Chapter 900: Goodwin, Don't Save Me

June 21.

Dalian Suoyuwan Stadium.

【Asian Cup Round of 16: China vs Australia】

"Wei Wei Shihao! Hmm, what a pity."

"However, the Chinese team still holds a significant overall advantage."

"Holding a 2:0 lead, as long as Australia fails to score in the remaining 30 minutes, the Chinese team will advance directly to the quarterfinals. And due to the bracket arrangement, as long as the Chinese team wins, they will become the first squad to reach the quarterfinals."

As the host nation, the Chinese team's performance in this Asian Cup has been exceptionally dominant; so far, they have drawn only one match against Uzbekistan, winning all others, a momentum that has continued right up to today's Round of 16 clash against Australia.

And today, the Chinese team will defeat Australia, extending their winning streak!

【Here they come! Warm-ups have begun】

【Holy crap, is this the Goodwin you guys were talking about? I just checked, his market value is only a million euros; is it appropriate for you all to hype him up as a 'Mr. Hundred Million'?】

【Sit down!】

【Goodwin, this time you really must not mess around! This match is crucial for us!】

"A substitution for Australia."

"Goodwin comes on as a substitute, replacing Fornaroli!"

"Hmm, this substitution by Australia likely means they are, ahem, likely preparing to make a final desperate gamble!"

The fans could sense the commentator struggling to hold back laughter.

Goodwin is indeed very strong, but his gambling-related attributes are contraband on CCTV-5.

"Goodman, don't save me!"

"Goodwin, get off!"

The live fans at Suoyuwan seemed to be getting slightly anxious.

Goodwin is a star player for Australia, often scoring crucial goals in the final moments of matches, thereby saving some fans who were already on the verge of jumping off rooftops.

But!

Today, Goodwin's opponent is the Chinese team!

When playing against the Chinese team, you absolutely must not create any miracles!

"Let's go!"

Goodwin handed a note to Baccus, then focused intently on Tang Ye before him, appearing ready to accept the challenge.

Australia's performance in this Asian Cup hasn't been too bad, but since this year China is the host, trying to overcome the home team still presents some difficulty.

"Liu Yang, very fast pace, pushing forward!"

"Although already leading by two goals, we see the Chinese team has no intention whatsoever of reducing their attacking intensity!"

"They don't want to give the opponent any chance!"

Dribbling straight for several dozen meters, Liu Yang immediately passed toward the center once he found an opening.

The one receiving the ball is Zhang Zhang Xizhe!

Zhang Zhang Xizhe controlled the ball and looked for Tang Ye's position, but currently, the Chinese team captain was surrounded by defending players, making a pass completely impossible.

Hmm, a familiar feeling!

"Pass it to me!"

Wei Wei Shihao raised his hand calling for the ball; Zhang Zhang Xizhe thought for a moment and chose to pass back.

Pa!

Possession came to Gao Gao Tianyi's feet!

Lift the ball!

Gao Gao Tianyi attempted to chip the ball into the penalty area, but Zhang Zhang Yuning inside the box failed to win the header, and ultimately Australia completed the clearance.

"Damn, pass it to me!"

Wei Wei Shihao and Zhang Zhang Xizhe threw up their hands: "I was calling for the ball, you didn't pass to me; my position was so good."

"My fault, my fault."

Zhang Zhang Xizhe raised his hand to signal, and soon Escribá's voice came from the sidelines.

"Slow down, slow down! Don't rush! Let's take it slowly!"

The Chinese team's head coach made a pressing-down motion with both hands, appearing already drenched in sweat.

Escribá always gives people the impression that he is even more nervous than the players on the field...

"China!"

"Let's go!"

"China!"

"Let's go!"

"Long live China!"

In the first tier of the stands, a shirtless uncle from Northeast China had "China Must Win" tattooed on his chest and "Serve the Country with Supreme Loyalty" on his back.

He appeared to be over 70 years old, yet this uncle was still full of passion.

"Dai Wai Tsun..."

"The corner kick is taken!"

"Tang Ye, at the near post!"

"A direct sweep of the foot!"

"Goal!"

"Goal!"

"Tang Ye scores!"

"3:0!"

With nearly 80 minutes played in the second half, Tang Ye completed his brace of the match.

"Haha!"

Jogging a few steps along the baseline, Tang Ye high-fived Dai Dai Weijun, who had provided the assist: "Awesome, awesome."

"Tang Ye, this is a dimensionality reduction strike."

"Haha. A dimensionality reduction strike is exactly right; we said that for a player like Tang Ye, the Asian Cup must be a dimensionality reduction strike."

In the group stage match against Syria, Tang Ye scored only one goal; after the game, he was ruthlessly rated 6.0 on Hupu, ranking last on the entire team.

Even though you are the match MVP, Chinese football fans don't care about that.

You are GG Bao; scoring fewer than two goals per match in the Asian Cup means you were slacking off!

Slacking off deserves nothing more than a passing grade of 6.0!

"Souttar's long pass was a bit off target."

"But Zhang Zhang Linpeng made a mistake!"

"Eh!"

"To Goodwin!"

"Goodwin!"

"Goal by Goodwin!"

"3:1!"

"Australia has scored!"

"..."

After Goodwin scored, Tang Ye gave him a thumbs-up from afar, a gesture that struck the Australian players as somewhat strange.

But a few minutes later, they understood the meaning behind Tang Ye's thumbs-up.

"Oh!!!"

"Damn, that's awesome!"

"Awesome, Tang Ye!"

With a Cruyff turn near the baseline, Tang Ye held off Beich's body and cut inside.

The ball repeatedly pressed against the line, yet Tang Ye controlled it so perfectly that it hovered on the line again and again without going out.

Defenders in the penalty area stood ready; Tang Ye feinted a sudden stop, then reversed hand to unleash a point-blank rocket.

Boom!

4:1!

"..."

Mathew Ryan stood on the goal line.

He now finally understood the meaning of Tang Ye's thumbs-up.