Chapter 3 The Core Returns

Just as the Chinese team arrived at the Arena da Baixada, their starting lineup finally appeared on the World Cup official website, accessible to anyone.

Zhou Yi's name was prominently listed!

"Zhou Yi is starting!"

"He's back!"

"The core is back in position!"

"Zhou Yi Confirmed to Start Against Spain!"

"Great news! Zhou Yi can participate in the match against Spain!"

"After missing two group matches, Zhou Yi has finally made it for the last one!"

"Better late than never. Zhou Yi is here!"

"Sorry to keep you all waiting! Zhou Yi returns as a hero!"

"He has finally returned when the motherland needs him most!"

"Damn, I'm about to cry! Zhou Yi finally made it! Pan Pan and the other players' efforts were not in vain! They fought with all their might to preserve the team's hopes of qualifying, and now they have finally waited for the most important person!"

...

For a time, Zhou Yi became the most mentioned name on the Chinese internet.

Everyone was enthusiastically discussing the significance of Zhou Yi's start for this match.

On a large domestic knowledge-sharing community, the question "How do you evaluate Zhou Yi's start in the match against Spain?" had already received more than two hundred answers shortly after it was posted.

The most upvoted answer was: "How else can you evaluate it? Of course, don't be a coward! Just do it! Kill gods when they block, kill Buddhas when they obstruct! Even if they are the defending champions, we will still kill them if they block our path! The World Cup has only truly begun for the Chinese team now!"

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While the Chinese internet was so excited about Zhou Yi's start that many people were brought to tears, Zhou Yi was tying his shoelaces in the locker room. He didn't know what was happening in the outside world.

These were custom-made shoes that his sponsor, Puma, had specially designed for his World Cup journey. Each shoe was printed with the names of the two teams playing, the match time, and the location.

The left and right shoes of each pair were different colors, using the colors and patterns of the two teams' national flags as the main color scheme.

So you could say that each pair of shoes was unique.

But unfortunately, he didn't have the chance to wear the shoes for the first two matches.

Today, he wore the custom shoes for the China vs. Spain match. The left shoe was mainly red with gold accents, representing China's five-star red flag, and it also had stylized five-star patterns. The right shoe was a combination of red, white, and yellow, which were the colors of the Spanish flag and coat of arms.

Puma's design of having different colors for each shoe was not new; they had done it before.

But on Zhou Yi's shoes, they used this style to the fullest. The flashy shoes would be very eye-catching on the field, completely different from the Adidas and Nike shoe designs that were all the same except for the color.

Compared to Adidas and Nike, Puma does not have a high market share, but it still has a group of loyal fans, which is closely related to their outstanding and unconventional design style.

Zhou Yi carefully tied his shoelaces, then flipped the tongue of the shoe over to cover the knot.

After doing all this, he got up and walked out of the locker room, following his teammates to the field to warm up.

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In the stands of the Arena da Baixada, although there was still an hour before the match started, many fans from both sides had already appeared in the stadium stands. The fans were entering one after another, and the first thing every fan did upon entering the stadium was not to find their seats, but to pick up their mobile phones and cameras to photograph the players from both sides who were warming up on the field.

Zhou Yi, who was warming up, was the target of almost everyone's lens.

Whether they were Chinese fans or Spanish fans, Chinese reporters or foreign reporters.

Everyone wanted to see how Zhou Yi's condition was.

In the previous few days, although the media had been saying that Zhou Yi's joint training with the team was effective, no one had actually seen it with their own eyes. Their so-called effective joint training was all based on what the Chinese team's players and coaches said. Just like that Spanish media outlet said, it could not be ruled out that the Chinese team was collectively deceiving people.

Zhou Yi was warming up with Yang Muge, passing the ball back and forth, but they were all one-touch passes without stopping the ball.

During the passing process, the distance between the two people was also constantly changing, from far to near, and then from near to far. No matter how they ran, they had to pass the ball directly without stopping it, ensuring the accuracy of the pass.

It could be seen from this warm-up that Zhou Yi's passing was very stable. They were all very ordinary push passes, without any difficult moves. He did not show off his skills, but used the most ordinary moves, and the ball was accurately passed to its destination.

Especially when the two people were very close, the rate of the passes were very fast, but the accuracy was very high.

It could be seen from this action that Zhou Yi's touch at least had recovered.

Next, Zhou Yi tried a few shots, but the accuracy of the shots was not high. He tried four shots outside the penalty area, and only one shot broke through Sun Pan's fingers. Of the other three shots, one was directly caught by Sun Pan, and the other two went wide.

However, Zhou Yi didn't care about the accuracy of the shots. He warmed up with his teammates, talking and laughing, and looked very relaxed.

Being able to see a smile on Zhou Yi's face before such an important life-and-death battle showed that Zhou Yi was very calm and had a good attitude.

This was a good thing for Chinese fans.

The on-site reporter from CCTV also mentioned this point to cheer up the fans in front of the TV.

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The players from both sides finished their warm-up and returned to their respective locker rooms one after another.

Now there were only half an hour left before the start of the match.

When they came out again, the match would officially begin.

Lippi looked around, looking at the players sitting in the locker room. They had made all the preparations.

He raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

"In thirteen minutes, we will face a life-and-death battle. This is not the World Cup final, but I want you to play it like a final. As for why, I think you all know very well. Before the World Cup started, we experienced many accidents and setbacks. At that time, many people were not optimistic about us, and thought that we would pack our bags and go home after the group stage. But now we still have the hope of qualifying from the group. I want to thank all of you. It is you who have made this last match meaningful. I believe Zhou Yi will definitely agree with what I said, right?"

Lippi winked at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi quickly stood up and bowed to everyone, saying, "Yes, I really want to thank you. I have never given up on the idea of participating in the World Cup from the beginning. I have always believed in everyone, and the facts have once again proved that I am right, ha! I just have a good eye!"

The locker room burst into laughter.

Lippi waited for everyone to laugh for a while, then raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. He continued, "I think the final result will prove that our efforts in the first two matches will not be in vain, and will prove that our persistence and dedication are worth it. Spain is the defending champion, but that can only represent that they were very strong in the past, and does not mean that they are very strong now. Everyone has seen how their first two matches went. I have confidence in you. You are younger and more energetic than them. Use your vigor to attack their aging central axis, and victory will definitely belong to us!"

"Remember, you are strong, far stronger than anyone thinks!"

In the same locker room, Del Bosque was also encouraging the team: "...We experienced a failed World Cup. As the defending champions, we have to face the embarrassing result of going home after playing two group matches. But the World Cup is not over yet, we have one last match left. This match is our only chance to atone for our previous poor performance. I think I don't need to say it, you yourselves also want to end this World Cup with a victory, right?"

Del Bosque looked at his players and continued, "After we were eliminated early, there were many voices from the outside world. Many people think that Spanish football is finished, and that the Spanish national team is just a shell, and is no longer the team that won the World Cup four years ago. There are many voices of contempt. So today is an opportunity to prove to those who despise us all over the world that the glory of Spanish football is not something that anyone can trample on!"

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When the players from both sides met in the player tunnel, they occasionally glanced at each other, and then quickly looked away. But despite this, the sparks and gunpowder of the collision of their gazes still remained in the air.

One side for honor, one side for survival.

This heavyweight battle is about to break out!