Chapter 229 222: Even Worse

"It must've been a long trip."

As Yang Yang walked out of Kuwait International Airport, he was surprised to see Captain Zhu of the National Team there to pick him up personally.

"It's fine, I slept the whole way here," Yang Yang said with a chuckle.

For most people, a long journey was a huge problem, especially the jet lag. But for Yang Yang, it wasn't an issue at all. He could simply sleep and wake up refreshed and full of energy.

But his reaction only made Captain Zhu feel more ashamed and guilty. He thought Yang Yang was just saying that to comfort them.

After all, it was a dereliction of duty on their part and the Football Association's that had forced Yang Yang to rush over at the last minute.

After leaving the airport, they got straight into the shuttle arranged by the hotel and headed back.

In the car, Captain Zhu told Yang Yang that Arie Haan was counting on him heavily. As soon as Haan heard he could make it in time, he immediately added him to the 18-man roster, and no one on the team had any objections.

"Honestly, everyone came here to win. When they heard you were coming, everyone felt more confident."

Yang Yang smiled humbly. "I hope I can be of help."

"You can, you definitely can," Captain Zhu said with certainty. "Just you being here is the biggest help of all."

It was really strange when you thought about it.

Yang Yang was the youngest player on the team, yet he was also the National Team's best performer.

During the Asian Cup, nobody had really noticed it yet. But later, during the match against Malaysia, everyone realized just how much the team struggled without Yang Yang.

"I'm sure you know about the situation back home right now. It's complicated, and it's hard to explain what's really going on. But one thing is for sure: everyone's ultimate goal is to see Chinese Football break out of Asia and make it to the World Cup again."

Captain Zhu was clearly worried that Yang Yang might be holding a grudge or have some reservations, so he took the initiative to explain.

"Maybe when it comes to the specifics of how things are done, or on certain issues, people have disagreements and misunderstandings, and have even made mistakes. But we have no prior experience with this. It's like the last time we were in the World Cup—we were completely unprepared and had no idea how to get ready. It was our first time."

Yang Yang nodded. "I can understand that."

"It's at critical moments like these that we need you overseas players to step up, stabilize morale, and protect this last glimmer of hope," Captain Zhu said with heartfelt sincerity.

"You know, we've been through so, so many setbacks. We've taken so many wrong turns that even our own media doesn't believe we can succeed. Our fans doubt if they're just dreaming. Even our players don't know how to properly view the situation in front of them."

Yang Yang understood what Captain Zhu meant. He thought for a moment and said calmly, "Then we shouldn't worry about anything else. Even if a fog is obscuring the distance and we can't see the path forward, we should just focus on what's right in front of us and play every match, one solid step at a time."

"Yes," Captain Zhu sighed, his voice filled with mixed emotions. "Who knows what the future holds? So many things are completely out of our control. The only thing we can do is try our best in every match, try to build on our performance from the 2002 World Cup, and fight our way into the World Cup again."

"I genuinely believe that if we play to our normal level, we absolutely have the strength to do it," Yang Yang said.

Captain Zhu nodded in agreement. "But a fortress always crumbles from within. Especially now, public opinion is very unfavorable for the National Team. The more that's the case, the more we have to hold on."

Yang Yang remembered the slogans shouted by some reporters back home, things like "Chinese Football doesn't deserve to win" and other fatalistic slogans suggesting they were born to lose. The thought of it disgusted him. Their hypocrisy was just too ugly, too repulsive.

In Yang Yang's opinion, these reporters were even more rotten than Chinese Football itself—rotten to the core, rotten to their very souls.

"Don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to make sure certain people don't get what they want," Yang Yang said resolutely.

...

...

When Yang Yang arrived at the Sheraton Hotel where the National Team was staying, many of the players heard the news and came over to see him.

This time, the National Team had booked out three floors, seventeen through nineteen—the top three floors of the hotel. This was done to avoid any outside disturbances.

Since Yang Yang's previous roommate, Zheng Zhi, wasn't participating in this trip to West Asia due to injury, Yang Yang was given a single room. Most of the players just stopped by to say hello and exchange a few words.

Yang Yang also asked with concern about Li Weifeng's injury. The National Team captain said it was nothing serious and that he could handle the match.

Afterward, Arie Haan also came to visit Yang Yang.

After the National Team's head coach arrived, Yang Yang felt the atmosphere shift. It was obvious that many of the team's internal conflicts had surfaced, such as the issue with Sun Jihai's position and the friction between Arie Haan and the Chinese coaching staff.

In Yang Yang's view, this was perfectly normal. No team was a monolithic block; the key was how you handled it.

Arie Haan was very happy to see Yang Yang. He asked him how he was doing and what his current condition was like.

Yang Yang answered everything truthfully, stating that he was in excellent condition and would have no problem starting.

Of course, Arie Haan didn't believe him. How could anyone who had traveled thousands of kilometers on a flight for over twenty hours possibly be in peak condition?

"You'll be on the bench for this match. If I need you, I'll put you in during the second half," Arie Haan explained his plan, even showing a rare bit of Dutch humor. "Of course, I hope you'll be sitting on that bench for the entire game."

