Chapter 107

After the game restarted, the Brazilian team launched a renewed attack on the Chinese team's goal. The Brazilian fans in the stands desperately cheered for their team, hoping they could break through the Chinese team's defense. However, whether it was Neymar, Hulk, Jo, or anyone else, their attacks failed to breach the goal guarded by Sun Pan.

The first half of extra time ended after three minutes of added time, with the score still tied at 1-1.

"The first half of extra time is over, and the Brazilian team still hasn't been able to break through the Chinese team's defense. The Chinese team defended brilliantly in the first half. Now, for the Chinese team, being able to drag the game into a penalty shootout is a victory. Brazil's mentality will definitely be greatly affected..." He Ping said.

The two halves of extra time are played without a dedicated break, so everyone goes directly to the opposite half and starts the game.

But this is a theoretical requirement, and in reality, not many players will follow the rules so strictly.

No one walks in a straight line from the left half to the right half, or vice versa.

Everyone walks in a curve. They first walk from the field to the sidelines to drink water, replenish fluids, and allow the coaches to quickly make adjustments and deployments for them. Then they leave their respective benches and return to their own half.

Because time was running out, the coaches didn't make any tactical adjustments, but instead encouraged their players to persevere, persevere, and persevere.

Back on the field, the second half of extra time began.

In the 107th minute, Brazil won a corner kick. Neymar sent the corner kick to the near post, and Jo headed the ball from close range, but it went over the bar.

In the 108th minute, the Chinese team launched an attack. Zhou Yi sent a precise long pass from the backfield to Yan Min in front.

Yan Min dribbled the ball wildly, heading towards the Brazilian team's goal.

However, his stamina was not as good as before, and after a wild run, he was at the end of his rope.

The final shot was high because his supporting foot didn't hold.

"Yan Min... what a pity!"

No one criticized Yan Min for not handling the shot well. Everyone could see that Yan Min had consumed a lot of energy. He had been running non-stop throughout the game, and as a winger, he also had many full-speed sprints up and down the field, which is very physically demanding.

Yan Min tried so hard, so even if he didn't seize this opportunity, there was nothing to blame him for.

In the 112th minute, Alves chose to shoot directly from outside the penalty area, but this shot also went high.

In the 115th minute, Zhou Yi returned the favor with a long shot from outside the Brazilian penalty area. The shot was saved by César, and Wu Lei, who followed up with a shot, didn't hit the right spot, and the ball went wide of the goal.

With five minutes left in extra time, the Brazilian team launched a full-scale attack, bombarding the Chinese team's penalty area.

During this period, the Chinese team was not without counter-attack opportunities, but they were completely suppressed by the Brazilian team. Even if they had the ball, they couldn't launch a counter-attack.

Everyone retreated to the inside and outside of the penalty area, making sure not to concede a goal first.

In the 117th minute, Ramires took a shot from the arc of the penalty area, but the shot went wide.

In the 119th minute, Hulk received a through ball from Neymar and fired a powerful right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball hit the crossbar.

This surprised the Brazilian fans in the stands, and a huge exclamation rang out throughout the Mineirão stadium.

"Hulk! He almost completed the kill on the Chinese team!"

After this shot by the Brazilian team, the Chinese team made its third substitution. Zhao Xuyang came on to replace Yan Min, who was out of energy.

This substitution was partly to delay time, and partly to prepare for the upcoming penalty shootout.

The second half of extra time was different from the first half and went smoothly, with only two minutes of injury time.

If nothing unexpected happened, it would probably be difficult for the Brazilian team to break through the goal guarded by Sun Pan in these two minutes of injury time.

At this time, the Brazilian team was in possession of the ball, and another huge boo rang out in the stands.

These were all made by Brazilian fans, but whether this booing was aimed at the two minutes of injury time or due to dissatisfaction with the Brazilian players' performance is unknown...

Amidst the Brazilian fans' dissatisfied boos, the referee Webb blew the whistle to end the game.

