After the match of the Chinese team, the other quarter-final was over not long after.

As a result, the top four men's football teams in the Asian Games were all released, namely China and Japan from East Asia, as well as Iran and the United Arab Emirates from West Asia, and Central Asia and South Asia were all wiped out.

Moreover, the semi-final matchups are also quite interesting, Japan VS Iran, China VS the United Arab Emirates, it is completely a duel between East and West Asia.

At this point, all the teams in the top four have to fight hard.

As the host, the Chinese team is naturally no exception.

With Cheng Hai's terrifying efficiency of scoring 15 goals in the first five games and averaging three goals per game, fans' desire for the championship is also much higher.

In this way, everyone is very much looking forward to the Chinese team defeating the United Arab Emirates, Japan defeating Iran, and meeting Japan in the final.

After all, in the group stage, because Cheng Hai only played in the second half, the Chinese team lost to Japan 2-4 in the end.

Everyone is looking forward to meeting Japan again in the final, letting Cheng Hai start, and then taking revenge!

In the group stage, everyone lost a little aggrieved.

However, even if Japan defeats Iran, the Chinese team will have to pass the UAE first if they want to take revenge.

Fortunately, the UAE and Uzbekistan are ranked in the same FIFA rankings, and they are not as high as the Chinese team.

In addition, the Chinese team is playing at home again, and it is very difficult for the UAE to win.

More crucially, the Chinese team defeated Uzbekistan in 90 minutes in the quarter-finals.

Moreover, the Huaguo team established a big lead early because of Cheng Hai, played very easily, and did not have much mental pressure.

The UAE had to go to penalties after a 90-0 draw in the quarter-finals against North Korea, which ended with a goalless draw after extra time and a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.

Both sides of the penalty shootout hit all the first five rounds, and finally entered the later round of the death battle, as long as whoever fell first in one round of the duel lost immediately.

It wasn't until the ninth round that the UAE defeated North Korea 9-8 on penalties to advance to the semi-finals.

Not to mention the physical exertion of playing 120 minutes of the game and playing a penalty shootout, just this kind of penalty shootout that was played until the 9th round to determine the winner and loser has reached the limit of the psychological pressure on the players.

This is a very favorable condition for China.

Both the media and the fans are very confident that the Chinese team will beat the UAE.

Of course, this self-confidence is not blind.

Speaking of a thousand words and ten thousand, the biggest confidence of the media and fans is actually not the situation of the United Arab Emirates, but the Chinese team has Cheng Hai.

So far, Cheng Hai has scored 15 goals in 5 games in the Asian Games, an average of three goals per game.

This efficiency is simply desperate.

In other words, before the game has even started, the opponent will most likely face a three-goal deficit.

How can this make the opponent fight?

It's almost certain to lose.

Therefore, Cheng Hai is the biggest source of confidence for Chinese media and fans.

……

After the match against Uzbekistan, the Chinese team took a day off and rested for the rest before continuing to train for the semi-final against the United Arab Emirates.

Although, for the media and fans, it should be easy to beat the UAE to reach the final and take revenge on the Japanese team because they have Cheng Hai.

But this is a kind of blind self-confidence, as the coach of the national Olympic team, Sun Wei and other members of the coaching staff will naturally not be so arrogant.

No matter how strong Cheng Hai is, he is only one person, and he can't play the whole game.

In case the team can't establish a lead when Cheng Hai is on the field, and when Cheng Hai is off the field, the gap in strength may allow the Japanese team to equalize, or even reverse the score.

In that case, the revenge plan of the Chinese team will fall short, and it may even become a laughing stock.

In the case of risking offending the club and calling Cheng Hai, Europe's top striker, back to China, and being the host, if the Chinese team can't defeat Japan to win the championship, it may really become a laughing stock.

Therefore, the coaching staff must develop a relatively safe strategy so that the Chinese team can beat Japan in the final.

One of the most important points is physical fitness.

Although a certain amount of rotation was carried out in the front, in fact, the number of rotations was very small, which ensured that the Huaguo team reached the semifinals.

After the semi-finals, only one day apart, the final against the Japanese team will be ushered in.

