Reborn Liverpool

Chapter 416 Narrowly defeated Japan and entered the final (thanks to hometown? and book friend 3751 for the monthly ticket)
At 1:28 on January 22, the first semi-final competition of the 2019 UAE Asian Cup began. The Chinese team faced the Japanese team, which had won the championship four times before.

At Al Ain's Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, the stands were packed with Chinese and Japanese fans, all cheering for their national teams.

The big screen on the sidelines displayed the starting rosters of both sides:

Hua Guo Team (4-3-3):
1-Yan Junling;
3-Cai Huikang, 5-Zhang Linfan, 4-Shi Ke, 19-Liu Yang;

10-Zheng Zhi, 13-Zhang Mai, 15-Wu Xi;

11-Zhang Yulin, 9-Gao Lin, 20-Yu Dabao.

Team Japan (4-4-2):
12- Shuichi Gonda;

5-Nagatomo Yuto, 22-Yoshida Maya, 16-Fuyasu Kenhiro, 19-Sakai Hiroki;

8-Genki Haraguchi, 6-Endo Hang, 7-Shibazaki, 21-Tang Anru;
9- Minamino Takumi, 15- Dasa Yuya.

This campaign is a strong dialogue between the Hua Guo team, which is ranked first in the Asian list by FIFA, and the Japanese team, which has won the most Asian Cup championships.

In the quarter-final stage, the Hua Guo team defeated Iran 1-4 and broke into the semi-finals of the competition. It was also the third time that they entered the top four ranks of the Asian Cup;

In the last round, the Japanese team relied on Tang Anlu's penalty kick to score a small 1-0 victory over the big dark horse Vietnam team, and reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup for the sixth time.

Previously, the two teams had faced each other 3 times in the Asian Cup finals. The Japanese team remained unbeaten with 1 win, 2 draws, 1 goal and 0 conceded goals, but they met in the group stage before.

As for the most recent meeting, it was a warm-up match in October 2015. The Japanese team conceded the first goal and finally drew with the Hua Guo team 10-1.

In this game, both teams made some changes to the starting lineup:
For the Huaguo team, Wu Lei was on a truce due to injury, and Lippi played the three forwards in response to Japan's characteristic of cooperating with skilled body singles. The six generals in the center and front field are all strong and strong; , Cai Huikang's partner Shi Ke will serve as the Huaguo team's central defender, and the midfielder Zheng Zhi will pay attention to supplementing the defense at any time.

As for the Japanese team, Osuke Yongjin also started to replace Kitagawa Hang, and the other positions have not changed. It seems that the Japanese team is still superstitious about their South American technology flow.

With the whistle of the main referee Biss, the first half began, and both teams insisted on their own characteristics, entering the game at an extremely fast pace.

The Hua Guo team still chooses the tactics of long pass and quick attack, while the Japanese team insists on teamwork and chooses to play the ball quickly to avoid physical confrontation as much as possible.

In the 3rd minute, Zhang Mai received a long pass from Zheng Zhi's backcourt to ferry the header from the frontcourt. Shuichi Gonda made a decisive attack to grab the ball before Zhang Yulin.

Although the Japanese team successfully resolved the dangerous situation in front of the goal, the fact that the Hua Guo captain was raging in the penalty area has begun to emerge.

In the 14th minute, Nagatomo Yuto moved forward from the left, and after receiving a pass from the ribs, he knocked across to find Takumi Minano, who was interfered by Zhang Linfan and missed a shovel shot.

In the 17th minute, the Japanese team got a corner kick from the bottom right. Shibazaki took a corner kick from the left to the far end, and Yoshida Asa also jumped up and headed the ball out of the baseline.

In the 19th minute, the Huaguo team quickly counterattacked. Zhang Mai scored the ball in the middle and rushed forward at high speed. He scored the ball in front of the penalty area to Gao Lin who was on the right. Zhang Mai broke through Shuichi Gonda's ten fingers with a burst shot.

