World Cup of Great Powers

"In the just-concluded opening game of the World Cup, the Chinese team unexpectedly defeated the French team, the favorite to win the World Cup, with a score of 3 to 2."

"The performance of every member of the Chinese team in this game has brought a huge shock to this World Cup, making the French team, the last defending champion, bow to its knees."

"This victory reminds us that in the just-concluded Confederations Cup, the Chinese team also gave the French team a fatal blow."

"Judging from the current results of the two teams' matches, the two teams have met three times in total. The Chinese team has achieved 2 wins and 1 draw, achieving an all-round crushing of the French team..."

"Coach Zeng of the Chinese team claimed before the game that he would definitely score points against the French team."

"Now, they've exceeded their expectations."

"After the game, General Fan, the captain of the Chinese team, said in an interview: 'We are all warriors. We are not here to take photos and sightsee, but to show our football in front of the whole world! Let the whole world

Understand, our Chinese team is an excellent team!'"

"The above news is reported for you by AFP XXX."

This result in the opening game of the World Cup was something that most fans did not expect.

Whether it was the world-beating performance of the two teams, the Chinese team's consecutive goals, or the French team's belated pursuit of points, it was all extremely exciting.

At the post-match press conference, France coach Le Maire looked frustrated.

Even so, he still congratulated the Chinese team on winning the game in a very graceful manner.

"The Chinese team played very well tonight, especially the defenders. It was difficult for us to break through the Chinese team's defense easily.

"The Chinese team did not play conservatively tonight. On the contrary, they took the initiative to attack and scored three goals. This also caused our defeat in this game."

"Although the game was lost, it does not mean that the French team's journey to the World Cup is over."

"We still have two games to play, and I think we can definitely win all the remaining two games. Then we have 6 points in hand and can still advance to the next round."

Seeing that Le Maire is still so confident in the absence of Zidane, the happiest person is Zeng Zheng.

What if the French team plays with 120 points in the next two games?

It has nothing to do with us anyway.

Let Denmark and Senegal have the headache!

After the press conference, Zeng Zheng took the initiative to step forward and shook hands with Le Maire.

"Mr. Le Maire, I wish the French team to win consecutive victories in the next games!"

Flamel glanced at Zeng Zheng, and of course he knew what Zeng Zheng was planning.

But with so many media reporters watching, he could only grit his teeth.

"Thank you, Coach Zeng, for reminding me. I have my own plan."

"Well, I just hope that the French team will not become the first world champion to be eliminated in the group stage."

Zeng Zheng held Flamel's hand, shook his head and sighed.

It really looks like a fan who cares about the French team is trying to persuade his old friend.

"Thank you very much for your concern, Coach Zeng. After all, the French team is the World Cup champion, so you don't need to worry about this."

Zeng Zheng's words were a bit explicit, and Flamel's face darkened.

In front of many reporters, he threw away Zeng Zheng's hand and walked away.

Looking at the flashing camera, Zeng Zheng seemed to realize that he had said the wrong thing.

He quickly waved his hand and changed the subject: "We won today solely because of good luck."

"To be honest, I didn't expect to beat the French team."

"This victory seems like a dream."

"Now that I wake up, the dream has come true."

"Of course, from the perspective of the Chinese team, I naturally hope that the other three opponents will fight to the death..."

Whether it was taking advantage of the fact that Zidane was unable to play, or Le Maire was careless and underestimated the enemy.

After defeating the French team, the group's top rival, in the opening match, the Chinese team has a bright prospect of qualifying for the group stage.

French "L'Equipe" wrote an article: A bolt from the blue in Seoul.

The Chinese team, on behalf of Asian football, gave the French team a blow, and no French player could walk away with peace of mind.

"Kicker" said: Asian football shocked the defending champion.

Without Zidane, Le Maire's 11-man French team fell at the feet of the Chinese team from the very beginning.

The view of "Gazzetta dello Sport" is even a bit pessimistic: it is difficult for the French team to qualify!

"Marca" is even more original: the Chinese jumped out of the original script.

The news of the Chinese team's victory over the defending champions shocked the European media, and the major betting companies also began to adjust the odds of the French team's defending World Cup champions.

The British company William Hill adjusted the odds of the French team to win from 3 to 1 to 5 to 1. Another company, Radbrok, which was originally the most optimistic about the French team, also changed its odds from 3 to 1 this time.

6 to 1.

On the contrary, the odds of the Chinese team winning the championship have also been reduced from 35 to 1 at the beginning to 25 to 1.

At least in the eyes of these betting companies, it is no longer a problem for the Chinese team to defeat the French team and qualify for the group stage!

