Chapter 030: Strength Can't Be Used
Brazil eliminated Chile on penalties to become the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, before Colombia became the second national team to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup by beating Uruguay 2-0 thanks to James Rodriguez's solo goal.
The 1/8 final between China and Costa Rica is the fourth match, and the game time is 6 p.m. local time in Brazil, that is, 4 a.m. Beijing time.
Before that, the Netherlands and Mexico will play the third World Cup 1/8 final.
Due to the abundance of time, Tang Zheng took his mobile phone to watch the 1/8 final at the Castello Stadium in Fortaleza, which was rendered by the media as the strongest spear and shield battle.
Tang Zheng and his national team teammates want to know who will win and who will lose, because if the Chinese team can beat Costa Rica, they will face the winner between the Netherlands and Mexico.
There are still four hours before the game time, and the whole Chinese team began to supplement various nutrients under the leadership of the nutrition athlete, making final preparations for the 1/8 finals four hours later, so Tang Zheng was able to watch the live broadcast with his mobile phone.
The Netherlands were the top scorers in the group stage with 10 goals, while Mexico tied with Costa Rica and Belgium for the fewest goals conceded in the group, conceding just one goal in three games, so the strongest spear and shield match has attracted the attention of countless fans.
However, after the start of the game, there was a big deviation from what many media had speculated before the game, and the Dutch team with the most goals in the group stage was passively beaten, but Mexico, which conceded the fewest goals in the group stage, took the lead by taking advantage of the small and fast characteristics of the front, forcing the Dutch goalkeeper Cillessen to make consecutive saves.
It wasn't until the eighth minute of the game that the Netherlands had their first chance to shoot inside on the right through Arjen Robben.
As the game progressed, both sides refocused on their respective defenses, after all, the tournament system was more about defense than attack.
The hands-off offense should also be carried out on the premise that there are no problems in the defense, otherwise it is easy to be constrained.
However, until the end of the first half, neither side broke through the opponent's goal, and the first half ended 0:0.
Before the start of the second half, the entire Chinese team needed to go back to their rooms for a short rest, and Tang Zheng did not have time to watch the game live, but he believed that the Dutch team should be able to win the final game.
Sure enough!
Although Mexico broke the deadlock in the third minute of the second half, the score also led until the end of the game.
However, the Dutch team is a world-class team after all, and most of the players are world-class stars and full of resilience.
In the 88th minute, Robben took a corner kick from the right side with his left foot, Huntelaar nodded the ball in front of the ferry, and Sneijder pulled his foot from the edge of the penalty area to shoot angrily, breaking Ochoa's ten fingers and equalizing the score!
In the second minute of stoppage time, there was a controversial scene in the game.
Arjen Robben burst into the box on the right and was tripped by Mexico captain Marquez, who hesitated when the trip was less noticeable before blowing the whistle for a penalty and giving him a yellow card.
Striker Huntelaar, who came on as a substitute in the second half, fired the ball into the bottom left corner to overtake the score!
The final score of the game was also the Netherlands team defeated Mexico 2-1 to become the third team to advance to the quarterfinals.
As soon as the match at Castello Stadium ended, the Chinese team took the bus provided by the hotel to the Pernambuco State Arena.
It is worth mentioning that before the bus left, many Chinese fans who did not have tickets came to the hotel where the Chinese team stayed and cheered for the team in advance.
Looking at the adorable fans holding banners, slogans and flags, the Chinese players who boarded the bus all felt a sense of emotion from the depths of their hearts.
To repay these lovely fans, tonight's 1/8 final at the Pernambuco State Arena must be won!
Otherwise...... How do you repay these lovely fans?
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At around 2:15 a.m. Beijing time, Chinese fans sitting in front of their TVs or computers could see the Chinese team slowly driving away from their hotel on a bus to the Pernambuco State Arena, the venue for the game.
Even if this point has entered the deep sleep time of Chinese fans, there are still many fans sitting in front of the TV or computer, waiting for the game to start.
Yang 5 is the exclusive broadcast agency of the World Cup in Chinese mainland, so domestic fans can only watch the game through Yang 5.
However, many tidbits, preparations and preparations before the game are not in this ranks, so fans can see the situation of the Chinese team through many channels.
For example, the itinerary progress of the Chinese team and Costa Rica before the start of the 1/8 finals.
Compared with traditional live TV, online viewing is much more convenient after all.
