Chapter 225 218: Can They Stop Them?

The evening of October 9th, Shelas Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The AFC U-19 Championship final, China vs. South Korea.

A light drizzle fell from the sky.

After days of intense competition, the pitch at Shelas Stadium was already full of divots. The rain made it instantly wet and slippery, creating poor, even terrible, playing conditions.

But as bad as the pitch was, it was nothing compared to the immense pressure weighing on the players.

The National Youth Team's unstoppable advance to the AFC U-19 Championship final should have been cause for celebration. Instead, the domestic media just had to stir up trouble.

Two days before the final, a prominent journalist from a major domestic newspaper published an article openly declaring that the quality of the Chinese players and their youth development system were far inferior to their opponents'. He claimed they had only stumbled into the final through sheer luck.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

The National Youth Team, he wrote, was faithfully inheriting all the bad habits of the senior National Team, firmly choosing a path of perpetual disappointment and straying ever further from success. The heavens are fair and won't give any opportunists a chance to hang on by a thread.

He even clamored that Chinese Football had reached a point in history where a loss was necessary to appease the public's outrage.

Not only would the National Youth Team lose to South Korea, but the senior Chinese Team was also destined to lose to Kuwait.

The article from this influential journalist sparked a massive debate back home. Many other reporters jumped on the bandwagon, adding to the uproar. This, combined with numerous problems being exposed in the domestic league at the same time, caused a sharp and drastic shift in public opinion.

Another well-known football journalist openly stated that the National Youth Team shouldn't win the championship, and the senior National Team didn't deserve to qualify for the World Cup. He argued a victory would only make the Football Association complacent and allow certain officials to become even more brazen.

The senior National Team was about to head to Kuwait, and the National Youth Team was on the verge of its final showdown with South Korea. With these crucial matches looming, the state of public opinion back home was a disaster. Yang Yang had no idea how the senior team was holding up, but the pressure on the National Youth Team was immense. Every player was on edge, as if walking on thin ice, terrified that a single careless mistake or misspoken word would unleash a torrent of criticism.

Even on the training pitch, everyone was exceedingly cautious, terrified of making a single error.

Fortunately, the media hadn't targeted Yang Yang. They continued to praise him as the National Youth Team's spiritual leader, without a single word of criticism. But with this kind of atmosphere before the final, how could the team possibly focus on the game?

"Did we play too well?" one of the National Youth Team players even asked Yang Yang timidly. "Should we not have made it to the final?"

Yang Yang's heart ached to hear it.

'He knew exactly how they had played and how they had won each game to get here. Their opponents hadn't held back. A win was a win. What was all this talk about luck?'

'On the football pitch, you don't get lucky without having the skill to back it up.'

'And "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"... since when did the Chinese people believe in that sort of fatalism?'

'If we really believed that, we'd probably still be in the Qing Dynasty. There would be no new China.'

'Winning or losing the final was anyone's guess, but just reaching it was a good thing in itself. So why were they so determined to twist something good into something bad?'

'It was a fact that China's youth development program was weak, but did that mean the National Youth Team wasn't allowed to reach the final?'

'Doesn't the weakness of that foundation make their achievement of reaching the final all the more remarkable?'

'And "a loss was necessary to appease the public's outrage"?'

'Yang Yang desperately wanted to ask: was this truly the outrage of the entire nation? Or was it just the private vendetta of a few malicious journalists?'

But the National Youth Team had issued a gag order. No one was allowed to give interviews or discuss these matters. They were to focus solely on preparing for the match.

Under these circumstances, any argument was futile. The only way to answer was with their performance on the pitch.

But being with the team, Yang Yang could clearly feel the pressure crushing his teammates.

'How could a group of players who couldn't even play freely, who were constantly on edge and worried about making mistakes, possibly win when they stepped onto the pitch?'

'The mental fortitude of Chinese players was already fragile. With something like this happening right before the final, how could they possibly give it their all?'

Two days before the match, Yang Yang took the initiative. He went to Captain Feng and Coach Tie Sheng and offered to pay out of his own pocket to take the entire team on a day trip around Kuala Lumpur, giving everyone a day off to relax.

Aside from the National Youth Team's coaches and players, only one or two journalists traveling with the team knew about it. Everyone else was kept in the dark.

Everyone was worried that if the media back home found out, there was no telling what kind of new trouble they would stir up.

After a full day of sightseeing, the players had relaxed a bit. But right before taking the pitch, they heard the match would be broadcast live back home, and everyone's anxiety shot right back up.

Koreaphobia. How many years had it plagued Chinese Football?

What if it reared its ugly head again?

"The National Youth Team has played South Korea three times recently and won all three matches. That's more than enough to prove your strength. Besides, I wasn't even there for any of those games," Yang Yang boomed, encouraging his teammates as they were about to leave the locker room.

"If we lose here tonight, it will only prove one thing: that I'm the bad apple on this team. I'll be the number one reason we lost to the South Korea Team, and I will take full responsibility for it."

At these words, every player in the locker room looked up at Yang Yang in disbelief.

