China VS France.

This is the final matchup of the Confederations Cup final.

After beating Australia by two goals to reach the Confederations Cup final, the news was prominently reported in major Chinese newspapers the next day, vying to praise the Chinese national team.

Major Chinese sports newspapers, such as Sports Weekly and Football Daily, published large color photos of the Chinese team's victory on the front page, and praised the goalkeeper of the Chinese team, Ou Chuliang, and Zheng Zhi and Yang Chen, who scored the goal.

They invariably used the title of "Copper Wall, No Loss in Four Battles" to praise the Chinese team's backline for making the first contribution to the Chinese team's entry into the finals.

The report of "Sports Weekly" said that the pouring rain seriously reduced the technical advantage of the Chinese team, but the Chinese team's backline stubbornly withstood the impact of Australia's strong forwards, especially goalkeeper Ou Chuliang's world-class saves again and again, dragged to the Chinese team ushered in a turnaround, and finally let Australia swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.

"Football News" commented that although Australia relied on its physical advantages to gain the upper hand, all the members of the Chinese team cheered in unison with nearly 50,000 spectators, and made the Australian team helpless with high morale, patience and perseverance.

Zheng Zhi and Ou Chuliang have also been unanimously praised, and "Football News" believes that Zheng Zhi's elevator ball and Ou Chuliang's outstanding performance will be the magic weapon for the Chinese team to win against strong teams in the future.

According to a report from Sina.com, Zheng Zhi has once again proved his undisputed leadership of the Chinese team, and he has once again led the Chinese team to a valuable victory in an unfavorable situation.

After the praise, everyone began to talk about revenge.

Because at the beginning of the year, the Chinese team played a friendly match with the French team, and the Chinese team lost to the French team 0:5.

The lineup last time was actually not much different from this lineup, except that Zheng Zhi and Ou Chuliang were missing, Zheng Zhi was temporarily 'expelled' from the national team at that time, and Ou Chuliang was the No. 3 goalkeeper who failed to play, while others were able to play more or less in the game against France.

But the loss was miserable, and everyone wondered if the level of the Chinese team was really far from the French team? As a result, South Korea and Japan both lost to France 0:5.

This also makes the Chinese people think that the level of the Chinese team is still the Asian level, and there is no actual change.

Now, the opportunity has come again.

I can't forget 0:5, but now I'm thinking about how to kill the French team.

People have dreams, history is just history, and more importantly, create new history.

So now let's talk about revenge.

In the football forum of Sina.com, many senior fans began to look for the possibility of the Chinese team beating the French team.

- "How to beat the French team? 》

One fan quipped: "The Italians defend, the Germans attack, the England's fouls, the Brazilians' skills, the Dutchman's fast break!" ”

"Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry are not there, what are we worried about? Zidane + Figo have lost, are we still afraid of Pire + Carrier? ”

"Defend the whole game, play defense and counterattack, just like playing Brazil, seize a chance to score one, and then defend to the death, hehe!"

"Just scrap their midfield, play a little harder, get the core down, it's beautiful."

There are also those who are timid.

"Why aren't you worried? Just ask Brazil? Concentrate on defending and counterattacking, even if you lose the game, it's actually nothing, even if it's the runner-up, is it a shame? The French team will definitely not play around when they play in the final, and I personally think that the Chinese team will not have any chances at all. ”

"People are playing in the B team, and the players are also the main force in the top teams in the five major leagues, are we thinking too much?"

……

……

However, although the Chinese fans seem to be floating, the French side is also very cautious. At least neither the media nor the head coach of the French team, Le Maire, underestimated the Chinese team.

The French newspaper "Team" reminded the French team that if the Chinese team is underestimated, Le Maire's team is likely to suffer a blow. This Chinese team can reach the final without conceding a goal in four games, and it is definitely not a weak team. Able to draw 0:0 with Brazil, 3:0 Cameroon, 3:0 Japan, 2:0 Australia, did the French team do it?

- Don't forget that the core of the Chinese team is Zheng Zhi, a man who defeated Zidane! And they also have Liverpool central defender Fan Zhiyi, Arsenal right-back Sun Jihai, Frankfurt players Yang Chen, Li Yin and Li Weifeng and other powerful players. Even in the goalkeeper position, the goalkeeper named Ou Chuliang seems to be above Barthez, what reason do we have not to pay attention to them?