About an hour and 20 minutes before the start of the game, the Chinese team took a bus to the Pernambuco State Arena, and the players sitting in the bus could clearly hear the clear shouts coming from outside the bus.
"Come on, Chinese team!"
"The Chinese team will win!!"
"Come on Tang Zheng! Come on Chinese team!"
"Lu Liang bull, Tang Zheng bull, we want to enter the quarterfinals!!"
……
Sounds were heard through the glass windows into the bus.
Tang Zheng took off his headphones, looked at the Chinese fans who were surrounded by the stadium security personnel, smiled naturally, and raised his right arm from time to time to salute these lovely Chinese fans.
The reason why the Chinese team was able to stand out from the group stage is not only because of its own strength and luck, but also because of the fans.
Many times players are prone to lack of knowledge, and at this time, if there are fans who spare no effort to cheer and cheer, players who are a little bloody will wake up like a dream and make the last effort for the lovely fans!
Other Chinese players followed suit, waving to their fans.
In the 2013 season, Lippi led Guangzhou Evergrande to win the first AFC Champions League title in the history of the Chinese Super League team, and has a very high position in the hearts of Chinese fans, and now leads the Chinese men's football team to the round of 16 of the World Cup.
……
"Whoa—"
When the Chinese players arrived at the 'familiar' Pernambuco State Arena, a deafening loud cheer suddenly rang out over the stadium.
Tang Zheng and his teammates subconsciously looked up to see that the stadium, which can accommodate 46,000 fans, was already filled with nearly eighty percent of the fans, and most of the seats were occupied by enthusiastic Chinese fans.
It has to be said that as the Chinese team enters the round of 16 of the World Cup, more and more Chinese choose to come to the scene to watch the Chinese team's game.
Of course, this has something to do with the appeal of Tang Zheng, the number one star of the Chinese team, but the appeal of the Chinese team is also a lot, after all, ...... The Chinese team represents the highest level of Chinese football.
In any case, as a Chinese, it is natural to cheer for the Chinese team.
Moreover, the strength of Costa Rica, the opponent of the 1/8 finals, is not strong, which also means that the Chinese team is very likely to defeat the opponent and go further!
Even if the team facing the uncrowned king of the Netherlands after qualifying, Chinese fans also believe that the Chinese team can go black to the end!!
Closer to home, the atmosphere created by the Chinese fans at the Pernambuco Arena was so frenetic that many Costa Rican players who came to the stadium to warm up were uneasy.
Because of the boos from the Chinese fans, it's really loud!
Goalkeeper Navas frowned, not because he was worried about the atmosphere on the spot, but because he was full of worry when he saw the Chinese team's No. 10 Tang Zheng.
Before the game, there was no need for special advice from head coach Pinto, and Keylor Navas, who played for Levante in La Liga, had personally experienced Tang Zheng's sharpness, so he was very worried before the game began.
It was still the captain Ruiz who was observant, and he noticed that goalkeeper Navas was a little distracted, so he patted Navas on the right shoulder with his right hand and smiled: "Don't care too much about how strong that person is." ”
Ruiz pointed in the direction of Tang Zheng and continued, his tone firm: "You just need to remember how strong you are! Don't forget! You were the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in La Liga last season! Not only me, but all of us believe that you can keep the goal from conceding!"
"Captain?" Navas turned his head to look at the confident eyes of Captain Ruiz, his gaze gradually became firm, he held his head high, and automatically ignored the huge boos that came to his face, and his voice became sonorous: "Don't worry, teammates!
"This is the invincible Kyrol I know!" Captain Ruiz nodded his head in satisfaction, and then stretched out his right hand to hold Navas's outstretched right hand: "Come on!!"
"Come on!!"
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"Costa Rica is one of the three teams that have conceded the fewest goals in the group stage of this World Cup, and they are out of the group of death, winning Uruguay and Italy in a row, qualifying for the group one round ahead of schedule, becoming the biggest dark horse in this World Cup, and their super defensive ability is really extraordinary!"
He Wei, the central 5 commentator in the on-site commentary seat of the Pernambuco State Arena, looked at the broadcast screen and frowned.
Commentator Gong Lei nodded: "Costa Rica was able to stand out from the group of death, and even eliminated Italy and England, in addition to the luck component, ability is also very important, only one goal was conceded in the three rounds of the group stage, I think in addition to the extraordinary defensive ability, the goalkeeper Navas can not be ignored." ”
Previously, China and Costa Rica had a record of five meetings, with one win, two draws and two losses.