The "feathers all over the place" of the Gallic rooster are frightening.

The Chinese team used its tenacity to teach teams around the world a lesson.

Strong teams learn from this, and weak teams cheer for joy.

Even the Chinese team can defeat the French team, so as long as "we" work hard, we can pull down the seeded teams in the same group like the Chinese team.

Especially Japan and South Korea.

In terms of grouping, they already have the advantage.

Now the Chinese team has given them a try and played Asian football in style.

For a time, the media in Japan and South Korea wrote articles saying: If the Chinese can do it, so can we!

Amid overwhelming reports, young player Zhao Junzhe became famous in one battle.

It is reported that three giants from the five major leagues have already made bids for this Liaoning football player who has never been abroad.

The Red Devils and Manchester United even offered a price of 10 million pounds, hoping to bring him to the Theater of Dreams.

Scouts from various clubs have almost broken the threshold of the national football team, but they just can't see this young player who became famous with a goal in the opening game.

But no one is in a hurry.

Judging from the precedents of Li Jinyu, Zhang Xiaorui, Li Tie and Sun Jihai, it was only a matter of time before Liaozu let Zhao Junzhe leave.

With this victory, in addition to the skyrocketing value of all players on the Chinese team, Zeng Zheng's reputation once again resounded throughout the football world.

If Zeng Zheng in the last World Cup was just a newcomer who was called upon to catch up in a crisis;

So in this World Cup, Zeng Zheng is already qualified to be called the "World Cup coach".

Although Zeng Zheng is still very young.

But looking at these 32 teams, very few coaches can be re-elected for a certain national team in the World Cup.

After four years of sharpening his sword, Zeng Zheng once again made a name for himself in the opening game of the World Cup.

In contrast, French fans angrily criticized the national team's defeat.

I think it would be better for the French team to lose to strong teams such as Italy and Portugal than to lose to Asian teams like the Chinese team.

What's worse is that France's head coach Le Maire was even called "betraying the motherland" by some overly emotional fans!

The feathers of the Gallic rooster caused all the World Cup teams to think deeply.

...

After the opening game, the World Cup officially started, and each team from Japan and South Korea also ushered in their first group match.

On June 1st, Children's Day, the first match of Group E was held in Niigata, Japan.

Ireland drew 1-1 with Uruguay, their first draw of this World Cup.

The results of the match between the other two teams in Group A were later reported from Busan, South Korea. Denmark defeated Senegal 2-1, achieving its first victory for a European team.

Seeing Denmark's victory, many domestic fans were a little worried.

After defeating France, Denmark became the biggest stumbling block in Group A.

You know, Denmark now has AC Milan's "Three Musketeers": Helvig, Laursen and Thomasson, and their strength cannot be underestimated.

Now that Denmark has also won, maybe there will be a "three 6s" in the end (three teams with 6 points), and the Chinese team may be eliminated due to goal difference.

When facing the camera after the game, Helweger said frankly: "If we want to qualify, we must improve our playing ability."

"Since the Chinese team can beat the French team, then we can too."

"Of course, I hope Zidane also doesn't play in this game."

The Danes’ expectations are not groundless.

After all, according to the information revealed by the French team doctor, Zidane may really miss the first two group matches of the World Cup.

If that's the case, the Danish team can also "pick up the slack".

...

After these two exciting games, the second Asian team came on stage.

At 19:30 on the evening of June 1st, Sapporo held another group match in the first round of Group E of the first stage of the World Cup, Germany VS Saudi Arabia.

As the fourth European team to appear in this World Cup, this veteran team has demonstrated its traditional and powerful status in front of the world.

Under the crushing force of the German tanks, the whole game was one-sided. The German team basically pushed its opponents to the ground and rubbed them.

From the very beginning, the German team launched an offensive.

Until the 20th minute, the German team Ballack made a pass from the left wing. Yankel tried to shoot an overhead kick from the front point but failed. Klose scored the first goal with a beautiful header from the back point.

From then on, Germany's goalscoring became unstoppable.

In the 25th minute, Ballack made a pass from the left side of the penalty area, and Klose outflanked the ball in the middle and scored twice with a header.

In the 40th minute, Ziege passed the ball from the left to Ballack in the upper right corner of the small penalty area. The latter headed the ball 6 meters in front of the goal and scored, rewriting the score to 3-0.

In the 45th minute, the German team launched another offensive on the right. Klose's back heel passed to Yankel in front of the small penalty area. The latter fell to the ground and scooped the ball to score another goal.

In the second half, the game changed sides. In the 70th minute, Klose received Schneider's header and scored a hat trick.

