World Cup of Great Powers

After securing victory in the first group stage of the World Cup preliminaries in Harbin, Zeng Zheng flew to Jakarta with most of his main players.

Indonesians love football as much as the Chinese.

But the problem is that this game is destined to be the Indonesian's curtain call.

After the first training session, many young Indonesian fans came to Zeng Zheng and asked for autographs and photos.

Together with reporters and other fans, everyone chanted Zeng Zheng's name, just to get a chance to take a photo with Zeng Zheng.

The local Chinese TV station "Metr" even sent a strong reporting team to conduct on-site interviews.

This reporting team was composed of several beauties. Although they did not even know how many people were playing in the football match, they immediately caused great "destructive power" to the Chinese team by ogling them.

General Fan accepted their interviews twice with a smile on his face, and even after that he still felt like he was still unfinished.

During this period, more than 20 children dressed neatly in team uniforms came up to grab Zeng Zheng, asking for a group photo and preventing him from leaving the stadium.

Facing such child fans, Zeng Zheng also took off his sunglasses and showed a knowing smile.

While posing in weird poses, he directed the photographers to take pictures.

After taking a group photo, Zeng Zheng, who was full of childlike innocence, even picked up a training ball and played with the children.

At this time, the members of the Chinese team were waiting for Zeng Zheng to set off outside the court.

Since the opponent was "outnumbered", Zeng Zheng, who was fighting alone, was obviously no match for the children. In desperation, he made a face and quickly broke through.

The fans rushed to catch up, but the "experienced" Zeng Zheng got on the bus first.

A beautiful reporter from "Metr TV" said: "Now, Coach Zeng has become the image ambassador of Asia."

"Because of football, we met another outstanding Chinese."

The enthusiasm of the local people did not win the Chinese team's mercy on Indonesia.

May 27, 16:00.

The Chinese team played the final match of the first stage of the World Cup qualifying match against the Indonesian national team at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

After 90 minutes, the score was fixed at 6-1.

So far, the Chinese team has entered the top ten with six wins in the first group stage of the World Preliminaries.

In 6 games, the Chinese team slaughtered 84 goals against its opponents, scoring an average of 16 goals per game, setting a record in the world preliminaries!

Among them, Yang Chen scored 14 goals and Xie Hui scored 19 goals.

The two Bundesliga strikers combined have scored more goals than any other national team!

After returning to the hotel, the national football team immediately held a one-hour summary meeting in the conference room.

The leader of the team, Ma Ke, summed up this first stage by saying "there are achievements, shortcomings, experiences, and lessons learned."

I think the good thing is that I won all the games, but while winning, there are still many things that need to be summarized.

Especially in 5 of the 6 games, we conceded a goal. This was caused by the players' inattention and negligence on the court. We must pay attention to it in the second stage of the game.

After the symbolic meeting, the team flew to Singapore and returned to Guangzhou the next morning, disbanding on the spot.

Members of the coaching staff returned to Beijing to report on their work, and Zeng Zheng went to the TV station to participate in the recording of an exclusive interview with "World Football".

The football circles across the country have entered an inexplicable atmosphere of tension.

The lottery for the Big Ten Tournament is about to begin!

On the evening of May 28th, 19:30, World Football.

Because the weather was too hot, in the recording studio, Duan Quan and Zeng Zheng wore suits and leather shoes on their upper bodies, but wore large flower pants on their lower bodies.

Also participating in the recording of the program with Zeng Zheng is Zhang Jilong, who will be in charge of the lottery.

After a brief opening and introduction, Duan Quan asked a few questions that fans are most worried about.

Duan Quan'er: "In February, at the Asian Football Confederation Executive Committee meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, the executive committee members reached an agreement on the principles of group draws for the top ten matches."

"That is, based on the results of the past three World Cups and three Asian Cups, the 10 teams will be divided into five tiers using points, and teams in the same tier will be divided into different groups."

"Based on this principle, our Chinese team and the Saudi team are classified as first-tier teams, and the Yinlang team and the UAE team are classified as second-tier teams."

