World Cup of Great Powers

These days, reporters from various countries have been confused by the Chinese coaching staff's tricks.

Zeng Zheng took the lead and played happily, as if the team's victory or defeat had nothing to do with him.

The Chinese team is training normally.

But nothing can be seen from these public training sessions.

For a time, there were many rumors about the Chinese team.

News such as "Zeng Zheng looks down on Qatar at all" and "Chinese team coach takes advantage of official duties to travel on vacation" were all spread out.

Two days later, even Wang Junsheng and Xu Fang called to ask what was going on here.

"Uncle Xu, there's nothing I can do. I really can't play football today!"

In the warm sea water, Zeng Zheng put his head and one arm above the water and answered the satellite phone.

"Don't bullshit me." Xu Fang said angrily, "There's a big explosion in China."

"What do you mean, your true nature has finally been exposed."

"Some people say that you drifted away after winning two World Cup preliminaries in a row."

"Anyway, it's up to you to decide."

"If we can't bring back three points in Doha."

"You have good fruits to eat!"

After saying that, Xu Fang hung up the phone with a bang.

Zeng Zheng sighed.

He looked up at the big sun above his head.

He casually threw the satellite phone in his hand into the water.

A carp stood upright and began to swim on its back in the sea water.

Just like Zeng Zheng said.

The weather in Doha is really too hot.

Players, don't talk about playing football.

I just can't bear to stay in the sun for 10 minutes.

The schedule for the Chinese team is still to play 4 games first, with a rest in the last round.

Such a grueling schedule, even with constant personnel updates, is a big test for the players' physical and mental abilities.

Moreover, overseas players like Zhang Xiaorui, General Fan, and Sun Jihai will play in more and more leagues after September.

Although his club agreed to let him back, who can afford to go back and forth?

In order to achieve a good result in the away game, Zeng Zheng worked very hard.

In this way, while Zeng Zheng was soaking in the sea during the day and giving extra lessons to the players at night, he used this "secret way" to convey the tactics and playing methods for the next game to the players.

Even if some people saw that this was Zeng Zheng's dubious strategy, they were helpless.

They couldn't personally hold a microphone and go into the sea to interview Zeng Zheng, right?

And those beauties in bikinis who were sent to get close to Zeng Zheng were all skillfully driven away by Zeng Zheng in a similar way to pulling out "threads".

As for Jin Zhiyang and Chi Shangbin, because they were too old, after tossing in the sea with Zeng Zheng for a day, they simply lay down the next day.

...

On the afternoon of September 2, the Chinese team challenged Qatar away from home in Doha.

Seeing that the players from both teams had not entered the stadium yet, Huang Jianxiang started to introduce the history of the two teams into the microphone.

"Since the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok, the Chinese team and Qatar have played against each other a total of 9 times."

"In these 9 games, the Chinese team has a record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, leading by a slight advantage."

"It is worth noting that since the 1984 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Chinese team has met Qatar in the World Cup qualifiers four times."

"If the Chinese team had seized this opportunity, it would have been possible to break out of Asia and go global."

"Especially in the Asian finals of the 14th World Cup preliminaries in 1989, when Marin scored a goal before the end, the national football team suffered another three-minute blackout."

"The 1-2 score before the final left the Chinese team only one step away from reaching Rome."

"It can be said that Qatar is completely the bane of the Chinese team on their way to the World Cup!"

"But in last year's Asian Cup, the Chinese team eliminated Qatar with a score of 3-0."

"I hope that in this World Cup preliminaries, we can perform to the level of the Asian Cup at that time."

"Even if we are playing away from home, we must have confidence in the Chinese team and coach Zeng..."

Confidence? Of course I have confidence!

If you don’t have confidence in anyone, you have confidence in Coach Zeng!

"I heard that Coach Zeng only focused on having fun after arriving in Doha?"

"Then it's probably because Qatar isn't strong enough to relax completely, right?!"

"Coach Zeng has worked hard to lead the team for so long, and finally went to Doha, and it still made people relax?"

Based on their trust in Zeng Zheng, most fans dismiss Zeng Zheng's official travel.

Some people even think that it is the jealous media’s malicious hype about Zeng Zheng.

Think about it too.

What I am concerned about is whether the Chinese team can get a point back in the away game;

Why do you keep reporting on the head coach's personal life?

If you have the time, it would be better to take pictures of the Chinese team training instead of taking some fruity photos of Zeng Zheng playing in the water!

...

It's still afternoon here in Doha, but it's already late at night in China.

According to China’s vision, the game will have to be played after 7pm no matter what;

But it turned out that the organizers set the game time to the afternoon.

It’s obviously for the Chinese team!

"In this game, left back Wu Chengying was suspended due to a yellow card, so he flew back to China early."

"In addition, forwards Yang Chen and Zhang Yuheng are injured, and the Chinese team may choose to change their formation..."

After hearing this, the fans couldn't help but start complaining.

"What?"

