But unfortunately, Zhou Yi wasn't on the field, and it was impossible for him to be substituted in.

As Zheng Zhi got older, playing in such high-intensity matches was taking a toll on his stamina.

In the eighty-sixth minute, Lippi made another substitution, replacing the exhausted Zheng Zhi with Hao Junmin.

Then he replaced Gao Lin with Yang Xu, a tall center forward known for his heading ability.

Using up all his substitution slots in one go, Lippi hoped that the Chinese team could win the game in the final moments.

China's final tactic was simple: cross from the wings and bombard the center with headers, hoping to break through Chile's goal.

But Chilean goalkeeper Bravo was like he had a cheat code activated, fiercely saving shot after shot against China's aerial bombardment, doing his best to keep the goal safe.

And in the ninety-second minute, Chile even got a chance to counterattack thanks to Bravo's excellent performance.

At that time, China crossed the ball in front of the goal, but Bravo anticipated the play, intercepted the ball, and immediately launched a counterattack with a throw.

Chile quickly launched an attack.

"Careful!" Duan Xin exclaimed.

After Sánchez carried the ball past midfield, he passed it to Piñia, a forward who had just come on as a substitute not long ago.

It was a huge opening!

"Dangerous..."

After receiving the ball, Piñia dribbled towards China's penalty area.

At this time, only goalkeeper Sun Pan stood before him!

Sun Pan had already rushed out of the goal.

"An opportunity! A one-on-one!!" The Chilean TV commentator roared excitedly.

Amidst his roar, Piñia didn't choose to dribble past Sun Pan, perhaps lacking the confidence to do so, so he chose to shoot directly.

As he shot, Sun Pan also dove to make a save, increasing his defensive area.

His leg successfully blocked Piñia's shot, the ball hitting his shinbone and bouncing back outwards.

Guo Nu rushed up, intending to clear the ball, but he was a bit too far away.

The ball still fell to Chilean player Beausejour, who saw the empty goal and decided to shoot.

So he adjusted his stance and shot.

The ball flew along the ground towards the goal.

Just as the hearts of the Chinese fans were in their throats, Sun Pan, who had fallen to the ground after his previous save, got up and staggered towards the ball again!

Like a torpedo flying close to the surface of the sea, he collided with the ball, knocking it out of bounds!

"Sun Pan! He saved the team in the final moments of the match! Although he conceded two goals in the match and made mistakes, this time, he is the team's hero!"

"Two saves in a row, Sun Pan showed his excellent reaction time and explosiveness! A truly world-class save!"

"Piñia's one-on-one was saved... Another chance! Beausejour with the follow-up shot—! Saved! Unbelievable! The Chinese goalkeeper, Sun Pan, who plays for Chelsea, made an extremely difficult save!" The Chilean commentator exclaimed repeatedly. "Chile has lost a chance to win the match against China! What a pity!"

Sun Pan got up from the ground, but he didn't wave his fists in excitement. If China had been leading Chile by one goal at this time, and Chile had launched this desperate counterattack, which he had then saved, he might have been excited enough to show off a bit.

But now, it was just a draw. He had only prevented China from losing, but his save couldn't bring victory to China.

This was the reason for Sun Pan's low mood.

He had boasted before the game, but ended up conceding two goals during the match. What face did he have to brag about?

※※※

Sun Pan wasn't very satisfied with his performance, but the Chilean team seemed to have suffered a heavy blow.

When Beausejour took the follow-up shot, Sánchez couldn't wait to raise his hands, ready to celebrate the goal and the victory.

But as soon as he raised his hands, he saw an unbelievable scene—Sun Pan had pushed the ball out of bounds!

Chile's last-ditch effort was snuffed out by Sun Pan!

He lowered his raised hands and covered his head.

My God...

He murmured in his heart.

※※※

Sun Pan's save gave Chile a corner kick.

But the shot didn't go in, and it was a big blow to Chile. Their corner kick was sent high over the crowded area in front of the goal, flying towards the outside of the penalty area, landing once, and finally bouncing out of bounds—possession was returned to China.

With very little time left in the match, this basically meant that Chile had lost any chance to score again.

And China didn't score either.

In the ninety-fourth minute and twelve seconds of the match, the referee Doué blew the whistle to signal the end of the match.

"The game is over..." Duan Xin wasn't very excited, because he knew that this result was very cruel for the Chinese team. "The Chinese team ultimately failed to defeat Chile, and the two sides drew 2-2. This result means that it will be even more difficult for China to advance from this group... Of course, it's not to say that we definitely can't advance, that we definitely can't defeat the Netherlands and Spain, but from a probability point of view, the chances of defeating the Netherlands and Spain in succession are very, very low... It's a great pity that we weren't able to win this match. This is the first time this national team has participated in the World Cup, they lack experience, and they were a bit nervous after the start... Of course, the absence of Zhou Yi has had a big impact on the team..."

The match was over, and the Chinese players on the field were also very frustrated and depressed. They had hoped to win this match. Their performance in the second half was excellent, and in theory, they should have been able to win, but there's no such thing as "in theory" in football.

When they returned to the locker room, everyone was still very depressed, and the atmosphere in the locker room was therefore somewhat gloomy.

Head coach Lippi had gone to attend the post-match press conference, and Zhou Yi stood up and clapped his hands.

His applause attracted everyone's attention.

