Chapter 860: Little Zhang Zhang Yuning: Zhang Zhang Yuning's Potential Surpasses Mine

The World Cup group stage has concluded, and now the most critical knockout round arrives.

The match between China and Spain will kick off at 3 AM Beijing time on December 4th; the importance of this game to both sides goes without saying.

The Chinese team is fine, after all, reaching the Round of 16 is already the best result in their history; even a heavy defeat against Spain won't invite too much criticism.

Relatively speaking, Spain faces slightly more pressure, since for this traditional European football powerhouse, stopping at the Round of 16 is unacceptable.

#QatarWorldCup #China #ChinaSpain #NationalTeamSpain, related tags have recently completed their domination of social media; especially the terms "China" and "Spain," whenever placed together, are guaranteed to trigger the recommendation algorithms on Douyin and Bilibili.

It is no exaggeration to say that if you simply include the tags "China" and "Spain" when posting something new, even if it's just a random photo, the comment section will have at least 100 people arguing.

Before this World Cup began, Chinese fans never expected their home team to advance to the knockout stage, so naturally, no one could guess who the National Team's Round of 16 opponent would be.

That's right, the National Team's Round of 16 opponent is precisely the birthplace of head coach Escrivá: Spain!

Ranked 5th in the FIFA world rankings!

Qatar, Rayyan.

Boom!

The Qatar Airways charter flight emblazoned with the Chinese national flag landed at the airport.

The group stage has now fully concluded, and the match venues for various teams have changed; the Chinese team's battlefield has shifted from the capital, Doha, to Rayyan.

So, can the Chinese team return to Doha in the upcoming matches?

Theoretically, it is possible, but the triggering condition is quite stringent: advancing to the semi-finals or the final, in which case, needless to say, the match venue will naturally become Lusail Stadium.

The plane taxied along the runway and finally docked beside the jet bridge.

Coincidentally, the plane parked next to the Chinese team's aircraft was Spain's; both planes belonged to Qatar Airways, identical models, with the only difference being the national flags painted on their fuselages.

"Our plane is newer than theirs."

Looking through the window, the meticulous Tang Ye spotted the difference between the two aircraft.

"Haha, what the hell use is that?"

"A newer plane is definitely better."

Tang Ye pushed Zhang Zhang Yuning from behind, chiding his teammate for usually ignoring such small details.

Midfielders and strikers are very different; for a midfielder, everything is about details.

"Really, Brother Ning, you also need to pay attention to details. Only strikers who handle details well in front of the goal are top-tier strikers; look at how Messi handled things in the penalty area during the first round."

Zhang Zhang Yuning threw his hands up: "OK OK, so you mean I should learn from Messi, right?"

"Up to you, either way works."

"It's too late now."

Wu Lei complained, "There are only three days until the knockout match; how can we manage that?"

"No, no, Brother Lei, don't be like that; my Brother Yu's comprehension is definitely beyond what ordinary people can compare to!"

Tang Ye placed his hand on Zhang Zhang Yuning's shoulder and, while walking toward the aircraft door, hyped up his teammate: "What kind of person can score in the match against Wales? That must be me, the world's number one striker!"

"Zhang Yuning Zhang!"

"Damn, so formal!"

Zhang Zhang Yuning put on an act of being overwhelmed by the honor.

"Of course, like I said, my Brother Ning is the world's number one striker, really. You need to build confidence; to play well, you must first be confident. You have to believe you are the most awesome guy on the globe, and then during the match, you really will be awesome."

Tang Ye seemed to want to preach some evil trick to his teammates.

"Am I not confident enough, damn it?"

"Strikers from other countries are all fierce, the kind with ferocious expressions, yet you've got a bun on your head."

"Haha!"

Tang Ye's roast made all the teammates on the plane laugh; Feng Feng Xiaoting took the opportunity to touch the "bun" on top of Zhang Zhang Yuning's head that Tang Ye had mentioned.

"I'm used to this; doesn't Haaland have the same hairstyle as me?"

Feng Feng Xiaoting pushed Zhang Zhang Yuning: "But are you as good as Haaland?"

"Hey, don't say that!"

Tang Ye interrupted the chatting Feng Feng Xiaoting and Zhang Zhang Yuning: "There's a saying; my Brother Ning should be slightly stronger than Haaland. Didn't someone on Check Dongqiu Di say that Haaland is 'Little Zhang Zhang Yuning'?"

"Haha!"

"Starting the hypnosis, are we?"

"Let's go!"

"..."

"Tang Ye!"

"GOAT! Tang Ye, you are the GOAT!"

"Good luck, don't be afraid of the knockout match; it doesn't matter if we lose, just play awesomely!"

Actually, there was no need for the Chinese team players to make a special trip through the terminal hall, but considering the fans' desires, everyone chose to pass through it.

After all, advancing to a knockout round isn't easy; let's enjoy this happy moment with the fans a bit more.

By the time the Round of 16 begins, we likely won't have this kind of atmosphere again.

"China Football News" World Cup Special Column — National Team players have arrived and checked into the hotel in the Round of 16 host city; facing Spain on December 4th, Beijing time.

Xinhua News Agency, December 2nd, Reporter: Liang Xiaosheng: The Chinese National Team held a press conference at local noon to respond to matters concerning CFA President Chen Chen Xuyuan and National Team Manager Li Tie. Additionally, Escrivá stated in an interview that "the match against Spain will absolutely not be easy."

For Escrivá, Spain is absolutely a very special opponent, one could even say the most special among all teams participating in the knockout stage.

"Ferran, from a certain perspective, your understanding of the Spanish National Team is very thorough, because after leaving Villarreal, you once applied for the position of head coach of the Spanish National Team, and furthermore, you were born in Spain and spent half of your coaching career there."

"... Indeed, that is correct. Hmm... I can say I do understand the Spanish team very well; some of their players come from La Liga, all possessing excellent individual abilities. So yes, upon learning that our Round of 16 opponent is Spain, I felt very depressed."

Crack!

"Regarding whether there was a tacit agreement between Japan and Spain, I do not wish to discuss this issue. Our opponent in the Round of 16 will be Spain; this is a result that has already been determined, and this is the challenge we must now face."