Midfielder Ruler

"Beep~"

With the long whistle of the referee Andres Cunha, the first half of the first group match of Group C of the 2018 Russia World Cup came to an end. The French team and the Chinese team were evenly matched, entering with a score of 0:0. respective locker rooms.

The on-site director gave a long shot to the players of both sides. The French fans wearing blue jerseys had a heavy look on their faces. According to the arrangement of head coach Deschamps before the game, they should lead by at least one goal at the end of the first half, but... after halftime, they were It was 0:0, and the Chinese team had one or two chances to score in the first half. This means that the Chinese team could seize even one chance in the first half, and the score would not be 0:0.

As the favorites to win this World Cup, the French team has a lineup that will amaze everyone.

There are many media reports that the value of the players who did not make the French team's 23-man roster can be ranked in the top ten of the total value of the World Cup participating teams, and the ten players selected from the players who missed the French team's roster or missed the game due to injury A starting player has the quality to beat any strong team in the world.

This shows how enviable the thickness of the French team's lineup is.

It is precisely because the French team is so talented that the starting players are nervous. They are worried about those disgusting media reporting indiscriminately after the game.

Pressure is a double-edged sword. If you use it well, you can get twice the result with half the effort and be invincible. If you use it poorly, you can get twice the result with half the effort and affect your performance.

The Chinese players who appeared on the broadcast screen had natural expressions. Players such as big-hearted players Tang Zheng, Lu Liang, Sun Jingbo, etc. could all show faint smiles on their faces. They showed that they were satisfied with the first half of the game and were also full of enthusiasm for the following second half. confidence.

In the first half of the game, they realized that the French team, one of the favorites to win the championship, was no more than that.

If the performance in the second half is good enough, let alone a draw with France, it is even possible to win.

Players from both sides entered the tunnel one after another, and the frenetic atmosphere of the bustling Kazan Stadium dropped significantly. Fans in the stands used the fifteen minutes of halftime to leave their seats and go to the stadium store to buy food, drinks, and the essential throat lozenges.

The players consume a lot on the field, and the fans in the stands also consume a lot.

The stadium is the fighting area for the players, and the stands are the fighting area for Chinese fans and French fans.

Weak teams are often able to defeat the strong, which has a lot to do with the support of the fans in the stands, so fans hope that they can help the national team.

At the same time, the signals of national TV stations in various countries with live broadcast rights for the World Cup have returned to their respective city live broadcast rooms, and well-known commentators sitting in the live broadcast rooms will review the ending of the first half.

The fifteen-minute intermission passed quickly, and the empty seats in the Kazan Stadium stands that were shown by the live director were being filled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Players from both sides of the game returned to the court, and the on-site director gave Deschamps a meaningful close-up shot.

It is not difficult for football-savvy fans to see that this is the hope that the French team, which did not make any achievements in the first half, can show its strength to compete for the championship in the second half. As the national team ranked first in total value of this World Cup, it was completely let down in the past first half. People see no hope.

However, Deschamps was obviously very satisfied with his starting lineup and did not make any personnel adjustments before the start of the second half.

The Chinese team, which was tied with the French team in the first half, naturally has no need to make substitutions. The current starting lineup is stable. The central defender Gao Zhunyi, who was criticized by the media, played well and cooperated with ** Peng tacitly. In the overall defense Under the system, he contributed two key defenses to ensure the stability of the team's defense.

Not long after, the second half of the first World Cup Group C match between China and France began.

Compared with the first half, the Chinese team has made significant adjustments in techniques and tactics.

At the beginning of the game, the Chinese team strengthened the pressure in the midfield and frontcourt, which made the French team, which was eager to open up the situation at the beginning of the second half, unable to organize an effective attack. Deschamps, the French team coach standing in front of the coaching bench, frowned.

Deschamps turned to look at Lippi, who was about to retire this summer. He really didn't expect that the Chinese team would use high pressure at the beginning of the second half. Otherwise, he would not have arranged too many opening tactics for the team during the halftime break.

The Chinese team's high pressure at the beginning of the second half made it impossible for the French team to launch an offense. Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembélé, who had high hopes, could not get the ball at their feet. Even if they had the ball at their feet, they would face China in a local area. The team defended with two or three people, and there was no good chance at all.

Italian national TV commentator Alvaro passionately commented: "Mr. Marcelo Lippi obviously did a lot of work during the halftime break. The Chinese team's defense was very successful. They blocked the French team's attacks one after another. , I think as long as this situation continues, the Chinese team is very likely to draw with the powerful French team, and may even win the game!"

