The retreat of the core organization is a major trend in modern football.
Xavi and Iniesta of Barcelona, Alonso of Real Madrid, and Schweinsteiger of Bayern Munich are all defensive midfielder-type organizational cores.
One advantage of the core of the organization retreating is that it is far away from the opponent's penalty area, with less defensive pressure, making it easier to get the ball, control the ball, and then control the rhythm.
When there is an opportunity, you can suddenly launch an attack with a long pass or a through ball to catch the opponent by surprise.
When it comes to Lu Wenbin, the effect is even more obvious.
Because Lu Wenbin has good physical fitness, good positioning, and good frontal defensive ability, he now also has to add a precise tackle that not many people know about.
With Lu Wenbin protecting the back line, it will be difficult for the opponent to break into the Chinese team's penalty area.
At the same time, Lu Wenbin has good dribbling skills and can hold the ball. He has a good vision, good passing skills, good judgment, and can suddenly launch an attack according to the actual situation.
Although being far away from the opponent's penalty area may reduce the chance of shooting, as long as the frontcourt players cause a free kick or corner kick, Lu Wenbin can go up and shoot directly.
As long as the defense is safe, the Chinese team still has the opportunity to equalize or even reverse the score.
After discussing with the coaching staff, Gao Hongbo agreed to Lu Wenbin's suggestion.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
Then, everyone was surprised to see that it was not Lu Wenbin and Wu Lei who kicked off from the center circle, but Zheng Zhi and Wu Lei, with Lu Wenbin standing on the defensive midfielder line.
The Chinese team changed its formation.
Then, the Nigerian players found it difficult to enter the penalty area. Even if they entered, it was almost difficult to grab a chance to shoot.
Lu Wenbin guarded inside and outside the penalty area, and with his abnormal physical fitness and physique, good positioning, defense, and precise tackles, he constantly disrupted Nigeria's offense.
In the 52nd minute, forward Oduamati tried to break through Lu Wenbin, but Lu Wenbin tackled the ball directly away without committing a foul.
In the 57th minute, Mikel wanted to pass the ball directly into the penalty area to create an opportunity for Moussa who cut in from the wing, but his intention was discovered by Lu Wenbin and the ball was intercepted midway.
In the 61st minute, full-back Ambrose made a cross from the wing, and Juha jumped high in the penalty area and wanted to head the ball, but a figure in front of him took off and headed the ball out of the penalty area before him.
After landing, I saw that it was Lu Wenbin again.
Lu Wenbin became the busiest person on the court, and the camera was almost always facing him.
Lu Wenbin's performance was also exceptionally outstanding, constantly disrupting Nigeria's offense.
20 minutes into the second half, Nigeria had not yet had a single threatening attack that hit the goal frame.
The only two shots were hastily kicked outside the penalty area, one flew over the crossbar and the other went wide of the post.
Lu Wenbin's presence made Nigeria's attack almost completely ineffective.
At the same time, while protecting the defense line and the goal, Lu Wenbin still had the energy to organize an attack.
Lu Wenbin's dribbling skills make it difficult for Nigerian players to steal the ball once he gets it.
Not to mention the difference in defensive techniques between the frontcourt players and the backcourt players, even in terms of numbers, it is impossible for two or three people in the frontcourt to surround Lu Wenbin. It is simply impossible.
Lu Wenbin can pass the ball or dribble forward with ease, and one or two people can do nothing to him.
With more people coming up to block the ball and problems with the defense, Lu Wenbin could pose a threat with just one pass.
In the 49th minute, Lu Wenbin intercepted the ball and made a wonderful through pass, but Wu Lei started a little slowly and was closely followed by the opponent.
Although he received the ball in the end, he missed the opportunity to shoot alone.
In the first half, Nigeria almost dominated the Chinese team and scored two goals, leaving the Chinese team with no chance of fighting back.
In the second half, although Nigeria was still the main attacker, it was a lot of noise but little action, and posed almost no threat.
On the contrary, the attack launched by Lu Wenbin of the Chinese team after getting the ball always made the Nigerians nervous, as if they could score at any time.
All Nigerians prayed that Wu Lei, Zheng Zhi and others would waste all of Lu Wenbin's passes and assists.
But this is unrealistic.
Being selected for the national team, Zheng Zhi, Wu Lei, Hao Junmin, Yu Hai and others, no matter how bad they are, can always score goals by taking more shots.
After wasting several passes from Lu Wenbin, Wu Lei finally seized an opportunity.
In the 66th minute, Lu Wenbin decisively stepped forward in a face-to-face confrontation with Nigeria's midfield core Mikel and directly intercepted the ball.
Mikel wanted to counterattack, but was blocked by Lu Wenbin's strong body and could not get the ball.
After Lu Wenbin took two steps, he passed the ball to Zhao Xuri in the open space, and Mikel stopped pressing closely.
But this gave Lu Wenbin another opportunity.
Lu Wenbin did not continue to guard behind, but passed the ball to Zhao Xuri. After getting rid of Mikel, he immediately moved forward and signaled Zhao Xuri to pass the ball over.
Without waiting for another midfielder of the opposing team to rush over, Zhao Xuri passed the ball back to the front where Lu Wenbin was running.
After getting the ball, Lu Wenbin dribbled straight to the Nigerian half. Wu Lei, Zheng Zhi, Hao Junmin, Yu Hai and others all moved forward, looking for gaps to receive Lu Wenbin's pass.
The last midfielder came up to grab the ball, but was knocked unconscious by Lu Wenbin's two consecutive bicycle kicks. He wanted to pull Lu Wenbin directly, but not only did he fail to pull him, but he was knocked to the ground by Lu Wenbin, and the referee ignored him.
After breaking through the last midfielder, Lu Wenbin looked up and saw Wu Lei making a diagonal run into the penalty area from the outside of the penalty area. Central defender Echegile stopped retreating and seemed to be preparing to move forward to make Wu Lei offside.
Right at this moment.
Without any warning, Lu Wenbin suddenly passed the ball while running, avoiding another central defender Ogbo Abonna and rolling past Echegile.
Etchegile turned around and saw Wu Lei receiving the ball behind him. He reflexively raised his hand to indicate that Wu Lei was offside, but the referee and the linesman ignored him.
Wu Lei successfully made an offside move and received a through pass from Lu Wenbin in the penalty area to get a one-on-one chance.
Facing the attacking goalkeeper N'Yema, Wu Lei shot into the far corner.
The distance was too close, and Enyeama had no time to save the ball. He could only sit down subconsciously and try to block the ball with his feet.
However, Wu Lei's shooting angle was very good this time. He successfully avoided Enyeama's sitting toes, rolled past Enyeama's toes, and then rolled into the goal along the post.
In the 66th minute of the second half, the Chinese team finally scored a goal assisted by Lu Wenbin and Wu Lei, making the total score 1-2, still one goal behind.
The moment the football rolled into the goal, all the Chinese fans at the scene and in front of the TV cheered ecstatically.
The Chinese team scored a point and also scored their first goal in an international tournament, which was a historic moment.
This alone is a huge improvement over the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.
Of course, what makes everyone even happier is that the Chinese team has found a more suitable tactic.
Lu Wenbin retreated to participate in the defense, stabilizing the Chinese team's defense. At the same time, Lu Wenbin's passing and assisting ability also ensured that the Chinese team was not lacking in offense.
The Chinese team may really be able to make a difference in this Confederations Cup.