Domestic netizens really weren't holding out any hope.
After all, it was the Argentine team. They were the defending champions, and they were more united than ever.
That King of Football, Messi, was playing in the World Cup again this year.
He hadn't fallen off like people outside the sport had predicted. Maybe it was because he'd become King of Football, but his form was still remarkably good, and he was competing in this World Cup too.
So it wouldn't be surprising if they lost to a team like Argentina.
Besides, the Qinglin Manor security team had not only made it into the World Cup, but had also made it out of the group stage.
That was enough.
They had already proven that their country's football wasn't the problem. The problem was the people who played and managed the sport.
The Qinglin Scenic Area Security Football Team had proved it.
Whenever the Plaster Country team beat Germany, or Saudi Arabia beat the world champions, they wondered why their own country, which was clearly stronger and had a much larger population, couldn't even qualify for the World Cup.
It made no sense.
People online had always blamed the country's education system, or the lack of football fields, and so on.
They acted as if nobody knew that the Football Association was pulling strings behind the scenes and shirking responsibility.
How many ordinary players were obviously talented, yet never had a chance of making the national team?
And they acted as if the Plaster Country had better access to football fields than China?
Again and again, netizens were fobbed off with excuses that insulted their intelligence. They had nearly been stripped of all dignity when it came to football.
Now the Qinglin Scenic Area Security Football Team had given everyone an answer.