"This also means that among the two strongest teams in West Asia, we can avoid at least one strong team."

"Domestic media have been reporting since then that the West Asian teams headed by Saudi Arabia and Yin Lang will join forces to overturn the Asian Football Confederation's decision.

"They hope to classify Saudi Arabia and Yin Lang as first-tier teams to avoid each other."

"Excuse me, Zhang Zhuxi, will the West Asian teams join forces to overturn the principle of this draw?"

Zhang Jilong smiled slightly: "At the beginning, Yin Lang and Saudi Arabia were told about this."

"As a Saudi Arabian official said, this scheduling principle cannot reflect the true level of the team in recent years."

"Furthermore, the UAE team is in danger of being eliminated after losing to Yemen a few days ago. This is the main reason for them to attack this scoring method."

"In the words of a Yinlang Bamboo Shoes official, 'Even the seeded teams may not be able to enter the top ten games. Is this point method really reasonable?'"

"But as time went by, the Saudi side took no further concrete actions."

"His head coach Santraci recently said in public that he is so lucky to be selected as the first team with the Chinese team!"

"It can be seen that Saudi fans are still very satisfied with this regulation."

"Without the quarrel in Saudi Arabia, Guang Yinlang's family won't be able to make any waves."

Duan Quan'er: "Oh? Then why is this? What is the reason that the teams in West Asia are not united?"

Zhang Jilong glanced at Zeng Zheng next to him: "I have to ask Coach Zeng."

Zeng Zheng spread his hands and said, "I guess they are also afraid that we will get more than a dozen of them!"

"I read online that Yin Lang's Persian Football newspaper reported that the top ten games could be avoided with us, and the Saudi fans were secretly enjoying themselves at home!"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Hahahahaha~~~

Hearing Zeng Zheng's confident words, there was laughter from the audience in the studio.

Duan Quan'er: "It seems that because of the strength of our team, rifts have arisen between the teams in West Asia."

"But at present, apart from the issue of West Asia joining forces, there is another theory among the people."

"That is, International Bamboo Blind has a veto power over the principles established by Asian Bamboo Blind."

"What do you think about this, Zhang Zhuxi?"

Zhang Jilong: "It is reasonable to have this problem."

"This was the case in the last top ten competition. The International Bead Curtain finally decided on the draw principle."

"But the reason why this happened in the last session was because Yazhu Lian couldn't 'settle' the ten participating teams."

"When the teams cannot reach an agreement on relevant issues, the Asian Pearl Curtain will be submitted to FIFA, which will make the final arbitration."

"But all participating teams in this top ten competition have accepted the principle of drawing lots."

"No individual or small group can overturn this principle, and even the international bead curtain cannot interfere."

"Currently, International Pearl Bamboo Seat Bulat and Secretary-General Lu Fining have arrived in Bangkok. They are only attending the group draw ceremony of the top ten competition as guests."

Duan Quan'er: "There is another question regarding the drawing of groups."

"After the 2000 Asian Youth Championship group draw was announced, due to Kuwait's strong protest against being in the same group as Yin Lack, the AFC was forced to re-organize the group during the Asian Cup."

"This time Yinlak has also entered the top ten. There are many rumors in China that 'West Asian teams refuse to be in the same group as Yinlak'."

"So, can Team Yinlak really influence the group situation?"

Regarding this question, Zhang Jilong answered very cleverly.

"In fact, Kuwait was eliminated by Bahrain in the group stage that just ended."

"So this kind of issue will not become the focus of the Big Ten games."

Without Kuwait as a thorn in the side, this problem would naturally resolve itself.

With Zhang Jilong's endorsement, fans can temporarily feel reassured.

The team is strong because of the past two years led by Zeng Zheng.

Many fans are still a little weak in their hearts and subconsciously do not want to meet some strong teams in West Asia.

After asking about the draw, Duan Quan'er and Zhang Jilong looked at each other and smiled, and both of them drank water in unison.

But under the table that no one knew about, Duan circled his ten toes comfortably, while Zhang Jilong dug at the ground hard.

