On the afternoon of June 29, Beijing time, Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In the final of the third and fourth places in the Confederations Cup, China played against the United States.

When the Swedish referee Hansen blew the whistle for the end of the first half, the scoreboard showed the score at 0-2.

China trailed the United States by two goals in the first half.

It was a very bad result, and look at the elated faces of the American players as they walked off the court, as if they had the victory in their hands.

In fact, the Chinese team did not have good luck today.

When guessing the side before the game, the Chinese team lost to the opponent, allowing the American team to get the more advantageous side of the first half.

After the opening, the Chinese team also played very calmly, but in the tenth minute, the United States team crossed from the right, and Dempsey fired a volley, which was originally not on the right part, but the result was hit in the pothole of the grass and refracted into the far corner of the goal.

Zeng Cheng couldn't predict this ball at all, and unfortunately fell behind.

After that, the Chinese team still maintained enough patience, but the American team seemed to be crazy throughout the first half, running very actively, with a very large range, and strong speed and physical confrontation ability, looking at that posture as if it was about to end the battle in the first half.

Under the impact of the frequent counterattacks of the American team, the Chinese team's defense once again showed flaws, and after Donovan cooperated with his teammates in a one-two, he deducted Zheng Zhi, who was back to defense, and scored with a left-footed volley to expand the score to 2-0.

It can be said that the second goal hit the Chinese team very hard.

After the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, the Chinese players looked very frustrated.

It is clear that all underestimate the power of the United States.

……

According to the current FIFA rankings, the United States team is in fifteenth place, which is a very high ranking, but it is well known that in CONCACAF and the Caribbean, there is no one who can play except Mexico.

Therefore, almost everyone concluded that the water in the world ranking of the American team is very large, because when it comes to world-class competitions, the American team has never really won any good rankings.

The best result in recent years was the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, where they reached the quarterfinals.

In this Confederations Cup, the United States team was placed in the same group as Brazil, Italy and Egypt, but first lost 1-3 to Italy, then 0-3 to Brazil, and only defeated Egypt 3-0 in the final game.

In the semifinals, the United States team lost 0-2 to Spain, and the performance was not ideal.

On the contrary, the Chinese team, although it lost 0-1 to Brazil, its overall performance was still affirmed by the outside world, especially Yang Yang created a threat attack on the front line many times, which made the Brazilian backline feel quite threatened.

Judging from the performance of the two teams in the group stage to the semi-finals, the outside world basically believes that China and the United States should at least be on the same level, after all, the level of the Chinese team has improved rapidly in recent years, many players play in the European League, and there is the first person in world football like Yang Yang.

But no one expected that the United States would fight so fiercely in the first half.

This also somewhat exposes the lack of preparation for the Chinese national team, because the United States played Spain one day earlier than the Chinese team, and they have one more day of preparation time than the Chinese team, and their physical fitness will be relatively more abundant.

And the U.S. team cleverly took advantage of this, and after the opening, they adopted this kind of running and impact tactics that were almost sparing physical strength, and finally felt like they were punching the master to death, and directly pressed the Chinese team to the grass and beat them fat.

Taking a 2-0 lead in the first half, if it can really beat the Chinese team with Yang Yang, the number one player in world football, it is undoubtedly a thing worth boasting about.

…………

…………

With two goals behind, the morale of the Chinese team suffered a big setback.

In the locker room, everyone was sitting upright, cautious, and afraid to come out, obviously worried about the trend of the game, and at the same time afraid that the second half would be even worse?

You know, it's been a little better in recent years, but if you go back further, the Chinese team is not without such a fiasco.

Alihan was desperate to encourage his players, and he kept telling them that the team's semi-final performance was quite satisfactory, at least not before that of any Asian team.

Therefore, he called on the players not to have psychological pressure, let go in the second half and do their best.

"The USA team wasn't as strong as we thought they would be, and the kind of game strategy they used in the first half was going to lead to a lack of fitness in the second half, so that's our chance!"

"They fought so hard in the first half, they didn't have control at all, and in the first half even the sun and the grass were helping them, but in the second half it was different, the sun would be on our side."

Alihan said a lot, from the team's tactical adjustments, to how the two wings should be involved in the attack, to how the two midfielders should help protect the defense, etc......

Subsequently, captain Zheng Zhi also stood up and appealed to his teammates, but the locker room was still a little dull, and the players still didn't look energetic, and they obviously began to seriously lack confidence.

Just when the halftime break was almost approaching, and everyone was worried about what the second half would look like, Yang Yang suddenly stood up.

"You don't have to think too much about it in the second half, just concentrate on the goal after the opening and pass the ball to me when you have the chance!"

