Chapter 884: Target: Lead at Half-Time!

「Leo!」

「Leo!」

Leaving Leo out of Portugal’s starting XI was a baffling move by Santos—even some Portuguese fans in the stadium were frustrated.

They’re facing a dark horse team that has just beaten Argentina and Spain—don’t mess this up!

The camera cuts to Santos.

The Portuguese coach is indeed old, but he’s certainly not lost his ability to think independently.

「I think Santos must have some strategy in mind.」

「Yeah, maybe he wants to use Leo as a surprise substitute?」

「I don’t agree with this approach—if Leo is coming on in the second half, China can use the first half to build momentum.」

As the commentator described, after receiving Portugal’s starting lineup before the match, Escrivá was first stunned, then immediately adjusted his team’s tactics on the fly.

Making last-minute tactical changes is a radical move, especially in a mega-event like the World Cup—it takes immense courage to make such a decision.

But who is Escrivá?

This is the Saint Escrivá!

By now, in the final match of this World Cup, Escrivá has taken countless risks—he can afford one more.

The opponent is Portugal, but China must attack fiercely in the first half!

「Go go go!」

Tang Ye spun past Ruben Neves, received a pass from Wang Shenchao, then launched a long ball straight to Wei Shihao.

Wei Shihao!

「Oh shit!」

Another mistake—Wei Shihao let the ball slip through his legs.

「Oh!!!!!!」

Seeing this, Bernardo Silva suddenly changed direction and charged toward the ball.

Wei Shihao was chasing too, but from the overhead view, their positions weren’t far apart—yet Bernardo Silva clearly handled the physical challenge better.

Thud!

Bernardo Silva kicked the ball back to Dalot.

Wei Shihao, furious, shoved Bernardo Silva to the ground.

「Bleep!」

Yellow card: Wei Shihao (CHN).

「Wei Shihao, this… shouldn’t have happened!」

「You lost the ball, fine—but why do that?」

「Damn, Wei Shihao’s mindset is a huge problem.」

Less than five minutes into the match, Wei Shihao got a yellow card—Tang Ye grew tense and immediately shouted to him: 「Calm down! Take it steady! Don’t play like this!」

Wei Shihao said nothing, just raised a hand toward Tang Ye’s direction.

「Come on come on!」

「Wei Shihao, stay calm! We can play!」

「China is awesome!」

「…」

Wei Shihao’s early mistake left China struggling for the first ten minutes—especially on the left flank, where they found no good attacking chances.

Tang Ye was trying to operate, but tightly marked by Otavio and Ruben Neves—he had little space unless teammates provided support.

「Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning, swap positions!」

「Wu Lei, find Tang Ye!」

「Pass to Wei Shihao! Beautiful—China’s passing is rock-solid!」

「There’s still a chance to score before halftime!」

Receiving a pass from his teammate, Wei Shihao this time didn’t rush—he feinted toward the penalty area, waiting for Zhang Xizhe and Tang Ye to make runs.

Zhang Xizhe surged forward to draw defenders away from Tang Ye.

【Protected: Wei Shihao】

【Vision: 58→68】

Opportunity!

Seeing a clear passing lane between himself and Tang Ye, Wei Shihao seized it.

Thud!

The pass fired out—delivered to Tang Ye!

China’s captain reacted instantly: as soon as he received the ball, he shifted his weight upward, then executed a smooth turn.

Sensing Tang Ye’s intent to shoot, Wu Lei quickly cleared out of the way.

Tang Ye!

Thud!

He shot—Diogo Costa leapt instantly.

「Holy shit!」

「Costa!」

「What a crucial save!」

It looked lucky, but Costa truly blocked Tang Ye’s point-blank shot.

「Vamos!」

Pepe pulled Costa up from the ground, grabbing his ear and shouting—clearly ecstatic.

「Don’t play like that!」

「Our defense can’t afford mistakes.」

Ronaldo was frantic too, urgently communicating with his teammates, issuing commands.

As Portugal’s captain and Tang Ye’s former club teammate, Ronaldo knew: if China could pass to Tang Ye outside the box once, they’d do it again.

And it would be Tang Ye shooting again.

Could Costa keep his luck?

「Stay alert!」

Ronaldo pressed his hands down, emphasizing to his teammates.

「Otavio, hold, perfect!」

「To Felix!」

「Felix to Ronaldo!」

Ronaldo dribbled a few steps in the center, then delivered a low, curling through-ball—Bernardo Silva easily collected it as he surged up the right flank.

「Wow!!!!!!」

That pass was stunning—felt like Tang Ye had taken over his body.

Bernardo Silva cut inside; Wang Shenchao and Jiang Guangtai prepared to defend.

He passed back to Dalot, then suddenly darted into the box.

Dalot scanned the field, then launched a long pass to Otavio on the left.

Boom!

Otavio blasted a shot high into the stands.

「Hey!」

Bernardo Silva shrugged at Otavio: 「I was open! Why didn’t you pass?」

「Damn!」

He threw his arms up, angry, then muttered: 「Such a great chance!」

DQZ Real-Time Report: 25th minute, Bernardo Silva’s corner found Ronaldo, whose header lacked power—Wang Dalei collected it easily.

Three minutes after Ronaldo’s header, Bernardo Silva struck a direct free kick into China’s wall—China immediately launched a counterattack.

「Oh!!!」

「Faster faster! Pass right! Right! Not left!」

Escrivá sprinted along the sideline as if he were part of the counterattack himself.

「Look at TY!」

Ronaldo, the veteran, immediately signaled his teammates to mark Tang Ye tightly.

Just as Tang Ye prepared to pass, he noticed a defender closing in—he had no choice but to pass to Wu Xi.

Wu Xi played smartly: he didn’t stop the ball, but gently flicked a through-pass ahead of Tang Ye, acting like a long pass setup.

Tang Ye arrived in time and, right in front of Ruben Neves, delivered the long pass.

「Wow!!!」

「Wu Lei!」

「Wu Lei’s control!」

「Success!」

Fans and commentators exhaled in relief—Wu Lei now had the ball and began advancing.

His movements were slightly stiff; by the time Wu Lei approached the penalty area, Ruben Dias and Pepe, the two center-backs, were already in position, so this wasn’t a true one-on-one break.

“No chance now…”

“Wu Lei’s speed could’ve been faster.”

“Yes.”

“Hey, he passed back!”

Pretending to continue toward the penalty area, Wu Lei instead found the opening and delivered a reverse triangle pass.

Zhang Yuning received the ball.

“Press him!”

Pepe has moved up!

Zhang Yuning was nervous, but he heard Tang Ye’s voice coming from behind.

Pass back!

Seeing Zhang Yuning pass, Pepe immediately shifted his focus and charged toward Tang Ye.

Tang Ye and Pepe ran toward each other, but Tang Ye’s position was slightly better.

!

“Here!”

Wang Shenchao, sprinting 80 meters, was already ready on the left baseline—a perfect passing and receiving point!