Chapter 190 War in Changsha

Having defeated Oman on their home turf, securing a spot in the World Cup with two games to spare, didn't mean the Chinese team could just go through the motions in their remaining matches.

Upon returning to Beijing, the Chinese team rested for a day at the national team's Xiangshan base before setting off once more, this time to Changsha, the location of their next game.

There, they would face a formidable enemy: the Japanese team.

Despite the fact that the outcome of this match wouldn't affect their qualification, it was still considered important.

Because their opponent was the Japanese team, and because it was a game to determine the group leader.

Domestic media coverage also began to diverge, with some continuing to celebrate their qualification, while others focused on the upcoming match.

If the Chinese team could defeat the Japanese team on their home turf, the final match against Australia would be rendered meaningless. Even if the Chinese team lost to Australia away, they would still be the group leader.

Along with the Chinese team's move to Changsha came many reporters who regularly covered the team.

Six days later, the match between China and Japan would kick off in Changsha.

Some media outlets even used the headline "War in Changsha" to report on the game.

The Battle of Changsha was a famous clash between Chinese and Japanese forces during the Anti-Japanese War. The entire city was engulfed in flames for two days and two nights, and Chinese and Japanese forces engaged in four battles in the city and surrounding areas over six years. After four major campaigns, the Japanese army finally captured Changsha, opening up the mainland transportation line.

The flames of war were a thing of the past, but they had not been forgotten.

The Chinese media's use of such a name to report on this game was clearly aggressive.

It was hoped that they could wash away their past shame in the realm of football.

The current Chinese team was riding high, giving the Chinese media and fans a great deal of confidence. The pain and anger caused by their unexpected 0-1 loss to Qatar at home had passed.

This match, while not related to qualification, was related to the dignity of Chinese football and even the Chinese people.

The choice of Changsha as the venue for the game was a coincidence, but it also felt like destiny.

※※※

Zhou Yi was a Chinese man born in the 1990s. He had not experienced the war years. His understanding of the Anti-Japanese War came mostly from textbooks and movies.

His goal was also to defeat the Japanese team in this match, but not because of a war that took place more than sixty years ago, but for a very practical reason: any professional player wants to win.

He had friends on the Japanese team; Shinji Kagawa was a very good friend of his.

But that didn't stop him from declaring in an interview that he would never let the Japanese team reclaim the top spot in the group.

"...Actually, the Japanese team has already qualified..." Zhou Yi told reporters.

After the last round of matches, the Japanese team drew 1-1 with Australia, accumulating twelve points, while Oman, who were originally third in the group, remained at five points due to their loss to the Chinese team, seven points behind the Japanese team. Oman had only one game left, and there was no way they could surpass Japan.

So both the Chinese and Japanese teams had qualified early.

"Now that everyone has qualified, I hope everyone can put down the burden of qualifying and do their best to give the fans a very exciting game. Of course, my requirements aren't that high, as long as we're the ones who win in the end." Zhou Yi smiled slyly as he said this.

What was the Japanese perspective on this?

After the last match, the Japanese media began to focus on the game against the Chinese team.

As for qualifying for the World Cup, that wasn't the main focus of their reporting, because compared to China, Japan was already used to participating in the World Cup. Neither the media nor the fans would celebrate it too much.

They were more concerned about the game against the Chinese team.

The Japanese media considered this game a "revenge match."

Revenge for what?

Revenge for not being able to win against the Chinese team at home in the first leg of the Top Ten Tournament.

Revenge for losing to the Chinese Olympic team in the Olympic final.

Being able to defeat the Chinese team away would be revenge.

In the past, it wasn't too difficult for the Japanese team to defeat the Chinese team away, and there was no need for the media to make such a fuss. The gap between the footballing levels of China and Japan was quite large.

China may have had a slight advantage over the Japanese team before the mid-1990s, but was gradually outstripped by the rapidly developing Japanese football.

Japanese football used to be full of awe for Chinese football, but later realized that Chinese football was just a paper tiger.

