Godfather of national football

Chapter 231 Quarterfinals
The game was still held at the Khalifa International Stadium, but there were more spectators, reaching more than 1 people.

The starting list of the Chinese team has also been released:
Goalkeeper - Wang Dalei.

Defense line - Mu Fei, Zhou Dun, Yin Di, Geng Chong.

Back midfielder - Fang Suo, Li Weifeng.

Avant-garde line - Lin Zhijian, Zheng Zhi, Shen Rui.

Single striker - Ji Ke.

On the Saudi side, Li Guo just looked at the number. There was a long list of Saudi names, which made him dizzy.

The referee for this game is a Singaporean. In Li Guo's impression, he has not met him in the previous games of the Chinese team.

Before the start of the game, the scene was frequently pushed to the face of the assistant coach of the Saudi team. It was rumored that he would be the next head coach.

For Saudi football, the most glorious thing should be the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In that World Cup, Saudi Arabia faced Belgium in the last group match. Forward Overland rode thousands of miles alone and scored a goal with five Belgians. That goal was comparable to Maradona's miracle in the World Cup. Saudi Arabia also entered the top 16 of the World Cup in history.

And the saddest game should be the 2002 World Cup, when Germany beat Saudi Arabia 8-0. It was that game that made the famous Klose come true.

In its heyday, Saudi Arabia relied on exquisite technology and speed against the sky to stand alone in the world, but now Saudi Arabia already needs technology but no technology, and speed but no speed.

After the opening game, Saudi Arabia used No. 7 and No. 9 to pose a certain threat in front of the penalty area of ​​the Chinese team. After the two played one-two in front of the penalty area of ​​the Chinese team, the ball was destroyed by the big head Li Weifeng before No. 9 had time to shoot.

This is the opening 5 minutes. What is unexpected is that this is the only time in the first half that Saudi Arabia attacked the Chinese team's penalty area. After that, the Chinese team took over the game.

The biggest threat to Saudi Arabia was Lin Zhijian on the right. Facing Saudi Arabia's old left defense, Lin Zhijian's sharp breakthrough made the Saudi team look half lame.

In the 10th minute, Lin Zhijian made a cross after breaking through the bottom. The ball crossed the entire court and reached the other side of the court. Just when the Saudis thought that Lin Zhijian made a pass error, Shen Rui rushed to him.

Li Guo knows that the main problem facing the Chinese team in Asia is to break through the dense defense, and using the width of the field to tear the opponent's defense back and forth is an effective way.

When Shen Rui took the ball, before Saudi's right-sided defense had time to move over, Shen Rui directly curved the ball with his right foot to the back corner of the goal, and the ball was slightly higher.

And when Shen Rui finished shooting, Saudi's defense on the right had just been deployed, and it was indeed too slow.

The two sides of the Chinese team are very sharp, and Zheng Zhi in the middle is like a converter. He can distribute the ball to the right or left according to the situation. This is like Bayern's Gotze later, with Robery on both sides, and Gotze's role is scheduling.

This is still the case when Qu Bo did not play, Saudi Arabia has been pressed in its own half, unable to pass the midfield, and most of the sporadic counterattack opportunities created by Saudi Arabia ended with the No. 9 striker.

In the last game, the Japanese team played hard against the Saudi team, hitting it with a stick. Today, the Chinese team is walking the dog, but they just hold the initiative firmly in their own hands and are not in a hurry to attack.

Because in the knockout stage, Li Guo is most worried about injuries and red and yellow cards. After all, Li Guo's goal is the upcoming semi-finals and even the finals.

The first half ended with a score of 0-0.

At the beginning of the second half, Li Guo replaced Zheng Zhi with Qu Bo, and the signal he sent was very clear—accelerate.

As soon as the Chinese team speeded up, Saudi Arabia couldn't hold it anymore. At 55 minutes, Qu Bo and Lin Zhijian teamed up to tear open the Saudi defense line. Lin Zhijian calmly pushed horizontally when facing the Saudi goalkeeper in the small penalty area. Ji Ke faced the empty goal and pushed with his arch, 1-0.

One goal behind may not be much, but if the opponent's possession rate is 75%, then one goal behind is tantamount to nothing.

After losing the ball, the Saudi team pressed forward to grab the ball, but quickly retreated, because as soon as it came out, Saudi Arabia's defense was like a sieve. At this time, Saudi Arabia remembered the 0-5 on the field. Saudi football can accept being eliminated, but it cannot accept another 0-5.

The game seemed to have entered garbage time ahead of time. The Chinese team made 35 consecutive passes, but Saudi Arabia did not press.

Li Guo looked at his watch, as long as he scored another goal, he would replace the main players to rest, and the boys of the Chinese team did not make Li Guo wait too long.

In the 70th minute, the big head Li Weifeng accurately found Ji Ke in the penalty area with a 30-meter pass. I remember that in the 2002 World Cup, the Germans defeated Saudi Arabia with a header. Nine years later, the Saudis are still afraid of "air strikes."

Ji Ke headed the ball and pushed the ball out in an arc. The ball bypassed the goalkeeper and flew into the far corner of the goal. The Chinese team led 2-0.

As soon as the goal was scored, Li Guo was completely relieved, and immediately used Dabao to replace Ji Ke, and Shao Jiayi to replace Lin Zhijian.

In the last 20 minutes, taking advantage of the slackness of the Chinese players, Saudi Arabia organized several counterattacks, but in front of the defense line composed of Mu Fei, Zhou Dun, Yin Di, and Geng Chong, the Saudis' offense was always thunderous and rainy.

By the time the Singaporean referee blew the final whistle, Peseiro had disappeared into the tunnel.

He did not attend the press conference after the game, and he was replaced by an assistant coach. The first thing the assistant coach said was that the Football Association had decided to terminate the contract with Pesero.

"It seems that history has not changed, it has only been postponed, and Pesero is still unlucky," Li Guo thought to himself.

One day later, all the semi-finals of the Asian Cup were produced, namely China, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.

Semifinals, China VS Australia.

Japan `Japan VS Korea.

For the semi-finals, the Chinese media is very cautious. After all, the Kangaroos are the European team in Asia. Even if they are placed in Europe, Australian football is still quite competitive. Therefore, facing this opponent, the Chinese team dare not say that they will definitely win.

Li Guo also encountered a naughty question from a naughty reporter at this time, "Li Guo, you have always been a staunch supporter of the expansion of the AFC. You even hope that Turkey and Israel will come to the AFC. Now you have met Australia, the new army of the AFC. Do you still think so?"

Li Guo chuckled, "Of course, this has never changed. I am very happy to meet Australia, and I will prove with my actions that the more strong Asian teams there are, the higher the level of everyone will be."

"But that also means that it is more difficult to win the Asian Cup, and the competition for the right to qualify for the World Cup will be more intense."

Li Guo said confidently: "If you are afraid, don't come to play football. At least the Chinese team I lead is not afraid of stronger challenges."

(End of this chapter)