Chapter 127 National team hat trick, 70- victory over Japan! "Come and see the Chinese team's counterattack this time!" "Lin Feng!" "Marseille turn! Beautiful move, now you can pass the ball!" "Gao Lin and Mao Biao are both running, how do we pass the ball? Should we kick it high?" "What? A through ball from such a long distance..." Before the commentator finished speaking, Lin Feng had already completed the pass. The football rolled forward along the grass, passed through the entire midfield, came to the front of the Japanese team's penalty area, and landed right at Gao Lin's feet. Gao Lin made a quick run and dribbled the ball into the penalty area. The Japanese team's goalkeeper left the goal and tried to save Gao Lin's one-on-one shot. But Gao Lin very selflessly passed the ball to Mao Biao on the other side, who easily shot into the empty goal.

The score became 3:0! "The ball is in!" "Pretty!" "Mao Biao scored the third goal for the Chinese team, assisted by Gao Lin!" "The Chinese team took a big lead in the first half. There is no suspense in this game anymore!" The commentator's excited voice was transmitted to thousands of households through television broadcasts, and countless fans were thrilled. For Chinese fans, most of them have never seen the Chinese team take such a huge lead against the Japanese team! This was only the first half, and the Chinese team had almost killed the suspense of the game. If they continued to play at this pace in the second half, they didn't dare to imagine what the score would be! On the sidelines, the Japanese coaching staff and substitutes on the bench were all stunned as they watched the Chinese players celebrating wildly on the court. It seems that such a tragic result is unacceptable. The Japanese thought they would lose, but they never thought they would lose so badly! I thought that Lin Feng was the only strong player on the Chinese team, but I didn’t expect that besides Lin Feng, there were so many outstanding young players. Regardless of the outcome of this game, if these young players of the Chinese team grow up in the future, they will most likely surpass the Japanese team and replace their position in Asia in the next few years or even decades! When thinking about this, Japanese football players are filled with a sense of crisis! "We still need to increase our efforts to keep pace with the international community and encourage more outstanding young players to go abroad and learn advanced football concepts!" One of the coaches spoke up. After hearing this, the others nodded. The Chinese team's successful example was right in front of them. If they didn't follow up, they would be at risk of being overtaken. On the court, Keisuke Honda was still a little unconvinced. But his teammates could no longer provide him with any support. At the end of the first half, the Chinese national team's attack became more and more fierce. In the 42nd minute, Chen Tao's breakthrough won a free kick. Lin Feng's free kick directly caused the Japanese goalkeeper to lose the ball, and Mao Biao's follow-up shot hit the post, and the Japanese team almost lost another goal. In the 44th minute, in almost the same position as before, the Chinese team got another chance for a direct free kick.

This time, Lin Feng did not choose to attack directly, but instead lifted the ball into the penalty area and found Gao Lin who was lurking at the back post. The pass was very good. Gao Lin simply shook his head and changed the trajectory of the football. Facing this close header, the Japanese goalkeeper was helpless and the score became 4:0. Gao Lin completed his first double goal in the national team! After scoring the goal, Gao Lin excitedly took off his jersey, waving it in his hand and running around the court frantically. The fans in the stands applauded loudly, and many of them clapped their hands red with excitement. Although it is troublesome to come to Macau to watch the game, this game is completely worth the price of the ticket. After all, when have you ever seen the Chinese team score four goals against the Japanese team in the first half and pin the Japanese team to the ground and rub them repeatedly? "It's a pity that this is just a youth team match. If it were an adult team match, tut tut!" While the fans were excited, they also felt a little regretful. Although it is called the Japanese team, this team is not the real Japanese national team after all. If the Japanese team really goes all out, given the current strength of the Chinese national team, they may not be their match. There is even a possibility that you will be kicked out by the other party and a tragedy will occur! "Why rush? Once our young players grow up, we may have a chance to inflict a similar defeat on the Japanese team in the finals!" "It's very difficult. Japan is a country full of talented football players. Every year, there are talented youngsters emerging. Although our players have better talent and potential than them, the next generation has dropped drastically and we are unable to truly suppress the Japanese team." There is a huge gap in the football foundation between the two countries, and the number of registered players in the country is only one-tenth of the Japanese team. Coupled with Japan's vigorous development of youth training, the next ten years will see a surge in talent. On the other hand, the Chinese national football team will make almost no achievements in youth training in the next ten years, except for those at the Genbao Football Base. Unless drastic reforms are carried out from above and football is vigorously developed, Japanese football will only leave Chinese football further and further behind with its strong cultural heritage and solid football foundation. …… During the half-time break, Zhu Guanghu did not make any adjustments to the personnel and tactics on the field. I just specifically asked Lin Feng and others if they were tired and if they needed to come down and rest? In his opinion, the team is already leading by a large margin and there is basically no suspense about the outcome of this game. In this case, the team naturally needs to conserve their energy and prepare for the upcoming finals. The schedule of the East Asian Games is not reasonable, with only one day between the semi-finals and the finals. After playing the semi-finals today, they will play the finals tomorrow, which leaves them no time to rest. In this situation, as the head coach, he naturally has to find ways to preserve the physical fitness of the players, especially the main players, as much as possible. "It's okay, I can still play for a while!" Lin Feng knew Zhu Guanghu’s concerns, but he didn’t want to give up so soon. The score of 4:0 seems like a lot. If the opponent was an ordinary team, this score would have been enough to call it a day. But if the opponent is the Japanese team, it would be a different story!

