World Cup of Great Powers

Chapter 304 Cursing the French Team

Play the final in South Korea!
For fans, this is good news.

Most of the semi-final fans continued to buy tickets to cheer for the team.

For Zeng Zheng and the Chinese team, it is actually good news.

At least the Chinese team can wait for work at leisure, and have a few days off than the French team.

As far as the French team is concerned, the previous few games of the Confederations Cup were played in small days.

Coming to South Korea for the last game is considered a public tour.

So the French players didn't have much complaints.

Overall, it's a win-win situation.

But the problem is that the attitude of South Korean fans is not very good.

Ever since the Chinese team defeated Cameroon, South Korean fans have always come to the hotel where the Chinese team is located in the middle of the night to beat gongs and drums to prevent the players from sleeping.

The hotel has come forward to communicate several times, but in the end it was nothing.

And that's just about sleep.

In normal training, the Chinese team was often harassed by South Korean fans.

Either yelling at the players in Chinese, or stretching their necks to find fault with Zeng Zheng.

The most speechless is.

In the face of these fans or reporters who maliciously sabotage, the security personnel at the scene turned a blind eye.

If it hadn't been for the strong protest from the Chinese side, they would not have moved a single step.

This is disgusting!

From top to bottom, South Korea does not seem to want to see the Chinese team reach the final.

Not to mention defeating the French team and winning the championship.

In the latest issue of "Seoul Daily", the introduction of the Confederations Cup, the French team occupies a huge space.

The Chinese team only had a few lines of fine print, and briefly introduced the score.

In some local tabloids in Suwon, although you can see reports about the Chinese team.

But mostly negative.

How bad is the historical record of the Chinese team, how many scandals have been spread between a certain player and a local female college student during a training camp, or a reporter saw Zeng Zheng going to a certain nightclub at night, and so on.

It's all nonsense.

They don't even think about it.

The Chinese team is here to play games, not to defend the country for them.

How could they have the mind to mess with their female college students?

In any case, these days the team members are unbearable, and some of them didn't even sleep well.

After hearing Zeng Zheng complain about this matter, Ms. Qian showed her money-making ability!

The rooms of all the players and the coaching staff were replaced with the presidential luxury suite on the highest floor of the hotel.

In this way, even if these South Korean people beat gongs and drums on the street that night, it would not affect the rest of the team members.

For this, the national team is also grateful to Miss Qian.

The players looked at Zeng Zheng with a touch of admiration in their respect.

In short, these small actions of South Korean fans, in Zeng Zheng's view, are a typical mentality that if you can't eat grapes, you won't let them eat them.

Confederations Cup champion.

We can do without it, we can do without Little Days, but neither can your Chinese team!

When several coaches were chatting, Chi Shangbin joked: "If you know it, you are in South Korea, but if you don't know, you think you are in Central Asia!"

"I remember that when we played the preliminaries of the World Cup in 97, those local fans in Central Asia treated us the same way."

"But looking back, it's understandable for them to win for the home team."

"But what happened to the South Koreans when we played in the final?"

"We didn't play against them in the final, what's the matter with them?"

Jin Zhiyang also chuckled after hearing this.

"Old Chi, how about going back to South Korea?!"

"If the opponent in the final is really South Korea, let's not talk about changing the room, I guess they won't let us stay in the hotel!"

"Didn't you see the face of the front desk lady when we changed rooms?"

"At first glance, they are all together!"

"At that time, we may go to the court to sleep on the floor!"

After Jin Zhiyang finished speaking, he even laughed himself.

The behavior of South Korean fans is well understood by the big guys.

After chatting about these rubbish fans, Jin Chi and his wife set their sights on Zeng Zheng.

"Xiao Zeng, do you have any ideas for our last final match?"

"Idea?" Zeng Zheng grinned, "What's your idea after you've made it to the final?! Of course it's for the championship!"

"Okay, Xiao Zeng, let's go with your strength, Lao Chi and I are optimistic about you!"

"That's right, Xiao Zeng, this Confederations Cup is a preview of the World Cup. If we win the Confederations Cup, we will be completely proud in the international arena. Tell me, how are you going to fight? Lao Jin and I will definitely support you!"

The two of you, Jin Chi, spoke with each other, and they were impassioned and filled with emotion.

Once upon a time, did they ever think about winning the championship with the French team in a competition of the Confederations Cup level?
Like in previous games, the coach likes to say to the players: If we really reach the final, even if the opponent is the world champion, we have to fight hard!
Good job!

This word really came true today!
Although judging from the lineup and attitude, this French team is only a French second team, and their purpose is to train troops.

But in the eyes of countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the French team is the French team, so what is the second team?

If the first team can't play, you can pass the second team?
Zeng Zheng often said.

