super storm

Chapter 1189 The Dangerous Drogba
On the afternoon of June [-], the Chinese national team was stationed at the World Cup base in Brazil.

According to the pre-match arrangement, the Chinese base is routinely open to the public today, from noon to 200 o'clock in the evening, which attracted more than [-] media reporters from all over the world to the scene, making this remote town in Sao Paulo state suddenly extremely lively.

Especially in the routine press conference after training in the evening, more than 150 media broke into the press conference hall which can only accommodate 300 people, which immediately blocked the scene.

They have come from Europe, America, Middle East, Africa and Asia, and the Chinese media have the most reporters. Even the OB truck of the national TV station drove directly to the training base and broadcast the press conference live.

Captain Zheng Zhi and number one star Yang Yang, as player representatives, accompanied coach Queiroz to attend the press conference.

When the media reporters who came from afar saw Yang Yang coming out, there was a burst of warm applause from the audience, and many media were excited because this meant that the long-worried debate about whether Yang Yang would be absent from the World Cup like Falcao would be completely over.

The entire press conference was almost centered around Yang Yang, and more than 300 media from all over the world also came for Yang Yang. They were most concerned about Yang Yang's left shoulder injury.

Coach Queiroz said on behalf of the team that Yang Yang's left shoulder injury is no longer a serious problem and he can participate in the game at any time.

"Actually, a week ago, when we played the last warm-up match, he had already been allowed to play, but at that time we chose to let him rest for the sake of safety, because his physical fitness was still a bit problematic at that time."

Queiroz said, "I am very happy to hear this news, because he is our most important player, all of us need him, we need him to lead our team to every game in the World Cup, and we are eager to play more games here."

If you want to play more games, you naturally need to continue to advance.

Zheng Zhi, the captain of the national team, explained the current situation of the team on behalf of the national team. Regarding the concerns of the outside world, the performance in the three warm-up matches was not particularly good. Zheng Zhi said that it is not a problem.

"In fact, our opponents in the three warm-up matches are very strong, and Costa Rica even participated in the finals of this World Cup. Such an opponent is equivalent to a preview, helping us to familiarize ourselves with the rhythm and intensity of the World Cup in advance."

Zheng Zhi said that many people saw two zero-to-zero draws, but what the national football team saw was three unbeaten games with one win and two draws. "Our mentality is very clear. Compared with other teams in the World Cup, we have no strength advantage, so we need to put ourselves in a weak position. We need stability and defense."

"Three games unbeaten and we haven't conceded a goal, it's definitely tough, but I'm glad we did it."

Zheng Zhi's answer also won a burst of applause from the audience, especially from the Chinese media.

For this national team, domestic fans have high hopes, and it happened that the top leader visited Brazil as originally planned. Although he received an invitation from the Brazilian president to participate in the opening ceremony of the World Cup, the leader did not attend the opening ceremony. Instead, he will appear in the first group match in China.

At the same time, it is also the most critical battle, and that is the game against Côte d'Ivoire.

Colombia is superior in strength, and Côte d'Ivoire and Greece are relatively close to the Chinese team. Everyone believes that if the Chinese team wants to qualify from the group stage, it must grab at least four points from Côte d'Ivoire and Greece.

It's hard, but it has to be done.

The top leader personally watched the game, which undoubtedly greatly improved the morale of the national team players. Therefore, recently, the training atmosphere and competition enthusiasm of the national team have been high, and everyone is actively adjusting their state and physical fitness.

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The focus of the press conference was Yang Yang.

Media reporters relayed some previous interviews with Côte d'Ivoire. For example, Côte d'Ivoire's top star Drogba said, "Our offense is sharper, and we are confident that we can go further."

Yang Yang chuckled after hearing this, shook his head and said, "He always says that."

Everyone was also amused. Yang Yang and Drogba had both played in the Premier League. They were familiar with each other and had a good friendship. Drogba's words were obviously cheering for himself and his teammates, because the Chinese team had Yang Yang, the world's top scorer.

Is Côte d'Ivoire sure that their offense can be sharper than the Chinese team?
Yang Yang said that Côte d'Ivoire is a very difficult opponent.

"I know that many people will say that their results in the past two World Cups were not very satisfactory, but everyone should not forget that in the past two World Cups, they were first assigned to a group with Argentina and the Netherlands, and then to a group with Brazil and Portugal. Both times they encountered strong opponents."

"I know Drogba, Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure. They are all great players. This may be their last World Cup. They are eager to leave something for their country, so they will work harder."