The National Youth Team had indeed played the South Korea Team three times recently, winning all three matches without Yang Yang. But that didn't mean it would be his fault if they lost tonight. He shouldn't have to take the blame.

'What kind of logic was that?'

"Yang Yang, you can't say that! What do you mean you're the number one culprit?"

"Yeah! We wouldn't have even gotten this far without you!"

"You're the biggest reason we made it to the final. Even if we lose tonight, you'll still be our hero."

"Don't say another word. Everyone here knows me. From the U-17s all the way to this team, I've never really looked up to anyone—except you, Yang Yang. If anyone dares to call you the 'bad apple' of this team, I'll fucking fight them to the death!"

"He's right! We're not cowards! Let them curse us if they want. Words can't kill us!"

"Yang Yang, remember the Toulon Cup? You paid for stuff for us out of your own pocket multiple times back then. Who here doesn't owe you one? And now you did it again, paying for our day off just to help us de-stress. You're a true bro. Forget about national glory or any of that crap. Just for you, man. For you, I'm going to give it everything I've got and fight them to the end tonight!"

"Yeah, let's fight! If we can beat them three times, we can sure as hell beat them a fourth!"

"That's right! Let's get out there and crush them!"

Coach Tie Sheng and Captain Feng stood silently by the locker room entrance, listening to the players' exchange.

At a time like this, tactics and strategies were irrelevant.

Seeing the fighting spirit rekindle in each of their players, the two men nodded in unison.

Since the Toulon Cup, they had watched Yang Yang evolve from a newcomer into an integral part of the team. Now, he was its indispensable spiritual core, a player whose every word carried immense weight in the locker room.

He had given so much for this team, and the other players all felt it.

Now, the players were willing to rally around him and follow him into the fray for this final match.

Only now, feeling the surge in the players' morale, did they truly believe they had a fighting chance in this match.

"The players from both teams are walking onto the pitch, and we now hear the national anthem of China."

"With Feng Xiaoting and Zhou Haibin both out with injuries, and Chen Tao and Shen Longyuan also sitting on the bench due to muscle strains, the National Youth Team's starting lineup has undergone some significant adjustments for this match."

"They're still in a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Yang Yang playing in a free role just behind Zhu Ting."

"The weather tonight in Kuala Lumpur is a light rain, and you can see clearly from the broadcast that the pitch is very slick and muddy. This will be another challenge for the National Youth Team, but regardless, we sincerely hope the players can overcome these difficulties, defeat their opponents, and finally put an end to Koreaphobia."

"In the history of the AFC U-19 Championship, the South Korea Team are true title specialists, having won the tournament a total of ten times. Before today's match, they've all voiced their determination to claim the championship once again!"

"It's safe to say the South Korea Team's morale is sky-high, especially after defeating their arch-rivals, Japan, in the semi-finals."

"As for the National Youth Team, they have only won the title once in the tournament's history. That was back in 1985 at the AFC U-19 Championship in the United Arab Emirates, where they defeated Saudi Arabia in the final. It has now been twenty years since that victory."

"However, the National Youth Team has already faced the South Korea Team three times this year, and they've won all three encounters. The question is whether they can continue that fortunate streak tonight."

"It's also worth noting that South Korea's coach, Park Sung-hwa, specifically mentioned before the game that his impression of the Chinese Team from their last three meetings was their Stable defense. But this time, he said, the addition of Yang Yang presents the biggest challenge his team will face."

"Park Sung-hwa stated that he would make special arrangements to man-mark Yang Yang during the game. He believes that only by containing the National Youth Team's number one star will South Korea have any hope of victory."

"According to our correspondent traveling with the team, when Yang Yang heard the South Korean coach's comments, he just gave a slight smile and replied, 'Can they stop me?'"

"Without a doubt, we can see that Yang Yang is brimming with confidence and a hunger for victory."

The South Korea Team came out attacking right from the kickoff.

With the Chinese Team missing four of its key players, their overall strength was significantly weakened. The South Korea Team quickly capitalized, using their pressure in the midfield to dominate possession and force the Chinese Team onto the defensive.

Just five minutes in, South Korea earned a free kick on the right wing and sent the ball into the box, but Goalkeeper Guan Zhen came out decisively to punch it clear.

The first real threat came in the ninth minute. Following a South Korean corner from the left, Guan Zhen came out again, but his clearance didn't go far. The ball fell to a South Korean player lurking outside the box, who unleashed a long-range shot. Fortunately, center-back Ren Yongshun was on the goal line to block it with his body.

Shortly after, South Korea's offensive core, Park Chu-Young, threaded a brilliant pass into open space, but the receiving player had fallen into the Chinese Team's offside trap. The referee's sharp eyes caught it, and he blew his whistle for offside.

For the first ten-odd minutes of the game, the South Korea Team almost completely dominated the pitch, but the Chinese players were holding on tenaciously.

With Yang Yang constantly calming them, the players remained patient. They played a steady, defensive game, letting their opponents have the ball while they waited for an opportunity.

And finally, in the fifteenth minute, the South Korea Team made a mistake.