Chapter 395: One Point for the French Team, The China-Germany Battle Is Coming

Time quickly arrived at June 14!

This was the day of the opening ceremony for this World Cup, the match between Russia and Saudi Arabia!

On the television screen, a Russian cosmonaut dropped a soccer ball from space, and the ball subsequently descended into Moscow's Red Square.

A child stopped the ball, ran with it, bypassed numerous obstacles, and entered the stadium.

The television broadcast announced the name of this stadium to the audience in both Russian and English.

"Luzhniki..."

Tang Ye whispered, "This stadium is huge; I feel it must hold over 70,000, maybe even 80,000, almost comparable to Wembley."

Luzhniki was one of the main stadiums for this World Cup; the reason Tang Ye could accurately state its Chinese name was primarily because the Chinese team was also associated with this venue.

On June 17, China and Germany would commence their showdown at this very stadium!

"It's a full house today; will ours be full too?"

Tang Ye looked at Wu Lei beside him.

Wu Lei remained silent; it was Zhang Zhang Yuning who answered Tang Ye's question: "I feel it's highly likely to be a full house; I've been scrolling through news, and Moscow is currently filled with Chinese people, plus there are far too many German fans."

After voicing his speculation, Zhang Zhang Yuning added another sentence: "To be honest, I actually don't want a full house."

"Hmm? Why? Oh, right."

Tang Ye had just posed the question when he immediately thought of the answer himself.

In the China-Germany clash, there would certainly be more fans supporting Germany on-site.

Although it was a neutral venue, the Chinese team possessed away-game attributes.

Given that, it would be better to have fewer people present at the scene.

Of course, that was impossible; both Germany and China were high-traffic teams, so while the match might not be entertaining, the number of spectators would definitely not be small!

A female guest rode a firebird slowly to the center of the stadium, and soon the Russian national anthem echoed through the venue.

"Who do you think will win today?"

Zhang Zhang Yuning looked at Tang Ye, who shrugged: "Definitely Russia; I have a friend in Russia, you know Cheryshev? He's going to score."

Cheryshev, Tang Ye's former teammate and a forward for Villarreal, was one of the star players of the Russian national team.

Tang Ye had played a season alongside Cheryshev and also participated in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia, so he was acutely aware of the gap between the Saudi players and Cheryshev.

If Cheryshev were to play, Saudi Arabia would definitely be in terrible trouble.

"Saudi Arabia isn't that easy to play against either..."

Zhang Zhang Yuning remarked, recalling last month's friendly match against Saudi Arabia in his mind.

They had indeed won, but the Chinese national team's victory had been quite difficult.

"No, they're quite easy to play against; if we got serious, we should be able to lead them by two or three goals."

"Weren't we already very serious?"

Zhang Zhang Yuning was puzzled; Tang Ye turned his head, grinned, and said: "But I haven't gotten serious yet."

!!?

"Hey, hey, the match has started."

"Damn, I didn't check the starting lineup; why is Cheryshev on the bench?"

Tang Ye and his teammates began discussing the match, while Zhang Zhang Yuning's mind was no longer on the game at all.

I haven't gotten serious yet...

What did Tang Ye mean by that?

Was he referring to that match against Saudi Arabia?

Or... all five friendly matches?

Hiss—

Zhang Zhang Yuning took a deep breath.

He wanted to ask Tang Ye for the answer, but seeing Tang Ye completely immersed in the match, Zhang Zhang Yuning remained silent.

"Saudi Arabia's rhythm is going to cause trouble; playing like this, they'll get crushed by Russia; damn, did Saudi Arabia's midfield not eat today?"

Dongqiu Di pinned post: World Cup opener, host Russia defeats Saudi Arabia 5-0 to secure their first victory, Cheryshev scores twice. (52,315 comments)

【The hosts are unleashing their power】

【Home advantage is just awesome, damn it; one song of 'Katyusha' and Russia's combat power doubles instantly】

【Russia truly possesses the strength of a top-tier team; this Cheryshev is as strong as a god of war】

【Didn't Cheryshev play as an attacking midfielder for a while back at Yellow Submarine? I recall he was even Tang Ye's substitute】

【Can only say that's just how it is when the Ball King is a substitute】

The next day, the first match of Group F kicked off; ultimately, Senegal defeated Sweden 1-0, temporarily becoming the leader of Group F.

The current situation in Group F was as follows:

1. Senegal, 3 points.

2. Germany, 0 points.

3. China, 0 points.

4. Sweden, 0 points (goal difference -1).

Naturally, the Chinese people were focused on the Chinese team; on the night before the match began, CCTV5+ launched a special program.

