With one less player, the Chinese team was indeed greatly affected on both offense and defense.
Although Lu Wenbin is very strong, he is unable to crush the Japanese team with a group of teammates with average strength.
Of course, because of Lu Wenbin's counterattack speed, the Japanese team did not dare to underestimate the Chinese team which was one man short, and did not dare to concentrate all their energy on a large-scale attack.
The two sides exchanged blows, constantly switching between offense and defense, but both played cautiously and were unable to score any more goals.
It was not until the 39th minute that the Chinese team scored its second goal.
Dewey intercepted the ball in the backcourt and passed it to Lu Wenbin. Lu Wenbin dribbled past the Japanese midfielder who was trying to steal the ball, and then passed it to the wing.
After receiving the ball, winger Yu Hai broke through the wing and passed the ball horizontally. Gao Lin followed up in the middle and pushed the ball into the net in the penalty area before the opponent's defender cleared it.
As the main striker of the Chinese team, Gao Lin finally scored a goal and helped the Chinese team take a 2-1 lead again.
The Chinese team, playing with one man less, took the lead again, causing the few Chinese fans in the stands to cheer.
Unfortunately, China's lead did not last until the end of the first half.
Due to the lack of a defensive midfielder, the Chinese team has problems with the depth and width of its defense in the midfield and backcourt.
In the 44th minute, Shinji Kagawa's straight pass from the midfield directly penetrated the Chinese team's defense. Japan's lone striker Maeda Ryoichi successfully made an offside move and received this wonderful pass at the top of the Chinese team's penalty area.
Ryoichi Maeda took two steps forward, adjusted himself, and then completed his shot before Zheng Zhi who was returning to defense could break through. He hit the far corner and kicked the ball into the Chinese team's goal from under the armpit of Zeng Cheng who was attacking.
At the end of the first half, the Japanese team equalized the score again, and tens of thousands of Japanese fans in the entire Tokyo National Stadium burst into warm applause and cheers.
China and Japan entered the halftime break with a score of 2-2.
When leaving the field, the Chinese team members were obviously much more tired than the Japanese team members, including Lu Wenbin.
After all, with one less person fighting, every member of the Chinese team, both on offense and defense, will have to run more than usual to make up for the disadvantage of one less person.
Especially Lu Wenbin, if he had not often retreated to participate in defense and help Zhao Xuri, the Chinese team might have lost the ball.
However, it is precisely because of Lu Wenbin's presence that the Chinese team retains the opportunity and confidence to win.
Even though they were one man less, as long as Lu Wenbin was there, the Japanese team did not dare to launch a large-scale attack, and the Chinese team members maintained their confidence in winning the final victory.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
In the 51st minute, Lu Wenbin counterattacked with the ball. After passing two people, his former teammate Nagatomo Yuto kicked the ball away from the side, and the counterattack failed.
In the 59th minute, Japan's attack reached China's penalty area. Maeda Ryoichi had a good chance to shoot, but unfortunately his shot went slightly off the post.
It was not until the 63rd minute that the Chinese team finally scored their third goal before the Japanese team.
This time it was the full-back Zhang Linpeng who suddenly made a run forward, received the pass from Lu Wenbin and broke through the wing before making a cross. Lu Wenbin followed up in the middle and together with Gao Lin attracted the attention of most of the defensive players in the Japanese penalty area.
However, neither Lu Wenbin nor Gao Lin headed the ball. They both tried to head the ball but failed to touch it. However, they successfully attracted the attention of most of the Japanese defensive players and goalkeeper Kawashima Eiji in the penalty area, creating an opportunity for Hao Junmin.
On the other side, Hao Junmin cut into the penalty area from the wing and headed the ball into the Japanese team's goal with a diving header without any interference.
Kawashima Eiji, who was attracted by Lu Wenbin and Gao Lin, was a step slow in saving the ball and could only watch the ball go into the net.
The Chinese team, playing with one man less, took the lead again with a score of 3-2, and both the players and fans celebrated enthusiastically.
However, after scoring this goal, as time went by, the Chinese team members seemed to be becoming more and more mentally exhausted.
The Japanese team is a strong team in Asia. The Chinese team is one man short, so everyone is expending more physical energy.
In the 72nd minute, Shinji Kagawa's long shot from outside the penalty area hit Dewey, who was unable to dodge in time due to fatigue, and the ball was deflected into the net.
This was an own goal by Dewey. The ball that was reflected into the net went in the opposite direction of Zeng Cheng's save and there was nothing he could do.
The Japanese team tenaciously equalized the score, and the score between the two sides was 3-3.
This willpower to keep equalizing despite falling behind made the Japanese team, from players to fans, very excited and the morale was very high.
On the other hand, the Chinese team kept taking the lead but was constantly equalized, which was a big blow to their morale.
For a moment, the Japanese team actually began to suppress the Chinese team's half-court offense.
Seeing this, in the 76th minute, Gao Hongbo took the lead in making substitutions, replacing the tired central defender Du Wei and midfielder Zhao Xuri with Feng Xiaoting and Qin Sheng.
The two players had just come on the court and were full of energy. Their non-stop running made up for the lack of numbers and stabilized the Chinese team's defense line.
After stabilizing the defense, the Chinese team naturally wanted to win. Especially Lu Wenbin, if they couldn't beat an Asian team in a game with him as a starter, it would be unacceptable.
Even if there is one less person.
In the 80th minute, Qin Sheng, who had just come on the field, used a clean tackle to intercept Honda Keisuke's dribbling and passed the ball to Yu Hai.
Yu Hai took a few steps and then passed the ball to Lu Wenbin in the middle. Lu Wenbin counterattacked with the ball but was tripped by Hasebe Makoto in the frontcourt and got a free kick opportunity.
Everyone on the Chinese team was immediately happy, while the Japanese team felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.
Everyone knows how terrible Lu Wenbin's free kicks are.
As a result, the free kick sent by Lu Wenbin with the system's special skills activated was at the best angle and headed straight for the blind corner of the goal, but the Japanese team's goalkeeper Kawashima Eiji made a world-class save, jumping into the air and pushing the ball out of the bottom line with his fingertips.
The stands were immediately filled with sighs from Chinese fans and cheers from Japanese fans who had escaped death. Kawashima Eiji was surrounded by Japanese players, who thanked him for his save.
As time went on, the Japanese team gradually began to tighten their defense.
Although they had one more player, Lu Wenbin did put a lot of pressure on them. If Kawashima Eiji hadn't played a heroic role in the free kick just now, the Japanese team might have lost the ball.
Therefore, in the following games, the Japanese team tightened their defense and gave the Chinese team almost no chance to get within 30 meters of the goal. Even Lu Wenbin failed to successfully break into the penalty area after dribbling the ball twice.
For the Japanese team, even if they have one more player, getting a point against the Chinese team led by Lu Wenbin is a great victory.
This point may become the key point for them to surpass Australia and advance directly.