Midfielder Ruler

After the Chinese team won three consecutive victories in the group stage, it became the focus of Chinese media reports, because the Chinese team won three consecutive victories in the group stage for the first time since participating in the sixth Asian Cup in 1976. Since then, the Chinese team has won three consecutive Asian Cup finals. The best result achieved was undefeated in the group stage.

In addition, the Chinese team faced Palestine in the third round of the group stage and passed the ball 462 times in the half, which is currently the most in the entire Asian Cup group stage. /4 finals, two semi-finals, two 3rd and 4th place finals and one final are unlikely to have a team pass more than 462 times in the half, which means that the number of half-time passes between the Chinese team and Palestine The number of balls will become a major record in this Asian Cup.

Coupled with the end of the curse of winning against Saudi Arabia, the Chinese team has set one record after another in the Asian Cup group stage.

The record may not have a positive effect on the Chinese team's pursuit of the Asian Cup championship, but it is a great encouragement to Chinese fans.

The 2014-2015 La Liga season continues. During the three group matches played by the Chinese team, Real Madrid drew 1:1 with Valencia in the away game after the winter break. The next two league games and a Spanish game Victory in both the 1/8 finals of the Cup gave Tang Zheng a lot of psychological stability, so that he could focus all his attention on the Asian Cup.

According to the schedule, if the Chinese team can advance to the finals, Tang Zheng will miss all of Real Madrid's games in January, and Real Madrid's remaining opponents in January are not enough to threaten Real Madrid's status in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

They are the second leg of the Copa del Rey 1/8 finals with Granada, consecutive away challenges to Getafe and Cordoba, and then a home game against Real Sociedad.

Affected by the World Cup, the league schedule has been squeezed, and it is normal to have double matches in one week. Fortunately, Tang Zheng's teammates in Real Madrid are in excellent form, especially Cristiano Ronaldo, who has just won the FIFA Ballon d'Or. It is Real Madrid's winning streak. The biggest contributor.

In this way, the pressure on Tang Zheng has naturally reduced a lot, and he can pay more attention to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo and other teammates also used text messages to tell Tang Zheng that national glory... is above all else!

The first quarter-finals were played between Australia and Uzbekistan. With the home field advantage, the host Australia finally defeated the Central Asian wolf Uzbekistan 2:0 with veteran Cahill scoring two goals and took the lead in advancing to the semi-finals.

The quarter-finals between the Chinese team and the South Korean team was the second quarter-final of this Asian Cup. The venue was the Brisbane Stadium where the Chinese team won two games. This stadium was also praised by the media and fans. Call it the blessed land of the Chinese team.

But can they defeat the Korean team in the end and advance to the semi-finals?

It also depends on the specific performance of the players.

What is very different from the two winning group matches is that the Brisbane Stadium, which can accommodate 52,500 people, is no longer occupied by Chinese players, but is divided between local Australian fans and South Korean fans. .

However, the color of the home jerseys of both teams is red. If you don't distinguish based on the national flags, banners, and flags, you can't tell that the players in the stands belong to the two camps.

However, it is impossible for teams to wear jerseys of the same color to compete, because that will cause the game to become extremely confusing and directly increase the referee's judgment.

Of course, there is no need to worry about this aspect. The Chinese team has certain advantages in qualifying first in the group, that is, it can wear the traditional home color jersey, while the South Korean team has to wear the away white jersey.

It is worth mentioning that the Korean team coach Stillik was very low-key at the regular press conference before the game. In an interview with the Chinese media, he said: "The Chinese team, which has won three consecutive victories in the group, is very strong. We will meet in the quarter-finals." It is very unfortunate for us, but fate has chosen us, so we should fight, and the final outcome can only be determined by God."

The Chinese media are very satisfied with Stillik's low profile, but the Korean media and fans are very dissatisfied.

Even though the overall strength of the Chinese team is now stronger than that of the South Korean team, they do not allow the head coach of the national team they support to give in.

So what if we don’t have enough strength?

Can't we just do it directly?

※※※

The second quarter-final between China and South Korea was played two hours after the quarter-final between Australia and Uzbekistan at the Brisbane Stadium, which can accommodate 52,500 people. The stadium was already packed two hours before the game, and almost the entire stadium was occupied by fans from both sides wearing red jerseys.

Only the neutral fans in the middle wearing shirts of different colors serve as the dividing point. However, if you look closely, you can still tell which side is the Chinese fans and which side is the Korean fans.

An hour before the start of the game, the starting lineups of both sides appeared on the official website of the AFC, and major media also obtained the starting lineups of both sides for the first time.

