Lin Feng's Nationality

"Rio, our next opponent has been confirmed!!"

Inside the hotel where the Argentina Youth Team was staying, the youthful-looking Agüero grabbed Messi by the shoulders, his tone filled with excitement.

Seventeen-year-old Agüero had delicate features and bright, spirited eyes, possessing all the youth and vitality expected of his age.

In contrast, his roommate Messi, who wore his hair long, looked somewhat mature for his years.

And it wasn't just his appearance; his temperament was also far more composed than Agüero's.

"Oh? Is it the Brazil Team?"

Messi carefully rolled over, pretending to look at his friend with curiosity.

In truth, Messi didn't care at all about who their next opponent was.

Whoever they were, they wouldn't be a match for him; he was full of confidence in his own ability.

"Hehe, sorry to disappoint you, but the Brazil Team has been eliminated!"

Agüero was smug, partly because Messi had guessed wrong, but mostly because the Brazil Team's crushing defeat made him happy.

The rivalry between Argentina football and Brazil football ran deep; neither side respected the other, and both wanted to claim the title of South America's best.

If they met on the pitch, it was like Mars colliding with Earth.

"Did the German team win, then?"

The other boy was leaning in too close, forcing Messi to scoot back a little.

By now, half of his backside was hanging off the edge; if he moved any further, he would fall onto the floor.

He really couldn't do anything about Kun; even though it was a double room, this guy insisted on hogging his bed, leaving him with almost no space.

"Huh? What are you talking about? The German team was eliminated by the Chinese team a long time ago, didn't you know?"

Agüero looked stunned. Could it be that Messi didn't even know who the Brazil Team's opponent had been in this match?

"So, you're saying our next opponent is the Chinese team?"

The expression on Messi's face finally changed.

The Chinese team...

The name sounded very unfamiliar, not that he hadn't heard of the country of China.

But in the world of football, Chinese football was obscure, with almost no presence to speak of.

That was why he had never imagined that one day he would encounter the Chinese team in a semi-final.

If they had met in the group stage, he could have understood it, but a semi-final...

Had Chinese football really developed to this point?

"Rio, don't say I didn't warn you. There's a guy on the Chinese team named Lin Feng who is said to be incredibly strong. Many people think he might threaten your status as the Best Player, so you'd better be careful!"

Seeing that his friend didn't seem to take it seriously, Agüero kindly reminded him.

Messi nodded indifferently. Plenty of people wanted to challenge him, and until they proved their strength, he wouldn't pay them much mind.

The impact of the Youth National Team's landslide victory over the Brazil Team continued to spread.

Back home, the front pages of all the major newspapers were filled with reports about the match.

That evening, the national news broadcast even dedicated a full two and a half minutes to covering the game—a level of treatment that not even the senior National team had ever enjoyed, let alone the Youth National Team.

Back in the day, when the senior National team made their historic breakthrough into the World Cup Main Tournament, the news broadcast had only given them about fifty seconds of coverage.

Perhaps people at the time thought that once there was a first time, there would be a second, and that the future of the senior National team would only get better.

Who could have guessed that the senior National team would head down a completely opposite path, to the point where the news coverage grew longer over time, yet their results became increasingly pathetic.

In this era, the influence of the national news broadcast was still immense.

After two consecutive reports on the news, the reputation of the Youth National Team in the country completely eclipsed that of the senior National team.

For a time, whether they followed football or not, the entire nation was talking about the Youth National Team and the Youth World Cup.

Some bored fans even argued endlessly about who was better between Lin Feng and Chen Tao on the Youth National Team:

"Of course Chen Tao is better. If it weren't for his passes, how could Lin Feng have scored those two goals?"

"Pfft, if it weren't for Lin Feng, what use would Chen Tao's passes be? Are you expecting Gao Lin and Dong Fangzhuo to score? Do they even have the ability?"

Both sides held their ground, and both had a point.

Consequently, neither could convince the other, and they argued until their faces were red.

But the fact that Lin Feng, having only played two matches since joining the team, was already being compared to the absolute core of the Youth National Team, Chen Tao, was a testament to his strength!

Moreover, although the fans were arguing, there was no real malice; even while bickering, their hearts were filled with a sense of satisfaction and happiness.

As the fans put it, they had never fought such a wealthy war before!

Having one Chen Tao on the Youth National Team was already enough to be pleasantly surprised.

And now, another guy who was just as good as, if not better than, Chen Tao had emerged out of nowhere.

This allowed the National Youth Team to transition from its previous single-core setup into a magnificent dual-core configuration.

When has such a pair of Twin Stars ever appeared in a national-level team?

It is absolutely unprecedented!

Because Lin Feng's breakout was so sudden, and his background was so little known, he appeared both mysterious and powerful, further piquing the interest of the general fan base.

However, the introduction in the Football Association's database regarding him was far too simple, consisting of only a few sparse lines:

Lin Feng, born on May 20, 1988, in Hubei Xiaogan.

He moved overseas with his parents at the age of seven and currently plays for the Greuther Fürth team in the German 2. Bundesliga.

That was it!

Such a crude introduction clearly could not satisfy the appetite of the fans.

People were desperate to learn more information and news about Lin Feng.

But the Football Association truly had nothing else to provide; Lin Feng had not been part of their recruitment plan at all.

He was a candidate personally selected by Klopp, who had overridden all objections after Yu Hai and Wang Yongpo were sidelined by injuries.

Consequently, as the Football Association failed to update Lin Feng's profile, all sorts of rumors began to fly.

Some questioned whether Lin Feng was even eligible to represent the National Youth Team, as he had emigrated so young that it was hard to say whether he was still Chinese or a foreigner.

Others questioned whether Lin Feng had falsified his age, as such practices were all too common in the domestic sports world.

Given that Lin Feng's performance was so outstanding, it was hard for people not to draw such conclusions.

Seeing the external turmoil intensifying and the rumors becoming increasingly outrageous, the Football Association had to step forward and announce that they would arrange for a group of journalists to visit the Training Base to conduct interviews.

At that time, they could ask the Player himself any questions they had in person.

The Football Association's execution was very efficient this time; shortly after announcing the news, they finalized the list of journalists for the overseas trip.

Those granted interview access were all well-known media outlets in the industry, such as China Sports Daily, Qiu Bao, China Football News, Titan Sports Weekly, and Southern Sports, among other professional sports newspapers.

There were also reporters from web portals like Sina Sports, Sohu Sports, and Tencent Sports.

These media outlets either had strong backgrounds or good relationships with the Football Association, and they had been briefed beforehand not to ask any strange or inappropriate questions.

The players on the National Youth Team were quite young and lacked the experience of veteran players in dealing with the media.

If the interview content wasn't arranged in advance, these experienced reporters could easily bait the young players or set verbal traps to intentionally make them slip up.

Do not think they wouldn't do it; for the sake of sensationalism and sales, there is nothing these people wouldn't do.

As the object of the most attention from domestic fans, the number of reporters applying to interview Lin Feng was the highest.

Having just won the match, Lin Feng was in a good mood and readily accepted the reporters' interview requests.

Compared to the other players on the team, Lin Feng had spent very little time in the country, and fans lacked understanding of him.

Therefore, he also wanted to take this opportunity to greet the domestic fans and become a familiar face.

The first to ask a question was the reporter from China Sports Daily, who immediately brought up the issue everyone cared about most:

"Hello, Lin Feng. I am Li Xiang, a reporter from China Sports Daily. Because your parents took you abroad when you were young, many fans are very concerned about your nationality."

"Can you tell us, are you Chinese?"