The atmosphere in the national team's locker room was as solemn as a pool of stagnant water.
Camacho stood in front of the tactical board. The Mark pen in his hand stabbed the board hard twice, leaving two black ink dots.
"The problem in the first half was not with you, nor with the tactics. You worked very hard, and I tried to balance the tactics as much as possible.
Our problem was that we couldn't score goals and the goal conversion rate was too low. We had several very threatening shots in the first half, but we didn't score a single goal, so I stepped up our offense.
But the opponent has a world-class player, and we can't stop his breakthroughs and shots. In fact, everyone knows it, and we can't stop him.
So next, I think we should try our best not to let him score a goal, but we should also strive to score a goal. Our group has not scored a goal in three games. If we don't score a goal again, it will mean we have not scored a goal in four games. This... a team that cannot score a goal is very troublesome..."
Camacho I don't even know what to say.
The players at the scene didn't know what to say, because what Camacho said was true. No one blamed Camacho for replacing two players in the first half. The players had no intention of blaming him.
Of course, when it comes to taking the blame after the game, Camacho will take the blame for his behavior.
Li Weifeng leaned against the cabinet, folded his arms, and looked at his sneakers.
Zheng Zhi lowered his head to drink water, the kettle was brought to his mouth, but he didn't take a sip for a long time.
Zhao Xuri sat in the corner and covered his face with a towel so that no one could see his expression.
On the other side, the atmosphere in the Hong Kong Team locker room is much more relaxed.
Troussier was sitting on a folding chair, holding a bottle of mineral water in his hand, and spoke in a tone that sounded like he was chatting rather than laying out tactics.
"We did a perfect job in the first half, China National Team pressed forward, and we counterattacked and scored. In the second half, they will definitely be more impatient, which means they will leave a bigger gap."
He stood up and drew a line on the tactical board. "Zhang Kuang, you can move back a little further to make them think we have given up the attack.
When their back line presses near the midline, Li Weilian and Zheng Shaowei, your two wings start. Cris Kang, you are responsible for the last pass, it's that simple."
Troussier was so good at talking, but the leader of Hong Kong Team had a headache when he saw this person coming.
Coming again?
You won't ask Hong Kong Team to lose, right?
Yes, someone came to Hong Kong Team again to convey some instructions.
Fortunately, the request made by the other party is not excessive.
So, the team leader ran to find Troussier and Zhang Kuang. After muttering for a while, the three of them accepted each other's instructions.
Because the opponent saw Zhang Kuang on the court and aroused intense emotions among a few fans. After they were caught, they found out at first instance that these people had been bribed to deliberately stir up trouble.
The people who pay them are to let them scold Zhang Kuang vigorously. It is best to let Zhang Kuang behave aggressively during or after the game. If Hong Kong fans confront them, let them find more people to fight with.
Therefore, the other party said, let's see if Zhang Kuang can be dismissed early, so that some fans who cause trouble may have nothing to do with it.
What can Troussier say to such an instruction? What can Zhang Kuang say?
Troussier:"Then I will replace you at the beginning of the second half?"
Zhang Kuang: "Let me play for another ten minutes and see if I can score another goal. 3:0 is safer."
Troussier:"... Okay..."
--
He Wei: "Welcome everyone to continue watching our program. During the intermission, Mr. Zhang Lu will give us an analysis of the first half."
Zhang Kuang nodded and walked to the big screen holding a baton.
Zhang Lu: "Let's take a look at the data of the first half first. In fact, the national team has the advantage in the first half according to the data. In terms of ball possession rate, the national team and Hong Kong Team are 56 vs. 44..."
Of course, not only CCTV is doing analysis, but TVB commentators are also doing analysis.
But no matter how you analyze it, it is just a prediction. Some things cannot be predicted. For example, how can you predict the end of Zhang Kuang?
The fifteen-minute intermission ended and the players from both teams walked out of the tunnel again.
The lights of Workers' Stadium illuminate the grass green and shiny, which is very unreal.
The cold wind blew through the stands, and many more fans left the stadium at halftime than in the first half. Some people lost patience, some lost hope, and some people simply went home to enjoy the warmth because of the cold and lack of suspense.
There were only about 40,000 people left in the stands that originally held 50,000 people, but the cheering crowd was not much thinner.
He Wei's voice came from the live broadcast room. "The second half of the game is about to begin. The national team is currently trailing 0-2, and the qualifying situation is already in danger.
I wonder if Camacho has adjusted his tactics in the midfield? If he has adjusted, will it be a correct adjustment? We will wait and see."
