super storm

Chapter 766 Historic Breakthrough
The reason why the national team chose to train in Kunming is that South Africa, the host country of the Confederations Cup in South Africa, is also located at a high altitude. It is also a preparation strategy for the national team to train in Kunming in advance to adapt to the high altitude.

After completing the final closed training camp in Kunming, the national team took a special plane to depart for Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa, on the [-]th. The first game of the Chinese team, the opening match of the Confederations Cup, was scheduled to be held at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg at [-]:[-] pm on the [-]th, Beijing time.

Alihan's training team recruited 31 players, but only 23 of them actually got air tickets to South Africa. Eight players missed the trip to the Confederations Cup, and they were basically young players who played for China.

When the Chinese team arrived at Johannesburg International Airport, besides the host of the Confederations Cup, there were enthusiastic South African fans, as well as Chinese and ethnic Chinese working in South Africa.

Especially when they saw Yang Yang appearing with a shoulder bag and a smile on his face, the atmosphere at the scene was even more enthusiastic.

At the scene, there were more than 1 pick-up fans shouting his name. At the same time, there were also media reporters from all over the world. They all came chasing Yang Yang, and they were full of expectations for the No.[-] Confederations Cup in world football.

After seeing the fanatical fans and media reporters at the scene, the international players of the national team deeply felt the influence of Yang Yang in the international football world. Even South Africa has so many fans who came to pick him up, which shows his popularity here.

It's a pity that Yang Yang himself was very energetic when he first arrived in South Africa after a long-distance flight, but his teammates were very tired, so Yang Yang couldn't stay longer at the scene. He could only interact with the fans and leave in a hurry.

But the arrival of Yang Yang will undoubtedly add a bit of color to the upcoming Confederations Cup.

However, don't look at the South African fans who are chasing Yang Yang outside the stadium, but they will not be polite when they are inside the stadium.

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On the evening of the [-]th Beijing time, Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Both sides played more actively in the opening game, and both teams are eager to grab the first victory in the group from each other.

The game entered a fast pace at the beginning, but both sides made more mistakes in passing and receiving.

The South African team obviously strengthened their defense against Yang Yang, and at the same time arranged for the 1.9-meter-eight high school defender Bout to freeze Gao Lin, which made it difficult for the Chinese team to open up the situation in the frontcourt.

And from the beginning of the game, the South African team used their excellent physical fitness and abundant physical fitness to launch a series of attacks on the Chinese team. Led by Everton's midfielder Pienaar, the South African team put pressure on the Chinese team in turn.

However, although the South African team seems to take the initiative, it is difficult to create a threat.

After a bad start, the Chinese team has been struggling to find their own rhythm.

In the end, the two sides tied at zero to zero in the first half.

……

After the second half, the South African fans in the stands changed their cheers when they heard Yang Yang's name before the game, beat the African drum full of local characteristics, stood up and sang the national anthem to encourage the fans of their national team.

And the fans in the stands behind the goal of the South African team used all kinds of means to interfere with the players on the field, especially Yang Yang. Every time he got the ball, the scene would be booed overwhelmingly.

The turf at the scene was also very bad, with uneven potholes. When Yang Yang tried to break through with the ball, he accidentally stepped on the pothole. Not only did the breakthrough fail, but he almost fell down and lost the ball. This immediately excited the South African fans in the stands and cheered crazily, as if they wanted to see Yang Yang make a fool of himself.

This made Yang Yang feel very speechless, and couldn't help smiling wryly.

After the start of the second half, South Africa began to push forward aggressively, but unfortunately, the Chinese team today played a midfielder double midfielder combination of Zhao Junzhe and Zheng Zhi, plus Feng Xiaoting and Li Weifeng in the central defenders, and Sun Xiang and Zhang Linpeng played on the two sides. They just did not leave the South African team with the slightest chance.

The South African team still relies more on Pinal's organization and passing. Yang Yang is also very familiar with this former teammate. He gave Zheng Zhi and Zhao Junzhe advice before the game, so Pinal's performance today was not ideal.

Similarly, Pienaar must have given the South African defenders a lot of tricks.

South Africa's most threatening attack in the entire game occurred in the second half No.703 minutes, Pienaer sent a corner kick, and center Fanteni, who played for Maccabi Haifa in Israel, scored a header from close range, but it was slightly higher.

Although the attack failed this time, it still made people break out in a cold sweat.

Subsequently, the Chinese team did not adopt conservative tactics, but decisively replaced Zhao Junzhe with Hao Junmin, which strengthened the team's midfield creativity, and Zhou Haibin and Hao Junmin jointly created opportunities for the frontcourt.

On the one hand, the South African team was unable to hold on due to excessive physical exertion, and their running and speed declined. On the other hand, the sudden exertion of the Chinese team forced the South African team to switch from offense to defense.