If the main lineup is also used in the semi-finals, the main lineup will have to play until the finals, and the time between the semi-finals and the finals is too short, and I am afraid that the finals will become physically exhausted.

But if you go on the bench in the semi-finals, I don't know if you can beat the United Arab Emirates.

In case he goes on the bench and loses to the UAE in the end and can't get into the final, then he Sun Wei will become a sinner!

What a dilemma.

In the end, Sun Wei also asked Cheng Hai to discuss, and Cheng Hai gave the coaching staff confidence, claiming that even if he was on the bench in the semifinals, he was sure to lead his teammates to win the championship.

Cheng Hai's confidence naturally comes from the stability of his own ability, and the strength added up by the system is very stable and not very volatile.

Therefore, Cheng Hai is sure that even if the UAE defends tightly during his playing time, he will be able to score.

Then after he left the field, the national Olympic team just defended it.

In the end, the coaching staff adopted Cheng Hai's suggestion and decided to combine a small part of the main force and some substitutes.

At 16 o'clock in the afternoon of November 24, the first semi-final of Iran VS Japan officially began.

As countless Chinese fans who were looking forward to revenge had hoped, after 90 minutes of fierce battle, the Japanese Olympic team defeated the Iranian Olympic team with a score of 2-1 and advanced to the final.

If the Chinese team defeats the United Arab Emirates, they will really be able to meet the Japanese team in the final and avenge the 2-4 loss in the group stage.

This has made countless Chinese media and fans pay enthusiastic attention to the evening game, and even some gold medal matchups in other sports of the Asian Games are not as attractive as football.

The charm of the world's No. 1 sport is innate.

At 19 o'clock in the evening of November 23, in the cheers of more than 50,000 fans in Tianhe Stadium, with the whistle of the referee, the second men's semi-final of the Asian Games of the Chinese Olympic Team VS the United Arab Emirates Olympic Team officially began.

Seeing most of the substitutes in the starting lineup of the Chinese team, some fans were stunned and felt inexplicable.

"What's going on? How did the national Olympic team get most of the substitutes? ”

"Is this a deliberate attempt to lose to the UAE?"

"Damn, does the Olympic team want to play match-fixing? Is there someone betting on the ball? ”

"I'm! If the national Olympic team can't survive the semifinals, see if I don't scold them to death! ”

Of course, the commentators and some veteran fans can still understand that this is because there is only one day between the semi-finals and the final, leaving too little time for the players to recover.

In addition, the previous group stage has been played until the semifinals, if all the main players are on the main team, I am afraid that the main players will be very tired when they play in the finals, and they may not be able to fight the Japanese team even if they have Cheng Hai.

As a result, the Olympic team made most of the substitutes in the semi-final against the United Arab Emirates.

No matter what everyone says, the game is starting anyway.

However, although the Chinese team has most of the substitutes and looks like they can be bullied, the UAE has not been fooled.

They knew that as long as Cheng Hai, the biggest threat of the Chinese team, was present, they would not be able to press the attack aggressively, and it would be easy for Cheng Hai to counterattack.

For this semi-final, the UAE has also made full preparations. Their starting line-up was an extreme defensive formation of 541.

Three central defenders and two defensive midfielders are to contain Cheng Hai's goals during the period when Cheng Hai is starting.

Then, after Cheng Hai came off the field, they replaced the offensive players and fought to the death against the Huaguo team.

The two sides bet on whether Cheng Hai can break through the defense line composed of two backs and three central defenders in the United Arab Emirates.

If Cheng Hai can help the Chinese team take a lead of more than two goals in the playing time, then even if Cheng Hai is off the field, it will be difficult for the UAE to replace the attacking player, and it will be difficult to come back to life.

Once Cheng Hai can't score a goal, or only score one, then after Cheng Hai is off the field, it is not clear whether the Huaguo team, composed of most of the substitutes and a small number of main players, can withstand the crazy attack of the United Arab Emirates.

It depends on who makes the right bet.

After the start of the game, in the face of the United Arab Emirates, which was determined in tactics and unable to defend it, the Chinese team had no choice but to attack and play positional battles, hoping to break through the UAE's defense.

