Midfielder Ruler

"Beep~beep~beep~~"

As the referee Eriksson blew the whistle to end the game, the Pernambuco Arena fell into endless madness. Every Chinese fan roared and shouted hysterically, venting the Chinese team's history-making victory. Entered the World Cup quarterfinals.

Especially the older generation of fans, their tears flowed out uncontrollably while they were shouting.

This scene has only been seen in dreams.

Now, it's real.

The fans at the scene were very crazy. Although Chinese fans thousands of miles away could not come to the scene in person, they were no less crazy than the fans at the scene. Residential quarters, night snack stalls, fan bars, and Internet cafes in each city were specially built for the Chinese team in the World Cup. The open-air squares were filled with the happy shouts of Chinese fans.

It's already six o'clock in the morning Beijing time. Many ordinary people who don't pay attention to football or sports get up early and look at the fans who are shouting crazily. They don't understand, so they label them as 'crazy', but these passionate fans don't care at all. .

If the Chinese team can take a step forward because of this, they would rather continue to be criticized.

At the Pernambuco Arena, the Chinese players moved almost exactly the same, raising their arms excitedly and crying with joy, letting the tears fall down their cheeks.

The broadcast screen first showed a long shot, and the broadcaster showed the score of the whole game. The Chinese team 2:1 Costa Rica, becoming the fourth national team to advance to the quarterfinals of this World Cup.

Immediately, a close-up shot was given to the passionate Chinese fans.

The uniform red jerseys, combined with the Chinese drumming sound, and the selfless arms waving of every Chinese fan, made the Chinese fans occupying half of the entire stadium give the fans in front of the TV a very strong sense of déjà vu, as if Flash floods occur continuously and violently.

After about five seconds, the on-site director named Tang Zheng, the official best player of the match.

Feeling the aura of fanaticism rushing towards his face, Tang Zheng could not suppress the excitement in his heart. Compared with the excitement when scoring a goal, it was even wilder.

He clenched his fists and smashed his right fist up and down continuously. After five times in a row, he half-knelt on the grass, covered his arms again, and looked up to the sky and screamed.

That handsome face even looked a little ferocious because of the excitement, but the Chinese fans in front of the TV did not feel any disgust. On the contrary, they fell in love with it more and more.

They all know that without Tang Zheng, it would be impossible for the Chinese team to advance to the quarterfinals in history, and it would be difficult for the Chinese team to even appear in the group.

Central 5 commentator He Wei insisted on explaining with a hoarse voice. He was passionate and eloquent: "The Chinese team scored seven goals in four games. Tang Zheng personally contributed four goals and one assist. The other two He also orchestrated the goal, and he can be said to be the biggest contributor to the Chinese team’s advancement to the quarterfinals of the World Cup! I believe we can compete as the uncrowned king in the quarter-finals at the New Water Source Stadium in six days’ time!”

As soon as he finished speaking, guest commentator Gong Lei added: "Congratulations again to our national team for entering the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time. This team appeared in the group when they were not favored, and then eliminated Costa Rica. It is not easy! The next step is to reach the top four. Strong, this Dutch team is no longer the World Cup runner-up four years ago. Even if they beat the defending champion Spain with four goals in the group stage, as Howe said, they can definitely compete in the quarter-finals!"

"Congratulations to the Chinese team! Congratulations to Tang! With his goal in this game, he tied with the German player Thomas Muller and became the second highest scorer in the World Cup, only two goals behind the Colombian player James Rodriguez!"

British Sky commentator Andy Gray gives the final full match commentary.

"The game is over! The Chinese team finally defeated Costa Rica 2:1 by scoring two goals in three minutes of injury time and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of this World Cup!"

"An incredible game! Tang used his actual efforts to lead the Chinese team to a magical reversal of Costa Rica, one of the best defensive teams in this World Cup, and reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup in history.

Is the outcome of the quarter-finals against the uncrowned Dutch team still hanging in the balance? I hope to see the Chinese team go all out! "

"The game between dark horses and dark horses finally ended with the Chinese team winning. Congratulations to the Chinese team! They once again created new history and advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup! I hope they can continue their efforts and go further in the quarter-finals."

…

Commentators from TV stations from various countries cheered for the advanced Chinese team.

Only the Japanese and Korean TV commentators spoke very bitterly, obviously feeling depressed about the Chinese team's advancement.

