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Chapter 255 Prelude to Sino-American War

Winning all three games, scoring six goals and not conceding a goal, this is the answer sheet of the China Youth team in the group stage. Except for the European youth champions, the talented German team and the football kingdom Brazil, no team can win three of the group matches like the China Youth team. Italy, Spain and England all suffered a draw in the group stage. The China Youth team is the only team other than Italy that did not concede a goal in the group stage.

Ding Yu wanted to keep a low profile, but he couldn't keep a low profile. How could a team that had won three consecutive victories in the group stage keep a low profile?The video recordings of the three matches of the China Youth Team in the group stage may have already been placed on the desks of the head coaches of other qualifying teams, especially the team that will face the China Youth Team in the quarter-finals. Their head coach probably even got the video of the China Youth Team participating in the Asian Youth Championship.

The opponent of the China Youth Team in the quarter-finals is No.3 in Group C, the US team from Central and North America.

American football used to have little status in the world. Although they were much better than the Chinese team before the mid-90s, the level of American football has risen extremely rapidly in recent years, especially in the Confederations Cup three months ago. They shocked the world.And in this 2-game winning streak, including 6 European Cup games, 3 World Cup preliminaries, 4 Confederations Cup games, and [-] friendly matches-full of gold!After this record was created, some media even believed that with the current age structure of Spain's personnel, it would not be difficult to rule the roost for another ten years!

But it was such a team that was going to expand the record to an unmatched level, but lost [-]-[-] to the US team-the performance of the US team in the final let people know that their victory over Spain was not accidental-they even led Brazil by two goals again in the first half!If it weren't for Brazil's crazy counterattack in the second half, Fabiano's brace and Lucio's lore, the US team might even create another Danish miracle!
After entering the 21st century, Chinese and American football started to leap forward almost at the same time. The leap of Chinese football mostly relied on the maturity of the professional league and Yunjiatianyu’s miraculous leadership, while the progress of American football took another path—a path with American characteristics.

American major league games have never given up on attracting world-class players. From the Cosmos team that included Pele, Beckenbauer, Best and other superstars in the past, to the introduction of David Beckham with an incredible high salary, to a certain extent, the Americans have succeeded in making their young people have another sport that can generate interest besides basketball, baseball, and ice hockey.At the same time, with the help of strong national strength, many players who were born in Europe but have American nationality choose the United States as their home team. At the same time, the number of American players playing in Europe is also increasing...

The U.S. youth team also has more than ten players who played in Europe. The leading figure is of course their striker Freddie Adu. This 13-year-old represented the U.S. under-17 youth team in the World Junior Championships. He played in the MLS at the age of 14. The Ghanaian genius who made his name known throughout Europe seems to have stagnated after becoming famous. A few years ago, some people predicted that he would land in Europe in his teens and shock the world. , After being loaned to Ligue [-] Monaco, he rarely played. Although he was selected for the US national team, he did not get many opportunities to play in the Confederations Cup. At least those European giants such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Inter Milan who had chased him since he was [-] years old never showed a strong interest in him.

But this does not prevent him from becoming one of the most eye-catching stars in this World Youth Championship. Before the start of the World Youth Championship, Germany's "Kicker" magazine selected six offensive players who may shine in this World Youth Championship. Adu is on the list, and Brazil's Pato, Germany's Toni Cross, England's Jack Wilshere, Spain's Bojan and Italy's Mario Balotelli are tied.

Adu performed well in the group stage. He is not a striker with strong scoring ability, but he has lightning speed and excellent crossing ability on the wing. In the three group matches, he did not score a goal, but had two direct assists. The head coach of the US youth team, Thomason Longen, put him in the left winger position, and another American international, Altidore, who played for Villarreal in La Liga, and Bernardo, who played for Naples in Serie A, formed a three-forward. Even the German youth team was defeated by them through the gate.

Thomason Longen also has ambitions for this World Youth Championship. Although Americans are not fanatical about football, the U.S. national team's runner-up performance in the Confederations Cup has greatly stimulated fans' interest in football.

After knowing that the opponent was the Chinese youth team, Long Gen began to collect all the information related to the Chinese youth team. The most detailed ones were of course the three matches of the Chinese youth team in the group stage.

If he had time, Long Gen even wanted to get the video footage of the Chinese youth players playing in Europe—but there was no time. There were only two days between the draw and the start of the quarter-finals, and the performance of the players in the club and the national team might not be the same.

Only the video of the group stage is the closest and the most authentic—Longen thought so—his thinking is undoubtedly correct. In fact, there are only two days, and there are only two games worth studying. That is the first two games of the group stage.

It's a pity that Ding Yu just wants him to think like this.

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On October [-]th, in Ismailia, the Sino-US war is imminent.

"Aaron, from today onwards, you can play happily!" Ding Yu patted Long Bisheng on the shoulder in the locker room and said with a smile.

The other players laughed one after another. Long Bisheng was really aggrieved when he played on the field in the last game. He had to control his running in a small area, and he couldn't devote himself to the game like he usually did in the British Championship. With his character, it was really difficult for him to act like this.

In this game, Ding Yu has let go of all the ropes tied to Long Bisheng. The only requirement for him is how he usually plays in Leeds United, and now he plays in the China Youth Team.

And in this game, Ding Yu also used what he had prepared for more than half a year, the real tactical play of the China Youth Team - four-five-one, withdrew a forward, sent Jiang Qiqi and Hu Gandang to play double midfielders, in front of them Dai Guangming lined up around Zhang Yi, with Long Bisheng as the core of the attack.

Ding Yu believes that this tactic will definitely surprise the US team.

Ding Yu knows that the United States is a strong opponent. Recently, they have risen quite quickly. The striker combination of Adu and Altidore is a great threat to any team participating in the World Youth Championship. What's more, the defense of the Chinese youth team is not as good as the statistics show.

The China Youth team did not concede a goal in the group stage, not because of their excellent defense, but because of their excellent offensive performance, which suppressed the opponent's offense and made their defense look so good. When Li Jie wanted to mark Altidore, who had a very good impact, Ding Yu could not find a suitable defender to deal with Adu's quick breakthrough.

That's why he added a defensive midfielder in the backcourt to make the defensive formation thicker and reduce the space for Adu to break through. The US team's tactics are four-three-three, and the focus of offense is on the three forwards. It is precisely because of this that it is very important to have a defensive midfielder who can reinforce the two wing defenses at any time.

"Remember, we only have one striker at the front, so Dai Guangming and Zhang Yi are around. The three of you should not be limited to midfield, especially Dai Guangming and the surroundings. Both of you are very fast. I ask you not only to organize the offense, but also to be on the forward line, especially in the counterattack. After Long Bisheng earns the first point, the second point is your responsibility. The speed of the counterattack becomes a little faster. When attacking in positional warfare, take turns entering the penalty area to help Long Bisheng share the pressure or convert the opportunities he creates into goals!"

Although this tactic has been practiced for a long time, Ding Yu also led the China Youth Team to use this tactic against several super teams in the first two domestic training camps, but Ding Yu still took the trouble to explain the things to pay attention to.

After seeing Dai Guangming and others nodding knowingly, Ding Yu sighed, patted Long Bisheng on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "We have been dormant for so long, we should surprise the US team and other teams!"

PS: The girl has a fever for the first time in more than a year... just came back from the hospital injection.

The good news is that there seems to be a total solar eclipse tomorrow, and I hope I can see it from the roof of my house.

We are lucky. Halley’s Comet, which can only be seen once in 72 years, a catastrophic flood once in 100 years, and this time, a total solar eclipse once in 300 years, have all been caught up by us.

(End of this chapter)