Chapter 21: The Name of the Magic Flute (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!)
"Hurry!!" Yan Feng continued to shout loudly. His heart was a little anxious. Croatia pushed forward faster than he had expected. And Lin Fan, who was asked by him to go up to stop Modric, did not play much of a role. The only thing that worked for Lin Fan was for Modric to make a pass.
Lin Fan did what he could. But this is not enough. It wasn't Luka Modric who advanced with the ball, and Croatia didn't slow down the slightest bit because of this. Croatia is moving fast, and it's not just one person, it's the whole team.
The danger alarm in Yan Feng's heart kept echoing, and his eyes were wide open. What did he see?
The advance of the entire Croatian team was fast but not chaotic. The striker, the midfielder, the defender, the three lines are not disconnected in the slightest. And even on the left, center, and right, each of these three roads forms an arrow that goes hand in hand. It's like a huge trident stabbing into the body of the Chinese team.
It was Croatia's attack. As for the Chinese team, under the call of Yan Feng, everyone who stepped forward to intercept and retreated back was playing their defensive role. However, their speed of defense is not as fast as that of their opponents, and they are still uneven, with front and back, fast and back.
One word, it is "chaos".
In front of the sharp trident of the Croatian team, the Chinese team looked like a broken wooden shield.
Dangerous! Dangerous! Words like this kept flashing in Yan Feng's thoughts.
The defending side is not outnumbered by the attackers. It's extremely dangerous in this football game.
A way has to be found.
This was Yan Feng's thought while calling his teammates. When it was time to see the Croatian team pass the halfway line unhindered. Yan Feng sighed in his heart, then gritted his teeth and began to move forward to meet him.
Yan Feng slowly moved forward, then glanced at the opportunity, and suddenly burst out at full speed.
Yan Feng's sudden explosion was as fast as a white horse, and he suddenly stepped forward and hit Perisic, who was dribbling the ball, by surprise. However, Perisic's strong tactical literacy made Perisic still make the right choice despite his surprise. Divide the ball.
Yan Feng's speed is fast, and his movements are beyond the imagination of others. But Perisic's subconsciously correct approach made Yan Feng's first steal in this game fail.
"Beep!" The upward rush was too fierce, and Yan Feng, who was difficult to contain the momentum, still knocked over Perisic. Then came the whistle of the referee on duty in the game.
Yan Feng received the first foul of the game.
The referee began to warn Yan Feng. But Yan Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Fortunately, I didn't eat cards. This tactical foul is worth it.
Yan Feng used a tactical foul to slow down the Croatian team's attack. Bought time for his teammates to defend back. The penalty spot near the center circle was not enough to pose much of a threat to the Chinese team. All Croatia could do was kick off with a short pass. In this way, the Chinese team will be able to use a complete defensive system to face the continued offensive of the Croatian team.
The complete defensive system gave Yan Feng confidence in the next defense. Positional battle defense, Yan Feng believes that the Chinese team will not be afraid of any opponent.
Croatia kicks off. Missing the opportunity to counter-attack with speed, they did not rush to attack, but patiently began to look for opportunities.
Yan Feng, Zheng Zhi, and Lin Fan formed the hardest middle defense area of the Chinese team. After the Croatian team tried it, they immediately went to the side. Yan Feng immediately approached his teammates on the left side, and the Croatian team did not attack, but quickly moved to the other side through Modric in the middle.
On the right side of the Chinese team, Zheng Zhi was experienced in responding in time. Croatia still haven't found the hole, but they didn't change direction anytime soon. Instead, several people kicked the ball and tried to put pressure on this side of the defense.
Seeing that the Croatian team was putting pressure on the right, Yan Feng moved from the left to the middle, and the other teammates close to the left did the same. The entire formation of the Chinese team began to tilt to the right.
At this time, feeling the increased defensive hardness of the Chinese team, the Croatian team gave up trying on the right side. Once again, the ball was back at the feet of Modric.
The football didn't stop for even a second at the feet of Modric, and it was quickly passed by Modric on the left side of the Chinese team. There, in the open area where Jiang Zhipeng and Wu Lei connect, Rakitic easily and comfortably held the ball.
"Quick!" Yan Feng beckoned Jiang Zhipeng to settle down again, and then he moved closer to Rakitic with all his might. It is necessary to settle into position as soon as possible to form a defensive zone with assistance, otherwise Jiang Zhipeng will not only face Rakitic alone, but also allow Rakitic to advance to a dangerous distance.
The rest of the Chinese team is also shifting their defensive focus to the left as soon as possible, and everyone is running quickly.
When Yan Feng rushed to the defensive position with the fastest speed and could form a co-defense with Jiang Zhipeng, Rakitic made a 45-degree diagonal pass just past Yan Feng. Yan Feng had to hurriedly stop castration.
After Yan Feng stopped his body and completed the turn, he immediately saw the direction in which Modric appeared in the direction of the football rolling.
Under Yan Feng's gaze, Modric came to the football with a calm face, and then kicked the ball up.
It's a 45 degree long pass. Following the direction in which the football flew out, Yan Feng's eyes suddenly opened, and his heart shrank.
Copy!
Modric's long pass happened just as the Chinese team was moving to the left, where there was space and Kovacic was running towards it.
"Over there, hurry!" Yan Feng hurriedly reminded loudly.
But it was too late. Zhang 5, who was closest to Kovacic, turned around to intercept it, but it was too late. Kovacic stretched out his leg to unload the ball forward, and then rushed forward with no loss of speed.
