The Lebanese players were already under great psychological pressure from Lu Wenbin's ten goalmouth shows before the start of the game. Now that Lu Wenbin scored a goal within 5 minutes of the start of the game, they were even more nervous.
Even though this is their home court, it doesn't give them any confidence.
In the 15th minute, Lu Wenbin created a gap in the penalty area and Hao Junmin, who was dribbling forward, passed the ball to him.
Before Lu Wenbin received the ball, three Lebanese players rushed over to surround him and try to snatch the ball. The goalkeeper also positioned himself with a look of fear on his face, ready to block Lu Wenbin's shot.
This was really like a frightened bird, and he couldn't care about the other players on the Chinese team at all.
But Lu Wenbin will not ignore it.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Zheng Zhi sneaking up from behind, and he secretly smiled at the three Lebanese defenders who were double-teaming him. He didn't stop the ball, nor did he shoot, but instead raised his foot and let the ball slip through between his legs.
The faces of the three Lebanese defenders who had rushed up with all their might to surround and rob Lu Wenbin changed drastically, but they were completely helpless due to the inertia of the full sprint. They could only watch as Lu Wenbin passed the ball to Zheng Zhi who was unguarded in the back row on the right side of the penalty area.
Zheng Zhi originally thought that Lu Wenbin would shoot the ball himself, and he was just preparing to rush into the penalty area to pick up the ball. However, he did not expect that Lu Wenbin would actually pass the ball to him, and he was caught off guard psychologically.
This was the performance when Lu Wenbin just joined the team and had a lack of coordination.
Fortunately, Hao Junmin's passing route just overlapped with Zheng Zhi's running route, there was no defensive player around him, and the goalkeeper was also unprepared.
Zheng Zhi easily pushed the ball into the goal while running.
Although it was not a blind spot, the Lebanese goalkeeper, who was shaken by Lu Wenbin, was slow to react and failed to block Zheng Zhi's shot.
It was a rare occasion for Zheng Zhi to score a goal for the national team, and it was such an easy goal.
There was no one guarding him, and he scored a goal with just a light push.
Last season, Charlton Athletic only scored one goal in the entire Championship League. As a midfielder, Zheng Zhi's goal efficiency was pitifully low.
Therefore, Zheng Zhi was very excited after scoring the goal, and the slight grudge he had against Lu Wenbin becoming the captain of the national team at the age of 19 had long disappeared.
He rushed to Lu Wenbin, hugged Lu Wenbin, and said, "Thank you, this ball leaked well!"
Others also rushed up to celebrate and praise Lu Wenbin for missing the ball.
After Lu Wenbin attracted the attention of most of the opponent's defensive players, the offense of other Chinese teammates became much easier.
In the past, it was extremely difficult for everyone to score a goal, but now it has become so easy.
Zheng Zhi's goal made the Lebanese players look very unhappy.
Because it was obvious that they were very nervous about Lu Wenbin, and when they saw Lu Wenbin was about to receive the ball, they all rushed over, but ended up missing him, allowing Zheng Zhi to easily shoot and score.
After losing the ball, Lebanon finally calmed down and began to send two people to guard Lu Wenbin, paying attention to the integrity of the defense line, not giving other Chinese players any chances, and started to counterattack.
After all, they were the ones behind, so they still had to attack to have a chance of scoring, equalizing the score, or even turning the tables.
However, the Chinese team originally played a defensive counterattack tactic. After scoring two goals through the opening attack, they naturally would not attack the opponent again.
On the one hand, there will be more loopholes in the attack, and the Chinese team does not have the strength of Hoffenheim.
On the other hand, the physical fitness of the Chinese team's players cannot be compared with Hoffenheim. There is still the fourth round home game in a few days, so it would be good to save some physical energy through defensive counterattacks.
Therefore, after Zheng Zhi scored the second goal, the Chinese team quickly retreated and launched a defensive counterattack.
The 451 formation, two defensive midfielders, and Zheng Zhi, who played as an attacking midfielder but was an all-around midfielder with good offense and defense, helped with defense. Even though Lebanon had the advantage of playing at home, it was unable to score a goal.
On the contrary, although Lu Wenbin did not have a good coordination with his teammates, he was still able to occasionally receive passes from his teammates and launch counterattacks.
Especially when Lu Wenbin increased his speed to 18/20, and still facing Asian players who were generally not fast, Lu Wenbin's speed still stood out from the crowd, and his counterattacks became more sharp.
In the 39th minute, after Lebanon's attack failed to score a goal and Lu Wenbin and his teammates had wasted two counterattack opportunities due to lack of coordination, Lu Wenbin finally used his speed to dribble past the Lebanese player who was defending him closely and got a one-on-one chance. He then made a long-range lob shot towards the goalkeeper who was attacking from outside the penalty area.
The ball fell into the goal from behind the goalkeeper under his desperate gaze.
Lu Wenbin scored another goal with his personal ability, completing his double and helping the Chinese team lead Lebanon 3-0.
Being able to take a 3-0 lead in the first half is a rare sight for the current Chinese team.
Moreover, judging from the situation on the field, it was impossible for Lebanon to turn the tables in the second half.
If it was the Chinese team without Lu Wenbin, everyone would still worry about things like the black three minutes.
But looking at the performance of the national team in the first half today, both in offense and defense, it made people feel so reassured that no one was worried about being overturned by Lebanon.
Chinese fans, whether in the stands or in front of TV at home, were all so excited that they could not control themselves. Some even had tears in their eyes. They felt that the spring of Chinese football had arrived.
The first half ended shortly after Lu Wenbin scored a goal.
The Chinese players surrounded Lu Wenbin happily as he left the field, but the Lebanese players, who were playing at home, were dejected.
Such a score gap really made them feel too desperate.
Thinking about Lu Wenbin's two goals and Lu Wenbin's ten shots on the goal frame before the start of the game, no one could think of a reason why they could still beat the Chinese team.
Even if they could score a goal in the second half, they felt that Lu Wenbin was probably more likely to score.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
Lebanon's morale was very low and there was no improvement, but the Chinese team did not take advantage of the situation to launch a large-scale attack and continued their 451 defensive counterattack.
In Gao Hongbo's plan, after Lu Wenbin solved the problem of weak forwards, the Chinese team should focus more on defense and try not to lose the ball in the backcourt.
As long as the ball is not lost in the backcourt, even if Lu Wenbin scores a free kick in the frontcourt, it is possible for the Chinese team to win.
The Chinese team cannot learn from Hoffenheim and pursue beautiful victories through offensive football.
Even if we want to learn, we can't, because the Chinese team does not have the configuration and strength of Hoffenheim.
For the Chinese team, as long as they can win, even a small 1-0 victory, it is cause for celebration.