Chapter 0 After the Match

After the match, Zhou Yi's red card and absence from the final became a hot topic.

Chinese fans and media alike regretted Zhou Yi's red card and worried about the Chinese team's prospects in the final.

Without their absolute core player, Zhou Yi, what would become of the Chinese team against Japan in the final?

Some expressed anger at the referee, believing that the AFC was rigging the tournament for Japan to win. They argued that even if Zhou Yi's foul was debatable, shouldn't a yellow card have sufficed, considering the appeal of the final?

A direct red card seemed too harsh, robbing the final of suspense.

Amid these debates, the person involved remained calm.

When reporters swarmed him with questions, he said, "I don't believe we'll be inferior to Japan in the final just because I'm not there. Of course, in terms of strength, we are indeed weaker than Japan. But look at the opponents we've defeated along the way. How many of them were definitely weaker than us in terms of strength? In football, on-paper strength doesn't mean everything. The final result is determined by the players' performance on the field. Also, I want to reiterate that I have no objection to the red card, and I don't regret my foul. I just did what I had to do, and I believe my teammates would have made the same choice in my position."

One reporter asked a slightly pointed question: "If the Chinese team ultimately loses to Japan, will you feel regret?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. "No. There's nothing to regret. I take responsibility for my decision. We'll come back in four years."

He mentioned four years later again, showing his confidence.

But he had the right to be confident, after all, he was only nineteen years old. What was impossible at twenty-three?

And for the entire Chinese team, they would have another chance in four years. Because the average age of this Chinese team was the youngest in this Asian Cup, and the youngest team in the history of the Chinese Asian Cup teams.

Gao Hongbo's focus on building a young national team was clearly aimed at the future.

He had said before the Asian Cup that the national team was using this tournament for training and warm-up for the World Cup qualifiers. As a result, they accidentally made it to the final.

This already exceeded expectations, so... it seemed there was really nothing to regret.

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Two days after the semi-final, the third-place play-off between Australia and South Korea took place, with South Korea ultimately defeating Australia 3-2 to take home a consolation prize.

A day later, the final began, with China facing Japan.

This match was supposed to be a rematch for China after the 2004 Asian Cup final, but Zhou Yi's red card made everyone less optimistic about China's chances of defeating Japan. Many even felt that given the strength comparison between China and Japan, it would be a victory if China didn't lose by four goals.

They only asked that the Chinese team lose with some dignity.

Although Zhou Yi was suspended for the final due to the red card, he still came to the stadium. He was arranged to sit in a box, watching the match in the company of several Chinese Football Association officials.

Before the match began, the television broadcast quickly found Zhou Yi among the many boxes, and after the match started, they would occasionally turn the camera to Zhou Yi.

In this match, the Japanese team originally thought that the Chinese team, without Zhou Yi, would be easy to deal with. Before the match started, they felt that the championship of this Asian Cup belonged to them.

But when the match started, things didn't go as they had imagined.

Without Zhou Yi, Deng Zhuoxiang, who had been active on the flanks, moved to the center to replace Zhou Yi. In terms of passing ability, Deng Zhuoxiang was naturally inferior to Zhou Yi. However, this match had a very special meaning for the Chinese players, so every player fought very hard and worked hard. Their efforts compensated to some extent for the gap in strength between them and the Japanese players.

This was the opportunity that Zhou Yi had earned for them to participate in the final at the cost of his own absence. How could they waste it?

Every Chinese player thought so, and the spirit they showed surprised even their old rivals, the Japanese team.

The Chinese team still played the same tactics, and Gao Hongbo did not choose to defend to the death.

After all, the Chinese team had been practicing this set of tactics for more than a year, almost two years, and everyone was very familiar with it.

The Japanese team didn't expect the Chinese team to play so aggressively and stubbornly. Their pressing in the middle and front of the field made the Japanese players, known for their delicate skills and tacit understanding, somewhat embarrassed.

In just over ten minutes, the Chinese fans in front of the television, who hadn't had much hope, widened their eyes in surprise and found that this national team was a bit unfamiliar...

Even Liu Hong couldn't help but marvel: "The Chinese team has not given up on this match, even though they don't have their core player, Zhou Yi, and even though they are far weaker than Japan in terms of strength. But no one has given up. The willpower they have shown makes us feel unfamiliar—is this really the national team that we have cursed countless times?"