In fact, it's normal to think about it. South Korea suffered a disastrous defeat against Uruguay in the intercontinental play-offs of the World Cup in Brazil, and Japan failed to qualify for the group stage. However, the Chinese team, which had missed the finals of two consecutive World Cups, advanced to the quarterfinals under the leadership of Tang Zheng. It is somewhat difficult to accept. .

The best record of the Japanese men's football team was in the top 16. In the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the Korean men's football team had better results. In the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, it entered the semi-finals, but the Korean team's World Cup semi-finals did not win everyone's attention. I admit, because that World Cup was relatively dark...

For the older generation of fans, South Korea's World Cup semi-finals are a shame!

In addition, the best result of an Asian team in the World Cup is the quarter-finals. In the 1966 World Cup in England, the North Korean team reached the quarter-finals. However, the number of participating teams in the World Cup in England was limited. Qualifying from the group was the quarter-finals, which is equivalent to the current quarter-finals. /8 finals.

In other words, the Chinese team that entered the quarterfinals has created the best results among Asian teams. Of course, the Korean commentators will not admit this. They think that even if the Chinese team enters the quarterfinals, it is not a big deal. They, the Republic of Korea, are the best. The best Asian team in the World Cup!

Closer to home, the Chinese team made great progress and created new history, and the broadcast screen continued to show the best player Tang Zheng.

Tang Zheng first walked towards the captain Zheng Zhi. Zheng Zhi had not shown much prominence in the four games, but his effect on the Chinese team was very obvious, especially at the end of the injury time of this game. If Zheng Zhi had not concentrated, Costa Rica would have been It is possible to equalize the score while the Chinese players are collectively distracted.

In order for the team to advance to the quarterfinals, Zheng Zhi sacrificed himself.

This kind of behavior is the behavior of a real man.

Many people say that Zheng Zhi is a ball dominator, but in fact, those people do not understand Zheng Zhi.

Tang Zheng stretched out his right arm, grasped Zheng Zhi's outstretched right hand, pulled hard, patted Zheng Zhi's back, and said excitedly: "Thank you for your efforts!"

Zheng Zhi was stunned when he heard this. Naturally he knew what Tang Zheng wanted to express. He smiled slightly, clenched his left hand into a fist and punched Tang Zheng on the left chest. He said with a smile: "You are the biggest contributor to our advancement, so don't make fun of me." ”

Needless to say, Tang Zheng gave Zheng Zhi another hug and said in a deep voice, "Thank you, captain."

After that, Tang Zheng didn't give Zheng Zhi a chance to speak again, and quickly let go and walked towards other teammates.

Zheng Zhi stood there and looked at the energetic Tang Zheng with uncontrollable envy in his brain. He only turned 25 in November this year. He has already won two European championships, a FIFA Ballon d'Or award, and a career His golden age has not yet come and he has already received so much glory...

Of course, this envy is complimentary.

Being able to fulfill the World Cup dream at the end of his career can be said to have no regrets in his career.

If your body can't keep up with the pace of the top professional leagues, you may want to consider retiring.

※※※

During the regular press conference after the game, head coach Lippi and Tang Zheng appeared in the press conference hall of the Pernambuco Arena to accept interviews from global media.

It is said that it is a global media, but in fact it only has fifteen minutes of interview time, and the specific quota allocation is obtained by the official efforts of each media.

The Chinese team advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in a record setting. Those media with huge influence in China are not within the scope of official efforts, because the Chinese team's victory is equivalent to the home court of China's domestic media.

Most of the questions from the Chinese domestic media revolved around the emotional fluctuations brought about by promotion, future prospects, and whether they were confident in defeating the powerful Dutch team in the quarter-finals and going one step further.

Foreign media are divided into two groups, friendly and unfriendly.

The friendly media first congratulated the Chinese team for advancing to the quarterfinals and hoped that the Chinese team could go one step further.

The unfriendly media is more direct and asks harsh questions, fearing that the world will not be in chaos.

A reporter from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" who had never dealt with Tang Zheng asked meaningfully: "When meeting the Dutch team in the quarter-finals, does it mean that the Chinese team is ready to be eliminated?"

The language of the question was German, and the Italian Lippi needed to go through a translator. Tang Zheng had played football in Germany for four years and was quite proficient in German. He could even speak the North Rhine-Westphalia dialect fluently, so "Southern Deutsche Zeitung reporter’s questions were clearly heard.

Tang Zheng did not get angry, but smiled meaningfully: "Out? Sorry, we are already thinking about preparations to enter the semi-finals."

"Wow"

Suddenly, the press conference hall was in an uproar.

