Fox in the Penalty Area

1st match"

After head coach Dillon attended the post-match press conference and returned to the locker room, the atmosphere returned to normal.

The coach and players celebrated again.

Dillon congratulated the team for reaching the quarterfinals of the World Cup and praised the performance of everyone on the team.

Then I told everyone not to think about the upcoming game, take a good rest, and wait until tomorrow to open your eyes to talk about anything else.

When they came out of the locker room, they found that there were still many Chinese fans surrounding the bus.

They've been waiting for the team to show up.

Seeing the Chinese team players appearing at the entrance, everyone cheered.

“The Chinese team is awesome!!”

Someone shouted first.

Then it was like a pot exploding, and more people began to chant:

"Awesome! Awesome!!"

"Well done to the national football team!"

"Qinghuan Qinghuan, I love you!"

"Xingzi is the most handsome!"

"Long live Akai!!"

"Hu Lai! Hu Lai!"

…

Almost every Chinese player received exclusive cheers.

But Wang Guangwei got the loudest.

"Team King——!!"

"Come on, Captain!"

"You are the best captain!"

"Hero! Wang Guangwei!"

The enthusiastic cheers made Wang Guangwei almost unable to move, and he had to stop frequently to wave to the fans.

A reporter at the scene took a video of this scene and posted it on social media with the following text:

"Ignore those controversial voices, the fans have made their own choice. A great hero serves the country and the people. Wang Guangwei is a true football hero!"

Finally, Wang Guangwei finally boarded the car. He stood at the door and waved goodbye to the fans for the last time.

Then, amid deafening cheers, he turned around and hid in the car.

Wang Guangwei sat next to Luo Kai again, just like when he came to the game.

After Luo Kai stood up and offered his seat to him,

He sat down again, turned around and said: "There is more than one knockout match."

Wang Guangwei looked at him.

He said: "This is what you told me before, and now I give it to you, Captain Wang."

※※※

"You all know the result of the other game, right?"

Dutch national team coach Joseph Droste pointed to the door to the dressing room.

Everyone knew which game he was talking about, so they nodded.

They arrived at the stadium nearly two hours in advance to prepare for the match against Belgium. At that time, the match between the Chinese team and the England team was not over yet and was in the second half.

A group of people were changing clothes in the locker room while watching the live game on the TV in the locker room.

Then they saw Wang Guangwei's handball foul and Pete Williams' penalty kick being saved...

There was an explosion in the locker room - when they saw Pete Williams lobbing an empty goal, they thought the Chinese team was destined to be eliminated.

As a result, Wang Guangwei threw the football away with his hand...

Seeing the England team win a penalty kick, they think the Chinese team should be eliminated this time, right?

As a result, Lin Zhiyuan made two incredible saves and blocked the penalty kick!

Many Dutch players held their heads in their hands, as if their penalty kick had been saved, and their eyes widened in disbelief.

When overtime came, they left the locker room to warm up, but many people were still thinking about that game.

Fortunately, the big screen at the competition venue was also showing the live broadcast of that game.

Many fans who came to the venue in advance and waited can also learn about the situation of the other game through this attention.

So the players from both sides who were warming up also saw Johnson Law being sent off with a red card and Hu Lai beating England.

It's not easy for them to miss these wonderful shots - every time the stadium will emit huge screams and cheers to remind the players on both sides of the field who are warming up that something good is happening in another game.

Especially after Hu Lai's winning goal, all the fans at the scene stood up, cheered and applauded.

This shows that the popularity of the England team in Europe is really bad...

Of course, they may be cheering because they think it is a good thing to meet a remnant Chinese team in the quarter-finals.

"The result of that game told us that there are no weaklings in the World Cup. When it comes to the knockout stage, no opponent is easy to deal with. So we must go all out in this quarter-finals and don't think about the quarter-finals. How about we try our best to reach the quarterfinals first!"

With almost the same meaning, the Belgian head coach also said it to his players.

※※※

Danny Drew was tangled up with Belgium center back Eric Jacobs, and he wrapped his arms around each other's waist.

Jacobs, a center back who plays for Stan Park Rangers, reached out and tried to push Drew away.

The referee blew a sharp whistle, paused the game, then ran to the two people and gave them a verbal warning, asking them to calm down.

"The game has reached the 118th minute, and the score is still 0:0! Now the Belgian team got a chance to take a free kick in the frontcourt, and their central defenders all came to the Dutch team's penalty area... Players from both sides were in the penalty area The competition was so fierce that the referee had to pour some water on them to put out the fire."

"This game is between the Netherlands, ranked seventh in FIFA, and Belgium, ranked eighth. It can be said to be a close match... The game process is also the same as the rankings of the two teams. The two sides fought until the last moment of overtime. It’s still not decided! Now that Belgium has won a free kick in the frontcourt, do they have a chance to beat the Netherlands like the Chinese team did in the last game?”

"Compared with the exciting and intense last game, which produced seven goals and several famous scenes, the contest between the Netherlands and Belgium was much duller. Both sides paid great attention to defense and were cautious in attacking, not daring to invest too much. In terms of strength, neither side achieved anything in the ninety minutes. Now the thirty-minute overtime is coming to an end soon. Whether we can score or not depends on this..."

Today's two quarter-finals are indeed very contrasting.

The match between the Chinese team and the England team was full of passion and could be called the most exciting game in this World Cup.

The match between the Netherlands and Belgium seemed particularly dull and silent against the background of the previous match.

Fortunately, this boring battle is finally over.

Whether the ball goes in or not, it will be over.

Either Belgium beats the Netherlands, or the game is dragged into a penalty shootout.

The penalty shootout was exciting.

Many neutral fans are already looking forward to the next penalty shootout - if there is one.