Kim Dong-jin blows the whistle and the second half begins.
The national team was obviously much more cautious after kick-off. Zheng Zhi's position moved back, and Zhao Xuri no longer pushed forward as frequently as in the first half.
The two defensive midfielders stood firmly in front of the defense line, blocking Hong Kong Team's counterattack channel.
This adjustment had an immediate impact.
Hong Kong Team barely got any chance to counterattack in the first few minutes. The passing routes of Leung Chun-pong and Jack·Xu were cut off by Zheng Zhi and Zhao Xuri. The number of times Zhang Kuang got the ball in the frontcourt decreased sharply.
In the 48th minute, China National Team got a long shot opportunity.
Zheng Zhi moved forward after picking up the ball in the midfield, swayed away from Jack. Xu Hou took a long shot from the top of the arc in the penalty area, and the ball went straight to the lower left corner of the goal. Fan Chun-yip flew to save the baseline.
Yes, this is another tactic of Camacho. No matter who it is, they will shoot as long as the opportunity is right.
Because the forward's shooting skills are so bad, I can't count on him.
Corner kick.
China National Team fans regained their hope, and the singing in the North Stand became louder again.
Zhao Xuri took a corner kick, Yu Dabao nodded the ball forward, Gao Lin followed up with a shovel shot, and the ball hit Chan Wai-ho's leg and bounced out of the baseline.
China National Team gets another corner kick.
After the second corner kick was taken, Du Wei grabbed the spot, but his header was too high and the ball flew over the crossbar and towards the stands.
He Wei: "Oh, this, I don't know if it was bad luck or a technical problem. The shovel ball hit the opponent's leg and bounced off the baseline. The header was a little too high. Director Zhang, what do you think?"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, isn't this the norm for the national team? When has it not been like this? The regrets of various shots? I can't tell whether this is a technical problem or a luck problem.
Let's say this is a technical problem. I analyzed it and found that under those conditions, there is no problem with this shooting method, no problem with the angle, no problem with the strength, no problem...
But the ball hit the opponent's defensive player's feet and bounced out of the baseline. Do you think it was skill or luck? But you said it was luck? Then this kind of thing happens too many times. Where can there be a national team with such bad luck?
Hehe, so I don't know what the reason is. If anyone knows, you can tell me."
He Wei:"..."
In the 50th minute, Zheng Zhi got the ball in the midfield and passed it to Feng Renliang on the right. The latter made a pass and the ball accurately found Yu Dabao in the penalty area.
Yu Dabao stopped the ball and turned around, shook Shane·Lowry away, and shot low.
Fan Chun-yip fell down and saved the ball.
He Wei: "There is absolutely no problem with the technique this time. Yu Dabao shot with no problem, Fan Chun-yip shot with no problem..."
Zhang Lu: "Hey, but if Zhang Kuang were to shoot, he would have to start his kick 0.1 seconds earlier, which would have greater power and faster speed.
Either a fake shot and a real dunk, find a better shooting space, and then shoot, that way the success rate will be higher. Of course, there is no problem with Yu Dabao handling it this way. If it were any forward in the world, there is a 99% chance that he would handle it this way."
He Wei:"..."
Chung Chi-kwong: "This was an extremely brilliant save. Fan Chun-yip's speed was amazing. He reacted almost as soon as the ball left his feet. He hugged the ball tightly..."
Fan Chun-yip stood up and shouted toward the frontcourt, "Press up!"
Fifty minutes passed, and the score was still zero to two.
Troussier stood on the sidelines with his hands in his coat pockets, observing the situation on the court expressionlessly.
Then he looked at his watch frequently. Zhang Kuang seemed to sense his thoughts and happened to look over. Zhang Kuang nodded towards him.
This means that if he hasn't scored a goal when the time is up, then replace him.
Troussier made a gesture to Cris·Kang, and Cris·Kang understood it. He began to consciously retreat to catch the ball, and took out China National Team's back waistband.
Fifty-three minutes.
Jack·Xu intercepted the ball from Yu Dabao in the backcourt. He did not rush to release the ball, but controlled the rhythm and waited for a few seconds.
The moment China National Team's formation started to press forward, he made a diagonal pass and found Cris Kang who was retreating to receive the ball.
When Cris·Kang got the ball, Zhao Xuri was already pressing forward.
But the core of Hong Kong Team used a beautiful turn to protect the ball and threw away Zhao Xuri, and then looked up: he saw Zhang Kuang starting up.
