King of the Zone

After the Hua Guo team's game was over, the other quarter-finals were all over not long after.

As a result, the semi-finals of the men's football team in the Asian Games were all released, namely China and Japan from East Asia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates from West Asia, while Central Asia and South Asia were all eliminated.

Moreover, the matchups in the semi-finals are also very interesting. Japan VS Iran, Huaguo VS United Arab Emirates, it is completely a duel between East and West Asia.

At this point, all the teams in the semi-finals will have to work hard.

As the host, the Hua Guo team is no exception.

With Cheng Hai scoring 5 goals in the first 15 games and averaging three goals per game, the fans' desire for the championship has also increased a lot.

In this way, everyone is very much looking forward to the Chinese team defeating the United Arab Emirates, Japan defeating Iran, and joining Japan in the final.

After all, in the group stage, because Cheng Hai only played in the second half, the Hua Guo team lost to Japan 2-4 in the end.

Everyone is looking forward to meeting Japan again in the final, letting Cheng Hai start the game, and then revenge!
In the group stage, everyone lost a bit aggrieved.

However, even if Japan defeats Iran, if the Chinese team wants to avenge their revenge, they must first pass the UAE.

Fortunately, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan are ranked similarly in FIFA, not as high as the Chinese team.

In addition, the Hua Guo team is playing at home, and it is very difficult for the UAE to win.

More importantly, the Chinese team solved Uzbekistan within 90 minutes in the quarter-finals.

Moreover, because of Cheng Hai, the Huaguo team established a large lead early on, played very easily, and did not have much mental pressure.

The UAE is different. In the last quarter-finals, they played 90-0 with the North Korean Olympic team within 0 minutes. After entering overtime, the two sides drew a goalless draw. It was still 120-0 within 0 minutes, so they had to enter a penalty shootout.

Both sides of the penalty shootout hit all the first 5 rounds, and finally enter the next round of death battle. As long as whoever falls behind in a round of duel, he will lose immediately.

And this tense and exciting sudden death battle was not decided until the 9th round. In the end, the UAE defeated the North Korean team with a score of 9-8 in the penalty shootout and advanced to the semi-finals.

Not to mention the physical exhaustion of playing a penalty shootout after playing 120 minutes of the game, the psychological pressure on the players from the penalty shootout that has been played until the 9th round has reached its limit.

This is a very favorable condition for Huaguo.

Regardless of the media or the fans, they are very confident that the Chinese team will beat the UAE.

Of course, this confidence is not blind.

To put it bluntly, the biggest confidence of the media and fans is actually not the situation of the UAE, but the fact that the Hua Guo team has Cheng Hai.

So far, Cheng Hai has scored 5 goals in 15 games in the Asian Games, averaging three goals per game.

This efficiency is simply disappointing.

In other words, before the game starts, the opponent will face a situation of falling behind by three goals with a high probability.

How does this make the opponent fight?
It is almost certain to lose.

Therefore, Cheng Hai is the biggest source of confidence for the Chinese media and fans.

……

After the match with Uzbekistan, the Huaguo team took a day off and rested for a day, and then resumed training to prepare for the semi-final against the United Arab Emirates.

Although, for the media and fans, it should be easy to defeat the UAE to enter the final and avenge the Japanese team, because they have Cheng Hai.

But this is a kind of blind self-confidence. As the coach of the Olympic team, Sun Wei and other members of the coaching staff will naturally not be so arrogant.

No matter how strong Cheng Hai was, he was still alone, and he still couldn't complete the game.

If the team can't establish a lead when Cheng Hai is on the court, when Cheng Hai is off the court, the difference in strength may allow the Japanese team to equalize or even reverse the score.

Then the Hua Guo team's revenge plan will fall short, and it may even become a laughing stock.

At the risk of offending the club and recalling Cheng Hai, a top European striker, to the country, and being the host, if the Hua Guo team can't beat Japan to win the championship, it may really become a laughing stock.

Therefore, the coaching staff must formulate relatively safe tactics so that the Chinese team can beat Japan in the final.

One of the most critical points is physical fitness.

