The Chinese team finally ended their celebrations. Their players got up one by one, Zhou Yi being the last to be pulled up by his teammates; he was almost flattened into a photograph.

The television broadcast quickly focused on him, zooming in closer and closer. Finally, they gave Zhou Yi a close-up of his upper body.

Mark Lawrenson said over this close-up shot, "If the Chinese team can really win the Olympic gold medal in the end, then I think Zhou Yi will be the undisputed best player. It's just a pity that the Olympic Games doesn't have a best team selection. But everyone is very clear about what Zhou Yi means to this team. He is more than just organizing the midfield and orchestrating the attack."

"He is the Chinese team's engine, the Chinese team's gearbox, the Chinese team's metronome, the Chinese team's adhesive, and the Chinese team's lubricant. At crucial moments, he is also the Chinese team's finisher. He is the most special player I have ever seen, and I even think he has redefined the midfield core!"

Mark Lawrenson's words were a bit exaggerated, and they sounded scary. Saying something like "redefining the midfield core" was a bit much, but everyone felt that Lawrenson must have said this because he was emotionally excited.

Who would have thought that Mark Lawrenson was very calm when he said these words? You could tell from his tone. He wasn't impassioned or hysterical, but rather娓娓道来 *(wěiwěidàolái)* (telling in a slow and detailed way).

He had commentated on Zhou Yi's Champions League matches before, but during this Olympics, he recognized Zhou Yi as if he had rediscovered him. Zhou Yi's outstanding performance in Dortmund previously made him think that it was partly due to the strength of Dortmund's other players. Zhou Yi was excellent, but he hadn't reached the level of being supremely excellent.

But in this Olympics, Mark Lawrenson believed that Zhou Yi was the biggest contributor to China's ability to reach the final. His role was irreplaceable. Leading a Chinese team with unremarkable strength all the way to the final in this Olympics, with the hope of winning a gold medal, fully demonstrated his ability.

In the close-up shot, Zhou Yi was shouting something to his teammates. It was too far away, and the scene was too noisy, so it couldn't be heard in the commentary box. Moreover, Mark Lawrenson didn't understand Chinese, so he couldn't guess from the shape of his mouth.

Zhou Yi was shouting, "Don't be happy too early! There are still twenty minutes left in the game! If we relax, they can completely tie the score!"

While everyone was elated, Zhou Yi hadn't forgotten his duty as captain.

※※※

After the final restarted, Chinese fans began to hope that time would fly by, while Japanese fans, after being silent, began to cheer for their team with songs again.

This is what is admirable about Japanese fans. After their team falls into difficulties, they don't boo, but continue to cheer for their team as always.

The Japanese team, encouraged by the songs of their fans, seemed to have boosted some morale and launched a more fierce attack on the Chinese penalty area.

The Japanese believe in the "Gyokusai" (honorable death) spirit. When faced with desperation, they will not surrender immediately, but will fight to the death. Therefore, at the end of World War II, after the Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk, the Japanese army organized suicide squads to drive old fighter planes to attack American aircraft carriers in kamikaze attacks, using planes to crash into warships.

This was a very stupid practice, which, apart from sacrificing lives in vain, was meaningless and could not reverse the situation. But the Japanese believed in it.

Today, in the Olympic final, the Japanese team, trailing by two goals, was in a desperate situation, and seemed to be ready to "Gyokusai" with the Chinese team.

However, their Gyokusai offensive did not go smoothly.

After Zhou Yi scored the third goal for the Chinese team, he began to devote himself to the Chinese team's defense. Although defense was not his job, he could still defend in his own way.

He and Yang Muge cooperated, using accurate positioning and excellent awareness in the midfield to cut off the Japanese team's passing routes in the midfield, forcing the Japanese team to only play cross passes from the flanks, or long passes.

And with the sun already setting below the stands, their high balls posed less and less of a threat to the Chinese defense.

Zhou Yi and Yang Muge kept running and sweeping in the midfield. In the penalty area, Guo Nu's excellent physical quality allowed him to gradually gain the upper hand in his defense against Sugimoto Kenyu.

It's not without reason that Sugimoto Kenyu is a substitute in this Japanese team. His advantage is actually his height. Apart from his height, he is not good at anything else.

But Guo Nu is a center back who has been tempered in Serie A, so dealing with Sugimoto Kenyu is a piece of cake.

After discovering that Sugimoto Kenyu only had that one trick, Guo Nu used his aggressive defense to suppress Sugimoto Kenyu, leaving him unable to breathe.

Even though the Japanese team's offensive was swift and aggressive, Sun Pan suddenly found himself idle...

"Hey! Let them shoot once!" he shouted in front of the goal.

As soon as he finished speaking, Otsu Yuki took a long shot outside the penalty area, but it flew high over the crossbar.

"Damn it! Waste!" Sun Pan cursed. "Hit the target!"

Zhou Yi could only roll his eyes at Sun Pan's activeness. He had hoped that Sun Pan would get a good rest, but he didn't expect that this kid didn't know what was good for him.

