Almighty Athlete

Chapter 944: Break into the World Cup

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Lin Wei stood awkwardly in front of Zhang Guan. As a professional paparazzi, it was not uncommon for him to be caught. When he was young, Lin Wei was even beaten for this. Ordinarily, he should have practiced it long ago. It was a shameless thing, but now, facing Zhang Guan's gaze, Lin Wei seemed very guilty.

"There are rumors outside that you are injured. It turns out to be false. This is great. The national football team has a chance to qualify and we can enter the World Cup!" Lin Wei said, trying to resolve the awkward atmosphere.

Zhang Guan looked at Lin Wei with a smile, and after a full minute, he said: "Teacher Lin, I also know your reputation in the industry, so I won't beat around the bush with you. I pretended to be hurt, because I wanted to put on a show for the Korean team, but now you’ve broken it, what do you think I should do?”

Lin Wei suddenly had a mournful expression on his face. How could he not know that Zhang Guan deliberately faked injuries to confuse his opponent? Maybe Zhang Guan had many back-ups. If he really revealed such a thing, it would be tantamount to sabotage. Without knowing the tactics of the national team, if the national football team fails to enter the World Cup, then the fans will tear themselves apart if they settle the score later in the year.

"I won't tell you. I will never tell anyone about this matter, not even my own parents!" Lin Wei said immediately.

"This is not enough." Zhang Guan shook his head, and then he said to the assistant beside him: "Go to the doctor and bandage my leg. It will look like it is injured. Lin Wei, do you know what to do?" "

Lin Wei was also a smart man and understood Zhang Guan's intention in an instant. He knew that Zhang Guan was deliberately spreading false news, so he immediately nodded: "Don't worry, when you are ready, I will take the photo right away. You are 'injured' It looks like it will be published in the newspaper this afternoon!"

Zhang Guan nodded with satisfaction and said to himself: "We must give the Korean team some reasons to fight hard!"

The news of Zhang Guan's injury spread to South Korea, and the whole country was in a state of excitement. Originally, everyone thought that the South Korean team had little hope of advancing. Even if it defeated Uzbekistan, it would only finish third in the group and have to play in the play-offs with American teams. When Asian teams meet American teams, there is almost no winning rate to speak of, so third place in the group is just a death sentence that is not executed immediately.

Now, Zhang Guan is suddenly injured and will miss the next game. It will become difficult for the Chinese team to defeat Qatar in the away game. If the Chinese team cannot win, the South Korean team may still be ranked second in the group and directly advance to the World Cup.

"Is the news true? Is Zhang Guan really injured?"

"It's absolutely true. Go check out the major portals in China. Someone has already photographed Zhang Guan's injury, and it was secretly photographed. His knee was bandaged dozens of times. It looks like the injury is very serious. The next game will definitely be Can’t play anymore.”

"Since it was secretly filmed, it must be true. Great, so as long as we defeat Uzbekistan, we can advance directly!"

"Work hard. Even though the last game is an away game, we must work hard. As long as we win this game, we will advance!"

"I want to go to Uzbekistan, and I want to cheer for our players in person!"

The whole of South Korea is as excited as a chicken blood. Many fans have booked tickets to Uzbekistan. They want to go there in person to cheer for the Korean team. The players of the Korean team also seemed to be united. Some old players even said that if they failed to play in Uzbekistan, they would retire to apologize to the people.

September 5th is the last match day for the top 12 of the world preliminaries.

The Chinese team challenged Qatar away from home, and in the list of starting players announced before the game, Zhang Guan's name was not seen, and Zhang Guan's name was placed among the substitute players.

"Zhang Guan is not on the starting list. It seems that Zhang Guan really can't compete."

"But there is still Zhang Guan on the list of substitutes."

"Don't worry about that. I think the Chinese team must have done this to boost morale."

In another venue, the Korean team also learned the news.

"As expected, Zhang Guan is absent due to injury. There is a high probability that the Chinese team will not be able to defeat Qatar. We have hope of advancing!" The morale of the Korean team's players was greatly boosted.

From the beginning of the game, the South Korean team seemed to be going crazy and went to work without saying a word. Even in Uzbekistan's home court, they always took the initiative and suppressed the Uzbekistan team.

In the stands, although there are many fewer Korean fans than Uzbek fans, their momentum is not inferior to the home fans at all. Every Korean fan is shouting crazily. Every time the Korean team wins the ball, they will listen. to their cheers.

At this time, the South Korean team was full of hope. They believed that as long as they defeated Uzbekistan, they would be able to directly advance to the World Cup, so everyone used all their abilities and tried their best for every goal.

Hope can bring endless power to people, just like a person lost in the desert. If you tell him there is an oasis ahead, he will definitely move forward with all his strength. But if he were told that he was in the center of the desert, he would probably give up on survival. The trick used by Cao Cao back then to look at plum blossoms to quench thirst also gave people a sense of hope.