European football's lead over third world football is not just one or two levels.

Take Zhang Xiaorui for comparison.

In Asia, he is a favorite and an intercontinental star.

But in the European market, his position is gradually withdrawing from the stage.

This is also one of the reasons why Zeng Zheng has always supported him to play in the Portuguese Super League, instead of landing in the five major leagues.

But for Zhang Xiaorui personally, Juve's invitation is not so easy to refuse.

After the Confederations Cup final opponent was freshly released, "Victory over France" became the unified slogan reported by the national media.

"Southern Sports Daily" stated: The Chinese team has shown the tenacity of the Asian champions in front of the world champions. Against the French team, it will be another peak for the Chinese team to climb!
The "Beijing Youth Daily" wrote that the Chinese team has already defeated the champions of the Olympic Games and the Africa Cup of Nations, proving their strength in front of the whole world.

This time, we will compete with the world champion French team!
The "Sports Weekly" reminded everyone at this time: the Confederations Cup is a preview of the World Cup, and the Chinese team will successfully complete the task if they qualify.

Reaching the final is even more extraordinary performance.

As for whether coach Zeng and his team can make history and beat the French team, the former world champion and European Championship champion.

let us wait and see!
In addition, it is worth noting that the Confederations Cup is only a preview of the World Cup.

Don't lose troops because of the Confederations Cup, otherwise it will not be worth the loss!
The direction of the "Sports Weekly" report reminded the fans.

That's right.

No matter how rich the Confederations Cup is, it is just a preview of the World Cup.

All the strong teams participating in the competition are paving the way for the World Cup.

Teams at the level of Brazil, France, and Cameroon can accomplish their goals simply by getting acquainted with newcomers in the Confederations Cup.

Their real goal is next year's World Cup champion.

If the Chinese team takes the Confederations Cup too seriously, it is likely to be underestimated by their opponents.

But look at it from another angle.

France, Brazil, and even Cameroon are all contenders for the World Cup title.

But does the Chinese team have it?

I'm afraid no one has ever thought about this question.

Because in the subconscious of the fans, Asian teams want to win the World Cup, 100 years earlier!
If an Asian team stands up at this time and says that its goal is the Hercules Cup, then the next day he will become the laughing stock of the whole world.

no way.

This is the reality and the gap.

For Chinese football, the primary task of this World Cup is still to enter the World Cup preliminaries.

Don't look at the fact that the last World Cup went to France for a while, and played one more round of sixteen than other Asian teams.

But in fact, everyone knows that the Chinese team is just lucky!
In terms of real strength, the Chinese team was not necessarily qualified to participate in the World Cup.

Therefore, at the beginning of this World Cup, the rumors released by Zhuxie were: "Enter the World Cup with my true strength"!
To build a tall building, lay the foundation first.

If you really want to get a better ranking in the World Cup, you must first ensure that the team can score normally in every World Cup.

On this basis, let's talk about qualifying for the group, advancing to the quarterfinals, and so on.

From this point of view, the Confederations Cup champion is actually the "World Cup Champion" for Chinese fans of this era!
We are not strong enough.

If you can't get the World Cup champion, can you go home and entertain yourself with the Confederations Cup champion?
Based on such emotions.

Among the people, there are still a large number of fans who support the Chinese team to play this final with all their strength, and finally return with the cup.

What's more, the opponent is still a strong team like the French team.

I beat the world champion.

Then am I not the world champion?
For a time, both the official and the folk were divided into two factions.

One faction thinks it’s almost over, since they’ve already made it to the finals anyway, so just let it go, don’t delay the world preliminaries because of this stuff;

One faction believes that this may be the highest-level Intercontinental Cup trophy that the Chinese team can get their hands on in the past 20 years, and of course they must fight for it with all their strength.

The public says that the public is reasonable, and the mother says that the woman is reasonable.

So much so that on the day the French team arrived in South Korea, a large group of reporters surrounded Zeng Zheng and asked him about his attitude.

After hearing the reporters' questions clearly, facing the camera, Zeng Zheng cleared his throat.

"I understand the concerns of fans and friends."

"I want to win the championship, but I don't want to see the team lose troops."

"But football games, how can there be no injuries?"

"In fact, players like Yang Chen, Sun Jihai, Li Jinyu, including Zhang Xiaorui, all played with injuries."

"Have you seen Ou Chuliang's vest?"

"It's actually covered in bandages."

As soon as Zeng Zheng said this, there was a burst of exclamation from the reporter group.

what's the situation?
Are the players injured?
How do we not know?
Why didn't the wind come out before?
Or is this a smoke bomb released by coach Zeng for the final?

But not everyone is so sensible.

