Chapter 1 The Last Game of the First Round

After the game, the second round of group matches would immediately follow.

Group A teams took to the field again.

This time, the host team would face Mexico. If Brazil could defeat Mexico, then they, having already secured two consecutive victories, would advance to the knockout stage ahead of schedule.

However, amidst the cheers of Brazilian fans, the world-renowned attacking Brazilian team collectively misfired. After ninety minutes of intense struggle, the two teams ultimately drew 0-0, with neither side scoring!

Both teams had four points, but Brazil topped the group due to their goal difference, with Mexico close behind.

The other match in this group, Croatia versus Cameroon, was scheduled for the afternoon of the following day, so it was still uncertain what the final qualification situation in this group would be.

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June 18th saw the first match of the day: China versus the Netherlands.

The match was scheduled for 1:00 PM local time in Brazil. Although it was winter in the Southern Hemisphere, for Brazil, located on the equator, there was no difference between winter and summer; the midday sun remained intense.

This made Chinese fans even more concerned about how their team would perform.

Inside the home team's locker room at the Estádio Beira-Rio, the Chinese players were making their final preparations.

In this match, China drew the home team slot. In theory, China's home jersey was the white one, so they should wear white to face the Netherlands. The Netherlands' home jersey was orange, which wouldn't clash, making them easy to distinguish.

However, there was a vote within the Chinese team because everyone was somewhat dissatisfied with the white jersey. Superstitiously, it was seen as resembling mourning clothes, too unlucky and inauspicious. No one liked this white home jersey sponsored by Adidas.

Zhou Yi was also someone who disliked the white jersey, but his aversion to it started when he was still a fan. Back then, the Chinese team's home jersey was white.

He never understood why, when their national flag was red, and the color most favored by the people was red, the primary color of their national team's jersey was white. In most parts of China, white was equivalent to "mourning clothes." You only saw large areas of white during funerals...

He had always thought the red one was the home jersey, only to later realize he was wrong—white was!

Compared to white, he preferred the red Chinese team jersey.

And it seemed many others in the national team shared his sentiment. In that vote, the vast majority hoped to replace white with red as the home jersey color.

In the previous match against Chile, China drew the away team slot. According to Adidas's regulations for the Chinese team's jerseys, white was the home jersey color, and red was the away jersey color, so China should have worn red. As a result, Chile, who drew the home team slot, also had a red home jersey—their flag also had red on it. So, to avoid color clashes, China had to wear the white jersey.

And they failed to win the match they should have...

So this time, even though China drew the home team slot, they still chose to wear the "away jersey," the red one.

This meant the Netherlands had to give up their favorite orange jersey and wear the white one.

Now, the Chinese players in their red jerseys were in the locker room, listening to head coach Lippi speak: "The Netherlands is very strong, there's no doubt about that. You could say they are the strongest team in this group. But that's not a reason for us to give up. If we want to qualify, then we absolutely cannot lose this game. For us, this is a battle for survival. If we lose, we die. The situation is very critical, but I heard there's a Chinese saying called 'placing oneself on death ground, then to live.' I don't think there's a better time to use this saying than now."

"Let the Netherlands see our conviction!"

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For this match, Lippi made one change to the Chinese team's starting lineup: he replaced Gao Lin, the starting center forward from the previous match, with Wu Lei.

Then he moved He Ying to the center, with Yan Min and Wu Lei on the left and right wings.

This was a typical counter-attacking formation. He Ying, Yan Min, and Wu Lei all had speed and a certain degree of individual combat capability.

In addition, He Ying was also a very versatile forward, capable of acting as an attacking pivot in the frontcourt.

On the Dutch side, Van Gaal maintained the same starting lineup as in their 5-1 victory over Spain, without making any adjustments.

The Netherlands played very well in that match against Spain, and as the team's coach, Van Gaal had no reason to make any changes to such a smoothly operating lineup.

When winning, adjustments are unnecessary.

This Dutch team was in great form, confident in sweeping aside any opponent that stood in their way. Whether it was Spain or... China.