Zhang 5 couldn't get in time for Kovacic, who sprinted forward quickly and crossed the ball with ease.
The football was sent into the penalty area of the Chinese team. Under the entanglement and interference of Feng Xiaoting, Juventus striker Mandzukic still jumped high, and then threw the ball against the flying football.
"Mandzukic, header !!!"
The ball was flicked by Mandzukic and refracted in the direction of the goal. Wang Dalei reacted with his mouth wide open. But he didn't touch the ball.
Of course, the ball didn't go in. Mandzukic's header grazed the post and flew off the line. If this goal is deviated by more than ten centimeters in the direction of the goal, Wang Dalei is estimated to usher in the first goal he has conceded in the World Cup.
"Whew~ It's so dangerous! I almost got in. β
Everyone on the Chinese side couldn't help but exhale deeply. Some fans in the stands couldn't help but pat their chests.
"It's not a loss to Mandzukic, a striker is a striker. If the goal is a little bit higher, we are behind. β
"Mandzukic's outflanking is really timely, and his ability to grab points is so strong!"
When fans were talking about the power of Croatian center Mandzukic, Yan Feng frowned and looked at Modric, who was comforting his teammates with a relaxed face.
"Lippi is really not wrong. Yan Feng felt a layer of worry rise in his heart.
Yan Feng's vigilance against the Croatian team has increased again. Just two minutes into the game, Yan Feng's understanding of the danger of this opponent improved in his heart.
Soon, Yan Feng found that his attention to the Croatian team was too shallow. In the continued game, when the Chinese team wanted to attack, it could not find any loopholes in the Croatian team's defense. So much so that Zheng Zhi, who has played for more than 20 years and has seen countless ups and downs, has become extremely dignified. Yan Feng even saw the sadness of powerlessness in Zheng Zhi's eyes.
This is the offensive side of the Chinese team. Well, anyway, the weakness of the Chinese team is not a matter of a day or two, which everyone can still reluctantly accept. What is even more worrying is that the Chinese team is difficult to resist the opponent's attack in defense.
It's not the kind of relying on personal strength to break through hard, but the kind of constantly patiently searching, and then launching a fatal blow at every opportunity. Such an attack is the most formidable. Especially under the Chinese team's very hard and tenacious defense, the Croatian team still uses the constant transfer to pull out the hole. This is an irreparable defensive hole for the Chinese team as a whole.
The only thing to be thankful for is ~
"Huh~Huh~ Fortunately, we didn't lag behind. We survived the first ten most dangerous minutes. Yan Feng said that he was lucky, but his heart did not relax at all. He felt a nervous tension he had never felt before at the World Cup.
In the ten-minute game, the Chinese team did not even achieve a single goal. On the contrary, it was the Croatian team's attack, and the Chinese team was able to successfully defend it almost once.
6:0. This is the number of shots on goal for both sides. The Chinese team is at an absolute disadvantage. This disadvantage is not present against Brazil.
The first 10 minutes are the toughest test against a team they haven't played before, and they're at a disadvantage. And now that he has finally survived, Yan Feng can finally take a breath.
"Brothers, hold on. This time, we have to be patient, the opponent's defense must not be invulnerable. After sorting out his mood, Yan Feng began to cheer up his teammates. He hopes that his team-mates will start creating opportunities for themselves as they get used to their opponents.
The old captain Zheng Zhi is the one who understands Yan Feng's meaning the most. When the Chinese team had possession of the ball and had the opportunity to organize an offensive, Zheng Zhi also became more patient. After playing for all this time, Zheng Zhi also knew that the defense of the Croatian team in front of him was a more terrifying existence than the Brazilian team.
Zheng Zhi patiently organized and patiently scheduled. But the Croatian team has never been able to show the slightest flaw. After searching hard and still not finding an opportunity, the ball came to Wu Lei's feet. The king of martial arts decided to create opportunities on his own.
Soon, the solo breakthrough of the king of Wuqiu was defeated by the Croatian team's tight defensive formation. Under the sandwich of Modric and Perisic, the former cut off the ball.
"Be ready to defend, the guys in front of you are ready to defend. Seeing this, Yan Feng began to remind his teammates, and then prepared for the onslaught that the opponent was about to come.
Modric ran back and forth for a while, looked up and swept ahead, and suddenly kicked the ball up.
"Well, could it be that he wants to hang the door?" Yan Feng quickly realized that after watching the ball fly over his head. "Not good, dangerous!"
Yan Feng hurriedly turned around and rushed back. But there was no way he could chase a fast-flying football.
In Yan Feng's eyes, Modric's kick went over the head of the Chinese team's backline. Then he saw Mandzukic rush out of Feng Xiaoting and Mei Fang's entanglement at a faster speed than others.
Mandzukic unloaded the ball with his chest in front of him on the run and quickly entered the Chinese penalty area. Then he picked it up at his feet, and the ball bounced up, just past the head of the attacking Wang Dalei and flew towards the goal.
βGOAL!!!!!!!!!!β
"Mandzukic !!"
The stands around the stadium fell silent and burst into cheers.
0οΌ1.
The Chinese team fell behind.
Yan Feng closed his eyes in pain. The sound of his opponent cheering and celebrating was heard in his ears, and the first note was like a hammer striking him.
After a long time, Yan Feng slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his rivals, who were smiling back side by side after the celebration, and at one of their emaciated figures.
"Modric, the name of the Magic Flute, this is the real you!"