aspirations football

Chapter 18 Asian Cup First Game

Manchester United's rebuff made the giants give up their coveting of Jingxuan this summer, but Jingxuan still couldn't finish this summer quietly.

From the first day of the end of the season, he was surrounded by various sponsors and advertisers drawn by the economic company established by Wang Kai.

There was even a film and television company that invited Jingxuan to participate in the filming of the annual drama, and could also cooperate with the popular actress surnamed Z, but Jingxuan refused on the grounds that the schedule was over.

It was not until the start of the Asian Cup training camp that Jingxuan finally found peace of mind.

Since Japan and South Korea did not send all the main players in Europe to participate, the strong Chinese team is considered to be the biggest favorite to win the Asian Cup.

Especially with the addition of Jingxuan who was selected for the national team for the first time, the Chinese team has a total of seven returnees, and the lineup cannot be considered luxurious.

As the biggest discovery of Inter Milan this season and the main force at the end of the season, Jingxuan naturally won the favor of the national team coach Zhu Guanghu and became the main force in training.

In the last Asian Cup, the Chinese team lost to Japan, which was not the strongest lineup in the final at home, which has always made Chinese fans worry.

For this Asian Cup, the Chinese team recruited seven overseas returnees including Zheng Zhi, Jingxuan, Shao Jiayi, Li Tie, Sun Xiang, Dong Fangzhuo, and Sun Jihai. The lineup is unprecedentedly strong.

Fans across the country are eagerly looking forward to this one of the strongest national teams in history to win the Asian Cup.

At 7:7 p.m. on July 8, BJ time, the Chinese team ushered in the first opponent of this Asian Cup - the host Malaysia.

Facing this not-so-strong opponent, the Chinese team must win.Jingxuan replaced Shandong Luneng general Zhou Haibing in the starting lineup, and formed a joint midfield with captain Zheng Zhi and popular international footballer Wang Dong.

It was the first time to train with the teammates of the national team. If you want to talk about the biggest difference in training with Inter Milan stars, to be honest, Jingxuan can't feel it.

In his view, the teammates of the national team are all the best players in China, their physical confrontation ability is not inferior to that of European players, and their skills are not bad at their feet.

The usual training intensity is also sufficient, but I just can't understand why the performance in the official competition is not good.

Today is Jingxuan's 17th birthday, and he naturally hopes to perform well in his first appearance on behalf of the Chinese team.

The referee whistled and the Malaysian team took the lead.

The characteristics of the Malaysian players are typical small and quick spirits, and the skills at their feet are not bad, but they have no way to deal with the Chinese players who are physically stronger than themselves.

The midfielder of the Chinese team hardly encountered any resistance and has been calmly pouring the ball backwards.

In the 11th minute of the game, Jingxuan dribbled the ball from the backcourt, passed the opponent's up-and-coming player, and then made a through pass to Mao Jianqin on the right.

After Mao Jianqin got the ball, there was a blank space around him, and there were no defensive players.

Jingxuan originally thought that he would drive the ball into the penalty area, then choose a safe ground crossing, and pass the ball to the captain Zheng Zhi who had already inserted it.

Because this way the shot is more secure, but Mao Jianqin directly chose to pass at a 45° angle, the pass was a little higher, and Han Peng, who was topping the ball in the penalty area, headed the ball high.

Jingxuan couldn't help sighing, lamenting that such a good opportunity failed to break through.

In the 37th minute of the game, Jingxuan dribbled the ball into the penalty area of ​​the Malaysian team, suddenly made an emergency stop and pulled the ball backwards, and then passed the ball to Wang Dong not far away.

At this moment, Wang Dong is standing at the top of the arc, facing the opponent's goal and unmarked. If he catches the ball and shoots, it is very likely to draw the ball in.

However, Wang Dong chose a more secure approach. He stopped the ball at his feet and faced the opposing central defender who had rushed forward.

Buckle the ball to the left, and then pass it straight to the full-back Sun Xiang who has already penetrated the opponent's penalty area line.

After Sun Xiang got the ball, facing the opposing defender who stepped forward to defend, he swayed left and right twice, dodged a small angle, and crossed the ball into the penalty area.

Due to the high speed of the ball and the fact that it was a half-high ball, Han Peng's header was not in the right position and was easily confiscated by the goalkeeper.

Seeing this scene, Jingxuan could only stand there with his arms akimbo in a daze for several seconds.

He really didn't understand why the way his teammates dealt with the offense was so complicated. Just now, from the corner of his eye, he saw that there was a large space in front of Wang Dong, who was diagonally behind, before he passed the ball.

If this was replaced by Cambiasso or Vieira, it is likely to score with one volley.

There were many similar situations in the game, and the Chinese team's offensive efficiency was not high.

But even so, the Chinese team still led 10:4 at 0 minutes into the game.

In the second minute of the game No.80, Jingxuan tackled the opponent's striker Putra's dribble, and then launched a counterattack.

I saw him drive straight in the midfield, and faced the opponent's midfielder's interception, he made a pick-and-roll.

Then relying on his strong body to lean on the opponent's back waist, he stopped the ball in front of the opponent and continued to move forward.

The opponent player may become angry because of Jingxuan's action, and pull Jingxuan's jersey behind him.

Jingxuan was also irritated, and he flicked his hand and hit the opponent's player in the face. The opponent covered his face and lay on the ground moaning.

The referee whistled and Xiang Jingxuan took out a yellow card, which was also the first yellow card for the Chinese team in this game.

Jingxuan also wanted to explain to the referee that the opponent pulled the jersey first, and he did not hit the opponent's face hard.

But the referee didn't care about this, the captain Zheng Zhi hurried over to hold Jingxuan, only to avoid further escalation of the situation.

Before the end of the game, Wang Dong scored another header. In the end, the Chinese team defeated the Malaysian team 5:0 and won the Asian Cup.

Although Jingxuan failed to score or assist in this game, he performed very steadily on the court, and he could not tell that he was only a 17-year-old boy.

Together with captain Zheng Zhi, he firmly controlled the midfield and did not give the opponent any chance.

The only regret is that I received a yellow card on my birthday night. I have to say that as a young player, I am still not calm enough.

As the most popular player in the current team, Jingxuan was "caught" by Chinese reporters as soon as he played.

Due to the restrictions on the questions and answers of interviews with reporters in the team before the game, many things cannot be said indiscriminately.

Jingxuan also answered a few boring questions very "officially".

When the reporter asked the last question:
"What do you think about the next game against the Iranian team?" Jingxuan didn't think much, and said directly:
"I think we should improve the conversion rate because the Iranian team will not give us so many chances."

"Are you saying that the offensive efficiency of today's game is not high?"

Hearing the reporter's questioning, Jingxuan realized that he should not have said so much in front of the TV, so he explained:

"That's not what I meant, I just said we're going to play better."

After speaking, Jingxuan ended the interview with an excuse.

Back in the locker room, the head coach Zhu Guanghu was already summing up after the game. The teammates were sitting together, some of them were still changing clothes.

Seeing Jingxuan came back, Zhu Guanghu nodded first, and then said:
"Jingxuan, you performed well today, but that yellow card is really worthless, you must pay attention to it in the next game."

What can Jingxuan say?He could only smile and nodded towards the head coach.

The whole summary will be very short, and it is possible that Jingxuan came in late, and he thinks that he has not heard any substantive suggestions.

Facing the strong enemy Iran five days later, he hopes to have a better performance.

(End of this chapter)