Although a certain degree of rotation was carried out before, in fact, the number of rotations was very small, which ensured that the Huaguo team reached the semi-finals.

After the semi-finals, only one day later, the final with the Japanese team will usher in.

If the main lineup is also used in the semi-finals, the main lineup will have to play until the final, and the time between the semi-final and the final is too short, and the final may become physically exhausted.

But if he is on the bench in the semi-finals, he doesn't know if he can beat the UAE.

If he is on the bench and loses to the United Arab Emirates and fails to enter the final, then Sun Wei will become a sinner!

It's a dilemma.

In the end, Sun Wei also approached Cheng Hai to discuss it, and Cheng Hai gave the coaching staff confidence, claiming that even if he was all substitutes in the semifinals, he would still be sure to lead his teammates to win the championship.

Cheng Hai's confidence naturally comes from the stability of his own abilities. With the combined strength of the system, the stability is very high and the volatility is not large.

Therefore, Cheng Hai is sure that even if the United Arab Emirates are strictly guarded during his playing time, he can still score goals.

Then after he leaves the field, the Olympic team will just stick to it.

In the end, the coaching staff adopted Cheng Hai's suggestion and decided to use a small number of main players and most of the substitutes.

At 11:24 on November 16th, the first semi-final of Iran VS Japan officially began.

Just as countless Chinese fans looking forward to revenge expected, after 90 minutes of fierce fighting, the Japanese Olympic team defeated the Iranian Olympic team with a score of 2-1 and advanced to the final first.

If the Hua Guo team defeats the UAE, they will really be able to join the Japanese team in the final and avenge their 2-4 loss in the group stage.

This has caused countless Chinese media and fans to pay close attention to the game tonight. Even some gold medal matchups in other Asian Games events are not as attractive as football.

The charm of the world's number one sport is born.

At 11:23 on the evening of November 19, amidst the cheers of more than 5 fans at Tianhe Stadium, with the whistle of the referee, the second men's football semi-final of the Asian Games between the Chinese Olympic Team and the UAE Olympic Team officially began.

Seeing most of the substitute players in the Hua Guo team's starting lineup, some fans were taken aback, feeling baffled.

"What's going on? Why did the Olympic team get most of the substitutes?"

"Is this a deliberate attempt to lose to the UAE?"

"Damn it, does the Olympic team want to play match-fixing? Has someone bet on the match?"

"I'm so pissed off! If the Olympic team can't make it to the semi-finals, let's see if I don't scold them to death!"

Of course, the commentator and some senior fans can still understand, knowing that this is because there is only one day between the semi-finals and the final, and the time left for the players to recover their physical fitness is too short.

In addition, the previous group stage has been played until the semi-finals. If all the main players are on the main team, I am afraid that the main players will be very tired when they play in the final, and they may not be able to beat the Japanese team even if Cheng Hai plays.

Therefore, the Olympic team played most of the substitutes in the semi-final against the UAE.

No matter what everyone talks about, the game is about to start anyway.

However, although the Hua Guo team had most of the substitutes and looked like they could be bullied, the UAE was not fooled.

They knew that as long as Cheng Hai, the most threatening Hua Guo team, was present, they would not be able to attack aggressively, as it would be easy for Cheng Hai to counterattack.

For this semi-final, the UAE has also made full preparations.Their starting lineup adopted an extreme defensive formation of 541.

Three central defenders and two defensive midfielders are to contain Cheng Hai's goals during Cheng Hai's first game.

Then, after Cheng Hai left the field, they replaced the offensive players and fought the Hua Guo team to the death.

The bet between the two sides was whether Cheng Hai could break through the UAE's defense line consisting of two midfielders and three central defenders.

If Cheng Hai can help the Hua Guo team get a lead of more than two goals during the playing time, even if Cheng Hai is off the field and the UAE is replaced by an offensive player, it will be difficult to come back to life.

Once Cheng Hai can't score a goal, or only scores one goal, it's not clear whether the Hua Guo team, which is composed of most of the substitutes and a small part of the main force, can withstand the mad attack of the UAE after Cheng Hai leaves the field.

It depends on who is right on both sides.

