Li Kang didn't have any more encounters with Claudia.

The middle-aged woman appeared at just the right moment.

The two didn't have a chance to exchange contact information.

It was just that Feltins would be shooting a new series of commercials soon.

Perhaps they'd have another chance to meet.

Whenever he thought of this.

The shadow in his brain would contract wildly.

His mood would gradually become positive and optimistic.

....

However, that female model with the impressive figure had somehow added him on social media.

As soon as he accepted her friend request, several provocative selfies popped up.

She kept emphasizing that she would teach Li Kang how to box sometime.

At this point, the shadow in his brain would expand wildly.

Li Kang couldn't bear the pain of being suppressed by the shadow for long, so he decisively deleted the female model from his friends list.

....

Madrid, Las Rozas training base.

Li Kang met his teammates from the Spanish national team.

There were no big-name stars like Iniesta, Ramos, or David Silva.

Most were young players from top clubs.

De Gea waved and greeted him, shouting, "Li, don't bother putting your luggage away, we're flying to Japan in two hours!"

Li Kang suddenly heard a bang!

The soccer ball spun violently.

It drew a rainbow-like arc in the air.

And landed precisely in front of him.

He leaned back slightly, raised his leg to absorb the force, and stepped on the ball.

Clap, clap, clap!

Twenty meters away, Denis clapped his hands: "To be honest, your ball control is average! The applause is just a welcome ceremony for the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder."

At this moment.

The other teammates who were warming up turned their heads.

Bellerín from Arsenal.

Deulofeu from Everton.

They also came from La Masia youth academy, but were a year ahead of Li Kang, so they weren't very close.

In the distance.

Assistant coach Mignano was furious when he saw this: "Are these little guys going to start fighting among themselves as soon as they meet?"

Bosque stopped him and smiled, "It's just two young lions playing around, let's not disturb them yet..."

As he spoke.

The soccer ball left Li Kang's left foot.

Rolling quickly along the grass.

Like a sharp knife.

It pierced through the gaps between his teammates.

And slowed to a stop in front of Denis.

Instantly.

The teammates laughed and applauded.

Each had their own strengths!

Denis scratched the back of his head: "Okay, your ground pass is a little better than mine."

.........

The staff distributed brand new national team jerseys to the young men.

Li Kang's number was 98.

In official competitions like the World Cup and European Championship, the national team numbers are 1-23.

But in international friendly matches like the one against Japan, there are no restrictions on jersey numbers.

There was no scrimmage.

After the Spanish youngsters changed into their national team tracksuits, they dragged their luggage and boarded a plane to Asia.

Of course, there was still one "veteran."

Morata.

This guy actively encouraged his juniors: "Don't be afraid, attack boldly, if you can't break the deadlock, I'll come on!"

At this time, he was Juventus's main striker, although his league goal-scoring efficiency was average and his ability to seize opportunities wasn't strong, he had continuously broken through the defenses of top European teams in the Champions League last season, and neither Real Madrid nor Barca were spared.

The youngsters looked at him with admiration.

Like a group of newbies in a starting village meeting a max-level boss.

Morata secretly felt pleased: In the past, he was just a little brother in the national team, but he didn't expect that he would become the big brother so soon.

But he quickly realized that something was wrong. Why was the little Dragon descendant sitting next to him so quiet?

He must be too nervous to be sitting next to a superstar like him.

He was just about to say something to comfort him.

When his eyes were drawn to the stewardess with the exaggerated figure.

At 23 years old, Morata's personal life was still clean, and he liked innocent online romances.

Bosque dozed off.

Mignano, who was originally a physical trainer, had only been promoted to the position of the national team's top assistant coach a few months ago. He scribbled on a piece of white paper and muttered in a low voice:

"A group of little dwarfs..."

"Among the midfielders... Li Kang is the tallest, Deulofeu has the fastest step frequency, who should be at the forefront of the strikerless formation?"

"If the Japanese team abandons the midfield and defends densely in the penalty area, compressing space... they should play better on their home field."

....

Twelve hours later.

The Spanish youngsters arrived at Tokyo International Airport.

A large number of fans gathered at the arrival gate.

Morata waved excitedly: "Look, so many Spanish compatriots are here to welcome us! We must perform well!"

Li Kang suddenly heard someone calling his name in Chinese.

He looked in the direction of the voice.

And saw a group of youthful Eastern faces.

Mignano patted him on the shoulder: "Don't just stand there, go say hello to your fans, the security personnel sent by the Japanese Football Association are numerous, and you're not a big star, nothing will happen."

This group of fans numbered only a dozen or so, and consisted of Japanese Chinese and Dragon Country (China) students.

It wasn't that Li Kang was afraid of something happening, he just didn't react for a moment.

He walked over slowly.

A cheer erupted from the crowd.

"Li Kang, can we take a photo with you!"

"It's a bit cold in Tokyo at night, why aren't you wearing a jacket!"

"Everyone quiet down, let's quickly take a photo, Li Kang still needs to go back to the hotel to adjust to the time difference!"

The security personnel took the camera.

Li Kang was surrounded by his compatriots behind the cordon.

The flash went off.

They left a warm photo in the bleak night of Tokyo.

...

