Hulay was standing in the center circle, with a football under his feet, and there was no one around him, just himself - now there is no need for two players to stand in the center circle when the football game kicks off, just one person.

He looked left and right, and Chen Xingyi was on his left, standing close to the junction of the center line and the center circle.

Luo Kai was on his right, much farther away, almost close to the right touchline.

Directly behind him, Guo Junfu stood outside the center circle, and beyond that was the avant-garde line and the rearguard line.

He looked all the way and could see Lin Zhiyuan, who was standing in front of the goal, looking down and fiddling with his gloves.

It was the last moment before the game against Oman.

He was waiting for the referee's whistle.

The fans in the stands gradually quieted down, and he didn't have to worry about not hearing the referee's whistle.

As Coach Li said, it's cold today, minus five degrees, and the gas is frosty - when he opens his mouth now, it is a puff of white smoke spewing out.

Even though he was wearing a long-sleeved jersey with a tights underneath and gloves, he still felt cold.

But on such a cold night, the stands of the Ocean Stadium were still mostly occupied.

It's all Chinese fans in red jerseys.

This is a U23 Asian Cup match, not an adult Asian Cup, nor a World Cup qualifier, but the fans of Dashun still gave this game a very high courtesy.

Because it is related to whether the national Olympic team can participate in the Olympic Games this summer.

Hulai thought of the previous part where the players from both sides stood on the field and played the national anthem.

The scene of the fans singing the "March of the Volunteers" in unison was spectacular and exciting.

From his point of view, wherever there are people in the stands, a vast white mist rises, rising and falling with the rhythm of the national anthem.

The last time he wore this jersey to the East Asian Cup, because he was playing in South Korea, which was someone's territory, and when the national anthem was played, the Korean fans didn't boo them, even if they were very polite, there was no such scene at all.

In the previous warm-up match of the national Olympic team, because of the different nature of the game, there was no such spectacular scene at all.

Looking at the white mist steaming in the red stands as if there was a flame burning in the vast snowfield, Hu Lai deeply realized the weight of the four words "win glory for the country".

That's definitely not a slogan painted on the walls of a sports hall.

Just then, he heard a crisp whistle.

"CCTV, CCTV! Good evening spectators, you are watching the opening match of the 2024 U23 Asian Cup, with the host Chinese Olympic team taking on the Oman Olympic team...... With the whistle of the referee from Japan, the game begins! ”

Li Qingqing, who was in front of the TV, straightened up and sat on the sofa.

Next to her, Li Ziqiang put down the mobile phone in his hand and focused on the TV screen.

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Because of the cold weather, neither side was immediately in game condition at the beginning of the game.

However, at this point, the performance of the Chinese team is still better, on the one hand, it is natural that they have warmed up well.

On the other hand, the players of the Oman national Olympic team are very unaccustomed to such cold weather.

After all, countries from the tropical and tropical regions of Central and East Asia probably don't have such a low temperature in a year......

Before the start of the U23 Asian Cup, some Chinese fans uploaded it on the Internet, saying that the Chinese Football Association specially arranged this U23 Asian Cup to be held in the colder Northeast China.

Because there are two Middle Eastern teams in the group with the Chinese team, they are obviously not used to such cold weather.

But this is a rumor. Because the decision on where to hold the U23 Asian Cup was made a long time ago, and at that time, the U23 Asian Cup had not yet been drawn and grouped, how did the Football Association know that the national Olympic team would be separated from those teams at that time?

It can only be said that the current situation is crooked.

In the cold weather, the Chinese players adapted more quickly and began to attack the Oman goal according to the tactics arranged by Shi's guidance.

Aman, on the other hand, knew his disadvantage and responded with a dense defense.

In this regard, the Chinese team frequently took advantage of the two wings after Oman's intensive defense to launch an offensive and play actively.

In the twelfth minute of the opening game, the Chinese team almost scored.

At that time, the Omani players did not know if they had not recovered from the frozen state, and the power was too little when they returned the ball, and they were cut off by Luo Kai.

After Luo Kai, who broke the ball, made a move to pass the football to Hulai in the middle, he deceived Oman's defense to quickly adjust to that side, but he suddenly changed direction and cut into the penalty area with the ball.

This caught the Oman defenders off guard, and the Omani players were already ready to prevent him from passing the ball by him at that time, but he suddenly cut inside and immediately let him go......

The first wave of cheers rose from the stands.

Luo Kai, who entered the penalty area, did not continue to dribble the ball, but after adjustment, he shot directly with his feet!

Unfortunately, the ball he shot was blocked by the Omani centre-back, who arrived in time, with his legs......

"Ahh Luo Kai! What a pity! Commentator He Feng shouted in the back studio.

"It's okay, He Feng, it's okay. At the moment, it is clear that the players of the Olympic team are more accustomed to the weather and venue than their opponents...... This should have something to do with their previous training camp in Hongfeng Ridge. The morale of the players is high, it doesn't matter if there is no goal in this attack, I believe that if you continue to play like this, the goal will definitely come! Yan Kang comforted He Feng beside him, and he was also reassuring the audience and friends in front of the TV.