Seeing the relief on Zeng Zheng and Duan Huan'er's faces, Zhang Jilong kept wiping the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

Damn TV station!

Why don't you prepare a pair of large flower pants for me too?

After replenishing his fluids, Duan Quan'er continued to ask:

"Because the World Cup preliminaries have always been played in neutral venues, it was not until the International Bamboo Curtain intervened in the last World Cup that Yazhu Lian decided to temporarily change the top ten games to a home and away game system."

"It is reported that Thailand Bamboo Shoes is currently actively lobbying, hoping that this top ten competition can be changed back to a tournament system."

"Excuse me, Zhang Zhuxi, is this possible?"

The reason why this situation occurs is because some small countries and regions such as Thailand, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, etc. are affected by economic factors. The expenses required to cope with the home and away system are not small for the football associations of these countries.

burden.

It is under this circumstance that these small countries are conspiring to propose the adoption of a tournament system, either a one-cycle game on a neutral site, or a two-cycle game.

Zhang Jilong's answer is still clever.

"We are supportive of the issue of the tournament system."

"In fact, since the Thai team put forward this condition, we have actively applied to become the organizer of the tournament system."

"But as it stands now."

"Because Yazhu Lian has adopted a more advanced home and away game system, it is unlikely that the game system will be restored."

As soon as these words came out, some senior fans sneered again.

When it comes to venue, public support, infrastructure, and economic foundation, who in Asia can compare with us?!

If the top ten games are really changed to a tournament system and held at our home court, what is the difference between this and the Chinese team being recommended to directly enter the World Cup?

Not to mention Yin Lang, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, even these countries that proposed changing to a tournament system cannot agree.

In this way, the top ten games still have to follow the home and away system.

Zhang Jilong's move of advancing while retreating is really wonderful!

He not only pretends to be a good person generously, but also establishes his own image among disadvantaged groups.

Duan Quan'er: "Last question, who is the Chinese team most looking forward to being in the same group with?"

Zhang Jilong: “You have to ask Coach Zeng.”

At this moment, all cameras and eyes were focused on Zeng Zheng's face.

Under the table, Zeng Zheng rubbed his two big toes.

"Under normal circumstances, I would actually like to meet Japan and South Korea."

"Isn't there some kind of 'Chinesephobia' that has been reported in the past two years?"

"I think we can definitely qualify if we meet them."

Hahahahaha~~~

Zeng Zheng's humorous speech aroused laughter from the audience.

After the laughter, Zeng Zheng shrugged.

"Currently judging from the group classification, we will definitely avoid Saudi Arabia."

"As for the other eight opponents in the top ten, their level is almost the same."

"The only thing I'm thinking about right now is whether I can adapt to playing away games by flying back and forth."

"If I had to choose, I would most like to meet teams that are relatively close to us."

"Don't worry too much, just finish the top ten games normally and then prepare for the World Cup."

After speaking, Zeng Zheng put the microphone on the table.

Only then did Duan Quan'er realize that Zeng Zheng's answer was over.

So who does Zeng Zheng hope to be in the same group with?

Is it true as he said, it doesn't matter who you are with?

That night, before leaving the studio with all ten of his toes inflamed, Zhang Jilong specifically asked Zeng Zheng for serious inquiries.

"Xiao Zeng, there are no outsiders here. Tell Uncle Zhang, do you want to be in the same group as Emirates?"

From the current point of view, being in the same group with Saudi Arabia is the bottom draw, being in the same group with Yin Lang is the winning draw, and being in the same group as the UAE is the upper draw.

Now the signing has been blocked at the beginning.

Zhang Jilong went to Bangkok this time with the mission of blocking the "winning the lottery".

"If you say you think about it, you definitely do." Zeng Zheng still had an indifferent attitude, "But it doesn't matter if I'm assigned to Yin Lang."

"Aren't there still 0.5 spots anyway? There's no chance of being second in the group!"

Zhang Jilong raised his eyebrows when he heard this.

"That can't happen!"

"You don't know that your Uncle Wang and Uncle Xu are asking me to die this time. They must make every effort to clear the obstacles for the Chinese team and ensure that you can enter the World Cup as much as possible."