This is the case for the current South Korean team. A few days ago, they felt that the best situation was to play in the play-offs, which was still a situation where they lost more and won less. But now they suddenly have the opportunity to advance directly. This seems to be a life-saving straw. South Korea The team will try their best to catch it. Therefore, the Korean team is extremely crazy and hardworking from top to bottom.

The Korean team's madness and hard work also paid off for them. In the 35th minute of the game, the Korean team's top star Son Heung-min inserted from the wing and helped the Korean team successfully break through Uzbekistan's goal. The South Korean team took a 1-0 lead in the away game.

This score remained until the end of the first half. At this time, at another venue, after halftime, the score between China and Qatar was still 0-0.

Qatar was destined to have no hope of promotion, so the players played relatively relaxedly. As for the Chinese team, due to the absence of Zhang Guan, their performance was relatively conservative, so the first half of the game was tepid, and there was nothing remarkable about it. There was no friction between the two sides.

Zhang Guan appeared on the bench, pretending to be wrapped in gauze, but he had been watching the game between South Korea and Uzbekistan on his mobile phone.

"The Korean team took the bait and thought I couldn't compete, so they fought so hard." Zhang Guan showed a satisfied smile on his face.

Uzbekistan currently has 15 points, while China and South Korea both have 14 points. From the perspective of the Chinese team, we certainly hope that South Korea will win. If they both score 17 points by then, the Chinese team will have an advantage in goal difference and can directly advance to the World Cup. If Uzbekistan wins, the Chinese team will be 1 point behind and will have to play in the play-offs. No Asian team is willing to play in the play-offs with an American team. Of course, if the South Korean team ties with Uzbekistan, it will be a very good situation for the Chinese team.

Considering that Uzbekistan is not weak, and the last game is Uzbekistan's home court, the South Korean team's chances of winning are not very great. On the contrary, Uzbekistan is more likely to win. So Zhang Guan resorted to the trick of faking an injury, which made the Korean team feel that they had the hope of directly qualifying for the World Cup, and they would definitely compete against Uzbekistan in the away game. At the same time, it also makes Uzbekistan less determined to win. After all, if the Chinese team does not win, Uzbekistan can still maintain second place in the group even if it draws.

Things were just as Zhang Guan expected. After the Korean team had to treat Zhang Guan's injury, they really tried their best to fight Uzbekistan to the end, and even took the lead in the away game. Uzbekistan's initial goal was obviously to maintain a tie, but it was somewhat passive.

At the beginning of the second half, Zhang Guan still did not play, but Qatar made several beautiful attacks and successfully broke the Chinese team's goal in the 53rd minute, taking a 1-0 lead.

Falling behind, Zhang Guan decided not to pretend anymore and went straight into battle.

"Zhang Guan, isn't he injured?"

"Could it be that the injury hasn't healed yet? In order to recover the score, let's force the injury to play the game!"

Amidst the worries of the Chinese fans, Zhang Guan directly dribbled the ball all the way to Qatar's penalty area.

Perhaps he was still excited after scoring a goal, or perhaps he was surprised by Zhang Guan’s sudden appearance. Qatar’s defense was obviously not satisfactory this time, and the defensive actions of several players in the backcourt were also a half beat slower than usual. . But the opponent was Zhang Guan, and even a half-beat slower would mean losing points. The same was true for the Qatar team. Zhang Guan broke through into the penalty area and lost a goal.

Qatar's players were stunned. Qatar had just scored the last goal and lost the ball in the blink of an eye.

After losing the ball, Qatar seemed a little impatient and eager to get back the score. As a result, Zhang Guan made another defensive counterattack and conceded a goal. At this time, it was only five minutes since Qatar last lost a point.

After all, Qatar was playing at home. They conceded two goals in five minutes and went from one point ahead to one point behind. They must have lost face and become more anxious mentally. This was also taken advantage of by the Chinese team. Soon after, taking advantage of the emptiness behind the Qatar team, Zhang Guan made a successful raid and scored another goal, turning the score into 3-1. This was already an irreversible reversal for the Qatar team.

The South Korean team is still launching a crazy attack, and the Uzbekistan team is not far behind. After all, this is their home court. If they lose, they will not be able to explain to the home fans. What's more, for Uzbekistan, as long as it defeats South Korea, it will be Definitely finish second in the group and advance directly to the World Cup.

After learning that Zhang Guan was injured, the Uzbeks also had plans to maintain a tie. After all, Uzbekistan has 15 points, one point higher than both China and South Korea. If the Chinese team cannot defeat Qatar, Uzbekistan will maintain a draw. , you can also advance directly.

The Korean team on the opposite side played very hard, but Uzbekistan at home was not a vegetarian. Especially after entering the second half, both sides fought desperately for every ball. The scene was also very stalemate, and the score was evenly divided 1-1.

On the coaching bench, South Korea men's football coach Stillik is also paying attention to the situation in Qatar.

"Qatar scored a goal, leading 1-0? Great! If China loses, we can still play in the play-offs even if we tie with Uzbekistan!" Stillik happily told the players on the bench the news .

However, in less than a minute, Stillik got the news that Zhang Guan was playing.

