Chapter 279: Inferior in Skill

Chapter 279: Chapter 272: Inferior in Skill

「The evening of March 25th, in Tianjin.」

After several days of training camp, the Chinese National Team faced their second group stage match of the final round of qualifiers.

Playing at home, they were up against another strong team in the group: Japan.

China had previously secured a narrow 1-0 away victory against Iran, while Japan had defeated North Korea 2-1 at home. This meant that a home victory against Japan would give the Chinese Team a clear advantage in the group.

Because of this, both China and Japan approached the match with great caution.

This was especially true considering Japan had been defeated by China 3-0 in the previous Asian Cup final.

After the team had time to gel during the Asian Cup, Arie Haan deployed a 4-3-3 formation for this match. For his front line, he fielded a young trident of Yan Song, Yang Yang, and Chen Tao—a very bold experiment.

Yang Yang was only eighteen, Chen Tao had just turned twenty, and Yan Song was only twenty-four. This front trident was arguably the youngest attacking combination in China’s history. Many veteran national players, including Li Jinyu, Li Yi, and Hao Dong, were either not called up to the training squad or were sitting on the bench.

In response to this, Arie Haan stated that he was aggressively pushing for a rejuvenation of the Chinese National Team. With the World Cup coming up next year, many of the veteran players were clearly no longer suitable to remain on the team.

While his bold use of new talent up front was surprising, the backline remained largely unchanged.

Sun Xiang was on the left, with the duo of Zheng Zhi and Li Weifeng in the center. Wei Xin was on the right, and the Goalkeeper was Liu Yunfei.

Arie Haan was clearly very satisfied with this defensive lineup for the Chinese Team and had no intention of changing it.

As for the midfield, he had used three defensive midfielders against the Iran Team in the last round. While conservative, the strategy had been effective. This time, however, Arie Haan abandoned the three-defensive-midfielder system, opting instead for a combination of Shao Jiayi, Zhao Junzhe, and Zhou Haibin.

Among them, Shao Jiayi played in a more advanced position, while Zhao Junzhe and Zhou Haibin formed a double pivot as defensive midfielders.

Judging from his formation, Arie Haan was clearly experimenting with the Chinese Team’s midfield and attack, having already stabilized the defense.

In terms of tactics, Arie Haan was indeed cautious, but that didn’t mean he was conservative in every single match.

…

…

From the first whistle, both sides actively probed for weaknesses.

For the first ten minutes, both teams were in a phase of feeling each other out and settling in.

The first threatening attack of the game came in the twelfth minute. Japan’s Hidetoshi Nakata sent a shot-cross from the right side, just outside the penalty area, but Goalkeeper Liu Yunfei decisively came off his line to smother the ball.

Just one minute later, Nakamura Shunsuke, who played for Regina in Serie A, made a powerful run on the ball before being brought down by a tackle from Zhou Haibin. The referee immediately showed Zhou Haibin a yellow card, the first of the match.

After weathering a wave of attacks from the Japan Team, the Chinese Team quickly created a counter-attacking opportunity.

Yang Yang led a swift counter, running into space on Japan’s left flank to receive a pass from a teammate. He then cut the ball back to the edge of the penalty area. Shao Jiayi followed up with a powerful, first-time shot, but unfortunately, he skied it high over the bar.

That was the Chinese Team’s first shot of the match.

Afterward, once the Chinese Team had settled their nerves, they began creating chances frequently.

Zhou Haibin sent a diagonal pass, which Yang Yang quickly moved to the right wing to receive. Facing two Japanese defenders, Yang Yang suddenly accelerated, dribbling through the gap between them. He cut inside to the edge of the box and unleashed a powerful shot with his left foot.

The shot was very similar to his world-class goal against Alkmaar, only from a much closer distance. The quality of the strike was good and he kept it down, but it still sailed just over the crossbar.

Although the shot didn’t result in a goal, it sent a cold sweat down the spines of the entire Japan Team.

Everyone clearly realized that Yang Yang’s individual skill still gave him a significant advantage against the Japanese players.

He was, after all, the star player capable of carrying Ajax on his shoulders, a rising talent sought after by half of Europe’s top clubs.

And having gotten a taste of success, Yang Yang began to play even more actively, demanding the ball more.

Three minutes later, Yang Yang actively dropped back from the front line, raising his hand to call for the ball.

He received the ball in the space between Japan’s midfield and defensive lines, a position that made the Japanese players extremely uncomfortable. Yang Yang’s first touch and turn were seamless, and he immediately charged forward with the ball.

Once he hit his top speed, the Japan Team couldn’t stop him and could only resort to a blatant foul.

For that, the referee gave Japan’s center-back, Miyamoto Keisuke, a yellow card and awarded the Chinese Team a free kick in an attacking position.

…

…

Yang Yang took Shao Jiayi’s hand and pulled himself up from the grass.

Miyamoto Keisuke was a solid defender; the foul had been decisive and clean. The spot was a bit far out and off to the left, making a direct free kick impossible. At best, they could try a set-piece routine.

“How should we play this one?” Shao Jiayi asked, looking troubled.

“Let’s do a routine. I’ll wait on the edge of the box,” Yang Yang suggested.

Shao Jiayi thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

After getting up, Yang Yang didn’t immediately rush toward the penalty area. Instead, he lingered not far from where the kick would be taken.