"This is no small matter!"

"Although we have completed the basic task of entering the World Cup in 1998, you know better than us how to enter."

"That time it was an accident, completely relying on luck."

"But this time it's different."

"This World Cup is the result of our eight years of hard work!"

“Don’t forget what the original purpose of Jianlibao was when it was established.”

"There is absolutely no room for failure in this World Cup!"

...

When the draw for the top ten games came, a little-known episode happened.

Two days before the draw, International Blatter suddenly proposed a plan to change the ranking of the top ten teams.

This move disrupted the original grouping procedures of the AFC Executive Committee and caused quite a stir in Bangkok on the eve of the draw.

Why does FIFA do this?

It turned out that a joint appeal letter from dozens of Yin Lang reporters was like a Cheng Yaojin who came out halfway, prompting Blatter to make the decision to change the positioning of the Top Ten team.

Dozens of Yinlang football reporters, organized by Nozad, the famous sports reporter of Yintong News Agency, jointly submitted a letter to the AFC and FIFA, demanding that the lottery principles be changed, and strongly demanding that the Yinlang team be changed to be tied with the Chinese team.

seed team.

These strongly worded "letters of appeal" made football politicians such as Blatter and Veerappan change their minds.

Veerappan announced on the afternoon of May 31 that Saudi Arabia and Yin Lang would be swapped, but this move was dissatisfied by many ASEAN member states, including China.

The AFC Executive Committee held emergency consultations overnight and met with Blatter yesterday morning, expressing strong dissatisfaction with FIFA's interference in the AFC Executive Committee's resolution.

Zhang Jilong said that China will boycott the upcoming top ten draw.

After negotiations and hard work, Blatter finally gave in and agreed to continue drawing lots according to the original grouping principles.

June 1, 17:00, Ladson Hotel, Bangkok.

Coaches from many countries, including Zeng Zheng, were sitting in the venue, looking anxiously waiting for the draw ceremony to begin.

"Hey, have you heard? Yin Lang made a big fuss yesterday and insisted on being ranked first in the group with the Chinese team."

"Isn't this nonsense? Why should Team Yin Lang be doing this?!"

"Yes, Saudi Arabia made it to the last World Cup, and Saudi Arabia is the top four in this Asian Cup. How can Yin Lang compare with Saudi Arabia?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I didn't expect that West Asia is not united. In order to avoid the Chinese team, they resorted to such a shameless method as stopping the driver and filing a complaint."

"Fortunately, the Chinese team did not agree. If the Chinese team agreed, this matter might be done!"

The draw for the top ten matches was co-hosted by International Bamboo Curtain Secretary General Lu Fining and AFC Secretary General Veerappan.

Before the draw, Yazhulian will prepare 9 glass jars in advance, 5 of which will hold teams from the first to fifth tiers, and each jar will contain two teams from the same tier.

There are 2 glass jars for group A and group B, and the other 2 glass jars are for group numbers 1 to 5 respectively.

In this draw, for the Chinese team, in addition to which teams their own team will be divided into the same group, the draw after the group stage is also extremely important.

According to the order of "5,4,2,1,3" adopted by Yazhulian, that is, the No. 5 team has a bye in the first round;

In the second round, the team in position 4 gets a bye, and so on, repeating this sequence from the sixth round onwards, except that the order of home and away is reversed.

According to this arrangement, the No. 3 pick is the most disadvantaged and will have byes in the final rounds of the two cycles, namely the fifth and tenth rounds.

In this way, the team in position 3 will end the game earlier than all other teams, and it is extremely possible for other opponents to manipulate the team's destiny based on results.

Just like the Yin Lang team last year.

While everyone was talking about it, Bratt on the stage took out a small yellow ball from the glass bottle.

After opening it, he read loudly: "Aman!"

Since then, the draw ceremony for the top ten Asian matches of the 2002 World Cup has officially begun.

The draw started with the fifth pot of teams. Blatter and AFC president Shah were invited by Veerappan, but they were obviously not the protagonists of today's draw ceremony.

