Chapter 124 Cheers to China!

When the game restarted, the Chinese team continued to pass the ball around as before, not rushing to attack, while the South Korean team pressed forward more and more eagerly.

The time left for them was ticking away, and the one-goal deficit was like a carrot dangling from a stick, constantly driving them upward, upward, and upward again.

It seemed as if they could bite into this delicious carrot with just a little effort.

In the eyes of the fervent South Korean fans, the South Korean team's offensive was like a tidal wave, threatening to engulf the Chinese team's goal at any moment.

During this period, the most active person on the field was Sun Pan. He made one brilliant save after another, repeatedly thwarting the South Korean team's shots.

Actually, it would have been fine if he had just been making saves, but the key was that every time he made a successful save, he would use all sorts of ways to provoke the South Korean players.

Although the South Korean players might not understand what he was saying, they could understand his body language and expressions.

For example, when Koo Ja-cheol's close-range shot in the penalty area went high, the ball soared over the crossbar and flew towards the stands behind.

Sun Pan stood in front of the goal, turned his head to watch the ball fly away, and even whistled.

What did that whistle mean? How could Koo Ja-cheol not understand?

He was already frustrated by missing a chance, and now he was even more furious to hear the Chinese goalkeeper's taunt. If he hadn't had a shred of calm and reason left in his brain, he probably would have gone up and confronted Sun Pan…

Sun Pan's behavior might seem childish to some, but it had to be said that such tactics were quite effective on the football field. It was a kind of psychological warfare.

Sun Pan's exaggerated movements and expressions stimulated the South Korean players, causing them to lose their rationality and composure. And on the field, the more critical the moment, the more calm was needed.

Because impulsiveness was a devil, and impulsiveness would make them make mistakes, some of which could even lead to disaster!

In the seventy-seventh minute, South Korean player Nam Tae-hee got the ball in midfield. He was a little anxious and wanted to force a breakthrough, but Yang Mu Ge intercepted the ball.

After intercepting the ball, Yang Mu Ge made a move to pass to Zhou Yi, but it was just a feint. He passed the ball to Wu Lei, who had retreated to receive him.

Wu Lei turned around and dribbled forward, attracting the attention of the South Korean players.

Before he was surrounded, he finally passed the ball to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi didn't stop the ball and quickly passed it to He Ying.

After receiving the ball, He Ying didn't hesitate at all. Facing South Korean defender Kim Young-gwon, who came up to defend him, he chose to force a breakthrough. After a bicycle kick feint, he accelerated in a straight line. There wasn't much skill involved, but the effect was very good—he pierced Kim Young-gwon's defense in one fell swoop.

However, as the spearhead of the Chinese team, He Ying was naturally also the focus of the South Korean team's defense. So when he broke through Kim Young-gwon, almost all the South Korean defenders' attention was drawn to him.

After Kim Young-gwon turned around, he also planned to chase He Ying. But as soon as he turned around, he suddenly saw a white figure flashing past him. He took a closer look—it was Zhou Yi!

At this moment, a bad thought flashed through his mind, and this thought made him change his plan to chase He Ying, and instead turn towards Zhou Yi.

Sure enough, as Kim Young-gwon chased towards Zhou Yi, He Ying, who was leading the charge towards the South Korean goal and seemed to be going on a solo mission, suddenly flicked the ball backwards, and the ball rolled straight towards Zhou Yi!

Kim Young-gwon accelerated towards Zhou Yi. He believed that Zhou Yi couldn't possibly know about his "mantis behind the cicada" tactic. As long as he could approach silently from behind, he could intercept the ball. Because Zhou Yi didn't seem to be moving towards the ball at all, which was a sign that he had no idea someone was approaching from behind.

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Zhou Yi didn't know, but someone knew. He Ping, who was in the commentary box, exclaimed, "Be careful!"

In fact, his exclamation couldn't possibly warn Zhou Yi, but he couldn't help but shout it out.

The Chinese fans in the stands also shouted out reminders, but they were drowned out by the boos and cheers of the South Korean fans.

In that instant, almost nothing could be heard in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff except boos.

The Chinese fans in front of the TV widened their eyes nervously, staring at the TV screen, afraid that Zhou Yi would be tackled by Kim Young-gwon. In their hearts, the best outcome might be for Kim Young-gwon to knock Zhou Yi down while tackling the ball, giving China a free kick just a few meters away from the South Korean penalty area…

But just as Kim Young-gwon flashed past Zhou Yi and stretched out his foot to poke at the ball in front of him, Zhou Yi's right foot took the ball back a step ahead of him. The ball came back from behind his supporting leg, while Kim Young-gwon rushed past on the other side.

