Chapter 684
China's First World Cup Goal!
Although coach Zhu had already tried to reduce the pressure on the team before the match, it was still difficult to avoid nervousness for these young national team players who were making their first appearance on the World Cup stage.
The Chinese team seemed a bit tense at the start, and the initiative was quickly taken over by their opponents.
Compared to the young Chinese team, the Slovakian team, although also participating in the World Cup for the first time, was a regular participant in the World Cup in its predecessor, Czechoslovakia.
At their peak, they reached the World Cup final twice, but were unlucky and failed to win the championship.
In 1990, when the situation in Eastern Europe was turbulent, the Czechoslovakian team even made it to the quarterfinals, demonstrating their considerable strength.
Of the four teams in Group F, the Slovaks thought the Chinese team was the easiest to beat.
If they can't win this game, then facing Italy and Paraguay next will only be more difficult.
Therefore, Slovakia launched a very fierce attack after the match started.
Just three minutes into the game, the Chinese team lost possession in midfield. Slovakia's number 17 player, Hamšík, received a pass from his teammate and unleashed a long-range shot from 27 meters out, completing a shot with his left foot.
This long-range shot came very suddenly, and the Chinese national team's defense didn't have time to come forward to interfere, allowing him to shoot very comfortably.
At the crucial moment, young player Wang Dalei stepped up and leaped to tip the ball over the crossbar, saving his own goal.
"Everyone, pay attention and don't miss anyone!"
Although Wang Dalei is young, his aura is in no way inferior to those veterans.
After making the save, he stood up and loudly reminded his teammates on the back line, showing no embarrassment at all because the other teammate was a veteran.
In fact, given his fiery temper, if it were someone his age who made the mistake, he would probably have already started swearing by now!
Noticing that his teammates were under too much psychological pressure and were hesitant to take the ball, Lin Feng began to actively reach out for the ball.
Seeing him get the ball, Slovakia tried to use the same tactic again, pressing him.
Having experienced more intense pressing and restrictions in La Liga and the Champions League, Lin Feng seemed to handle this kind of targeting with ease.
After the ball was passed to his feet, the opponent's pressing tactics failed.
Moreover, because the opponent double-teamed Lin Feng, gaps appeared in other positions.
In the 4th minute, Lin Feng keenly seized the opportunity. Facing multiple opponents surrounding him, he used his left foot to make an unexpected lateral pass while protecting the ball and turning.
This pass took the defenders by surprise; surprisingly, no one blocked the path of the pass.
The ball passed smoothly through several opposing defenders and reached Sun Xiang's feet on the wing.
Sun Xiang dribbled down the wing and delivered a cross near the byline.
As the Chinese national football team's strength improves, it becomes increasingly difficult for opponents to threaten their goal.
This significantly reduced the defensive pressure on Sun Xiang, allowing him to participate in attacks more frequently in the attacking third.
The team's offensive needs forced him to improve his crossing technique.
Compared to previous years, Sun Xiang's crossing technique has improved significantly after rigorous training.
His pass landed squarely on Han Peng's head.
Unfortunately, Han Peng headed the ball wide under pressure from the opposing defender, and the Chinese team missed a golden opportunity to score.
"Oh dear, what a pity!"
"Han Peng was not well prepared and jumped a little late!"
"Perhaps he didn't expect Sun Xiang's cross to be of such high quality!"
Seeing Han Peng miss his chance, the two CCTV commentators and countless viewers watching the live broadcast on TV all sighed.
"It's okay, the game has just begun. As long as the national team players get into form, there will definitely be plenty of opportunities like this!"
China's counter-attack startled the Slovakian team, who did not expect Lin Feng to deliver such a pass from that position.
This made them realize that they had underestimated the threat posed by Lin Feng.
Seeing that they couldn't intercept the ball from Lin Feng, the Slovakian team decisively changed their strategy and began to use fouling tactics to disrupt the Chinese team's offense and prevent Lin Feng from passing the ball out.
But they soon discovered that this tactic wouldn't work!
In the 7th minute, the Chinese national team's attack advanced into the frontcourt. Lin Feng had just received the ball on the left flank when he was fouled by the opponent.
After giving a verbal warning to the opposing team's number 7, the referee awarded China a free kick on the left side of the attacking third.
