The Nigeria team center-back Nigeria number 17, Adebayor, had his number remembered by Lin Feng. Seeing Lin Feng staring at him, he shot Lin Feng a fierce glare, as if warning him that with him there, Lin Feng could forget about getting past.
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow. That cocky?
Fine, then it's you!
Nigeria's ferocious attack put Klopp on alert. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the players to change tactics.
China Youth Team began carrying out Plan B—pressing Nigeria's players aggressively.
The move proved effective. China Youth Team's frenzied pressing and strangling in midfield disrupted Nigeria's midfield organization.
Nigeria's midfield lynchpin, Mikel, in particular, became a key target of China Youth Team and could no longer easily supply ammunition to his teammates as before.
Without Mikel's passes, Nigeria's attack fell silent.
No matter how many players they packed up front, without the ball, all they could do was stare helplessly.
What was worse, once they lost the ball in midfield, not only would it kill their own attack, it would also give the opposition a chance to counterattack.
The greatest masters of the future Football World emphasized transitions between offense and defense above all else.
Especially the opportunity to capitalize on an opponent's failed counterattack and launch a counterattack against their counterattack.
Such sudden changes in rhythm could greatly disrupt the opponent's tactical setup, leaving their defenders with no time to get into position.
And chaos in the opposing back line was the best possible opportunity for the attacking side.
Such an opportunity soon appeared!
In the 74th minute, Mikel received the ball and forced his way forward a few steps in midfield, trying to find the best passing lane.
He desperately wanted to send ammunition to his teammates and help his team level the score.
But those extra few touches sent him straight into China Youth Team's encirclement.
In the blink of an eye, three defenders charged in from all directions and surrounded Mikel.
Realizing things were going badly, Mikel tried to turn and pass the ball back.
But the instant he turned, a figure flashed past him, and the ball at his feet vanished.
Mikel was stunned. Where's my ball?
Where did that huge ball at my feet go?
He looked up. Oh, it had been snatched away by the opponent's number 23!
Wait!
Number 23!
Mikel instantly broke out in a cold sweat!
This was the guy who had torn apart the Brazil Team and Argentina team!
Given his speed, Mikel did not dare imagine the consequences of letting him steal the ball.
A mistake had to be fixed by the one who made it. The moment Mikel realized he had lost the ball, he sprang into pursuit.
He gave everything he had to catch Lin Feng.
But the distance between them did not shrink in the slightest. Instead, it kept growing.
By the time Lin Feng carried the ball past the center circle, the gap between them had widened to over two meters.
Watching the opponent's dust-trailing back, Mikel finally understood how Messi had felt when trailing behind Lin Feng and eating dust.
There were only two words for it—absolute despair!
Just how fast was Lin Feng?
Gao Lin had originally been ahead of him, but as he ran, he realized his teammate had actually overtaken him.
Gao Lin was shocked. What kind of speed is that?
He's faster with the ball than I am without it?
Is that even reasonable?
The two Nigerian defenders were even more shocked than Gao Lin.
Watching Lin Feng charge at them like lightning, panic was already rising in their hearts.
The opponent was nearly at the penalty area, while their own teammates had only just crossed midfield.
From that far away, there was no chance of getting support from their teammates.
They could only rely on themselves to stop him!
Number 5, who had not been booked, was the first to step up.
He closed in from the side, attempting to use Physical Confrontation to disrupt and break Lin Feng's Dribbling Rhythm.
Number 5 had it all planned out. As long as he could interfere with the opponent's Dribbling Rhythm, he might make him lose control of the ball, giving his teammates a chance to steal it from his feet.
And if that did not work, he still had a backup plan.
Before moving in, he had already checked the referee's position.
Using his body to block the view, he could secretly tug at Lin Feng in the referee's blind spot and throw him off balance.
With both methods working together, plus assistance from his teammates, they should be able to resolve the crisis smoothly.
He had thought it through well, but he had clearly underestimated Lin Feng's Physical Confrontation and speed.
Although he collided with Lin Feng, Lin Feng's speed caused him to misjudge the point of impact, making him lose his balance first.
After barely managing to keep pace with Lin Feng for a few steps, Nigeria's Number 5 could no longer control his body. With a smack, he crashed face-first onto the grass.
The entire stadium erupted. The fans in the stands had seen everything clearly.
Nigeria's Number 5 had obviously initiated the contact, yet he was the one who knocked himself down.
Were you trying to draw a foul?
The fallen Nigerian defender seemed to have exactly that idea. Sitting on the ground, he protested to the approaching referee, claiming Lin Feng had fouled him.