※※※

There were not many times when the Japanese team's attack could really threaten Sun Pan. In addition to the good defensive organization of the Chinese team, it also had a lot to do with the rapid decline in the physical fitness of the Japanese players.

The Japanese wanted to Gyokusai, but they didn't have the stamina to Gyokusai. They had previously used the frontcourt pressing method, which consumed a lot of physical strength, and now it was time to pay the price.

Many players could no longer run, and some even had cramps.

The game time was consumed a lot by their own players' cramps.

When the game entered the eightieth minute, the Japanese team regrouped and mainly focused on defense.

Everyone could see that they were out of energy and had no motivation.

He Ping began to pay less attention to the situation on the field and began to express his feelings.

"...When this Olympic team finally qualified for the Olympic finals, we cheered and jumped for joy because we were finally able to participate in the Olympics again. But I think that among those cheering crowds, no one would dare to think that we could win a gold medal. When Zhou Yi said that his goal was a gold medal, many people questioned him and thought it was an unrealistic fantasy. But now, everyone, look, his fantasy has become a reality, and we have witnessed this fantasy become a reality..."

"What is the motto of the Olympics? Higher, faster, stronger. I think this motto is well reflected in this Olympic team. They surpassed themselves, overcame habitual thinking, and buried all those 'impossibilities'. They defeated the South Korean team, eliminated the Brazilian team, and finally faced the Japanese team in the final, playing wonderfully and beautifully! Any one of these teams is our nemesis. Chinese football has too many nemeses, so many that before every game, many people worry that we will lose by many goals, and many people think that losing a few less is as good as winning. If you are an outsider, it is okay to hold this view. But if the Olympic team themselves thought so, there might not be this scene today—we are leading the Japanese team by two goals in the Olympic final, and the Japanese team has lost their fighting spirit..."

"I think that compared to this Olympic gold medal, the spirit they embody is the most remarkable. I hope that this day can become the new birthday of Chinese football. The joy of the gold medal will not last long, but the spirit can be passed down forever!"

※※※

In He Ping's絮絮叨叨 *(xùxūdāodāo)* (long-winded remarks), another five minutes passed, and the time had come to the eighty-fifth minute.

Many Chinese fans in front of the TV no longer cared about the game itself. Older fans could not control their emotions, and were in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

On the Internet, "Chinese Team Champion" became the most popular topic.

"I don't even dare to dream about it! I really don't dare to dream about it! This is a scene from a science fiction novel, right? Ah?"

"A series to witness in my lifetime! I never thought that I would be able to see the Chinese football team win a world championship in my lifetime..."

"This year's Olympics, China's major ball sports were completely wiped out. I didn't expect that the Chinese men's football team would be the ones to save face in the end..."

"This day is enough for me to brag about for the rest of my life!"

……

In the game, although the time was getting less and less, Zhou Yi still led the Olympic team players in passing the ball methodically. They were using passing to waste time. If the Japanese players didn't come up, they wouldn't pass forward either.

Playing like this, the scene was not very beautiful, and there was a suspicion of deliberately delaying time, but at this time, who still cares about whether the scene is good-looking?

As long as we can win!

In the eighty-ninth minute, the fourth official raised a sign on the sidelines indicating three minutes of injury time. There was a burst of cheers from the scene, which came from the Chinese fans.

Because this injury time meant that the Chinese team was only three minutes away from their first world championship in history!

"Three minutes of injury time, the Chinese team is still leading the Japanese team by two goals! We are going to win!" He Ping said excitedly.

After the Chinese fans at the scene cheered, they sang "Ode to the Motherland" in unison!

When the Japanese team was two goals behind, the Japanese fans used songs to encourage the team, but this is not a patent of Japanese fans. Our fans can also do it.

"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, how loud the victory song is! Sing of our dear motherland, from now on to prosperity and strength!"

The loud singing resounded in the sky above the new Wembley Stadium, stirring the emotions.

Through radio waves, this song was also transmitted to the country, and Chinese fans in front of the TV could clearly hear what the fans at the scene were singing.

They couldn't help but sing along.

So, in every corner of China, in the living rooms of countless families, in the bars where fans gathered, in the squares where large-screen broadcasts were set up... Regardless of men, women, old, or young, everyone was singing in unison, singing the same song with the Chinese fans in front.

"...Across the mountains, across the plains, across the turbulent Yellow River and Yangtze River! The vast and beautiful land is our dear hometown! The heroic people have stood up, we are united, friendly, and strong as steel!"

"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, how loud the victory song is! Sing of our dear motherland, from now on to prosperity and strength!"

"We are hardworking, we are brave, independence and freedom are our ideals! We have overcome all hardships to achieve today's liberation! We love peace, we love our hometown, whoever dares to invade us will be destroyed!"

"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, how loud the victory song is! Sing of our dear motherland, from now on to prosperity and strength!"

"The sun of the East is rising, the People's Republic is growing! Our leader Mao Zedong is guiding the direction forward! Our lives are getting better every day, and our future is bright!"

They sang it over and over again, until the referee raised his arm high and blew the whistle to end the game.

He Ping, who had been silent since the song started, suddenly roared, "The game is over—!! We won! We won! We are the Olympic champions!!"