As long as they were a little serious, the Chinese team would find it difficult to get any advantage from the Japanese team.

But in the last two or three years, the situation had changed again.

Japan found that when they faced the Chinese team, their advantage was gradually disappearing.

It started with the 2011 Asian Cup. In the final, facing a Chinese team without Zhou Yi, the Japanese team still had a difficult time, and could only be said to have narrowly won the match and lifted the trophy. If Zhou Yi had not been suspended and absent from that match, the final outcome would have been hard to say.

Then at the Olympics, the Japanese Olympic team, which had reached the Olympic final for the first time, was tasked with making history. But they lost to the Chinese Olympic team in the final. Both teams had a large number of overseas players playing in Europe, but in terms of the quality of the overseas players, Japan was completely defeated.

Next was the Top Ten Tournament of the World Cup qualifiers, the first match between the two sides. The Chinese team challenged the Japanese team away. With Zhou Yi's goal, the Chinese team forced a draw with the Japanese team on their home turf. It should be known that the Chinese team at that time was not a "complete body". Not all overseas players started the game. Moreover, the Chinese team had just introduced some players from the Olympic team, and were still digesting and absorbing them, and had not yet integrated everyone.

Even so, the Japanese team could not win at home.

The balance of power between China and Japan in football suddenly seemed like the balance of power between them in the military. The Chinese team was gradually gaining the upper hand!

This time, facing what should be the strongest lineup of the Chinese team, the Japanese side also sent their strongest lineup.

When Shinji Kagawa was interviewed, he was asked about Zhou Yi. He smiled and said, "Zhou Yi was the most outstanding midfielder in Europe in the past season, and he is in very good form. But we will not admit defeat, we will do our best as well, I think this is respect for him..."

※※※

The enthusiasm for the Top Ten Tournament did not wane with the Chinese team's early qualification.

The Sino-Japanese contest provided a good reason for everyone to pay attention.

Although the Chinese Olympic team defeated the Japanese Olympic team in the Olympic final.

But at the national team level, the Chinese team has not been able to defeat the Japanese team in recent years. Chinese fans are also eager for the Chinese team to achieve a victory over Japan in a formal match, and a victory with substance.

However, some people were also worried that after obtaining the World Cup finals qualification, the Chinese team's players would lose their fighting spirit and be unwilling to go all out in the match against Japan.

Some media asked the Chinese team's players about this question.

"Ha! How is that possible? The opponent is Japan! How can we not have fighting spirit when playing against Japan?"

Sun Pan, who was asked the question, waved his hand with a big laugh. His big hand was like a cattail fan, and the reporter felt a gust of wind as he followed him. He couldn't help but keep his eyes on Sun Pan's hand for a second. He thought to himself, with such big hands, no wonder he can be a top European goalkeeper...

When others answered this question, they also gave very firm answers: "That kind of situation will not exist. There is no need to mobilize when playing against the Japanese team."

The implication was that they would be full of fighting spirit without any need for mobilization.

There were naturally reasons of national sentiment and historical grievances, but it was also inseparable from the feud between Chinese and Japanese football.

Some of the national team players participating in the Top Ten Tournament had also participated in the 2011 Asian Cup final.

The Japanese team wanted revenge, and the Chinese team also wanted revenge—the Olympic victory over the Japanese team was a matter for the Olympic team. They were the national team, and the Asian Cup was the national team's feud.

Both sides were determined to get revenge.

The pre-match atmosphere was hyped up.

When there were three days left before the game, all the tickets for the match were sold out.

Some of the good seats were even scalped at sky-high prices. Even so, tickets were still hard to come by.

This was the Chinese team's first home game after securing a spot in the World Cup finals, and everyone came to the game with the intention of having a "celebration ceremony".

In addition, the Chinese team's match against the Japanese team was something that fans would pay close attention to.

The combination of these two factors made the Helong Stadium in Changsha packed to the rafters on the day of the match.