But this one is really hard.

Because the UAE's tactics are too firm, except for the single striker who practiced harassment tactics, the other players all gathered in the 30-meter area of the big penalty area to defend, not giving Cheng Hai a chance to exploit loopholes at all.

Even if Cheng Hai ran to both sides, they were unmoved, anyway, they were holding the 30-meter area of the goal.

Because everyone knows that Cheng Hai is not good at long-range shooting.

His long-range shot lacked both power and curvature, making it easy for the goalkeeper to spot the ball's path and give him plenty of time to make a save.

Therefore, no matter how Cheng Hai ran outside the penalty area, they were unmoved.

In the penalty area, even if Cheng Hai ran out of opportunities, the tacit understanding with his substitute teammates was insufficient, making it difficult for the ball to reach his feet and giving him a chance to shoot.

Even if you occasionally get to your feet, you are faced with a dense defense of the opponent and it is difficult to kick the ball in.

After 20 minutes in the first half, Cheng Hai's only shot hit the defender and was blocked by the gun.

Even if Cheng Hai wants to break through by himself after receiving the ball from outside the penalty area, it will be very difficult.

Even if he can break through one or two defenders, in the face of the opponent's successive defenses, Cheng Hai can't break through the entire defense of the United Arab Emirates in one go, and then shoot successfully in the face of the goalkeeper.

The Emirates' precautions against Cheng Hai are too strict.

Seeing this, the head coach off the field, Sun Wei, was so worried that he only scratched his scalp.

He knew that if Cheng Hai couldn't take the lead during the playing time, the probability of the Chinese team wanting to win and advance would be much lower after Cheng Hai was off the field.

Even if the Chinese team is ranked higher in FIFA than the UAE, it is not high enough to win.

What's more, in this game, the Huaguo team is still on most of the substitutes, and there is a high probability that Cheng Hai will not be able to win against the United Arab Emirates after he gets off the field.

Therefore, the Huaguo team must take at least one goal lead in the time that Cheng Hai plays, and only after Cheng Hai is off the field can he firmly play a defensive counterattack and keep the lead until the end of the game.

But the current situation is that Cheng Hai has no way to face the UAE's strict defense and impregnable walls.

The cooperation of teammates is not tacit, the opponent's strict defense, Cheng Hai's own running position and speed advantage cannot be brought into play, etc., all make it very difficult for Cheng Hai to shoot a goal.

Just when Sun Wei was at a loss, assistant coach Zhang Haitao suddenly came to Sun Wei's side and said:

"Coach Sun, I think it's very difficult for us to let the players pass the ball directly to Cheng Hai and let Cheng Hai get the opportunity to shoot. The opponent's defense of Cheng Hai is too tight. Even with Cheng Hai's skills, it is difficult to break through the opponent's forward and successive defenses and get a chance to shoot. ”

Sun Wei looked sideways at Zhang Haitao who came to his side and said, "What can you do?" ”

Zhang Haitao gritted his teeth and said: "I think with Cheng Hai's off-ball running and point-grabbing skills, he doesn't necessarily need our players to pass the ball to him." When the opponent focuses most of the defensive attention on Cheng Hai, the other players can shoot by themselves! ”

Sun Wei didn't react for a while, and frowned: "They shoot? Can they shoot the ball in the frame of the goal? ”

Zhang Haitao shook his head and said, "Let them shoot, not expecting them to score, but let them use their shots to create chaos." On the one hand, Cheng Hai will get rid of the defender to create opportunities, on the other hand, if the ball does not go in, or does not fly out of the boundary, creating chaos in the penalty area, Cheng Hai's super off-ball running and grabbing ability, maybe he can get the opportunity to shoot! ”

Sun Wei pondered for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Your idea is good!" ”

Then, when Sun Wei took advantage of his teammates running to the side, he pulled him over and conveyed new tactical instructions.

After everyone in the team received the latest tactical instructions from the head coach, the number of shots on goal by other players in addition to overseas was also increased.