After the start of the game, facing the UAE with firm tactics and unable to defend, the Hua Guo team had no choice but to attack and fight positionally, hoping to break through the UAE's defense.

But this one is really hard.

Because the UAE's tactics are too firm, except for the lone forward who practiced harassment tactics, all other players gathered in the 30-meter area of ​​​​the penalty area to defend, and did not give Cheng Hai a chance to exploit loopholes.

Even if Cheng Hai moved to both sides, they were unmoved. Anyway, they just guarded the 30-meter area of ​​the goal.

Because everyone knows that Cheng Hai is not good at long shots.

His long shots lack both power and arc, and it is easy for the goalkeeper to judge the flight path of the ball and have enough time to save it.

Therefore, no matter how Cheng Hai moved outside the penalty area, they remained unmoved.

In the penalty area, even if Cheng Hai ran out of opportunities, the lack of tacit understanding with the substitute teammates made it difficult for the ball to reach his feet and gave him a chance to shoot.

Even if it occasionally reaches the foot, it is difficult to kick the ball in the face of the opponent's dense defense.

After playing for 20 minutes in the first half, Cheng Hai's only shot hit the defender and was blocked by a bullet hole.

Even if Cheng Hai wants to break through by himself after receiving the ball from outside the penalty area, it is very difficult.

Even if he can break through one or two defensive players, facing the opponent's successive defenses, Cheng Hai can't penetrate the entire defense line of the UAE in one go, and then successfully shoot against the goalkeeper.

The UAE's defense against Cheng Hai is too strict.

Seeing this, the head coach Sun Wei off the court was only scratching his head.

He knew that if Cheng Hai could not take the lead during Cheng Hai's playing time, the chances of the Hua Guo team wanting to win and advance after Cheng Hai was off the court would be much lower.

Even if the FIFA ranking of the Hua Guo team is higher than that of the UAE, it is not high enough to win.

What's more, in this game, most of the Hua Guo team will be on the bench. After Cheng Hai is off the field, there is a high probability that they will not be able to beat the United Arab Emirates.

Therefore, the Huaguo team must have at least a one-goal lead during Cheng Hai's playing time. Only after Cheng Hai is off the court can he firmly fight back and keep the lead until the end of the game.

But the current situation is that Cheng Hai is helpless in the face of the UAE's strict defense and impregnable walls.

The teammate's lack of cooperation, the opponent's strict defense, Cheng Hai's own running position and speed advantage, etc., all made it very difficult for Cheng Hai to shoot a goal.

Just when Sun Wei was at a loss, assistant coach Zhang Haitao suddenly approached Sun Wei and said:
"Director Sun, I think it will be very difficult for us to directly pass the ball to Cheng Hai and let Cheng Hai get a chance to shoot. The opponent's defense against Cheng Hai is too tight. Even with Cheng Hai's skills, it is difficult to break through the opponent's successive defense and get a chance to shoot."

Sun Wei looked sideways at Zhang Haitao who was close to him, and said, "What can you do?"

Zhang Haitao gritted his teeth and said, "I think Cheng Hai's off-the-ball running and grabbing skills don't necessarily require our players to pass the ball to him. When the opponent focuses most of their defensive attention on Cheng Hai, other players can shoot by themselves!"

Sun Wei didn't react for a while, and frowned: "They shoot? Can their shooting skills hit the ball within the range of the goal frame?"

Zhang Haitao shook his head and said, "Letting them shoot is not to expect them to score goals, but to let them use their shots to create chaos. When someone shoots, many of the opponent's players will focus on the shooter. On the one hand, it will create opportunities for Cheng Hai to get rid of the defenders. On the other hand, if the ball does not enter or fly out of the boundary, causing chaos in the penalty area, Cheng Hai's super strong ability to run without the ball and grab points may instead be able to get a chance to shoot!"

Sun Wei pondered for a while, his eyes lit up immediately, and said, "You have a good idea!"

Then, Sun Wei took advantage of his own team members running to the side, pulled him over, and conveyed new tactical instructions.

After everyone in the team received the latest tactical instructions from the head coach, the number of shots taken by the other players of the Huaguo Olympic team, except for Cheng Haiwai, also increased.