Le Maire also said in an interview with French sports television: "The Chinese team is very strong. ”

"In my eyes, they are no different from the Italian team...... After watching their match against Brazil, I think we are going to have a tough test in the final, it will definitely be a tough one! It's definitely not easy to break down their goal. ”

'But we're ready for the situation, France are aiming for the Confederations Cup, and this is the best chance to test our quality ahead of next year's World Cup.'

'The lads are in high spirits and want to prove that they are capable of playing for France with the title, and if there are no surprises, the squad for next year's World Cup will be selected from these people, there will be no other way.

Lemaire simply sent a signal to motivate these substitutes and second-tier players.

There will definitely not be so many people in the World Cup squad, and some people will definitely be eliminated, which is not for France, unless it is a fool......

Three days later, there was not much time left for the two teams to adjust, with both Horton and Lemaire opting for light training and not practicing too much of their tactics.

Especially on the Chinese team's side, after the fierce battle with Australia, the physical consumption is too great, and the main players need to rest more, and the first day of training is mainly based on recovery.

However, on the first day of training, Zheng Zhi asked Horton a question that made him jaw-dropping.

"Chief,"

"Shouldn't we practice penalty shootouts?"

Zheng Zhi kicked out the suggestion seriously.

"Uh~"

When Horton first heard this, he was really dumbfounded.

Penalty shootout?

Does that mean a match against France, maybe extra time, and then maybe a final penalty shoot-out?

But after a few seconds of stunnedness, Horton immediately came to his senses.

"yes, it's a great offer, we have to think about a penalty shoot-out, and if we don't have a winner in 90 minutes and it's a draw in extra time, it's a penalty shoot-out!"

If it weren't for Zheng Zhi's reminder, he really didn't notice this, as a coach, he was derelict in his duties!

Why didn't you think of it?

Of course, he couldn't have said he had forgotten.

"I'm going to practice again tomorrow afternoon, but since you brought it up, let's start practicing today, but I haven't figured out who will take the penalty yet, so I have to discuss it with the coaching staff and maybe make a decision after penalty training."

However, the translator on the side was muttering in his heart, can he really finish overtime? France can't win the game in 90 minutes, can't win extra time? Brother Zhi, are you thinking too much?

The translator thinks that the strength of the French team is so strong, it is estimated that it will not be able to drag on the penalty shootout, which is also human nature......

But Horton is different, that is, the theoretical possibility is very small, but he also has to lead the team to practice penalty shootouts, which is also a motivation for the players, right? Let them believe that we can at least draw with France and then play a penalty shoot-out.

'I firmly believe that in penalty shootouts, we can beat them too.

……

Soon after, Horton really found Zhu Guanghu, told him his idea, and asked Zhu Guanghu to organize players to practice penalty kicks.

And Zheng Zhi also chatted with Ou Chuliang alone about the penalty shootout. Zheng Zhi is not joking, he is serious. As long as this is possible, he thinks he should practice well. If it weren't for the fact that the opponent in the semi-finals was only Australia, Zheng Zhi would have wanted to propose it to Horton in the semi-finals, and he also wondered why Horton usually didn't practice penalty kicks, after all, the major competitions that the Chinese team participated in are becoming more and more important.

When you have to go to a penalty shootout, someone has to step up, right?

Of course, Ou Chuliang is a very key figure, he is a goalkeeper.

Zheng Zhi was expected, and he decided to give Ou Chuliang a little advice.

"Anelka, France's main striker, is certainly one of them."

"He always likes to shoot to the right side of the goalkeeper, which is your right hand, remember, don't be mistaken, it's not the left." Zheng Zhi deliberately emphasized it, for fear that Ou Chuliang would make a mistake.

Ou Chuliang smiled slightly, "Remember,"

"And it's the middle."

'I can emulate his shots, from all angles. But you know, it's hard to save, we can only give some stats from the more familiar opponents. ”

Ou Chuliang listened very carefully and quickly remembered it in his mind.

"Maybe, maybe it could happen in regular season? Who knows, we didn't give away penalties when we played against Brazil, in fact, we were very lucky, we have been pressed and beaten, and the probability of making mistakes is actually quite large, and it is impossible to be so lucky every time. It's better to plan ahead than to rush into battle. ”

I don't know why, Zheng Zhi always has a strong premonition that he may encounter a penalty in the final......

"Next up is Patrick Vieira, who likes to shoot into the corner, and it's also your right hand."

Zheng Zhi believes that Vieira will also have a share of the penalty shoot-out.

"Well, I remember."