In the group of reporters, there were a few emotional female reporters. When they heard that even Ou Chuliang went on stage covered in bandages, they immediately covered their mouths with worried faces.

Now they are not arguing about winning the Confederations Cup.

They only hope that Zeng Zheng will bring this main team, mainly overseas players, home from Suwon safe and sound.

You know, the top ten competition is about to start!

"I'm not scaremongering."

Seeing the doubts and worries of the reporters, Zeng Zheng once again released a big bomb.

"It has been confirmed that Qu Shengqing will definitely not be able to play in the final."

"That's right, he's got another hemorrhoid."

"The team has paid great attention to his diet, and even specially designed nutritious meals for him."

"But the result is still the same."

"I don't know if the smell of spicy cabbage here is too strong or something. His hemorrhoid problem, I guess God can't solve it."

"This is non-combat attrition."

"But it is also within the ranks of normal attrition."

"Since the beginning of this year, many outstanding players have been unable to participate in the World Cup preliminaries or even the World Cup due to injuries and other reasons."

"This is also impossible."

"But as the coach of the team, my eyes cannot be limited to these 11 players who often start the game."

"I said that when I took office."

"As long as we take good care of the more than 70 players in our country who are currently of the right age and who are eligible to participate in the national team, I have the confidence to lead the Chinese team into the World Cup!"

"Looking at it now, our injury reduction rate is still very small, within an acceptable range."

"So please don't worry."

"We will fight for the French team, we will win this trophy, and we will go to the World Cup next year!"

Zeng Zheng's powerful speech at the end drew thunderous applause from the audience.

After the applause, some reporters still committed occupational diseases and asked with a microphone:

"Coach Zeng, do you mean that even if all the 20 players participating in the Confederations Cup are injured, you can still enter the World Cup with a team composed of other players?"

Hearing this question, not only Zeng Zheng, but even the reporters around frowned.

This question is so stupid!
It's a shame to ask on this occasion.

Coach Zeng just managed to brighten up the atmosphere.

Your pot of cold water directly dropped the atmosphere to freezing point.

"Did I mention that all the players are injured?"

Zeng Zheng pressed his sunglasses and looked at the reporter's badge with disdain.

"Heh, XX Daily."

"I heard that the capital of your XX Daily comes from South Korea."

"I don't know if there is such a thing?"

"Dude, where are you from? Where is your ancestral home?"

The other party just wanted to answer where his hometown is.

But when Zeng Zheng added another sentence of "ancestral home", he immediately shut his mouth.

He still didn't dare to let others dig up his ancestor's grave.

Seeing the reporter misfire, Zeng Zheng smiled slyly.

In order to ease the atmosphere, I deliberately changed the topic.

"By the way, I don't know if you have heard of the Confederations Cup curse?"

Confederations Cup curse?

I've heard of the Copa America curse, the Golden Globes curse, but I haven't heard of the Confederations Cup curse.

"Coach Zeng, what's going on with this Confederations Cup curse?"

Zeng Zheng touched his head, pretending to have an expression of "I just knew it too" and said:
"I also just heard about it in Suwon."

"I heard that the champion of the Confederations Cup before the World Cup cannot win the World Cup!"

Ah? ? ?
Where does this start?
When the name Confederations Cup was first called out, it was only 4 years ago.

This is the third Confederations Cup so far.

If the Confederations Cup champion cannot win the World Cup, then only the Confederations Cup in 97 can be used as a reference.

So is it really so?

Who was the 97 Confederations Cup champion?
Brazil!

What was the result of the World Cup in Brazil in 98?

In the final, Ronaldo accidentally pulled his hips, resulting in the French team winning the Hercules Cup for the first time.

From this point of view, it seems to be true.

But a precedent can be followed, can this also be called a "curse"?

Zeng Zheng looked at these ignorant reporters playfully, and then added another sentence.

"I don't know if the spell is true or not."

"Anyway, I heard it from the local area."

"But it's easy to verify!"

"When this Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup are over, let's see the results, shall we?"

Hearing this, a smart reporter reacted.

"Ahh~~~ I understand!"

"Coach Zeng, what do you mean?"

Since this time it is an open interview.

So in less than half a day, all of Zeng Zheng's speeches were spread all over the world.

The term "Confederations Cup curse", along with various World Cup curses, quickly spread among fans.

The French team who just arrived in Suwon also heard about this.

After first hearing the news, Le Maire scoffed.

I think this is just some small newspaper making up gossip to attract attention.

But when I ate later, the more I thought about it, the more something went wrong.

Your Chinese team is not even considered a seeded team, and you will definitely not be able to win the World Cup.

But our French team is different!
We are going to win the championship this time!

Damn, you guys are cursing me!

(End of this chapter)