He felt as though his chest had nearly been caved in by the opponent's shoulder blade. The pain almost took his breath away.
The referee had seen the collision clearly. If the current situation had not favored the attack, he would have wanted to call a foul on Nigeria and award China Youth Team a free kick.
So he could not even be bothered to acknowledge Nigeria's Number 5 and his attempt to draw a foul.
With Number 5 beaten, the only one left in front of Lin Feng was an old acquaintance—Nigeria number 17!
Adebayor's heart was in his throat.
He was the only one left on the entire defensive line!
He had to stop the opponent's attack!
With such crushing responsibility on his shoulders, his already limited brain CPU was on the verge of crashing.
And Lin Feng, on the other side, had just had his Dribbling Rhythm disrupted by his teammate's collision. His final touch was obviously too heavy!
An opportunity!
Adebayor's eyes lit up. Without even thinking, he stretched out his foot to challenge for the ball.
However, the very next second—
Beep!
A piercing whistle sounded.
The referee pointed to the penalty spot with his right hand, then pulled out a yellow card and walked toward the bewildered Adebayor.
Adebayor looked aggrieved as he desperately explained to the referee that he had touched the ball first, then kicked the man.
But the referee clearly did not believe him. He trusted his own eyes more.
Besides, the assistant referee's feedback was also that Nigeria's defender had fouled first, so he had even less reason to change the decision.
Adebayor already had a yellow card, so after receiving a second yellow, it became a red card, and the referee sent him off.
The decision made all the Nigerian players explode. They were already at a disadvantage, and if they lost another player now, how were they supposed to play the rest of the match?
They surrounded the referee emotionally, trying to change his decision.
But football had clear rules: no player was allowed to confront the referee on the field.
With so many Nigerian players crowding around him, the referee clearly felt his authority was being challenged.
Without hesitation, he pulled out yellow cards and handed out Yellow Gem Cards to several of Nigeria's most agitated players.
The moment those yellow cards came out, Nigeria's fans exploded as well.
Some emotional fans tried to climb over the barriers and rush onto the pitch.
The passionate African fans dearly wanted the referee to taste their local specialty—the flavor of Nigerian iron fists.
The stadium descended into brief chaos, and the match had to be suspended.
China Youth Team's players had no time to care about the disturbance. They all rushed into the penalty area and anxiously asked about Lin Feng's injury.
Lin Feng had genuinely been taken down by the opposing defender just now, and China Youth Team's players were deeply worried that he had been injured.
The Chinese fans in the stands also stared anxiously at the field, their faces filled with concern.
Fortunately, Lin Feng soon got back to his feet, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, the disturbance on the field subsided.
The match resumed, with China awarded a Penalty Kick.
China Youth Team's first-choice penalty taker, Chen Tao, stood at the spot, took a deep breath, and began his run-up.
Nigeria's fans began praying inwardly, hoping for a miracle from heaven that would make the opponent miss the Penalty Kick.
But Chen Tao had nerves of steel. He did not disappoint anyone, calmly deceiving the goalkeeper before burying the ball.
The score became 3:1, restoring China Youth Team's lead to two goals.
By then, the match was nearing its end.
With their opponents reduced to ten men and little time remaining, China Youth Team held an overwhelming advantage.
Although everyone was celebrating, Klopp sharply noticed that Lin Feng was walking with a slight limp.
Lin Feng had not asked to be substituted, which meant he had likely suffered a knock.
This kind of injury was not particularly serious, but Klopp did not dare take the gamble.
He immediately sent Hao Junmin on to replace the injured Lin Feng.
As Lin Feng left the field, the fans rose to their feet and cheered, paying tribute to him with thunderous applause and shouts.
Lin Feng deserved immense credit for China Youth Team's Championship Trophy.
Lin Feng's departure weakened China Youth Team's attacking power somewhat, but the opponents' morale had already collapsed.
Their players became more anxious and more reckless than before.
In the 88th minute, Gao Lin was brought down in the penalty area, and China Youth Team received another Penalty Kick.
Chen Tao took it himself and scored with a single strike, changing the score to 4:1.
That Penalty Kick completely killed off any remaining suspense, and Nigeria's players resigned themselves to their fate.
Seeing neither side had any desire to attack, the referee ended the match before stoppage time had even fully elapsed.
In the end, China Youth Team defeated Nigeria 4:1 through goals from Zhao Xuri, Lin Feng, and Chen Tao, winning the final of the 2005 Netherlands Youth World Cup.
And with it, they won the Youth World Cup!
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