With the UAE's shrinking formation unable to defend, the players of the Hua Guo team got a lot of shooting opportunities outside the penalty area.

To be honest, though, the quality of those shots was worrisome.

Although long-range shots are one of the magic weapons to break dense defenses, the long-range shots shot by these substitute players of the Hua Guo Olympic team are mostly waves.

Most were blocked by UAE players, or flew off the baseline.Even if it occasionally hits the goal frame, it is not a big threat and is easily confiscated by goalkeeper Hasaif.

Seeing the tactical change of the Hua Guo team, the UAE players felt a little disdainful.

"Do you think that Cheng Hai is restricted and can score by giving the ball to other players? Do they have that shooting skill?" Many UAE players think so in their hearts.

They didn't know the real intention of the Huaguo team. They only thought that after Cheng Hai was restricted to death, the Huaguo team had no choice but to make other players strengthen their long-range shots in an attempt to score.

This is a way out of nowhere.

They didn't know that the Hua Guo team's real intention was not to let these players shoot and score goals, but to use shooting to create chaos in the penalty area, and to give Cheng Hai's superb off-the-ball running and grabbing shots a chance to grab a spot in the chaos.

This purpose is too hidden, and it is no wonder that the UAE did not discover it in a short time.

Even those professional commentators and reporters didn't find out in a short time. Everyone also thought that the Hua Guo team had no choice but to let other players step up long-range shots to try to score goals when Cheng Hai was restricted to death.

As a result, the UAE still focused most of its attention on marking Cheng Hai, and did not defend much against the other players of the Hua Guo team, allowing the other players of the Hua Guo team to get a lot of shooting opportunities.

Naturally, most of them turned into invalid shots, either flying out of the baseline, or being blocked by the goalkeeper, or being destroyed by the defenders, and did not fall under Cheng Hai's feet.

However, if there are too many shots, there will always be mistakes in clearance and saves, which will cause chaos in the penalty area.

And Cheng Hai's full value off-the-ball running and grabbing skills, although it can't be said that he will appear at the right spot of the ball every time, but he will always catch an opportunity if there are too many times.

After the Hua Guo team practiced the new tactics for more than ten minutes, and after other players had already had four or five shots, Cheng Hai ushered in such an opportunity in the 38th minute.

The winger Zhang Yuan, who started for the first time, dribbled the ball in from the side, and then took a long shot of more than 20 meters from the corner of the penalty area.

After seeing Zhang Yuan take a shot, everyone unconsciously went to see if his shot and the ball would go in, and the marking of Cheng Hai was naturally relaxed.

Now Cheng Hai's starting speed has become very fast again. Immediately, he changed direction and turned his attention to Zhang Yuan's shot. He threw away the inattentive defender and rushed into the small penalty area.

Then, Zhang Yuan's shot luckily avoided the feet of all the defenders stretching out to clear the siege, and appeared in front of the goalkeeper Hasaif.

The ball was not difficult, and Hasaif, who was concentrated, easily made a posture of holding the ball.

As a result, a shocking scene appeared.

He failed to hold the ball to death, the ball hit his chest, bounced out again, and flew into the small penalty area in front of him.

Of course, it is very normal for goalkeepers to make such mistakes on the football field, and those top goalkeepers in the world sometimes make such mistakes.

All the goalkeeper has to do is jump forward, throw the ball on the ground and hold it in his arms.

But this time, Hasaif didn't have time to make up for his mistake.

Before the ball hit the ground, a figure wearing a Hua Guo team jersey rushed up to him, gently pushed the ball, and pushed the ball past him into the goal.

Although Hasaief made a subconscious save, he still failed to touch the ball because the distance was too close.

The ball flew into the net without any suspense.

At this time, Hasaif turned his head to look at the figure rushing to the sidelines to celebrate. The jersey number 9 and the pinyin name of "chenghai" on his back were extremely conspicuous.

It turned out that it was Cheng Hai who rushed in front of him and shot the ball into the net!

Amidst the deafening applause and cheers of tens of thousands of Hua Guo fans, the faces of the UAE players looked extremely heavy!
Cheng Hai scored a goal after all.

This time, they fell behind.