Lin Feng's opportunity had yet to appear, but on Argentina's side, Messi's solo performance began first.
In the 7th minute, Argentina launched a swift attack after winning the ball in midfield.
Like a loach, Messi weaved and darted through a four-man Double Team from the China Youth Team.
He first used a simple Cut Inside to evade Zhou Haibin's challenge, then accelerated away from Chen Tao, who came crashing in from the side with the intent to foul.
Facing Zhao Xuri, Messi still did not use any flashy moves. With just a simple push and cut, he tricked Zhao Xuri into committing his center of gravity.
Seeing several teammates beaten, Cui Peng grew anxious.
He could not let Messi keep carrying the ball forward. Risking a card, he went straight into a sliding tackle against Messi.
Yet it was as if Messi had anticipated it. The instant Cui Peng went to ground, Messi gently nudged the ball to the left and made a small hop in place.
That hop not only perfectly avoided Cui Peng's tackle, but also minimized his time in the air. When he landed, the ball was still within his control, and he had barely lost any speed.
Having almost dribbled past the entire China Youth Team midfield by himself, Messi did not continue charging into the penalty area.
He looked up to assess the goalkeeper's position. After carrying the ball sideways past Feng Xiaoting's interception just outside the box, he suddenly unleashed a shot.
It was struck with extraordinary quality, flying straight into the top-left corner of the goal.
Yang Cheng leaped with all his strength at once, attempting a save.
But Messi's shot angle was far too tricky!
With a swish, the ball hit the net before he could reach it.
The score became 0:1!
Argentina scored first!
This was Messi's fourth goal of the Youth World Cup.
The stands erupted in uproar.
Everyone was stunned by Messi's astonishing display!
From the moment Messi received the ball near midfield to the moment he dribbled past Feng Xiaoting and scored a Long Shot Goal, he had beaten five China Youth Team players in total.
Could a human being even do something like that?
He was practically a monster!
The China Youth Team players looked at Messi with deep apprehension. They had known he was good, but they never expected him to be this good.
Zhao Xuri and the others felt that they could not see what was happening at Messi's feet at all before being bewilderingly dribbled past.
Cui Peng was even more dejected. He had resorted to fouling, yet he had not even touched a hair on his opponent's leg.
He could not help asking himself, How could there be someone this terrifying in the world?
Messi appeared extremely calm after scoring. He did not celebrate extravagantly, as though such a goal was not worth making a fuss over.
But Argentina's players did not see it that way. They rushed over, hugging and throwing their arms around Messi in overwhelming excitement.
With such a powerful star on the team, winning became exceptionally easy. Who would not love that?
"Messi is so strong!"
"That goal just now completely stunned me!"
"No wonder Barcelona treasures him like a gem. He's absolutely insane!"
"With a monster like that on the other side, this match is over!"
"Sigh, it looks like the China Youth Team won't be able to get past Argentina either!"
"I think reaching the semifinals has already made history. What more could you ask for?"
"True. Even if they lose, this China Youth Team can still be proud. If they adjust their mentality afterward, maybe they can even bring home third place."
After seeing that goal conceded, the domestic fans suffered a tremendous blow to both their morale and confidence.
At this point, almost no one believed the China Youth Team could win anymore.
The opponent was this strong. How could they possibly win?
Lin Feng stood with his hands on his hips, frowning as he stared at Messi's back in deep thought.
To others, Messi's dazzling performance of beating five men and scoring was extraordinarily breathtaking.
But to Lin Feng, this was merely basic stuff for Messi.
In his later professional career, performances like this would emerge one after another.
Even the defenses of top teams as strong as Real Madrid had been toyed with by Messi, producing iconic moments like goals of the century, had they not?
It was normal not to be able to stop him. Stopping him would be abnormal.
But Messi was not invincible. He was human, and every human had weaknesses.
Messi's widely acknowledged shortcoming was his stamina. At Barcelona, in order to reduce his stamina expenditure, he often did not track back and took on no defensive duties.
Of course, that was not to say Messi's stamina was poor.
Rather, his Dribbling Rhythm consumed a great deal of stamina, so he could not sustain it for long.
If they could find a way to intensify his stamina consumption, then naturally he would have less energy left to break through and dribble past opponents.
And apart from the well-known weakness of stamina, the eighteen-year-old Messi was clearly much more slight in build than he would be later.
With the same height, the lighter the weight, the weaker one's Physical Confrontation ability naturally became.
At that thought, Lin Feng came up with a seemingly feasible method.
He found several midfield teammates and quietly told them something.
They all nodded, and their gazes toward Messi turned fierce.
"Rio, those people are looking at you with hostility. Be careful—they might foul you."
Messi's teammate noticed the small movements from the China Youth Team and reminded him worriedly.
Messi glanced over and frowned slightly.
His professional career had only just begun, and a bright future awaited him.
He did not want to get injured here. That would cast a shadow over his future career.
Thus, after play restarted, Messi became much more restrained. He no longer put on the same solo performance of slicing through everyone in his path.
But even so, the China Youth Team did not let him off.
No matter where he went, someone from the China Youth Team stayed glued to him step for step.
And it was not merely close marking. Whenever there was an opportunity, the player marking him would engage him physically, even when he did not have the ball.
The purpose was to gradually wear down his stamina without fouling him.
Messi was clearly at a disadvantage in physical confrontations. Especially against the opposing number 7, he was nearly being shoved off his feet.
The opponent's little movements irritated him immensely, forcing him to jog around in an attempt to escape the entanglement through constant movement.
Yet that tactic was completely useless. Wherever he went, he received the China Youth Team players' "warm attention," and the sticky tag clinging to him simply could not be shaken off.
And that was not even the most infuriating part. The worst part was that whenever his teammates passed him the ball, those players who had been marking him would immediately swarm in from all directions to Double Team him.
The opponents had learned their lesson too. They no longer waited for him to build up speed before setting up their defense.
The instant Messi prepared to receive the ball, they had already closed in to Double Team him.
The China Youth Team players swarmed him in a frantic scramble. No matter how exquisite Messi's technique was, it was useless.
And so, the ball at Messi's feet was lost!
Once Messi lost the ball, it was the China Youth Team's turn to launch a counterattack.
Having just completed their pressing, the China Youth Team quickly spread into formation.
Lin Feng, Zhu Ting, and Zhou Haibin formed a fan-shaped formation, like a sharp trident viciously stabbing into Argentina's half.
The China Youth Team's counterattack came too suddenly, catching the Argentina team completely off guard.
Facing the China Youth Team's all-out counterattack, Argentina's two remaining center backs had no choice but to make a decision.
One rushed toward Zhu Ting, while the other rushed toward Lin Feng. These two posed the greatest threat and were also closest to goal.
As for Zhou Haibin behind them, they simply had no way to cover him.
And that very decision brought disastrous consequences.
Chen Tao did not pass directly to Lin Feng. Instead, he threaded the ball straight through to Zhou Haibin.
After receiving the ball, Zhou Haibin played another through pass, sending it through the gap between Lin Feng and Zhu Ting and into the space ahead of them.
Seeing the path of the rolling ball, Zhu Ting, Lin Feng, and Argentina's two defenders all accelerated desperately!
The time had come to test their speed!
Before you continue