Yang Yang understood the meaning behind his words and smiled. "I hope I don't have to play, either."

That would mean the team had beaten Kuwait without any trouble.

If that were the case, Yang Yang would be happy to sit on the bench for all ninety minutes.

But in reality…

...

...

「Night of October 13th, at the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Kuwait City.」

World Cup Asian Zone Qualifiers, Group D, Round 5: China challenges Kuwait in an away match.

In the 54th minute of the second half, Shao Jiayi lost the ball in the midfield, and Kuwait launched a swift counter-attack down the right flank.

Despite being quite far from the opposing player, Sun Xiang suddenly made a ridiculous sliding tackle. Not only did he fail to get the ball, but he was also easily bypassed. The opponent then reached the byline and sent in a bizarrely curving cross that flew past both Goalkeeper Liu Yunfei and the defensive line.

At the edge of the six-yard box, Bashar headed the ball back, and Zuma followed up with a thunderous shot, piercing the Chinese Team's goal.

In that instant, the entire stadium erupted.

The Kuwaiti fans roared and cheered.

This goal allowed them to finally catch up to the Chinese Team on points, and they now had the advantage on goal difference.

Meanwhile, the Chinese players on the field were devastated. Looks of disbelief spread across their faces, and they seemed at a complete loss.

...

...

Everything that happened in Kuwait was captured clearly by the live broadcast cameras and shown on National Television back in China. Even the match commentator stated gloomily that the goal was a huge blow to the team.

"It has to be said, this has always been the Achilles' heel of Chinese Football. We always run into problems at critical moments."

"Tonight, we only needed a draw to advance to the final qualifying round, but we've made a mistake once again."

"Team after team has brought us painful memories and disasters, forcing us to reflect time and time again: is our team's strength truly only at this level, or are there other reasons at play?"

"Before this match, we interviewed the National Team's head coach, Arie Haan. He stated candidly that Chinese players have two very serious problems. One is a lack of deep understanding of football—to put it simply, their tactical awareness is insufficient. This is not only reflected in the current players but also in our methods of player development."

"Another point is that the players' mental fortitude isn't strong enough, causing them to shoulder a heavy psychological burden at every critical moment."

"Arie Haan is not the first head coach to raise this issue, but an effective solution has never been found."

"Our players are too slow to get into the rhythm of the game and lack a unified approach. Only when our backs are against the wall do we unite, but we don't have the strength to equalize or come from behind in every match."

"During the Asian Cup, we once thought the team had overcome its difficulties and found a solution. But unexpectedly, in the following match against Malaysia, and now tonight against Kuwait, the same situation has reappeared."

"The team played without any structure for the entire first half, looking completely overwhelmed by Kuwait's pressure. The team had no unified game plan, which led to a very disjointed performance, lacking the cohesiveness we saw during the Asian Cup."

"Without a doubt, Head Coach Arie Haan must take responsibility for this."

...

...

Yang Yang sat on the away team's bench, silently watching the game.

He noticed that after conceding the goal, the Chinese players on the field seemed to have finally united in their thinking and were starting to mount a counter-attack.

Arie Haan's starting tactic for this match was to defend and counter-attack. The Chinese Team had the psychological advantage since a draw was an acceptable result for them, but not for Kuwait. Kuwait had to push forward and attack.

However, it was clear that Arie Haan hadn't managed to make his intentions and strategy clear to all the players. This resulted in some players thinking he wanted to attack, while others thought he wanted to defend.

'Eleven players on the field with eleven different ideas... Even the strongest team can't perform to its potential like that.'

'No doubt about it, the head coach has to take the blame for this.'

On top of that, the form of several players was clearly not up to par. This was partly related to Zheng Zhi's absence. After all, as a ball-playing center-back, Zheng Zhi's role in the defense and midfield was crucial.

Zheng Zhi's absence left Shao Jiayi struggling to make an impact in the central midfield, unable to continue his excellent performance from the Asian Cup.

Yan Song was also on the bench for this match. Xu Yunlong started on the right wing, and Yang Pu was on the left.

In this match, both the left midfielder, Yang Pu, and the left-back, Sun Xiang, were having an off-day.

Of course, this was partly due to Kuwait's strength in attacking down their right flank, which meant they were targeting the Chinese Team's left side.

Conversely, Kuwait's left flank—the Chinese Team's right—hadn't posed a threat at all, which shouldn't have been the case. According to the information Yang Yang had received, Xu Yunlong was playing with an injury.

Additionally, the forwards Hao Dong and Li Jinyu, and the defenders Li Weifeng and Zhang Yaokun, were all clearly in poor form. Even the Goalkeeper, Liu Yunfei, had made several uncharacteristic mistakes.

It was safe to say that the National Team players' mentality was definitely unbalanced in this match; otherwise, it was unlikely that every single one of them would be performing poorly.

Just as everyone was getting anxious, Arie Haan and Dejan huddled together, whispering to each other for a moment.

Dejan immediately turned around and shouted to Yang Yang.

"Yang, quick, warm up!"