Midfielder Ruler

As the referee on duty blew his long whistle, except for the Chinese team coach Lippi who acted relatively calmly, the Chinese players on the home team's bench and bench, including assistant coach Madaloni and others, were all excited and could not contain their excitement.

Not to mention the Chinese fans in the stands, they were dancing and dancing like children who received the best gift.

The Chinese players on the field felt the surge from their hearts and were ecstatic, but more players were crying with joy.

Even Tang Zheng, who scored twice in this game, was like this. Feeling the excitement coming from the Chinese fans, he covered his face with his hands. From the broadcast screen, it looked more like he was eliminated instead of advancing to the top 16.

Tang Zheng's two goals were very exciting. They can be said to determine whether the Chinese team can advance. Especially his two goals were scored under the unfavorable situation of the Chinese team being two goals behind. They scored a lot of extra points, so they were Officially rated as the best on the spot.

Therefore, after the game, the on-site director gave Tang Zheng a close-up shot of his face. In the broadcast, Tang Zheng covered his face with his hands, and his shoulders were obviously shaking. It was not difficult to see that he was also very excited now.

In the past five seconds, Tang Zheng pursed his lips, half bent over, using his large body to cover most of the live broadcast, and then rubbed his face with both hands, specifically wiping his eyes.

It was historic for the Chinese team to qualify, so the on-site director continued to show Tang Zheng close-ups.

Every move he made was shown in front of the TV.

He Wei, the commentator of Central 5, had a hoarse throat, but he was still passionate and eloquent: "When you drink water, don't forget the man who dug the well! The reason why we can stand out from Group C is inseparable from Tang Zheng. It can even be said that there is no Tang Zheng. , our qualification no longer exists! Maybe some fans don’t think so, but I tell you the data will not lie! Three goals and one assist! Personal contribution is as high as 80%, and there is no World Cup top 20 Tang Zheng’s super performance means we can’t even make it to the top ten!”

He Wei kept talking, and the domestic fans in front of the TV were even more passionate. In countless communities, streets, school dormitories, Internet cafes and other places, there were all kinds of indescribable screams, ghosts crying and wolves howling, just like the eight immortals crossing the sea to show their magical powers.

Fortunately, domestic news reports in the past few days have focused on the World Cup in Brazil, so many Chinese people know that 4 o'clock in the morning is the focus of the battle between the Chinese team and Colombia, a key game that determines whether they can advance to the knockout rounds.

Now we can hear the roar of the mountain and the tsunami. It is obvious that the Chinese team has become the first Asian team to advance to the knockout rounds of this World Cup.

Based on the performance of Asian teams in the first two rounds, the Chinese team is likely to be the only Asian team to advance.

As a Chinese, even if I am not a fan, as long as Chinese football can go global, it is something to be proud of.

In addition, the General Secretary likes football, and various promotions of football have been carried out across the country. More and more people like football. Now that the national team has achieved success on the World Cup stage, I am naturally very happy.

British Sky commentator Andy Gray looked at Tang Zheng in the broadcast and sighed in his heart: "If our national team can have a midfielder like Tang, why worry about missing the knockout rounds? He ran in a wide range and defended without any effort. It can play a role in stabilizing the sea, and the offense can enrich the offensive routines in the frontcourt, and every game can guarantee at least 80% game concentration, which is very rare. Of course... At this time, we should congratulate the Chinese team. The eighth team in the World Cup to advance to the last 16.”

Martin Taylor then turned to Andy Gray and said: "Old man, I have to correct your statement. Don is not only maintaining 80% concentration on the game, but... 100%!"

After that, he did not give Andy Gray a chance to speak, and continued: "The Chinese team, which advanced to the top 16 as the second in the group, will face the relatively weak Costa Rica, the first in Group D, in the 1/8 finals. This pair It was a very good result for them,

As long as you perform normally, it is very possible to advance to the quarterfinals! "

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Judging from the broadcast, Tang Zheng had obvious tears in both eyes.

Of course, this is a masterpiece that makes people cry with joy.

As the well-deserved number one star of the Chinese team, Tang Zheng naturally knows how many pairs of eyes are looking at him.

Young people always care about face.

Tang Zheng took a deep breath to adjust his mental state, then high-fived and hugged his teammates in celebration.

When he finished hugging each of his teammates and was about to join captain Zheng Zhi in thanking the Chinese fans who were present, he saw his friend Falcao standing aside in casual clothes, so he said something to his teammates and walked over with a smile.