Obviously, he was very surprised by Tang Zheng's answer. It's not like everyone doesn't know the overall strength of the Chinese team. Are they still ready for the semi-finals?

Are you not taking the Dutch team seriously?

Therefore, the Dutch media were very dissatisfied, but Tang Zheng looked at the reporter from the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" who showed a victorious smile and changed his words. He pointed his index fingers at his temples and said: "You're giving up before the game even starts? Don't you have any brains?" The Dutch team is a top team that can compete for the World Cup championship. Being prepared to be eliminated is disrespectful to the Dutch team! At the same time, it is also a disgrace to the fans around the world. Please use your brain next time to ask questions, okay?"

As Tang Zheng grew older and gained more experience, his temper became much more tempered, so much so that many reporters forgot how violent Tang Zheng used to be.

At the club level, Tang Zheng allows any media to play dirty tricks, but at the national team level, this is absolutely not allowed!

Although Tang Zheng's answer was too direct and even insulting, not many reporters sympathized with the reporter of "Süddeutsche Zeitung" because Tang Zheng's counterattack was entirely his own fault.

The Dutch media felt much better after hearing Tang Zheng's explanation, and selectively gave up on the tit-for-tat questions they had just prepared.

The reporters from China felt proud again. Tang Zheng's words were a little rude, even barbaric, but they were rough and clear, and they were profound.

At the same time, at 7 o'clock in the morning, Beijing time, the news program "Chao Wen Tian Xia" entered the field of view focusing on domestic and foreign actual events. What is surprising is that the first report was not the major domestic and foreign events, but the news that had just happened in Brazil. The fourth 1/8 final ended with the Chinese team and Costa Rica.

"In the fourth 1/8 finals of the Brazilian World Cup that ended early this morning at the Pernambuco Arena in Recife, Brazil, the Chinese team faced Group D leader Costa Rica. The Chinese men's football team, led by the Real Madrid superstar, occupied the pole position from the beginning of the game. Big advantage, but a long period of not scoring led to conceding a goal at the beginning of the second half..."

"The lagging Chinese team caught up and stepped up their offensive until injury time came. Real Madrid star Tang Zheng used a textbook tackle to intercept the ball from Costa Rica captain Ruiz. His long pass was very accurate and found Lu Liang moved forward at high speed without being offside... In the last minute of injury time... Tang Zheng showed his strong psychological quality as a world-class superstar and his excellent shooting skills in front of the goal. He deceived the world with two consecutive fake shots. , scored a priceless go-ahead goal, and finally helped the Chinese team reverse Costa Rica 2:1 and advance to the quarterfinals of this World Cup..."

At this time, most of the people sitting in front of the TV or computer are fans, followed by die-hard fans of "Chao Wen Tian Xia".

The fans were too excited to sleep, so they simply waited for all the news reporting that the Chinese team had advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Many die-hard fans of "Chao Wen Tian Xia" do not like football or sports, but they can see the Chinese men's football team creating new history on the stage of the World Cup.

Anyone who is patriotic will feel extremely proud!

The Chinese players who returned to the stage hotel still could not suppress their excitement. This time Tang Zheng did not say anything disappointing to his teammates.

Being able to enter the quarterfinals is the limit for the Chinese team in Tang Zheng's opinion.

Perhaps the Dutch team is not as strong as it was four years ago, but as the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. With the current overall strength of the Chinese team, it is very difficult to arm-wrestle with the Dutch team, especially when captain Zheng Zhi accumulates yellow cards and is suspended. Under the circumstances, it will be even more difficult to try to defeat the Dutch team.

It's not that the Chinese team has no chance, it can only be said that this chance is so small that it can be ignored.

A dark horse is, after all, a dark horse.

But precisely because the quarterfinals are the end of the Chinese team, they can give it a try!

What if?

Since there were six days to rest before the quarter-finals between China and the Netherlands, head coach Lippi did not unreasonably ask the players to rest on time and allowed the players to party.

With the current overall strength of the Chinese team, advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Cup is the end.

And the victory of the game came from a reversal, so there is no reason to prevent the players from celebrating promotion.

On the afternoon of the next day, the entire Chinese team arrived at the airport escorted by Chinese fans from all over Recife and flew to El Salvador.

Like Recife, the Chinese team was welcomed at the El Salvador Airport by a large number of Chinese and ethnic Chinese working and studying in El Salvador.

Because of Tang Zheng, many foreign fans came to El Salvador to welcome the Chinese team...