'The guy who shoots into the corner has to be absolutely calm and I think Patrick Vieira is a little bit too confident and he doesn't necessarily have the ability to hit the back of the net.

"Hey, this Vieira, is it the Vieira who was disliked by Director Xu back then?" Ou Chuliang blinked, curious.

"That's him."

"It was said that Director Xu was blinded back then, but it was just a rumor, Director Xu never said this, I asked Director Xu." Zheng Zhi also laughed. Xu Genbao is now the principal of Zheng Zhi's Shanghai branch, and it is not easy to verify the information.

"Including Shevchenko, Coach Xu has never said such a thing, but unfortunately everyone prefers to believe the fake news, in fact, it is Recoba, my teammate at Inter Milan who really missed. Recoba personally said that he originally wanted to join Shanghai Shenhua, but was rejected. Luckily, he didn't, otherwise he would have had to play A, and he wouldn't have been teammates with me......"

Ou Chuliang smiled, "It turns out that Director Xu also has a time to look away?" ”

Zheng Zhi said: "It's normal to look away, how great a coach has a time to look away, such as you, aren't you looked away?" If you had gone abroad in the early years, you would have been a world-class goalkeeper by now. ”

"Come on, let's move on to the next player. Djokov, this guy is more sassy, he likes to shoot your left, bottom left corner, not much power, but the angle is tricky. ”

"Pire, a left-footed player, likes to play on the right, in the bottom right corner."

"Dugarry, this guy is very soft, and he is also a striker who likes to play on the right, in the top right corner, and lacks confidence."

"Wiltord ......"

……

Zheng Zhi said the characteristics of the penalty kicks of the five French players in one breath, and then did not say any more.

Ou Chuliang was not satisfied, and asked, "What about the others?" ”

Zheng Zhi was embarrassed, "Uh,"

He spread his hands, "There is only so much for the time being, and you can only rely on yourself for the rest......"

"There's only so much information the club collects, and I want to know everyone's data, but it's too difficult to collect."

"Amazing, the European club is really a European club, and the information is collected in such detail."

Zheng Zhi suddenly put his hand on Ou Chuliang's shoulder, "Brother Ou, if you play in a top club now, your data will be collected by other clubs immediately, and everyone will study your fighting habits and study you thoroughly." Therefore, every player must keep improving and innovating, otherwise he will be very passive. For example, I can shoot from a penalty in several ways and I won't let the opponent guess it at all, unless I miss it, otherwise I won't let the goalkeeper save. ”

"I don't believe it." Ou Chuliang suddenly rolled his eyes.

"You don't believe it? Ha, Brother Ou, you are deliberately stimulating me and want me to accompany you to take a penalty, but don't worry, it is estimated that the whole team will come to you to practice penalty, I am afraid that you will not be able to save it. ”

……

Zheng Zhi really guessed correctly, and soon Zhu Guanghu arranged penalty training, and Ou Chuliang got what he wanted.

However, the process of penalty training really annoyed Zhu Guanghu and Horton, and the quality of the penalty was too poor. Although it is only a penalty kick shot in training mode, many players may rarely play penalty kicks, and the performance is not ideal, such as in Xie Hui, Xie Hui's penalty level is not good, the dignified top scorer in Germany and B, shot ten, and was actually saved by Ou Chuliang for four, and he didn't dare to pursue the angle......

Yang Chen was okay, winning with his domineering shooting power, but he was still saved by two.

The forwards are like this, and the midfielders are even worse, Shao Jiayi's left foot, 10 scored 7, okay, two were too much to pursue the angle, missed, and one was saved.

Qu Pine is also unreliable, with 6 of 10 free throws......

It was Qi Hong who kicked two spoons and played with Ou Chuliang.

Fan Zhiyi was even more fierce, hitting 9 of 10 free throws, and the one who didn't score still hit the goalpost! A general is a general, and he is not afraid of penalties at all.

Of course, the most fierce is Zheng Zhi.

He was the last to play, 10 of 10 free throws, and Ou Chuliang didn't have a temper at all.

This is the super footwork of a superstar.

Think it's a simple penalty? No, Zheng Zhi's style of play is different from anyone else, the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner, the lower right corner, the middle volley, the middle spoon, the inside instep, the instep, he played it all over again.

Is he still human?

In the end, leaving everyone with a painful look on their faces, Zheng Zhi sat on the chair, this penalty training, he doesn't need to practice, what needs to practice is other teammates.

