World Cup of Great Powers

Chapter 21 Undercurrent
"According to the latest news from Doha, the capital of Qatar, in the 32nd minute of the game, the Saudi Arabian team was scored by No. 8 captain Khaled, leading 1-0 at halftime"

Taking advantage of the intermission, Sun Zhengping read another real-time match report to the fans.

"That is to say, Saudi Arabia and us are going to join forces to qualify?" Lao Rong was delighted.

Playing those two games with the Iranian team has caused countless Chinese fans to sharply hate the Iranian team.

In contrast, Saudi Arabia, which lost both games to the Chinese team, seemed cuter.

Fans are like that.

"It should be like this!" Xiao Rong said, but her face showed doubts.

Seeing his son's appearance, Lao Rong couldn't help asking: "Little Rong, why do you look unhappy!"

"Dad, Saudi Arabia has the same goal difference as ours. If the two teams end the game 1-0, who will qualify in the end? Who will play the play-off against Xiaozizi?"

Hearing this question, the keen Lao Rong also reacted instantly.

If both teams have the same goal difference, who is first and who is second?

In this era, the Chinese team is really not afraid of small days.

But the problem is that if you can directly qualify, who wants to play in the play-offs? !
What if the boat capsizes in the gutter?

Due to the lack of key information, even if the Chinese team entered the intermission with a one-goal lead, Lao Rong's family did not smile much on their faces.

"Coach Xiao Zeng, you don't look very happy, is there anything missing?"

Seeing Zeng Zheng smoking a stuffy cigarette in the toilet, Gu Mingchang asked worriedly.

"It's Coach Gu."

Zeng Zheng glanced up, sucked hard on the butt of the cigarette until it almost burned the sponge, then bounced it to the ground and stamped it out with his leather shoes.

Following Zeng Zheng's movements, Gu Mingchang saw that several pieces of paint had peeled off from the tip of Zeng Zheng's shiny leather shoes.

A dignified head coach of the national team doesn't even have a pair of good leather shoes.

"How's the mentality of the team members?"

"We followed coach Xiao Zeng's instructions and did not tell them the score in Doha. The players thought it was still a draw, and they are happy now!"

Zeng Zheng nodded and asked again, "Coach Gu, how do you think the fighting spirit of the players is now?"

"I think the players are very motivated. After all, what we require is to lead by at least 2 goals. Only scoring one goal now is definitely not enough!"

"What about physical strength? Who do you think can't run anymore, or is it difficult to persist for 90 minutes?"

"Well, the people in the back are fine, but the people in the front are a bit confusing, after all, there are a few of them every time you sprint."

In this era, defenders are rarely asked to cross the half or even assist the opponent's penalty area, while forwards require extreme speed.

So after many games, the front midfielder and forward were replaced early due to lack of physical strength.

Of course, Zeng Zheng asked Gu Mingchang these questions, and he could see clearly through the system.

The talents of the players are all superficial data. When the tacit understanding between Zeng Zheng and the players reaches a certain level, they will also see the specific data of the opponent, the positions they are good at, and the skills they have mastered.

But in reality, some players can't see whether they can still run on the surface.

Some are naturally boring, and some are because of the current state of excitement. When they realize that they can't run, they have already had cramp.

Among Zeng Zheng's coaches, Gao Feng's physical strength has almost dropped to the bottom, and left back Wu Chengying's physical strength has also dropped by half.

Regardless of the player's injury, Zeng Zheng had to find a substitute for the two in the second half.

Smoked another cigarette, chatted with Gu Mingchang for a while, counted the time, and the two returned to the locker room.

Seeing Zeng Zheng come back, the team members in the room immediately fell silent.

After playing for so long, I have never seen a situation where the head coach is not present during the halftime break!
Of course, this is what Zeng Zheng deliberately did.

Just like the head teacher was not there during the self-study, the purpose was to let the players relax and welcome the second half with a good attitude.