"What? Romedal? My good brother." Tang Zheng stretched out his right hand.

Falcao is the biggest contributor to Colombia's entry into the World Cup. He scored nine goals in the qualifying rounds and is the team's top scorer. He missed the World Cup due to injury in the French Cup at the beginning of this year, but the national team has not forgotten his contribution.

Since there is no way to participate in the World Cup as a player, he can participate as a member of the national team's accompanying staff.

Previously, due to delays in other matters, I did not communicate directly with Tang Zheng, but this time I finally had the opportunity.

"First of all, congratulations! Congratulations on leading the national team to the top 16 of this World Cup."

Romedal raised his right arm and held it tightly with Tang Zheng's extended right hand.

"Same joy." Tang Zheng said with a smile: "Congratulations to you for advancing to the top 16 for ranking first in your group."

At this point, Tang Zheng suddenly changed his voice meaningfully and said humbly: "I hope you can eliminate Uruguay in the 1/8 finals."

The reason why Tang Zheng's tone was said to be mean was because he winked at Falcao when he spoke.

Fans who follow Brazil's World Cup South American qualifiers all know that Colombia's ability to qualify for the World Cup main draw as second place in South America is directly related to Falcao's outstanding performance. It is worth mentioning that Falcao's two-leg match between Colombia and Uruguay Determines the trend of the game.

In the first round, Colombia beat Uruguay 4-0 at home. It was Falcao's lightning goal in the opening two minutes that set the tone of the game. In the second round, Falcao was suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards, which directly affected Colombia's offensive efficiency in the frontcourt. In the end, it was 0 in the away game: 2 lost to Uruguay.

This time the two teams met in the World Cup 1/8 finals, and the result was unpredictable.

"I believe in my teammates, they are all the best." Fall rolled his eyes at Tang Zheng, then turned to look at James Rodriguez, and said with confidence: "Especially James! He has the ability to take this national team far."

Tang Zheng followed Falcao's gaze and looked at James Rodriguez, who was not yet 23 years old. Unusually, he did not tease Falcao again and said with a smile: "James is indeed a player with great potential. young player, from the first moment I saw him."

At the end, Tang Zheng joked again as he was accustomed to: "If his performance can continue to shine, I think... he and I may become teammates next season."

"You? Teammates?" Falcao raised his eyebrows: "Isn't it possible?"

James Rodriguez just moved from Porto to Monaco last summer and became club teammates with Falcao. Will he move to Real Madrid next season?

Of course Falcao couldn't imagine it.

"Why not?" Tang Zheng looked down at Falcao who was serious and said with a smile: "James is young and has great potential. Everything is possible."

"That's true." Falcao listened to the shouts from above the stadium, nodded lightly, and felt that it seemed possible. Then he pointed at the fanatical atmosphere and said with a smile: "Your fans are too enthusiastic. We will try it another day." Let’s have a good chat, and by the way…don’t forget to treat us!”

"Why treat?"

Tang Zheng was confused.

"If I hadn't told my teammates not to be so good, do you think you could have drawn with us?" Falcao said without blushing.

"Really?" Tang Zheng glanced at Falcao playfully.

"certainly!"

Falcao slapped his chest.

"Okay." The national team advanced to the top 16 and faced the relatively weak Costa Rica in the 1/8 finals. Tang Zheng was in a good mood and put his arm around Falcao's right shoulder: "I'll treat you to food after the World Cup. Chinese food.”

"make a deal!"

Tang Zheng and Falcao exchanged a few more words before returning to their respective camps.

The Chinese fans in the Pantanal Stadium were full of passion, and many non-professional fans, led by the Dragons fan club, were particularly crazy. They danced and hysterically vented their inner pride.

Players such as captain Zheng Zhi and Tang Zheng walked to the nearest Chinese fans' stand, raised their arms high, thanked the fans for their support by clapping, and circled the field.

During the regular press conference after the game, head coaches Lippi and Tang Zheng appeared in the press conference hall.

Reporters from physical media and online media in China seemed very excited and could not wait for the regular post-match press conference to begin.

This game is the last round of Group C for the Chinese team and the first round of the competition. The arrangement of the organizing committee is also biased towards the domestic media of the Chinese team.

Of course, the first person to get the interview opportunity was CC5, which is the most pleasant to cooperate with FIFA. The reporter in charge of asking questions was still the young intern reporter Xiao Linzi, whose excited expression was palpable.

