The Final Battle!

Chapter 26: The Final Battle!

"CCTV, CCTV!"

"Dear viewers, you are watching the live broadcast of the 2005 Netherlands Youth World Cup final between China U20 and Nigeria U20."

Inside the CCTV studio, Huang Jianxiang sounded incredibly excited.

He had commentated on many finals, but there were truly few that featured the Chinese team.

Especially when it came to a high-level, world-class tournament like the Youth World Cup, Chinese football had never participated before.

Today, regardless of the final result, the Youth National Team had already helped Chinese football make history.

But, this was not enough!

Opportunities like this were rare; having finally made it to a final, if they couldn't secure the championship, then everyone, including the players, would regret it for the rest of their lives.

At this moment, the time in China was approaching 2:00 AM.

Yet, countless fans were sitting in front of their televisions, full of energy, watching the live broadcast with rapt attention.

The good news was that today was Sunday, so even if they stayed up late to watch the game, they could just catch up on sleep during the day.

But if they missed the live broadcast because they felt sleepy, they probably wouldn't be able to sleep at all in the future!

The venue for the final was Galgenwaard Stadium in Utrecht.

Compared to the stadium in Tilburg, which could only hold a little over ten thousand people, the capacity of Galgenwaard Stadium was much larger, seating up to 24,000 spectators.

By now, the stands were already packed with fans from both sides.

The two sets of fans were clearly divided, each occupying different sections of the stadium stands.

Those wearing red jerseys and occupying the majority of the stands were clearly the Chinese fans.

And those wearing dark green jerseys were the Nigerian fans who had traveled from afar.

Uh...

It couldn't exactly be called traveling from afar; there were many Nigerian immigrants in Europe, and many people in the stands had come from the UK to the west.

One could only say that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was paying for the crimes committed by their ancestors; after all, Nigeria was once their colony.

Netherlands time, July 2nd, 20:00 sharp.

A whistle blew, and the match officially began.

Since the third-place play-off had already concluded, this match was the closing battle of this Youth World Cup.

It was also the most important match of the entire tournament!

As soon as the match started, the Nigerians launched a fierce attack against the Youth National Team.

Unlike the impression fans had, these African Black Players did not rely on superior physical fitness, but rather on the excellent technique at their feet.

Nigeria displayed dazzling offensive coordination on the pitch; whether it was individual footwork or team interplay, it was breathtaking.

This came as a huge surprise to the neutral fans who had come to watch the game, and they couldn't help but give the Eagles of Africa a round of warm applause.

It wasn't just them; even the fans of the Youth National Team were shocked.

Was this really the African team they imagined, the "big and strong" side that relied on physicality?

Why did it feel like their footwork was even better than the Argentina and Brazil teams they had encountered earlier?

This was not an illusion; in fact, the Youth National Team players on the pitch felt the same way.

In the first five minutes of the match, the Nigeria team used excellent individual technique and fluid coordination to create a small wave of attacks.

The Youth National Team was forced to retreat to their own half, stubbornly resisting the opponent's offensive.

In midfield, led by Mikel, the Nigeria team firmly controlled the tempo of the match.

He used his excellent vision and passing ability to constantly threaten the Chinese goal.

The Youth National Team played very passively during this period, and the opponent gained several shooting opportunities in succession.

Although they didn't score, it still kept the Youth National Team's goal area in a state of constant alarm and danger.

On the sidelines, Klopp saw that the opponent's pressure was unexpectedly strong and couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

It was fortunate that he had prepared in advance; otherwise, they really might have been successfully caught off guard at the start.

Nigeria's tactic was clearly to seize the initiative early.

They wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Youth National Team players hadn't fully settled into the game, launching a fierce attack at the start to create pressure and chaos, then scoring while the Youth National Team was in disarray.

This Nigeria team could both attack and defend; not only did they have a powerful midfield, but they also had several fast wingers.

Once they scored first, they would very likely choose a Counter-Attack strategy to deal with the Youth National Team for the remainder of the match.

By then, the Youth National Team, trailing in score and forced to attack, would face a huge threat from the opponent's counter-attacks.

If they weren't careful, not only would they fail to equalize, but they would also be caught by another goal from the opponent.

Since ancient times, finals have rarely been classic matches, and the number of goals in a final is historically never very high.

Therefore, trailing by two goals in a final is basically a death sentence.

Nigeria's head coach watched the pitch with a face full of anticipation, hoping his tactics would take effect; if they did, the probability of them winning this match would increase significantly.

However, to his disappointment, the scenario he hoped for—the China Youth Team falling into chaos and collapsing under their siege—did not occur.

On the contrary, after overcoming the discomfort of the initial stage, the performance of the China Youth Team actually got better and better.

In fact, Mikel and his teammates found it increasingly difficult to control the ball under the frantic pressing of the China Youth Team, and they could no longer deliver ammunition to their teammates in the penalty area as they had before.

In the 8th minute, the Nigeria team, having besieged them for nearly ten minutes without result, was forced to pass the ball back, intending to end this wave of attacks.

But while they wanted to stop, the China Youth Team certainly did not!

Seeing the opponent pass the ball back, Lin Feng, Gao Lin, Lu Lin, Chen Tao, and the others all accelerated and charged toward the opponent's half.

Nigeria's head coach was greatly puzzled, not understanding what the opponent was trying to do.

Lin Feng was the fastest, charging at the very front; his speed was so great that the opposing defender almost failed to receive the ball.

In his haste, the Nigeria defender could only pass the ball back to the Goalkeeper.

But the China Youth Team did not give up on executing their high-pressing tactics; after the defender passed back to the Goalkeeper, Lin Feng continued to charge toward the Goalkeeper.

The Nigeria Goalkeeper did not dare to dribble and hurriedly launched a long ball toward the frontcourt.

But with his teammates all retreating, this long ball was essentially just handing possession over to the Chinese team.

The ball possession fell into the control of the Chinese team without any surprise.

The China Youth Team's formation had already pressed up as a whole, and after Chen Tao received a pass from a teammate, he used his excellent vision to find Lu Lin on the Wing Attack.

Lu Lin immediately sent in a cross, but unfortunately, Gao Lin failed to reach the landing spot, and the ball was cleared by the opposing defender.

However, at this moment, the perimeter was almost entirely occupied by China Youth Team players, and the cleared ball immediately returned to the feet of the China Youth Team.

Chen Tao adjusted slightly and fired a long-range shot directly!

But unfortunately, the ball hit the body of a defending player and deflected out of the end line, earning the China Youth Team a corner kick.

Chen Tao discussed it with Lin Feng and chose to take a tactical corner, passing the ball to Lin Feng.

The Nigeria players in the penalty area saw the ball at Lin Feng's feet and rushed toward him at full speed.

Lin Feng was well-prepared for this; he calmly nudged the ball to the right.

He then accelerated toward the top of the penalty arc, opened up an angle, raised his right leg, and feinted to shoot.

Just as the opponent prepared to use their body to block his shot, Lin Feng suddenly passed the ball out gently.

Zhao Xuri, who had been lurking behind him, rushed up, set up his heavy artillery behind the arc, and unleashed a thunderous strike toward the Nigeria goal!