Messi Was Worn Out!

Seeing the area guarded by left back Zheng Tao coming under enormous pressure, Zhao Xuri had no choice but to come over and help.

But even so, the two still failed to contain Messi.

In the 38th minute, Argentina took a quick free kick, and Messi, who had drifted wide, received a pass from a teammate in the middle.

Zhao Xuri and Zheng Tao immediately moved in to Double Team him from front and back, but Messi's footwork was simply too nimble.

He first beat Zhao Xuri with a sudden change of direction, then shook off Zheng Tao with another change of direction while moving at high speed.

Zheng Tao was dumbfounded!

When had he ever seen someone dribble past defenders like that in domestic football?

The frequency of the opponent's touches was absurdly fast. He could not even make out the opponent's movements.

Even if he barely saw them clearly, his brain could not keep up.

That might not necessarily have been a bad thing.

After all, one defender whose brain had kept up had made a complete fool of himself while defending Messi...

The ball seemed to come alive at Messi's feet, darting left and right, forward and back, impossible to guard against.

A close look at Messi's dribbling revealed that his movements were extremely simple and plain, without the slightest flashy flourish.

Yet those simple, ordinary movements became exceptionally lethal under Messi's control.

Seeing Messi prove unstoppable, Feng Xiaoting quickly moved over to cover, while goalkeeper Yang Cheng shifted toward the left side of the goal, ready to block Messi's shot.

Messi had already carried the ball into the penalty area. If he had played more selfishly, he could have forced a shot himself at that moment.

But Messi did not do that, because he spotted a teammate in a better position.

Before Feng Xiaoting could close down the space, Messi lifted his foot and slipped through a direct pass, sending the ball into the middle of the penalty area.

Argentina's midfielder Cardoso suddenly burst forward. After receiving Messi's pass, he swept a shot into the net with ease.

The score became 1:2, and Argentina took the lead again in the first half.

Argentina and Messi's fans in the stands all erupted.

Although Cardoso had scored, Messi deserved enormous credit for the goal.

It could be said that without his successful breakthrough on the right flank, the Argentina team would never have had such a good chance to score.

"Rio, what a beautiful pass!"

Cardoso clearly understood that as well, so immediately after scoring, he rushed toward Messi and gave him a warm embrace.

Messi's body swayed slightly as he forced a smile.

At that moment, he was panting heavily, his breathing rapid.

And with every breath, his lungs felt as though they were about to burst.

The high-intensity exertion had left him drenched in sweat. The repeated changes of direction and breakthroughs had drained a tremendous amount of his stamina, not to mention that he had constantly endured the opponents' close-marking harassment and physical pressure, which further worsened Messi's exhaustion.

Even just standing still now, his legs felt faintly weak.

Less than forty minutes had passed, yet Messi felt as tired as if he had played an entire match.

Still, they had scored another goal at last, which gave Messi a little comfort.

But a one-goal lead was not safe.

The opponent's earlier counterattack had proved that the China Youth Team was not some weak side that could only take a beating without fighting back.

On the contrary, they possessed an extremely sharp sword.

Once that sword was drawn, blood would inevitably be spilled.

A 2:1 scoreline was not secure. They needed more goals.

Thinking of this, Messi gritted his teeth, trying to seize the last bit of time before halftime and score another goal!

"My fault, I lost my man!"

Chen Tao raised his hand, voluntarily admitting his mistake.

Cardoso had slipped through from the area he was defending, so the defenders could not be blamed.

"It's fine. Our attention was drawn to Messi and their striker in the penalty area too, so we didn't notice someone arriving from behind!"

Feng Xiaoting and Zhao Ming were both magnanimous and had no intention of blaming Chen Tao.

"Brother Chen, don't blame yourself. I was at fault for that goal too. It was only after I left my defensive position that I gave them an opening."

Zhao Xuri also stepped up to take some responsibility. Cardoso had actually been the player he was supposed to mark, and Chen Tao's duty was not even defense, so it would not have been right to pin the blame on him.

"You went to Assist Defense against Messi. This goal had nothing to do with you."

"..."

Everyone spoke at once, each scrambling to shoulder the blame. No one wanted to shirk responsibility.

Lin Feng was deeply moved by this. At this point, his China Youth Team teammates were still very pure, not yet too tainted by that Dye Vat of domestic football.

Unlike the National Football Team, where all kinds of interests were involved, leading to internal scheming and factionalism. They were nowhere near as united as these young China Youth Team players.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng cherished his teammates even more and became even more determined to help them escape the Dye Vat of domestic football.

Their talent should not be buried. They deserved a broader stage.

After discussing it, the China Youth Team made slight adjustments to how they assigned players to defend Messi.

When the match resumed, besides Zheng Tao and Zhao Xuri, even Lin Feng and Zhou Haibin, who had been active up front, joined the righteous gang-up on Messi.

Messi was too strong. They were no match for him one-on-one, and even two-on-one might not be enough.

Since that was the case, the China Youth Team would show him the utmost respect—by mobilizing all their strength against him.

When dealing with a Big Boss like this, there was no need to talk about martial honor.

In the 41st minute, Messi received a pass from his teammate and intended to repeat his earlier move.

But at the instant his teammate passed the ball to him, several burly China Youth Team players charged in from all directions and surrounded him so tightly that not even water could get through!

Messi was completely stunned!

He had never imagined that people could be so treacherous.

The China Youth Team was actually so lacking in sportsmanship just to deal with him!

After nearly forty minutes of high-intensity play, Messi's stamina had already reached its limit. He was only holding on through sheer willpower.

Seeing four or five opponents charge at him menacingly, Messi immediately sensed trouble and wanted to pass the ball away at once.

But how could the China Youth Team have failed to prepare for that?

As several players moved in to Double Team him, they had already cut off Messi's passing lanes and isolated him from his teammates.

Messi now had only one choice—either hand over the ball obediently, or unleash his hidden potential, beat the five players surrounding him, and fight his way out.

Messi was clearly not the kind of person who would sit and wait for death.

He took a deep breath and tried to raise his speed, intending to use his nearly unsolvable dribbling skills to get past the defenders.

But just as he accelerated, a red figure darted out from the left.

It was the China Youth Team's Attacking Midfielder, Zhou Haibin!

Another figure darted out from the right.

It was the China Youth Team's other Attacking Midfielder, Lin Feng!

Zhou Haibin and Lin Feng pressed against Messi from either side like two personal bodyguards.

Working together, they gave Messi a full taste of the Chinese specialty known as Roujiamo.

Except Messi was playing the role of the meat inside the Roujiamo...

The two were incredibly strong, and Messi simply could not break free.

He strained with all his might, and his face gradually turned the color of pig liver.

But it was useless. He felt as though the two had lifted him up, with his feet nearly leaving the ground.

Fans at the stadium and those watching the live broadcast saw Messi's miserable state and burst into laughter, practically doubling over.

"That's too shameless. Seriously, far too shameless."

"Which wicked bastard came up with this idea?"

"Hahahaha, you can play football like this?"

"Haha, these guys are awful! They're bullying Messi because he's out of stamina. Haha, I can't take it, I'm dying of laughter!"

"Messi is really suffering. If they keep playing him like this, he'll probably be traumatized!"

"I think after this match, Messi will probably need to see a psychologist!"