Chapter 339 - 332: The Strongest Hero

In the 60th minute, Argentina made their first substitution of the match.

Sergio Agüero came on for the forward, Overman.

This was a clear signal that they were strengthening their attack.

Falling behind once again had pushed Argentina to the brink. They had no room for retreat!

Facing an Argentine side that was frantically pressing forward, the Chinese Team once again fell back into their own half, continuing to employ a defensive counter-attack strategy.

But unlike in the first half, this time it was much harder for them to find as many opportunities.

Declining stamina, tactical adjustments from Argentina... numerous factors had changed the state of the game.

With one side attacking and the other defending, the match once again entered a stalemate.

After coming on, Aguero was incredibly active.

He was younger than anyone else on the pitch. Born in ’88, he was only seventeen. He was about the same height as Messi and looked a bit slight, but his body was incredibly agile and his footwork was excellent.

Soon after taking the field, he quickly got a chance on the right side of the box. His right-footed toe poke nearly breached the Chinese Team’s goal.

Klauen immediately made a substitution, bringing on Zhao Xuri for Hao Junmin.

This was a signal to strengthen the defense. Besides, Hao Junmin’s stamina was nearly depleted.

One side beefed up its attack, the other bolstered its defense.

Everyone knew very well that the Chinese Team was hoping to drag the 2-1 scoreline to the final whistle.

Just as they had when they defeated the Brazil Team in the semi-finals.

But someone clearly had other ideas.

In the 78th minute, the Argentina Team found another opportunity.

After receiving a pass from a teammate on the left side just outside the box, Messi suddenly accelerated. He forcefully broke through the defense of two Chinese players and charged into the penalty area.

Feng Xiaoting tried to intercept the ball, but Messi had already built up speed while dribbling. His first attempt failed to win the ball, which made Feng Xiaoting’s face fall. He immediately went for it again, but by then, Messi had already stormed into the box.

His second challenge tripped Messi, bringing both man and ball down inside the penalty area.

The Danish referee, Taye Heyug, quickly blew his whistle for the foul, pointed to the penalty spot, and motioned for Feng Xiaoting to come over.

"Penalty and a yellow card!"

"In the 78th minute, Messi relies on his individual skill to force a breakthrough, creating a penalty opportunity."

"Feng Xiaoting also gets a yellow card."

"This was indeed a very poor piece of defending. The two defenders on China’s right flank were beaten by Messi far too easily."

"Or perhaps, Messi’s ability is just too immense. By the time he reached the edge of the box, Feng Xiaoting was one-on-one and simply couldn’t stop him. He was forced to commit the foul."

The Chinese players watched dejectedly as Sabella pressed the ball into Messi’s hands, indicating that he should take the penalty himself.

The players’ morale took another heavy blow. They simply couldn’t stop Messi.

Three small steps, not even a real run-up, and a simple push into the bottom right corner. Goal!

In the 79th minute, Argentina had once again leveled the score.

And this penalty dealt another devastating blow to the Chinese Team.

Twice they had taken the lead, and twice the opponent had equalized. At this moment, the pressure on everyone, from the players on the field to the coaches on the sideline, was immense.

「...」

「...」

Argentina’s head coach, Pancho Ferraro, was the first to make a move, bringing on Biglia for Gago.

Gago’s strengths were his midfield organization and passing, whereas Biglia was a more outstanding defender.

But at the same time, player number eleven, Amentros, came on for midfielder Alzubi, which was a clear signal to ramp up the attack.

Amentros’s speed on the left wing was a major threat, and his crosses were very precise.

It was clear that Pancho Ferraro intended to go all out attacking the Chinese Team’s right flank, trying to open up a path from that side.

Klauen also reacted quickly with a substitution, bringing on Wang Hongliang for Zhou Haibin to further strengthen the midfield defense.

Wang Hongliang entered the pitch with Klauen’s instructions and ran directly to Yang Yang.

"The old man told me to tell you not to worry about defending. Go all out on the attack. Only with you pressing up front can we hold our ground."

Wang Hongliang said this as he walked up to Yang Yang and gave his panting teammate a forceful hug. "We’re counting on you!"

Yang Yang clapped Wang Hongliang firmly on the shoulder and nodded, saying no more.

If Yang Yang had to state his deepest impression of Wang Hongliang, it would be that he was the only person on the National Youth Team whom Yang Yang regularly ran into at the gym.

This midfielder, standing only 1.74 meters tall and weighing 72 kilograms, had dark skin but was very good at physical challenges.

To use his own self-deprecating words, he wasn’t born to play football. He had made it this far through a stroke of luck. He had no speed, no height, no advantages whatsoever, so all he could do was rely on hard work—endless, grueling practice.

His fundamentals were solid and he had a unique passing ability, but his greatest strengths were his fierce defensive style on the pitch and his outstanding physicality compared to his peers.

In Klauen’s original plan, the two holding midfielders were supposed to be Wang Hongliang and Wang Shouting, but both ended up injured. Klauen only kept Wang Hongliang, but just as a substitute. His only start was in the final group stage match against Panama.

