It may sound like a long process off the court, but in fact the situation on the court changes very quickly.
After Zhao Peng successfully intercepted the ball, the ball was only passed twice by Zhang Linpeng and Lu Wenbin. The Mexican players who attacked the frontcourt had no time to retreat, and Wu Lei received the pass from Lu Wenbin when there was no one defending.
There was no offside and no interference. Wu Lei instantly had a one-on-one opportunity and approached the Mexican penalty area line.
Near the end of the first half, the Chinese team launched a quick counterattack which gave them a rare opportunity.
The two central defenders, Mai Rui and Reyes, were immediately shocked and immediately left Lu Wenbin and rushed towards Wu Lei.
Goalkeeper Corona also left the goal, carefully blocking the angle, ready to save Wu Lei's one-on-one shot.
After passing the ball, Lu Wenbin did not stand and watch Wu Lei's performance, but continued to move forward and ran into the penalty area, looking for possible opportunities for a follow-up shot.
Wu Lei's simple way of handling the ball is something that most domestic offensive players do not have, or even realize, and it is also something that Lu Wenbin appreciates.
Although his overall strength cannot catch up with the top international forwards, he is definitely among the top domestic forwards in China and has a bright future.
That's the case with this ball.
After receiving the ball from Lu Wenbin, Wu Lei only took three steps forward. He did not insist on entering the penalty area to shoot, nor did he give the two central defenders a chance to get close. He just shot directly near the penalty area line.
The ball bypassed Corona's leaping save and flew towards the far goal. Countless Chinese fans at the scene and in front of the TV widened their eyes, looking forward to the first goal of the Chinese team.
The CCTV commentator excitedly explained to the domestic audience like a machine gun:
"Tackle, Zhao Peng tackled, Zhang Linpeng got the ball!"
"Long pass, beautiful, Zhang Linpeng passed the ball to Lu Wenbin, China's counterattack opportunity!"
"The ball was passed, Lu Wenbin passed the ball!"
"Good opportunity, Wu Lei received the pass from Lu Wenbin and got a one-on-one chance!"
"Dribble the ball, shoot, Wu Lei shoots!"
Under the expectant gaze of the commentator, Wu Lei's shooting skills were still lacking, and the ball failed to go in, but hit the post and bounced back into the penalty area.
The commentator exclaimed, "Ouch!" and sighed, "Oh, the goalpost! Wu Lei's shot hit the goalpost!"
When the commentator was about to say that the Chinese team missed a good chance to score, he noticed a figure wearing the No. 6 jersey of the Chinese team appeared in the penalty area.
Just as the stands were filled with sighs from some Chinese fans and cheers from Mexican fans, everyone saw Lu Wenbin shake off the Mexican midfielder who was closely guarding him and rush into the penalty area. Before anyone could react, he poked the ball into the empty goal.
Corona, who had just gotten up after failing to block Wu Lei's one-on-one shot, hadn't even made a move to dive back before he watched Lu Wenbin shoot the ball into his own goal.
Suddenly, all the Chinese fans in the stands were excited.
The CCTV commentator clapped his hands and shouted at the top of his voice: "Make-up shot, Lu Wenbin made a make-up shot that bounced Wu Lei's shot off the post and into the penalty area. The ball went in, the Chinese team scored, the Chinese team scored the first goal of this Olympics!"
The guest exclaimed: "Only Lu Wenbin has such fast speed and positioning ability to seize this opportunity for a supplementary shot!"
The commentator nodded and said, "Lu Wenbin is indeed the top star in football. He is very capable. He was supposed to assist Wu Lei this time. But Wu Lei's shot failed, so Lu Wenbin made up for it and scored the goal. China scored the first goal of this Olympics, and the second goal in the history of Chinese men's football in the Olympics. The last goal was scored by Dong Fangzhuo in the Beijing Olympics."
The guest said: "I am confident that we will not just score one goal this time. Under the leadership of Lu Wenbin, the Chinese team will surely make more historic breakthroughs."
The narrator said, "That's right! It's a must!"
On the court, Wu Lei was slapping his head in frustration after his failed shot, but he didn't expect to see Lu Wenbin rushing into the penalty area and scoring the ball that he missed the next second.
The Chinese team scored the first goal and took a 1-0 lead.
Wu Lei immediately shouted and rushed over, hugging Lu Wenbin tightly.
Other teammates also rushed up from the backcourt excitedly and celebrated with Lu Wenbin and Wu Lei, while the Mexican players and fans remained silent.
Lu Wenbin scored the goal near the end of the first half, and the Chinese team's celebration was delayed for a while.
Therefore, not long after the game resumed, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
After taking a 1-0 lead, the game became easier to play and the Chinese team's defensive counterattack strategy became more determined.
The Mexican team could only continue to attack aggressively. After all, they were behind in the score, and if they kept this score till the end of the game, they would not get any points.
If the offense could tie the score, it would be in Mexico's favor. Therefore, after the start of the second half, Mexico could only continue to attack.
Mexico is indeed the real favorite to win the championship, and its overall strength is indeed much stronger than that of the Chinese team.
Even though most of the Chinese team members retreated to their own half to practice defensive tactics, and with the retreat of Lu Wenbin, a midfielder with excellent defensive skills, the goal was almost lost many times.
In the 53rd minute, Mexico almost scored a goal from a corner kick, but fortunately the opponent's header hit the crossbar and bounced back into the penalty area, then was kicked out of the sideline by Wu Xi.
In the 67th minute, Mexican striker Fabian made a high-quality long shot from outside the penalty area.
The ball went straight into the blind corner, but fortunately Zeng Cheng reacted quickly and made a world-class flying save to lift the ball out of the sideline, thus defusing the shot.
This is a completely different feeling from playing against Asian teams. Lu Wenbin could only run around in the backcourt to assist in defense and couldn't even attack.
But Lu Wenbin cannot attack by himself, but he has vision and passing skills far beyond his peers.
In the 74th minute, Lu Wenbin finally got another chance to counterattack.
Mexican forward Peralta dribbled in the frontcourt and tried to break through Lu Wenbin who was intercepting him, but Lu Wenbin saw the opportunity and rushed forward to steal the ball and poked it away.
Then Lu Wenbin immediately used his excellent physical fitness to resist Peralta's counterattack, stuck to his position, protected the ball, and waited for an opportunity.
The moment Wu Lei saw Lu Wenbin steal the ball, he turned near the center line and rushed towards Mexico's half.
At the moment when Wu Lei was about to pass by the Mexican defense line, Lu Wenbin seized the opportunity and made a long pass to Wu Lei.
Wu Lei's movement and Lu Wenbin's pass coordinated to a point, and Wu Lei successfully made an offside. In the Mexican half, he received Lu Wenbin's through pass and had a one-on-one opportunity. The Mexican defenders raised their hands to signal that Wu Lei was offside, but the referee and the linesman ignored it.
Wu Lei did not waste Lu Wenbin's opportunity. He only took three long-distance dribbles and adjusted his posture to complete a lob shot facing goalkeeper Corona outside the penalty area.
The ball went over Corona's head and into Mexico's empty goal.
Lu Wenbin assisted Wu Lei to score China's second goal, and China led Mexico 2-0.
With a two-goal lead, the Chinese team is getting closer and closer to its first victory in Olympic history.
The Chinese fans in the stands went crazy, waving national flags and banners and cheering and screaming loudly to vent their excitement.
The players on the field also surrounded Lu Wenbin and Wu Lei and celebrated enthusiastically.