Although the score was 0-1 behind, Iraq did not press forward to attack.
Before the game started, Zico knew that it would be extremely difficult for Iraq to win against the Chinese team led by Lu Wenbin away from home, and even a draw was unlikely.
In this group, Iraq's only way out is to compete with the other three teams for the second qualifying spot. Even getting third place and being able to play in the play-offs would be a great victory.
Sure enough, in less than 20 minutes, Iraq, which had been defending the ball tightly, lost the goal.
And the counter-attacking ability that Lu Wenbin showed in these ten minutes was even stronger than when he was in Real Madrid, which made Zico even more fearful.
If Iraq tried to counterattack and Lu Wenbin intercepted the ball and launched a direct counterattack, it would be easier for Iraq to lose the ball.
Therefore, Zico asked his players to handle the ball more decisively and not to play with fire in the backcourt.
Although it is easy to lose the ball by kicking the ball far away, it is still easier to deal with than being counterattacked by the opponent in your own backcourt.
In the following game, the Chinese team continued to suppress Iraq's offense, while Iraq's defense became more resolute and they would not easily launch a counterattack.
After getting the ball, kick it hard to keep it away from your penalty area.
As a result, Lu Wenbin's ability to counter-steal became useless.
However, Lu Wenbin's main task is still to attack. As long as Iraq does not counterattack, the ball will always fall into the hands of the Chinese team, and Lu Wenbin still has plenty of time to get the ball.
Even if Iraq defends its defense with a bus, no team can be completely foolproof.
In the 28th minute, Lu Wenbin used a wall pass with Yu Hai to tear open Iraq's defense and find a gap.
Following the pass from Yu Hai, Lu Wenbin, who was in the penalty area, pretended to shoot, but shook the two defensive players who were guarding him hard.
Lu Wenbin faked a shot and then passed the ball with his heel, sending the ball to the back of the restricted area.
Zheng Zhi rushed into the penalty area without being marked, and shot without stopping the ball, which instantly went into the near corner of the goal.
Zheng Zhi scored China's second goal with the help of Lu Wenbin's heel pass, and China led 2-0.
With this score and this situation, a winning start in the first game of the top ten matches is basically a sure thing.
However, the Chinese team was not satisfied with the 2-0 victory, and Gao Hongbo did not replace Lu Wenbin.
It was because of Lu Wenbin's existence that Iraq had to defend itself and dared not fight back.
If Lu Wenbin had left the field and there was no nuclear-like deterrent force, and Iraq had launched a massive counterattack, it would not be surprising for the Chinese team to be reversed by their opponents with a two-goal gap, given the nature of the Chinese team.
The Chinese team continued to attack.
In the 39th minute, the Chinese team scored again.
However, this goal had nothing to do with Lu Wenbin. It was the result of Zhang Linpeng's assist from the wing and a cross from the bottom, which was scored by Gao Lin with a header in the penalty area.
The Chinese team leads 3-0.
A few minutes after the game resumed, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and Lu Wenbin's second goal, which the media and fans had been waiting for, never came.
After a 15-minute break at halftime, the two sides changed sides and Iraq still showed no signs of a massive counterattack.
It seems that Zico really gave up the game from the beginning.
In the 57th minute, Lu Wenbin finally scored his second goal of the game.
This time it was Lu Wenbin who performed like a genius. He passed three defensive players in the frontcourt through continuous bicycle kicks, Marseille turns and other fake moves, and then shot into the far corner of the penalty area.
Lu Wenbin scored twice and scored China's fourth goal, giving China a 4-0 lead.
In the important extra time, Lu Wenbin scored twice. It was not that the Chinese team led 4-0, but this goal by Lu Wenbin was the 500th official goal in his career.
When Lu Wenbin scored this beautiful 500th goal, the entire Hongkou Stadium was boiling.
The commentators shouted loudly:
"The ball goes in, Lu Wenbin's 500th goal in his career!"
"Lu Wenbin scored his 500th official match goal in his career!"
"Lu Wenbin has completed a goal record that many super strikers have not achieved in their entire careers!"
"Lu Wenbin scored 500 goals in just 239 games, averaging 2.1 goals per game."
"Lu Wenbin is simply a goal-scoring machine. Any team facing Lu Wenbin must be prepared to fall behind by two goals!"
During the commentators' explanation, the subtitles "Lu Wenbin - 500 goals" were displayed on the large LCD screen of Hongkou Stadium to congratulate Lu Wenbin.
Chinese fans in the stands also held up banners to celebrate Lu Wenbin's achievement of 500 goals in his career, and cheered, applauded and congratulated him.
Lu Wenbin entered the 500-goal club.
He himself was also very happy and spent quite some time celebrating with his teammates and fans before returning to his own half to wait for the game to start amid protests from Iraqi players.
However, no matter how the Iraqis protested, the victory was basically decided after the score reached this level.
Therefore, Gao Hongbo replaced the older Zheng Zhi and asked the team to slow down the pace and save energy.
After the Chinese team slowed down its attack, Iraq finally wanted to counterattack and score a goal.
But Lu Wenbin became a stumbling block on Iraq's counterattack.
From the time Zheng Zhi left the field until the 85th minute, Lu Wenbin disrupted Iraq's quick counterattacks or passes four times, and even once snatched the ball directly from the opponent's feet.
In the end, the Iraqi players realized how strong Lu Wenbin's defensive ability was and did not dare to pass him.
If they couldn't avoid it, they could only pass the ball sideways or back, and no one tried to break through Lu Wenbin anymore.
However, the Iraqis who have been tempered in the war are still very resilient.
The score of 0-4 behind and the fact that they repeatedly failed to counterattack did not defeat them.
In the 84th minute, the Iraqis finally scored a goal from a corner kick and saved a little face.
But in the 91st minute of stoppage time, when the game was about to end, Iraqi defender Younis recklessly fouled Hao Junmin on the counterattack, giving the Chinese team a free kick.
Lu Wenbin accepted the gift with a smile, activated his special skill and kicked the ball into the dead corner.
Lu Wenbin scored a hat trick and China still led Iraq by 4 goals with a 5-1 victory.
Lu Wenbin's hat trick excited all the fans in the stadium, and the cheers of "666" continued until the end of the game.
After 3 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game. Led by Lu Wenbin, the Chinese team defeated Iraq 5-1 at home and got off to a good start in the top ten of the Asian zone of the World Cup qualifiers.