With the UAE shrinking formation unable to hold on, the Chinese players had plenty of shots on goal from outside the box.

Truth be told, though, the quality of those shots was a concern.

Although long-range shooting is one of the magic weapons to break the dense defense, the long-range shots played by these substitutes of the Huaguo Olympic team are mostly wasted shots.

Most were blocked by Emirati players, or flew off the line. Even if it occasionally hit the range of the goalframe, it was not much of a threat and was easily confiscated by goalkeeper Hasayf.

Seeing the change in the tactics of the Chinese team, the UAE players were a little disdainful.

"Do you think Cheng Hai is restricted and can score by handing the ball to other players to shoot? Do they have that archery? "A lot of Emirati players think that in their hearts.

They didn't know the true intentions of the Huaguo team, they only thought that after Cheng Hai was restricted to death, the Huaguo team had no choice but to let the other players strengthen their long-range shots and try to score goals.

There's no way around it.

They didn't know that the real intention of the Huaguo team was not to let these players shoot and score, but to use the shot to create chaos in the penalty area, and give Cheng Hai's superb off-ball running and point-grabbing shooting to create a point-grabbing opportunity in the chaos.

This purpose is so hidden, and it's no wonder that the Emiratis didn't find out about it for a short time.

Even those professional commentators and reporters didn't find out in a short period of time, and everyone also thought that the Huaguo team was forced to let other players strengthen their long-range shots to try to score goals when Cheng Hai was restrained to death.

As a result, the UAE still focused most of its attention on keeping an eye on Cheng Hai, and did not defend much against the rest of the Chinese team, allowing the rest of the Chinese team to get a lot of shots.

Naturally, most of them became invalid shots, either flying out of the bottom line, or being saved by the goalkeeper, or being destroyed by the defenders and falling at the feet of Cheng Hai.

But if there are too many shots on goal, there will always be times when there are mistakes in clearing and saves, causing chaos in the penalty area.

And Cheng Hai's full-value off-ball running and point-grabbing skills, although it can't be said that he appears at the right place every time, but he will always catch a chance when he has more times.

After more than ten minutes of the Chinese team's practice of the new tactics and four or five shots from other players, Cheng Hai ushered in such an opportunity in the 38th minute.

Zhang Yuan, the wing-back who started for the first time, cut inside with the ball from the wing, and then fired a long-range shot of more than 20 meters from outside the corner of the penalty area.

After seeing Zhang Yuan's foot-shot, everyone unconsciously went to see if his shot and the ball would go in, and the marking of Cheng Hai naturally relaxed.

Cheng Hai started very fast now, and immediately changed direction and ran, and the defenders who were not concentrating on Zhang Yuan's shot were thrown away and rushed into the small penalty area.

Then, Zhang Yuan's shot luckily dodged the feet of all the defenders who stretched out to clear the siege, and appeared in front of goalkeeper Hasayf.

The ball was not very difficult, and the concentrated Hasayf easily made a posture of holding the ball.

As a result, a shocking scene appeared.

He couldn't hold the ball to death, the ball hit him in the chest, bounced off again, and flew into the small box in front of him.

Of course, it's normal for goalkeepers to make mistakes like this on the football pitch, and sometimes the best goalkeepers in the world make mistakes like that.

All you have to do is the goalkeeper pounce forward, then pounce on the ball and hold it in his arms.

But this time, Hasayf didn't have time to make up for his mistake.

Because the ball had not yet landed, a figure wearing the jersey of the Huaguo team rushed to him, and with a light pad of the ball, the ball was cushioned from his side and into the goal.

Although Hasayf made a subconscious save, he couldn't touch the ball in the end because it was too close.

The ball flew into the net without any suspense.

At this time, Hasayf turned his head to look at the figure who rushed to the sidelines to celebrate, with the jersey number of 9 and the pinyin name of "chenghai" on his back, which was extremely conspicuous.

It turned out that it was Cheng Hai who rushed in front of him and shot the ball into the net!

Amid the deafening applause and cheers of tens of thousands of Chinese fans, the faces of the UAE players looked particularly heavy!

Cheng Hai finally scored.

This time, they fell behind in the score.