The free kick wasn't in a particularly good position, but it wasn't too far away either, only about 27 meters from the goal, well within Lin Feng's shooting range.
Lin Feng carefully placed the ball without asking his teammates for cover, clearly intending to shoot directly.
The Slovakian goalkeeper stood nervously on his goal line, directing his teammates to form a wall while taking small, quick steps to find the best blocking position.
Because the ball was on the left side, and Lin Feng's positioning also made it seem like he was going to take the shot with his right foot.
Therefore, the goalkeeper judged that he wanted to shoot into the near corner, and chose a position closer to the near corner.
For most players, the goalkeeper's judgment was actually correct.
But Lin Feng is clearly no ordinary player!
After taking the final step of his run-up, he bent his body like a bow, swung his lower leg forcefully, and struck the bottom of the ball heavily.
The football made a muffled sound and instantly flew over the wall of players, heading towards the top right corner of the goal!
The goalkeeper's pupils constricted sharply after he clearly saw the ball's trajectory, and he was deeply shocked:
That shot went straight into the far corner!
He quickly moved his feet, trying to leap over and save the situation.
But it was too late!
With a crisp 'whoosh', the football crashed into the net at incredible speed.
Goal!
The score became 1-0, with the Chinese team taking the lead in the 8th minute of the first half!
This was China's first goal in the World Cup, and also Lin Feng's first goal in the World Cup!
The moment the ball went in, his teammates went crazy and rushed towards Lin Feng.
"Brother Lin is awesome!"
"That was an awesome shot!"
"Thanks to our international friends in Slovakia for their help!"
Old Zhu and the assistant coaches embraced each other excitedly, murmuring:
We did it!
We've finally scored!
He's an old man in his fifties, but he's acting like a child, his eyes brimming with tears of excitement.
Goal!
"China is in the lead for now, and this is China's first goal in World Cup history!"
"We overcame the mental demons we had eight years ago; we conquered ourselves!"
"This is a small step for Lin Feng personally, but a giant leap for Chinese football!"
The moment the goal was scored, the two commentators in the CCTV live broadcast studio were so excited they could hardly contain themselves.
Despite their best efforts to control themselves, their trembling voices betrayed them.
They are commentators, but also fans!
[China is awesome!] [Lin Feng is awesome!]
[Your Lin Huang is infinitely arrogant!]
Who says our football is bad? Who says we can't score goals?
Compared to the commentators, the fans, who didn't need to restrain their emotions, were even more excited.
They had waited far too long for this historic moment; how could they not be excited?
……
Conceding a goal early threw the Slovakian team into disarray.
Although they may have had strategies in place for dealing with conceding a goal, conceding a goal so early was clearly beyond their expectations.
Stimulated by the goal, the Chinese national football players, who were initially a little nervous, were now only excited and had long since forgotten their tension.
After the game restarted, the Chinese team quickly took control of the match.
They began to utilize their midfield advantage to launch a siege on the opponent's goal.
In the 11th minute, Chen Tao delivered a cross from the left, Gao Lin headed the ball across, and Lin Feng met it with a shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Unfortunately, the shot was too straight and was saved by the goalkeeper.
But it doesn't matter, the Chinese team immediately intercepted the ball after the opponent's kickoff.
Zheng Zhi dribbled forward and passed the ball to Lin Feng, who then sent it back into the penalty area with a diagonal pass. Unfortunately, Han Peng's low shot from a tight angle was caught by the goalkeeper.
In the 17th minute, Zhao Xuri threw the ball powerfully into the penalty area from the sideline.
Han Peng flicked the ball at the near post, and the ball deflected and flew towards the far post.
Gao Lin and Chen Tao got caught up in a scramble for the ball, but instead of heading it, they ended up colliding with each other.
Fortunately, neither of them was seriously injured, but they were both very upset.
"Brother Chen, if you hadn't messed things up, I would have scored!"
Gao Lin looked dejected. When he jumped, he had already planned out his goal celebration.
As a result, his teammate bumped into him, and the cooked duck flew away!
Chen Tao rubbed his forehead, which was slightly red from the bump, and replied:
I was so focused on the game that I didn't notice where you were. I won't try to take your spot next time!
The two have a significant height difference; Chen Tao is only 1.78 meters tall, while Gao Lin is 1.85 meters tall.
