LRAB Chapter 17 History: The First Goal
Chapter 17 History: The First Goal
"Oh dear, it seems the Chinese team can't hold off the Turks in midfield," Huang Jianxiang said with concern.
"Judging from the current situation on the field, the Chinese team's formation has started to drop back a bit, and the Turkish team has become more comfortable with the ball."
"Has the Chinese team realized that their initial offensive tactics weren't working against Türkiye, and are they preparing to revert to a defensive approach like they did against Brazil?"
"Shouldn't this be considered a tactical failure? Coach Zhang, what's your opinion?"
Zhang Lu:
"Well, judging from the current situation, the opening offensive strategy can hardly be called successful."
"The Chinese team failed to score and instead struggled in midfield against Türkiye, which caused their players' stamina to drop significantly."
"China's current retreating formation is a last resort, as the team cannot maintain a high-intensity pressing or pushing forward indefinitely."
Huang Jianxiang: Do you think the Turkish team will take advantage of this momentum and intensify their attack?
Zhang Lu: "Yes, after all, they need goals more than the Chinese team. However, the Chinese team did one thing quite well: despite dropping back, they maintained a very high level of overall formation. The three lines remained compact, and the players' tactical execution was excellent, which fully demonstrates their high level of training recently."
Huang Jianxiang: "Based on what our reporters saw at the training base, Ye Xianlai is mainly in charge of the Chinese team's daily training."
Zhang Lu: "Tsk tsk, what a great young man. Even if the Chinese team is eliminated today, I think he'll still get offers from top-tier Chinese football teams in the future."
Huang Jianxiang: "Yes, it would be such a waste if he were just a teaching assistant or even a translator..."
Sidelines.
Based on the changing situation on the field, Güneš immediately gave his own instructions.
If China takes a step back, Türkiye will take a step forward!
Continue to maintain pressure on the Chinese team in midfield, while shifting more of the attacking focus to the left flank.
Why the left flank?
Because the right flank for the Chinese team is composed of Qu Bo and Xu Yunlong, which seems easier to deal with than the combination of Yang Chen and Wu Chengying.
After all, neither of the former two players were originally key members of the Chinese team!
As the midfield playmaker of Turkey, Bastürk naturally frequently came to the left flank to receive the ball, and then tried to get rid of the Chinese team's defense and pass out threatening balls.
only……
There was one thing Güneš hadn't expected.
That was actually a trap set by Ye Xian, where the Chinese team deliberately retreated!
After 30 minutes of intense halftime play, Bastürk's physical condition and concentration had both declined.
In addition, his defensive ability is weak to begin with, so when he moves to the left wing, the defensive strength on that side will inevitably decrease as well.
And this is the opportunity Ye Xian wanted to create!
……
A fierce battle erupted once again in the right midfield position for the Turkish team.
After receiving the ball, Ilhan was pressed closely by Zhao Junzhe and had no choice but to pass it to Yunsar, who was closest to him.
However, Li Tie was also interfering behind Yunsar, so he chose not to stop the ball and directly knocked it to the left wing.
Bastürk, who was originally standing in the middle, had run over there to prepare to receive the ball.
But at that moment, Li Weifeng, the Chinese center-back who was originally a few meters behind Bastürk, suddenly circled around and, with a burst of strength, intercepted the ball first.
After intercepting the ball, the Chinese center-back did not pass the ball immediately, but continued to dribble forward.
After losing the ball, Bastürk was supposed to return to his position, but seeing Li Weifeng dribbling forward, he had no choice but to continue to press for the ball back.
Turkey's left winger, Okan, who plays for Inter Milan, knew that Bastürk's defensive abilities were weak, so he came over to help him.
At that moment, Li Weifeng passed the ball forward to Shao Jiayi, who had dropped back to receive it.
At this point, Turkey's left flank, which is China's right flank, had been completely cleared.
In the blink of an eye, Shao Jiayi had already made a giant leap!
That's why Ye Xian wanted Shao Jia to be the first to appear today.
We need to take advantage of his accurate long pass to launch a quick attack!
The ball was delivered to Qu Bo, who was making a quick forward run down the right flank and was unmarked.
Qu Bo quickly dribbled the ball straight towards the penalty area!