Two minutes later, Link took advantage of a corner kick to expand the score to 6-0.

In the 83rd minute, Schneider ran forward and hit Bierhoff. The latter fell to the ground and shot from 20 meters away.

Dayaya, known as Asia's No. 1 goalkeeper, left the goal too far and the ball slipped from his side into the net.

In the 90th minute, Schneider scored directly with a free kick in front of the goal, locking the score at 8-0.

It wasn't until the referee blew the whistle to end the game that the fans in front of the TV recovered from the shock.

This is the result of a strong European team playing against an Asian team, right?

Can the Chinese team be considered an Asian team?

Look at how many of their players have gone to play in the five major European leagues.

"Klaus is so fierce. Kicking Saudi Arabia is like a dimensionality-reducing blow!"

Yang Chen and Xie Hui both sighed incomparably.

After Kaiserslautern was promoted to the Bundesliga, Klose transformed from a winger to a center in the season that just ended. He scored 16 goals and contributed 7 assists, becoming the top local scorer and best player in the Bundesliga.

Rookie.

As league opponents, Yang Chen and Xie Hui naturally understand the strength of this young junior.

Now that they have seen him score a hat-trick in his World Cup debut, neither of them are embarrassed to mention their own goal.

"Take Saudi Arabia as a warning!" Zeng Zheng said only five words.

After hearing this, the team members also lowered their heads and stopped talking.

After Zeng Zheng left the screening room, whispers could be heard in the room.

"Hey, Heizi, why are you so weak? Don't tell me you're really scared!"

Zhang Xiaorui rolled his eyes at Li Tie, "You fucking think I'm stupid!"

"Do I still dare to say anything?"

"If Han Tao, that young kid, hears it again, and then tells Boss Zeng, will I still be able to play in the next game?"

Saudi Arabia's defeat has cast a shadow over all Asian teams.

Who would have thought that a team that could reach the top three in Asia would be so badly beaten in the World Cup.

After the 8-0 record came out, those experts in China who were clamoring for the continued upset of the Chinese team immediately changed their tune and expressed on their blogs that they should be more low-key and down-to-earth.

The media in Japan and South Korea also kept smacking their lips.

If Saudi Arabia lost 0-3 or 0-4, it was fun to watch, but now it has lost 0-8, this is a matter of collective honor.

Who would have thought that the gap between Asian teams and European teams would be so huge!

What's even more interesting is that after the game, the Saudi media didn't have any feelings at all. They comforted the fans after the game: "It doesn't matter, we just lost a game. There is still hope for qualifying!"

Whether they are deceiving themselves or others or burning the boat will depend on Saudi Arabia’s performance in the second group match.

...

After the 8-0 crisis, the World Cup group stage continues.

On June 2, Argentina beat Cameroon 1-0 in Group F, and England drew 1-1 with Sweden;

In Group B, Paraguay defeated South Africa 2-2 and Spain defeated Slovenia 3-1.

On June 3, in Group G, Croatia narrowly lost to Mexico 0-1, and Italy lost 2-0 to Ecuador.

In Group C, Brazil overtook Turkey 2-1 and Nigeria lost 0-2 to Costa Rica.

At 17:00 on June 4, the first match of Group H started at the Saitama 2002 Stadium.

Xiaotian, one of the hosts, staged a wonderful offensive battle with the Belgian team, and finally ended with a 2-2 draw.

This game is not only the first point scored by Xiaotian in this World Cup, but also the first point scored in the history of the World Cup.

Midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata, who performed extremely well in the second half, seemed extremely excited when being interviewed by reporters.

"We scored a goal, this is a breakthrough."

"Of course, there is still a certain distance between us and the Chinese team."

"However, I believe that one day we will catch up with the Chinese team!"

In his view, being equalized by Belgium is nothing. What matters is whether the gap with the Chinese team is narrowed.

Just as the puppies were applauding for the little days, the third game was played in Busan, South Korea on June 4.

With goals from veteran Hwang Sun-hong in the 25th minute and Ryu Sang-cheol in the 53rd minute, South Korea defeated Poland 2-0.

Similarly, South Korea also made history at this moment - winning its first World Cup victory since 1954.

After the game, the Dong-A Ilbo wrote an article saying: The reason South Korea was able to achieve its first victory in the history of the World Cup was largely due to head coach Hiddink's meticulous preparations and bold military tactics.

This article almost blew Hiddink to the sky.

Maybe in their opinion, only with a good coach can they win!

So far, all four Asian teams have made their appearances.

Except for Saudi Arabia, which lost to Germany 0-8, none of China, Japan and South Korea lost a game.