The famous football commentator Zhang Lu conducted a detailed analysis of the upcoming China-Germany clash.

"Let's look; this is a friendly match for the German team. Before the match, Germany arranged a 4-4-2 formation, but as we can see, immediately after kickoff, Germany committed a massive number of troops to the front field."

"To what extent was this commitment? We can see: one, two..."

Zhang Lu drew circles on the screen with a water-based pen.

"Seven players; in Germany's first attack of the match, they deployed seven players, which illustrates a characteristic of the German team."

"Once they attack, the German team will attack all the way through."

"When attacking players press forward en masse, what problem does this cause? The intensity of the attack increases—well, that's obvious. Come, let's look here."

Switching to the next slide, Zhang Lu presented his predicted starting lineups for both sides in the China-Germany match.

"China's defensive line sits relatively deep, while Germany prefers deep attacks; therefore, barring surprises, Germany will unilaterally dominate possession against China in tomorrow's match."

Chinese fans watching the live broadcast frowned.

Zhang Lu's words were not very pleasant to fans who support the national football team.

But it was the truth, nonetheless.

"However, I believe China still has certain ways to handle this. In the friendly matches against Ba Xi He Fa earlier this month, we saw Lippi experiment with a five-defender formation; I think this is an excellent tactic that can help us narrow the score gap against Germany."

The camera cut to the host, who at that moment posed a question to Zhang Lu: "So, Coach Zhang, are you saying that against Germany, China should focus primarily on defense—is that correct?"

"You could say that."

Zhang Lu nodded gently.

"In yesterday's match, Sweden lost to Senegal by one goal; if the score difference between China and Germany can also be just one goal, then I would consider this match quite perfect."

"Of course, that's an ideal scenario. Although Germany indeed has some issues and isn't as outstanding as they were during the 2014 Brazil World Cup, the gap in combat effectiveness displayed between China and Germany in their friendly matches remains quite large; we need to factor this gap into our tactical considerations."

The host expressed agreement with Zhang Lu's viewpoint, then asked another question that fans were eager to know.

In the China-Germany match, as a core player, what must Tang Ye do to help the team the most?

"I think... China should play defensive counterattacks. As we all know, this kid Tang Ye possesses world-class ball-distribution abilities from midfield, deep midfield, and even the forward line; what China needs to do is solidify defense, then utilize Tang Ye's long-passing capability to launch counterattacks."

Defense plus counterattack.

The tactic Zhang Lu recommended for the national football team closely resembled Manchester United's approach, both crafted according to Tang Ye's and the team's characteristics.

Simply put, whether China can score depends on Tang Ye—on whether this rising star can produce a few moments of divine inspiration.

As for whether they can end this match with a respectable scoreline, that depends on how well the national football team performs defensively.

China Sports Lottery.

Germany win: 1 to 1.14.

China win: 1 to 22.50.

Draw: 1 to 8.50.

China Sports Lottery announced the odds for the China-Germany match; if not for the large total wager amount, the lottery might not have even opened betting for this game.

Odds of 1 to over 20—to be honest, that's truly a bit too exaggerated!

Besides the highly anticipated China-Germany match, FIFA also issued rulings regarding the French team's spying incident.

The French team was penalized three points because players trespassed into China's training base, but since China and France were not in the same group, and following explanations from the Chinese Football Association, FIFA reduced the penalty to one point.

Thus, before even playing their first World Cup match, the French team's total points reached an unprecedented negative one, ranking them last in their group.

However, compared to the exaggerated penalty of three to six points, a one-point deduction remains acceptable for the formidable French team.

In response, the French President expressed support for the French national team at a press conference, while once again emphasizing the deep friendship between the French and Chinese national teams.

"The French team and the Chinese team are like Dembélé and Tang; I believe this friendship can endure. I wish China success in reaching the knockout stage. Of course, should we meet in the knockouts, rest assured France will not go easy."

Match day!

National football team players boarded the bus one after another at the base entrance, outside which crowds of Chinese fans were lying in wait.

"Damn, so nervous, so nervous!"

Tang Ye tossed his backpack onto the overhead rack, then quickly took his seat.

He secretly pulled aside the curtain.

Just as he had seen moments before, there were now at least several hundred people outside.

"Go China!"

"Losing by less counts as winning; don't feel pressured, losing by less counts as winning!"

"China is awesome!"

"..."

The fans were enthusiastic, but the pressure on the players aboard the bus was genuinely immense.

