Chapter 1 In Preparation for Spain

During the period that the Chinese team was preparing for Spain, the World Cup group stage matches continued non-stop.

After two rounds of all the group stage matches, it was basically clear who could qualify and who would be eliminated.

After the second round of Group C matches, Colombia defeated Côte d'Ivoire 2-1, winning both games and qualifying early. Japan drew 0-0 with Greece, accumulating only one point after two rounds, essentially saying goodbye to this World Cup knockout stage. In the final round, Japan would face the strongest team in the group, Colombia, and it would be difficult to win.

In the second round of Group D matches, England, having already lost one game, faced Uruguay in a do-or-die battle. If they wanted to emerge from this group, they had to defeat Uruguay. But the final result was surprising: England lost to Uruguay 1-2, suffering two consecutive defeats and being eliminated early. This news shocked England. They were pre-tournament favorites, but now they were eliminated a round early, a complete disgrace. However, perhaps everyone except the English themselves wasn't surprised by this result…

England has only won the World Cup on their home turf. At other times, their performance hasn't justified their status as favorites. Their strength is entirely hyped up by the developed English media…

In another group match, Italy, having won one game, only needed to defeat Costa Rica to qualify early from the group, but an upset occurred again. Italy unexpectedly lost to Costa Rica 0-1! Costa Rica, having defeated both Uruguay and Italy, instead qualified early from this group. Having been considered the weakest team in the group during the draw, and a team other teams would target for points, Costa Rica became the first team to qualify from the group. Some media outlets have already called Costa Rica the biggest dark horse of this World Cup…

In the second round of Group E matches, Switzerland and France met, staging a goal-scoring feast. In the end, France defeated Switzerland 5-2, also qualifying early from the group.

Ecuador, on the other hand, defeated Honduras 2-1. In the final round of group matches, both Ecuador and Switzerland have a chance to qualify from the group, but Switzerland's opponent is the already eliminated Honduras, while Ecuador will face the strong France.

In Group F, Argentina encountered Iran in the second round of group matches. They originally thought they could easily win and advance early, but they were forced into an embarrassing situation by Iran. It wasn't until the 90th minute that they relied on a direct free kick from Messi to defeat Iran, securing three points and advancing early.

Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina's match was also 1-0, with Nigeria winning. Nigeria now has four points, Iran has one point, and Bosnia and Herzegovina has been eliminated early with two losses. In the final round of group matches, Nigeria will face Argentina, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran will fight each other. If Iran wants to qualify from the group, then they must defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last match, while hoping that Nigeria loses to Argentina. Nigeria losing to Argentina is likely, but whether Iran can defeat Bosnia and Herzegovina is not easy to say…

In Group G, Germany, despite being highly favored, unexpectedly drew 2-2 with Ghana. If it weren't for Klose coming off the bench to score a crucial goal, Germany might have even lost the match. Klose's goal also allowed him to tie Brazilian legend Ronaldo's total World Cup goals, with both players having fifteen World Cup goals, tied for first place on the World Cup all-time goalscorers list.

The match between the United States and Portugal also ended in a 2-2 draw.

As a result, Germany and the United States both have four points, while Portugal and Ghana both have one point. In the final round of group matches, Germany plays the United States, and Portugal plays Ghana. Anyone could emerge, and anyone could be eliminated, making it extremely complex. Germany, who defeated Portugal 4-0 in the first match and was considered a favorite to win the championship, could even be eliminated. For Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, if they want to qualify, they have to hope that Germany defeats the United States, and they have to defeat Ghana by a large margin. Only in this way can they squeeze out the United States based on goal difference if they have the same points. But because they lost their first match 0-4, their goal difference is -4, while the United States currently has a goal difference of one. The difference between the two sides is five goals. They must first ensure that they beat Ghana by at least four goals, and then hope that the United States loses to Germany by at least two goals. Only then can they gain an advantage in goal difference, but the difficulty is quite high, because Ghana also wants to qualify from the group, and they will not sit still and wait to die.