"Is Zhang Guan playing? Isn't he injured? Is he forced to play through injury? Yes, that must be the case!"

"1 to 1? Zhang Guan scored? He must have just come on the field. Why did he score so quickly? Isn't he injured?"

"What did you say? Zhang Guan scored another goal! The Chinese team went ahead!" Stillik sat down on the chair. At this time, he had realized that Zhang Guan was faking an injury.

"Zhang Guan is deliberately pretending to be injured! I understand, this is to give us a hope and let us go head-to-head with Uzbekistan!"

"3 to 1? The Chinese team leads by two goals? It's over!" Stillik looked at his watch. The game had already gone on for 75 minutes, and it was completely impossible for Qatar to come back.

But Stillik did not tell the players the news. He was worried that the players would be discouraged. He still hoped that the South Korean team would win, so that he could at least get a chance to play in the play-offs.

On the court, the players of the Korean team don't know all this yet. They are still gritting their teeth and launching attacks desperately. However, their physical strength was running low at this time.

Physical strength is indeed not what Asian players are good at. What's more, in the first few dozen minutes of the game, the Korean team has been attacking hard, which consumes their system much more than usual.

Up to this point in the game, both sides are close to running out of energy. Their movements, speed, reactions, and consciousness have all declined to varying degrees, making it more difficult to score goals.

"Is it going to be a draw?" South Korea's top star Son Heung-min looked at the opponent's half, took a big breath, and then comforted himself: "If the Chinese team loses, even if it is a draw, we will not be beaten immediately. Elimination, and the play-offs, we still have a chance!”

However, Uzbekistan learned that the Chinese team was leading. At this time, they were no longer satisfied with a draw. They hoped to win and advance directly, so they launched an offensive.

But they also face the problem of physical exhaustion. At this time, Uzbekistan is more than capable. The remaining physical strength they have is okay if used for defense, but unsatisfactory if used for offense.

The score of 1 to 1 was maintained until the end. The two sides shook hands and made a draw, each scoring one point.

At Qatar's home court, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, and the score was fixed at 4-1.

However, the players of the Chinese team did not celebrate immediately. They returned to the bench first and asked about the result of the match between South Korea and Uzbekistan. When they learned that the other match was a draw, they started to cheer. At the same time , accompanied by crying…

"We advanced, we advanced! We really advanced!"

After 16 years, China finally entered the World Cup again!

For European and American countries, whoever advances in Asia is the same. Anyway, they are all "group tours" and basically cannot enter the knockout rounds. However, for Asian countries, the Chinese team can advance, and there is no doubt that it has set a shocking big goal. satellite.

In the first five games, the Chinese team had 2 draws and 3 losses and was at the bottom of the group. Although there is still a "theoretical" possibility of advancement, everyone knows that it is impossible for the Chinese team to advance.

After the World Cup preliminaries, the Chinese team won five games in a row and advanced with a record of 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. This kind of thing is similar to winning a lottery ticket, and it can be called a miracle.

Zhang Guan was the one who created this miracle, and naturally attracted the most attention. Many professionals began to analyze Zhang Guan's technical characteristics, and later found that Zhang Guan's technical characteristics were very similar to those of Ronaldo, but Zhang Guan's speed was faster than Ronaldo. This combination of technical acceleration , making Zhang Guan enough to become the world's top shooter.

However, many people think that the reason why Zhang Guan appears so powerful is because this is Asia and his opponents are relatively weak. If Zhang Guan was placed in the European League, he would definitely not be as powerful.

This view is recognized by many experts. After all, the four major European leagues bring together the world's top players and top coaches. The top European football clubs are also stronger than the top national teams in the world. If If Zhang Guan is placed in the European League, scoring goals will definitely not be as easy as it is now.

The prospects of the Chinese team in the World Cup are not promising either. After all, the strength of Asian teams is still weak and cannot compare with European and American teams. According to the past situation, Asian teams are more likely to accompany the prince to study.

The grouping of the World Cup is the same as in previous years. The 32 teams are first divided into four tiers. The first tier is the seeded team, and the next three tiers are divided according to region. Basically, Europe is in the first tier, South America and Africa are in the first tier, and North America is in the first tier. and Caribbean and Asian teams are divided into one tier.

This time in the World Cup, the Chinese team was placed in Group E. The seed team in this group was the powerful Brazil team, and the other two teams were Poland in Europe and Nigeria in Africa.

Judging from the grouping situation, this group cannot be said to be a death group, and the situation of two strong and two weak is very obvious. It seems inevitable that Brazil and Poland will appear together, but the Chinese team still cannot escape the fate of being eliminated from the group.

The national team's training ground has long been closed. In order to prevent anyone from sneaking in and disturbing the training, the Football Association even hired a professional security company to patrol the area.

In the training ground, Zhang Guan's clothes were obviously different from others, and his position was also different from others. He was standing in the penalty area and in front of the goal.

If outsiders see it, they will be surprised, because Zhang Guan is no longer a forward, but a goalkeeper!

(End of chapter)