"Let's take a look at this corner from the Chinese team!"
"Chen Tao chose to loft the ball to Lin Feng outside the penalty area. It's a tactical corner!"
"Lin Feng dribbles forward, reaches the top of the box, and gets ready to shoot!"
Huang Jianxiang sighed inwardly. With the opposing defenders already prepared to block, this was not a wise choice. If Lin Feng shot now, it would most likely be blocked...
"Lin Feng takes the shot... Eh, he passed the ball!"
"Zhao Xuri!"
"Long shot!"
"It's in!"
"Beautiful!"
Inside the Studio, Huang Jianxiang leaped up excitedly, clenching his fists and pumping them hard.
That was only because he remembered he was commentating on the match and tried his best to restrain himself.
If he had not been broadcasting live, he would have gone even crazier.
The fans staying up late in front of their televisions had no such concerns.
The moment Zhao Xuri scored with that long shot, the fans went completely wild.
"Youth National Team Awesome!"
"Zhao Yijiao is awesome!"
"The best defensive midfielder in the Youth National Team!"
"That long shot was fucking satisfying!"
"Brother Linzi made a great pass! He drew all their attention!"
"Haha, the Nigerians attacked mindlessly for seven or eight minutes, only for the China Youth Team to score first in the end! Bet that pisses you off!"
At past two in the morning, the Forum was actually more active than it was during the day.
Who knew how many lurking Lao Liu suddenly surfaced, while all sorts of new posts refreshed at rocket-like speed.
And that was only the online discussion. The fans offline were even crazier.
Fans jumped and danced at home, shouting and yelling, setting off the dogs and waking their wives.
For a while, chaos reigned, and even the neighbors' lights joined in the excitement.
The city that should have been asleep seemed to awaken, dots of light flickering on everywhere.
On the pitch, every Nigerian player was stunned.
They had conceded already?
The goal had come so quickly that they had not even reacted.
Just a few minutes earlier, they had held every advantage and besieged the opposing goal.
Yet a single back pass had cost them control of the match and sent the momentum spiraling downhill.
Many Nigerian players had yet to adjust mentally when they were swept away by a ferocious wave of attacks from their opponents.
In fact, the China Youth Team's previous attacking sequence had been extremely fierce, creating several direct threats against Nigeria's goal in barely a minute.
On closer analysis, the tactics used by the China Youth Team were actually very similar to Nigeria's.
The difference was that Nigeria launched a fierce assault at the start, hoping to crush the China Youth Team with overwhelming force.
The China Youth Team, meanwhile, patiently waited for their opponents to tire and show signs of fatigue before launching an even fiercer attack.
The differing outcomes were mainly because the China Youth Team had long been prepared for Nigeria's fast-start tactics.
Nigeria, on the other hand, had been caught completely off guard by the China Youth Team's fierce counterattack.
Unwilling to accept the result, the Nigeria team launched an even more ferocious attack against the China Youth Team after play resumed.
Although less than fifteen minutes had passed, their players were already growing anxious.
It was not just the players. Nigeria's Head Coach on the sidelines was anxious too.
They had already talked big at the pre-match press conference.
If they lost like this, it would be utterly humiliating.
Objectively speaking, the Nigeria team was genuinely strong.
Their players had physique, technique—everything.
Even more outrageous was their exceptional flexibility. They could often pull off exaggerated feints to fool defenders.
Through their relentless efforts, the Nigeria team managed to launch several threatening attacks.
But their players were clearly too anxious, making crude choices and poor execution with their final touches.
Nigeria's best chance of the first half came in the 23rd minute. After Mikel shook off his marker in the middle, he sharply spotted a fleeting opening and threaded a deadly through ball before the China Youth Team players could intercept it.
The ball slipped through the narrow gap between the China Youth Team's two center-backs, and Nigeria's forward Abo Wo collected it for a One-on-One.
He was already extremely close to goal, while China Youth Team goalkeeper Yang Cheng had no time to stop him because of his positioning.
There was practically an open goal in front of him!
The Nigerian fans in the stands rose as one, their hands already halfway up as they prepared to celebrate the goal.
On the other side, the China Youth Team fans' hearts stopped as they stared despairingly at their own goal.
The fans knew perfectly well that in this kind of One-on-One situation, the odds of missing were extremely low.
Yet faced with such a golden opportunity, Abo Wo put on a spectacular show!
His Power Shot actually sent the ball flying!
In front of more than twenty-four thousand spectators, Nigeria's forward launched an earth-shaking Shot High!
When the ball sailed high over the crossbar and flew toward the stands, Abo Wo, who had taken the shot, was dumbfounded.
The China Youth Team goalkeeper opposite him was dumbfounded too!
Inside and outside the penalty area, players from both sides were all dumbfounded!
Come on, man, you could send that wide?
It was harder to miss that than to score, especially by such an absurd margin. Without some real skill, you could not pull that off.
"Even I couldn't launch such an outrageous Shot High!"
A certain Forward surnamed Gao from the China Youth Team said with heartfelt admiration.
"Nigeria's forward was a little too impatient. He rushed that shot far too much. He could have adjusted first before shooting."
At the Commentary Booth, Huang Jianxiang spoke with lingering fear.
If the opponent had not been so anxious, that ball really would have gone in.
Once they equalized, the rest of the match would become hard to predict.
His teammates repeatedly wasting great chances finally became too much for Mikel to watch.
When he received the ball again, he did not keep supplying ammunition for his teammates.
Instead, he personally dribbled toward the Chinese team's penalty area, hoping to score through his own individual ability.
When the situation reached a stalemate, a star's individual ability could indeed break it open.
Mikel's individual ability was truly formidable. From the moment he received the ball, he produced a magical display, beating four China Youth Team players in succession.
The last player to do that single-handedly was called Messi!
But Mikel was not Messi after all. After barely getting past Zhao Xuri's interception, he was already at the end of his tether.
And standing before him now was the China Youth Team captain, the starting center-back selected for the Youth World Cup Best XI—Feng Xiaoting!
Feng Xiaoting was extremely experienced. He knew his opponent was strong, so he did not rashly press forward.
He first used excellent positioning to force his opponent to stop. Once the opponent slowed down, he stepped in and used Physical Confrontation to disrupt his Dribbling Rhythm.
Then, working with his partner who had come over to provide support, he stole the ball from beneath his opponent's feet.
The entire defensive sequence lasted less than two seconds. Nigeria's top star was completely helpless in front of the China Youth Team captain.
Feng Xiaoting's footwork, intelligence, and Football IQ were displayed to perfection in that defensive play.
Some said Feng Xiaoting was the best center-back in Chinese football history. Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration, considering Fan Zhiyi came before him.
But among all the National Football Team's center-backs, Feng Xiaoting was undoubtedly the most unique—he was the only one who relied on his brain rather than his body to play center-back.
Unfortunately, the most important five years of his career, from twenty to twenty-five, were wasted because of injuries, disputes with clubs, and various other reasons.
As a result, he never fully realized his talent throughout his career. Later, he bore enormous abuse because of a Basic Error in a match against the Iran team, and ultimately retired in disappointment.
That had to be considered one of Chinese football's greatest regrets!
Before you continue