Last Battle!

Last 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 China Central Television's studio, Huang Jianxiang sounded exceptionally excited.

He had commentated on many finals, but there had truly been very few involving the Chinese team.

Especially in a high-level competition with worldwide influence like the Youth World Cup, Chinese football had never participated before.

Today, regardless of the final result, the China Youth Team had already made history for Chinese football.

But that was not enough!

Opportunities like this were rare. They had finally reached a final, and if they could not win the championship, everyone, including the players, would regret it for the rest of their lives.

It was already nearing two in the morning back in China.

Yet countless fans sat energetically before their televisions, watching the live broadcast with rapt attention.

The good news was that it was Sunday. Even if they stayed up late to watch the match, they could always catch up on sleep during the day.

But if they missed the live broadcast because they felt sleepy, the fans would probably never sleep soundly again!

The final was being held at Galgenwaard Stadium in Utrecht.

Compared to the stadium in Tilburg, which could only hold a little over ten thousand people, Galgenwaard Stadium had a far greater capacity, seating up to 24,000 spectators.

At this moment, the stands were already packed with supporters from both sides.

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

Those in red jerseys, taking up more than half the stands, were clearly Chinese fans.

Those in dark green jerseys were the Nigerian fans who had come to support their team.

Uh...

Though they could not exactly be called long-distance travelers. There were many Nigerian immigrants in Europe, and quite a few people in the stands had come from the United Kingdom to the west.

One could only say that the Lesser Britain that could barely remain a united kingdom without Northern Ireland was paying for the sins of its ancestors. After all, Nigeria had once been its colony.

At exactly 8:00 p.m. Netherlands time on July 2.

A whistle blew, and the match officially began.

Since the Third Place Play-off between third and fourth place had already concluded, this match was the closing battle of this Youth World Cup.

It was also the most important match of the entire Youth World Cup!

As soon as the match began, the Nigerians launched a fierce attack on the China Youth Team.

Unlike the impression many fans had, these Black players from Africa did not rely on outstanding physicality, but on their superb technique at their feet.

Nigeria produced a dazzling series of attacking combinations on the field. Whether it was their individual technical ability or their teamwork, it was breathtaking.

The neutral fans who had come to watch were taken completely by surprise and could not help giving the Eagles of Africa a round of enthusiastic applause.

It was not just them. Even the China Youth Team's fans were stunned.

Were these really the crude, lumbering African Teams they remembered, relying solely on physical strength to play football?

Why did the opponent's technique seem even better than that of Argentina and the Brazil Team they had faced before?

It was no illusion. In fact, the China Youth Team players on the field felt the same way.

In the first five minutes of the match, Nigeria used outstanding individual technique and smooth combinations to launch a wave of attacking pressure.

The China Youth Team was forced back into its own half, stubbornly resisting the opponent's attacks.

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

He constantly threatened the Chinese team's goal with his excellent organization and passing ability.

The China Youth Team was extremely passive during this stretch, while the opponent gained several shooting opportunities in succession.

Though Nigeria failed to score, the China Youth Team's goalmouth remained under constant threat.

On the sidelines, Klopp could not help feeling a chill when he saw how overwhelming the opponent's pressure was.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance. Otherwise, they might really have been successfully caught cold by the opponent.

Nigeria's tactics were clearly designed to seize the initiative at the start.

They wanted to exploit the fact that the China Youth Team players had not yet fully settled into the match, launching a ferocious early assault to create pressure and chaos, then scoring while the China Youth Team was in disarray.

This Nigerian team could attack and defend. Not only did it possess a powerful midfield, but it also had several very fast wingers.

If they were allowed to score first, they would very likely switch to Counter-Attack tactics against the China Youth Team afterward.

Then, with the China Youth Team trailing and forced to attack, they would face an enormous counterattacking threat.

One careless mistake, and not only would they fail to equalize, they might even concede another on the break.

Finals had always tended to be tight, low-scoring affairs.

Therefore, falling two goals behind in a final was practically a death sentence.

Nigeria's Head Coach watched the field with an expectant expression, hoping his tactics would work. If they did, their chances of winning would rise dramatically.

But to his disappointment, the chaos and collapse he had hoped the China Youth Team would suffer under his side's siege never appeared.

On the contrary, after getting through the initial discomfort, the China Youth Team only performed better and better.

Mikel and his teammates were even finding it difficult to keep control of the ball under the China Youth Team's frantic pressing, let alone continue feeding passes into the penalty area as they had before.

In the eighth minute, after nearly ten fruitless minutes of pressure, Nigeria was forced to pass the ball back, intending to end this attack.

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

Seeing the opponent play the ball backward, Lin Feng, Gao Lin, Lu Lin, Chen Tao, and the others all accelerated toward the opposing half.

Nigeria's Head Coach was utterly baffled, unable to understand what the opponent was trying to do.

Lin Feng was the fastest. Charging ahead at the front, he moved so quickly that the opposing defender nearly failed to reach the ball.

Caught off guard, the Nigerian defender could only pass it back to the goalkeeper.

But the China Youth Team did not abandon its high press. After the defender passed back to the goalkeeper, Lin Feng continued charging toward him.

The Nigerian goalkeeper did not dare dribble and hurriedly hoofed the ball upfield.

But with his teammates all dropping back, that long clearance was practically a gift of possession to the Chinese team.

The ball fell under the Chinese team's control without any surprise.

The China Youth Team had already pushed its formation forward as a whole. After receiving a pass from his teammate, Chen Tao used his excellent vision to spot Lu Lin on the flank.

Lu Lin immediately whipped in a cross, but Gao Lin failed to reach it, and the ball was cleared by an opposing defender.

However, the area outside the box was almost entirely occupied by China Youth Team players, and the cleared ball immediately returned to their feet.

Chen Tao adjusted and struck directly from distance!

Unfortunately, the ball hit a defending player, deflecting over the end line and earning the China Youth Team a corner.

After discussing it with Lin Feng, Chen Tao chose to take a short corner, giving the ball to Lin Feng.

Seeing the ball at Lin Feng's feet, the Nigerian players inside the penalty area rushed toward him at top speed.

Lin Feng had long been prepared for this. Without panicking, he calmly nudged the ball to the right.

He then accelerated toward the top of the penalty arc, created an angle, raised his right leg, and feinted a shot.

Just as the opponent prepared to use his body to block the shot, Lin Feng suddenly slipped the ball out with a light pass.

Zhao Xuri, lurking behind him, charged forward and unleashed a thunderous cannon shot from behind the arc at Nigeria's goal!