gravity to the right with a noticeable discount.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who was ready to celebrate the goal, rubbed the tip of his right foot to the bottom of the ball, but when he finished the shot, his pupils shrank suddenly, and the whole person was shocked and stunned.
Tang Zheng, who had changed his center of gravity, did not pounce on the right side of his body, but stabilized his body with the help of the powerful explosive power of his right foot and stood in place.
The Chinese fans standing behind the goal clearly saw Tang Zheng open his hands and firmly grasped the football kicked by Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Whoa—"
At the same time, the Chinese fans in the stands jumped to their feet and let out a deafening loud chant.
"Pounce out! Pounce out!!"
He Wei, the commentator of Yang 5, was dumbfounded, but his reaction was very fast, almost out of instinct, and he shouted hysterically: "Who said that this world is cold and cruel, like Tang Zheng, as long as you have firm beliefs, make full preparations, and maintain high morale, this world maybe, maybe it will lift its cold veil and show you a bright smile!"
"This ......"
Fernandez of Portugal's national sports television station was stunned, holding his head in his hands, looking sluggish, and did not say a word for a long time.
"Incredible! incredible!" British Sky Commentator Andy Gray stood up with passion, grabbed the headset with both hands and shouted wildly: "Tang saved the Chinese team!" he saved...... No, he grabbed the penalty kick kicked by Cristiano Ronaldo with both hands!
"Excuse me...... Who else is there at this time??" Commentator Martin Taylor has always been known for his passion, completely ignoring the objective comments that the commentator should make, and he said like a river: "Cristiano Ronaldo will never be able to beat Don! He wasted a great opportunity with a 99% chance of scoring!
"Oh-My-God! Don, who has never been trained as a goalkeeper, directly confiscated the penalty taken by Cristiano Ronaldo on the World Cup stage! Who would have thought of this result? Sorry! I thought about it, but I only thought that Tang would save the penalty, and never thought that he would catch the penalty directly! The Chinese team, which was already about to fall off the cliff, was pulled back by Tang! The suspense of promotion was reborn again!
German Sky Commentator Marcel Leif exclaimed.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the penalty, looked very painful, he held his head in his hands, looked at Tang Zheng, who was still calm, and felt extremely regretful.
Why do you want to take the penalty in Tang Zheng's most elegant way of taking a penalty?
Isn't it okay to hit four angles?
Pity...... There is no regret medicine in this world, and a penalty is a penalty missed.
The on-site director once again gave Tang Zheng a close-up shot pushed to his face, and he was not particularly excited, but took the initiative to calm his teammates.
Tang Zheng held the football with his left hand, pressed down with his right hand, signaled his teammates not to be nervous, and shouted to his teammates who ran over to celebrate Tang Zheng's rescue of the national team: "The game is not over yet, the score is still 1:1, as long as you keep going!
The excited Chinese team members nodded their heads and high-fived Tang Zheng one after another in celebration, after all...... This is to save the Chinese team.
Once Cristiano Ronaldo scores a penalty, it means that the national team is out!
Tang Zheng directly received the penalty kick taken by Cristiano Ronaldo, which had a huge morale boost for the Chinese team, which played one less.
In addition, it is a huge blow for Portugal.
Getting a penalty is the equivalent of a boiled duck, but ...... When it's time to mouth...... Fly!
This huge psychological gap is difficult for anyone to accept.
Portugal coach Santos put his hands in his pockets and looked helpless.
In stark contrast, the Chinese coach Lippi, who stood in the stands on the first floor, blended into the carnival atmosphere of the Chinese fans, and passionately vented Tang Zheng to save Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, like a child.
Immediately, he hooked his finger at the assistant coach Li Tie who was looking at him, and the latter immediately understood.
Thousands of kilometers away in China, a large number of Chinese fans reacted in the same way as Lippi, celebrating wildly.
※※※
Until Tang Zheng drove the football big foot to the frontcourt, Cristiano Ronaldo did not come back to his senses.
He really didn't expect that the penalty kick that was nine out of ten would be saved by Tang Zheng, and he still grasped it firmly in his hand.
Shame!
Tang Zheng's football soon returned to the defensive half of the Chinese team, and Manuel Fernandez, who got the football, subconsciously handed it to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had not yet returned.