In the No.804 minute, Hao Junmin and Zhou Haibin cooperated in the middle, and Zhou Haibin made a diagonal pass to the right.

After Chen Tao plugged in at high speed, he forcibly broke through the South African left back one-on-one on the right side of the penalty area, and made a pass to the front point before going down to the bottom line.

Gao Lin finally grabbed the first spot. From a position far from the goal, he headed the ball and headed the ball to the back point.

Yang Yang jumped in quickly, and without any defense, he headed the goal from close range and headed the ball into the goal of the South African team.

One to zero!

When the whistle sounded for the referee's effective goal, the entire Ellis Park stadium followed in an uproar.

The South African fans at the scene were stunned for a while, and then burst into warm applause.

The Chinese fans who made a special trip to the scene shouted Yang Yang's name loudly, and many of them waved the five-star red flag vigorously.

This score has been maintained until the end of the game.

With Yang Yang's goal in the No.804 minute, the Chinese team narrowly beat South Africa [-]-[-].

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The victory in the first battle, and when it was reported back to the country, the public opinion was naturally boiling again.

But three days later, when the Chinese team faced Spain, although the Chinese team adopted a game strategy of three midfielders and strictly guarding against death, only Yang Yang was left in the frontcourt to fight back, and the rest of the players all retreated.

But even so, they still couldn't compete with the powerful Spanish team in the end.

In 5 minutes, Capdevila made a pass from the left, and the Chinese team's defense was negligent. Villa ran out of space, and without any defense, he nodded in front of the small penalty area and scored.

Yang Yang performed very tenaciously throughout the game. In the first half, he almost assisted Chen Tao to score a goal. After Villa scored in the second half, Yang Yang planned two counterattacks in a row. One of them directly shot a long shot from 30 meters away, which was pounced by Casillas.

And Spain also played a wave of offensives in succession, but they still couldn't break through the Chinese team's goal again.

In the end, the Chinese team lost the second game of the Confederations Cup zero to one.

Yang Yang is also very familiar with Spanish players, especially Xavi Alonso and Arbeloa, who were teammates during the Liverpool period. He is still satisfied with the result of the game.

Although they lost, Spain's strength lies there. The Chinese team was able to concede only one goal and keep the score throughout the game. More importantly, even in the final stage of the game, the Chinese team did not give up.

Overall, the team's performance is satisfactory.

Losing to Spain is also expected by the Chinese team, and the key is to play New Zealand in the last game.

……

In the case of the Chinese team with one win and one loss, South Africa defeated New Zealand [-]-[-], also with one win and one loss.

Spain wants to strive for the first place in the group, and its overall strength is far superior to that of South Africa. The third group match should not be released, but it may not be a draw. Therefore, the Chinese team can only win the promotion right by beating New Zealand in the last game.

New Zealand lost to Spain [-]-[-] in the first game, and lost [-]-[-] to South Africa in the second game, and has basically been eliminated.

The last battle was fought more for dignity.

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February 21, Ellis Park Stadium.

This time, the fans in the stands chose to support New Zealand.

The reason is simple. China played against New Zealand and Spain played against South Africa at the same time. If China loses to New Zealand, then South Africa will have a chance to advance.

Therefore, whenever New Zealand launches an attack, there are always thunderous cheers from the scene.

And New Zealand also showed a high fighting spirit in this game. In the previous half an hour, they even had an advantage on the scene and suppressed the Chinese team.

But when the game progressed to No. 205 minutes, the Chinese team planned an attack. After Yang Yang got the ball in the frontcourt, he suddenly cut in from the left rib, throwing off the defender, forming a three-on-two situation in the middle, and assisted Gao Lin to score a goal.

This score also maintained until the end of the first half.

The other game was still a zero-to-zero draw, and South Africa also performed extremely tenaciously.

But after changing sides to fight again in the second half, Spain quickly got a penalty kick, and Villa made it himself.

When the news reached Ellis Park, the fans at the scene immediately died down.

I don't know if it was affected by the fans in the stands, but after only 1 minute, Yang Yang seized an opportunity, cut in from the left again, broke into the penalty area, scored with a low shot, and made another victory for the Chinese team.

At this moment, the game is basically divided.

Then Spain scored another victory in the No.70 minute, while the Chinese team scored a direct free kick by Yang Yang in the No.801 minute, piercing New Zealand's goal again.

In the end, with Yang Yang's brace and Gao Lin's goal, the Chinese team beat New Zealand [-]-[-].

On the other side, South Africa lost [-]-[-] to Spain, and the Chinese team finally qualified from the group as the second place in the group and reached the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup.

This is also the first time for the Chinese team to participate in the Confederations Cup, entering the semi-finals ushered in a historic breakthrough!

(End of this chapter)