After hesitating for two minutes, Deschamps did not give the team the latest instructions, so the French players on the field still followed the game tactics arranged by head coach Deschamps during the halftime break.

The French players on the field played very awkwardly, but Deschamps remained unmoved. Therefore, the French National Sports TV commentator was somewhat dissatisfied with Deschamps: "Didier Deschamps should make adjustments to his lineup or tactics. Minutes have passed and the team has no threat to the Chinese team’s goal. This is not good news for us to win the World Cup in Russia..."

In fact, it's not that Deschamps doesn't want to make adjustments, but that premature adjustments can easily have no effect on the game.

The current physical condition of the Chinese players is quite good. It is obvious that they have put in too much effort for this game. No adjustments can change the current situation.

Of course, if you had a little better luck, the situation might be different.

However, as a national team with absolute strength to compete for the World Cup, the French team can rely on luck to win?

It is undeniable that the current Chinese team is very strong and can even arm-wrestle with the French team at a certain period of time. However, a football match is a ninety-minute battle, and China, which has already adopted high pressure in the first half, The team resorted to high pressure at the beginning of the second half. Obviously, it was very serious for the physical exertion of the players.

Is it possible that the physical fitness of Chinese players is inexhaustible?

This possibility will naturally not arise.

So Deschamps stood still and waited for the Chinese team's physical fitness to decline. By then... it would be the moment when the French team he coached scored a goal!

※※※

In the blink of an eye, the first ten minutes of the second half passed, and the score displayed on the Kazan Stadium scoreboard remained unchanged, still 0:0.

But the facial expression of Deschamps, the head coach of the French team, who was standing in the command area, did not fluctuate much, as if this game had nothing to do with him.

In fact, it was not the case. Deschamps already had a glimmer of expectation for the team's goal.

Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese team, frowned. If you don't look carefully, it is not difficult to see that the running coverage of individual Chinese players has declined. Lippi has a rich coaching experience and is a little worried.

At this moment, Kanter intercepted Hao Junmin's pass to Lu Liang.

Hao Junmin, who was over 30 years old, was affected by the decline in physical fitness, and his subconscious counterattack was half a beat late.

Kanter played the ball very quickly and quickly handed the ball to Pogba in the center circle.

Tang Zheng had a strong sense of defense and defended Pogba immediately, but he was a little far away from Pogba. Pogba did not stick to the ball, so he turned the ball around and did not give Tang Zheng a chance to get closer, and sent it directly towards the right rib of the Chinese team's defense. A through ball that was extremely accurate.

Mbappe's high-speed forward movement attracted ** Peng's attention. Right back Deng Hanwen was slightly distracted. By the time he realized how efficient the French team's transition from defense to offense was, it was too late to pursue him. He could only pin his hopes on On another central defender Gao Zhunyi.

Gao Zhunyi, who has gradually become Gent's main central defender, noticed that Griezmann, who had switched positions with Mbappe, came from behind at high speed, but his speed was not as fast as Griezmann, and Pogba's pass came from the Chinese team. The left side of the circle stuck to the turf and rolled quickly towards the right rib of the Chinese team's defense, so that goalkeeper Yan Junling did not dare to attack.

Seeing that Griezmann was about to enter the penalty area, Gao Zhunyi had no choice but to put in a tackle from the side and behind, hoping to complete a quick, accurate and hard clearance from behind before Griezmann could reach the ball.

But Griezmann's feet were extremely quick and he took the football away first.

Griezmann and Mbappe fell to the ground, Chinese team defenders ** Peng, Gao Zhunyi and goalkeeper Yan Junling all looked at the referee Cunha.

At the same time, the huge momentum erupted by the Chinese fans in the stands dropped significantly. They were worried that the referee Cunha would blow the whistle to signal a penalty kick.

Half a second later, referee Cunha crossed his arms, which means... Gao Zhunyi's tackle was not a foul!

Tang Zheng, the captain of the Chinese team who chased back, let out a sigh of relief. Although he couldn't see whether Gao Zhunyi had committed a foul due to his position, he felt that Gao Zhunyi was suspected of fouling because Griezmann's speed had already increased...

Fortunately, the referee Cunha did not blow the whistle.

Griezmann and Mbappe were a little dissatisfied with the referee Cunha's decision, but they were extremely well-educated and did not roar at the referee, but shook their heads.