"Extra time is over! The two sides will face the most brutal penalty shootout!" He Ping said, raising his voice. "Facing the aggressive hosts, the Chinese team played very tenaciously. They equalized the score after conceding a goal first. Then they repeatedly blocked the Brazilian team's attacks... The game has reached this point, which can be said to be far beyond the Brazilian team's expectations. I don't think any Brazilian would have thought before the game that they would have to kick penalties with the Chinese team..."

He Ping was right. The Brazilians had never thought that a Round of 16 match would go to a penalty shootout. In the hearts of many Brazilian fans, this game could be resolved in ninety minutes, let alone a penalty shootout.

But now...

The commentator for Brazilian television was very disappointed with the result: "We only scored one goal in one hundred and twenty minutes of play, and the goal was not even scored by one of our players. After that, we couldn't score any more goals... Now the game has been dragged into a penalty shootout, which is a good opportunity for the Chinese team. There were reports before the game that Lippi's team had specifically trained for penalties many times..."

He was vaguely worried.

※※※

The players from both teams regrouped around their coaches to rest.

At the same time, the coaches were arranging the penalty kick lists and the kicking order.

There are no fixed penalty takers in the Chinese national team.

If a penalty is awarded during regular match time, whoever is in good form will take it. Generally, players volunteer. Only those who are very confident in themselves will actively request to take a penalty, so the mental state of the penalty taker should be better than those of the pre-selected penalty takers.

Of course, that's not to say that those pre-selected penalty takers have a bad mentality. Generally, the penalty takers who can be pre-selected are the best penalty takers on the team, which is why they are designated.

But the problem is that players' state and emotions fluctuate throughout the game. No one can guarantee that a player who usually has a high level of penalty kicks will not experience psychological fluctuations or lose their mental balance this time.

There are also examples in football matches of players who previously kicked penalties very steadily missing penalties in the game.

Because the Chinese team doesn't have fixed penalty takers, Lippi made his selection based on the players' match performance.

The Chinese team had specifically practiced penalties before the game, so Lippi basically had a good understanding of the players' penalty abilities.

He only needed to arrange the order based on match performance, stamina, and emotions.

He wrote down his choices on the board one by one, and then marked the order of appearance in front of their names.

According to this list, the first to take a penalty was Zheng Zhi, the veteran who was substituted in the second half.

Zheng Zhi is old, but because he came on as a substitute, he has an advantage in terms of stamina. Moreover, he is experienced and has a record of taking many penalties. It is very suitable for him to take the first penalty.

The second to appear was He Ying. As a striker, his shooting skills are definitely not a problem. In terms of mental quality, he is not inferior either. After experiencing the Champions League, he has a big heart that can withstand pressure.

The third to appear was Wu Lei. Wu Lei is the team's first penalty taker in the club. Although he is young, he has rich experience in taking penalties. Moreover, he was also substituted in the second half and has an advantage in terms of stamina.

The fourth penalty taker for the Chinese team was Yang Muge. As the team's defensive midfielder, his number of goals is pitifully small, whether in the national team or in the club. However, the important thing about penalties is not shooting technique, but mental quality. In this regard, Yang Muge has an advantage.

The last to appear was Zhou Yi. He is not a penalty taker in Dortmund, but he has a record of taking penalties and scoring goals. Whether it is his mental quality or his penalty kicking skills, there is no problem. Lippi put him last to let him deliver the final blow for the Chinese team.

Next is how to arrange the penalty takers in the event that a winner cannot be determined after five rounds of penalties. The players who have not yet appeared must all appear once, including the goalkeeper. This arrangement is not as particular as the first five.

After arranging the penalty kick list, Lippi announced his arrangements to the players, and then said to the players who were being massaged: "Don't worry about penalties, the scales of victory have already tilted towards our side. The Brazilians never thought that they would have to play penalties with us, so I dare to bet that they didn't even train for penalties at all. This result is very unexpected for them, and they can only go on stage hastily. But think about us, how much preparation have we made for this game? In penalties, it's not about who is lucky, but who is well prepared. Luck comes from the preparation and effort you put in during normal times. In this regard, we are far superior to Brazil, so there is nothing to worry about. Just kick with confidence!"