Green Dragon

Chapter 589 Three Points Acquired!

"After 12 years, the Chinese team returned to the stage of the World Cup. Facing the African powerhouse Côte d'Ivoire, the boys did not show a trace of fear. Instead, they led their opponents 2-0 in the first half. It is surprising but also gratifying. .”

When the whistle sounded at the end of halftime, the screen switched back to the studio, and Duan Yixuan also calmed down a little.

Diagonally opposite him, the seat that was supposed to be a guest was empty at this time.

He had to explain a sentence:
"Director Zhu has something to deal with temporarily, so I will continue to explain for everyone in the second half of the game."
-
"It's 58 minutes until we get our first World Cup victory..."

Back in the locker room, Long Shute said so, and he looked up at the electronic watch in the hands of Team Leader Cao:

"It's only 57 minutes now."

There was an easy laugh from his team-mates, although some were tired, but in any case, with a two-goal lead, they deserved to be a bit more relaxed.

But Long Shute didn't really relax. He looked through the tactical arrangements that he had drawn up before, scanned the status of his teammates, and discussed with assistant coach Li Bing a few words to determine the time for substitutions in the second half.

For the Chinese team, the overall tactic is always defensive counterattack, which is also the most suitable tactic for them-maybe you can change the taste in the Asian arena, but this is the World Cup, and there are no teams like Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, and Myanmar. They crush and beat...

When the rest time was about to end, Long Shute clapped his hands:

"In the second half, I expect Côte d'Ivoire to change their tactics and return to their best physical confrontation, and Drogba will definitely play at the critical moment. Let go. You should also pay attention to the wings, you can’t let the opponent pass easily, even if you give them a free kick, it doesn’t matter..."

He didn't talk too much nonsense, and it took only half a minute to finish these few precautions.

Then he smiled:

"There are still 46 minutes until we get the first three points."
-
Just as Long Shute predicted, Côte d'Ivoire really changed its tactics in the second half.

Before the option of ugly victory and beautiful defeat, Ramsey also had to put away his French openness and romance, allowing the team to return to their most familiar rhythm.

Although Boni, who is at the top, is not yet well-known, he is an efficient killer: from January 2011 to May 1, he surrendered an efficient number of 2013 goals in 5 games in the Eredivisie League. Not inferior to Suarez and Long Shute back then, after moving to the Premier League team Swansea, he also scored 73 league goals in 53 games in a season, tied for fourth in the scorer list.

He is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 88 kilograms. He can jump and carry, and his speed is not slow at all. As a striker, his impact is quite terrifying.

Fortunately, Li Weifeng and Feng Xiaoting were strong and soft, and the two joined forces to restrain him. Although Li Datou was old and his explosive power and jumping ability had dropped significantly, he was still capable of fighting with sufficient physical fitness.

And the two flanks of the Chinese team also worked very hard to prevent Côte d'Ivoire from crossing comfortably. No matter how good Boni's header skills are, there is no way to receive a shot...

As for the middle lane, Long Shute and Yaya Toure were almost inseparable, and neither of them could use their full strength to participate in offense or defense.

"After playing for 15 minutes in the second half, Côte d'Ivoire changed its style in the first half, and the pressure on the Chinese team's defense increased sharply, huh? We saw that Dai Lin has already started warming up on the sidelines. Is he going to replace Li Weifeng, who is physically declining?"

Duan Yixuan originally wanted to introduce Dai Lin, but his eyes swept to the warm-up area on the other side:

"The big thing is not good! Drogba is ready to play!"
-
In the 63rd minute, Côte d'Ivoire and the Chinese team made substitution adjustments at the same time.

Dai Lin did not directly replace Li Weifeng, but replaced forward Gao Lin, and placed three central defenders in front of the goalkeeper.

Of course Gao Lin is not happy, but he has nothing to do. After all, he is not the type who can destroy a team by himself. Now that the team needs to strengthen the defense, he can only accept the arrangement of leaving the field.

Côte d'Ivoire replaced the midfielder Diye and sent the heavyweight nuclear weapon Didier Drogba.

The appearance of the African monster made China's defense line feel like a big enemy. Long Shute was even thinking... Should he also enter the penalty area to participate in the defense?
But he can't do this, because it is very likely to cause the midfield to collapse!
Yaya Toure, who lacks restraint, will definitely disrupt the entire midfield of the Chinese team by himself like a fierce tiger!

Therefore, Long Shute can only pin his hopes on the three central defenders, and pray that they can withstand the impact of the two forwards, Boni and Drogba...
-
Although Drogba briefly joined the Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua, his time in Shenhua was not happy due to the club owner arrears of wages. He only played 11 games for the team and left angrily. Many players haven't played him head-to-head.

But these players will soon know how much strength the "African Warcraft" has, even though Drogba is 36 years old.

