Chapter 283: Can't you respect your seniors ?
The first round of group stage lost to Spain, which was not much of a surprise domestically in Ukraine, but the slump of last year's Ballon d'Or winner Shevchenko has worried the media.
"Ukraine has reached the edge of the cliff, Sheva must pull himself together, the second match against China will be a battle of life and death!"
Ukraine has reached the World Cup finals for the first time, but Shevchenko is already thirty years old, and he cannot accept going home dejectedly after the group stage.
At the Hamburg AOL Arena, the match between China and Ukraine will take place here.
Right from the start, this Ballon d'Or winner showed exceptional activity, frequently threatening the Chinese team's defense. Just in the 4th minute, he controlled the ball on the edge of the penalty area, turned around, and then sent a fierce shot, piercing through the hands of Li Leilei into the goal.
0:1! China started the game trailing behind!
Conceding a goal so early left the players, who were still immersed in the joy of the previous victory, somewhat at a loss. They wanted to press forward in attack but ended up creating gaps in the defense, allowing Shevchenko and another Ukrainian forward, Vornonin, to continuously create opportunities.
Fortunately, Wang Feng promptly covered defensively, disrupting the attacks. He loudly reminded his teammates to tighten the defense, emphasizing that they cannot afford to engage in open play even when trailing behind. The gap between China and the opponent was too significant; engaging in open play would only lead to a dead end.
His reminders and active defensive positioning finally woke his teammates up. The victory in the first match meant nothing at all! So everyone returned to the right path, organizing a defense to block Ukraine's sharp attacks.
The score remained unchanged for both sides in the first half. As they returned for the second half, the head coach, Alihan, made consecutive substitutions, bringing on Cao Yang and Xu Yunlong, who had better stamina, in the defensive line.
In the 54th minute, the Ukrainian army pressed on the attack. Karlenchenko's long shot from outside the penalty area hit Zhang Yaokun and was cleared with a big kick.
Wang Feng quickly started from the sideline of his own penalty area. His speed was extremely fast. In just a few seconds, he sprinted directly from the defensive end to near the center circle. At this moment, there was only one Ukrainian defender, Nismachini, in the backfield.
The two raced towards the ball, under the gaze of countless spectators in the stands. The distance between Wang Feng and Nismachini narrowed bit by bit. When the ball dropped, they were neck and neck!
Relying on his excellent confrontational ability, Wang Feng pushed aside his opponent to be the first to reach the ball. He lifted his right foot and gently pushed the ball to the right, then accelerated again to shake off Nismachini, charging towards the penalty area alone.
At this moment, the Ukrainian goalkeeper Shovkovsky had come out to the edge of the penalty area. Seeing this, Wang Feng kicked the ball slightly to the right, dodging Shovkovsky's dive, and then caught up with the ball to shoot into the empty goal.
1:1! China's team stubbornly equalized the score!
Nismachini, who had been chasing from behind, watched the ball enter the net, and he could only helplessly lie down inside the penalty area.
"A beautiful defensive counterattack! Ukraine has made an irretrievable mistake! They thought China had no counterattack ability, so they pressed forward in an attempt to secure victory, but they didn't expect to be pierced by Wang Feng's lightning strike."
"Starting from their own penalty area, Wang Feng bypassed five Ukrainian players in succession, touching the ball first. True to his name, his speed is as swift as the wind."
"Now the problem returns to Ukraine. Do they have the courage to continue throwing everything forward and seek a victory?"
Caught off guard, Ukraine indeed didn't push forward with full force anymore. They had to be wary of Wang Feng's speed, so the defensive pressure on China decreased significantly.
Wang Feng continued to play the role of a defender, disrupting Shevchenko's attacks several times with clean tackles and interceptions.
In the 79th minute, Shevchenko dribbled the ball past Ji Mingyi on the right side of the penalty area, preparing to charge into the penalty area. Once again, Wang Feng's tackle came to his feet, successfully sweeping the ball out of bounds and taking Sheva down in the process.
The Ukrainians immediately stood up to pressure the referee, but the head referee quickly judged it as a clear good defense and awarded Ukraine a throw-in.
Wang Feng, speaking Italian on the side, said, "Stop struggling, Andriy, you know my defense has always been very clean, there's no controversy."
Shevchenko shook his head helplessly. "Can't you show some respect for your Serie A seniors? Every time you tackle me, it's like a martial arts move."
"Why are you, a forward, always staying in the back? Get into the attack, you jerk!"
Wang Feng was equally helpless. He also wanted to attack. A draw didn't ensure an advantage in advancing, but Ukraine's attack was too sharp. He couldn't just rush out recklessly and leave the midfield, waiting for an opportunity.
Doing so would likely not receive a pass from his teammates and instead, he'd watch helplessly as his own goal was breached.
In the final moments of the game, the Chinese team also attempted a counterattack. After Wang Feng dribbled past the midfield, facing a dense defensive circle, he couldn't break through and had to resort to a positional battle. Soon, the ball was snatched away by Ukraine again.
In the end, both sides scored one goal each and shook hands in a draw. In another group stage match, Spain defeated Tunisia 2:0. With two wins in two matches, the Matadors advanced early, while Tunisia was eliminated with two losses.
The battle for second place in the group intensified. Although China temporarily led with 4 points, Ukraine had 1 point. In the final round, China would face the mighty Spain, while Ukraine would face bottom-placed Tunisia.
Domestic media started calculating points. At this stage of the competition, no one expected China to secure a win and a draw. Since advancement was within reach, why not strive for it?
In the match against Spain, whether winning or drawing, would directly lead to advancement; a draw meant advancement!
If China lost to Spain, then net goals and total goals would need to be calculated. Currently, China's net goal was 1, with a total of 3 goals scored. Ukraine's net goal was -1, with a total of 1 goal scored.
Only in the scenario of China losing 0:1 and Ukraine winning 1:0 could they advance securely, otherwise, they would still be eliminated due to net goals or total goals.
Coach Alihan didn't want fate to be in others' hands, so he set the tone for the team: at least a draw against Spain!
"Everyone, Spain has advanced early; they should be preparing for the knockout stage instead of going all out. This is our chance."
"Don't fear any opponent. We defeated the African champions Tunisia and drew with Ukraine, who has a European Ballon d'Or winner. Advancement is within reach."
"The strategy for the match remains the same as the first two games, focus on defending to the end. Leave the judgment of offense to Wang Feng. Wang, you've performed excellently in these two matches. Your transition from defense to offense is just right. Keep it up!"
After two rounds of matches, Group A saw Germany and Ecuador advance early, Group B had England and Sweden advance together, while South Korea was sadly eliminated. In Group C, Argentina and the Netherlands advanced early, Portugal advanced in Group D, Mexico and Angola continued their battle, and Iran was eliminated.
Group E was more complicated, with Italy leading with 4 points, Czech Republic and Ghana with 3 points each, and the USA with 1 point, making it anyone's game to advance. In Group F, Brazil advanced early, while Australia had 3 points, and Japan and Croatia each had 1 point, maintaining suspense for advancement.
Group G was relatively unpredictable, with Switzerland leading with 4 points, France with only 2 points, Saudi Arabia also with 2 points, and Togo at 0 points, bottom-placed.
Among the Asian teams, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia still had the possibility of advancing.
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