History has proved countless times that once a player puts on this suit, it is useless to force him to scold him, suppress him and put pressure on him. Let them be more conscious, but sometimes they can get good results.

Just then, the bell rang.

"Coach Zeng, don't you want to say a few words to the players?" Chen Xirong, who has been in charge of discipline, reminded him.

Looking at the players below, Zeng Zheng waved his hand, "There's nothing to say, just score a few more goals in the second half! Let's go!"

"Set off!!!"

The team members roared and stood up to follow Zeng Zheng.

In the player tunnel, Zeng Zheng found Su Maozhen and abducted him to his side.

"Old Maoer, you can't relax in the second half. You must always remember that you have a big task! Even if you can't score a goal, your header has to play a role for me, understand?"

Hearing Zeng Zheng's extremely serious tone, Su Maozhen put away his smile and nodded immediately: "No problem, Coach Zeng!"

"By the way, you still have to pay attention to your physical strength, I don't have any extra substitutions for you!"

After letting Su Maozhen go, Gu Mingchang came to Zeng Zheng again, and asked in a low voice, "Coach Zeng, just tell me. You looked strange from halftime, what's going on?" "

"I have a hunch that Kuwait will play hard in the second half!" Zeng Zheng sighed.

"Why?" Gu Mingchang panicked after hearing this, "Didn't Saudi Arabia score a goal? As long as there is a winner over there, even if Kuwait wins, we won't be able to get out of the line!"

"Coach Gu, so what you think is too simple!"

Looking at the good old man in front of him, Zeng Zheng patiently explained:
"Saudi Arabia will never allow the same score as ours."

"why?"

"You don't need to ask why? Of course it's to win the first place in the group!"

"First in the group? How do you say this?" Gu Mingchang was confused again.

"Coach Gu, you should learn more about the rules now that you have nothing to do! If you can't figure out the rules, what kind of coaches are we going to be?!"

Zeng Zheng rolled his eyes and continued, "If we both end the game 1-0, then both we and Saudi Arabia have 13 points and a goal difference of 1. In this way, FIFA will have to look at our two teams. Goal count."

"Compared to the number of goals, we are leading. At present, Saudi Arabia has 6 goals, Qatar has 7 goals, and we have 12 goals."

"So if the points and goal difference are the same, we are the first in the group."

"Do you think there's 45 minutes left and the Saudis are going to watch?"

Gu Mingchang was dumbfounded when he heard this.

Good guy, at the end of the calculation of the points, the goal difference and the number of goals are also counted.
Why didn't Qi Kaisheng mention this before when he was leading the team!
"Then what will they do?"

"As far as I can tell, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will definitely step up their attacks in the second half."

"There will definitely be goals in a short period of time in Doha."

"Whoever gets the ball first will be our opponent!"

"If it's Saudi Arabia, then we have to fight them immediately; if it's Qatar, we have a little time to catch our breath."

"But no matter what, we must not only withstand Kuwait's attack, but also score goals at the fastest speed!"

"Wow~~~"

As soon as Zeng Zheng finished speaking, the two had already walked to the player's tunnel.

What came head-on was the cheers of the fans.

"Team China, come on!"

"Coach Zeng, come on, we rely on you!"

"Rush out of Asia and go to the world! We are going to France!!!"

The wishes of the fans came overwhelmingly, and Gu Mingchang at the player's tunnel was in a cold sweat.

If it is true what Zeng Zheng said, the Chinese team is actually standing on the edge of a cliff.

A lead of 1 goal is like a bowl of ecstasy soup, which fascinates everyone.

When the enemy breaks out from the fog, these players and fans who are still immersed in joy will be killed instantly and beyond redemption.

Just like the first Big Ten game in Golden State!
"Then, what are we going to do now?" Gu Mingchang asked tremblingly.

"Let all the players on the bench go to the sidelines to warm up and be ready to play at any time!"

(End of this chapter)