Chapter 855: China Has Top-Tier Players, But We Germans Have Steel

Live match report: Sule scores with a header, Wang Wang Shenchao fails in a last-ditch clearance, Germany 2:0 China.

Whenever a goal is scored, the live match report usually ends with an exclamation mark, but this time it ended with a period.

This is because Dongqiu Di has a clear bias toward the Chinese team, and currently the national football team is facing a very serious problem—they are already down by two goals.

"ROAR—!!!!"

The German players huddled together near the corner flag; Kimmich jumped directly onto Sule's back from behind, wrapping his muscular right arm around Sule's neck as if performing a rear-naked choke.

"WOW!!!!"

【We're screwed, damn it】

【Is Germany really going to secure qualification? Damn it, I said early on not to start Wang Wang Dalei; Yan Yan Junling is definitely better than Wang Wang Dalei.】

【Here we go again, blaming the goalkeeper as soon as we fall behind; even if Yan Yan Junling came, he might not have saved that either. Some people on Dongqiu Di really impress me—they criticize everyone except Tang Ye, acting as if they are so formidable.】

【They're panicking, they're panicking. I feel like Flick is about to start padding the goal difference.】

If this trend continues, Group C will end up with three teams each having six points.

Germany started relatively late; if they want to secure a spot in the knockout stage, they must obtain as large a goal difference as possible in today's match, so unsurprisingly, Germany will continue to intensify their offensive pressure.

This puts China in a difficult position; if Germany uses the Chinese national team to pad their goal difference, then China's own goal difference will relatively decrease.

Before today's match began, China's goal difference was +4; now it has dropped to only +2!

"Focus!"

Tang Ye didn't know what else to say; he pointed at his own temple toward Wang Wang Dalei, then flung both hands upward, hoping his teammates would step up: "Hold steady!"

The first half resumed; Tang Ye's entire face was flushed, and his whole body was drenched in sweat.

He was truly extremely nervous right now.

Since his teammates were not in good form, he could only step up himself.

In the previous match against Wales, he had set a record for the greatest distance covered by a player in the group stage; today, he could only push himself even harder.

Otherwise, if things continued like this, they wouldn't even be able to participate in the knockout stage!

"..."

"Tang Ye, excellent, that defensive play was incredibly detailed!"

"Mm, let's look at the left flank; Tang Ye, find Wei Wei Shihao!"

"..."

"Beep, beep-beep—!!!"

"The referee didn't allow the attack to continue..."

The commentators and fans still felt reluctant, but the first half had indeed ended, with Germany entering halftime holding a 2:0 advantage.

Judging from the expressions on Muller's and Musiala's faces, the German players' current mental state was quite good.

The first halves of the neighboring matches between Argentina and Wales had ended one minute ago, with the score also being 2:0.

Looking at it this way, Germany's task remains rather arduous...

"If we want to enter the qualification zone, we need to score two more goals against them in the second half!"

Flick shouted at his players: "Argentina is also currently leading Wales by two goals, so we must expand our lead."

"More goal difference! More!"

"4:0! At least 4:0! Only then can we enter the qualification zone!"

Taking a deep breath, Flick looked at the silent German players: "I know the current score excites you; 2:0 against China, oh, we have avenged our past shame."

"But have we truly avenged our past shame?"

"True vengeance means defeating China while simultaneously qualifying for the World Cup knockout stage!"

Flick held up one finger on his right hand: "Both are indispensable!"

Writing a 4:0 on the tactical board, Flick paced back and forth in the center of the locker room, occasionally glaring at a seated player.

"In the second half, China will definitely strengthen their offense; TY will switch to defensive midfielder."

"Yes, China has top-tier players, worth 300 million euros, but that doesn't matter."

"Our players possess a will of steel! Our will can bridge the gap in player ability!"

"Now, let's leave the locker room, score two more goals in the second half, and then go play in the knockout stage!!!"

"WOW!!!!"

China possesses a powerful TY; at only 23 years old, he is already a four-time Ballon d'Or winner.

But it doesn't matter!

The German war machine relies not only on player ability but also on willpower.