Li Weifeng has already followed.
But Zhang Kuang started at just the right time, and a line was formed between him and Cris Kang, a straight line that penetrated the entire midfield of China National Team.
Cris Kang's through ball was delivered.
The ball stuck to the turf, passed through the gap between Zheng Zhi and Zhao Xuri, and rolled accurately towards the running route of Zhang Kuang.
Zhang Kuang started, like an arrow leaving the string.
Li Weifeng stretched out his foot to block it, but was half a beat too late. He tried to grab it with his hand, but lost a handful of air.
Zhang Kuang passed by him, and then rushed directly to the penalty area line with the ball. At this time, Du Wei and Sun Xiang had already formed a door in front of Zhang Kuang, ready to close the door.
But he is Zhang Kuang, can he be locked up by closing the door?
So Du Wei and Sun Xiang met the most severe test of their careers. They saw Zhang Kuang shaking into an afterimage in front of them, and then their bodies shook uncontrollably.
He Wei: "Death Swing, Death Swing of Zhang Kuang, ah, Du Wei and Sun Xiang were shaken Falling to the ground, Yang Zhi...Zhang Kuang continued his Pendulum Dribble, Yang Zhi only lasted less than one round, and he fell...
Zhang Kuang, passed Yang Zhi, facing the empty goal, he took the ball directly into the goal, and the ball went in. 0:3, Zhang Kuang, hat trick...
At this moment, Zhang Kuang seemed to have transformed into an alien. He just danced lightly in front of the earthlings, and then the three earthlings collapsed on the ground.
This is the power of aliens. In the words of a recently popular science fiction novel, this is a dimensionality reduction strike. It is so easy and shocking to launch a dimensionality reduction strike from the four-dimensional world to the three-dimensional world..."
Zhang Lu: "Hey, I'm really proud to see China kick such a ball, it's really wonderful. This is the difference between the world's top forward and China's forward. The world's top forward has many ways to pass people, looking for the certainty of a shot.
And China striker can only get a 10% chance of being fooled. If it hits, then it's a hit. If it doesn't, it's bad luck.
So, is it China's forward's poor skills or bad luck? Why is Zhang Kuang's luck so good? How can he shoot? Maybe our forward should think about it."
Workers' Stadium is completely quiet.
This time the silence was not just a second or two, but a long, bone-chilling silence that covered everything like winter.
Then, deafening cheers erupted from the Hong Kong fan area in the east stand.
Chung Chi-kwong's voice almost broke in the TVB live broadcast room. "It's in! Hat trick! Zhang Kuang! The third goal! Zero to three!
Hong Kong Team completely killed the game! This wave came from Cris·Kang's through pass and Zhang Kuang's single sword, which used alien techniques.
Death Swing reappeared, Pendulum passed two defenders and a goalkeeper in a row, he was as calm as an assassin! In Workers' Stadium, in front of 50,000 fans, he completed a hat trick!"
Wong Hing-kwai: "I don't know what to say, Zhang Kuang killed the game by himself today. In three waves, he withstood China National Team's entire defense line by himself. This young boy can really... really do anything."
Zhang Kuang didn't run wildly or kneel down.
He knew it was time for him to leave the field, and he nodded to Troussier on the sidelines. At this time, the fourth official on the sidelines raised the substitution sign.
No. 33 is down, No. 17 is up.
17 Lo Kwan-yee replaced No. 33 Zhang Kuang. Zhang Kuang didn't even celebrate with the players on the field. He just high-fived Zheng Shaowei, Li Weilian, Cris·Kang, and then walked off the field.
Li Weifeng stood near the penalty area line, with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily.
He turned around and glanced in the direction of Zhang Kuang, and saw that Zhang Kuang had been replaced. His eyes were complicated, with both the relief of a devil being replaced and the humiliation of being looked down upon. It was unclear whether it was resentment or helplessness.
There are also players from other national teams who have the same thoughts as him. They all have mixed feelings. They are looking forward to Zhang Kuang's end, but also feel that this end is actually a humiliation to them.
Camacho stood on the sidelines, his hands in his coat pockets, expressionless. He didn't shout or make gestures, he just stood there, like a sculpture, like a body without a soul.
The audience at the scene burst into a lot of applause and cheers, and a few people shouted, "Zhang Kuang, silly..." Someone immediately ran over, pushed him to the ground, and then quietly escorted him away. Then the surrounding fans immediately broke into a cold sweat.
Zhang Kuang walked to the sidelines, Troussier stretched out his hand, and Zhang Kuang shook it.