When playing against the Japanese team, show no mercy and win as many games as you can! The more we win, the greater the stimulus to Chinese football, and the more it will stimulate the Chinese people's passion for football! Besides, Lin Feng hasn’t scored a goal yet! At least he has to score a goal before leaving the field, right? …… The second half of the game started quickly, and the Chinese team continued to use its advantage in the midfield to control the pace of the game. The Japanese team could only use counterattacks to threaten the Chinese team's defense, but Honda Keisuke was targeted badly in this game. Under the huge offensive pressure of the Chinese national team, his teammates did not dare to press forward during the attack. As a result, he did not receive enough support and was often forced to fight alone. Moreover, Honda Keisuke really wanted to prove his strength in front of the outside world and Lin Feng. Every time he got the ball, he couldn't help but want to use his personal strength to break the deadlock. However, as he himself said before the game, football is a team sport. No matter how good he is as an individual, he can't fight against the entire Chinese team! Without the support of his teammates, Honda Keisuke's attack in the frontcourt could not threaten the Chinese team at all. Instead, it seemed more like he was giving the ball to the Chinese team. In the 48th minute, taking advantage of Japan's coordination errors, China intercepted the ball in the midfield and launched a quick counterattack. Lin Feng ran with the ball and was blocked by the Japanese team's midfielder, so he passed the ball to Chen Tao on the side. Chen Tao did not stick to the ball at all. After receiving the ball, he passed it and cooperated with Lin Feng to complete a two-pass and then continued to move forward. After Lin Feng passed the opponent's defender, he also kicked the ball and continued to cooperate with Chen Tao in the wall-to-wall style, and once again passed the Japanese defender who was trying to steal the ball. The Japanese team's defenders had never seen such tacit coordination of movement and passing and cutting. The passing and cutting of these two talented players of the Chinese team were so fast that they had no time to react and did not know how to defend. The two players made continuous wall-to-wall passes in the wing and flank areas and managed to score into the Japanese team's penalty area. When Chen Tao received the ball, there was no defensive player in front of him, so he could shoot directly. The Japanese goalkeeper rushed towards him, but Chen Tao did not take all the credit. Instead, he continued to pass the ball to Lin Feng in the middle. Lin Feng accepted the gift from his teammate and easily kicked the ball into the empty goal. The score became 5:0, and the whole stadium was filled with cheers from the fans. The Chinese team's wonderful two-pass combination made the fans so dazzled that they even forgot to applaud and cheer. The only thing left was to exclaim "Wow!" The fans watching the game on TV were equally shocked: Is this the kind of coordination the Chinese team can produce? The tacit understanding between Lin Feng and Chen Tao in running, passing, running again, and passing again reminded them of Wenger's Arsenal. Unlike the Gunners, Arsenal's passing and cutting rely on the tacit understanding accumulated day after day by many talented players, as well as flashes of inspiration on the court. Lin Feng and Chen Tao did not have much time to train and compete together, so they did not have that much tacit understanding. Their cooperation this time was entirely due to their excellent awareness and superb basketball IQ. There seemed to be no need for the two to communicate. With just a glance or a gesture, the other party knew what to do. This was the tacit understanding that only geniuses could have! If the first four goals only dealt a blow to the morale of the Japanese team, then the fifth goal scored by the Chinese team can be said to have completely destroyed the morale of the Japanese team. All the Japanese players involved in this defense were in despair. They deeply realized that their strength was not on the same level as that of the opponent. It felt like the game I was playing with the opponent was not the same one; the ball was simply passed back and forth between the opponent's feet.