1-0!The Chinese team took the lead, and the concise and clear cooperation between the strong men instantly crushed Japan's gorgeous technical flow.

The lagging Japanese team did not panic at all, and still insisted on their ground penetration style of play, but sped up the passing and advancing speed a little.

In the 22nd minute, the Japanese team played a teamwork on the right rib, Tang Anlu cut in 15 meters and made a low shot, and the ball rubbed against the right post and would go wide.

The leading Huaguo team insisted on pressing in high positions, using the physical advantages of their frontcourt players to oppress the opponent.

In the 22nd minute, Osamu Gonda made a mistake in opening the goal. The Huaguo team pressed forward to win the ball. Zhang Mai quickly passed the ball behind. The ball was given to Yu Dabao, but Yu Dabao hesitated a little. The ball was blocked by Shuichi Gonda with his left foot first to save the ball from the bottom line.

The Japanese team's midfielder was not functioning smoothly due to physical disadvantages, so they had to shrink the midfielder to defend, and the offensive was frustrated for a while.

In the 23rd minute, Zhang Yulin fell in the confrontation with Nagatomo Yuto in the penalty area of ​​the Japanese team. The Australian referee Biss indicated that there would be no penalty kicks to continue the game.

One minute later, Wu Xi of the Huaguo team was so angry that he shoveled Hiroki Sakai fiercely in midfield and was warned by a yellow card.

In the 28th minute, Yu Dabao passed the ball from the left to find Zhang Yulin, and Yoshida Maya took the lead in the middle to block the ball out of the baseline.

Afterwards, the physical disadvantages of the Japanese players on the field became more and more obvious, which was beyond the scope of normal confrontation, including Tang Anlu, who even felt unable to support it.

In the 32nd minute, Zhang Yulin broke into the penalty area again, resisting Fuan Jianyang's reluctant header and was confiscated by Gonda Shuichi.

In the 37th minute, Zhang Mai intercepted Endo Hang's short pass in the frontcourt and penetrated the Japanese team's defense with a straight kick. Zhang Yulin easily passed Shuichi Gonda and scored a single goal.

2-0!Hua Guo team's "Two Zhangs" once again showed their power and expanded their lead. The Hua Guo fans in the audience fell into a sea of ​​carnival.

The mood of the Japanese team players, who were two goals behind, finally fluctuated, but the Huaguo team still did not give up their high frontcourt press.

In the 43rd minute, Wu Xi fired an anti-aircraft gun from a long shot on the periphery.Immediately afterwards, Cai Huikang was directly warned by the referee with a yellow card for trampling on the foot of Yongye.

At the end of the first half, the Huaguo team temporarily led the Japanese team 2-0 and entered the halftime break.

Throughout the first 45 minutes, although the Japanese team had 57% possession of the ball, all 3 shots were missed, and the Hua Guo team scored 2 goals instead.

For the first time, the Hua Guo team led their opponents by 2 goals in the half of this Asian Cup, so the locker room was full of cheers, and even the "serious face" Lippi had a good time with the players.

The happy rest time passed quickly, and the two sides changed places to fight again in the second half, and the Huaguo team still had the advantage on the field.

In the 46th minute, Wu Xi took a long shot from the ribs, and the ball hit Hiroki Sakai's arm and bounced off the baseline.The referee, Biss, warned Hiroki Sakai with a yellow card, and at the same time awarded a direct free kick next to the left line of the penalty area. Unfortunately, Yu Dabao took the free kick 20 meters away from the left rib and volleyed the far corner slightly.

In the 49th minute, Wu Xi took another long shot in the middle and was blocked out of bounds by Minamino Takumi.

In the 52nd minute, Zhang Mai dropped a free kick from the outside into the penalty area and was punched out by Quan Tianxiu.Zheng Zhi got the ball from the outside and sent another long shot.

