Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 651 Overtime Battle

However, even though this is a Brazilian team that is not as strong as it used to be, it is still not a team that the Chinese team can underestimate.

In fact, Gao Hongbo had made many preparations for this.

In Gao Hongbo's view, being able to drag the game into extra time and then into a penalty shootout is a victory.

Therefore, penalty kick training has become a daily training course for the Chinese team.

Penalty kicks are certainly a test of mental fortitude, but it also requires regular training to improve penalty kick skills. People often overlook other factors when taking penalty kicks and focus too much on mental fortitude.

If you usually miss the target, then even with the best mental fortitude, you might not have a high success rate in a penalty shootout.

Moreover, mental fortitude can actually be trained.

By continuously practicing penalty kicks, players become familiar with them, and they will perform much better when actually facing penalty kicks.

While the Chinese and Brazilian teams were training intensively, other knockout matches were also underway.

First, France defeated Nigeria 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Germany, a strong favorite to win the title, faced Algeria, but the North African team displayed remarkable resilience in the match.

The score remained 0-0 until the end of the 90 minutes.

However, Schürrle broke the deadlock for Germany at the start of extra time, and Özil then extended the lead.

But just one minute after Özil's goal, Algeria quickly scored, leaving German fans on edge for a while.

Fortunately, there wasn't much time left, and the German team still managed to defeat Algeria 2-1 in extra time, successfully advancing to the quarterfinals.

The match between the Netherlands and Mexico was extremely thrilling, with Sneijder's goal and Huntelaar's penalty kick securing a 2-1 victory for the Netherlands and a narrow advancement to the quarterfinals.

In another match on the same day, Costa Rica and Colombia went to a penalty shootout, which was the second penalty shootout in the knockout stage. Costa Rica, thanks to the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Navas, defeated Colombia 5-3 in the penalty shootout and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.

This is the first time in Costa Rica's history that they have reached the quarterfinals. In 1990, they made it to the World Cup finals for the first time. At that time, their coach was Bora Milutinovic. That team, which didn't even have a jersey sponsor, was a true dark horse. They broke through from the group stage and made it to the round of 16, but ultimately lost to Czechoslovakia and failed to reach the quarterfinals.

Later, in 2002, this team made it to the World Cup finals again and was drawn into the same group as the Chinese team.

At the time, Chinese media fantasized about defeating Costa Rica, only to be severely proven wrong.

If, after 24 years, Costa Rica breaks through the round of 16 and successfully advances to the quarterfinals, they will become one of the two biggest dark horses in this World Cup, along with the Chinese team.

The final day of the competition.

Argentina and Switzerland will face off.

The gap in strength between the two teams is also significant. Argentina, with a host of big-name stars such as Messi, Higuain, Di Maria, and Aguero, is a strong favorite to win this World Cup.

After all, Argentina has a certain home advantage in hosting the World Cup in South America.

However, Argentina had an exceptionally tough time in this match. They tried their best but were unable to break through the Swiss team's defense.

During extra time, Argentina struggled to score until the 117th minute when Messi broke through five defenders and passed the ball to Di Maria, who then chipped the ball into the Swiss goal.

Thanks to Di Maria's goal, Argentina narrowly defeated Switzerland and advanced to the quarterfinals.

The final round of 16 match was between Belgium and the United States. Shan Yongzhuo's club friend, Nainggolan, started the match, and Shan Yongzhuo watched it on television with Feng Xiaoting.

However, it was a very dull match, and neither side managed to score until the 90th minute, keeping the score at 0-0.

However, in the third minute of extra time, Belgium finally unleashed their power when De Bruyne's shot broke the deadlock.

In the 105th minute, Belgium scored again, taking a 2-0 lead over the United States.

The US team was pushed to the brink of elimination, but they managed to pull one back early in the second half of overtime, but that was all.

After a grueling 120-minute battle, Belgium defeated the United States 2-1, advancing to the quarterfinals and becoming the last team to reach the semifinals.

The round of 16 has concluded, but the process was somewhat surprising.

Apart from the matches between China and Uruguay, the Netherlands and Mexico, and France and Nigeria, the other five matches all went to extra time, and two of them even went to penalty shootouts.

Moreover, the scores in these five matches were all close, which fully demonstrates the difficulty of this World Cup.

After the Round of 16 matches concluded, the World Cup entered a one-day break. There were no matches scheduled for that day, allowing players, fans, and staff alike to get some rest.

For Chinese football fans, after so many consecutive nights of staying up late, it's finally time to relax.

After this day, the first quarter-final match will begin.

This match is a clash between two European powerhouses, France and Germany.

Both France and Germany have performed exceptionally well in this World Cup, especially France. After being eliminated in the group stage in the last World Cup, they have made it all the way to the quarterfinals in this World Cup, demonstrating their strong strength.

Germany is the top favorite in this World Cup, but their matches have not been as easy as France's, which has led to some criticism of them.

However, the match ended somewhat uneventfully, with Germany narrowly defeating France 1-0, becoming the first team to advance to the semi-finals.

Following this match, the host nation Brazil will face China.

Needless to say, this match was definitely one of the most anticipated by Chinese fans.

If the Chinese team can defeat Brazil, they will make history by reaching the semi-finals, a feat never before achieved by the Chinese men's football team.

In the final training session before the match, Gao Hongbo gathered the players together and patiently said, "We should not be afraid of Brazil, but we should not underestimate them either. After all, this is their home ground. Don't underestimate their determination to win the championship on home soil!"

"We need to keep making things difficult for them, but we also need to be prepared to withstand the pressure. This will not be an easy match."

"In fact, no match in the World Cup is easy, and I think you have already realized that through the previous matches."

Gao Hongbo stood in the middle, while the Chinese team's players and staff formed a circle around him, placing him at the very center.

Outside the training ground, numerous media outlets were filming the Chinese team's final training session.

"Some people say that it's bad luck to face the host country, especially Brazil, but I don't think so. This Brazilian team is not scary."

"Everyone, get some rest tonight. We won't have any more tactical training sessions. Just play like you always do and show them what you're made of with your defense."

(End of this chapter)