Chapter 854: War Machine Engages: Target—Defeat the Nightmare

{Due to accumulated yellow cards, Gretzka is suspended for the next match.}

Only now did they notice Germany had a midfielder carrying accumulated yellow cards, but it made no difference to today’s match.

Suspended for the next match?

German fans had no time to worry about that—they needed to focus first on whether their team would advance to the knockout stage.

You can’t talk about having a good tomorrow unless you first make sure you have a tomorrow!

“But honestly, Germany clearly came prepared today—Müller, Musiala, Gnabry, and even Jiao Dong’an—Germany’s midfielders’ high-pressure pressing has been a huge headache for China.”

“With their ball circulation from the back locked down, your wide overlaps simply can’t work.”

Fans who regularly watch the Premier League should recognize this—it’s the same tactic many teams used in recent seasons to neutralize Manchester United: high-frequency front-line pressing to cut off United’s buildup from the back and suppress their offensive power.

Germany’s current tactic against China is a direct copy of the Bayern and Dortmund tactics once used against Manchester United.

No wonder China’s national team is called the little Manchester United—these two teams share so many similarities.

Gnabri controlled the ball and stopped, waiting for Kehrer to arrive from the side.

Confirming his teammate was in position, Gnabri played a through ball.

Kehrer collected the ball near the byline.

Pah!

He delivered a low cross to Musiala at the edge of the box!

As Musiala chested the ball down, Zhang Linpeng collided with him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

It was a clear foul, but Müller had already regained possession, so the referee held off on blowing the whistle.

Germany’s attack continues!

“Hey!”

Jiao Dong’an surged forward, sprinting past Feng Xiaoting.

He received Müller’s ground pass.

Jiao Dong’an held his position.

!!!

At that moment, Tang Ye realized something was wrong—but his position left him powerless; he could only watch helplessly as Jiao Dong’an, with superior positioning, took his shot.

Bam!

“Gooo—aaaa—llll!!!”

“Goal!”

“Jiao Dong’an!”

“A goal from Jiao Dong’an—oh my, the combination between Feng Xiaoting and Wang Dalei… this shouldn’t have happened!”

Wang Dalei sat on the grass, staring as Jiao Dong’an ran past him.

“Damn!”

He punched the ground in frustration, helplessly accepting that the net had been breached.

Jiao Dong’an first met up with Gnabri, then both sprinted side by side toward the corner flag.

“Roar—!!!!”

“Wow!!!!”

{Germany: China}

{1:0}

“Deutschland!”

“Deutschland!”

Having opened the scoring against China, German fans felt as if their entire bodies were burning.

They were about to shatter the nightmare!

“SuperGundoan!”

Bam! Bam!

“SuperMuller!”

Bam! Bam!

As the team conceding the goal, China’s players and fans fell into prolonged silence.

Check the replay.

Musiala controlled the ball and passed to Müller, who then played a through ball to the advancing Jiao Dong’an…

The CCTV commentator had just blamed Feng Xiaoting and Wang Dalei for the goal, but the replay showed that wasn’t entirely accurate.

If anyone had to take the blame, Zhang Linpeng might be more at fault than Feng Xiaoting.

Zhang Linpeng’s position should have allowed him to disrupt Musiala!

Of course, Wang Dalei’s mistake was also significant.

“Wang Dalei’s performances in the first two matches were outstanding, but today… he really fell short.”

“Yes, Jiao Dong’an’s shot wasn’t particularly acute—it’s a position where he should’ve reacted.”

Seeing his teammate in low spirits, Tang Ye walked into the penalty area and pulled Wang Dalei up: “It’s fine, it’s fine—just one goal down, no big deal.”

Wang Dalei stayed silent, so Tang Ye pressed both hands firmly against the goalkeeper’s head, using pain to distract him: “Come on!”

Play resumes!

After the restart, Flick—who had been quiet until now—suddenly became energetic, shouting loudly along the sideline.

Viewers at home didn’t know what Flick was yelling, but from his gestures, the German coach clearly wanted his players to intensify their front-line pressing.

Meanwhile, Escrivá looked miserable—he paced back and forth too, but his face showed clear helplessness.

“Want to check the Argentina-Wales score?”

Ma Di’s voice came from behind; Escrivá turned around.

“…”

“No, not anymore.”

Escrivá walked forward, putting distance between himself and Ma Di.

It was the 21st minute of the first half; Ma Di asking this now meant the Argentina-Wales match had also seen a goal—though no one knew if it was Argentina’s or Wales’.

Escrivá shook his head.

Whether it was Argentina or Wales leading, he didn’t care anymore.

“Hey, move up to support, react faster!”

“Zhang, watch the center! Watch the center when you run!”

“…”

“Wei Shihao passes to Tang Ye.”

“Good!”

They executed a new crossing run; Tang Ye moved back to the center, flanked by the watchful Gretzka and Kimmi.

Considering their yellow cards, Tang Ye chose Gretzka as his primary target.

Dribbled forward.

Tang Ye wanted to go one-on-one, but Gretzka held firm, retreating steadily while Kimmi provided cover.

As Müller closed in, Tang Ye had no choice but to pass to Wu Xi.

Germany’s tactic was brutal—even when Tang Ye wasn’t in possession, Gretzka immediately abandoned marking him to harass Wu Xi.

They refused to let China advance the ball into the front third!

“Hey!”

Tang Ye called out to draw Wu Xi’s attention, then pointed to Wu Lei cutting inside.

Hss…

Wu Xi was on high alert.

A pass from this distance wasn’t guaranteed to succeed.

Screw it—let’s go for it!

In a sudden flash, Wu Xi felt his mind become crystal clear.

Seizing the moment, he launched a bold pass.

It was a low, long ball that shot past Gretzka.

Perfectly delivered to Wu Lei!

Beautiful!

As planned, Tang Ye surged forward to receive Wu Lei’s pass.

Swish! Swish!

He executed a perfect nutmeg, leaving Lü Dige stumbling, and moved closer to the penalty area.

Lü Dige pulled Tang Ye from behind.

“Fuck!”

Knowing he couldn’t muscle through, Tang Ye quickly passed to Ai Kesen.

Ai Kesen shielded the ball with his back, unable to turn, yet spotted Tang Ye lying on the grass, hand outstretched for the ball.

“…”

Not sure what the captain was thinking, but Ai Kesen still made the pass.

Tang Ye lay on the ground, thrusting his toes upward sharply, sending the ball straight to Wei Shihao as he cut inside the penalty area.

「Oh!!!!!!」

Wei Shihao was slightly off-balance, but he still managed to control the ball.

Thud!

He shot, but the ball went straight into Neuer’s arms.

「Damn!!!」

Ah, Wei Shihao!

「Too slow to react.」

「Yeah, he probably didn’t expect a teammate to play a through pass like that—Wei Shihao should’ve gotten into the penalty area sooner.」

It’s truly unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done.

Under such circumstances, only Dembélé on the entire planet could’ve reacted to Tang Ye’s bizarre through pass.

「Huh…」

Tang Ye took a deep breath and could clearly hear his own heartbeat.

……

Dongqiu Di Live Match Report: Tang Ye delivers an extreme through pass; Wei Shihao shoots into Neuer’s arms.

Dongqiu Di Live Match Report: Messi perfectly controls the ball in the penalty area and fires a diagonal shot; Argentina leads Wales 2-0.