The national Olympic team's translator, Jiang Xiaojun, was still worried that the team would be nervous today facing Brazil.

In the hotel restaurant, he was eating with Blazevic and they were discussing this issue.

"The game is tonight, I hope the players slept well last night..." Jiang Xiaojun said.

"You think they won't be able to sleep?" Blazevic asked.

"After all, they are playing against Brazil today. Just thinking about this opponent makes me worry that the players will be nervous. You should know, Lao Bu, that Chinese players have always had the worst psychological quality. Otherwise, how would there be the joke of 'drawing means qualifying, but we never qualify'?" Jiang Xiaojun said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter came from outside the restaurant.

Amidst the laughter, a group of national Olympic team players walked in. Seeing Blazevic, they came up to say good morning to the coach and translator Jiang Xiaojun.

After saying good morning, they went to get their meals.

Then another group of national Olympic team players appeared at the door, also laughing and talking as they walked in, then saying good morning to Blazevic and the translator before getting their meals.

The national Olympic team players came in like this in groups of two or three, greeting the coach at his table before going to eat. They were all talking and laughing during the meal as well.

Soon all sixteen national Olympic team players were dining in the restaurant. Because they couldn't all fit at one table, they split into four tables, gathered together, and chatted while eating.

Jiang Xiaojun listened for a while and found that they were talking about trivial things, with no mention of the key word "Brazil."

"Any new discoveries, Jiang?" Blazevic asked his translator Jiang Xiaojun.

Jiang Xiaojun shook his head: "No, they're just chatting."

Blazevic smiled when he heard this, with an expression that suggested he wasn't surprised: "You're right, Jiang, but I think that's all Chinese football history. And now, they are creating the future of Chinese football."

He gently pointed his fork at the national Olympic team players, his tone revealing a hint of pride.

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Eating, physical training, resting, eating, resting, eating, resting, departing.

During this process, Chinese media's all-round coverage of this semi-final had already begun.

From the morning's team physical training, reporters gathered outside the hotel in Manchester, doing various live broadcasts.

Various experts and veterans were also invited domestically to preview the semi-final. News of the national Olympic team's preparations would be constantly inserted into broadcasts of other Olympic events.

Although it was the Olympics, it felt like the World Cup, with football as the main event.

On the internet, the semi-final was also the focus of attention. Although the game would not kick off until 2:45 a.m. Beijing time, fans couldn't wait.

When the entire Chinese national Olympic team boarded the bus in front of the hotel, there was only one and a half hours left before the game, and the insertion of football broadcast signals became more and more frequent.

The rear broadcast room was ready, and the guest hosts were in place. He Ping, the commentator for the game, posted a photo on Weibo. The photo was of the stands of Old Trafford Stadium, taken from the commentary box. It was still empty, with only a few dozen people. He wrote on the photo: "How full will it be filled in another hour and a half?"

The match between China and Brazil was just a semi-final of the Olympic men's football tournament, but judging from the attention of the Chinese media and fans, it was more like a final.

If the Olympic Games officials also wanted to consider ratings and advertising revenue, they should have let China and Brazil meet in the final...

In the internet age, more and more news can be spread and understood through the internet, so on Weibo, there was a constant stream of the latest news from the front. Although it was already past midnight on August 8, countless people were still constantly refreshing the page on Weibo, waiting.

They would be very happy to refresh every photo and message.

A reporter took a picture of the Chinese team players boarding the bus and sent it back to China, posting it on Weibo and writing: "The national Olympic team lads are starting to board the bus, ready to depart. It looks like everyone's expressions are quite relaxed and their mood is good. It seems that they are not affected by the public opinion incident two days ago..."

Netizens forwarded the message one after another: "Add oil!" "It's up to you!" "Don't think too much, just fight with all your strength, be worthy of your heart!" "Actually, being able to reach the semi-finals is already amazing. Put down the burden and enjoy the game!" "The Olympics are about participation, medals don't matter at this time. Play well and show your style!"

Everyone supported the team with enthusiastic language, cheering them on, letting them relax, and hoping that the players would not have too much pressure. For many years, almost all good things in Chinese football have been ruined by "pressure." This time they hoped that the national Olympic team could avoid repeating the misfortune.

