World Cup of Great Powers

October 21, Maojiawan Stadium, the final round of the Asian Cup Group A group stage.

The Chinese team sits at home and faces Kuwait, the last opponent in the group.

For the Chinese team, this game is just a formality.

Whether they win or not, they will still be ranked first in the group, so Zeng Zheng sent out a full substitute lineup to prevent anyone from being suspended due to accumulation of yellow cards in the group stage.

The Chinese team always ranks first in the group no matter how they play, so the only task of the players is to follow the tactical arrangements given by Zeng Zheng and play a beautiful game that is recognized by the fans.

Kuwait, on the other hand, is fully armed and ready to attack.

If they want to advance to the group stage, they must win against the Chinese team.

Otherwise, even if there is a tie, it will be difficult to qualify as third in the group with 3 points.

So from the beginning, Kuwait put on a defensive counterattack posture, waiting for opportunities to find loopholes in the Chinese team's offense.

In this game, Zeng Zheng changed from his usual commanding habit of standing on the sidelines. Instead, he held an ice pack to his cheek and sat in a daze on the coaching bench.

Even though defender Zhou Ning's mistake caused the ball to be almost lost at the beginning, Zeng Zheng didn't say a word.

Such an abnormal behavior naturally attracted Er Li's attention.

"What's wrong with Coach Zeng today? Why are you so listless?"

"Look, he hasn't put down the ice pack since the beginning. Does it mean he has a toothache?"

"If you have a toothache, you should see a dentist as soon as possible."

"Yes, toothache is not a disease. The pain can kill you!"

After the two decided, Li Huajun came to the bench and sat down next to Zeng Zheng.

"Coach Zeng, what do you think of this game?"

"How else can I watch it? Just kick it normally."

Seeing Zeng Zheng's nonchalant look, Li Huajun continued: "Coach Zeng, do you know how many Olympic players there are in the Kuwait team?"

"I didn't count this carefully. I remember quite a few."

"That's right, there are 9 of them, including 6 of the 11 main players on the field."

Zeng Zheng nodded.

For a national team, having more Olympic players in the team means the success of youth training.

"It's the same thing in the little days next door. There are seven Olympic players on their team." Li Huajun continued.

"I remember there are quite a few of us, right?" Zeng Zheng asked casually, "Most of the team members asked me to bring them to the Asian Cup."

"Yes, there are 12 Olympic team members in our team!" Li Huajun took the opportunity to sigh, "It seems that the Chinese team is really dominated by young people."

"That's right. Is it possible that the 2002 World Cup can't be won with the same veterans from 1998?"

Seeing that Zeng Zheng finally gained some energy, Li Huajun took the opportunity to say.

"Coach Zeng, did you know? Kuwait actually has serious Sinophobia!"

"Of course I know this. After all, Kuwait hasn't beaten us for many years!"

Zeng Zheng knew about this during the 1997 World Cup preliminaries.

The Kuwait and Chinese teams have also been winless for ten years, so many members of the Kuwaiti team suffer from "Chinese phobia".

This is why Kuwait is so anxious to upgrade.

"Coach Zeng, have you heard?"

"In this game, Kuwait's domestic daral-watan media said that since we can break the Korean phobia, Kuwait must also break the Sinophobia."

"They want to take us down in one fell swoop!"

Zeng Zheng raised his eyebrows after hearing this, "Oh? As long as they have the ability, let them take it down!"

While the two were talking, Qu Shengqing stopped the ball with his back in the penalty area and then tipped the ball to the goal. The Kuwaiti goalkeeper made a misjudgment and did not get the ball.

How could Xie Hui, who was behind to grab points, miss such a good opportunity?

He then followed up with a step-up shot and poked the ball into the empty goal.

In the first 8 minutes, the Chinese team took a 1-0 lead.

"Ah, I scored a goal!" Li Huajun exclaimed in surprise.

In these three group matches, the Chinese team scored within the first 10 minutes. Such scoring efficiency naturally attracted full applause.

"Just score the goal." Zeng Zheng still had an indifferent attitude, "Brother Jun, go tell the players to pay more attention to the left side."

"The No. 16 on the opposite side is very fast. It seems that their coach is planning to use a breakthrough from the right to tear apart our defense."

"Let Zhou Ning move further back. He has no offensive mission in this game."

Li Huajun nodded and took advantage of the players' celebration after the goal to come to the sidelines to convey Zeng Zheng's message to the players.

"Brother Jun, how are you? Coach Zeng, do you have any advice?"

Seeing Li Huajun leaving the coaching bench, Li Hui asked.

"I didn't ask either." Li Huajun shook his head, "But even though Coach Zeng looks listless, the situation on the court is in complete decline."

"No, let me tell the players to pay more attention to the defense on the left."

"It seems that we are worrying too much. Coach Zeng may just want to take a good rest."

Li Hui nodded, "In that case, let's take charge of this game and don't disturb Coach Zeng."