"Yang Chen and Zhang Yuheng are really injured?"

"I thought it was just being cryptic!"

"How can this be done?"

"Still using Qubo?"

Although the official explanation is that they were injured, the fans really don't know the actual condition of the two.

The Chinese team has just arrived and has been training in public for the past two days.

But since then, the training has been closed, so many reporters can only climb to the stands and watch from a distance.

After many expulsions failed, the Chinese personnel even told reporters directly and seriously, "If you do this again, Bamboo Shoes will directly take back all your interview credentials!"

Seeing the angry officials accompanying them, reporters also speculated that Qatar would be a tough nut to crack for the Chinese team.

It's the head coach who is wandering around and not doing his job, it's closed training, and the main players are injured...

So many smoke bombs!

It seems that the Chinese coaching staff also attaches great importance to this game.

However, according to the news from reporters on the front line, Yang Chen and Zhang Yuheng did not seem to be injured.

Especially before a game.

A reporter saw Yang Chen sitting alone on the bench.

Someone came up and wanted to take a photo with Yang Chen, but Yang Chen politely refused.

"Stop filming, I won't be able to show up anyway."

"Then at least he will show up in the second half, right?"

Yang Chen smiled again: "I won't even play in the second half."

Looking at Yang Chen's mental outlook, it seems that his inability to play has nothing to do with injuries.

Another Zhuxie official said: "Yang Chen's recent state has not been very good. He has some psychological difficulties that he has trouble getting through."

In the last game against Bahrain, Zeng Zheng's formation really surprised people.

Qu Bo's performance didn't look like a young man who had just been promoted from the youth team.

This is also true.

For Qu Bo, who won the Olympic bronze medal, the world preliminaries were indeed a small event.

There is even speculation that the reason why Zeng Zheng changed to 433 in the top ten games was entirely because the team had too many forwards.

The more forwards, the stronger the offensive ability.

In order to form a more offensive lineup, it is normal for Yang Chen to have psychological pressure.

...

In just two minutes, the Chinese team took the initiative on the court.

Maybe it's because of the pride brought by winning two games in a row, maybe it's because of other reasons.

The first time Qu Bo touched the ball, he kicked a very threatening long-distance goal outside the penalty area and almost scored.

Next, Xie Hui also headed the corner kicks taken by Shen Si twice in a row, and both times they missed the goal.

Looking at the actively attacking players on the field, Zeng Zheng kept looking at his watch on the sidelines and counting the time.

Seeing Zeng Zheng's appearance, many reporters laughed and joked: "This is the first time Coach Zeng has been so nervous since arriving in Doha!"

However, the Chinese team's offense came to an abrupt end at 20 minutes.

From the 22nd minute on the field, when the Cards got a corner kick, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

Qatar, which had the home advantage, seemed to have tested the depth of the Chinese team and began to frequently break through from both sides, creating many dangerous situations in the left and right half.

In the 31st minute, Yang Pu fought with the opponent's forward and suffered a bloody blow.

In this case, the player can only be carried off the field for promotion treatment.

But the Cards used the opportunity when Yang Pu was off the field to feint to attack the left wing, and then suddenly passed the ball to the middle.

Li Tie and Zhaojun turned back and were unable to defend themselves. No. 6 Naimi of the Card Team met the ball and fired an angry shot.

The ball hit the midfielder of the opponent's forward Nnazi and suddenly changed direction. Ou Chuliang, whose center of gravity had moved to the side, could only watch the ball go into the net.

At this moment, the cheers of the fans who came to cheer in the stands immediately slowed down.

"It's not easy to kick, it's not easy to kick."

Chi Shangbin murmured a few words.

The next process really responded to Chi Shangbin's nagging.

When the team was in shock after losing the ball, Cards forward Enazi once again shot a cold arrow in front of the penalty area.

This time, even Ou Chuliang didn't realize that the opponent would take a long shot.

When the ball whistled past, a huge muffled sound echoed in the hearts of everyone.

"Bang!!!"

Ou Chuliang turned around, touched the trembling doorpost with his hand, and couldn't help but mutter in a low voice: "Thank you, you have been of great help today!"

Although the goal frame blocked Qatar's fatal blow, the opponent's attack did not stop.

In the 38th minute, Qatar goalkeeper Romesi took a goal kick.

When Li Weifeng competed for a header, he missed it and Nnazi got the ball.

Facing General Fan, the forward of the Ka team easily passed him and formed a single sword.

Fortunately, Ou Chuliang attacked in time.

While opening his arms, he stretched his legs as much as possible and lightly touched the ball with his toes to block the inevitable goal.

At the end of the first half, the players were breathing heavily.

With sweat all over his forehead, he ran and jolted into the players' tunnel.

Looking at the 0-1 scoreboard, Huang Jianxiang couldn't help but feel a sore throat.

"It doesn't matter, there are still 45 minutes left in the second half, we still have a chance."

“But the weather in Doha is really too hot!”

...

