Two hours later, the local Football Association, in conjunction with the police, issued a notice stating that the shooter was a mentally ill patient and that the gun he was carrying was a training gun with blank bullets inside.
After repeated confirmation, it was believed to be a solo act with no accomplices, and thus the match would continue.
However, to ensure the safety of the spectators, all audiences present would be evacuated, and the two teams would play out the remaining match time without any spectators. Spectators watching the live television broadcast would not be affected.
The match then officially began, and many observant viewers were surprised to find that the referee was no longer as openly biased as before. In fact, he had become very conservative, overlooking many potentially foul moves by the AM team, which completely deprived the AM team of their advantage.
With only about 20 minutes left in the second half, the AM team launched an incredibly fierce attack like a tiger descending from the mountain. The Lebanese team was almost completely unable to resist such an attack. They conceded three goals within 20 minutes, two of which were scored by Liu Xu. Ultimately, the AM team successfully won the match.
Even more remarkably, because the Lebanese team had previously defeated the South Korean team once, the South Korean team, which should have been first in the group, magically became second, and the first place honor unexpectedly fell to the AM team, which was originally the weakest in the group. The entire nation of South Korea immediately erupted, with countless fans unleashing their traditional vocabulary online, and the entire South Korean team was in a state of tension.
Fortunately, the next match was between South Korea and the AM team.
"Don't be nervous, as long as we win against the AM team in the next match, everything will still be under control!" It was still the same conference room of the Football Association, and it was still the same chaebol representative and the Football Association president chatting.
Compared to the tension of the Football Association president, the chaebol representative was very calm.
Indeed, in his opinion, as long as they defeated the AM team next, all current problems would be resolved.
As long as they defeated the AM team, both sides would have the same points in the group, and since South Korea had defeated the AM team, according to the head-to-head record, South Korea would still regain their first place in the group.
The only pity was that after the AM team defeated Lebanon, even if Lebanon defeated the AM team in the next match, the other party would likely still be second in the group, which would cause his conglomerate to lose a huge amount of cash, unless South Korea was willing to lose another match to Lebanon.
Well, in fact, the big bosses behind him were still seriously considering and discussing this issue. If they could win against the AM team by a large margin in the next match, and find another opportunity for Lebanon to defeat the AM team, then it wouldn't be impossible to lose another match to them.
It's just that the probability of this happening was very small, and the big bosses behind him knew that it would be difficult to manipulate the matches anymore.
After the AM team defeated the Lebanese team, this big boss's subordinate immediately found the unlucky referee and pointed a gun at his head, asking him why he dared to betray him after taking his money. What else could the referee do but tell the whole story truthfully. Then, the referee encountered a car accident during a trip the next day, which completely crippled his legs, and he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
Upon learning the truth, the Koreans understood that it would be difficult for them to manipulate the referee anymore.
After all, the Gangnam Group would definitely keep a close eye on the referee for the next match, and would never give them the opportunity to bribe referees again. Moreover, even if they did bribe the referee, the Gangnam Group would have other ways to handle it, because in terms of money, the wealth of these Korean chaebols was really not enough compared to Huang He.
At the same time, the Korean chaebols did not dare to offend Gangnam today. After all, 80% of the supply chain for South Korea's electronics industry depended on the supply from China's electronic technology industry alliance. If they really offended the Gangnam Group, their businesses would be ruined.
Compared to business, Holland was indeed just a small amount of money.
It's just that the Koreans didn't expect that they wouldn't do the second part after doing the first. But this didn't mean that Huang He was interested in doing the second part.
It's just bribing referees, who doesn't know how to do such a low-level trick!
Of course, Boss Huang would not use such methods on his own team. Firstly, Huang He cherished the reputation of his own team, and secondly, he had never considered the possibility of entering the World Cup in this session. He was more interested in using this opportunity for training, so whether or not they could win against South Korea was not important. On the contrary, if they cheated while playing, the reputation of his own team might become as notorious as the South Korean team.
Boss Huang's real revenge was in another match, but that's a story for later.
Returning to the focus match between the South Korean team and the AM team, as this match was crucial for the first place in the entire group, and even determined the qualification for the next round. Moreover, South Korea and China had been rivals for so many years, and both sides hated each other's teams to the bone. Therefore, all audiences in South Korea and China.
