Chapter 875: When the Opportunity Truly Arrives, We Must Seize It

The playing field at Gulf Stadium has already been occupied by Chinese fans.

On screen, Tang Ye is repeatedly tossed into the air.

As captain of the Chinese national team and MVP of this match, Tang Ye is being thrown up again and again by the fans.

The Ball King brought victory to the fans; the fans lift the Ball King high!

"Friends watching on television, without a doubt, what you are witnessing now is a historic moment for Chinese football. It is not only history for Chinese football, but also for Asian football. As you can see, China is the second Asian team to reach the World Cup semifinals, following South Korea in 2002."

Although South Korea created this history first, setting aside the timeline and looking solely at performance, the national team's display was significantly superior to South Korea's.

Up to this point, the Chinese team has not suffered a single defeat in the Qatar World Cup.

【Witnessing history!】

【Tang Ye: Declare war on Germany! Declare war on Spain! Declare war on the Netherlands!】

【Yes, you're right, but this is GGBond. Asking how to buy shares of Bubble Bond; is it too late for me to buy now...】

"..."

Nearly half an hour had passed since the match ended; Tang Ye leaned against the wall of the player tunnel, wiping his eyes with his hand.

"Tang Ye?"

Zhang Zhang Yuning walked over, noticed Tang Ye's condition, and actively approached him: "You... you're not crying, are you?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Tang Ye rubbed his eyes, turned his head away, then turned back: "Hiss... winning was truly not easy. Phew, damn."

"Haha!"

Zhang Zhang Yuning placed his hand on Tang Ye's shoulder: "You're right. What I mean is, what you said at halftime was right."

"Hmm? What are you referring to?"

"You said we could win." Zhang Zhang Yuning looked into Tang Ye's eyes: "We indeed won."

"Damn, haha!"

"Let's go back (to the locker room), hurry up."

Click-click!

"I didn't imagine it, my teammates didn't imagine it, and our opponents certainly couldn't have imagined it either. This match was a miracle for us. I won't say our hard strength is better than the Netherlands', but we are indeed the side that advanced. At least judging by today's performance, we did better than them, so we can move forward."

Tang Ye spoke at length during the interview.

The reporter was preparing to ask another question when suddenly a Chinese song began playing over the stadium speakers.

"A thousand years I wait for this return~ Wait for this return ah ah~~"

"A thousand years I wait for this return~ I have no regrets ah ah~~"

"Who is it by my ear~ saying, love me never changing~~"

"..."

The foreign reporters were slightly caught off guard, but the Chinese reporters and Chinese players on the field all laughed.

On screen, Tang Ye raised both hands, looking utterly innocent: "Who the hell queued up this song? Can someone switch it?"

"Boo!!!!"

Over twenty thousand national team fans in the stands responded to Tang Ye with boos.

"No switching!"

"A thousand years we wait for this return, Tang Tang Qiuwang!"

"Tang Tang Qiuwang, do you know how bitterly we've waited? I've been waiting for a World Cup semifinal since the Song Dynasty!"

"..."

"The water of West Lake, my tears~~~"

"I'd rather turn into a ball of flame with you~~"

"Ah ah ah ah, ah~"

Tang Ye was speechless; he spread his hands and gave the fans a thumbs-up.

"A Thousand Years I Wait for This Return" was a moment of self-mockery for the national team's fans.

As a representative of the new generation of players, Tang Ye naturally did not agree with those lyrics.

But since the song was already playing in the stadium, it was no longer something Tang Ye could control.

While the fans continued chanting, Tang Ye focused on accepting the interview: "Hmm, I think the Netherlands' open-play football was still very good. As you saw, during regular time and extra time, our pressure was immense, but Denzel Dumfries' red card slightly alleviated that pressure. I believe that was a key turning point."

"As for the miracle I mentioned earlier, that is indeed the case. Because the World Cup only happens once every four years, and up to now I have only participated twice."

"The time span is too long."

Tang Ye made gestures with his hands: "The World Cup isn't the Champions League; the Champions League offers a chance every year, whereas opportunities in the World Cup are far fewer, so..."

"We must be prepared; when the opportunity truly arrives, we must seize it."

The words had just left his mouth, and Tang Ye was about to be moved by his own speech, when suddenly the fans in the stands behind him interrupted his train of thought.

"Well said, Tang Tang Qiuwang, this is truly 'A Thousand Years I Wait for This Return'!"

"I damn well can't live for a thousand years!"

Tang Ye spread his hands, confronting the fans in the stands.

"Boo!!"

"Not being able to live a thousand years is your own problem, Tang Tang Qiuwang; figure out a way to solve it!"

Almost all national team players were giving interviews, whether starters or substitutes; among them, Tang Ye and Wu Lei received the most interviews, with the two of them undergoing six and four interviews respectively.

Transitioning to the press conference room, Tang Ye couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief here, because he no longer needed to hear anything about "A Thousand Years I Wait for This Return."

"So we've advanced, and we did it better than every other team."

!?

Tang Ye froze for a beat, then turned his head to look at Escriva beside him.

"Respected Mr. Ferran, what kind of statement is that?"

"I don't know why you people always have to bring up hard strength. The Netherlands has a better football history than us, their past results are good, but that doesn't prove anything. We won today's match, so our strength is greater than the Netherlands'."

"The Netherlands' history is good — that's history, not the fucking present. We're the winners of the present, and the ones going to the semifinals are us."

Click click click!

Camera shutters kept firing on the scene. Tang Ye pressed his thumb against his nose, wanting to remind Escriva beside him to watch his words, so he stretched his foot over.

But before Tang Ye's foot could step on Escriva's foot, the Spanish coach stood right up.

"Right, we've advanced to the semifinals, and I did do a better job than Lippi. This is the best World Cup result in China's history."

"Before, China's best result was the Round of 16, but now? Now it's the final four — the final four! This is the semifinals!"

"During Lippi's tenure, ty wasn't at his peak."

A reporter rebutted, with the air of someone ready to take Escriva on head-on.

"Right, I know, Marcello (Lippi) also did very well, the Round of 16 is a decent result. I don't mean to belittle him, but comparatively speaking, my results are indeed better than his."

"And Erik, that prick."

At the mention of Ten Hag, Escriva's expression clearly became a bit off.