On the evening of June 29, at Estádio Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil.
The fourth match of the World Cup Round of 16 saw China take on Costa Rica.
In the thirty-sixth minute, Costa Rica cleared the ball from the back, sending it directly near the halfway line. Feng Xiaoting overpowered the opposing forward and headed it back.
Captain Zheng Zhi was suspended after receiving a red card, so Wu Xi earned a starting spot. Together with Zhou Haibin and Chen Tao, he formed a three-man midfield.
As soon as Zhou Haibin received the ball, he immediately distributed it to the left.
Starting left-back Jiang Zhipeng sprinted forward along the left flank. After receiving Zhou Haibin's pass, he surveyed the situation ahead. Facing a Costa Rican defender closing in, he feinted, suddenly surged forward, created a little space, and curled a high-arcing diagonal cross from forty-five degrees with his left foot.
Jiang Zhipeng's cross went straight toward the far post. Inside the box, Yang Yang instantly shook off the Costa Rican defender at top speed and sprinted forward. Getting there ahead of everyone else, he met the dropping ball and gently redirected it with his right foot toward the left side of the goal.
Costa Rican goalkeeper Navas flew to his right to cover the near post, never expecting Yang Yang to deliberately aim for the far corner. Caught off guard, he tried to stretch out a foot to block it, but Yang Yang's redirected shot stayed at mid-height and was struck with great intelligence.
In the end, the ball flew into Costa Rica's goal.
One-nil!
The entire Estádio Pernambuco erupted!
Thousands of Chinese fans who had traveled a long way to attend the match cheered from the stands, singing the national anthem.
Yang Yang turned around excitedly and sprinted all