Tang Ye shared his chewing gum with teammates, but faced with such terrifying pressure, his gum surprisingly failed to work very well this time.

The bus had already started moving, yet the atmosphere onboard felt extremely heavy.

Tang Ye stretched his neck, looking east and west.

Hmm, it felt as though everyone on the bus had already died!

Clap clap!

Someone suddenly clapped, startling Tang Ye; he quickly shrank back into his seat.

The one clapping was captain Feng Feng Xiaoting; he felt that at this moment, he needed to do something.

"Uh, let me say a few words."

"I know everyone feels enormous pressure participating in their first World Cup; my pressure is huge too. Ashamed to admit it, I even have this feeling—that we players of the national team aren't on the same level as players from other national teams..."

Feng Feng Xiaoting's voice grew quieter and quieter, then suddenly rose again: "But, we have already participated in the World Cup; we have already arrived in Russia; beneath our feet lies Moscow, and we are about to step into the stadium—that is the fact."

Feng Feng Xiaoting captured the attention of everyone on the bus; even Lippi and Madaloni at the very front requested the translator to render Feng Feng Xiaoting's words for them to hear.

"We trained together three times; just between late May and early June, we played five friendly matches. We identified many problems, and we improved them; given the vast disparity in strength, we did our absolute best—I think that already makes us quite good."

Feng Feng Xiaoting spread his hands: "So, brothers, there's no need to care too much about what reporters and fans think; let's just play the match well, using the same tactics we employed against France when facing Germany."

"Of course, after playing against France we optimized our tactics, so I feel that in today's match against Germany we can do even better."

"..."

Feng Feng Xiaoting seemed to have finished speaking; the bus fell utterly silent.

Suddenly Zhang Zhang Yuning shouted, followed by Gao Lin.

Finally, everyone joined in together.

"Wow!!!"

Tang Ye shouted along with his teammates.

Only then did he realize that when the pressure is high, adjusting on one's own is of little use.

It's better to roar together with your teammates!

Shout out your momentum!

Moscow live scene: Countdown to the China-Germany match: 5 hours, 24 minutes, 55 seconds. The Chinese national team bus departs the training base, with fans following the national team bus.

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: National team releases squad list for the first group stage match against Germany; none of the 23 players are injured. (Comment count: 87,231)

The national team released the squad list and also issued a promotional poster for the match against Germany, featuring all 23 players from the list.

Right in the center was an oversized head of Tang Ye; GGBond, wearing the national team jersey, was looking up at something unknown.

This poster appeared not only on Check Dongqiu Di but also in Wanda Plazas and subways across various regions.

"Wuhan Metro reminds you: the next station is... Baotong Temple."

As the subway slowly decelerated, the advertising screens inside the carriage suddenly turned entirely red, and people standing in the carriage quickly noticed the content on the screens.

【FIFA World Cup Group Stage Round 1: Germany vs. China】

【6/17, 23:00】

【—Wuhan Metro】

For the national team's World Cup qualifier promotional poster, besides the text introduction, Wuhan Metro also included a celebration photo of Tang Ye from the Asian qualifiers.

"Football again; does anyone still watch the national team?"

Two middle-aged women in the seats started chatting: "It's shameful, and these footballers earn high wages, millions a year, contributing nothing yet still embarrassing us abroad."

"I also heard Germany was last year's champion."

The other middle-aged woman immediately agreed: "I also heard the national team recently produced some star player, Tang-something, from Guangdong, said to be very powerful, but actually everyone knows clearly that in China, you can't make it into the national team without offering several jin of liquor as tribute; none of the truly talented young lads ever get promoted."

As the two middle-aged women chatted, they suddenly looked up and realized everyone in the carriage was staring at them.

The expressions on the faces of the two young men standing at the very front suggested they wanted to beat someone up.

"Hey, we're getting off; is this Baotong Temple? We're getting off, we're getting off."

"Baotong Temple has already passed."

The young man reminded them.

"Oh, oh..."

The two middle-aged women's seats were quickly snatched away, but they dared not say anything; forced step by step into a corner by several people, they looked utterly panicked.

"Wuhan Metro reminds you: The FIFA World Cup Group Stage Round 1 match between the Chinese national team and Germany will kick off at 23:00 Beijing Time."

"Hangzhou Metro reminds you: At 23:00 Beijing Time, the Russia World Cup..."

"Shanghai Metro..."

Check Dongqiu Di pinned post: National team releases squad list for the first group stage match against Germany, led by Tang Ye and Wu Lei; Zhang Zhang Yuning and Zheng Zhi to start. (Comment count: 112,315)

(End of chapter)