Although Saudi Arabia lost a bit miserably, Asian fans have other opinions.

That is to say: the hope of Asian football mainly rests on the three East Asian countries. Only the three East Asian countries can represent Asian football.

It is said that this argument still has a lot of support.

After all, those West Asian teams that have been dealing with Europe all year round have long been accustomed to being abused by Europe. Now that East Asian teams are stepping forward, isn't it just to clear the name of Asian football?

Of course, among the three East Asian countries, the Chinese team is the most highly regarded.

The reason is not only the victory over the former world champion French team in the opening game, but also the overall strength of the Chinese team, which has completely reached the level of competing with European teams.

The game barely managed a draw, and South Korea relied on its coach to win.

In this comparison, it seems that Chinese football is better.

According to the Korean media "Central Daily News" even said: For the three East Asian countries, the top 16 is no longer a dream, it has become a reality!

For a time, there was a small Asian storm in this World Cup hosted by Asian countries.

...

On June 5, Russia defeated Tunisia 2-0 in Group H. With Japan and Belgium drawing, they temporarily took the top spot in the group.

In the battle in Group D, the American youth team suffered its second upset of this World Cup.

In the first 4 minutes, the United States team scored a goal, not to mention the fastest goal in this World Cup, and maintained a 3-0 lead before 40 minutes.

Although Portugal pulled back two goals after that, they were unable to make a comeback and eventually lost to Maicheng 2-3.

Subsequently, the German team played its first second-round group match against Ireland.

Although the German team, which won the first game 8-0, had the same lineup as before, fans could see that the core idea of ​​the German team in this game was to preserve their strength.

At the 18th minute, Ballack took the ball from the left side of the midfielder and brought it to the left side of the frontcourt. He made a beautiful left-footed arc to the center of the penalty area.

Klose understood the situation and succeeded with a header, opening the scoring for the German team and also scoring his fourth goal in this World Cup.

The game entered stoppage time, and just when everyone thought that the German team had successfully defeated the Irish team 1-0 and became the first team to reach the top 16, the goddess of luck miraculously favored the Irish team.

Quinn received a header from the right side of the penalty area and passed it to Robbie Keane in front of the goal. The latter calmly shot into the net with his right foot!

Ireland ended up drawing 1-1 with Germany.

After the game, the headlines from No. 5 to No. 6 were once again dominated by Klose.

The young German striker not only tops the scorer list with 4 goals, but he also scored all his goals with headers.

The title of "New German Bomber" fell directly on the young Klose.

However, Klose still expressed deep regret when facing the media after the game. In his opinion, with so many personal goals, a victory would not be more tangible.

4 goals failed to win the German team's early qualification, which is indeed a bit regretful when you think about it.

Similarly, Klose only occupied the headlines for one day.

On June 6, at 14:00 in the afternoon, the most watched game of the day will be held in Seogwipo.

Denmark VS France!

This game is called a life-and-death battle for the French team.

Zidane was regarded as the savior before the game. He only resumed training two days ago. People have doubts about his physical condition, but the French team is facing a life-and-death battle, and Le Maire has no choice but to take a gamble.

At the beginning of the game, the French team exerted strong pressure on the Danish team.

However, after 20 minutes of attacking, it was all thunder and no rain, and even injured the thigh of our own goalkeeper.

In the 22nd minute, Toftin picked the ball over the top from the right side of the frontcourt. Romedal responded from behind and pushed the ball from the outside corner of the right foot in front of the small penalty area into the far corner of the goal.

Since Candela and Thuram did not defend well, Romedal was able to easily break the net.

Denmark leads 1-0.

In the second half, the side changed again, and Chelsea left winger Grenciar replaced Jorgensen.

Since Butters was injured in the first half, Lamere also began to warm up on the sidelines, but Lemaire did not choose to substitute.

In the 52nd minute, Zidane took a corner kick from the right, and Desailly hit the goal post with a header 14 meters from the back point. This was the fourth time the French team hit the goal frame in this game.

I don’t know if the French wasted too many opportunities, or if God intended to punish them.

In the 68th minute, the Danish team's midfielder passed a straight pass from the left. Grenchar crossed behind Candela. Desailly, who was marking Thomasson, fell to the ground. The former pushed with his right foot from the edge of the small penalty area, and the ball passed from Butters.

Armpit got into the net.

In the end, the French team was still unable to recover despite Zidane's comeback.

Lost both battles and was eliminated!

The majestic former world champion actually became the first team to be eliminated and go home in this World Cup!

Only at this moment did the fans recall Zeng Zheng’s reminder and warning to Le Maire at the press conference that day.

He NND, it turns out this is not a joke!