This match saw Spain's first shot on goal in the 20th minute.

It was a cross from Iniesta on the right flank, with Villa volleying in the penalty area, much like Yan Min's earlier attempt.

However, Villa's volley not only went far wide of the baseline but was also offside...

Although this shot wasn't particularly successful overall, the good news was that Spain was slowly finding its rhythm, and their attack was gradually becoming more threatening.

Three minutes later, Spain's attack surged again. Torres dropped back to an area 30 meters out to receive a pass from his teammate. He feigned a move toward the flank but suddenly flicked the ball behind him with his heel while quickly turning around.

Yang Hao, who was tracking him, also turned quickly, while Torres carried the ball forward.

Yang Hao stuck close, using his body to block and disrupt Torres' dribbling. At the same time, Guo Nu stepped forward directly in front of Torres, ready to intercept.

Under Yang Hao's pressure, Torres didn't control the ball well, and it rolled off his foot and onto Guo Nu's leg.

But Guo Nu was also caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the ball. He could only passively receive it and couldn't actively control it.

The ball bounced off his shin and deflected away, landing right in front of Villa.

Villa rushed to meet the ball, but he didn't try to take it himself, even though everyone thought he would—Zhang Linpeng, the Chinese team's right-back, followed Villa and tried to stick close, preventing him from turning easily.

But Villa didn't stop the ball; he cleverly flicked it behind him with his heel!

The ball pierced through the Chinese team's defensive line, rolling into the space left by Zhang Linpeng...

"Villa with a backheel pass! Danger!" Liu Jianhong shouted, sounding tense.

At this moment, Alba had already charged to the edge of the penalty area, in the space behind Zhang Linpeng. And because Feng Xiaoting was trailing behind, Alba wasn't offside!

After receiving the ball, Alba took a small step forward while adjusting himself, then unleashed a shot!

Just as he shot the ball, Guo Nu's sliding tackle arrived. If he had adjusted even a little more, the ball might have been cleared by Guo Nu...

But although the ball avoided Guo Nu's tackle, it couldn't penetrate Sun Pan's fingertips.

Sun Pan, having closed down the angle, dove to the side. Faced with Alba's powerful and close-range shot, he didn't choose to catch it, as the ball would likely slip from his grasp. Instead, he punched the ball away with both fists!

The ball landed outside the penalty area and was kicked out of bounds by a Chinese player.

At this moment, Torres gestured to the referee, indicating that Chinese player Yang Hao had fouled him. He presented "evidence"—his jersey, which had been torn during the grappling...

"Torres' jersey has a big hole in it, probably torn by Yang Hao while defending... It looks like Yang Hao was really desperate in his defense after being shaken off by Torres..." Liu Jianhong said.

He was right; Yang Hao was really giving it his all in defense. When Torres suddenly turned, he was startled, fearing that Torres would shake him off and cause trouble for the defenders behind him. So he also turned quickly, using his hands and feet to defend. At that moment, he didn't even consider whether he would be called for a foul.

Zhou Yi had returned to the team. If the Chinese team still couldn't qualify, what would be the point of everything we had done?

In any case, we can't let Zhou Yi's comeback be meaningless, and we can't let our own efforts be meaningless!

That was Yang Hao's thought at the time.

Now, seeing that Torres' jersey had actually been torn by him, he was a little scared—what if the referee had called him for pulling? Wouldn't that have been a free kick in a very good position?

He looked at Zhou Yi, who was also smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up.

This was the second time Zhou Yi had given a thumbs up in this game.

He was giving a thumbs up to his teammates, and they certainly deserved it because everyone was working hard, fighting hard, and very united.

※※※

The game then entered a stalemate.

Spain really was fighting for honor, and after making adjustments to their lineup and tactics, the players on the field were now playing even more smoothly.

Especially the two "veterans," Torres and Villa. They were instrumental in Spain's World Cup victory in the previous tournament. They coordinated well with the team, and they also didn't lack fighting spirit. In the first two games, Villa had spent 180 minutes on the bench, watching helplessly as the team was eliminated, unable to contribute in the slightest.

But now, he had the opportunity to contribute his strength and restore the glory of Spanish football in front of the whole world. How could he not give it his all?

The 33-year-old Villa knew very well that this would be his last time participating in the World Cup, and this was his last World Cup match.

For this last time, he didn't want to leave himself any regrets.