In the past, what everyone criticized the most about the Chinese team was that the players easily gave up after encountering difficulties in the game, gave up on themselves, broke the pot, and lacked fighting spirit.

But none of these problems were seen in today's national team.

This was simply incredible.

Because although the Chinese team had been advancing triumphantly before, it was because they had Zhou Yi, who helped them solve many problems. And this time, Zhou Yi was suspended due to a red card, which meant that the Chinese team was immediately beaten back to its original form—this was the Chinese team with the "familiar recipe."

But although the Chinese team that was beaten back to its original form was still the familiar recipe, it was not the familiar taste...

Why was that?

Before the match, many Chinese players mentioned Zhou Yi in interviews with reporters.

"We will strive to dedicate this victory to Zhou Yi!"

"I know the Japanese team is very strong, but we will not give up easily, because this is the opportunity that Zhou Yi has won for us!"

"We will go all out, otherwise, we will be too sorry for Zhou Yi!"

"Since Zhou Yi can't play, then we have to bring his share and fight together!"

"This match is for Zhou Yi, we have to fight!"

Even Gao Hongbo said at the pre-match press conference: "I know the importance of Zhou Yi to this team, but we also have the same idea, that is, in the game, everyone in the team runs more than usual, pays more, then it can make up for the absence of Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi's red card will not be a regret or a burden for us, on the contrary, it is a call to the team to move forward. Zhou Yi also agrees with this."

Why was there the kind of change that was mentioned before? The answer was already very clear, it was all because of Zhou Yi.

After this young boy joined the team, it was as if a fresh breeze had blown into this team that was burdened with heavy baggage, was not favored by others, and was also expected to do great things. It made everyone in this team feel physically and mentally happy, shed their baggage, and was neither inferior nor arrogant.

It made this team radiate vitality from the inside out.

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For these reasons, the Chinese team's performance surprised the Japanese team and caught them off guard. In the first half, they were even able to compete with the Japanese team on an equal footing.

But unfortunately, after Zhou Yi was gone, the team's final pass was still a little lacking. Deng Zhuoxiang has good free-kick ability, but his ability to organize attacks is not as good as his free kicks.

Before Zhou Yi joined the national team, he played the attacking midfielder position, but he was not specifically responsible for organizing attacks.

Without being able to send out a better final pass, his teammates would not be able to get better shooting opportunities.

In the first half, although the Chinese team got some chances, they were unable to score.

Of course, the Japanese team also did not score, and the two sides drew 0:0.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides to fight again. After the Japanese team adjusted during the halftime break, they gradually gained the upper hand.

For a while, the Chinese team's goal was in a state of great tension and danger, and they could lose the ball at any time.

But the Chinese team finally withstood it.

The Japanese team attacked for a long time without success, and instead became impatient.

The Chinese team also launched several threatening counterattacks. It's a pity they didn't score.

After going back and forth like this, the Japanese players did not dare to be aggressive.

The game then fell into a stalemate.

The stalemate continued until after the eighty-fifth minute, when the Japanese team saw that they were still unable to score, they launched a swift attack, hoping to score at the last moment.

At this time, they no longer thought about winning by a large margin, as long as they could win, even if it was just by one goal!

During this period, the Chinese team retreated across the board, shrinking and defending to the death.

Hoping to drag the game into extra time.

In fact, their physical fitness had become a problem, but if they dragged it into extra time, they would still have thirty minutes to struggle and work hard. It was better than being killed by the Japanese team in the final moments of the game, right?

They did it. When the referee blew the whistle for the end of the ninety-minute match, the score was still 0:0!

"The ninety-minute match is over! The two teams, which were thought to have a huge difference in strength before the match, ended up playing quite evenly!" After the entire match, Liu Hong was not as surprised as he was at the beginning. After watching ninety minutes of the match, he was not surprised by this draw. All the Chinese players were united and it was not impossible to force a draw with the Japanese team.

It should be the Japanese who should be surprised.

"It's unbelievable! The Japanese team didn't end the game in ninety minutes! The final has been dragged into extra time!" The commentator for the Japanese TV station was indeed very surprised and couldn't accept the result for a while.

"For both teams, extra time will probably be difficult to endure, because they both played for one hundred and twenty minutes in the semi-finals... But the Japanese team may have more time to rest, because their semi-final ended earlier than the Chinese team's semi-final."