Cristiano Ronaldo, out of instinct, lifted his foot to stop the ball.
The referee on duty, Sandro Ricci, blew his whistle and raised his right arm to signal for Cristiano Ronaldo offside.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who seemed to be preoccupied, shook his head helplessly, he still hadn't figured out why Tang Zheng was able to catch his penalty directly.
Unscientific!
The free kick of the Chinese team in the backfield, Tang Zheng did not rush out, but delayed the game time slowly.
At the same time, assistant coach Madaloni and Li Tie worked together to convey the tactical adjustments of head coach Lippi to the players on the field.
In fact, when the game was approaching the end of overtime, the Chinese team, which played one less player, had no other choice but to retreat to the half-court comprehensive defense and drag the game into a penalty shootout.
Tang Zheng took a free kick in the backcourt, and the game time had come to the 119th minute of the game, which means that there was still one minute left before the end of the game.
Of course, given the two red cards from the Chinese team, referee Sandro Ricci will consider a few minutes of stoppage time at his discretion.
However, the Chinese players on the field and the Chinese fans in the stands did not want to see too much stoppage time, because the Chinese team, who played one less, was very passive on the defensive end.
Especially when the game is close to 120 minutes, the physical decline of the players is very obvious, and it is all about willpower to persist until now.
In many cases, even if the willpower is super strong, it is inevitable that the mind will not wander.
The Chinese team retreated in an all-round way, and Tang Zheng, as the captain, stood in front of the goal line and constantly directed his teammates to run, while reminding them to hit the attention of the game.
Finally saved Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, and if Portugal exceeded the score again in the last moments, there would be no place to cry.
At this moment, Andre Silva, who got the ball, suddenly threw a cold arrow at the front of the penalty area, Tang Zheng subconsciously blocked it with his left foot, and the football flew high into the field.
An exclamation erupted from the Fisht Olympic Stadium: "Whoa, whoa, whoa—"
After all, Tang Zheng is not a professional goalkeeper, if Tang Zheng hadn't reacted quickly just now, Andre Silva's cold shot would really have formed a goal.
British Sky commentator Andy Gray raised his eyebrows and said worriedly: "Tang has not been trained as a professional goalkeeper, and the last few minutes are likely to be a torment for the Chinese team!"
Indeed, as long as the football flies to the Chinese team's penalty area, the hearts of Chinese fans will be in their throats and full of nervousness.
Fortunately, Tang Zheng accurately judged the landing point of football, although he has not been trained as a professional goalkeeper, he can expand the defensive area through outstanding physical fitness.
Time passed quickly, and the fourth official came to the sidelines with an electronic card and held it high.
There will be three minutes of stoppage time.
'Three minutes of stoppage time is too long. ”
With Portugal on the offive, captain Cristiano Ronaldo's attention returned to the game.
The penalty has been conceded and it is useless to regret it.
Instead of moaning and doing useless work, it is better to clean up your mood and try to complete the lore before the end of the game!
However, after Tang Zheng saved Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty, the Chinese team was in full swing, and their running enthusiasm was greatly improved, leaving Portugal with very few holes.
Time is getting less and less, and the whole Chinese team has a unified idea, which is to insist on the 1:1 score until the end of the game.
In the blink of an eye, the first minute of stoppage time passed, and Portugal failed to pose a direct threat to Tang Zheng's goal.
Portugal coach Santos was in a bit of a hurry, and he came to the sidelines and took advantage of the deadball opportunity to make a gesture that only his side could understand.
Immediately, the Portuguese attack became more direct.
The two side crosses have become fewer, because Tang Zheng is very accurate in judging the landing point of football, plus Gao Zhunyi, Zhang Linpeng and Li Kui, it is difficult for the Portuguese players in the penalty area to fight for the landing point.
Even if you grab the landing point, the crosshair is not guaranteed.
In addition, I have to say that Tang Zheng, who played as a guest goalkeeper, performed very steadily, except for Andre Silva's cold shot, which was subconsciously used with his feet, and he used his hands at other times, and he held it very steadily, which did not look like a guest goalkeeper at all.
Of course, this also has a lot to do with the poor quality of the Portuguese crosses, and so far the game has been played, except for substitutes Quaresma and Gerson Martins, the rest of the players have played 120 minutes, and they are prone to technical mistakes due to physical influences.