Spain was fighting hard, and so was the Chinese team.

The two sides clashed.

In the 25th minute, after Torres changed his jersey and came back on the field, he received a through ball from Iniesta—with Xavi not on the field, Iniesta took on the responsibility of the final pass, while Xabi Alonso was more responsible for overall rhythm control.

After receiving the ball, Torres shot directly from the right side of the penalty area.

But Guo Nu appeared in front of Torres with his hands behind his back, and the ball hit his chest squarely, bouncing away.

Guo Nu, after suffering such a blow, was as if nothing had happened and immediately threw himself back into the game, without clutching his chest and rolling around on the ground.

Subsequently, Spain won a corner kick in the 30th minute.

However, this corner kick didn't pose a threat to Sun Pan's goal. Spain played a tactical corner, but facing China's airtight defense and lacking Xavi, the Spanish team didn't have any better passing ideas. In the end, the tactical corner turned into a series of backward passes, all the way back to goalkeeper Reina's feet.

"Spain's corner kick turned into a backward pass, which is a bit surprising... Facing China's defense, Spain didn't even try to pass into the penalty area. Are they worried about being intercepted by China and launching a counterattack?" German TV commentator Marcel Reif joked. "Zhou Yi certainly has excellent ability to seize counterattack opportunities..."

This match was also broadcast live to the whole country by German television. The commentator chosen to commentate on this match was Marcel Reif, who was very familiar with Zhou Yi.

Afterward, the Chinese team also launched an attack. In the 34th minute, Yan Min received the ball on the left flank. He wasn't very fast, but Juanfran, the Spanish right-back in front of him, didn't dare to make a rash move. Everyone knew how well Yan Min had played for Dortmund last season. Juanfran was no stranger to him either, knowing that this player had good explosive power, fast acceleration, and was good at continuous changes of direction and extremely fast footwork. He didn't dare to make a rash move, fearing that he would expose a flaw and allow the opponent to pass him. He could only retreat while fighting, hoping to force Yan Min into a dead end. The smaller the space left for him, the harder it would be for him to threaten the Spanish goal.

But who would have thought that for Yan Min, entering the penalty area was like a fish in water?

As soon as he entered the penalty area, Yan Min started riding a bicycle in front of Juanfran.

Juanfran was very depressed—before, he didn't dare to extend his foot for fear that Yan Min would pass him, but now he dared even less, for fear that Yan Min would fall to the ground and be awarded a penalty.

So, facing Yan Min's bicycle kicks, Juanfran appeared hesitant.

At this moment, Yan Min keenly noticed Juanfran's hesitation and discovered that Juanfran's center of gravity was becoming unstable. So he decisively used the outside of his left foot to flick the ball forward gently, then took a sudden stride, surpassing Juanfran!

"Yan Min! Breaks through!"

Near the baseline, Yan Min swept the ball toward the goal!

"Cross... watch this ball—!"

In Liu Jianhong's loud shout.

He Ying quickly inserted forward, then stretched his foot out to kick the ball!

But he didn't kick the ball. The ball passed in front of his foot, rolling toward the back post!

And behind him, Wu Lei and Spanish right-back Alba were tangled together. Wu Lei wanted to touch the ball before Alba. If he could just touch this ball, it would be almost certainly a goal.

But Alba's experience was richer than Wu Lei's. He kept Wu Lei behind him, not in a hurry to clear the ball, but when the ball came, he dodged and let the ball pass, while also blocking Wu Lei, who was trying to overtake him, behind his body.

Yan Min's cross slid across the face of the goal at a high speed... and rolled directly out of bounds.

"Oh my!" Liu Jianhong exclaimed. "No one touched it, it just slid past like that! The Chinese team missed a great opportunity to break the deadlock!"

"The alarm bells are ringing in front of the Spanish goal. Facing the Chinese team's impactful attacking lineup, the Spanish defense seems a little flustered!" Marcel Reif wasn't completely neutral. Although he was a commentator from a neutral country, because he was familiar with both Zhou Yi and Yan Min, he was naturally on the Chinese team's side.

Anyway, Spain had already been eliminated, so he certainly hoped that Spain would sacrifice themselves and allow the Chinese team to qualify from this group. He wanted to see more of Zhou Yi's performance in the World Cup... Just watching this one game wasn't enough!

Zhou Yi had already proven his talent and ability in the league and the Champions League. How could he be absent from such an important event as the World Cup?