Both the Chinese team and the South Korean team presented their strongest lineups, and the official lineup submitted by the Chinese team was 451.

The goalkeeper is Yan Junling who plays for Dortmund. The four defenders are Li Xuepeng, Feng Xiaoting, Ren Hang and Zhang Linpeng. The five midfielders are Zheng Zhi, Tang Zheng, Lu Liang, Hao Junmin and Sun Jingbo. Gao Lin is at the forefront of the forward line.

The official formation submitted by the South Korean team is 433. The goalkeeper is Kim Jin-hyun, and the four defenders are Kim Jin-soo, Kim Young-kwon, Kwak Tae-hui and Kim Chang-soo.

The three midfielders are Park Joo-ho, Ki Sung-yoon and Nam Tae-hee, and the three forwards are Son Heung-min, Lee Jung-hyup and Lee Geun-ho.

"Ouch-ouch——"

As time passed, the fanatical atmosphere at Brisbane Stadium became more and more fanatical, and the deafening cheers could be heard clearly even in residential buildings several kilometers away.

It is not difficult to see the expectations of fans from both sides for this game.

The Chinese team had previously played two group matches at the Brisbane Stadium, and the first knockout stage match was held in this 'blessed place', which somewhat gave Chinese fans some psychological advantages, so the cheers that broke out were bigger than Korean fans are more confident.

Although Korean fans have full confidence in the Korean team, they are also worried that the Chinese team will perform at a normal level or even perform at a super level. At that time, it will become very difficult for the Korean team to win the game.

You must know that the Chinese team ranked sixth in last year's World Cup in Brazil, while the South Korean team did not qualify in the group.

In addition, the Chinese team's frontcourt attackers, except for Gao Lin, all play in the five major European leagues. Lu Liang and Hao Junmin are even the main players of the Bundesliga giants. Sun Jingbo has basically secured his position at Celta Vigo at the age of 18. The starting right winger position.

The biggest star of the Chinese team, Tang Zheng, was the winner of the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or. If Tang Zheng had not been able to attend the just-concluded 2014 FIFA Annual Awards Ceremony, he would have very likely defended the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Tang Zheng is also the biggest star in Asian football and has the absolute ability to determine the outcome of the game.

In this case, the chances of the Korean team winning do not seem to be high.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

The chief referee of the match between China and South Korea was Irmatov, the Asian golden whistle from Uzbekistan. Under his leadership, players from both sides entered the stadium from the player tunnel. Fans from both sides in the stands subconsciously made huge cheers for this knockout match. Adding to the fanatical atmosphere.

"Beep~"

After a series of necessary procedures for the international competition were completed, the referee Irmatov on duty blew his whistle after finishing the watch, signaling that the China-South Korea war had officially begun!

"CCTV, CCTV, viewers, welcome to watch the live broadcast of the second quarter-finals of the 16th Asian Cup in Australia in 2015. The Chinese team is wearing red jerseys and red shorts. , they attacked from the left to the right of the broadcast screen..."

At the same time, Central 5 commentator He Wei blurted out.

Taking advantage of the kick-off advantage, the Chinese team did not rush to drive the ball forward, but played controlled football under Tang Zheng's deliberate control.

Stillik seemed to have made targeted arrangements before the game. He did not press forward immediately and chose to retreat to half-court defense.

The defensive midfielder composed of Tang Zheng and Zheng Zhi not only has strong frontal defensive ability, but also plays a very obvious organizational role on the offensive end. Especially when the ball is at Tang Zheng's feet, his broad vision and passing accuracy are the key to the Chinese team. An important offensive tool for the opponent's defense.

South Korean team coach Stillik naturally knows this, so the 4-3-3 formation he arranged is more like a variant of the 4-5 formation. The positions of Son Heung-min and Lee Geun-ho are not like wingers, but more like two wing-backs. Pay attention Focus more on defense than offense.

The Chinese team's offensive organization is smoother than last year's World Cup in Brazil. The iron triangle of Tang Zheng, Zheng Zhi and Hao Junmin in the midfield are very close to each other. In addition, Lu Liang and Sun Jingbo, who have good technical skills at their feet, are Korean players. Even with high pressure near the midfield, there is no way to touch the football.

Instead of consuming a lot of physical energy to do useless work, it is better to focus more on the defensive end and wait for opportunities to counterattack.

Sun Heung-min has made rapid progress in the Bundesliga in the past two seasons and has gradually become Leverkusen's core offensive player. He has a strong ability to counterattack with the ball. If the South Korean team has a chance to knock down the Chinese team's goal, then Sun Heung-min has the greatest chance.