"Li Kang! Jia you! Kill the little devils!"

"Beat the little Japanese!"

Li Kang got on the national team bus and waved goodbye to his compatriots.

He didn't expect that he would have fans too.

The Spanish teammates turned their heads one after another.

Denis asked suspiciously: "Li! Have you played in Japan before?"

De Gea quickly corrected: "Don't talk nonsense, those fans are Dragon descendants or Dragon Country people, I've been to Dragon Country several times, I can understand some Chinese, they're encouraging Li Kang to defeat the Japanese team."

Denis continued to ask: "Then what does 'little devils' mean?"

De Gea stroked his chin, thought for a moment and said: "Little devils is a term for the Japanese."

The youngsters suddenly understood.

Morata, who had been talking eloquently on the plane, was now covering his stomach with a pale face.

....

Two days later.

Tokyo Stadium.

Tens of thousands of Japanese fans arrived in the stands early.

They wore dark blue jerseys and waved flags with three-legged crow feathers printed on them.

Before the nineties, Japan's international football status was only second-rate in Asia.

In 1993, Football Association Chairman Saburo Kawabuchi proposed a 100-year plan for Japanese football.

At the time, it became a big joke in Asia: You can't even break into the World Cup finals.

Who would have thought that since 1998, the Japanese team has never missed the World Cup.

"CTV5! CTV5! Good evening, viewers!"

"Welcome to this week's international match day, a clash between East and West!"

"The Japanese team faces the Spanish team!"

"I am Duan Xuan, the commentator for this match!"

"I am He Wei!"

"The starting lineups have been released, the Japanese team is using a semi-main lineup, while the Spanish side has many young players who are entering the national team roster for the first time."

.....

Inside the player tunnel.

Takumi Minamino warmly greeted the Spanish players.

When he saw Li Kang.

He tried to squeeze out a smile.

Denis also shook his hand enthusiastically: "Little devils!"

The pronunciation wasn't very accurate.

Minamino Takumi didn't understand Chinese either, and thought it was Catalan, so he nodded quickly.

Immediately afterwards.

Deulofeu and Bellerín followed with polite greetings: "Little devils!"

The other Japanese players bowed and nodded one after another.

Li Kang looked at this scene with a dark expression.

The queue moved.

The referee team led the players of both sides out of the tunnel!

Tokyo Stadium instantly erupted with a tsunami of cheers.

The drums roared.

The moment Li Kang stepped onto the green field.

A system prompt sounded quietly:

[Ding! National team mission triggered: Crush the pride of the Blue Samurai!]

[Mission Brief: You cannot fight for your motherland, but you must win this game, defeat them!]

[Mission Reward: ???]

.....

The stadium broadcast the Japanese national anthem "Kimigayo."

The Japanese players looked excited and solemn.

Tens of thousands of Japanese fans sang in unison.

"The Japanese national anthem is probably the shortest national anthem in the world."

"Only 28 words are constantly repeated."

"After repeated research by historian Tomoharu Fujita, this is a dirge sung at the emperor's funeral."

-[No wonder, it sounds like a song from a crematorium.]

-[All that's missing is the suona sound and the gong!]

-[It feels weird, is Li Kang going to sing the Spanish national anthem later? I can't accept it!]

-[It's not easy to get a good seedling, but he joined the Spanish national team, sigh...]

-[Messi often doesn't sing the national anthem either.]

-[Are you kidding me! Li Kang is mute, how can he sing the national anthem?]

The Japanese national anthem was very short.

One minute later.

The Spanish national anthem "Royal March" sounded.

The youngsters kept their faces straight and their mouths tightly closed.

"After the end of Franco's dictatorship in Spain, the lyrics of the national anthem were abolished!"

"So Spanish athletes do not need to sing the national anthem when participating in international competitions!"

Dragon Country (China) live broadcast room.

The netizens were a little confused.

-[I can't hold it in anymore! Haha!]

-[The previous generation of Spanish players could hum a few words, this group of new generation youngsters are too casual!]

-[Count them, how many Basques, how many Catalans are there, they definitely can't hum.]

....

The coin toss ended.

The players of both sides stood in their positions.

With a whistle from the referee.

The game officially started!

"Now let me introduce the starting lineups of both sides!"

"Wearing dark blue and attacking from left to right is the Japanese team, they have lined up in a 4-3-3 formation!"

"Goalkeeper: Shusaku Nishikawa!"

"Left back: Yuto Nagatomo!"

"Center backs: Maya Yoshida partnering with Tomoaki Makino!"

"Right back: Masato Morishige!"

"Midfielders: Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Yosuke Kashiwagi!"

"Forwards: Takumi Minamino, Takuma Asano, Musashi Suzuki!"

-[The Japanese team's back line has sent out the full main force from last year's World Cup!]

-[The midfielders and forwards, several local J-League players are also very strong, this should be an all-out attack battle!]

....

"The Spanish national team's formation, from the looks of it.... is a 4-6-0, strikerless formation!"

"Goalkeeper: De Gea!"

"Left back: Mere!"

"Center backs: Gaya partnering with Johnny!"

"Right back: Bellerín!"

"Midfielders: Li Kang, Deulofeu, Denis, Ceballos, Castillejo, Oliver!"