The on-site director gave the referee Cunha a close-up shot. Judging from the broadcast just now, Gao Zhunyi is highly suspected of fouling.

But the game continued, and the Chinese team switched from defense to offense. The on-site director failed to provide a slow-motion replay. They could only wait until the dead ball appeared to analyze from multiple angles whether Gao Zhunyi's behind-the-back tackle touched Griezmann. .

About twenty seconds later, the Chinese team's offense was disrupted by Kanter. The referee Cunha blew his whistle to signal that the game was suspended, and then walked to the technical area on the sidelines.

The on-site director took advantage of the dead ball opportunity and gave a slow-motion replay.

The Chinese fans sitting in front of the TV watched the replays from three angles, and their hearts were raised in their throats.

Gao Zhunyi put the shovel behind him and stretched out his right foot, which obviously kicked Griezmann's left foot behind him between the calf and heel.

"At this time... the video referee reminded the referee Cunha." The tone of the CC5 commentator He Wei became a little nervous. The broadcast screen happened to give a close-up shot of Gao Zhunyi who committed the foul. He looked nervous: "At this time, the Chinese team members were nervous. The video referee team just reminded the referee after watching the slow-motion replay repeatedly. Cunha is now watching the slow-motion replay repeatedly in the technical area on the sidelines..."

He Wei's uneasy voice seemed to be transmitted as a signal to the Chinese fans in every Chinese family. They subconsciously covered their mouths with their hands and their heartbeats suddenly accelerated.

Although He Wei, after watching the slow-motion replay, was unwilling to admit that Gao Zhunyi hit Griezmann with a shovel from behind, as a commentator, he had to respect the facts and frowned: "...Through the slow-motion replay, Chinese team player Gao Zhunyi did touch Griezmann’s left foot behind him..."

Referee Cunha returned to the court from the technical area under the spotlight. He blew his whistle immediately, faced the direction of the Chinese team's penalty area, drew a rectangular penalty area in the void with both hands, and then pointed diagonally downwards with his right arm at the far end for a penalty kick. Point, blow the whistle again, and jog to the Chinese team's penalty area.

The Kazan Stadium has an LCD screen. After watching the slow-motion replay, Chinese team captain Tang Zheng and other Chinese players had no choice but to accept the result.

The difference between Tang Zheng's frustration and that of other teammates was that he took the initiative to go to Gao Zhunyi, who committed the foul, to comfort him.

Before making the mistake, Gao Zhunyi performed very well, and this penalty kick was not a matter of Gao Zhunyi's personal defense, but more of a common mistake made by the entire team at this moment. Gao Zhunyi's foul was to help the teammates in front of him make up for the blame. Gambling defense.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

The French fans in the stands burst into loud cheers as they cheered for the penalty kick.

In stark contrast, Chinese fans were silent. Except for the Dragons fan club players who chanted Yan Junling's name, most Chinese fans were silent.

Yan Junling became the last expectation of Chinese fans. However, it was a pity that Griezmann was very calm and shot a penalty kick from a tricky angle through Yan Junling's goal, helping the French team break the deadlock with difficulty.

The French players celebrated a rare goal in the Chinese team's penalty area. The Chinese team captain Tang Zheng played the role a captain should play at this time. He kept clapping his hands to encourage his teammates who were not looking good.

The game is about to enter sixty minutes, and there is still thirty minutes left for the Chinese team.

One goal, enough time!

The problem is that players have to be very careful about equalizing the score, otherwise it will all be in vain.

Hao Junmin's physical fitness dropped significantly. Head coach Lippi made a prompt decision and made the first substitution adjustment of the game before the game restarted.

Young player Liu Ruofan, wearing jersey No. 19, stood on the sidelines, preparing to debut in his first World Cup game.

"Liu Ruofan has better ability and potential than Zhang Xizhe, but Zhang Xizhe has more experience in the game. At this time, sending a young player with no World Cup experience, is this substitution guided by Lippi a bit too risky?"

He Wei looked surprised when he saw the substitutions of the Chinese team, and said in surprise: "Bet your youth on today?"

After boosting his morale, Tang Zheng originally thought that Zhang Xizhe would come on as a substitute, but it turned out to be Liu Ruofan, and his eyes lit up.

Except for Zhang Xizhe's competition experience, nothing compares to Liu Ruofan.

The most important thing is that Liu Ruofan is a contracted player of Tang Zheng Player Agency and a demon recommended by his former mentor Xu Gengbao. If he performs well...