This Chinese team did have some players performing well in European leagues, but with Zhou Yi absent, the Netherlands' threat assessment of the Chinese team actually dropped significantly.

Before the match, Van Gaal carefully studied the video of China's match against Chile, especially the first fifteen minutes, to see how Chile managed to take a two-goal lead over China in such a short time.

He believed this had reference value for his own team.

Of course, China eventually pulled it back, but Van Gaal believed that was due to Chile's own problems. They made mistakes, and Chile's strength didn't have an advantage over China. The two teams were evenly matched, so a draw was normal and fair.

The Netherlands was not Chile. Once the Netherlands took a two-goal lead, there was no way China could equalize.

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After the match started, the Netherlands did launch a fierce attack on the Chinese goal. Their goal was clear: to use their speed to overwhelm the Chinese defense at the beginning of the match, catching them off guard, and then try to take a two-goal lead in a short period of time. Just like Chile.

Then, the match wouldn't develop like the Chile match.

Five minutes into the game, China had possession in midfield. Yang Hao hesitated when he got the ball. He should have passed it forward, but he didn't know who to pass it to and was immediately pressed by De Jong.

De Jong was famously fierce, and Yang Hao panicked, quickly turning around to protect the ball. As soon as he turned, Sneijder pressed up again.

Yang Hao couldn't worry about anything else and hastily passed the ball back!

But because the pass was too rushed, Zheng Zhi didn't receive the ball. Yang Hao's pass went astray and was intercepted by Robben behind Zheng Zhi!

Robben intercepted the ball, turned around, and kicked it forward forcefully!

Then he accelerated, relying on his speed to forcibly break through the Chinese center-back Feng Xiaoting in front of him.

Although he was still some distance away from Feng Xiaoting, his speed was too fast, and he arrived first, receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty area.

"Robben—danger!" He Ping exclaimed.

However, Feng Xiaoting didn't give up during this process. He was also sprinting with all his might, pressing towards Robben.

With his relentless pursuit, although Robben received the ball, he didn't completely shake him off.

So when Robben got the ball on the edge of the penalty area, he discovered that Feng Xiaoting had actually caught up!

This was somewhat unexpected.

Perhaps startled by this surprise,

Robben made another mistake when handling the ball again. He dribbled the ball away, but as he was about to accelerate, his foot went soft, and he couldn't push off...

Feng Xiaoting quickly protected the ball and passed it to Sun Pan who came out.

A false alarm.

"That was close, that was close... Robben's leg went soft at the last moment, otherwise this ball would have been really dangerous... China needs to be careful. There can't be any more mistakes like that with the backward pass in midfield..." The commentator for the Chinese team's match had changed. It was He Ping, who usually commentated on La Liga and the Champions League.

And his partner was Gong Lei, a domestic soccer commentator and coach.

"Yang Hao was too sticky with the ball. He should be clear about his role. He's not an organizer. He needs to handle the ball decisively, passing it to a teammate next to him. He shouldn't be thinking about delivering a fatal pass with one kick... For a defensive midfielder, clean and efficient handling is the best..." Gong Lei also criticized Yang Hao's handling of the ball just now.

"Fortunately, Feng Xiaoting didn't give up on defending this ball. Although Robben shook him off with his speed, he still pursued relentlessly and eventually caught up in the penalty area..."

"Actually, Feng Xiaoting isn't slow either. He's one of the few domestic center-backs with excellent sprint speed." Gong Lei himself was the coach of a Chinese Super League team, so he naturally understood the situation of the players playing domestically. "Lippi has definitely strengthened the team's defensive requirements. The defenders' attention is clearly focused. That ball just now was an accident, but Feng Xiaoting's reaction was also quick. Our bottom line for this match is not to lose, so defense is very important..."

Missing this opportunity, Robben himself smiled helplessly in the close-up shot.

The Dutch TV commentator couldn't understand why Robben's legs had gone soft at the most crucial moment...

"...But it doesn't matter. The match has only just started five minutes ago. We still have plenty of opportunities!"

In the end, he still gave the Dutch fans in front of the television confidence.