A few minutes after Iniesta's goal, Spain did not score again.
Of course, facing Spain, which had a ball possession rate of about 70%, the Chinese team was unable to do anything.
After 1 minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
With a score of 0-3, the Chinese team ended the first half of the game.
Whether in the locker room or the stands, or the Chinese fans watching the game at home, they all felt heavy-hearted when faced with such a score.
Although they knew they would lose before the game started, there were always some people who had a lucky hope for Lu Wenbin, thinking that Lu Wenbin was a miracle worker and that today's game might also lead the Chinese team to create a miracle.
As a result, after half the game, everyone was in despair.
Facing the Spanish team, even a strong player like Lu Wenbin was unable to lead the Chinese team to compete.
Fortunately, Spain made substitutions in the second half, probably because they felt that the three-goal lead was no longer a concern.
Of course, that is actually the case.
The Spanish team also slowed down their offensive in the second half, focusing on ball control and defense to conserve energy and prepare for the semi-finals.
Even so, in the 71st minute, Silva scored the fourth goal for Spain, leading China 4-0.
Under the Spanish team's ball control and defense, it was difficult for the Chinese team to even grab the ball, let alone attack.
It was not until the 87th minute that Lu Wenbin dribbled the ball through and caused Iniesta to foul, and then scored a face-saving goal with a direct free kick.
In the end, the Chinese team was defeated 1-4 by the World Cup and European Cup double champion Spain, which completely explains why football is said to be a game of 11 people.
Even a player as strong as Lu Wenbin, who scored 168 goals in the year and won three consecutive Ballon d'Or awards, was unable to lead the Chinese team to compete against the world champions.
After the game, Western media hyped it up as if it were Chinese New Year.
"Spain beat China 4-1, Lu Wenbin was powerless."
"Lu Wenbin can't carry the team alone. Football still needs 11 people to play the game."
"If the Chinese team wants to make a difference in the world competition, Lu Wenbin alone cannot do it."
Perhaps, the Western European and American media have long been dissatisfied with Lu Wenbin's sudden rise.
Due to ideological reasons, any achievements made by China are seen as unpleasant or even problematic by foreigners.
However, with Lu Wenbin's brilliant achievements along the way, they couldn't find any opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.
Now, finally found it.
It still takes 11 people to play football.
The Chinese team has Lu Wenbin, who may be able to win some honors at the club level, but at the national team level, Lu Wenbin is ultimately unable to lead the Chinese team to win the Confederations Cup or the World Cup alone.
Everyone seemed to have finally found Lu Wenbin's shortcomings and could finally breathe a sigh of relief: Lu Wenbin was not an alien, nor was he a robot.
As for the Chinese team, after the initial frustration, morale was boosted by Lu Wenbin.
After all, Lu Wenbin’s top leadership aura is not just for show.
In Lu Wenbin's words, this was a rare opportunity for the Chinese team to have a real fight with the world champions and test the gap between the Chinese team and the world champions.
Although the Chinese team defeated the French team 1-0 in a warm-up match in 2010, that was a fragmented French team plagued by internal strife, and the quality of the warm-up match did not live up to the quality of a real match.
This time, Spain, which has won three consecutive world championships, sent out all its main players to fight a real battle with the Chinese team.
Although they suffered a 1-4 defeat, the Chinese team was not defeated. Lu Wenbin even scored a goal with a free kick.
Overall, the Chinese team has accumulated experience in competing against the world's top teams.
The world champion could only beat the Chinese team 4-1, so the Chinese team may be able to give other teams a try.
For example, Uruguay in the last group match.
After the second round, Spain, which won two consecutive games in Group B, advanced to the next round with 6 points. Uruguay, which defeated Nigeria 2-1, ranked second with 3 points. Nigeria ranked third with 1 point. China, which lost more games, ranked last with 1 point.
As long as Spain does not lose to Nigeria in the last game and China defeats Uruguay, China will still be able to qualify.
Judging from the direct game results, the Chinese team tied with Nigeria, and Uruguay beat Nigeria, so Uruguay should be stronger than the Chinese team.
However, Uruguay only won 2-1 against Nigeria, and the gap in strength between the two teams was not that big.
What's more, the draw between the Chinese team and Nigeria was achieved after Lu Wenbin changed from attacking midfielder to defensive midfielder in the second half.
What would have happened if Lu Wenbin had played as a defensive midfielder earlier and had better understanding with his teammates
Perhaps, the Chinese team has already defeated Nigeria in the first game.
But it’s not too late now.
After two games of adaptation, Lu Wenbin’s teammates have become more accustomed to his new position as defensive midfielder and have a better understanding of the team.
Even though Uruguay was once the world champion, that was more than 60 years ago in 1950.
The current Uruguay is completely incomparable with the most recent world champion, Spain. The Chinese team has every chance of defeating their opponents and qualifying for the group stage.
Of course, Uruguayans have a different idea: if the Spaniards can defeat China, so can we.
On June 22, the two matches of the last round of Group A started at the same time. Brazil and Italy, which had already qualified, finally played 4-2, while Mexico and Tahiti played 5-0.
The Mexicans took out their frustration at being eliminated early on Tahiti.
The only achievement of Oceania champions Tahiti in this Confederations Cup was to score their first goal in an international tournament.
The others were just abused and had no other purpose.
On June 23, the last two matches of Group B started at the same time, Spain vs. Nigeria and China vs. Uruguay.
In addition to Spain, which has already qualified, Nigeria, China and Uruguay all still have a chance to qualify.
Among them, Uruguay has a chance to qualify with a draw, while China and Nigeria must win.
The situation is more favorable for Uruguay and unfavorable for the Chinese team.
Therefore, after the match between China and Uruguay started, Uruguay adopted a defensive counterattack posture, waiting for the Chinese team to attack and then counterattack.
The Chinese team was well prepared for this and was not surprised.
Before the game started, Gao Hongbo had anticipated this situation. After all, Uruguay could qualify as long as they drew, while the Chinese team had to attack and win.
Therefore, after the game started, seeing that the Uruguayans were defensively counterattacking, the Chinese team had to press forward and start a positional battle.