After deciding on the tactics, Lu Wenbin stood behind the corner kick stick and wiped the sweat from his face with his left hand.
The Italian players, fans, spectators and commentators did not feel anything unusual, but the Chinese players were stunned for a moment, then watched Lu Wenbin wipe the sweat with his left hand for the second time, and suddenly understood.
Because Lu Wenbin usually wipes his sweat with his right hand, wiping his sweat with his left hand is actually a secret signal that Lu Wenbin will not shoot directly but pass the ball.
The reason why everyone was stunned was simply because this tactic had never been used in a game.
Now that the game is almost over, Lu Wenbin is needed to turn the tide, but Lu Wenbin chose not to shoot directly, but to assist his teammates.
So everyone was a little stunned.
Fortunately, everyone has not forgotten what Lu Wenbin wiping sweat with his left hand means.
Suddenly, Wu Lei, Hao Junmin and other players squeezed into the small penalty area, pretending that they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, but in fact they were making room for Feng Xiaoting outside the penalty area.
Seeing the Chinese players pushing into the small penalty area, the Italian players naturally guarded closely, and the players from both sides packed the small penalty area tightly.
Buffon also stood nervously on the goal line, and the two goal posts were guarded by the two tallest players in Italy, ready to head out the ball that Lu Wenbin might hit the goal post at any time.
The constant pulling in the small penalty area caused the referee to blow the whistle twice and give a warning. Then, when he couldn't control it anymore, he blew the whistle directly to allow Lu Wenbin to take the free throw.
At this time, the game time has reached the 118th minute, and there are 2 minutes left in overtime.
Lu Wenbin took two steps and kicked the ball.
The football flew into the air, drew an arc in the air, and fell into Italy's restricted area.
Buffon always thought that Lu Wenbin would shoot directly, and the other Italian players thought so too.
Therefore, seeing the angle of the ball, Buffon began to retreat towards the far post, because the ball seemed to be at too big an angle, and even if it spun in, it should have hit the far post.
The Chinese players in the penalty area also ran to the far end, seemingly wanting to pick up something far away, and led the Italian players in the small penalty area to run to the far end of the small penalty area, leaving a large gap near the penalty spot in the middle of the penalty area.
However, just after Buffon and the Italian players ran two steps, they suddenly realized that it was impossible for the ball to go into the goal.
The ball has already flown into the penalty area and deviated so far from the goal. How could it possibly go into the goal
The ball clearly landed in the restricted area and they all missed it.
The Italian players reacted quickly and returned to the middle to defend.
However, at this moment, Feng Xiaoting, who was just outside the penalty area, rushed in, rushed to the penalty spot without any interference, jumped up, and hit Lu Wenbin's cross ball hard on the forehead.
The ball suddenly changed direction and flew towards the right goal.
Before Feng Xiaoting headed the ball, Buffon and the Italian players had already realized the danger.
Not only did the defenders return to the center, but the terrified Buffon also rushed to the other side of the goal.
However, the ball was too fast. As a central defender, Feng Xiaoting had good heading skills. His header was very accurate without any interference from anyone, and there was no mistake.
The ball flew into the goal from about half a meter away from the right goal post, along the bottom edge of the crossbar.
Buffon failed to get back to save the ball, and De Sciglio, who was standing at the right post, was unable to prevent the goal.
The ball flew into the Italian goal just as all Chinese people expected.
In an instant, tens of thousands of Chinese fans in the stands roared in unison. Thunderous applause rang out, and the Xinshuiyuan Stadium was plunged into a sea of red carnival.
In the commentary booth, the commentator from China Central Television also stood up and shouted at the top of his voice:
"The ball went in..."
"A decisive goal, a decisive goal, this is a decisive goal, Feng Xiaoting has made a great contribution!"
“A great assist from Lu Wenbin!”
"Lu Wenbin unexpectedly did not take a direct corner kick, but passed the ball into the restricted area, where Feng Xiaoting scored with a header!"
"The Chinese team is leading Italy again 2-1. Time is running out for Italy!"
Yes, time is running out for Italy.
The Chinese team celebrated wildly for more than half a minute before the referee intervened and they returned to their own half amid protests from the Italians, waiting for Italy to kick off from the center circle.
But it was already the 118th minute when Feng Xiaoting scored, and the Chinese team celebrated for more than half a minute.
Even though the referee gave Italy two minutes of extra time, with the Chinese team parking the bus and defending tightly, Italy still failed to score the equalizer like they did in the 89th minute of the regular season.
After 2 minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.
In the third and fourth place final, the Chinese team defeated Italy 2-1 thanks to Feng Xiaoting's goal in the 118th minute of extra time and won the third place in the 2013 Confederations Cup.
As a result, the Chinese team surpassed South Korea and created a new best result for Asian men's football in the world championships.
This is an unprecedented glory and peak for Chinese football.
Whether at the scene, in China, or even around the world where countless overseas Chinese were watching the live broadcast, there were warm cheers, screams, and roars, venting the excitement in everyone's hearts.
The commentators shouted over and over again that the Chinese team won and that the Chinese team was the third place; the audience in the stands hugged and celebrated wildly with the people around them, regardless of whether the other person was a man or a woman; the audience in front of the TV roared and screamed, regardless of whether they would wake up their family members and neighbors; some people even took out the fireworks and firecrackers they had prepared long ago and set them off to celebrate.
The Chinese team's substitute players, coaches, team doctors, etc. on the sidelines also rushed into the field instantly and celebrated wildly with Lu Wenbin and others on the field.
The Italians felt a little frustrated, but not too sad. After all, they didn't take the third place very seriously.
Pirlo also found Lu Wenbin, congratulated him, and exchanged jerseys with him.
The Chinese team and their fans celebrated and interacted in the stadium for a full half hour. After the Italian team and other spectators had left, the Chinese team and their fans left the stadium reluctantly at the reminder of the stadium manager.
On that day, Chinese media reported the event crazily and praised the Chinese national football team for its third place in the Confederations Cup.
Except for Lu Wenbin, other national football players have reached the peak of their careers.
This time, their third place in the Confederations Cup is enough for them to brag about for the rest of their lives.
The next day, the Confederations Cup final was held. The home team Brazil defeated Spain 3-0 and won the championship of this Confederations Cup.
The 2013 Confederations Cup came to an end. The host, five-star Brazil, won the championship, which was not too surprising. The Chinese team defeated Italy to win the third place, which was a surprise.
Although Lu Wenbin neither scored the most goals to win the Golden Boot of this Confederations Cup nor was named the best player of the tournament, Lu Wenbin was already satisfied.
Being able to defeat Italy and take third place is already a reward for various coincidences.
Next, let’s see how far the Chinese team can go in next year’s World Cup, the true world’s number one event!