The most recent meeting was three years ago, when China drew 2-2 with Costa Rica, but that game was of little reference as the head coach of the Chinese team was Gao Hongbo.
The two teams have met once in the history of the World Cup, when Costa Rica defeated China 2-0 in Gwangju, South Korea, 12 years ago.
Of course, this game also has no meaning and can only be used as a reference.
Ten minutes into the game, the Chinese team controlled the rhythm of the game with strong midfield control, but Costa Rica obviously made targeted arrangements before the game, and Tang Zheng, as the defensive midfielder of the Chinese team, not only paid attention to the defensive end, but also had a very strong offensive responsibility.
The game tactics of Costa Rica are extremely targeted, and the attention to Tang Zheng is extremely high, allowing Tang Zheng to pass horizontally and back, that is, not allowing forward passing, that is to say, Tang Zheng's forward pass route is completely cut off.
Captain Zheng Zhi has good scheduling ability and is among the top in Asia, but he is older, and the Costa Rican players are very resolute in pressing and executing at a high level, and Zheng Zhi does not dare to blindly pass forward even if he gets the football.
You can only choose to go forward with a big foot, or pass it back.
Passing forward with big feet can easily cause control of football to change hands, and Zheng Zhi, who has a strong ability to read the game, chooses to pass back more.
Feng Xiaoting accumulated two yellow cards and was suspended, and Ren Hang, who partnered with Li Xuepeng, was very nervous in handling the ball, and did not pass the ball to the goalkeeper Yan Junling, who was ready to receive the ball, but moved forward with big feet, so the offensive organization of the Chinese team looked very messy.
Tang Zheng was helpless about this situation.
When the game reaches the 1/8 finals, teammates will have different degrees of nervousness, even if the pre-game performance is good, once the game starts, it is a different scene.
Head coach Lippi looked helpless in the command zone of the visiting team's coach, because as a manager he was limited in what he could do.
Five minutes into the game, Costa Rica launched two threatening attacks when the Chinese team could not organize their attack.
Fortunately, Tang Zheng and goalkeeper Yan Junling maintained their condition very well, and they tried their best to keep the goal intact.
With Tang Zheng reappearing in the key position to complete a very good fall to the ground and shovel to destroy the ball out of the sideline, the on-site director gave Tang Zheng a close-up shot pushed to the face, British Sky commentator Andy Gray said solemnly: "Costa Rica is destined to defend and counterattack in a 54 formation, the Chinese team's offense seems to have no way to organize, and the defensive end has been tested continuously, if this situation continues, I think it is very likely to cause the goal to be conceded, after all, ......"
Before the words fell, the commentator Martin Taylor said: "After all, Tang is not omnipotent, the two goals conceded by the Chinese team in the third round of the group are Colombia's offense deliberately bypassing Tang, I think as the game progresses, Costa Rica's offense will also find a better way, Costa Rica who can stand out from the group of death is not mediocre!"
Interestingly, Costa Rica coach Pinto is in stark contrast to Lippi, he sits gracefully in front of the dugout, cross-legged, and looks more like a fan without a position.
Because Costa Rica's entry into the round of 16 has equaled Italy's World Cup record 24 years ago, it is good to be able to beat the Chinese team to enter the quarterfinals and set a new record, but there is no way to stop the round of 16 if there is no way to win.
The overall strength of the Chinese team may not be much higher than that of Costa Rica, but the Chinese team has world-class superstars like Tang Zheng, and Hao Junmin, Lu Liang and Yan Junling in the team are the main players of the Bundesliga giant-level team, with outstanding offensive ability.
Perhaps it was the good mentality of head coach Pinto that successfully instilled in the players, so that the players had no ideological baggage in this game and played lightly, so they played an unexpected combat effectiveness.
As the game passed by second, Tang Zheng became more and more of a headache.
Attacking teammates in the front court have the meaning of getting better, that is, defensive teammates in the back court make frequent mistakes.
Feng Xiaoting is the main force of the iron-clad central defender and the core of the defense, but the accumulation of yellow cards in this game is suspended, which leads to the lack of tacit understanding in the backline.
Tang Zheng, who has a strong sense of responsibility, realized that the defensive line was full of problems, and the range of pressure on the attack was never enough.
As a result, the Chinese team's offense gives people a sense of disconnection between the front and back courts, or in other words, they can't be powerful.