Li Huajun's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He didn't want to miss such a good training opportunity.

The Kuwait team, which fell behind by one goal, immediately launched a counterattack after the kick-off.

In the 10th minute, No. 16 Osman made a pass from the right, but Houwadi who followed up did not hit the ball;

One minute later, Osman found an opportunity again and kicked off from the right.

Neither Houwadi nor the Chinese defenders in front of the goal touched the ball. Abdulaziz Bashar, who followed up from behind, took a flying kick without being defended and hit the ball high.

Seeing that despite their own reminders, Osman still made two consecutive passes, Li Hui and Li Huajun couldn't help but whisper to each other on the sidelines.

"What's going on with Zhou Ning this time? He always feels out of tune with the team."

"Yeah, I've reminded him several times, but he still misses me."

"It seems that the level of players studying abroad is also different!"

"I estimate that after this Asian Cup, if Zhou Ning had not played in Germany, Coach Zeng would not have recruited him..."

The Chinese team has no desire to attack, and the pre-match instructions given by Zeng Zheng were not to take cards or get injured.

Therefore, after leading by one goal, the overall formation recovery is larger, and the ball possession time is greatly enhanced.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Kuwait did not dare to rob it aggressively, so the situation became calm.

Seeing that Li Xiaopeng's kick that was supposed to go straight into the penalty area ended up being pulled back and passed back, Zeng Zheng let out a long sigh.

It wasn't that he was worried about the poor performance of the players on the field, but that he didn't answer Miss Qian's question well.

Qu Shengqing was born in 1975, 5 years younger than Zeng Zheng.

But now the top scorer in League A is not only shining in the club and the Asian Cup, but also wants to marry the girl he loves after returning to China.

It can be said that love and career have a double harvest.

Seeing Qu Shengqing getting married, Miss Qian, who is the same age as Qu Shengqing, naturally couldn't sit still.

Speaking of which, she had been dating Zeng Zheng for more than a year.

When I graduate, I can say that I am busy with my "career".

But now I have started a career, I have made money, and I am in love with my boyfriend.

As we get older, it's natural that it's time to talk about marriage.

But although the two are sweet, they are not even engaged to be married.

For Ms. Qian, it was even more out of reach for Zeng Zheng, who was devoted to football, to suddenly kneel down on one knee and take out a ring to propose.

After being asked this question by Miss Qian yesterday, Zeng Zheng's brain immediately shut down.

Just like before, it just got stuck.

Seeing Zeng Zheng's eyes gradually becoming dull, Miss Qian's expression also changed from expectation to confusion, and then to anger and irritation.

Finally, there was a "pop" sound in the private room.

The right half of Zeng Zheng's face instantly became red and swollen.

"Ah, don't leave!"

"Let me go!" Miss Qian said hysterically, "If you don't want to marry me, why are you holding me back?"

"Who said I don't want to marry you?"

"Okay, tell me, when will you marry me?" Miss Qian turned around, looked at Zeng Zheng angrily, and gave him another chance.

"This, this..."

Facing Miss Qian's angry gaze, Zeng Zheng hesitated.

"The World Cup is coming soon, look..."

"World Cup, World Cup, what you say is the World Cup!"

As soon as she heard the words "World Cup", Ms. Qian's anger rose again.

"Is it possible that you want to marry me after the Chinese team wins the World Cup?"

Miss Qian's angry words actually made Zeng Zheng laugh.

"Ah, of course not."

"Then what do you mean?" Seeing that Zeng Zheng could still laugh at this time, Miss Qian was even more angry.

He raised his foot and stomped down hard on Zeng Zheng's right instep.

Zeng Zheng endured the pain and still held his girlfriend's hand.

"Come on, come on, don't be angry, sit down and talk about it if you have something to say."

Zeng Zheng coaxed and said, "Yingying, look, the Asian Cup has just finished the Olympics."

"After the Asian Cup, the Asian Youth Championship is still waiting for me to lead it!"

"The Chinese New Year will be after the Asian Youth Championship, and the World Qualifiers will be after the New Year."

"You also know that we have been planning for this World Cup in Japan and South Korea for many years."

"Nothing can go wrong this time..."

Miss Qian nodded, "Oh, oh, surname is Zeng, I heard it."

"According to what you mean, do you plan to get married after the 2002 World Cup?"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Zheng nodded hurriedly.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean..."

"Okay, I'm not such an unreasonable person." Miss Qian sat down on the stool and crossed her legs, "What if we don't make it to the World Cup in 2002? I remember that by this time next year, all the World Cup preliminaries will be basically over.

You’re done, right?”

"Impossible!" Upon hearing this, Zeng Zheng stood up and said, "It's impossible not to score. I've worked hard for this World Cup for so many years, so there's no way I'm not going to score!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, I said 'if'!"

"There is no if!" Zeng Zheng said angrily.

