Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 624 The Stalemate of 20 Minutes
Ivory Coast continued to pressure the Chinese team's attacks, but each attack ended in failure.

The Chinese national team's defense was very solid, and they didn't give Ivory Coast any good opportunities.

Moreover, their occasional counterattacks can even give Ivory Coast a real scare.

However, it won't be so easy to score through counter-attacks anymore.

The goal in the 16th minute, while showcasing Feng Xiaoting's long-passing skills and Shan Yongzhuo's individual ability, actually served more to put Ivory Coast in a precarious position. Replicating such a goal will not be so easy.

This requires not only perfectly timed passes but also perfectly timed catches from Shan Yongzhuo; it's not an easy task.

For the next 20 minutes, the Chinese team failed to mount any significant counter-attacks.

In the first half, in 36 minutes, the Chinese team only managed one counter-attack shot, one of which was on target and resulted in one goal.

For a full 36 minutes, the Chinese national football team implemented Gao Hongbo's tactical ideas, resolutely sticking to the defensive strategy, or rather, parking the bus.

This made things very difficult for Ivory Coast.

Despite creating numerous chances, they managed eight shots in 36 minutes, three of which were on target.

However, the score remained 1-0, and they were trailing by one goal.

The opponent scored with just one shot, which is really frustrating.

As the first half progressed, the Ivorian players began to appear increasingly impatient.

Especially Gervinho.

Desperate to deliver a stellar performance in this competition and prove himself superior to Shan Yongzhuo, he found himself trapped in a vicious cycle.

He kept receiving the ball and kept dribbling past opponents, but gradually it turned into a series of wasted opportunities.

Gervinho held onto the ball too long, often missing opportunities to pass, and his dribbling skills easily led him into the quagmire of the Chinese national team's defense.

This player, who has performed exceptionally well for Roma this season and was once the dribbling king of Ligue 1, is now in deep trouble.

However, the team was unable to provide him with more support.

Ivory Coast's attack actually relies more on Yaya Touré. As the only core of Ivory Coast's midfield, Yaya Touré's forward runs and playmaking are crucial to Ivory Coast's attack.

But here's the problem.

In this match, although he was placed in the midfield position, his position was quite deep because he had to closely mark Shan Yongzhuo.

This was also what Yaya Toure himself requested.

Despite successfully containing Shan Yongzhuo after conceding the goal, he thwarted China's few counter-attacks before Shan Yongzhuo could react, preventing any further goals from being conceded.

However, this also has negative effects.

Shan Yongzhuo's presence confined Yaya Toure to his own half for a long time, preventing him from getting up in the attacking third and providing more support to the team.

This resulted in Ivory Coast's attack appearing fierce, but in reality, it was all bark and no bite, mostly consisting of individual player attacks.

Courtside.

Ivory Coast's head coach, Ramucci, naturally noticed this as well.

He watched the game with a furrowed brow, his mind racing with thoughts.

Lamucci was born in France and was a defensive midfielder who excelled in both attack and defense during his playing career. His characteristics are somewhat similar to Yaya Toure's. He played in Serie A for a long time, which gave him some of his own ideas about defense.

He took over as coach of Ivory Coast in 2012. Despite it being his first time coaching, he led Ivory Coast to a strong performance in the qualifiers and successfully qualified for the World Cup finals in Brazil.

But now, Ramucci is getting anxious and doesn't know how to respond.

His coaching of the offense still has some shortcomings. "Ya Ya, you push forward!"

Ultimately, Ramucci made his choice.

Yaya Toure's deep positioning left the attack without a central axis, while the two defensive midfielders kept pushing forward, making Ivory Coast's overall attack and defense look somewhat disjointed.

Ramucci decided to make some changes.

Yaya Toure pushed forward, returning to his central midfield position.

Instead of pushing forward, the two defensive midfielders positioned themselves on the left and right, marking Shan Yongzhuo closely together.

This is the change Ramucci made.

Yaya Touré pursed his lips, clearly somewhat resistant to the head coach's arrangements, but as a professional player, he ultimately obeyed.

With that, Shan Yongzhuo breathed a sigh of relief.

Yaya Touré also put a lot of pressure on him.

There was no way around it; after serving as his partner for three years, Yaya Toure knew his characteristics and style far too well.

Although they didn't know how Shan Yongzhuo used his skills, they were very familiar with some of Shan Yongzhuo's little habits. Therefore, they were often able to make the most correct judgments in the first instance, making it difficult for Shan Yongzhuo to find the best time to use his skills.

The first goal conceded had a large element of luck. Shan Yongzhuo seized on Yaya Toure's momentary lapse in concentration, which allowed him to successfully use his skill to score.

However, in the next 20 minutes, Yaya Toure was highly focused and concentrated on Shan Yongzhuo, giving him 120% attention. With the help of his teammates, it became difficult for Shan Yongzhuo to break through Ivory Coast's defense on his own.

However, now, although these two defensive midfielders, Tiote and Die, also value themselves highly, it is clear that their focus and defensive intensity are not on the same level as Yaya Toure.

Although both of them valued Shan Yongzhuo, they clearly didn't have the same deep understanding of him as Yaya Toure did.

This made Shan Yongzhuo quite happy.

And the opportunity came very quickly.

In the 43rd minute of the match, Ivory Coast's attack was once again brought to an end.

This time, Feng Xiaoting did not choose to make a long pass, but instead passed the ball to Yu Hanchao on the wing. After Yu Hanchao dribbled the ball for a short distance, he spotted Shan Yongzhuo making small fouls on him.

Without any hesitation or pause, Yu Hanchao passed the ball directly.

This time, Shan Yongzhuo's start was still very quick. Before the two defensive midfielders could react, he quickly retreated and shook them off.

Yu Hanchao's pass arrived at just the right moment.

This sudden forward run caught Tiote and Die completely off guard. By the time they reacted, Shan Yongzhuo had already moved forward and outmaneuvered them to receive the ball.

The two immediately turned around to chase after him, but they couldn't catch up at all.

Shan Yongzhuo received the ball in the middle of the Ivory Coast half.

The opposing center-back, Suleiman, once again surged forward to participate in the attack, and did not have time to return to defense. His teammate was Ivory Coast's veteran center-back, Zokora.

This is a common problem for African teams.

Everyone likes to participate in the attack...

The distance between him and Shan Yongzhuo created a vacuum zone.

Without any hesitation, Shan Yongzhuo charged forward once again.

(End of this chapter)