Chapter 037: World Cup Quarterfinals?
The frenzied atmosphere at the Pernambuco Arena became even more frenzied as the Chinese equalized in stoppage time, like boiling hot water, constantly tumbling, wave after wave.
The Chinese players on the pitch are also very hard-working, and the ball is given priority to Tang Zheng with his feet, and he organizes the front-court attack.
Through continuous passing, right-back Zhang Linpeng finally made a good cross at 45 degrees on the right side.
It's a pity that Gao Lin and Sun Jingbo didn't run to the position, and Costa Rican central defender Gonzalez didn't know the situation behind him, so he took a safe approach to push the ball out of the bottom line.
Time was running out, and the Costa Rican defenders, who had just conceded the goal, were so nervous that they even wanted to hold the Chinese players in the box with both hands in case they played a last-minute stunner.
Tang Zheng, who has an absolute height advantage, is the most marked, Gonzalez, the tallest player in the Costa Rican team, and the captain Ruiz are one left and one right, Gonzalez is very smart, he used Tang Zheng and Ruiz's huge body as a line of sight to block, and pulled Tang Zheng's jersey behind him.
At this time in the game, the remaining nine Costa Rican players all returned to the penalty area to participate in the defense, and the Chinese team players except Jiang Zhipeng, Li Xuepeng and Zheng Zhi stayed in front of the big penalty area to protect at different levels, and the other six players also entered the Costa Rica penalty area to participate in the competition.
As Tang Zheng said, instead of leaving the suspense of promotion to extra time or even penalty shootouts, it is better to settle the battle before the end of the game.
The tense and frenetic atmosphere of the game permeated the Pernambuco State Arena, and the Costa Rican penalty area was vividly reflected, with the Chinese players and Costa Rican players not giving in to each other, and frequent physical contact, so that the referee on duty, Eriksen, had to blow the whistle continuously to separate the players from both sides.
Despite this, most of the commentators in the commentary booth did not think that the match would be decided before the end of stoppage time, but simply that it was due to the nervousness of the players on both sides of the game.
Of course, CCTV 5 commentator He Wei and guest commentator Gong Lei, as well as the vast majority of Chinese fans in front of the TV, believe that the Chinese team can overtake the score before the end of injury time and become the fourth team to advance to the quarterfinals of this World Cup!
Tang Zheng gave Wu Xi a gesture while raising his arms to signal that he had no body movements, and then suddenly withdrew his hands and gently pushed Gonzalez and Ruiz.
Gonzalez and Ruiz didn't expect that Tang Zheng, who couldn't fight back, would suddenly exert his strength and catch them off guard.
Ruiz subconsciously followed behind Tang Zheng, but it was very unfortunate that Gao Lin appeared on his running route, Gonzalez was smarter, he went straight through the players on both sides and took a shortcut in the direction of Tang Zheng's running.
Wu Xi started to run, ready to send a corner kick.
Although there are many Chinese players in the Costa Rican penalty area, the only player who can really get Navas's attention is Tang Zheng, so Yu Guang subconsciously reminded his teammates when he saw Tang Zheng break free from Gonzalez and Ruiz's defense.
However, as Wu Xi prepared to take a corner, the other Chinese players began to move, so much so that the corresponding Costa Rican defenders had to passively follow to prevent the mark from leaking.
Pinto, the coach of the visiting team, suddenly felt a 'pop' in his heart, and subconsciously took two steps forward, and his upper body probed over the sideline.
The mentality of the head coach of the Chinese team, Lippi, is much better than Pinto, after all, he has led Italy to win the World Cup, has a lot of experience in leading the team, and is used to seeing strong winds and waves, so his mentality is adjusted very well.
If there is only one mentality, then there is only expectation.
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"Whoa—"
The Chinese fans at the Pernambuco Arena created a deafening cheer, which made the frenetic atmosphere of the stadium amazingly enhanced.
Wu Xi took a corner kick from the left side, and the football went from the outside to the inside, a very standard inside arc corner.
It's a bit of a pity that the football parabola is a bit high, the speed is not fast, and it's a bit floating.
Costa Rican coach Pinto breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the trajectory of the ball, as did the Costa Rican fans in the stands.
But Gonzalez, the tallest central defender in the Costa Rican team, did not let his guard down, he did not make a low-level mistake of watching the ball and not looking at people, but took a shortcut to catch up with Tang Zheng.
The football was high and floating, and Gonzalez was given plenty of time to talk to Tang Zheng, goalkeeper Navas was not particularly accurate in judging the landing point of the football, and the landing point of the football was towards the far end of the small penalty area, Navas gave up attacking and picking up the ball after a short period of thought.