The direct attack of the Portuguese attack is to choose a long-range shot!
The quality of the cross is not high, and the penetration in the middle is insurmountable, so you can only choose a long-range shot with a high difficulty coefficient to score.
It's a difficult option to score goals, but it's a direct win and a long-range shot is one of the best ways to break down a dense defence.
Since there is no way to tear apart the Chinese team's defensive system with wide crosses and central penetrations, they can only choose long-range shots.
"Whoa—"
With the loud cheers that rang out at the Fisht Olympic Stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo, who got the ball, picked up his right foot and shot directly from a distance!
The football was blocked back by Li Kui, who was in place, with his flesh and blood, Cristiano Ronaldo reacted quickly, stopped the football with his left foot, took a step forward, picked up his right foot again, and shot from a distance!
Compared with the long-range shot blocked by Li Kui, this long-range shot is of higher quality!
The football swept in front of He Chao, who was half a beat slower to make up the defense, at high speed, like a cannonball.
Tang Zheng held his breath, kicked the ground with his left foot, and the whole person rose into the air.
I saw that Tang Zheng's body in the broadcast screen was very stretched, and the fingertips of his right palm lifted the football up, and the football flew out of the bottom line by grazing the beam, shocking the Chinese fans behind the goal in a cold sweat.
"Oh, oh, oh-"
"Wonderful save!" He Wei, the commentator of Central 5, almost burst into tears: "Tang Zheng saved the Chinese team again!"
The game came to the 122nd minute of the game, with less than a minute left in the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who received the football, did not choose to shoot from a distance, because Li Kui and He Chao were waiting for him, he protected the ball, and turned to hand it to Manuel Fernandez, who was answering.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he saw a small gap in the left rib of the Chinese team's penalty area.
Although his friend Quaresma didn't run to that position, with the feeling of training in the team, he felt that Quaresma would be in that position.
Cristiano Ronaldo did not pass the ball to Manuel Fernandez in the middle, but passed to the attacking right rib, which is the left rib of the Chinese team's penalty area, and Gao Zhunyi and Jiang Zhipeng's ribs were empty.
"Ricardo Quaresma!"
Fernandez, the commentator of Portugal's national sports television, was instantly excited and raised his voice.
"Oops!" He Wei, the central 5 commentator, exclaimed: "The left rib of the Chinese team's defense is once again exposed!"
The running Quaresma didn't give Gao Zhunyi time to make up for the defense at all, and he kicked the ball directly with the outside of his right foot.
Tang Zheng did not choose to attack, but held his breath and stared at Quaresma.
"Shoot!"
As soon as Quaresma finished shooting with his right foot, Tang Zheng, who was ready, was like a tiger pounced, blocking the football that Quaresma kicked out with both hands.
"Beautiful fluttering ......" He Wei did not finish speaking, and found that the football had bounced back to the feet of Quaresma!
But the best news for the Chinese team was that Gao Zhun Yiheng was in front of Quaresma and did not give the opponent a follow-up angle.
But...... Quaresma didn't have a follow-up shot, his mind was clear, and he used the arch of his right foot to smash the ball in front of the left without looking back.
"Pass!!"
All the Chinese fans saw Quaresma's pass in their throats, especially the Chinese fans behind the goal, who had the most open vision - Cristiano Ronaldo met Quaresma's pass.
"Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Tang Zheng, who had not fully gotten up yet, took a step forward with the help of the strength of his legs, opened his arms, and expanded the defensive area of his body.
Cristiano Ronaldo was quite calm in front of goal, and when he saw Tang Zheng pounce, his body leaned heavily to the left, and his right foot pushed the ball into the far corner.
Tang Zheng pounced to the near corner, the corners of Cristiano Ronaldo's mouth curled slightly, and his heart was already shaking in his arms and shouting - it's time to go in now, right?
However, the next moment, his pupils shrank, and he was stunned.
Tang Zheng dragged his left foot forward and swept forward, his toes slightly touched the football that rolled towards the far corner of the goal against the turf, changed the trajectory, and then brushed the outside edge of the goal post on the right side and went out of the bottom line......
"Oh-My-God!" said Andy Grey, the British Sky commentator, incredulously: "Don, who has become a goal god, once again saves the Chinese team!