Veerappan, who is extremely talented in acting, began to play freely after symbolically announcing the results of the fifth team grouping.

When the Thai team in the fourth pot was drawn third, Veerappan smiled and asked the Thai kid who got the lottery ball, "Which group do you think Thailand will be placed in?"

The little girl was a little confused.

She only knew how to touch the ball, but she didn't expect that there would be a question and answer session.

The Thai reporters in the audience started shouting when they saw this.

The little girl listened carefully, and then also said: "Group B!"

At this moment, the Thai boy on the right who was responsible for drawing the group had already raised the lottery marked group A high.

When everyone saw this, they immediately burst into laughter.

The little girl who didn't answer the question "correctly" was obviously a little frustrated.

"Don't be discouraged, the outcome is still uncertain!" the Thai staff behind the scenes comforted.

"No one said you answered wrongly."

The little girl's nose twitched and she managed to stop her tears.

Oman is No. 4 in Group B and Bahrain is No. 2 in Group A;

Thailand is No. 4 in Group A; Uzbekistan is No. 2 in Group B;

Qatar is No. 1 in Group A, and Yinlak is No. 3 in Group B.

After entering the second draw, the atmosphere finally became tense.

The UAE drew No. 1 in Group B, and Yin Lang drew No. 5 in Group A.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The exciting moment has finally arrived.

When the Thai child on the stage put his hand into the glass jar, fans across the country who were paying attention to the draw ceremony couldn't help but crane their necks.

Zhang Jilong also clenched his fists at this moment.

In the two years since Yazhulian took office, he has done so much work and made so many achievements.

Isn’t it just for this moment?

After seeing the words unfolded by the cute Thai girl, Veerappan shouted: "Saudi Arabia!"

"a,a,a,a!"

At this moment, all the Chinese guests present, all the Chinese fans in front of the TV, and all the officials in Bamboo Shoes were chanting this letter.

When the cute Thai boy unfolded a small white note with the word "B" written on it, all the fans in front of the TV looked livid.

Zhang Jilong's eyes widened in disbelief.

All the strength in his body seemed to have been drained away, and he sat slumped on the chair like a deflated rubber ball.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

The Thai reporter behind him also broke the pen in his hand angrily.

"Fuck! Still didn't avoid the Chinese team!"

There is only one small ball left in the glass jar.

No need to open it, everyone already knows the result.

According to the procedure, the children spread out the paper and Veerappan read out the words on it.

"Team China! Group A, No. 3!"

Damn Group A, Damn No. 3!

When the votes were being counted, there was still polite applause.

The photographer captured the faces of Zhang Jilong and Zeng Zheng in time.

Zhang Jilong leaned forward on the chair and pressed his temples with one hand, looking very tired.

Zeng Zheng only smiled slightly under his sunglasses, and like everyone else, he clapped his hands together rhythmically.

After the Saudi grouping was announced, all the Saudis at the scene cheered in unison.

For these Saudis, they are the biggest winners in this draw!

While being interviewed by reporters, Zeng Zheng spread his hands.

"There is no strong or weak distinction between the two groups ab. Each team is very strong."

"In my opinion, the Chinese team actually does not have the strongest opponent. The four teams in the same group are all very good teams. Whoever can qualify in the end depends on who is more powerful."

"We have just won the Asian Cup, and the real headache should be our opponents."

Facing such a lottery, Zhang Jilong, who is a bamboo curtain and deputy bamboo mat, looked very calm.

"The result of the draw proves that Chinese football is moving forward step by step. The reform of Chinese football has gained the understanding and support of the international football community."

At the end of the sentence, Zhang Jilong almost broke his back molars.

As soon as the microphone was put down, Zhang Jilong turned his head and secretly spat.

"grass!"

At the same time, Veerappan, Blatter and others toasted behind the stage to celebrate.

Blatter: "The Chinese team's performance in Asia is really eye-catching!"

Veerappan: "Yes, so reward it with the thorn in the side of Team Yin Lang."

Bratt: "Perfect!"

Veerappan: "Cheers!"

Yin Lang Yin News Agency reporter: "Despicable!

"

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