In the short opening 10 minutes, the Hua Guo team suppressed Japan and attacked violently, but they just gained momentum and failed to score.

In the 56th minute, Shibazaki took a ground ball from the left side of the midfield, and Yuya Osako knocked the ball out from the middle. The four defensive players of the Shihua National Team stopped and asked the Australian referee Biss to punish Takumi Minamino for diving...

But Beeth pressed down with both hands, indicating that the match between the two sides should continue. Minano Takumi immediately got up and ran to the corner flag to pass the ball. The unmarked Isamu Osako also jumped up from close range and headed the goal. The Japanese team 1-2 to get back a goal.

Lippi was furious on the sidelines, yelling to signal the Hua Guo team's defense to focus on the game and not to do unnecessary things.

In the 59th minute, Endo Ko was injured in the confrontation with Zhang Mai. After the cervical spine was fixed, he was carried off on a stretcher, and Shioya came off the bench.

At the same time, the Huaguo team also made adjustments in the frontcourt. No. 21 Liu Jianye came on and replaced Wu Xi, who shot in the second half.

In the 61st minute, Zhang Yulin took a free kick from 25 meters away to the upper left corner, and Shuichi Gonda lifted the ball out of the baseline.

Then Zheng Zhi took a corner kick, and Gao Lin's header was saved by Gonda Shuichi again.

Zheng Zhi took a corner kick again, Zhang Yulin grabbed the ball in the middle and hit the back point, Zhang Mai headed the ball in front of the post and headed the ball into the Japanese team's goal.

3-1!Zhang Mai scored twice, widening the gap again.

The Japanese team, which was overjoyed and surprised at first, fell behind by two goals again. The whole team began to increase their offensive strength, and the Huaguo team's defense was tight again.

In the 63rd minute, when Takumi Minano passed the ball from the left side of the penalty area, the ball hit the arm supported by Liu Yang, who was sitting on the ground to block. After VAR confirmation, the referee Biss confirmed the penalty, and Dazai Yong also tricked Yan Junling into hitting the goal. The right side scored twice, and the Japanese team fell behind by only one goal 2-3.

At this moment, the coaching benches of China and Japan began to boil over. Hua Guo was nervous and could hold on, and Japan was anxious to score another goal...

In the 70th minute, the Japanese team put on a striker and put all their eggs in one basket, but the players on the field of the Huaguo team were obviously not easy.

In the 73rd minute, in the attack of the Japanese team, Tang Anlu shot from the right side at a slightly right angle, and the ball was confiscated by Yan Junling. However, in the subsequent counterattack of the Huaguo team, Yu Dabao fired two shots from the outside of Dabao.

The two teams then fought fiercely in the midfield and confronted each other, and the Japanese team, which was in poor physical condition, did not gain the upper hand.

When the time came to the 82nd minute, the Japanese team, not to be outdone, also used up the last substitution quota. On the 14th, Ito Jun also replaced the exhausted Doan Ritsu.

But shortly afterwards, Zhang Mai's third hat-trick in this Asian Cup broke the Japanese dream of entering the final:
In the 86th minute, the Japanese team made another short pass in the backcourt. After grabbing the ball, Yu Dabao lowered his head and made a cross pass. Zhang Yulin grabbed the ball from the left and hit the goal with a header. Fu Anjianyang scored a shot from behind.

4-2!The Huaguo team once again widened the score gap, and only left the Japanese with less than 10 minutes of hard work.

But the toughness of the Japanese nation was brought into play at this time, and all the players of the Japanese team are still going all out to persist in the game...

The Japanese's last persistence finally paid off, although it has nothing to do with the promotion:
In the first minute of stoppage time, the Hua Guo team made a mistake in passing the ball in the backcourt. Gaku Shibazaki got the ball and then passed the ball. Takumi Minano scored the ball to Genki Haraguchi.

3-4!The Japanese stubbornly chased the score again, which immediately made the atmosphere on the court tense again.

