Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 633 Present Day 9-0-1
Both sides quickly finished their warm-up and returned to their respective locker rooms.

There was only half an hour left before the match started. When they came out again, the match would officially begin.

Gao Hongbo looked around at the players sitting in the locker room; they were all ready.

He glanced at his watch.

"In ten minutes, we will face a do-or-die battle. This is not the World Cup final. Some of you may even think that we have already qualified, but I hope you can be vigilant and play this game as if it were the final."

"I think you all know very well that our predecessors have experienced too many situations where a draw would have been enough to qualify, but they were unfortunately eliminated. So, I hope you will not make the same mistake again and not leave yourselves with regrets."

As he spoke, Gao Hongbo suddenly looked at Shan Yongzhuo, winked, and said with a smile, "Little Shan, why don't you say a few words?"

Suddenly called out, Shan Yongzhuo could only stand up and say, "The coach has said a lot; we're here to win."

"But don't feel too much pressure. Rest assured, I'm invincible."

"..."

Listening to Shan Yongzhuo's boasting, a burst of laughter rang out in the locker room, and the atmosphere became more relaxed.

After Gao Hongbo and the others laughed for a while, he signaled for some people to be quiet and continued, "Colombia is very strong, but as long as everyone resolutely follows the tactics, solidifies our defense, and seizes every opportunity to counterattack, I believe victory will belong to us."

"Remember, we are the pinnacle of Asian football, we are very strong!"

Gao Hongbo's words were quite inspiring, and everyone became full of fighting spirit.

When the players from both sides appeared in the corridor, they would occasionally glance at each other, but would quickly look away. Nevertheless, the air was still filled with the scent of sparks flying between their gazes.

After the opening ceremony, the two sides tossed the coin toss, with China winning the right to choose one side and Colombia winning the right to kick off.

After both sides completed all the procedures, the two teams stood in their respective positions, waiting for the game to begin.

Ramos and Jackson Martinez walked into the center circle, waiting for the kickoff.

"Both sides are in position, the match is about to begin. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the third round of Group C in the World Cup, the match between China and Colombia, a match that will determine the fate of the Chinese team. It is about to begin!"

Referee Pronka blew the whistle to start the match, and the Pantanal Stadium immediately erupted in thunderous cheers.

Colombia plans to take advantage of the kickoff to launch an attack on the Chinese team's goal and try to score as soon as possible.

However, this attack did not reach the Chinese team's goal. When Cuadrado received the ball on the right wing, he was entangled by Yu Hai and Sun Xiang. Instead of passing the ball, Cuadrado confidently tried to get past the two men.

However, the Chinese team's strategy remained the same as in the first match: if they lacked strength, they would make up for it with numbers.

With two players double-teaming him, Cuadrado didn't get away so easily.

Seizing the opportunity, Sun Xiang poked the ball directly, causing Cuadrado to stumble and lose possession...

Sun Xiang, who poked the ball away, reacted quickly and remained calm. He immediately bypassed Cuadrado, controlled the ball, and passed it directly to Huang Bowen in the center of the backfield.

Huang Bowen didn't rush to pass the ball long. Instead, while entangled with the opposing midfielder Mecia, he finally passed the ball to Gao Lin on the wing.

Gao Lin didn't even stop the ball; instead, he made a long diagonal pass to Hao Junmin, who was making a run into the middle.

Colombia's attention was almost entirely focused on Shan Yongzhuo, and they didn't notice Hao Junmin making a forward run. By the time Hao Junmin received the ball, he was already in the penalty area. "Hao Junmin has received a pass from Gao Lin in the penalty area, a great opportunity!" commentator He Wei exclaimed excitedly.

Hao Junmin rushed into the penalty area in just a few steps, but his first touch was noticeably slow and too heavy. Colombian center-back Balanta quickly closed in, intercepted the rather heavy ball, and cleared it forward with a long kick.

China's first wave of attacks failed to yield any results.

"Hao Junmin didn't control the ball well. Maybe he was a little nervous at the beginning and his body hadn't warmed up yet. But it's okay. The game has just started, and that's the kind of momentum we need."

Hao Junmin himself was also a little annoyed, and gave Gao Lin a thumbs up.

Although the Chinese team's attack failed to succeed, it was an encouragement to the Chinese players on the field, letting them know that they were not completely powerless to fight back.

In the first match against Ivory Coast, almost all the players except Shan Yongzhuo were nervous, and they felt that they were the weakest.

However, after the matches against Ivory Coast and Greece, these national team players now have their own thoughts.

I may be weak, but I'm not that weak.

If they go all out, they are capable of competing with these top-tier teams.

However, in the early stages of the match, they firmly implemented Gao Hongbo's 9-0-1 formation and the strategy of counter-attacking. Moreover, they left only Shan Yongzhuo as the counter-attacking point, determined to use their numerical advantage to pressure and threaten the Colombian player with the ball at any time.

So, in the first 5 minutes, although Colombia dominated the Chinese team on the field, it was clear to everyone that their dominance was actually quite weak.

Compared to their first match against Ivory Coast, the Chinese national team clearly performed better defensively in this game.

In the first match, the Chinese national football team was really just passively defending, and most of the time they were still waiting for the ball and waiting for the opponent to attack.

Ultimately, their ability to defend the entire field was purely due to their numerical advantage and the fact that Ivory Coast's attacking level was simply too limited.

But this time, the Chinese national football team clearly did a much better job.

The high-scoring battle against Greece gave them tremendous confidence.

In the first five minutes of the match, the Chinese national team players became much more proactive and their teamwork was also very good.

Whenever a Colombian player had the ball, the Chinese team was able to quickly form a 2-3 player encirclement in a small area, putting great pressure on the player with the ball.

This kind of ball-handling pressure made Colombia somewhat uncomfortable, and their ball handlers made frequent mistakes.

South American and African teams share a common problem. Although they are slightly better, their players tend to be more individualistic, making them less effective at teamwork compared to European teams.

Colombia has the same problem.

Moreover, in this match, Colombia's starting lineup focused their attack on the two flanks, while neither Guarín nor Mejía in the center were particularly strong ball-handling players.

In the first five minutes, although Colombia had the advantage in possession, their attacks were difficult to organize because the ball carrier was constantly under pressure.

Especially on the flanks, Cuadrado's repeated attacks were intercepted, making Colombia's offense appear somewhat disjointed.

(End of this chapter)