Zhu Guanghu's eyes kept looking around, and he felt a little emotional.

It's uneven, the level is high and low, but it's too insecure.

Mom, fortunately, today is a closed training, otherwise it would be a shame to be photographed and written by a reporter? Those guys' penalty success rate is too low......

Fortunately, it's not that the players' skills are too bad, it's just a lack of targeted practice, and after most of the day's training, the quality has improved significantly.

The second day was better than the first, and Horton also drew up a five-man penalty squad - Fan Zhiyi, Yang Chen, Qi Hong, Shao Jiayi, Zheng Zhi.

The substitutes are Li Weifeng, Zhao Junzhe, Li Jinyu, Sun Jihai......

※※※※

The 14th is finally here, and the Confederations Cup final is about to start in Yokohama, Japan.

Before the game, Lemaire finally changed his low-key attitude and said in an arrogant tone: "We will not drag the game into extra time, we will settle the battle in 90 minutes, and we will face it with an attacking attitude." ”

Chi Guoguo revealed his murderous aura.

I don't want to ink with the Chinese team, I want to kill the game as fast as possible.

"My players know that they are European champions, world champions, so they will defend their honour in this game as well!"

Anelka, who accompanied him to the press conference, was also murderous, "My goal is to score goals for the team, and I will do my best to score!" ”

"I've scored twice against Liverpool this year, and it was Fan Zhiyi who defended me at the time, and it was the same today!"

Mad!

One of the few strikers who is passive is the arrogant Anelka. Nicolas Anelka faced Liverpool in the group stage for Paris Saint-Germain, when Fan Zhiyi suffered a loss.

Horton was very low-key at the press conference, not murderous at all, and he wanted to have it......

"France is strong, we can only defend, defend, and defend......"

Zheng Zhi also said: "The French team is the favorite to win the championship, we can only do our best to ......"

Spinach even opened a handicap of two and a half goals for the French team, which is even less optimistic than the Brazilian team's game!

……

……

A large number of Chinese fans flocked to the Yokohama Stadium in Japan, which was already full an hour before the start of the game, including more than 10,000 Chinese fans, the largest number of Chinese fans since the start of the Confederations Cup.

What if you knew that the Chinese team would eventually reach the final of the Confederations Cup? It is expected that more fans will arrive. Many tickets were purchased through scalpers, and many Japanese fans sold tickets to scalpers at a high price and gave up watching the game, after all, this is not the final of the Japanese team.

And the scalpers sold tickets to Chinese fans at a higher multiple, earning a lot of money.

But what is money? Is it more important than the Chinese team playing the French team? Obviously not, so the Chinese fans in the sky are still very happy, how many times can they be able to witness the Chinese team playing the world champion and the European champion French team on the spot?

"CCTV, CCTV, audience friends, fans and friends, good evening, I am Huang Jianxiang, tonight by me and Mr. Zhang Lu to explain to you the 2001 Confederations Cup final, against the Chinese team and the French team."

"The players from both sides are now out of the pitch."

"The starting line-up of the French team is goalkeeper Lame, defenders: Lizarazu, Desailly, Leboeuf, Karembou; Midfielders: Vieira, Djokaef, Pire, forwards: Aneaka, Wiltord, Marais. ”

"They actually played in a 433 formation! It seems that the French team wants to use the attack to kill the Chinese team in regular time. ”

"However, Zidane, Candela, Henry and Makelele did not come, and the star of the French team has dimmed a lot, and I believe that the strength will be not small! That's where we were lucky, at least not against the strongest French team. ”

If Zheng Zhi heard Zhang Lu say this in front of the TV, he would definitely say that Zhang Lu was naïve. What is the difference between this French team and Zinedine Zidane's French team? Isn't it also a star-studded gathering of big names? It's no different, it's all about scaring people. When he saw these guys in the players' tunnel, Zheng Zhi still broke out in a cold sweat.

He even felt that he had taken it for granted two days ago that he could drag the French team to the penalty shootout, which was really naïve.

Of course, he was the one who was most touched, and the others did not feel less terrible, because there are some French players who have not yet played at their peak, such as Wiltord, Marais, Pire, and some are already veterans and are in a period of decline......

Huang Jianxiang reminded Zhang Lu, "But Mr. Zhang, this French team has abused Brazil miserably......"

"Hey, that's relative. Brazil didn't play well, we were too cautious when we played them before, and today we should be brave! ”

Can you eat bravery......