"Let's be positive, at least we didn't lose. When we were down by two goals, many people probably thought we were going to lose, but in the end we tied the game," Zhou Yi said. "So it's not that bad, we have one point, which is better than having no points at all, right? There are many examples in history of teams that didn't win their first game but still advanced from the group stage in the end. So don't be too discouraged, forget about this game quickly, and look ahead."

"That's what you say, Zhou Yi. But wouldn't it be better if we could win?" Wu Lei shook his head.

"Of course. But there aren't that many 'ifs'," Zhou Yi spread his hands. "The game is over, so don't talk about 'ifs'. In short, mentality is very important, I haven't lost confidence yet, and it's too early to say that we're done for or that there's no hope."

"Let's analyze what we need to do next if we want to advance," Zhou Yi continued. "The second game against the Netherlands will be very, very difficult. If we want to advance from the group, I think it's best not to lose. Winning would be great, of course, but the chances are slim, but I think we can still manage a draw. What will happen if we draw with the Netherlands?"

Zhou Yi began to write and draw on the whiteboard that Lippi had used, explaining the situation to everyone. Being depressed and frustrated about not winning the game was useless. At this time, they should forget about the game that had just ended, and then calmly think about what to do next.

"Situation A: If we draw with the Netherlands, and Chile loses to Spain. The Netherlands has four points, Spain has three points, we have two points, and Chile has one point. Situation B: If we draw with the Netherlands, and Chile and Spain draw, the Netherlands has four points, we have two points, Chile has two points, and Spain has one point. Situation C: If we draw with the Netherlands, and Chile wins against Spain, the Netherlands has four points, Chile has four points, we have two points, and Spain has zero points."

Zhou Yi wrote all three possible situations on the whiteboard.

Everyone watched him intently, listening to him. The frustration and depression from not winning the game had been thrown to the back of their minds.

"Situation A is the simplest, as long as we beat Spain in the last round, then no matter what happens between the Netherlands and Chile, we will advance. Frankly, I don't think it's impossible for us to beat this Spanish team. Situation B, we beat Spain in the last round, and the Netherlands and Chile draw, then the Netherlands has five points, and we also have five points... See, we even have a chance to compete with the Netherlands for the top spot in the group," Zhou Yi spread his hands. "Still situation B, we win against Spain, the Netherlands wins against Chile, and we advance. If Chile wins against the Netherlands? We and Chile would both have five points, while the Netherlands would have four points, so the champions and runners-up of the last World Cup would be eliminated in the group stage."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yi smiled: "That scene must be beautiful. Okay, situation C, we beat Spain in the last round, the Netherlands wins against Chile, and we and the Netherlands advance together. If Chile wins against the Netherlands, we and Chile advance together."

"The most important thing is coming," Zhou Yi raised his voice. Everyone had been completely drawn into the topic by him. Hearing Zhou Yi raise his voice, their spirits were also lifted.

"Situation C, we beat Spain in the last round, and the Netherlands and Chile draw... Then it will be lively. We, the Netherlands, and Chile will all have five points. At this time, we'll have to compare goal difference. Our goal difference is the same as Chile's, which is zero, while the Netherlands has two. If we can draw with the Netherlands in the second round, and the Netherlands and Chile draw in the third round, then the Netherlands' goal difference will always be two. Comparing our goal difference with Chile is actually just a matter of seeing how we each do against Spain. We just need to win by more goals against Spain than Chile does. So, actually, everyone, see, things suddenly become simple."

Zhou Yi said this, picked up the eraser and wiped everything he had written on the whiteboard, then wrote a single word again: spAin.

Spain.

Then he drew a big X over the name of Spain.

"In the end, we just need to defeat Spain."

A group of people were stunned. They didn't expect that after Zhou Yi's analysis, it would all come down to this.

"Um... I don't know why, but you've made the defending champions sound like pushovers," Sun Pan murmured.

"Spain is certainly not a pushover, but if we want to advance, we must defeat them, even if they are the defending champions," Zhou Yi said with a smile to Sun Pan. "We must have such confidence and belief, otherwise we might as well surrender in advance. But I don't want to surrender, so what should we do? Of course, we still have to defeat Spain."

"I have a question, Zhou Yi," Yang Muge raised his hand. "Your assumption is all based on one foundation, that is, we must draw with the Netherlands in the second game..."

"That's right, the Netherlands team that just beat Spain 5-1," Zhou Yi nodded. "But I have confidence in you, I believe you can definitely do it. Especially you, Sun Pan..." Zhou Yi turned to Sun Pan.

"Damn it, needless to say! If I let them score, I'll eat..." Sun Pan couldn't stand Zhou Yi staring at him.

"Even if you dare to broadcast it live, we wouldn't dare to watch it. Let's not," Zhou Yi quickly waved his hand. "Besides, if you eat shit, have you asked your roommate Zeng Cheng how he feels? He'll have to live in the same room with someone whose breath smells like shit, how unbearable that would be..."

Zeng Cheng covered his face: "I really imagined that scene for a moment..."

"That's a flavorful picture," Zhou Yi said.

"Damn!" Sun Pan shouted.

The others laughed, and the slightly depressed and frustrated atmosphere in the locker room was swept away.

※※※

When Lippi finished the post-match press conference and returned to the locker room, the players had already returned to the team bus.

He walked around the locker room, and as he was about to leave, he glanced at the whiteboard he had used.

Everything he had written on it had been erased, replaced by "spAin," and he noticed that a big X had been drawn over spAin.

Lippi stopped in his tracks, staring at the whiteboard, lost in thought.