The penalty area was crowded with players from both sides, and there were many players near the small penalty area as the closest point to the goal.
In order to avoid accidents, Navas decided to stand still and respond to the change.
The other Costa Rican players have their own Chinese players to mark, and Tang Zheng, who ran to the back post, has no one but Gonzalez to defend.
However, the angle of the shot at the back post was too narrow for not many Costa Rican players to worry about, including Gonzalez, who defended Tang Zheng.
He has done the best he has to do, follow Tang Zheng closely, and don't give him the opportunity to handle the ball easily.
The flight altitude of the football was decreasing, and Gonzalez turned his back to his goal, his hands tangled with Tang Zheng's left arm.
Although Tang Zheng's shooting angle became very small, Tang Zheng did not give up the scramble, which directly stimulated Gonzalez's fighting spirit.
In terms of height, Tang Zheng's official data is 1.94 meters, and Gonzalez is 1.91 meters.
Gonzalez's height is indeed not as good as Tang Zheng's, but his weight is five kilograms heavier than Tang Zheng's, and the muscles of his upper limbs are particularly obvious.
Under Gonzalez's interference, Tang Zheng's position slowly deviated from the original plan and went further back.
The football continued to fly to the far end of the small penalty area with an obvious inner arc, Gonzalez saw that Tang Zheng was far away from the landing point, and there was definitely no chance to get the football, and then according to his own judgment, he thought that if he didn't fight for the top, Tang Zheng might get the football, so he decided to jump up and clear the ball with a header.
Originally, Tang Zheng was ready to give up the battle, but Gonzalez did not continue to interfere, but raised his head and opened his arms naturally, maintaining his body balance, stuck his position, and prepared to clear the siege with a header.
Suddenly, Tang Zheng's eyes lit up.
Without Gonzalez's personal interference, it means that he is now unmarked!
Although Gonzalez seems to be closer to the landing point of the football, Tang Zheng is tall and has long legs, and he moves flexibly under his feet!
He took a big step forward with his left foot with his back to the baseline, and then quickly took another big step forward with his right foot, and the whole person appeared sideways in front of Gonzalez with lightning speed.
Gonzalez was mentally ready to clear the football, but Tang Zheng suddenly killed in front of him, so that his brain was a little short-circuited, and he didn't know what to do next.
Costa Rica coach Pinto, who was standing in the coaching area of the away team, felt a 'chuckle' in his heart, and a bad feeling instantly swept through his body.
The Costa Rican player on the bench stood up tacitly out of a reflex and looked up at the penalty area.
Tang Zheng ignored Gonzalez behind him, the football fell in front of him at this time, he used his chest to cushion the ball under him, and picked up his left foot.
"Whoa—"
Every Chinese fan in the stands was so excited after seeing this scene that they couldn't help themselves, ignoring the fact that their hoarse throats might be overwhelmed, and their adrenaline hormones were surging, and the momentum of the explosion was extremely amazing.
Most Costa Rican fans had their pupils shrink suddenly, and their hearts instantly rose to their throats.
"Shit!Danger!!"
At the same time, the commentator of Costa Rican national television subconsciously cursed.
Yang 5 commentator He Wei supported the commentary platform with both hands, stood up suddenly, and shouted: "Tang Zheng grabbed the football in front of Gonzalez!
“Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang——”
British Sky Commentator Andy Guerrera has a long voice.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Falcao, and James Rodriguez, who were sitting in front of the TV watching the game, all subconsciously clenched their fists and couldn't help but bring themselves into Tang Zheng.
What would you do if the person who grabbed the landing spot was you?
Direct blast rod?
Push the angle of approach?
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Dias and Braines, who were standing in front of the small penalty area line, saw Tang Zheng pick up the posture of his left foot, where did they not know what Tang Zheng was going to do?
Goalkeeper Navas also quickly stood in the near corner, which is the far corner of the original Chinese team's corner, his arms naturally opened, and his feet kept tiptoeing, ready to make a save.
Dias and Brenes didn't have room to think, and out of instinct, they chose to fall to the ground and use their bodies to expand the defensive area, while avoiding Tang Zheng's left-footed kick hitting the arm and losing it behind their backs.
Naturally, the nearby Chinese players moved out of position, and the nearest Costa Rican captain Ruiz tried to throw his body behind Tang Zheng and try his luck with his right foot extended.
If Tang Zheng forced a left-footed shot on goal, there would be a 99 percent chance of hitting the blocking Costa Rican player.