When it comes to headers, he definitely can't beat the opponent.
The Chinese national football team's offensive surge continued until the 20th minute, when Zhao Xuri's long-range shot sent the ball into the stands, finally bringing the exhausted team to a halt.
They were tired, but the Slovaks on the other side were even more tired.
During the Chinese national football team's rapid and relentless offensive, the Slovakian defense was under immense pressure.
At the most dangerous moment, their forwards were forced to drop back to their own penalty area to participate in the defense, and their entire formation was completely crushed and lost its flexibility by the Chinese national team.
If the Chinese national football team hadn't failed to capitalize on their opportunities, they would probably be trailing by two or even three goals now!
Still shaken, the Slovakian team dared not press forward rashly after the Chinese team stopped attacking.
After a few minutes of respite, they dared to launch another attack.
In the 24th minute, Weiss Jr. received a pass from his teammate on the left wing and passed it back to the middle, where Hamsik's shot from 13 meters out went wide of the post.
This is Slovakia's second shot on goal, a full 20 minutes after the first shot!
"The Chinese national team needs to be careful. Hamsik has good footwork, so we can't give him a chance to shoot easily!"
"Yes, our current lead is not big enough. If the opponent scores, it could have a huge impact on the players' mentality!"
The relentless attack over ten minutes failed to produce a second goal, leaving both commentators somewhat worried.
The Chinese national football team is, after all, a relatively young team, and the mentality of young players is prone to fluctuations.
If the Chinese national football team could score a second goal earlier, giving the players a sense of security, their mentality would be much more relaxed, and their performance on the field would be even better.
However, if the second goal is delayed, as time goes on, especially in the second half, the players may become hesitant and timid due to fear of conceding a goal.
This is actually very disadvantageous for the Chinese national football team. If the opponent seizes the opportunity to score a goal in the final stage, then the three points that the Chinese national football team has gained will be gone!
"Now someone needs to step forward!"
Both commentators focused their attention on Lin Feng.
On the court, Lin Feng also sensed the change in his teammates' mentality.
He was all too familiar with that feeling of wanting to win but being afraid to lose, playing football with a huge psychological burden!
This was a chronic problem for the Chinese team in his previous life; the national team was in this state before he joined.
Over the years, thanks to his and his teammates' joint efforts, the Chinese national football team has achieved good results in Asia. The continuous victories have boosted the players' confidence and made them less prone to such a sullen state.
Unexpectedly, this persistent problem resurfaced at the World Cup, leaving Lin Feng feeling both amused and exasperated.
It seems that the repeated emphasis on the importance of the first match has indeed affected the national team players.
Everyone knows the significance of this match, and everyone understands the consequences if they fail to win it.
So once they arrived at the stadium, they couldn't help but think about this issue, unknowingly carrying a heavy mental burden.
The solution is simple: just score another goal!
All tension stems from a lack of security.
But if they score just one more goal, bringing their lead to two, the players' anxiety will be greatly relieved!
It seems I have no choice but to take action!
He originally wanted to play more as a team player and didn't want to stand out too much.
But I can't worry about that now!
In the 33rd minute, Weiss received the ball on the right flank and prepared to pass it, but Lin Feng seized the opportunity and made a tackle from the side.
After receiving the ball, Lin Feng completed two consecutive one-two passes with Chen Tao and Gao Lin before passing the ball to the right side of the penalty area.
Han Peng turned and fired a shot from 12 meters out, which hit the near post. The dull thud of the ball hitting the post made countless fans watching the game feel a jolt in their hearts, and they subconsciously thought of Zhao Junzhe's shot that hit the post eight years ago.
Does this mean the same script has to be played out twice?
Lin Feng chose to refuse!
He glanced at the football in the air, then accelerated towards it, intercepting it before the opposing defender could reach it.
The moment he received the ball, Lin Feng merely glanced up at the goalkeeper's position before taking a shot.
This shot was powerful and difficult to execute, both in terms of force and angle.
The ball arced perfectly through the air and nestled into the top left corner of the goal.
The goalkeeper had no chance to make the save; he only moved a few steps on the goal line before giving up.
Because he knew it was too late.
With a whoosh, the ball flew into the net again!
The score is now 2-0!
Now, Chinese football fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief! (End of Chapter)