After some education from the referee, the Dutch team did not calm down in front of the goal.

But at least he didn't directly hug people with his hands like Drew did just now.

So the referee exited the penalty area and blew the whistle.

Belgium kicks the football into the penalty area!

Danny Drew, who was originally guarding Jacobs, suddenly dropped his opponent and rushed towards Belgian center Ryan Vandenberg who was diagonally behind him.

He realized that Jacobs should just be a bait, and what Belgium really wanted to do was let center Vandenberg steal this point!

Sure enough, the football didn't let Jacobs fly at all, but went straight to Vandenberg!

"Danger!"

Amid the exclamations of the Dutch TV commentator, Danny Drew jumped towards Vandenberg's position and threw his head towards the football!

He touched the football lightly before Vandenberg!

The football changed direction slightly, leaving Vandenberg empty!

"Danny Drew! He made a key defensive header!"

The football that was knocked out by Drew was then cleared by a Dutch player. Belgium lost the opportunity to beat the Dutch team at the last moment of overtime!

Although Belgium got a foul ball, they didn't dare to press hard anymore, because if the Dutch team counterattacked at the last moment, wouldn't it be over?

Since they couldn't solve their opponent in overtime, dragging them into a penalty shootout was what they hoped for.

After all, they have "father" Jonathan Hewell, so they should still have an advantage in penalty kicks.

The last minute of overtime was wasted by the Belgian players' kicks.

The referee blew three whistles.

"Overtime is over! The second penalty shootout of this World Cup is here!"

※※※

On the dinner table was a "celebration banquet" carefully prepared by Master Fan and his apprentices for the Chinese team players, but it was not eaten, and there were still many dishes left on their respective plates.

Although the players were sitting at the dining table, none of their attention was on eating.

It seems that no one pays for the meals that I have worked so hard to prepare.

But no one on Chef Fan’s team was angry or sad.

Because their attention is not on it.

Instead, like the players of the Chinese team, they all turned to look at the TV screen in the restaurant.

The penalty shootout between the Netherlands and Belgium is being played on it.

Now that we have reached the quarterfinals, we should now worry about which team will be our opponent in the quarterfinals.

Netherlands?

Or Belgium?

"Belgium's first player is their captain and center Vandenberg. Beautiful! Belgium has a good start!"

"The Dutch team's forward Jaden van Bruggen was the first to appear...on the right! He scored in one stroke! He also scored steadily!"

"Belgium's second penalty kicker was striker Jorge Caceres, who plays for Manchester United... Oops! It's high! Caceres kicked the football directly over the crossbar! What a surprise!"

"Now the Dutch team's midfielder Viktor van der Stern is coming up. Since Belgium has already kicked a penalty kick, as long as he can kick the penalty kick in, the Netherlands will have the advantage and take the lead... Run-up! Wow ! Hewel saved Van der Stern's half-high kick! The Belgian goalkeeper saved the team! The best goalkeeper in the last World Cup was the Belgian team's important reliance in the penalty shootout! "

"Holy shit!"

"Fuck this ball...oh, fuck it!"

The exciting penalty shootout made the restaurant filled with exclamations from the Chinese players.

Penalty kicks were kicked one after another amidst their exclamations.

Both sides' third and fourth penalty kicks were scored.

Before the penalty kick in the final round, the score was 3:3.

If the five-round penalty shootout cannot determine the winner, then it will enter a more brutal one-on-one penalty shootout. Each side will play one round. Whoever fails to score will be directly eliminated.

Belgium's fifth penalty kicker was centre-back Eric Jacobs.

Although he is a central defender, he has good penalty kick skills and psychological quality. After all, central defenders have good psychological pressure resistance.

However, penalty kicks in normal games are completely different from penalty kicks at this moment.

Facing Dutch goalkeeper Toney Schulmann, Jacobs chose to push into the lower left corner.

But he pursued the angle too much, and the football missed the goal post!

"Ahhh! Jacobs!! He missed the kick!! Belgium is in danger!"

The commentator in the live TV broadcast was exclaiming, and the Chinese players in front of the TV were also exclaiming:

"I'll go! What kind of script is this?!"

"Isn't it? Can Hywell throw it out!"

Amid everyone's exclamations, someone was seen walking out of the Dutch team's formation.

It was Maxi Carey wearing the captain's armband.

He walks calmly towards the restricted area, his expression in the close-up shot is very calm.

※※※

After Carey placed the football, he stepped back and prepared to take the penalty kick.

Opposite his former club teammate Jonathan Highwell, Carey even smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Haywell's expression was very serious.

Now he had no intention of reminiscing and joking with Kaili.

As Jacobs missed the penalty kick, Belgium had one foot hanging off the cliff.

If he can't save Carey's ball, Belgium will be eliminated.

As a goalkeeper, he has no way out, and there is no such thing as "it's normal not to be able to save".

The whistle sounded, and the noise at the scene became a little lower.

I saw Kyrie start to run. When he ran to the football, he leaned back slightly, opened his arms, and raised his right leg, as if he was about to volley from a certain angle.

So Hewel rushed in the direction he guessed!

But just as he pounced out, he saw Kyrie's right leg suddenly retracting its strength when he was about to kick the football. Instead of directly hitting the football, he raised his toes and gave it a slight kick!

The football flew into his goal from the middle in a parabola!

"Spoon! Spoon penalty! Maxi Carey ended this suffocating penalty shootout in such an understatement!"

"As expected of him! Super MAX! Maxi Carey!"

"The Netherlands eliminated Belgium and entered the quarterfinals!"

"The opponent of the Chinese team in the quarter-finals was born - the Dutch team led by Maxi Carey! Another 'Teammates Derby'!"