Sometimes, luck is just like that. When a team finds its rhythm, no head coach will make changes lightly.

And Wang Hongliang rarely disappointed. Every time he came on as a substitute, he delivered an eye-catching performance, especially on the defensive end.

After he came on for Zhou Haibin, the Chinese Team formed a three-man holding midfield of Zhao Xuri, Cui Peng, and Wang Hongliang.

The front-line trident remained unchanged, but every one of them voluntarily took on more responsibility.

Yang Yang ran over a large area, covering the entire left flank and the center of the pitch. Gao Lin, up front, relentlessly harassed and pressured Argentina’s backline. And with Argentina fiercely attacking the Chinese Team’s right flank, Chen Tao diligently tracked back to help defend.

The game became a tense deadlock, with most of the action taking place in the Chinese Team’s half.

There was no other way. They were technically outmatched. If they tried to press forward, it would be suicide.

「...」

「...」

As the match on the field fell into a stalemate, the fans in the stands watched with their hearts in their throats.

A situation like this could change at any moment.

For Chinese fans like Wei Zhen, Wei Zheng, and Su Wenhong, the feeling was especially unsettling.

Why?

Because they had seen this exact scenario play out far too many times!

Over the past few decades, who knows how many times Chinese Football had suffered the tragedy of choking at a critical moment.

Once or twice, you could say it was a matter of being outskilled. But when it happened repeatedly, you had to admit that the mental fortitude of Chinese players was indeed weak.

Without strong mental fortitude, without a powerful spirit, how could they possibly hold up in a crucial match?

"It’s all up to Yang Yang now!" Wei Zheng said with concern.

Su Wenhong looked on, finding it hard to watch, but he had to admit it was the truth.

"He single-handedly carried the team to the final. That was hard enough already. I just hope he can bear the weight."

"Yeah, and Argentina bringing on that guy Biglia... he’s been working with Sabella to mark Yang Yang relentlessly, not giving him an inch of space. Their intention is crystal clear," Wei Zhen said, shaking his head.

"In the eyes of Argentina, none of the other Chinese players pose a threat. They’re only afraid of Yang Yang. They’re even willing to use two players to specifically mark him. You can just imagine how difficult it is for him right now."

’With two people shadowing you everywhere, how are you even supposed to play?’

’The moment you get the ball, you’re facing a double team. How can you perform at your best?’

Yang Yang was indeed dominant in one-on-one situations, but one-on-two was a different story.

Even a top superstar like Ronaldinho, if he were shadowed by two players like this at all times, probably couldn’t perform at half his usual level.

What’s more, Yang Yang had already scored two goals in this match.

The media wasn’t wrong at all. This was a showdown between Yang Yang and Messi.

Both had now scored a brace, and both were desperately trying to find an opportunity to score again for their team.

The Argentina Team was focused on containing Yang Yang, and the Chinese Team was doing the same to Messi. The only difference was that Argentina’s players were a cut above China’s, so the pressure Messi faced was slightly less.

But that’s football.

"No matter what, in my heart, he’s the greatest hero!" Su Ye suddenly said, her tone firm and certain.

After hearing this, Wei Zhen and the others all nodded in agreement.

Who could say, who would dare say, that Yang Yang wasn’t a hero?

Even now, at this stage of the game, Yang Yang was still running his heart out on the pitch, sparing no energy. He was hoping to shake off his defenders with his movement and create a chance for himself.

’How is a man like that not a hero?’

「...」

「...」

Yang Yang could feel his stamina draining away as the match clock ticked on.

He hadn’t measured exactly how many meters he had run; he wasn’t interested in that.

Nor had he thought in detail about how to create an opportunity. It was useless to think about that now.

Sabella and Biglia were on him like glue, sticking to him everywhere he went. Until he shook them off, thinking about anything else was futile.

The clock ticked past the 85th minute. Yang Yang could feel that Sabella was starting to lose steam, unable to keep up.

This was perfectly normal.

Yang Yang’s range of movement in this match had been immense. Forget Sabella, even Yang Yang himself was struggling to cope, running purely on adrenaline.

Biglia was positioned a bit closer to the center, which was to help cover the midfield defense, since he had replaced Gago.

The two of them had a very clear division of labor. No matter where Yang Yang went, one of them would immediately tie him up, while the other was definitely behind him providing cover, ready to step up and defend at a moment’s notice.

Under normal circumstances, Yang Yang could receive the ball, but he rarely had a chance to turn. The ball couldn’t linger at his feet.

The slightest hesitation and he’d be caught in a pincer movement from both sides, making it easy to lose the ball.

So, Yang Yang just kept running, trying to wear down his opponents, betting on one possibility.

That when Sabella started to fall off the pace, Yang Yang would get the ball.

’As long as I can turn, as long as I can launch a direct attack, I believe there will be a chance.’

’Gao Lin and Chen Tao will definitely support me!’