"From a mental point of view, I think we need to put more focus and energy than Côte d'Ivoire. From a technical and tactical point of view, I think we should try to freeze Drogba, and at the same time suppress Yaya Toure in the midfield. Don't give him any freedom. I know him too well."

Yaya Toure said in an interview with the media that Yang Yang was his leading brother when he was at Ajax, and he respected Yang Yang very much throughout his life. Now, Yang Yang also affirmed Yaya Toure's strength through these words.

On the whole, Yang Yang feels that the Chinese team still needs to be based on defense.

"Defensive counterattack is the magic weapon for us to defeat our opponents."

Regarding the final result, Yang Yang was reluctant to guess at first, but he couldn't stand repeated inquiries from the media, and he thought that one to zero would be a more reasonable result.

"Of course, we must be the ones who score goals!" Yang Yang laughed.

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Regardless of showing weakness or high-profile before the game, regardless of the strength of the opponent, the preparations for the national team are still proceeding in an orderly manner.

Inside the national team, most people are more pragmatic at present, and many players are veterans who have experienced two World Cups and have rich experience. It is very clear where the Chinese team stands on this stage.

Strive to get out of the group, this is the top priority of the Chinese team at present.

And if you want to qualify from the group, the first game in Côte d'Ivoire will be very important, and even a game that will change the situation, because the African team is the most direct competitor of the Chinese team on the way to qualify.

In the warm-up match, the performance of the Chinese team was not bad, but it was not good either. Queiroz was mainly adjusting his defense.

After coming to Brazil, the national team began to invest in the final preparations, focusing on studying opponents, especially Côte d'Ivoire.

The personal technical characteristics of Drogba, Gervinho and others were even edited into videos and slow-motion short films by the national team, which were placed in team meetings for very detailed research and analysis, and then targeted drills were carried out in training.

For Côte d'Ivoire, Queiroz highlighted one point, that is Yaya Toure's central role in the midfield, and the speed of Drogba, Gervinho and Kalou.

"In Côte d'Ivoire's tactics, they often return to the organization after the frontcourt attack is frustrated. But at this time, their frontcourt offensive players often use their speed to suddenly accelerate and sprint forward, and then through the backcourt. The long pass directly hits the back of the defense line, which is very dangerous."

Queiroz has rich coaching experience and in-depth research on Côte d'Ivoire. He reminds players that they must remain sober and rational at all times, and at the same time pay attention to the opponents around them. It is best not to let them take the ball near the penalty area.

Once Côte d'Ivoire hits a counterattack from the backcourt, the whole team must press closely, maintain the pressure on the Ivorian players, and try to grab the ball again in the shortest possible time.

Not only that, but in this match between China and Côte d'Ivoire, the referee was Enrique Osess from Chile. He is a well-known card maniac, which is not good for the weaker and defensive Chinese team. Queiroz repeatedly reminded the players to be careful to avoid getting cards.

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When the Chinese team was making intensive final preparations, the quadrennial World Cup finally ignited the flames of war.

In the opening game, Yang Yang's old buddy Marcelo scored the first goal of this World Cup, but unfortunately, it was an own goal, but the host Brazil still relied on Neymar's brace and Oscar's goal to reverse Croatia [-]-[-] and win the first victory of the opening game.

Then Mexico beat Cameroon [-]-[-] thanks to Peralta's goal.

The real upset came on the second day. The strong dialogue between the Netherlands and Spain turned into a one-sided massacre in the end. Although Harvey Alonso opened the scoring for Spain, Van Persie and Arjen Robben both scored twice.

This battle shocked the world, Van Gaal's team almost perfectly frozen Spain, and the three-back play also made the Netherlands' performance shine.

Chile was in a showdown with the Asian team Australia, winning [-]-[-]. Barcelona star Sanchez, who is currently in doubt about his transfer, scored the first goal and performed well.

The Chinese team's Group C also ignited the flames of war. Colombia defeated Greece [-]-[-] in the first match. James Rodriguez shined brilliantly and became famous in the first battle.

The Colombian midfielder, who was transferred to Monaco at a sky-high price of 4000 million euros, led Colombia to a complete victory in this game and won a complete victory. At the same time, he also replaced Falcao's role and status in the team.

The handsome James Rodriguez also became the first star in the World Cup to attract strong attention after this war.

But after Colombia, media all over the world also focused on the match between China and Côte d'Ivoire.

(End of this chapter)