Their willpower is superior to China's, and this will be the breakthrough point in the second half.

"Let's go."

Neuer grabbed Musiala's hand, then his eyes lit up as if suddenly realizing something: "Hiss... You weren't there during the Russia match, right?"

"Mm."

"It's fine, it's all the same."

Neuer shook his head: "Anyway, you know about that incident, Jamal (Musiala); together, we will take everything back."

"Let's go!!!"

"China Central Television! Welcome back, dear viewers..."

"The match has resumed; currently, Germany holds a 2:0 advantage, but if the match ends with this score, Germany will still finish third in Group C and fail to enter the qualification zone."

"Yes, they still need more goals, but in the second half, China will definitely focus primarily on defense. Mm, seeking stability."

"Focusing on defense is correct, but the problem is, as we have seen, with Jiang Guangtai absent, China's defensive line indeed has many visibly obvious issues."

"Go, go!"

"National Team, you're awesome!"

"Hold on, hold on!"

On the Check Dongqiu Di homepage, a relentless stream of bullet comments cheering for the Chinese team scrolled by.

However...

It was not until around the 55th minute that many fans realized the Chinese team in the second half was not playing defensively as fans and commentators had predicted.

After Zhang Zhang Yuning substituted Ai Ai Kesen, the Chinese team even increased their offensive frequency.

The camera cut to Escrivá; the Spanish head coach wore a worried expression.

Everyone knew the Chinese team should be playing defensively next, but as a professional football coach, he could see many things ordinary fans could not.

To protect the goal difference, they should play defensively?

On the surface, this statement seems correct, but you must also consider the actual situation.

The Chinese team's defense had significant problems, a situation that became even more severe with Jiang Guangtai absent.

Therefore, what the National Team truly needed to do was indeed strengthen their defense; it was just that their method of strengthening it was rather unusual.

For the National Team, the primary objective of strengthening defense was first to establish an attack, allowing Tang Ye to distribute freely in the front field.

Find a way to control possession first, then worry about everything else!

The strategy was clear, but the Chinese team now faced a problem: Germany was extremely unwilling to let China achieve their desired "swaying left and right" effect.

To deal with this problem, Escrivá also made a very bold decision.

"Here!"

Wang Wang Shenchao called out.

Tang Ye glanced back, spotted his teammate's positioning, and immediately ran toward Wei Wei Shihao.

Wei Wei Shihao's back-pass rolled over; without turning his head, Tang Ye flicked the ball directly back to Wang Wang Shenchao behind him.

A very accurate pass!

"Press up!"

Flick was urging Musiala and Müller to press, but Wang Wang Shenchao's position was relatively deep, giving him plenty of room to think.

Slap!

A long pass went straight to Zhang Zhang Linpeng making a run up the right flank!

Lift the leg to trap the ball!

Zhang Zhang Linpeng passed the ball to Kimmich!

"Oh!"

It was a bit messy, but seeing this, Tang Ye immediately gave Zhang Zhang Linpeng a thumbs-up.

"It's fine, it's fine, as long as we can get it out!"

"We can do it, we can get it out!"

On the surface it looked like a failure, but this sequence of play proved the feasibility of the Chinese team's strategy, making the next steps much easier to handle.

Merely five minutes later, the National Team found another opportunity; again, Tang Ye passed back to Wang Wang Shenchao, who then sent a pass to the right flank.

This time, the player trapping the ball was the substitute Gao Gao Zhunyi.

He successfully trapped the ball, then immediately played a quick through-ball straight to Wu Lei near the baseline.

"Beautiful!"

Teammates on the left flank and in the center were both making forward runs!

"Wu Lei, hey, that's right, don't rush; what Wu Lei needs to do now is first control the ball."

"Don't give Raum a chance to steal the ball."

"Pass to Zhang Zhang Yuning first!"

"Back to Zhu Zhu Chenjie here."

"Zhu Zhu Chenjie finds Wei Wei Shihao again!"

"Oh! Nice!"

A continuous series of medium-range passes and receptions played with surprising smoothness, giving fans watching from a god's-eye view an extremely unfamiliar sensation.