But looking at the photos, some were listening to music with headphones, some were playing with their phones, and some were talking to their teammates. In short, everyone had an expression on their face, not a blank stare.

Fans felt that this team was indeed a little different from the Chinese team they had seen in the past...

After all the players and coaches boarded the bus, the bus closed its doors and drove to the place where the fates of China and Brazil would intersect, the venue for the match, Old Trafford Stadium.

Although Zhou Yi had been playing in European football for three seasons, he had never played at Old Trafford Stadium, because he and Dortmund had not met Manchester United in the Champions League.

The other four of the Five Little Dragons were the same, none of them had been able to play against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Although the stadium was famous, it was a bit unfamiliar to them as players.

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After arriving at Old Trafford Stadium, the players went through changing, waiting, and warming up before returning to the locker room again.

When they were warming up, many fans appeared in the stands, and they were clearly divided. The red ones were Chinese fans, and the yellow and green ones were Brazilian fans.

A rough look showed that there were more Brazilian fans.

This was normal. After all, the strength of Brazilian football and the stars in the team gave them more supporters. These people were not only Brazilians, but also fans from other places who were also supporters of Brazil.

The Chinese supporters were only overseas students and Chinese-funded institutions in the UK, and it would be very good if they could fill the stands behind the goal.

In fact, none of the Chinese team's previous matches had been sold out. The highest attendance rate was still the match against South Korea, and a large part of the reason for this was because the opponent was South Korea.

This semi-final had the potential to be their first sold-out match since participating in the Olympics.

Competing in such an environment was also a test for the lads of the Chinese national Olympic team.

In the locker room, the team's coach, Blazevic, was giving his players a final pep talk.

In a little over ten minutes, the two sides would be taking the field. He had to fully mobilize the players' emotions in this short period of time, just like the national Olympic team's first group match in the Olympics.

First, he emphasized the team's tactics again: "From the beginning of the game, we must actively press, whether in the front court or the back court, we must dare to surround them, don't worry about the gaps after surrounding them. As long as you can put pressure on the Brazilian team, they will make mistakes. When defending, the movements can be larger, but be careful not to give the opponent a direct free kick opportunity in too dangerous areas. There is nothing else, although we have not had much time to prepare for this game, I believe everyone is ready."

He paused and then pointed to the lockers in the locker room and said:

"Take a good look, lads. You are now in the heart of Old Trafford Stadium, this stadium has a very nice nickname, called the 'Theatre of Dreams'. In this stadium, many heroic epics and legendary stories have been staged, countless superstars have achieved fame here, this is a stage where dreams come true. I hope that today, your dreams can also come true here."

Blazevic finished speaking. He didn't say too much, because the team's mood was very good now, and he didn't need to say too much. Saying too much would be counterproductive.

After he finished speaking, Sun Pan stood up, clapping his hands vigorously, and shouted: "What is Brazil? Let's beat them!"

More players also clapped their hands and shouted from their seats.

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At the same time, in the Brazilian team's locker room, coach Menezes had already said what he wanted to say. The last sentence he said was: "Lads, enjoy football. Remember, when Brazilians enjoy football, they are invincible!"

In fact, what he said was correct. If Brazilians can play football wholeheartedly and devote themselves to this enjoyment, then it can indeed be said that they are invincible. Given the Brazilian's football talent, this is not arrogant or conceited.

Moreover, the pre-match atmosphere was indeed quite relaxed. Brazil was strong, and the players were in excellent condition in training. Not to mention the Chinese team, their opponents, had various problems, and it was questionable whether they were still in the mood to prepare for the semi-final.

The Brazilian players did not believe that the Chinese team could cause them trouble. Although the team had several players playing in Europe, the only ones that the Brazilians could really remember were probably Zhou Yi and Sun Pan. Because these two had played against many players of the Brazilian national Olympic team.

They were also recognized by the Brazilian players as the strongest and most noteworthy Chinese players.

The implication was that apart from these two, no one else on the Chinese team needed to be taken to heart.