This made the Japanese defenders nervous, afraid it might be a quick free-kick routine. They immediately assigned two defenders to follow Yang Yang, one on his left and one on his right.

They weren’t confident enough to mark him one-on-one.

Yang Yang didn’t seem to mind, just strolling along slowly.

Li Weifeng, Zheng Zhi, and the others all moved into the box, clearly in on the plan.

At the referee’s whistle, Shao Jiayi quickly took the free kick.

Everyone on the pitch instantly burst into motion.

Yang Yang first feinted as if to receive a short pass from Shao Jiayi, making the Japanese defenders follow him. But then he abruptly stopped and changed direction, sprinting toward the edge of the penalty area.

The ball sailed in an arc, dropping into the Japan Team’s penalty box.

Inside the box, Li Weifeng fought for position. Miyamoto Keisuke was blocking him tightly from the goal, but Li Weifeng wasn’t trying to score with a header. Instead, he nodded the ball back out to the edge of the area.

Just then, Yang Yang came flying in. He met the incoming ball just ahead of the Japanese defenders, taking a touch with his right foot to push it to the side and evade a challenge. He chased it down, planted his left foot, and then swung his right to unleash the shot!

“Yang Yang!!!!”

“IT’S A GOAL!!!!!”

“In the twenty-third minute, Yang Yang scores the Chinese Team’s first goal of the match!”

“It was a well-worked set piece between the players! Shao Jiayi took the free kick, Li Weifeng headed it back to the edge of the box, and Yang Yang controlled the ball, beat a Japanese defender, and fired it in with his right foot.”

“A magnificent shot from the top of the arc! The ball curled right into the Japanese goal! One-nil!”

After scoring, Yang Yang excitedly ran off the pitch, waving his arms to urge the home crowd to get even louder and give the team more applause and cheers.

All the Chinese fans in the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, everyone chanting Yang Yang’s name in unison.

“Since the start of the first half, the Japan Team had certainly created more chances. But the Chinese Team calmly seized their best opportunity. Yang Yang used his individual skill to win an attacking free kick and then scored from it himself.”

“That was his second shot of the game, and it resulted in a goal. His form lately has been absolutely incredible!”

…

…

The match restarted.

Down by a goal, the Japan Team began to relentlessly organize and launch attacks.

Japanese national players like Hidetoshi Nakata, Xiaoye Sheng Er, and Nakamura Shunsuke repeatedly created threats.

The most dangerous moment came in the thirty-third minute, when Xiaoye Sheng Er unleashed a long-range shot from over thirty meters out that skimmed just past the post, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.

Then, in the thirty-ninth minute, Japan had a corner kick. Hidetoshi Nakata’s header hit the side netting, nearly resulting in a goal.

After switching sides for the second half, the Japan Team maintained their advantage on the pitch and continued to press the attack against the Chinese Team.

For the first ten minutes or so, they pinned the Chinese Team back so effectively that China couldn’t even get a single attack into Japan’s final third, showing just how much they were struggling.

But in the sixty-first minute, the Chinese Team launched a quick counter-attack.

Yang Yang received a pass from Zhou Haibin up front, shielded the ball from a Japanese center-back with his body, and then chipped a pass into the space behind the defense on the left. Yan Song made a quick diagonal run, received the ball, and immediately took a snap shot, but it went just wide of the goal.

Just when everyone thought the Chinese Team would hold off Japan’s assault, disaster struck in the sixty-sixth minute. Hidetoshi Nakata sent in a cross from the left. Goalkeeper Liu Yunfei abandoned his goal and rushed out, clashing with Li Weifeng as they both went for the ball. Neither of them got it. Instead, Japan’s Fukushi Toshimitsu capitalized on the blunder, volleying the ball into the open net.

One-one!

This goal was a huge blow to the Chinese Team’s morale.

It also seemed to confirm Arie Haan’s pre-match anxieties: the players’ lack of skill and tactical awareness meant the team had a very low margin for error. The moment they made a mistake, their opponent would likely seize the opportunity to create a deadly chance.

The goal they had just conceded had nothing to do with the coach’s formation. It was purely the result of the players being too tense on the pitch. Both were desperate to clear the ball, which led to a lack of communication and coordination, causing them to collide.

There was nothing anyone could do about the team’s situation.

To put it bluntly, they were simply outclassed.

After conceding the devastating goal, Yang Yang continuously encouraged his teammates, urging everyone to keep fighting.

…

…

After the restart, Yang Yang played with even more intensity.

The Chinese Team soon won a free kick in an attacking area and quickly played it into the box with a set-piece routine.

Yang Yang had a chance at the far post, but his shot went just wide.

Shortly after, as Shao Jiayi was advancing with the ball through the center, he was pushed over by Japan’s Xiaoye Sheng Er. The referee showed the Japanese midfielder a yellow card.

Shao Jiayi took the resulting free kick, but it didn’t pose a threat and was easily saved by the goalkeeper.

After the devastating equalizer, the Chinese Team started creating threats frequently, but they were always just one step away from scoring a goal.

This continued until the seventy-seventh minute, when Yang Yang drifted to the right wing. Upon receiving a pass from Zhou Haibin, he turned, cut inside with the ball, and then suddenly played a diagonal pass toward the byline on the right side of the penalty area. Chen Tao made a quick overlapping run down the right, chasing after the ball.