In the second half, Zeng Zheng did not make any personnel adjustments.

Seeing that Qu Bo and Xie Hui still lacked strong support on the front line, many fans were a little anxious.

"What is Coach Zeng doing? Why haven't you replaced him yet?"

"If this continues, it will be difficult for us to score goals!"

"Is it possible that I can't even get 1 point?"

"Isn't Yang Chen not injured? Why not replace him?"

Fans are anxious because they don't understand the situation.

It's already midnight here in China, and there are electric fans at home.

But here in Doha, the temperature is over 30 degrees Celsius.

Had Yazhu Lian not allowed it, Qatar would have even wanted to start the game at 2 p.m.

By then, let alone playing football, even standing on the field for a while will cause smoke.

The camera panned.

Not to mention Yang Chen, all the players on the bench were listless, as if they were wilted eggplants.

Jin Zhiyang wore a big straw hat and kept fanning his hand.

"I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it, Qatar is really ruthless!"

"Playing on such a hot day."

"Their team members can also bear it!"

In the 51st minute, Qu Bo received a pass from Xu Yunlong and knocked back in the opponent's penalty area.

Although Zhao Junzhe got the ball, he was not in a good position to stop the ball. His follow-up shot was weak and was blocked by the opponent's defender with his body.

Three minutes later, Li Tie made a long pass in the midfield.

Under the pressure of the opponent's defender, Xie Hui made an extremely difficult volley with his back to the goal. Unfortunately, the ball missed the baseline on the right post.

The commentary said it was close to the uprights, but in fact the ball was ridiculously crooked.

In such a hot weather, Xie Hui's legs were also weak.

After kicking the ball, he fell down on the yellow turf and kept breathing heavily.

It wasn't until the opponent's goalkeeper placed the ball on the line of the small penalty area that he put his hands on the ground, got up and walked out of the penalty area.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The game lasted for more than an hour, and many players were dehydrated.

But today's football is not as humane as later generations, and there is no high-temperature rehydration time.

As long as the players don't get heatstroke, they have to keep playing.

The strange thing is that even if the players on the field were burned by the sun, Zeng Zheng had no intention of replacing them.

While the fans at the scene were talking, they also stood up and cheered for the team at the top of their lungs after drinking water.

In the 69th minute, Shen Si made the first pass from the left.

The Qatar team defender headed the ball out of the penalty area, and Zhao Jun followed up and fired furiously at the top of the arc.

"Zhao Junzhe!"

"Shoot!"

Huang Jianxiang's excited voice sounded from the microphone.

This shot took almost all of Zhao Junzhe's strength.

After ejaculation, he was almost exhausted.

He held his knees with both hands and started breathing heavily.

Unfortunately, this powerful shot was saved by the Qatar goalkeeper with both hands, who reacted quickly.

Although he didn't score, Zhao Junzhe's shot boosted morale.

For a moment, the Chinese team, which was one goal behind, seemed to have the power to equalize the score in one go.

Immediately afterwards, Shensi took a corner kick.

Romesi jumped high in the middle and barely hit the ball.

Then Qu Bo fell to the ground in the penalty area to shoot, and the ball missed the goal post again.

Qatar also did not expect that at this stage of the game and under such a strong sun, the Chinese team could still counterattack like this.

Under the command of the coach, the Cards team began to retreat across the board and slowly started to defend.

At this moment, the Chinese team's attack suddenly stopped.

Just like several times before.

Every time they attack one or two times, they suddenly stop attacking.

Although the ball is still at your feet.

But after several consecutive balls are passed to the frontcourt, the attacking midfielder will first turn around to protect the ball, and then pass straight to the backcourt.

From 20 minutes after the start of the game to now, whether before conceding the ball or after conceding the ball, the Chinese team's playing style has always been like this.

Now it seems that the Chinese team is still playing like this until the end of the game.

What are they thinking?

Don't the opposing coaches know they are still falling behind?

Don't they want to take a point away from home?

Or does the young Chinese have other plans?

Qatar coach Haji thought for a long time and then looked at several players on the Chinese team who could hardly run.

Out of the corner of my eye, the Chinese bench suddenly made a move.

"No, it's just a delaying tactic!"

Haji finally guessed what Zeng Zheng was thinking.

"Oh?"

"We can see that Coach Zeng finally plans to make a substitution!"

As Huang Jianxiang raised his voice, the fans also became excited.

Is Coach Zeng’s backup coming?

Which position should I change?

Who to replace?

Then how to fight?

The fans followed the camera and looked towards the sidelines, only to see Yang Chen, Zhang Yuheng, and Li Jinyu standing on the sidelines, sorting out their equipment.

"It's Yang Chen, Zhang Yuheng and Li Jinyu!"

"It seems that Coach Zeng is planning to replace three offensive players at once."

"Good guy, it turns out that Coach Zeng put his hope in the last ten minutes!"

"I wonder if the amazing Coach Zeng will pass on this magic?"