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but raise their heads to look at Yang Yang, with surprise and admiration in their eyes.

Yang Yang has just experienced a long Premier League season, Liverpool is fighting on the fourth line, and in terms of game pressure and consumption, Yang Yang is greater than all of them; After returning to the national team, Yang Yang also worked very hard in training, and in the Confederations Cup, he was the core of the team's combat effectiveness and the player with the most playing time in the team.

Three group games, Brazil in the semifinals, and now the three or four finals against the United States, Yang Yang basically plays one game in three days.

If there is no Yang Yang, the Chinese team will not be able to get out of the group at all.

In fact, by this afternoon, he had not been active in the first half.

According to the body cycle of professional footballers, his body is not in shape now, but he still bravely stepped forward when the team needed him.

He is the soul of this Chinese team!

"You don't have to worry about how to attack, you just need to defend first, grab the ball, and give it to me, understand?"

Yang Yang repeated his words again.

Who doesn't understand such a straightforward and straightforward deployment?

…………

…………

"Friends in front of the TV, welcome back to the national TV sports channel."

"What we are broadcasting live for you now is in 2009, the third and fourth place finals of the South African Confederations Cup, the Chinese team played against the United States, and now the score on the field is 0-2, and the Chinese team is temporarily behind."

"In the first half, the U.S. team broke the goal of the Chinese team twice, both times on the counterattack, one of which was a change of direction caused by the ball hitting a pothole in the grass, and the field conditions in South Africa are really not ideal, which is also a problem that many teams have been responding to in this Confederations Cup."

"Now it's up to us to see if our Chinese team can turn the situation around in the second half, regardless of the final result, I think we should be satisfied with the team's performance, because this is the first time that the Chinese team has competed in the Confederations Cup, and reaching the semi-finals, even if it is only fourth, is a historic breakthrough."

'Of course, we still sincerely hope that the South African internationals can play with spirit and try to turn things around in the second half.'

"Especially our number one star Yang Yang, after continuous battles, his physical consumption is also very large, and more players need to step up and give him more help and support."

"The game started right away, and the U.S. team kicked off the second half."

……

With a whistle from referee Hansen, the U.S. team kicked off quickly and passed the ball back to the backcourt as soon as possible.

The Chinese team fronted the trident, Yang Yang, Gao Lin and Chen Tao all rushed towards the American backline for the first time.

"The Chinese team was still relatively positive after the opening."

"Directly forced into the back line of the American team, forced to make a long pass with a big foot."

"Feng Xiaoting pushed the ball to the right side and handed it to Zhang Linpeng."

After Zhang Linpeng stopped the ball, he quickly rushed forward along the right side and rushed directly through the midfield.

Chen Tao pulled to the right and raised his hand to ask for the ball.

But when the ball came to Chen's feet, the U.S. team had already had two defenders coming.

Just like the defensive strategy in the first half, the U.S. team used this kind of large-scale, physical running and coverage to form a local numerical advantage, and then contain the Chinese team's attack.

Chen Tao took the ball with his back and had no chance, so he chose to pass the ball back.

Zhang Linpeng did not retreat at the first time after passing the ball, but continued to respond forward, and after receiving Chen Tao's return pass, he glanced at the middle of the penalty area.

I don't know when, Yang Yang and Gao Lin suddenly switched positions, Gao Lin pulled to the left, and Yang Yang quickly ran to the middle and raised his hand to ask for the ball at the top of the arc of the penalty area.

Here's a chance!

Without thinking, Zhang Linpeng directly kicked a low flat ball and sent the ball to the top of the arc.

In the middle of the frontcourt, Yang Yang blocked the American defender with his body, and stopped Zhang Linpeng's pass with his right foot with his back.

Yang Yang has an excellent direct free kick kung fu, in the area at the front of the penalty area, the United States team did not dare to foul easily, for fear of giving him a chance to play, so this time he only blocked Yang Yang with his body.

After Yang Yang stopped the ball with his right foot, the whole person quickly turned around, gently moved the ball forward with his left foot, shook out a little space, and quickly picked up his left foot and directly hit a volley.

The ball quickly bounced out of Yang Yang's left foot, clinging to the grass, and flew towards the left side of the goal at great speed.

Everton's American goalkeeper Howard was well aware of Yang's threat, and when he turned around, he realized the danger, and when he got to his feet, Howard immediately flew to save.

I have to say that Howard's reaction was very fast and he knew Yang Yang very well, but this time, Yang Yang's shot was very fast and powerful, almost grazing the left post into the net.

Howard was a step slower in the end.