Chapter 220: It's like cheating !
The moment of this goal ignited the passion of the fans, releasing the tension that had been building up for tens of minutes. Finally, they could celebrate to their heart's content. Despite having the upper hand, the inability to break the deadlock was the most agonizing aspect.
Teammates rushed forward to embrace and celebrate with Wang Feng, their eyes reflecting a profound admiration. Wang Feng's individual prowess was vividly demonstrated in this goal, and from a close distance, this seamless one-man attacking play was simply breathtaking!
Just three minutes later, Wang Feng received a pass from his teammate in the forward position. A Kuwaiti defender suddenly squeezed in from the side, exerting all his strength to tackle Wang Feng.
But at the moment of contact, he felt as if he had collided with a mountain. The tremendous reactive force sent him stumbling and falling to the ground, while Wang Feng remained unmoved. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Feng deftly controlled the ball with his right foot and took a direct shot from a distance.
With a "bang," the ball flew straight towards the goal. Although the goalkeeper made every effort to save, the angle of the shot was too tricky, leaving him only to sigh in frustration.
2:0! Wang Feng scored his second goal!
After scoring, Wang Feng smiled and reached out to help up the Kuwaiti defender who had fallen. The latter looked at this world-class footballer with a face flushed with disbelief and astonishment.
However, Wang Feng paid no heed. Perhaps the opponent had intended to foul him, but such a level of confrontation paled in comparison to the intense clashes in Serie A.
With a two-goal lead, Wang Feng consciously slowed down the pace of the attack, no longer going solo but cooperating with teammates. Through several passes, he keenly realized the inadequacy in the team's football intelligence.
Many times, teammates in good positions were not aware of it, either not expecting Wang Feng to pass to them or not immediately launching an attack after receiving the ball, instead organizing slowly after the opponents filled the gaps.
Wang Feng couldn't help but lament. If only he had a teammate like Ribery, he could definitely make the Kuwaiti defense understand what teamwork in football truly meant. What a pity!
As the game reached its final moments, Wang Feng intended to make another breakthrough. After receiving the ball on the right, he dribbled past several players, cut inside the penalty area, and faced the last Kuwaiti defender who viciously lunged at his legs. Feeling greatly embarrassed, as Wang Feng seemed to be toying with them.
Just as the defender approached, Wang Feng deftly dodged the tackle, jumping effortlessly to evade the malicious defense. Facing the final barrier, the goalkeeper, he initially intended to shoot directly. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shao Jiayi rushing to support.
So he changed his shot to a pass, a right-footed poke horizontally that landed perfectly at Shao Jiayi's feet. Facing the vast open goal, Shao Jiayi didn't waste the opportunity and gently pushed the ball into the net.
3:0! China's team eventually triumphed over Kuwait. Within fifteen minutes, Wang Feng contributed two goals and one assist, proving his talent beyond doubt.
As the referee blew the final whistle, several Kuwaiti players instantly surrounded Wang Feng, looking at him with admiration, hoping to exchange jerseys with him. Many others wanted his autograph, prompting a teammate to run to the sidelines to fetch a pen.
Wang Feng had no choice but to randomly select a lucky fan to exchange jerseys with. This fortunate person immediately became the envy of his teammates, and only after satisfying everyone's autograph requests could Wang Feng finally leave.
Sun Jihai walked up to him, smiling, and said, "You've made history. I don't think there's ever been a player chased by opponents for autographs on the spot."
"The 2002 World Cup is our eternal regret. With you joining us now, I believe we can go further on the world stage!"
After the match, the Kuwaiti coach described the game as "cheating" during the press conference, believing that China's deployment of Wang Feng left no room for opponents.
"We couldn't contain him. Honestly, I feel like he could break through our defense alone. It's not surprising, after all, he's the European Golden Boot, a double football legend."
"I'm glad my players showed tenacious fighting spirit. Without Wang Feng, we might have had a chance to secure the only spot for advancement."
"But now, I just want to say, stop comparing. Let China advance, they should face Japan, Korea, and not trouble us!"
Despite the victory, Chinese coach Alihan remained serious at the press conference.
"Everything went wrong. I don't know what happened. The tactics were clear, we had the upper hand on the field, but we couldn't score."
"Wang made the game look easy? It's obvious. He only contributed two shots after coming on and easily scored twice. He proved with facts that scoring isn't that difficult; it's our players who have problems."
"After that, he made many exquisite passes, but we still couldn't seize the opportunities. This gap is terrifying, and the players have a lot to improve on."
This match garnered widespread attention and extensive coverage in China. Wang Feng, in just 15 minutes on the field, showed his strength to the Chinese people for the first time, not limited to just club football.
Many football professionals described Wang Feng's performance on the field as flawless. It seemed like he deliberately reduced his number of shots, otherwise, he would have scored more than two goals.
More importantly, his superb football intelligence and vision on the field were evident. Frame by frame analysis showed that every pass and run by Wang Feng was purposeful, all aimed at exploiting the opponent's gaps. Unfortunately, his teammates lacked this ability, often wasting opportunities.
"Now with Wang Feng leading, China's smooth advancement from the group stage should not be a problem. But in the quarter-finals, we will face traditional powerhouses like Japan, Korea, and Iran, the outcome is still uncertain."
Some media commented that Chinese football should go global. "Apart from Wang Feng, foreign-based players like Sun Jihai, Shao Jiayi perform better than domestic players."
"So we should encourage more players to go to European football platforms, learn their advanced football techniques, and hone themselves on high-level competitive stages. This is conducive to the development of Chinese football."
On the internet, the discussion about this match was as intense as in traditional media. Wang Feng, making his debut wearing the national team jersey, became the hottest topic, overshadowing all other entertainment news.
Many lucky fans who managed to get tickets to the Tianhe Stadium boasted on forums, posting pictures of Wang Feng taken with their rudimentary phone cameras. Even just a silhouette or a small piece of him sparked lively discussions.
"Wang Feng is so handsome. It would be great if I could be his girlfriend," sighed a female fan, resonating with many others.
"Don't be infatuated; he already has a girlfriend, who is also very beautiful," someone responded, attaching a photo published in "French Football" showing Wang Feng with Lu Yao.
This photo had caused a huge stir a few months ago, leaving many female fans heartbroken.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