atypical center forward

Chapter 103 The Gap
It is unfair to others, at least to old coach He Qingyuan, to attribute all the credit for the Chinese team's entry into the World Cup to Yang Shaotian.

The old man can be called the living fossil of Chinese football. He has witnessed the ups and downs of Chinese football, accompanied Chinese football through the darkest years, and finally spent five years building this team. Yang Shaotian, Su Nian and other overseas players can get rid of all domestic disturbances and grow overseas smoothly. His contribution is indispensable.

Although the outside world calls this Chinese team the golden generation, and the reputation of being the strongest in history doesn't need to be shrouded in money, but the old coach's heart is brighter than anyone else.

Asian football is second-rate in world football, while Chinese football can only be considered first-rate in Asian football, so he has created a set of defensive counterattack tactics for the team very pragmatically.

Abandoning all the flashy offensive routines for the Chinese team, such as flying with both wings and infiltrating the middle, based on defense, looking for opportunities to secretly bite the opponent, this is a more realistic approach.

Switzerland is definitely the fastest rising star in European football in recent years. This country has a small population, and there is no league that can compete with Europe and the United States, and there are no top stars who can dominate the football world. However, his national team has been standing in European football for many years. The results are quite stable and outstanding.

The age structure is reasonable, both experienced and aggressive. They once had a record of beating their opponents by six goals in the qualifiers. Promotion is only a basic task for them.

As for the Chinese team?It's just fish belly.

With such thoughts, they naturally played boldly. After more than ten minutes of probing, they began to press aggressively, as if they wanted to settle the battle in the first half.

And this is undoubtedly what the Chinese team wants.

In the 18th minute of the game, the Swiss team captain Lichtner passed the Chinese team's midfielder Chen Jiaxuan through the crotch, and then quickly passed the ball to the right. The Swiss right winger Saric relied on his speed to eat the Chinese team's full-back Zheng Hai and hit the bottom line.

The frontcourt players of the Swiss team rushed directly into the penalty area.

Saric made a short pass, and Zheng Hai, who was chasing him, quickly stretched out his foot to seal the bet. Who knew that Saric was just a fake move, and with a light buckle, Zheng Hai passed Zheng Hai cleanly again.

The Swiss fans in the stands gave warm applause to his right winger. This young player who plays for Stoke City in the Premier League is agile and has outstanding skills. He has already played for Bayern and Inter Milan and other giants a long time ago. Experience, is one of the few famous stars in the Swiss team.

Central defender Tang Junyue quickly defended, while Chen Jiaxuan quickly returned to guard the opponent's center forward.

Saric faced Tang Junyue directly, swayed the football with his right foot, then quickly swung the ball to the left with his left foot, and dribbled the ball to Tang Junyue's right side resolutely.

Tang Junyue was shaken by his first fake move. Although he didn't lose his focus, his reaction was still half a beat slow, and he watched Lang dodge past him.

The penalty area is full of players from both sides. Whether Lang flashes the angle and hits the goal by himself or chooses to pass the ball, it is possible to bring a goal.

But before he could make a decision, Zheng Hai made the third kill and stabbed the ball from behind.

Chen Jiaxuan touched the ball before Lichtener and immediately drove out of the penalty area.

The threat was lifted, and the Chinese team had lingering fears.

"Saric almost pierced the Chinese team's defense by himself. Fortunately, Zheng Hai did not give up and made up for it at the last moment. This is what our fans want to see. Maybe our technical and tactical strength is still far behind others, but we must show our attitude, fight tenaciously, and never give up."

"Look at the ball, the Chinese team's counterattack came. Yang Shaotian gave the ball to Lin Shengjian. He and the two forwards went straight into the penalty area of ​​the Swiss team. Many players of the Swiss team have not returned to the defense. It is currently a four-on-four situation."

As the name suggests, Lin Shengjian was as fast as an arrow from a bowstring. He slammed the ball into the Swiss half as soon as he lay down. Before the opponent's defensive player approached, he made a ground pass and handed the baton of attack to Yang Shaotian.

Yang Shaotian caught the ball steadily, faced the waiting Swiss defender with a false pass, and handed the ball to Su Nian.

Su Nian was also followed by a defender. He adjusted the ball slightly with his outside foot, and then stuffed it in front of Zhou Peng.

Zhou Peng's shooting power is weak, and his physical confrontation is not strong, but his movements are flexible, his starting speed is fast, and he catches up with the ball before the opponent's defender.

"Zhou Peng single-handedly! Face the goalkeeper! Push!" Duan Xiang yelled three times in a row, which made fans all over the country feel excited.

It's a pity that Zhou Peng's shot from close at hand rolled out of the goalpost by a hair.

The Swiss defender and goalkeeper let out a sigh of relief, while Yang Shaotian and Su Nian looked at him in disbelief.

Zhou Peng patted his head in frustration, spat hard, then gave Su Nian a thumbs up, and finally walked back slowly.

Countless sighs came from Chinese fans all over the world.

He Qingyuan also sighed secretly.

The first opportunity was not grasped, and this game was difficult to play.

As he expected, the Swiss team was startled into a cold sweat by the Chinese team, and began to slow down and play steadily. The Swiss defenders led by Lichtener no longer rushed forward easily, and the two flanks repeatedly staged wonderful one-on-one breakthroughs.

The strength gap between the two sides can be seen at a glance.

This is an overall gap in technical ability, tactical literacy, on-the-spot mentality, and experience in competitions. Some Chinese media wrote that "maybe there is a gap with England, but the victory or defeat with Switzerland is only five or five." The golden generation of Chinese football is fully revealed.

The gap in strength was quickly reflected in the score.

"It was Saric's breakthrough again. The Chinese team's wing was turned upside down by him. Perhaps this is the role of talented players. Their individual combat ability is often the most effective key to the team's door to victory. The star players in our team should also stand up and lead the team out of the predicament."

The star player Duan Xiang mentioned naturally refers to Yang Shaotian. His performance in this game was very flat, or the opponent's targeted defense against him was very successful.

And once a team's tactical core and spiritual leader are restricted, the team is not far from failure.

Saric used a simple man-ball to leave Deng Hai behind for the nth time, cut inside and entered the penalty area. Facing the heavy bets of the Chinese defense, he did not try to act alone this time, but hung the ball cleanly towards the goal.

The Swiss high center forward jumped high and sent the ball into the goal of the Chinese team with a powerful head shake.

The whole country of Switzerland was jubilant, while all the Chinese fans fell silent.

"The Swiss team took the lead with a header at the end of the first half. The Chinese team can't sit still. They must adjust quickly and try to change this unfavorable situation in the second half."

Duan Xiang’s wish is good, but the reality is cruel. The Swiss goal seems to have destroyed the confidence of the Chinese players, making their performance worse and worse. Before the end of the first half, they almost gave an own goal. If the Swiss forward was not prepared for the gift from the sky, he kicked the ball into the arms of Chinese goalkeeper Luo Wei, and the score might have been 2:0.

(End of this chapter)