Before the end of the game, Kobayashi lost control of his emotions and pushed and shoved the Japanese players. Both he and Nagatomo were given a yellow card, but at the same time, the final game time was exhausted.

In the end, the Hua Guo team narrowly defeated the Japanese team 4-3 and advanced to the finals of the 2019 Asian Cup first!
After the game, the Huaguo team and the land of Huaguo thousands of miles away were happy, but the defeated Japanese team also won unanimous respect and praise from the outside world.

"Without two cards, the Hua Guo team lost 0-3 to the Japanese team!"

This was the first huge headline that appeared on the media of various countries after the game, and it seemed to comfort the Japanese team who performed bravely but lost the final.

……

The next day, January 1, another semi-final of the 29 UAE Asian Cup kicked off, with the host UAE team playing against Qatar.

After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, the Qatar team defeated the UAE team 4-0 and successfully joined the Hua Guo team in the final.

For this game, the CCTV Sports Channel conducted a live broadcast, and the famous talker Li Chenming and the guest commentator Xu Yang brought wonderful commentary.

Li Chenming praised Almoes for scoring in this tournament - Ali tied the Asian Cup scoring record held by Ali Daei.

And Xu Yang said that with the red card, mineral water bottle and Zaccheroni, the UAE team suffered a complete defeat today. If the Hua Guo team taught the Japanese team a lesson yesterday, then Qatar taught the UAE a lesson today.

As for the Asian Cup scoring record maintained by Almoez-Ali and Ali Daei, Xu Yang said that Zhang Mai's three hat-tricks in three consecutive knockout games killed everything in seconds!
With a 4-0 victory over the host UAE team, the "Gulf powerhouse" - Qatar entered the Asian Cup final for the first time in history.

Qatar's leading striker Almoez Ali scored his 8th goal in this tournament, and he also equaled the personal goal created by Iran's legendary striker Ali Daei in the 1996 Asian Cup The record, but this record was rewritten by Zhang Mai yesterday with 11 goals.

Since Qatar advanced to the final, Almoez is expected to tie Zhang Mai's new record, but Qatar's opponent in the final is Zhang Mai's Huaguo team.

If you want to score more than three goals against Zhang Mai, the AFC stated that there is no such genius on this planet for the time being!

In addition, the Qatar team also set two other records, namely the Asian Cup record of 6 consecutive games without conceding a goal and the single Asian Cup record of 540 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.

Objectively speaking, Qatar in this Asian Cup should not be too scary! 6 consecutive victories and 0 conceded goals made it to the final for the first time. It can be said that all the blessings of West Asian football have been concentrated in themselves.

Facing the host UAE team, Qatar's steel defense once again made a great contribution.

Although the UAE successively sent many shooters such as Matar and Khalil, they failed to break through the Qataris' defense.

After zero seals to the UAE in this game, the Qatar team created an Asian Cup record of 6 consecutive games with zero seals and a single Asian Cup record of 540 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.

Since the Qatar team will meet the Hua Guo team in the final, they still have the opportunity to continue to rewrite the record.

To be able to reach the Asian Cup final for the first time in history, in addition to having a steel-like defense line, there must also be an indestructible spear, and the team's leading shooter Almoez-Ali is this sharp weapon.

In the three group games, Almoez has scored 7 goals, but in the two knockout games, he stopped scoring goals, which is typical of being strong but not strong.

However, in the semi-finals, Almoez scored his 8th goal in this tournament with great energy. Although he was surpassed by Zhang Mai, who scored three hat-tricks in the knockout round, it was still equal to his predecessor in West Asia, the legendary Iranian striker Ali. -Day, the 1996-goal record created in the 8 Asian Cup.

In the final with the Hua Guo team, Almoez will continue to be responsible for the task of attacking the city, and he will also have a glimmer of hope to break Zhang Mai's latest record of 11 goals...

(End of this chapter)