Because he still had his own match coming up, the Chinese team didn't watch the entire game. They left the conference room after the first half to head to the stadium.

Reporters and fans crowded the entrance of the hotel. When they saw the Chinese players emerge, the fans waved national flags and scarves, cheering them on.

Even though Zhou Yi couldn't play, everyone supported the national team as a whole, not just one player.

Even if Zhou Yi's absence lowered their chances of victory, everyone still hoped that the Chinese team could win.

After all, Chile was probably the weakest team in the group…

Everyone hoped that the Chinese team could defeat Chile and get off to a good start on their second World Cup journey in history.

This was somewhat similar to the situation when the Chinese team participated in the World Cup last time.

At that time, China's first match was against Costa Rica, the weakest team in the group besides China. Before the match, many Chinese fans and media outlets hoped that the Chinese team would defeat Costa Rica, securing China's first point, first goal, and first victory in World Cup history.

Zhou Yi waved to everyone before getting on the bus.

Although he couldn't play in the match, he would still travel with the team and sit on the bench, showing that he was always with the team.

Zhou Yi was not included in the starting lineup that the Chinese team had just announced. Everyone knew that Zhou Yi wouldn't be able to play in this match...

※※※

When the Chinese team set off for the stadium, the second half of the match between the Netherlands and Spain had also begun.

The first half's process and score made everyone think that this was an evenly matched game, but no one expected the sudden turn of events in the second half.

In the fifty-third minute, Robben received a pass from Blind, cut past Piqué, and then shot with his left foot before Casillas could block him. The ball passed through Casillas's fingers and into the goal, 2-1!

In the sixty-fifth minute, the Netherlands' free kick from the left was floated into the penalty area. Van Persie challenged for a header and collided with Casillas, giving the Dutch player De Vrij, who was lurking at the far post, an opportunity. He headed the ball into the goal at the far post. He even crashed into the goalpost for this goal. The Netherlands led Spain 3-1.

In the seventy-third minute, the Netherlands scored again. This time it was Casillas's own mistake. He miscontrolled the ball, and Van Persie rushed up to steal the ball and scored into an empty net. The Netherlands led 4-1!

In the eightieth minute, the Netherlands launched a classic counterattack. Robben received a pass from the backfield and sprinted sixty meters into the right side of the penalty area. He first used a turn to lightly knock Casillas off balance, and then used several pauses to get rid of Casillas's tenacious block. He then shot with his left foot near the penalty spot, and the ball flew into the goal. The Netherlands led Spain 5-1!

At this point, the game was over.

The news quickly spread to the Chinese team, who had already arrived at the stadium and were resting in the locker room.

The locker room was silent after hearing this news.

This was their opponent in the same group. They previously thought that Spain was the most difficult to deal with, but now it seemed that the Netherlands was the big boss.

It really was a group of death. Even the defending World Cup champion Spain was beaten so badly…

Amidst the silence, Zhou Yi's voice was the first to break the stillness: "Okay, one bad news, one good news."

Everyone looked up at him in confusion, not understanding why he said that.

Zhou Yi held up one finger: "The bad news is that the Netherlands is stronger than we imagined." Then he held up another finger. "The good news is that the defending champion is just a paper tiger. We have a great chance of winning the last game against Spain."

※※※

Zhou Yi was already thinking about the last game, but the other members of the national team couldn't think that far ahead. The game against Chile in front of them was what they valued most.

They were about to usher in this World Cup match, which was the first World Cup match for all of them.

Zheng Zhi, the oldest player on the team, was also participating in the World Cup for the first time. This was a very young and inexperienced team.

This group situation, coupled with Zhou Yi's absence, really made many Chinese fans both expectant and worried.

The expectation was because, in addition to Zhou Yi, there were five other players who had performed well during their time playing in Europe. Everyone was curious whether they could make up for the impact of Zhou Yi's absence on the national team.

When the national team players went out to warm up, Zhou Yi followed, but he didn't go on the field to play. Instead, he watched from the sidelines.

Head coach Lippi stood next to him.

Like him, Lippi was closely watching the Chinese players warming up on the field.

Then, without even turning his gaze, he asked: "How do you think we can get out of this group?"

"Of course, by winning the first two group matches." Zhou Yi said, also keeping his eyes on the field. "Just kidding, everyone wants to win if they can. But looking at it calmly and rationally, it's difficult for us to win against the Netherlands. Our only advantage is probably hoping that the Netherlands looks down on us and becomes complacent."