Turkey's left center-back, Korkmaz, quickly came over to defend and positioned himself in Qu Bo's cutting-in path, ready to intercept the ball at any moment.
But Qu Bo was just pretending to dribble in; he was actually passing the ball!
He gently pushed the ball to the outside, towards the right side of the penalty area.
Immediately afterwards, everyone saw a red figure quickly cut in along the right side of the road.
It's Xu Yunlong, the right-back for the Chinese national team!
No one noticed when Xu Yunlong had appeared there.
It seems that Shao Jiayi started his run the moment he got the ball.
These are all tactical combinations that the Chinese team has been carefully practicing these past few days!
Now, Xu Yunlong swept past Qu Bo, caught up with the ball, dribbled it two steps toward the penalty area, and then crossed the ball with his right foot.
Inside the penalty area, Turkey's Özalan and Aker were both closely marking Su Maozhen.
Although they were not familiar with Su Maozhen, they knew that he was the high point and pivot of the Chinese team.
Therefore, both center-backs did their best to prevent Su Maozhen from getting to the ball.
But what they didn't expect was...
Xu Yunlong's cross was fast and had a high arc, soaring over the heads of everyone in the middle and flying to the far post!
There...
There isn't a single Turkish defender!
As the ball flew through the air, one word came to mind for everyone in Turkey:
Done!
But it was too late to fill in.
Right at the left goalpost, a Chinese player had already pounced like a ghost.
It's the left forward, number 20, Yang Chen!
With a gentle flick of his foot, the ball changed direction and bounced deftly into the left side of the Turkish goal!
At this moment, Turkish goalkeeper Rüştü hurriedly moved from the other end of the goalpost, but before he could even regain his balance, he had no time to make a save.
Goal!
Huang Jianxiang's roar instantly burst through the microphone in the commentary booth, trembling as if being torn apart, and almost pierced through the screen of every television set:
"Goal! Goal! China takes the lead! Yang Chen! Yang Chen! It's Yang Chen! This is China's first goal in World Cup history! The first!!!"
"How many years have we waited for this day?! From our first attempt to qualify for the World Cup in 1957 to our first appearance in the finals in 2002, we finally scored our first World Cup goal!"
"Yang Chen did it! The great Yang Chen! He represents all the perseverance in Chinese football. At this moment, he is not fighting alone! He is not alone!"
On the field, Yang Chen froze for half a second, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, until the ball rolled around inside the goal before he suddenly realized what was happening.
He really scored! China's first goal in World Cup history, scored by his own hands... his own feet!
He spread his arms and ran wildly toward the Chinese fans' stands. His jersey was lifted by the wind, and sweat slid down his cheeks, mingling with his tears as they fell onto the grass.
When he ran past the halfway point, Li Tie and Zhao Junzhe chased after him like madmen and suddenly hugged him.
Several people collapsed onto the lawn, pounding their fists on the ground, roaring and shouting, as if trying to release all the pent-up frustration and grievances they had accumulated over the years.
The substitutes on the bench had long since disregarded the rules and rushed onto the field. Some kept punching their teammates on the back, some raised their arms and roared to the sky, and finally they all hugged each other tightly.
The lawn was instantly covered with red jerseys!
Beside the coach's bench, Ye Xian kept waving his fists. His usually calm and sharp eyes were now filled with burning joy and excitement.
Then he turned around and hugged Milutinovic tightly.
"Well done, Ye, we scored! We scored!" Old man Milutinovic kept repeating, his excitement belying his past as someone who had led a team in four World Cups.
The main reason is that the Chinese team's foundation is indeed the weakest among these teams.
With key players injured or leaving, it's truly remarkable that the team has managed to reach this level today!
Meanwhile, the stands had already turned into a sea of red, a scene of utter chaos.
The shouts of the Chinese fans were deafening, drowning out the sighs of the Turkish fans.
Countless fans waved their red flags, and some even embraced and wept with strangers around them...
If a Brazilian or German fan saw this, they might think that the Chinese didn't need to get so excited.
But only Chinese fans know how hard-won this moment was.
Before the start of this World Cup, everyone said the goal was "to score a goal, get a point, and win a game".
"Scoring a point" has been accomplished first, now it's time to "scoring a goal"!
This historic first goal deserves to be celebrated!