[{"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-887":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},2300857,4499,"Chapter 887: Asia","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-887",887,"\u003Cp>The match is over!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The match is over!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>4:3! After 93 minutes of play, China defeated Portugal 4:3, winning their first-ever third-place playoff in team history! This means China becomes the first Asian team ever to win a World Cup bronze medal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let’s congratulate the Chinese team!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the whistle blew, the Chinese substitutes sprinted onto the pitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escrivá finally stood up too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vamos!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vamos!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese players rushed out from both sides; Escrivá and Ma Di collided: “We won, we won, haha, vamos!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We won! Vamos!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, Feran, calm down, Feran!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Di, slightly hurt by Escrivá’s embrace, shoved him away hard: “I know, I know we won.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vamos!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Ma Di could finish speaking, Escrivá shouted again, right into the assistant coach’s ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay okay, I got it! But—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next time, can you please not kneel on the pitch? It’s so embarrassing for me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What am I supposed to do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, we won!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether because of the noise or not, Escrivá seemed to have completely missed Ma Di’s complaint, and let out another “Vamos!” before finally running off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Di flung his arms out: “Then kneel by yourself—it’s none of my business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Escrivá about to join the players, worried he’d be left out of the celebration, Ma Di sprinted after him: “Hey, wait up! Damn it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dongqi Di top post: 4:3! Wu Lei scores a last-minute rocket to seal the win—China defeats Portugal in the third-place playoff to claim third place at the Qatar World Cup!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Incredible!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[6666]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[This is history being made! Honestly, I’ve had a feeling China could beat Portugal for a while.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Fun fact: This World Cup, China only lost to France. I wonder if France would’ve won so easily without Dembélé?]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Medal! Medal! Shut up, haters!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chinese players were sprinting across the pitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their running postures were perfectly uniform—all arms fully extended, as if this was the only way to release the emotion of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Xiaoting and Wu Xi were already crying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two were veteran players of the Chinese team, and likely playing in their final World Cup.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They seized their one and only chance to win a World Cup medal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, Cristiano Ronaldo looked devastated. In the footage, his cheeks were visibly bulging—likely from clenching his teeth tightly. His eyes were red too; though no tears fell, his expression clearly revealed the pain the Portuguese captain was enduring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bruno Fernandes stood with hands on hips, staring blankly at the staff setting up the podium in the center of the pitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye noticed this and walked toward Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bruno showed no expression, but Cristiano seemed to notice Tang Ye approaching—he quickly pretended not to see him and turned toward the players’ tunnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye sighed. Cristiano’s competitive drive was absurdly intense; after a loss, he became utterly resistant to everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Bruno.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye embraced Bruno Fernandes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Congratulations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bruno patted Tang Ye’s back: “You played well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two stood face to face, suddenly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...I’m heading back to Carrington. Uh, congratulations to you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bruno and Tang Ye embraced again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See you at Carrington!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the only appropriate thing Tang Ye could think of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[FIFA World Cup Qatar]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[2022]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Third Place: China]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye embraced Escrivá, then stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escrivá spread his hands; Tang Ye pointed to the steps of the podium: “You first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, okay okay, thanks!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escrivá bowed slightly to Tang Ye in jest, then walked toward the podium, with Tang Ye following closely behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>FIFA President Infantino had already been waiting on the podium, ready to place the medals around the necks of the Chinese players as they ascended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“China Central Television! Dear viewers, you are now watching the third-place medal ceremony of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. After more than 90 minutes of intense battle, China defeated Portugal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What a truly spectacular match.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, China nearly didn’t make it—Portugal didn’t play badly at all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, but we’re the ones standing at the end.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s congratulate China!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[6666]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[666666]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[I have a feeling, guys, Tang the Ball King will appear on next week’s monthly exam—I bet he’ll be on next year’s Gaokao physics paper too, force analysis!]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The screen was flooded with “666” and “Incredible!”—over twenty Chinese players and the coaching staff had all found their positions on the podium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Lei gripped his medal in one hand and shouted Tang Ye’s name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn it, don’t zone out now! Say ‘3, 2, 1!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh right, haha. I got it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang Ye shook himself, then stood in the center of the front row with Feng Xiaoting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“3!”\u003C\u002Fp>",779,"2026-06-20T06:50:12.695Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","910b1fc095d3a7d17a4b304913594bd7fc75bdd59c7f203787474ddd6fc7bc53","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-888","football-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-chapter-886",918,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffootball-at-16-let-me-retire-and-come-back-cover.jpg"]