[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back":3,"chapter-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-884":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Football: At 16, Let Me Retire and Come Back?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2300854,4499,"Chapter 884: Target: Lead at Half-Time!","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-884",884,"\u003Cp>「Leo!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Leo!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving Leo out of Portugal’s starting XI was a baffling move by Santos—even some Portuguese fans in the stadium were frustrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’re facing a dark horse team that has just beaten Argentina and Spain—don’t mess this up!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The camera cuts to Santos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Portuguese coach is indeed old, but he’s certainly not lost his ability to think independently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「I think Santos must have some strategy in mind.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Yeah, maybe he wants to use Leo as a surprise substitute?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「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.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But who is Escrivá?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the Saint Escrivá!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, in the final match of this World Cup, Escrivá has taken countless risks—he can afford one more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The opponent is Portugal, but China must attack fiercely in the first half!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Go go go!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye spun past Ruben Neves, received a pass from Wang Shenchao, then launched a long ball straight to Wei Shihao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Shihao!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Oh shit!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another mistake—Wei Shihao let the ball slip through his legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Oh!!!!!!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Bernardo Silva suddenly changed direction and charged toward the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernardo Silva kicked the ball back to Dalot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Shihao, furious, shoved Bernardo Silva to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Bleep!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yellow card: Wei Shihao (CHN).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wei Shihao, this… shouldn’t have happened!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「You lost the ball, fine—but why do that?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Damn, Wei Shihao’s mindset is a huge problem.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Shihao said nothing, just raised a hand toward Tang Ye’s direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Come on come on!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wei Shihao, stay calm! We can play!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「China is awesome!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「…」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye was trying to operate, but tightly marked by Otavio and Ruben Neves—he had little space unless teammates provided support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wu Lei and Zhang Yuning, swap positions!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wu Lei, find Tang Ye!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Pass to Wei Shihao! Beautiful—China’s passing is rock-solid!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「There’s still a chance to score before halftime!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xizhe surged forward to draw defenders away from Tang Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Protected: Wei Shihao】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Vision: 58→68】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Opportunity!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing a clear passing lane between himself and Tang Ye, Wei Shihao seized it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pass fired out—delivered to Tang Ye!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>China’s captain reacted instantly: as soon as he received the ball, he shifted his weight upward, then executed a smooth turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing Tang Ye’s intent to shoot, Wu Lei quickly cleared out of the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shot—Diogo Costa leapt instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Holy shit!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Costa!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「What a crucial save!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked lucky, but Costa truly blocked Tang Ye’s point-blank shot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Vamos!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pepe pulled Costa up from the ground, grabbing his ear and shouting—clearly ecstatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Don’t play like that!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Our defense can’t afford mistakes.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronaldo was frantic too, urgently communicating with his teammates, issuing commands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it would be Tang Ye shooting again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could Costa keep his luck?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Stay alert!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronaldo pressed his hands down, emphasizing to his teammates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Otavio, hold, perfect!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「To Felix!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Felix to Ronaldo!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wow!!!!!!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That pass was stunning—felt like Tang Ye had taken over his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernardo Silva cut inside; Wang Shenchao and Jiang Guangtai prepared to defend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He passed back to Dalot, then suddenly darted into the box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dalot scanned the field, then launched a long pass to Otavio on the left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boom!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otavio blasted a shot high into the stands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Hey!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernardo Silva shrugged at Otavio: 「I was open! Why didn’t you pass?」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Damn!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He threw his arms up, angry, then muttered: 「Such a great chance!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>DQZ Real-Time Report: 25th minute, Bernardo Silva’s corner found Ronaldo, whose header lacked power—Wang Dalei collected it easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three minutes after Ronaldo’s header, Bernardo Silva struck a direct free kick into China’s wall—China immediately launched a counterattack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Oh!!!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Faster faster! Pass right! Right! Not left!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escrivá sprinted along the sideline as if he were part of the counterattack himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Look at TY!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ronaldo, the veteran, immediately signaled his teammates to mark Tang Ye tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Tang Ye prepared to pass, he noticed a defender closing in—he had no choice but to pass to Wu Xi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye arrived in time and, right in front of Ruben Neves, delivered the long pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wow!!!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wu Lei!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Wu Lei’s control!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「Success!」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fans and commentators exhaled in relief—Wu Lei now had the ball and began advancing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No chance now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wu Lei’s speed could’ve been faster.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, he passed back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pretending to continue toward the penalty area, Wu Lei instead found the opening and delivered a reverse triangle pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuning received the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Press him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pepe has moved up!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Yuning was nervous, but he heard Tang Ye’s voice coming from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pass back!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhang Yuning pass, Pepe immediately shifted his focus and charged toward Tang Ye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye and Pepe ran toward each other, but Tang Ye’s position was slightly better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shenchao, sprinting 80 meters, was already ready on the left baseline—a perfect passing and receiving point!\u003C\u002Fp>",1067,"2026-06-20T06:50:12.695Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6693bdb4723d3f8aa2a06815a5b97b6c2ae1faf5bcd6b48ccf4d8d5ad19c92d3","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-885","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-883",918,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffootball-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-cover.jpg"]