The Chinese team played a lineup of 442 again, goalkeeper Ou Chuliang; defenders Sun Jihai, Li Weifeng, Fan Zhiyi, Wu Chengying; midfielder Qu Peng, Zheng Zhi, Li Yin, Shao Jiayi; Forwards Yang Chen and Xie Hui.

It seems that Horton also felt that the game against Brazil was too conservative and returned to the 442 formation......

"The Chinese team kicked off first."

With the order of the German referee, the Confederations Cup final officially began!

After the Chinese team kicked off, Zheng Zhi was targeted as soon as he got the ball, there was no Makelle, but there was Vieira! Vieira's tall body lay in front of Zheng Zhi, looking like it could block all vision.

But it was just an illusion, Zheng Zhi easily handed the ball to the left side, Shao Jiayi immediately pushed forward with the ball, Djokaeau's defensive ability was average, Shao Jiayi calmly played a wall-hitting cooperation with Li Yin, advanced to the backfield of the French team, and then without waiting for Karembu to come up, he directly passed the ball to the French team's big penalty area.

Desailly easily pushed the ball to the left wing, Lizarazu won the ball, and directly sent a long pass over the top to find Wiltord!

Wiltord's speed was too fast, and he kicked the ball six meters in front of him in mid-air, and then fought with Sun Jihai for speed!

At lightning speed!

Sun Jihai was obviously at a disadvantage and was overtaken by Wiltord strongly! Sun Jihai encountered extreme danger, which has not been encountered a few times in the Premier League!

"Oops!"

"Danger!"

When Huang shouted, Wiltord had already swept the ball into the Chinese team's penalty area.

Anelka's sprint is so fast! Although Fan Zhiyi had already taken precautions, Anelka still shot like a sharp arrow, and he couldn't stop it at all.

Seeing that Anelka was about to shoot with his left foot, Fan Zhiyi had to defend from the side and back in a hurry, but who knew that Anelka did not shoot, and suddenly pulled the ball back with his left foot, turned half a circle to the left, and Fan Zhiyi's left foot shoveled Anelka's right ankle.

Beep –

The referee's whistle is blowing!

"Oops!"

"It's a foul!"

"It's over!"

"It's a foul, it's a penalty!"

"Fan Zhiyi is too careful, how could this accident happen?"

"I'm in trouble now......"

Fan Zhiyi knew that he was at a loss, so he didn't come forward to appeal, and Zheng Zhi and they could see it clearly, this was really a foul, a penalty for the French team.

Many Chinese fans didn't sit on the hot buttocks, and they saw Anelka angrily holding the ball and walking to the penalty spot.

I encountered a desperate situation at the beginning! What a damn start.

This is the Confederations Cup final.

"I grass,"

"I grass,"

"What's going on? That's a penalty? ”

"Fan Zhiyi fouled? No way? ”

Many fans can't believe it, it's only been a few minutes? Just a minute, right?

Helpless, emotional, but helpless.

Horton was not calm, his whole face was crotched, as if he was suddenly hit by a big stone in the sky, he couldn't breathe, and he was embarrassed!

Only Zheng Zhi and Ou Chuliang looked at each other, and both of them saw each other's thoughts.

Perhaps, everything is fate?

Really going to encounter a penalty?

No, it's the mission of history!

"Brother Ou, you can do it, just pounce as we trained."

"Just gamble like that, don't think too much, be resolute!"

Zheng Zhi approached Ou Chuliang's side and explained two sentences to encourage Ou Chuliang.

"Hmm!" Ou Chuliang's gaze had already become cold, but his gaze never left Anelka. Zheng Zhi slowly withdrew from the outside of the forbidden area.

In the middle of the right, in the middle of the right, Ou Chuliang stared at Anelka while silently thinking in his heart.

Beep

The referee's whistle finally sounded, and Anelka quickly ran and kicked out!

At the same time, Ou Chuliang quickly took a small step to the right, and with all the strength of his body, he flew to the ground, and pounced on the right side like an unruly meteor!

The sturdy heroic posture stretched out in the air, as if tearing the body, and the slender arms stretched wildly! Extend! Extend!

"Ah~"

Under the shining night sky, his left palm slapped on the ball!

He turned the ball away!

Zheng Zhi was the first to shoot the horse and arrived, and immediately kicked the ball out of the sideline!

"Ah!!h

"Pounce out!"

"Pounce out!"

"Ou Chuliang!"

"Ou Chuliang!"

"Saint Ochung!"

"He really got the ball out!!!"