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"Ah, the ball...... Wouldn't it be better for Luo Kai to cut in and cross the ball to Hulai? Li Qingqing pointed to the TV screen and said to his father.

Just now, after Luo Kai cut inside, Hu Lai also quickly turned and inserted into the penalty area, and the central defender who was originally stuck on his side was forced to make up for Luo Kai, he was actually unmarked by him, and Hu Lai also made a passing gesture towards Luo Kai.

But Luo Kai didn't even raise his head and shot straight at the goal.

Li Ziqiang said with a straight face: "Luo Kai's handling is fine, as a striker, he has basically faced the goalkeeper alone, and it is reasonable to choose to shoot directly." It can only be said that Oman's central defender reacted quickly enough, and if it had been a little late, Rokai's goal would have gone to the far corner. Although Hu Lai is the core of the National Olympic team, it does not mean that every ball must be passed to Hu Lai, otherwise as long as the opponent prevents Hu Lai, the National Olympic team will not be able to score goals? ”

"Well, Dad, you have a point." Li Qingqing nodded obediently in agreement.

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Luo Kai, who failed to shoot at goal, looked up and saw Hu Lai in the middle, and he made a gesture to Hu Lai, indicating that he didn't mean not to pass, but really didn't see it.

Hulay didn't care about that.

As fellow strikers, of course, they all know that at the moment the opportunity arises, there must be only one thought in their hearts, and that is to shoot.

It's not a lonely, it's a striker's instinct.

It has nothing to do with personal relationships.

He and Luo Kai are indeed not good friends, but they are also guilty of deliberately not passing the ball to each other in the game.

Shi Wuyun, the head coach of the National Olympic team on the sidelines, walked out of the coach's seat and applauded the team's attack.

As the head coach, this is the way to defend his players - he doesn't think it's a big deal that Luo Kai didn't pass the ball to Hulai, so he stood up and applauded Luo Kai's attack, sealed some people's mouths in advance, and reassured the players' hearts.

Although Luo Kai did not score this goal, it still greatly boosted the morale of the Chinese Olympic team.

Facing the team that is considered to be the weakest team in the group, the national Olympic team continued to attack. And they pressed the Omani players in a tight defensive position high, directly at the edge of their penalty area to round their ball-carrying players, forcing them to make mistakes like the one just now.

The Chinese fans in the stands created a huge momentum to put psychological pressure on the Omani players, who were already not used to the weather.

Under this three-in-one offensive, Oman can indeed only cope with it, and there is a tendency to be unable to resist it......

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In the twentieth minute, after Chen Xingyi got the ball on the left side, he played a two-by-one with Guo Junfu, who came up to pick him up, and hit the wall.

Guo Junfu passed the football behind the Omani right wing-back who was defending Chen Xingyi, and when the latter turned around, Chen Xingyi had already used his speed advantage to insert behind him, caught up with the football and took a step, and crossed with his feet!

He didn't pass the ball straight away, but rolled against the turf towards the goal.

Luo Kai saw Chen Xingyi's cross, and when he boarded, he made an accelerated slash and sprinted from Hu Lai's side to the front point.

Hulai did not go with him, but dragged behind and took a step outside.

As a result, when Luo Kai rushed to the front point, he found that Chen Xingyi had passed an inverted triangle, which happened to roll past his feet.

He wanted to open his legs and try to hook the ball back and shoot again.

But just as he was about to do so, he thought it was Hulai behind him, so he stopped his foot and let the ball roll past his feet without barely reaching the ball.

Sure enough, after he leaked the football, Hulai ran to the penalty spot, first put up his left foot, and made a gesture to shoot directly, and after the Omani defender who came up to make up for the defense turned around and tried to block the shot with his body, he shook a shot, let the rolling football to the side of his right foot, and then shot with his foot!

"Hulai ——!!"

In He Feng's prolonged shouting, the football was shot into the back corner of the goal by Hulai.

The Omani goalkeeper, who had bounced back from the front spot, could do nothing about the ball, and although he made a save, it looked more like a routine......

"The ball is in!! The ball is in!! The national Olympic team played a wonderful front-court cooperation, and finally Chen Xingyi assisted Hu Lai to complete their first goal in this U23 Asian Cup!! ”

"Aha! This is the tacit understanding between the two young people who belong to the shining star! Yan Kang said with a smile beside him. The two of them had such a wonderful cooperation many times in the Chinese League last season, and now they have moved their connection in the club to the national Olympic team! ”

"Wow!!" Li Qingqing sat on the sofa, but raised her arms and cheered. "Pretty!!"

The deafening cheers of the fans were heard on the television, which stirred up the white fog floating in the stands, as if the sound had materialized.

Hulai, who scored the goal, turned around and ran to the corner flag area on the other side, jumped up and waved his arms in the uninhabited open space, and turned and fell.

Hulay made his signature celebration! We hope to see more celebrations like this in this Under-23 Asian Cup, just like last season's Chinese League One and FA Cup! ”

Yan Kang added with a smile: "It's okay to be like the East Asian Cup!" ”

In last year's East Asian Cup, Hulai scored five goals and was named the top scorer in that East Asian Cup.

But the most important thing is that in that East Asian Cup, the Chinese Olympic team won the championship!