Almost all major media outlets in South Korea were present, while over 300 media outlets from China went there. CCTV announced that it would broadcast the entire match on its sports channel, showcasing full support.
However, compared to the mature footwork and decades of World Cup experience of the South Korean team, the AM team, which was entirely composed of players around 17 years old, was still too immature.
In the first half, their mentality was disrupted by an opponent's foul, and they then played erratically. They conceded a goal in stoppage time of the first half.
Then in the second half, their mentality completely collapsed, and they conceded two more goals, ultimately losing to South Korea with a score of 0:3. This caused great jubilation in South Korea and great disappointment to Chinese fans.
However, the Chinese fans still found the result acceptable, as no one could expect a team of only 17-year-olds to defeat the experienced South Korean team.
It's just that the 0:3 score was a bit ugly.
As a result, the standings in the group also changed. Although the points were the same, because the AM team lost to South Korea, they were ranked second.
However, the AM team soon had an opportunity for revenge, as after defeating the Thai team, it was again the match between the AM team and the South Korean team.
This match continued to receive much attention, but the South Koreans were clearly more relaxed, as they had won the previous match 3:0, so how could they possibly lose this one?
The Chinese side was also relatively relaxed, as they were no longer considering defeating South Korea, but rather how to safely secure second place in the group and be among the top four of the second-placed teams from all eight groups, which was the only way to advance to the next round of the top 12 qualifiers.
The match began with both sides' fans in a relatively relaxed state. Perhaps because the South Korean team's mentality had also relaxed, the first half was far less rigorous than the previous match, with many obvious gaps appearing.
Meanwhile, after experiencing the humiliation of defeat, and with coach Messi's words to them just before the end of the match: "You don't need to consider defeating South Korea now, nor do you need to consider whether you can take first place, because as long as you can take second place, you can advance to the next round."
"So I hope you will abandon all fear and shackles, and only remember two words in your minds: attack, attack, and attack again. Break through the opponent's goal with endless attacks."
"You don't need to consider defensive counter-attacks, nor do you need to consider how many goal differences South Korea can achieve through defensive counter-attacks. You just need to understand if you are attacking, and that's enough!"
With the coach's words, the young players of the AM team collectively went berserk.
As the saying goes, a newborn calf fears no tiger. The AM team, mainly composed of 17-year-old youths, was far inferior to stronger teams with an average age of around 24 years old in terms of physical fitness and match experience.
However, in terms of the passion and drive of youth, and the fearless spirit of a young calf, the AM team far surpassed their opponents.
As a result, the South Korean team was caught off guard. They never expected their opponents to attack without hesitation from the start, and as soon as they gained possession, they would directly send long passes into their penalty area, followed by a series of fierce attacks.
This caused the South Korean defense, which was already a bit scattered, to fall into complete disarray.
As the saying goes, chaotic punches can kill a master. In the face of such chaotic attacks, the South Korean team was directly thrown into confusion. All the players were dazed and didn't know what was happening. They only knew that after a period of chaos, the goal had actually been breached by the AM team.
This goal made the South Korean team completely bewildered, and it also intensified the AM team's attacks. They had tasted the sweetness of attacking, so they naturally wanted to use even more ferocious attacks to deal with their opponents.
As a result, in the first half alone, the AM team had as many as 15 shots, with three goals finding the net, giving South Korea a 3:0 lead in the first half.
At the beginning of the second half, the South Korean team, after making some adjustments in the locker room, gradually began to display their strength, even scoring one goal each through two beautiful defensive counter-attacks.
However, the AM team did not care about defense at all. Except for a few defenders, everyone else rushed forward whenever they got the ball. Moreover, the footwork and ball control skills of these young players were actually superior to those of the South Korean national players. Therefore, the number of shots in the second half was even higher than in the first half, reaching 16.
However, under the arduous defense of the South Korean team, 16 shots only resulted in one goal, allowing the AM team to ultimately defeat South Korea with a score of 4:2.
The moment the final whistle blew, the few Chinese fans present were ecstatic. It is said that on that night, over 30,000 televisions were tragically destroyed, as excited Chinese fans hugged them and threw them to the ground, where they heroically sacrificed themselves.
The situation on the South Korean side was naturally the opposite. The South Korean players once again displayed their traditional skills, making the entire team so ashamed that they couldn't even lift their heads.