Then he took a down jacket from the assistant coach and put it on himself, took the towel, and then high-fived his teammates one by one.
He Wei: "Zhang Kuang was replaced after he scored. Director Zhang, what do you think of this substitution?"
Zhang Lu: "There is no need to be on the court anymore, so I made a substitution. Is it necessary to continue to be on the court? Is it possible to join the national team for three or four more times? It would embarrass everyone at that time."
He Wei: "Hey, do you think the national team will have a chance after Zhang Kuang comes off the field?"
Zhang Lu: "Hey, what are you thinking about? The luck of scoring goals is not on the national team's side, but the offense will come out."
He Wei:"..."
On the other side, TVB, Chung Chi-kwong and Wong Hing-kwai were also chatting.
Chung Chi-kwong: "Huang Sheng, what do you think about Zhang Kuang being substituted?"
Wong Hing-kwai: "Congratulations to Zhang Kuang for the hat trick, and congratulations to Hong Kong Team for getting three points and qualifying two rounds ahead of schedule. Hong Kong Team's first top ten competition is coming soon.
Zhang Kuang is off the field, which means the game is over. I believe that the Hong Kong Team players on the field can defend the victory. The next step is practice. I hope the players on the field will take advantage of the opportunity to practice..."
Workers' Stadium The cold wind was still blowing, and some fans began to leave the game after seeing Zhang Kuang come off the field. Some people came to watch the game just to see Zhang Kuang score. Zhang Kuang has already left the game, so what else are they watching?
Yes, they are pseudo-fans, star-chasers, realists...
In fact, this is also the case. After Zhang Kuang left the field, the pace of the game slowed down significantly and the excitement also dropped.
Although the national team is still attacking, most of its energy has been exhausted.
The score of zero to three was like a bucket of ice water poured on everyone's head. The hope of qualifying had been completely destroyed. The remaining game time was just a formality.
As for showing the offensive ability of the national team, what's the point of scoring a goal?
In the 55th minute, Zhang Linpeng landed unsteadily during a confrontation with Zheng Shaowei on the wing and sprained his left knee. He was replaced by Liu Jianye.
Zhang Linpeng limped when he came off the field, his face was ashen, and he walked directly into the tunnel without looking at anyone.
Camacho also made the last substitution adjustment: Zhang Linpeng is on the bottom and Feng Renliang is on. Some people even suspect that Zhang Linpeng was deliberately 'injured'. He no longer wants to stay on the court.
But everyone can see that this is just to fill up the three substitution places.
China National Team's offense is out of order. There are crosses, long shots, and long passes, but nothing is effective.
In the 67th minute, Zhao Xuri tackled Leung Chun-pong behind the midfielder, and Kim Dong-jin took out a yellow card.
Zhao Xuri didn't argue, turned around and left. There was no anger or regret on his face, only a look of deep exhaustion.
In the 70th minute, Feng Renliang broke through from the right and passed in. Yu Dabao headed the ball from the middle of the penalty area. Fan Chun-yip held the ball firmly.
This was China National Team's most threatening attack in the second half, but it still didn't get past the Hong Kong Team goalkeeper's fingers.
In the 78th minute, Hong Kong Team made the second substitution: Cris·Kang was replaced by Yida.
Troussier is protecting his core players, and there is no suspense in the game.
In the 82nd minute, Lee Chi-ho pulled Yu Dabao for a tactical foul and received a yellow card.
This is the only yellow card Hong Kong Team received in this game.
In the 88th minute, Poon Yiu-cheuk suffered calf cramps during the fight, and the team doctor came in for treatment and continued to complete the game.
Kim Dong-jin blew the whistle to end the game in the 92nd minute.
The electronic scoreboard clearly showed zero to three.
China National Team lost to China Hong Kong Team at home, and World Cup's hope of qualifying was completely shattered.
Workers' Stadium In the stands, the red flags are still flying, but there are only a few people waving them.
Most of the fans had already left the game before the final whistle, and only a few die-hard fans remained standing, applauding silently. Is it for the team's hard work, or for this doomed ending? No one can tell clearly.
The Hong Kong Team players hugged each other on the court, and Fan Chun-yip led the team to the away team's fan area to thank the blue. The singing of hundreds of Hong Kong fans was particularly loud in the empty Workers' Stadium.
Zhang Kuang stood up from the bench, put on his coat, went with his teammates to thank the fans, and signed autographs for the fans.
Many mainland fans are waiting for this moment...