Chapter 239: Cut melons and vegetables
On the evening of July 17th, at 8 o'clock, the Workers Stadium was brightly lit, where the opening match of the Asian Cup between China and Bahrain was to be held.
At the start of the match, Wang Feng sent a powerful long shot as a "condolence" to the small Middle Eastern country, putting China ahead 1-0!
The Bahraini players were stunned. They hadn't fully settled into the game yet; weren't they supposed to pass the ball back to their defense after kick-off and slowly organize their attack?
Seeing their state, Wang Feng decisively pushed forward after kick-off, swiftly advancing to the edge of the penalty area about thirty meters away and unexpectedly scored a goal.
After taking the lead, Wang Feng frequently provided passes to forwards Li Jin and Li Yi. However, sometimes they were too slow to keep up, and other times, their actions were disrupted by defending players, failing to pose a threat.
Overall, with a lead and possession, the Chinese team's players were relatively relaxed. Just before halftime, Li Yi finally seized an opportunity from Wang Feng's through pass, helping the team extend their lead.
In the second half, the situation changed. Due to head coach Alihan's emphasis on high pressing tactics and local possession play, some players experienced significant physical decline. Combined with their high positioning, Bahrain unexpectedly counterattacked with a long pass, pulling one goal back.
Before and after conceding the goal, the team seemed like two different entities. Wang Feng keenly sensed a significant change in the players' mentality; they became hesitant, afraid to attack or make moves, continuously passing back in the midfield and hoping to preserve their lead.
For a long time, Wang Feng couldn't get the ball, and Bahrain gradually opened up, creating more attacking opportunities in the hope of equalizing the score.
This couldn't go on! So Wang Feng retreated further to his team's thirty-meter area to demand the ball. Sun Xiang hesitated for a moment but ultimately passed the ball to him.
He then slowly dribbled the ball past the midfield line. Bahrain perhaps still thinking about their next attack, only sent two central defenders to defend him. Their technical level was lacking, and although they didn't rush to tackle, their defensive positioning was poor, allowing Wang Feng to easily advance to the frontcourt.
Without further ado, Wang Feng accelerated suddenly, took the ball to the right with a big step, instantly evading one defender, while the other was caught off guard and rushed to defend, only to be fooled by a feint.
He then shot with his right foot into Bahrain's goal, making it 3-1!
This goal greatly boosted the team's morale. A one-goal lead and a two-goal lead were entirely different situations, and they realized they still had Wang Feng to rely on!
In the final stages of the game, Wang Feng broke through on the right and crossed into the penalty area. Li Jin and Li Yi both rushed to the ball, with Li Jin eventually deflecting it into the net. China won 4-1 against Bahrain, achieving a flying start.
While the victory excited the fans, head coach Alihan was still somewhat dissatisfied, especially with the lone conceded goal and the team's performance in the second half.
Wang Feng took the time to chat with the Dutchman about it. He tactfully expressed that while high pressing tactics were advanced, whether the players could understand and keep up with it both physically and technically was a big problem.
However, each coach had their own tactical characteristics. After discussing with his technical team, Alihan believed it was possible to adjust the tactics according to the players' physical condition.
In the second match against Indonesia, the weakest team in the group, the high pressing tactics worked well, preventing the opponents from leaving their own half. In the end, China won 5-0, with Wang Feng contributing a goal and an assist before being substituted early.
With two consecutive wins, they advanced early. In the third round against Qatar, shortly after kick-off, Wang Feng initiated a counterattack, dribbling into the penalty area and being fouled by the opposing defender.
The referee decisively awarded a yellow card and a penalty. The sight of Wang Feng falling to the ground frightened the fans in the stands and the coaching staff on the sidelines, fearing he was injured. However, he quickly got up and waved his hand to indicate he was fine.
Wang Feng then took the penalty himself and scored, opening the scoring for China!
Subsequently, Qatar continued to adopt a rough defensive approach against Wang Feng, but compared to Serie A, this level of confrontation was insignificant. What's even more amusing was that they seemed unaware of Wang Feng's threat from set-pieces, or perhaps they didn't believe it.
So Qatar gave China five free kicks in the attacking half, and Wang Feng didn't disappoint them, converting two of them.
A hat-trick, this was the first time Wang Feng scored a hat-trick solely from free kicks!
However, Alihan on the sidelines was quite anxious because Wang Feng kept falling to the ground. Once their lead was secured, he quickly substituted him out.
The 3-0 scoreline was maintained until the end of the match, with China winning all three games and advancing to the quarter-finals!
In the quarter-finals, China faced Iraq, another traditional West Asian team known for their physicality and strength, although their technical skills were not on par with teams like Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Trying to rely on technique to stop Wang Feng was an impossible task for the Iraqi defense, so they resorted to fouling tactics, doubting that Wang Feng could kill them with free kicks.
Sorry, but he really could. Out of six free kicks, one was a curled shot, and one was a powerful blast, once again demonstrating what it means to be the world's number one striker.
In the second half, he took a long-distance free kick, and the ball formed a perfect arc in the air, hitting Li Jin's head and deflecting into the goal.
3-0! After the goal, Li Jin, still feeling dizzy, while Li Yi on the side laughed and rubbed his head: "When did you become so good at heading? The power and angle were perfect."
Really? Did I really practice such powerful heading shots? Although his head hurt from the impact, Li Jin was excited to realize what he had done.
Wang Feng smiled silently on the side. This was his experiment. Because his teammates' ball control and finishing skills were lacking, he came up with the idea to use the principle of rebounding force.
Just now, he calculated the angle and force well, kicked the ball, hit Li Jin's head, and deflected it into the goal. It looked like a header, but in reality, Li Jin didn't exert any force. If he had to head the ball himself, he wouldn't have been able to score.
Of course, this method was too random, and even Wang Feng couldn't control it perfectly every time.
In the final moments of the match, Iraq managed to pull one back with their resilient spirit, but ultimately couldn't change the fate of elimination. China advanced to the semifinals!
Three group stage matches and one knockout match, to be honest, China's overall strength was superior to these teams. They dominated the game, but the problem was their inability to score upfront. If the opponent scored on a counterattack, it could potentially lead to a collapse.
Wang Feng's addition perfectly compensated for this weakness. His fierce attacking firepower and diverse attacking methods troubled the opposing defense, coupled with his unstoppable free kicks. Fouls couldn't stop him either, so it was like cutting vegetables with a knife, easy victory and advancement.
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