Zhou Yi covered his mouth and told Lippi his thoughts.

"So the first game against Chile is very important. We must win if we want a better chance of qualifying. But Chile must be thinking the same thing…" Zhou Yi continued. "Both of our teams want to qualify, so we must win the first game. Whoever loses will have a difficult time in the following matches…"

※※※

Both teams were warming up on the field. Chile's head coach, Sampaoli, was also standing on the sidelines, but he didn't pay much attention to his own players. Instead, he kept casting his eyes towards the Chinese team.

He saw Zhou Yi standing on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets.

Before the match, all the news said that Zhou Yi would definitely miss the first two group matches. Now it seemed that this was not a smokescreen from the Chinese, but a fact.

He was very glad that Chile was facing China in the first group match, not the last one. If Zhou Yi was healthy, Sampaoli wasn't sure if his team could beat China.

But without Zhou Yi, the Chinese team was simply a mess.

Sampaoli was very sure of this. In his opinion, the impact of Zhou Yi's injury on China's tactics was not the biggest. The biggest impact was on their morale. He had carefully studied this Chinese team and knew that Zhou Yi had a pivotal position in this team, not only on the field but also in the locker room.

His presence was the pillar of stability for the Chinese team. He could make the other Chinese players perform better on the field.

Conversely, when he was not there, many Chinese players would probably lose confidence and not perform as well as before.

Especially when they encountered difficulties in the game, this team would definitely collapse quickly. But if Zhou Yi was there, he should be able to stabilize the situation.

Therefore, the impact of Zhou Yi's absence on the Chinese team was probably greater than they themselves thought…

There were still many opinions about Zhou Yi's injury in the Champions League final. Some people blamed Carvajal, but others criticized Zhou Yi for holding onto the ball for too long at the last moment. If he had kicked the ball out in time, nothing would have happened.

Sampaoli didn't want to get involved in this kind of argument. He just wanted to thank God for injuring the most important player on the opposing team before the World Cup.

Chile was not a team that had an advantage in this group.

But now his mind was racing.

In the other match in this group that had just ended, the defending champion surprisingly lost to the Netherlands 1-5, also exposing the weak constitution under the seemingly strong appearance of the defending champion.

Coupled with Zhou Yi's injury and absence, this gave Chile an opportunity. First, Chile had to defeat China in the first group match, and then defeat the seemingly strong Spain in the second match. Then the last match against the Netherlands would be irrelevant, and they would win the right to qualify for the group stage.

※※※

“…I don't know if Chile will underestimate us, but they definitely want to defeat us. They may be more aggressive in the game, hoping to score as soon as possible. After all, if they slowly deal with us, it will actually be beneficial to us – haven't many media outlets said that we should strive for a draw in the match between China and Chile? So Chile will take the initiative to attack, then we can play their counterattack. We have the ability to play counterattacks… That's what I think.”

After listening to Zhou Yi's story quietly without interrupting him, Lippi nodded and said to Zhou Yi: "You know, Zhou Yi. After the news of my taking over as the coach of the Chinese team was revealed, I received a call from Klopp."

Zhou Yi turned his head to look at Lippi in surprise: "Jurgen Klopp?"

"Who else could it be? The coach of Dortmund." Lippi smiled. "He gave me a suggestion. He said that if I wanted to coach the Chinese team with half the effort, it would be best to talk to you more often and ask for your opinions and views. He also said that this was the secret to his being able to lead Dortmund to so many championships. Now it seems that it really is his secret…"

Zhou Yi scratched his head. He did often exchange views on matches with Klopp, and he didn't need to be modest in this regard.

※※※

The two teams that had finished warming up returned to their respective locker rooms.

Lippi faced the Chinese players wearing white jerseys with a serious expression: "This is our first World Cup group match. Let's put aside those messy 'meanings'. This game is very simple. Our goal is only one – and that is victory. Defensive counterattack is our winning strategy. We must be patient when defending. Don't panic. The defenders must be decisive when handling the ball…"

Sampaoli stood in the middle of the locker room, turned his body to look around at his players, and waved his fist: "Their core is not on the field. As long as we can create trouble for them, they will lose their composure and collapse. So from the beginning of the game, we must constantly put pressure on their goal! Remember! The pressure starts from the first second of the game!"