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While the Chinese team participated in the regular press conference after the game, CCTV 1's news at 7 o'clock in the morning rarely started with the Chinese men's football team. Therefore, many Chinese people who do not pay attention to football gradually became aware of the former team. The Chinese men's football team has become a source of pride when everyone shouts and beats a rat crossing the street.

The top 16 of the World Cup is the most glorious moment since the establishment of the Chinese men's football team!

But the top 16 is not the focus of this Chinese team, because they face Costa Rica in the 1/8 finals.

It’s not that the Chinese team can beat Costa Rica 100%, but that Costa Rica’s strength is much weaker than the top names in other groups, which increases the Chinese team’s hope of winning.

Coupled with the fact that China's number one star Tang Zheng is in charge, the chances of winning are greatly increased.

As the number one contributor to the Chinese team's advancement to the top 16, Tang Zheng once again showed his face in front of the people of the country, which can be said to be a glorious ancestor.

The Chinese players who returned to their hotel still had trouble suppressing the pride in their hearts, but thinking of the draw with Greece after reversing Côte d'Ivoire, many players forced themselves to suppress the turmoil in their hearts and prepare for the next 1/8 finals.

According to the schedule of the Brazilian World Cup Organizing Committee, the World Cup 1/8 finals between the Chinese team and Costa Rica will be held in five days. The game city is Recife, which the Chinese team is relatively familiar with.

On that venue, the Chinese team has very good memories.

Reversing Cote d'Ivoire 3:2 and winning China's first three-pointer in the World Cup was also a crucial victory.

At noon the next day, the entire Chinese team took a Brazilian domestic flight to Recife to prepare for the 1/8 finals.

The final round of the four games in Group E and Group F continued. The French team in Group E won the first two teams and qualified for the group ahead of schedule. They sent a large number of substitutes in the last round and ended up drawing 0:0 with Ecuador. Switzerland won with three goals. Honduras won the last left promotion spot in Group E.

The situation in Group F is somewhat similar to Group C. Argentina had previously won two games and qualified for the group ahead of schedule, Nigeria had four points with one win and one draw, Iran had one point with one draw and one loss, and Bosnia and Herzegovina was eliminated early after losing two games.

Although Nigeria lost to Argentina 2:3 in the last round, the Iranian team lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina, so Nigeria became another qualifying team in Group F.

While the Chinese team was preparing for the 1/8 finals in Recife, Tang Zheng was paying attention to the situation in Group G.

The Portuguese team led by Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a blow in the first round, defeating the German team 0:4, and drew with the United States in the second round. Fortunately, the German team drew with Ghana in the second round and failed to advance to the top 16, which is equivalent to Portugal. Leaving a glimmer of hope for advancement.

However, it is not optimistic for Portugal. In the first two rounds, the German team and the American team both scored four points, and Portugal and Ghana both scored one point. However, Portugal lost a net of four goals in the first game, lagging too much behind in goal difference, and in the last game The first round matchup is Germany vs. the United States, which means that as long as Germany and the United States draw, even if Portugal beats Ghana 10:0 in the last round, it is impossible to qualify.

It happened that the last round of the Group G match between Portugal and Ghana was held at the Pernambuco Arena in Recife. The game time was 8 o'clock local time in Brazil. Tang Zheng was here with his parents and had nothing to do. My girlfriend Zhao Lina went to watch Portugal's last group match and cheer for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been injured, and Tang Zheng knows it, but Cristiano Ronaldo performed very well. In the second round draw with the United States, he assisted his teammates to equalize the score. In this game, he was even more active, running around the field.

But there is a clear gap between the strength of other Portuguese players and Cristiano Ronaldo, so Cristiano Ronaldo, who runs without hesitation, is like a headless fly, hitting walls everywhere.

Fortunately, the result was good. Cristiano Ronaldo also scored the winning goal before the end. However, Portugal lost too many games in the first round. Even if the German team defeated the United States 1:0, they would not qualify for the top 16. They won by three points. It is a pity to bid farewell to the World Cup in Brazil...

When the full-time whistle sounded, Cristiano Ronaldo covered his face with his hands, feeling helpless.

Tang Zheng, who was standing in the stands, could understand Cristiano Ronaldo's mood. Football is a team sport, and individual strength cannot make up for the overall strength of the team.

Thinking of this, Tang Zheng felt very lucky.

The top 16, and the top eight in the future!