The two sides passed each other by.

Kim Young-gwon couldn't stop his momentum and continued to rush forward, but he turned his head in surprise to look at Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi, who had dodged Kim Young-gwon with a very light movement, readjusted the ball and dribbled towards the South Korean penalty area from the other side. In just two steps, he was inside the penalty area!

"Zhou Yi! Beautiful!!!" He Ping roared excitedly.

At the same time, countless Chinese fans in front of the TV also shouted the same thing.

"Beautiful!!"

"Awesome! Zhou Yi is awesome!!"

Compared to the aggressive Kim Young-gwon, Zhou Yi seemed to be taking a walk, leisurely shaking him off.

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After entering the penalty area, Zhou Yi didn't hesitate at all and shot directly!

And He Ying, who had already entered the penalty area, turned his head and saw Zhou Yi's movement, and immediately threw himself forward onto the ground.

As soon as he lay on the ground, the ball flew over his body!

If he had been half a second slower, the ball would have likely hit him directly in the back of the head.

South Korean goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong's vision was obstructed, so he didn't see the moment Zhou Yi shot. He only saw He Ying suddenly fall down, and then the ball suddenly emerged from behind him.

This scene startled him, and he made a save reflexively, but he didn't touch the ball at all. The ball flew straight into the goal he was guarding!

"Zhou Yi! Goal—scored—!!!" He Ping stood up from his seat and shouted with his arms raised.

However, in the stands, some people's cheers were even louder than his—the cheers of the Chinese fans drowned out his voice, sweeping through the entire Millennium Stadium in Cardiff like a tsunami.

"Long live China!! Long live China!! Long live China!!" In the end, the cheers in the stands converged into such a sentence, clearly echoing in the sky above the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Many of the Chinese fans at the scene were overseas students in the UK or members of various Chinese-funded institutions stationed in the UK, as well as athletes and officials from the Chinese Olympic delegation who didn't have competition tasks… Many of them might not usually watch football, and they were definitely not fans, but at this moment, they were the most solid backing for the Chinese Olympic team in a foreign land.

In their unified shouts, the young men of the Chinese Olympic team embraced each other. This time, even goalkeeper Sun Pan rushed up, sprinting dozens of meters, and then pounced on them with the force of Mount Tai crushing down.

They celebrated as much as they pleased, recklessly, in front of the South Korean Olympic team's goal, not caring about the feelings of the South Korean players next to them.

He Ping was also very excited: "Viewers in front of the TV, can you hear it? The cheers in the stands! All the Chinese fans are shouting 'Long live China'! For Chinese football, this scene is truly incredible, but it has actually happened! The Chinese Olympic team, when facing their bitter rivals the South Korean team, and having encountered unfair treatment in the game, being penalized with two penalty kicks in five minutes! But now, the Chinese team is leading the South Korean team with a score of 3:1! This is more important than victory! Because in them, we see the spirit of perseverance! At this moment, please allow me to shout out: 'Long live China!'"

On domestic Weibo, the screen was instantly filled, and the server was about to crash, and Weibo became very laggy.

All Chinese netizens who were following this game and the London Olympics were posting:

"Long live China!!!"

As a Chinese fan, how happy I am at this moment…

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South Korean players have always been known for their iron-willed determination. They could score two goals in the second half when they were three goals behind Germany, pushing the Germans to the brink.

They can wear down their opponents with tireless running.

But this time, when the Chinese players were celebrating triumphantly in front of their goal, they were all stunned.

With only a dozen minutes left in the game, two goals behind and one player down, the panting South Korean players felt for the first time that they might not be able to win this game…

The referee intervened in the Chinese team's celebration, urging them to return to their own half, end the celebration, and start the game.

This was to buy time for the South Korean team, but this time the South Koreans stayed where they were and didn't mean to hurry up and kick off.

With one less player, how could they face the Chinese team that had firmly controlled the situation?

Many people had no idea.

As for Zhou Yi, they all knew about his achievements before the game, but they didn't think they were necessarily inferior to him. They believed in the power of the team, and believed that the "mad dog spirit" of never-ending running would definitely wear down Zhou Yi.

But after actually playing against him, many South Korean players realized that Zhou Yi's strength was terrifying, completely beyond their imagination!

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ps, Good news, starting tomorrow, I will resume updating twice a day!