Chapter 242 The Day of the Match

Amidst fervent discussions and anticipation, the day of the match arrived.

The game was scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM Beijing time. Prior to this match, there was another game: Japan hosting Australia.

That game was also of great interest to everyone.

If Australia defeated Japan on their home turf, they would leap to third place in the group with six points, surpassing Oman. This would put more pressure on Oman, who would fight even harder at home to defeat China. Who knew what other tricks they might pull?

However, if Australia defeated Japan, China could regain the top spot in the group by defeating Oman, which would be a good thing.

If Japan defeated Australia, they would qualify for the next round with two games to spare. It was hard to say whether this would be good or bad for China. Would a Japan team that had already qualified be less aggressive in their subsequent match against China?

But it was also hard to say. Even though they had already qualified, Japan probably wouldn't want to lose to China and let them take the top spot in the group, would they?

That game kicked off at 6:30 PM Beijing time.

It was also broadcast live in China.

It was worth paying attention to their opponents' match.

In the end, the two teams didn't manage to secure a victory, but drew 1-1.

This result made Chinese fans very happy.

Japan didn't widen the gap in points with China.

If China could defeat Oman on their own turf, they would not only qualify early, but also regain the top spot in the group.

Although both the first and second place teams in the group could qualify for the World Cup, since their rival was Japan, Chinese people all hoped that their national team could surpass Japan and advance to the World Cup finals as the top team in the group.

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Not long after the game between Japan and Australia ended, China's away game against Oman was about to kick off.

The game started at nine o'clock Beijing time, which was a "golden time" from a broadcast perspective. It was even better than the 6:30 PM game, because many people probably hadn't gotten home from work yet - today wasn't a day off, but a Tuesday, a work day. If the game kicked off at 6:30 PM, many people would still be on their way home from work, and wouldn't be able to see it.

But 9:30 PM was great. People were home, had eaten dinner, and it was a good time to sit in front of the TV and watch the game.

But for the Chinese players, this wasn't a very good arrangement.

Muscat, the capital of Oman, is in the Eastern Time Zone 4, while Beijing is in the Eastern Time Zone 8. Nine o'clock in the evening Beijing time is five o'clock in the afternoon in Muscat. The heat of the day hadn't dissipated, and the temperature remained high. Muscat is a Middle Eastern city, and its summers are very hot.

The average temperature here in June is between thirty and forty degrees Celsius.

Generally, if China has a game in the Middle East, it is usually broadcast in China in the early hours of the morning, which is often in the evening in local time, when the climate is slightly cooler.

But Muscat scheduled this game for 5:00 PM, so it was easy to guess what they were trying to do. This was a way to maximize "home advantage."

The hot and dry climate was one of Oman's "home advantages."

If the temperature wasn't too high at noon, they probably would have dared to schedule the game for two or three in the afternoon. At that time, the Chinese players might have been wilted by the sun in a few minutes... how could they have any fighting power left?

But even the 5:00 PM game was a severe test for the Chinese players.

Before the game started, He Ping, who was there to commentate on the game, kept wiping his sweat with a tissue in the commentary box, and then introduced the temperature to the audience in front of the TV: "I'm sitting in the commentary box, and there's a sunshade over my head, and I still feel like I'm suffering in the heat. Sweat keeps pouring out. I really don't know what it will feel like for the players to play in such hot weather..."

The sun was still high at five o'clock, shining on the stadium, turning the green turf white.

But such hot weather still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of Chinese fans. Although it was a distant away game, more than a thousand Chinese fans still came to watch the game. In addition to the employees of Chinese-funded institutions in Oman and nearby Middle Eastern countries, there were also fans who came all the way from China.

They all hoped to witness the historic moment when China entered the World Cup finals for the second time.

In addition to these thousand Chinese fans, the rest were all Omani fans. There were many men in traditional Arab dress in the stands, but very few female fans.

This is a country with strong religious traditions.

Those Chinese fans in the stands were arranged in the worst stands - facing the sun, exposed to the scorching sun without any shelter.

This was of course one of Oman's "home advantages."

Before the game even started, many Chinese fans were already listless from the sun. They used everything they could to block the sunlight, putting their clothes on their heads to prevent sunburn. At this time, they all understood why the traditional Arab clothing in the desert had headscarves, which was to prevent sunburn...

Someone was whispering, "This damn weather, the weather forecast says the highest temperature today is forty-three degrees!"

"Yeah, I checked it online, and it seems that there is rarely such high temperatures in early June..."

"Bad luck, we actually encountered it. I hope the national team won't be affected..."

"How could it not be affected? I think our national team will be satisfied if they can draw in the away game. When we return to the home game, we will use the little Japanese devils to raise our flag, and it would be good to qualify by stepping on the corpses of the little devils! The most important thing is that no players get injured in this game..."

The time and temperature of this game were also being hotly debated online.

It is well known that high temperatures are not conducive to outdoor sports, and the Chinese players are not known for their good physical fitness. In addition, the oversea players who are the guarantee of combat effectiveness are very tired. It is unknown how much strength they will be able to exert in this kind of weather...

Many people suddenly became pessimistic, and felt that the Chinese team would be able to force a draw with Oman, even if it was a narrow escape.

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Chinese fans were worried about the fate of the national team.

But in the locker room, the Chinese players were relatively calm, although today's temperature was indeed a bit beyond their imagination. But they had been training in Oman for ten days, and they had become somewhat accustomed to the temperature here. If they weren't used to it, and came here directly to play the game, they might be at a loss because of this problem.

Gao Hongbo took off his suit jacket, revealing the shirt inside. The back and both armpits of the shirt were wet with sweat. He had only been standing outside for a while when the players were warming up...

The players also changed out of the clothes they wore when they went out to warm up. Some players were not in a hurry to put them on. They were naked from the waist up, letting the sweat run down their bodies, which was more comfortable.

Gao Hongbo was giving the players his final instructions.

"Today's temperature is higher than usual, so everyone should pay attention to rationally allocating their physical strength during the game. Don't rush forward at the beginning, and then run out of strength. Remember, the game is ninety minutes, not nineteen minutes. Consider the overall situation."

During the warm-up, many players were already able to predict how difficult today's game would be. Those who went out to warm up were almost overturned by the heat wave. The temperature gave them a slap in the face.

Some people felt exhausted after finishing the warm-up...

This game would indeed be very difficult.

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At the same time, in the Oman team's locker room, their coach, Le Guen, was encouraging his players: "I heard that such high temperatures are extremely rare locally. What does this mean? It means that God is blessing us! This is a great opportunity for us to defeat them at home. If such weather is rare even for us, wouldn't it be even more unsuitable for the Chinese team? And their oversea players are very tired! So don't be afraid of them! What if they are European champions? This is not the Champions League now, but the World Cup qualifiers! This is not climate-friendly Germany, but Muscat, at our home!"

Le Guen used inspiring language to motivate the players.

The Omani players were indeed deeply encouraged.

Today's unexpectedly high temperature was very rare, but why did it appear on the day of their game against China? One couldn't help but think that it was the will of Allah. This was a divine revelation, indicating that they would definitely be able to defeat the powerful Chinese team at home!

Thinking of this, the Omani players were very excited.

They were basically devout believers, and they trusted this kind of inexplicable mysterious phenomenon the most.