In less than 6 minutes since Drogba played, he got a chance to compete for the header. Although his teammate's pass was a little uncomfortable, he still overwhelmed Dai Lin, who was 1.9 meters tall, and Li Weifeng, who was 1.8 meters two. The first landing point of the pass, and then twisted the waist and abdomen, driving the head to slam!
If it wasn't for the goalkeeper Wang Dalei who was in a hot state and saved the ball out of the bottom line with one palm, Côte d'Ivoire would have recovered a goal!
"Don't let him take off easily!"

Although Li Weifeng was a little tired, he still played the role of a backcourt leader, loudly reminding his partners around him: "Use small moves!"

Both Feng Xiaoting and Dai Lin nodded vigorously, and then started to defend the next round of corner kicks with the spirit of 12 points.

When all the players of the Chinese team retreat into the penalty area to participate in the defense, even Drogba cannot successfully grab the header, because he is surrounded by people, defensive players, and his own teammates. In such a situation Under the circumstances, the goal can only be pinned on luck.

But obviously, Côte d'Ivoire has never had much luck in the World Cup. This time the corner kick...not only did not fall on their heads, but was pushed out of the penalty area by Dai Lin.

A white lightning started to accelerate from the small restricted area!
Ramsay couldn't help but burst the mineral water bottle in his hand!

But just as the lightning started, it was directly knocked to the ground by Yaya Toure!
"Boom, bang, bang..."

Long Shute was like a heavy truck driving at high speed, turning four or five somersaults in a row before stopping.

Although the Brazilian turf is very soft, such unprepared continuous rolling is obviously not comfortable at all, and his arms and knees have also left minor abrasions.

The referee from Brazil did not have any hesitation, he directly showed a bright red card to Yaya Toure, and the core of Côte d'Ivoire was expelled!
Ramsay's heart jumped again just after returning to his stomach, and he threw the mineral water bottle in his hand to the ground! -
Côte d'Ivoire, with one less man fighting, simplifies tactics to the extreme:
Try not to pass the ball through the midfield, and resolutely hang it to the penalty area whenever there is a chance from the wing. As for the next thing, it will be all handed over to the two forwards Drogba and Boni.

There is nothing wrong with such a tactic, because in this football world, countless teams use this tactic to survive, not to mention they were sent off a key player!
If Drogba is three or four years younger, then the Chinese team's defense is likely to be overwhelmed by him, but...he is no longer young after all!

In the 81st minute, Kalou barely took the ball after making a breakthrough from the left, but he obviously didn't aim. The football flew directly over Drogba's head and hit the crossbar...

Seeing the football bounced towards the goal again, Feng Xiaoting quickly made a sideways barb to clear the ball.

Zheng Zhi, who was guarding the perimeter, grabbed the second spot, and without a word, he turned around and made a direct pass!
"Whoosh!"

This time... when the white lightning appeared, no one could stop him!
The two central defenders of Côte d'Ivoire—one was a temporary cameo—were like nothing in the eyes of Long Shute, who was rushing forward!
"Shua la la!"

"The goal... scored! 3-0! Long Shute completed a hat-trick! The Chinese captain firmly holds the victory in his own hands!"

Duan Yixuan was so excited that he couldn't control himself. He even learned what Long Shute said during the intermission without a teacher:

"There are only 8 minutes left before the Chinese team wins their first World Cup victory!"
-
The Chinese team with a three-goal lead can finally relax a little bit, and they also use continuous substitution adjustments to waste game time.

Huang Bowen replaced Li Weifeng, who was physically weak, and veteran Cao Yang replaced Hao Junmin, both of whom are strong defensive players.

But even though the replacements are more defensive-oriented,...it is a pity that the goalkeeper Wang Dalei still failed to get his zero seal bonus in the end-maybe the national team will not set this bonus...

Just when it was about to enter the stoppage time period, Côte d'Ivoire scored a goal tenaciously, saving a bit of cover for the African elephant.

Perhaps the attention of the back line was all focused on Drogba, who was more threatening. At that moment, no one was going to mark Boni, who had been running for a full 90 minutes, and let him go in the back row without anyone watching. On the first day, a header with all its strength rushed to the top, breaking through the city that the Chinese team had held on for the entire game.

Facing the floating and fast header, even Wang Dalei, who had turned on the plug-in, could not complete the save, so he could only say goodbye to his World Cup debut with regret.

"Drip, drip, drip..."

The melodious whistle echoed in the Pernambuco Stadium in Recife, but many players of the Chinese team collapsed on the field.

But without exception, their faces were filled with the joy of victory.

On this day... they won their first World Cup match! -
Amidst the cheers of his teammates, Long Shute raised his arms high and gave a vigorous shake!
Three points in hand, I have the world!
Colombia, ranked No. 8 in the world, and my No. 8 Chinese team... come and meet you for a while!

(End of this chapter)