In the second round of Group H matches, Belgium defeated Russia 1-0, winning both games and qualifying early. South Korea, facing Algeria, who was said to be the weakest team in the group, had high ambitions in the domestic media, believing that the team could defeat Algeria. That way, with four points, their chances of appearing would greatly increase. But they unexpectedly lost to Algeria 2-4 in this match, accumulating only one point after two games. In the final round, they will face the strongest team in the group, Belgium. It can be said that their hopes of qualifying from the group are very slim.

So far, the second round of matches in all groups has ended. From the perspective of points, the performance of the four Asian teams is not satisfactory.

China has two points and must fight to the death with Spain in the final round.

Japan, Iran, and South Korea each have only one point, and their hopes of qualifying are very slim, existing only in theory.

It is easier for China to qualify, as long as they can defeat Spain, without having to look at other people's faces. If the other three teams want to qualify, they must meet very harsh conditions and look at other people's faces.

So far, the four Asian teams have not won a single victory in this World Cup, which is very different from their performance in the previous World Cup. In the previous World Cup, two Asian teams entered the knockout stage, which was the best result for Asian teams in the World Cup since the 2002 World Cup. After that, Asian football was ambitious and wanted to gain a more important position in world football. As a result, they were beaten back to their original form in this World Cup.

China was originally highly anticipated. They performed well in the qualifiers, and they also have many players playing in Europe with first-class strength. Who would have thought that before the World Cup, their core player Zhou Yi was injured in the Champions League final, leading to his absence from the two World Cup group matches. In these two World Cup group matches, China only managed to get two draws.

Now the final round of group matches is about to begin, and the fate and glory of Asian football may be at stake.

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On June 23, four group matches in Group A and Group B will be held. Among them, the two group matches in Group B that will be held simultaneously at 1:00 PM will be the most eye-catching, naturally the match between China and Spain.

Then, the two group matches in Group A will kick off simultaneously at 5:00 PM. Whether the host Brazil can qualify from the group will depend on their match against Cameroon.

The match between China and Spain is at 1:00 PM local time, which is 12:00 AM Beijing time. For Chinese fans who stay up late to watch the game, this time is very good. It won't be too late, and it will only be 2:00 AM after watching the game, which won't delay sleep.

As the life-and-death battle for the national football team, and possibly Zhou Yi's first game after his comeback, it is naturally highly anticipated. The ratings in China will definitely set a new high for sports events broadcast live in China. Some institutions predict that it may even exceed the ratings of the previous World Cup final…

Before the game started, reporters frantically inquired about the Chinese team's starting lineup.

One moment there was news that Zhou Yi would definitely start, and the next moment there was other news that Zhou Yi might come off the bench. Then, after a while, new news said that the previous news was all wrong, and Zhou Yi suddenly felt unwell before the game and might still miss this life-and-death battle…

Various news flew everywhere, some released by Chinese media, some released by foreign media and then reposted in China, and even some news compiled by netizens themselves with no source. The Chinese fans were dazzled, and later they didn't dare to believe any news.

Currently, the most certain news is that Lippi will wait until the last moment to announce the starting lineup. As long as you wait patiently until two hours before the start of the game, the mystery can be revealed.

Two and a half hours before the start of the game, the entire Chinese team boarded the bus at the hotel, preparing to set off for the final battlefield, the Arena da Baixada.

Chinese reporters gathered outside the hotel to film the scene of the Chinese team boarding the bus and departing.

Zhou Yi appeared in the team, but of course this didn't prove anything. Because all the players have to go to the stadium, and people who go don't necessarily get to play.

When they saw Zhou Yi, the Chinese fans who could only wait at the entrance of the hotel because they didn't buy tickets burst into cheers. They shouted to Zhou Yi, "Please! Zhou Yi! You must play! You must qualify!"

Zhou Yi waved to them and boarded the bus.

Holding a microphone, the CCTV field reporter stood in front of the camera with the Chinese team boarding the bus as the background, and said slightly excitedly: "... So far, we still don't know whether Zhou Yi will start, but Zhou Yi's expression is very relaxed, and there is no depression or frustration that he can't play, I hope this is a good sign... The entire Chinese team has boarded the bus, ready to set off! They are carrying the expectations and hopes of 1.4 billion people! Let us cheer for the soldiers of the national football team! At this moment, they are fighting for China!"