"……The suddenly collapsed Gao Hongbo has been rushed to the local Saint Laurent Hospital… He is now out of danger and has regained consciousness, but according to those caring for him, Gao Hongbo is still very tired and not suitable for visitors… With only twenty-two days left before the World Cup, the team's head coach suddenly fainted, which is a double whammy for the Chinese team's already troubled preparations…"

"…The national team's head coach suddenly fainted, reportedly due to excessive pressure. The team's performance in the two consecutive warm-up matches has been poor, and the media is full of criticism. Traditionally, the head coach is one of the most stressful jobs, and the Chinese national team's head coach is even more so… According to news from the hospital, Gao Hongbo's fainting is related to high pressure, perhaps a heart problem… If it really is a heart problem, then even if he is discharged from the hospital, whether he can continue to lead the team in the World Cup is a big question mark…"

"It is said that the Chinese Football Association is urgently holding a meeting to discuss how to deal with this emergency. If Gao Hongbo really cannot continue, his assistant coach, Fu Bo, may become the acting head coach to lead the team in the World Cup… But not to look down on anyone, Fu Bo's ability is probably still a bit far from the requirements for leading a team in the World Cup…"

"Because of unfavorable training preparations and consecutive warm-up match defeats, the Chinese team's World Cup prospects were not very promising, and now they have fallen to the bottom… Although everyone always thinks that Gao Hongbo's level is not enough to lead the national team in the World Cup… But if such a situation occurs, it is not what everyone wants to see…"

…

In the past two days, the hottest news in the Chinese domestic media has been the sudden collapse of national team head coach Gao Hongbo. For a time, there were many different opinions and discussions.

On the Internet, some people expressed concern, while others secretly rejoiced—it's better to faint before the World Cup than to faint on the coach's bench during the World Cup, right?

Even Zhou Yi, who is actively preparing for the Champions League and is only a few days away from the Champions League final, is concerned about this matter.

He asked his friends in the group what was going on.

"…Gao *zhidao*'s pressure has been really high during this period, and it wasn't just after being scolded… It's been very high all along…" Yang Muge said. "It's rare to see him smile. He always frowns and looks worried. Of course, the criticism from the media and the outside world after losing two warm-up matches should have increased this pressure… Everyone has a lot of expectations for finally entering the World Cup, but all these expectations have fallen on Gao *zhidao* alone, which has become a huge pressure. Maybe Gao *zhidao* himself is also wondering if he is the right person…"

"The team's training is still normal, led by *zhidao* Fu," He Ying introduced. "But I don't know what everyone is thinking…"

"I think some people are absent-minded," Sun Pan said. "Some are at a loss and scared. When Gao *zhidao* fainted, we were listening to his instructions. As a result, everyone just watched him suddenly lean back and fall on the grass… To be honest, that scene was a bit scary…"

"Yeah, it was scary. Some people thought Gao *zhidao* was going to kick the bucket…" Guo Nu added.

Zhou Yi frowned after hearing everyone's news.

The World Cup is about to begin, but such a problem has occurred in the national team, which makes people worry about the team's prospects in the World Cup.

Moreover, he is still at the club at this time and cannot do anything for the national team, which is even more worrying.

※※※

When Zhou Yi went to participate in training, he was stopped by Klopp: "I heard about your national team, it's really unfortunate that this kind of thing happened at this time…"

"Thank you for your concern, coach, but it's not a big deal. I won't be affected by that matter either," Zhou Yi said. He knew why Klopp came to him, so he said what Klopp wanted to hear without waiting for Klopp to ask.

Sure enough, Klopp nodded, relieved by Zhou Yi's answer.

He is a German and the head coach of Dortmund. Of course, he must put the interests of his team first. It is already very good to be able to care about the Chinese team and offer his regards.

What really reassured him was Zhou Yi's performance in training, which showed no signs of being affected.

Yan Min's performance was not as good as Zhou Yi's. He was obviously affected by this matter and was thinking too much.

After the training, Zhou Yi and Yan Min were also blocked by Chinese reporters outside the training ground.

"I don't know what happened specifically…" Zhou Yi shook his head. "So what I can do now is the same as everyone else, patiently wait for news. I hope Gao *zhidao* can recover his health as soon as possible…"

Zhou Yi kept his mouth shut, because at this critical moment, any opinion he expressed could be distorted and hyped up by the media, which would be detrimental to him, Gao Hongbo *zhidao*, and the national team.

After all, he is the core of the national team. At the same time, he has not participated in this training camp, and the national team has lost two warm-up matches. Some people are already clamoring about his importance to the national team.

At this time, Zhou Yi did not want to cause too many unnecessary associations…

Yan Min's mouth was a little bigger. He was worried about the team's preparations and prospects in the World Cup.

But fortunately, Zhou Yi pulled him away when he left, so he didn't say anything more that could easily cause controversy.

"Don't talk nonsense at this time, be careful of being used as a pawn," Zhou Yi reminded him.

He did not know what decision the Chinese Football Association would make, because there had been voices calling for Gao Hongbo's replacement before, but Gao Hongbo led the team into the World Cup and made great contributions, so it was generally impossible to move him.

This time he suddenly fainted, wondering if it would give those who wanted to replace him a chance.

Zhou Yi did not want Gao Hongbo to be replaced. Although the team encountered some difficulties in preparing for the game, he believed that as long as everyone united, there would be no difficulties that could not be overcome. Gao Hongbo led the team into the World Cup, so he should continue to lead the team to finish the World Cup, no matter what the results.

Zhou Yi has such an idea because he believes that the Chinese team can still participate in the World Cup in the future, so he doesn't think like some people who feel that the Chinese team has finally entered the World Cup, and letting Gao Hongbo lead the team is a waste.

He felt that it didn't matter whether it was a waste or not. If Chinese local coaches have no experience in leading a team in the World Cup, isn't this a good opportunity to accumulate experience? On the one hand, they say they have no experience, and on the other hand, they don't let them accumulate experience. Then, can the Chinese football team only rely on foreign coaches to lead them in the World Cup forever? We always have to give people a chance to learn and improve, right?

Zhou Yi and his group of foreign players are still very young. They believe that they will have many opportunities in the future.

Zhou Yi is only twenty-three years old this year. Among the six of them who play abroad, the oldest, He Ying, is only twenty-four years old. Not counting this World Cup, Zhou Yi believes that they can participate in at least two more World Cups, and if they maintain their form well, it is not impossible to participate in three World Cups.

※※※

Back home, Cortana also asked about the situation of the Chinese team with concern. Facing her, Zhou Yi had nothing to hide and told Cortana everything he knew.

Although Cortana studied sports medicine, she told Zhou Yi with a doctor's intuition that Gao Hongbo might not be able to continue leading the team in the World Cup.

"…I think it's a heart problem. If it's really related to the heart, then he absolutely cannot continue to be the head coach of your national team. It's life-threatening…"

Zhou Yi thought calmly and felt that Cortana was right, but if Gao Hongbo really can't continue to coach, who can take over at this critical moment?

And at this moment, Zhou Yi's cell phone rang.

He picked it up and was very surprised to find that the caller was actually… Gao Hongbo *zhidao*.

Isn't he still out of danger?

But he still answered the phone. Sure enough, Gao Hongbo's voice came from the other end of the phone. Although he was a little tired, it was indeed his slightly hoarse voice.

"Hi, Zhou Yi…"

"Gao *zhidao*?"

"There is something I want to tell you in advance, because you are very important to the team, and I hope you can know in advance."

"What's the matter, you say?"

"Well, I plan to resign from the position of head coach of the Chinese national team."

Zhou Yi opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was shocked.