In the first five minutes of the game, the Chinese team had an absolute advantage on the court, with a ball possession rate of 75%. The South Korean team only had a pitiful 25% ball possession rate, and most of the ball possession time was in the midfield. However, Brees The Korean fans at Ban Stadium did not lose confidence because of this. They firmly believed that the national team they supported could find opportunities to counterattack quickly with very little possession of the ball, and then defeated the Chinese team in one fell swoop and advanced to the semifinals...

Everyone has dreams, especially Korean fans.

In the seventh minute, the Chinese team got the first shooting opportunity of the game.

Tang Zheng suddenly accelerated and stopped about 40 meters away from the baseline on the right side of the attack to get a passing opportunity from Ji Chengyong, then he raised his right foot and passed the ball directly.

The football had an obvious arc from the outside to the inside in mid-air, flew towards the South Korean team's penalty area, passed over the heads of the two central defenders Guo Taihui and Kim Young-kwon, and landed on the right side of the South Korean team's penalty area. Lu Liang, wearing jersey No. 7, rushed over. Diving and heading the ball towards the goal.

Fortunately, goalkeeper Kim Jin-hyun was very focused and flew sideways to block the ball from the left goal post facing the broadcast screen.

Corner kick!

Lu Liang seemed a little frustrated when he failed to score, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he raised his fists and cheered himself up, hoping to help the national team break the deadlock at the next opportunity!

Tang Zheng created a killing opportunity through precise long passes. The Korean team's defensive players became extremely nervous at this corner kick opportunity.

Because Tang Zheng not only has excellent passing ability, but also has excellent positioning ability.

In the Bundesliga, La Liga, Champions League, and even the World Cup, there are records of scoring goals from set pieces, so Korean players dare not neglect them. Even head coach Stillik can't help but stand on the edge of the coach's command area.

If it weren't for the fourth official's reminder, he wouldn't have known that his nervous upper body had reached the sideline.

Hao Junmin's corner kick was too far behind Tang Zheng's position. Feng Xiaoting and Zhang Linpeng, who were ambushing in the back, failed to grab the spot. The ball was pushed out of the penalty area by Sun Xingmin, who did not have the advantage of height.

The Korean fans in the stands let out a sigh of relief, while the Chinese fans subconsciously held their heads in their hands, looking very sorry.

Indeed, in the face of South Korea's more conservative half-court defense, long-range shots and set-piece attacks are rare scoring opportunities for the Chinese team. With the obvious advantage of height, wasting one time almost saves one.

Of course, Tang Zheng's failure to hit the football this time has something to do with Hao Junmin's lack of control of his footwork. After all, the game CIA had only started less than ten minutes ago, and the feeling of his feet had not yet been completely found. Central 5 commentator He Wei said : "As the game progresses, I think our players' condition will get better and better, and there will be more and more scoring opportunities, so the fans in front of the TV don't have to worry!"

In the subsequent games, the Chinese team got multiple shooting opportunities, while the South Korean team only got one shooting opportunity.

This offensive opportunity can be said to be a hard-earned quick counterattack opportunity. The football was quickly passed from the backcourt to the feet of Sun Xingmin who participated in the attack in time. However, Sun Xingmin did not have the ball at his feet for a long time. He did not feel very good. He fought and retreated from the defense. Zheng Zhi chose a blind long shot thirty-five meters away from the goal.

Since the long-range shot is very blind, the effect is naturally needless to say, and it flies directly to the second-floor stands.

"Hahaha--"

So much so that the Chinese fans at Brisbane Stadium burst into laughter, laughing at Sun Xingmin's 'relief' style shot.

Feeling the roar of laughter coming towards him, Sun Xingmin felt very unhappy, but he was helpless. After all, he had not thought about what to do with the ball just now.

However... if there is a chance next, we must make the Chinese fans in the stands despair!

But before the game, the Chinese fans despaired, and the Korean fans who watched the game with fear were the first to despair...

Tang Zheng, who was late in organizing the offense, rarely had the opportunity to move forward and directly participate in the offense, so the Korean players made the mistake of watching the ball but not the people.

Lu Liang passed Lee Geun-ho and Park Joo-ho on the left side of the attack and suddenly passed the ball to the middle with the outside instep of his right foot. The on-site director suddenly switched the camera and a Chinese player wearing a red No. 10 jersey appeared on the broadcast screen. .

Tang Zheng took the ball forward with his right foot, stopped the football, and without making any adjustments, he swung his right foot 28 meters away from the goal.

"——Tang Zheng!"

"damn it!!"

At the same time, Central 5 commentator He Wei and Korean SBS Sports TV commentator Lee Min Ho said in unison.

The only difference is that He Wei shouted, while Lee Minho exclaimed.