The problem is that Tang Zheng knows how to think very well when playing football, and he thinks one step more than ordinary people.
Calmness beyond ordinary people!
Instead of hitting the soccer ball, he picked up his left foot, but bobbed a shot.
“Oh-Shit!!”
Dias, Brenes, and Ruiz instantly felt tens of thousands of grass horses galloping overhead.
However, under the influence of gravity, their bodies naturally fall and cannot be used to borrow force in front of the ground without touching it......
"Shoot-" Yang 5 commentator He Wei's voice did not fall, his passion did not decrease, and he turned suddenly: "Feint!!"
The football hit the ground and flicked it, and Tang Zheng picked up his left foot again.
Yang 5 commentator He Wei's voice was raised twice: "Tang Zheng——!!!
Dias, Brennes and Ruiz, whose bodies had already touched the ground, looked at Tang Zheng with desperate eyes, forgetting to make a second reaction, but pinning their final hope on the goalkeeper and patron saint Navas.
Millions of Costa Rican fans are like-minded, hoping that Keylor Navas can turn the tide as he has done in the past.
The nervous Navas seemed to feel an inexplicable energy blessing, and for the first time, he felt that his attention could be so concentrated, and his eyes were fixed on Tang Zheng's picked up left foot.
Between the lightning and flint, he concluded that Tang Zheng's shot was in the near corner!
The distance is too close, and it is obviously too late to wait for Tang Zheng to finish shooting and then make a save, so predict in advance!
When the center of gravity of Navas's body shifted, his intestines were repentant, because Tang Zheng's left foot picked up again still didn't hit the football, and he shot again!
It was only then that Dias, Brenes and Ruiz, who fell to the ground, realized that they could do a second reaction.
"Oh-My-God!!, or a feint!!"
British Sky Commentator Andy Grey exclaimed, his voice filled with dissatisfaction.
Tang Zheng, who broadcast the picture, did not give the Costa Rican players more time, he supported Gonzalez with his right elbow, leaned to the right, swung his left calf quickly, and kicked the middle and lower part of the football quickly with the instep of his foot.
“Boom~”
The soccer ball almost grazed Ruiz's raised right calf head-on to the position where Navas was standing, and then went all the way unhindered.
Keylor Navas, who was leaning to the left, tried to reach the ball with his right foot, but the ball was running too fast and his movements were useless......
The frenetic atmosphere at the Pernambuco Arena pauses briefly as the soccer ball crashes into the snow-white net, like a high-pitched sound that suddenly stops when someone hits pause.
"Whoa—"
In less than a second, a huge tsunami-like chant rang out over the arena in Pernambuco, deafening.
The Chinese fans in the stands were completely in a state of extreme frenzy, constantly waving their arms to vent the great pleasure brought by the goal!
"Feints?"
He Wei, the central 5 commentator in the on-site comment seat, was affected by the two interruptions of passion, but the passion completely burst out and blurted out: "No!!It's true! It's true! It's true!The ball is in! The ball is in!!Tang Zheng helped the Chinese team overtake the score in the third minute of stoppage time! World Cup quarterfinals! We're coming!!"
"Yes, we're coming! World Cup quarterfinals!!" the commentator Gong Lei waved his arms and shouted: "Fans in front of the TV, are you ready?"
“Gooooooooooooooooooal——”
Before Andy Gray, the British sky commentator, could speak, the guest commentator Martin Taylor shouted first, and his voice was frantically lengthened.
Tang Zheng, who scored the goal, confirmed that the whole person became particularly crazy after the football entered the net, he pushed away Gonzalez, who was still holding his right arm, opened his arms, and ran all the way to the middle area of the secondary stand.
Behind him, a group of singles who had not seen a woman for decades flocked to him.
The Chinese players in front of the home team's bench forgot all the rules and went straight across the pitch.
The goal in the third minute of stoppage time was completely equal to a stunner!
Tang Zheng ran to the middle of the sub-grandstand not for anything, but to vent with his family at an excited moment.
Tang's father, Tang's mother and Zhao Lina were all standing there excitedly wearing the No. 10 jersey of the Chinese team, and they had already realized what Tang Zheng was going to do when they saw Tang Zheng running this way.
Tang Zheng opened his arms excitedly, hugged his parents and girlfriend Zhao Lina tightly, and shared the moment of excitement and joy together.
In his heart, this moment should be shared with the people closest to him!
The surrounding Chinese fans have the taste of 'fishing in troubled waters', and they are excitedly trying to touch Tang Zheng constantly.