"What if?" Miss Qian spread her hands, "Everything has a possibility, let alone Chinese football."

"Mr. Zeng, don't think that after coming to youth training in the past two years, you have led the team to win several times."

"But this is Chinese football, you can't say anything for sure!"

"I want a pleasant word from you now."

"If you didn't make it to the 2002 World Cup, would you marry me immediately?"

Zeng Zheng's face turned green and red for a while.

"No way, we will definitely make it to the World Cup!"

Miss Qian nodded, "Okay, I understand what you said."

"That is to say, if you don't make it to the finals of the next World Cup, you still won't marry me."

"I will wait for you until 2006 to co-write?"

"I'm 25 this year."

"You plan to make me like you, unable to get married when I'm 30?"

"Zeng, I can see you clearly."

"You are just a selfish little person!"

After saying that, Miss Qian stood up directly, slammed the door and left.

This time, watching his girlfriend leave, Zeng Zheng did not get up and chase her.

"He nnd, actually cursed me not to enter the 2002 World Cup!"

Zeng Zhengdu muttered.

"Even without me."

"That guy Lao Mi also brought the Chinese team in, why can't I?"

"snort!"

"You've been with me for so long and you still don't trust me."

"I'll show you how I led the team to get out of the 2.5 places!"

Just as Zeng Zheng was cheering himself up, two whistles sounded from the court.

"Boss Zeng, the first half of the game is over."

Han Tao came over and reminded him.

"Oh, it's over? How many versus how many?"

"2 to 0." Han Tao replied quietly.

"Oh, help me up."

Han Tao hurriedly stepped forward and helped Zeng Zheng up.

Instead of going to the sidelines to applaud the players, with the support of Han Tao, Zeng Zheng put an ice pack on half of his face and limped into the tunnel.

The second half of the game was uneventful.

Zeng Zheng gave all three substitutions to young players who had not played many games.

Even so, the Chinese team still got a good chance in the 87th minute.

After Yang Chen stole the ball in the midfield, he passed by the opponent's defender and quickly broke through to the front of the opponent's penalty area. Taking this opportunity, Shao Jiayi stepped in at high speed, received Yang Chen's cross pass and directly attacked the goal with his left foot.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The ball flew past the Kuwaiti goalkeeper’s right hand and flew into the net, and the score on the field was rewritten to 3-0.

After that, the game entered injury time.

Both sides had no intention of attacking. The referee looked at the time and blew the whistle to end the game.

"The game is over!" Huang Jianxiang's passionate voice sounded.

"3-0, the Chinese team once again defeated Kuwait at home."

"At this point, all three group matches in Group A of this Asian Cup have been played."

"The Chinese team won all three games without conceding a goal and scored 19 goals to advance to the quarterfinals of this Asian Cup."

"Let us congratulate the Chinese team and coach Zeng."

"I hope that in the next knockout rounds, the Chinese team can continue their efforts, go further and further, and finally win the championship of this Asian Cup."

"I am the host Huang Jianxiang, thank you for watching."

"Let's see you next time, thank you."

...

When the news came that the Chinese team had advanced to the quarterfinals, the fans were calm.

This is a sure thing, the difference lies in how many goals we win and how many we lose.

But this time, no matter how picky the fans are, they are full of praise.

They slaughtered their old enemy South Korea with a huge score, defeated Indonesia and Kuwait successively, and did not concede a single goal in three games.

What else is so dark?

So after this game, even the most critical football critics gave thumbs up to this Chinese team.

Even the darkest conspiracy theorists sincerely hope that the team can win the championship on home soil.

After the game, the football world was in full swing, and fans in many regions even began to celebrate the Chinese team's first Asian Cup championship in advance.

Seeing the enthusiastic fans shouting "China team is the champion" on the TV, Zeng Zheng directly pressed the switch on the remote control to turn off the TV.

His temples were bulging, and it looked like they were about to break through the skin.

The team's performance is getting better and better, and the pressure on him is also increasing.

Coupled with the quarrel with Miss Qian, Zeng Zheng was in a really bad mood these days.

Even when the team members saw Zeng Zheng's appearance, they stayed away for fear of being called by Zeng Zheng for "training".

Two days later, the other two groups also gave up.

South Korea defeated Indonesia 3-0 in the final match, surpassing Kuwait at the last minute and finishing second in the group.

In other groups, Yinlang team with 2 wins and 1 draw in Group B and Yinlak team with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss qualified. In Group C, with 2 wins and 1 draw, Saudi Arabia with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss won the top two.

Among the three third-placed teams, Qatar has three draws and three points, while Thailand and Kuwait have two draws and one loss and two points.

After comparing the goal difference, Thailand with only -2 narrowly defeated Kuwait with -3 and won the last place to advance to the Asian Cup quarter-finals.

Judging from this score alone, there is still a huge imbalance in the strength gap between Asian teams.

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