But they were like headless flies, chasing each other around. It's like a toddler following an athlete, trying to catch up with the other person, but ends up falling heavily. The ball just now really made them start to doubt their lives. The Japanese team, with its morale plummeted, seemed to have lost its soul. In the subsequent games, they played timidly and made many mistakes. This can no longer be considered a game, because the Japanese team did not even have a single shot on goal in the second half and were pinned down in their own half by the Chinese team the entire time. Not only that, the collapse of morale also made the Japanese players lose the courage to confront the Chinese team. Their players didn't dare to rush forward when defending and could only defend with their eyes from a distance of one or two meters. As soon as the Chinese players made the slightest move, they became as if facing a formidable enemy and were extremely nervous. "Is this really the Japanese team? Why does it look so strange?" "Their players are too cowardly. They don't dare to make any moves. They don't even dare to steal the ball when defending!" "Haha, after this game, I'm afraid the Japanese players who participated in this game will suffer from Sinophobia, right?" Chinese fans were very surprised to see the Japanese team playing so cowardly. In the past, only the Japanese team bullied them, but now the situation has reversed and they are bullying the Japanese team. This feeling is unprecedented, it feels very novel and very refreshing! Seeing how timid the Japanese team was, the young players in the Chinese team gradually became bolder, let go of their restraints, and played more confidently and calmly. In fact, for young players, playing more games is important, but it is equally important to build up confidence in themselves while accumulating game experience. In the past, Chinese team players were often not as good as their Japanese and Korean peers when they were young, which led to their lack of self-confidence from an early age. In the future, when they get older and join the national team, they will meet the Japanese and Korean players who have defeated them many times before on the court. They will be psychologically afraid before the game even starts. Playing football with such a psychological burden will unconsciously produce psychological constraints, making it difficult for players to move freely. On the other hand, Japan and South Korea have already established a psychological advantage over their opponents because they have been winning since they were young. They are full of confidence on the field and have no constraints at all. Japan and South Korea are strong to begin with, and with their psychological advantage, they naturally have a great chance of winning when they meet a team like China that is not as strong as their opponents and has a bigger psychological burden. So over time, fear of South Korea and the inability to win against Japan became the norm. If we couldn't win once, we would lose every time. Now, the situation is reversed. It turns out that the young players of the Japanese team are afraid of the young players of the Chinese team! This is a good sign! The Japanese team's mentality collapsed, resulting in numerous loopholes in their defense. It gave the Chinese team more opportunities to score! In the 60th minute, under the high pressure of the Chinese team, the Japanese defender made a mistake in passing. After Gao Lin intercepted the ball, he rushed into the penalty area and his shot was blocked by the goalkeeper's legs. But before the Japanese players could breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Feng, who came in from behind at high speed, shot the ball into the goal. The score became 6:0!

The Japanese team's defense has been shaken, and they made at least two fatal mistakes in their defense just now. One time, there was a pass error under the Chinese team's pressure, which gave the Chinese team an opportunity to counterattack on the spot. The second time was after Gao Lin completed the shot. The two Japanese defenders only saw the ball and didn't pay attention to what was behind them at all, so that Lin Feng came from behind and completed the supplementary shot before them. Such low-level mistakes would not occur at the beginning of the game. But now, the morale of the Japanese team has collapsed. The players are in a daze on the court and don't even know what they are doing. Naturally, mistakes like this have increased. Even though the head coach of the Japanese team replaced two players in a row and shouted loudly to the players on the field from the sidelines. Trying to awaken their fighting spirit and get them to cheer up again. But this tactic did not seem to work, and the Japanese team's condition remained sluggish. From the 60th minute to the 70th minute, the Japanese team lost control of the situation. The Chinese team created several scoring opportunities in the frontcourt, but after taking a big lead, the players played somewhat casually and wasted a lot of scoring opportunities. In the 67th minute, Zhu Guanghu also started making substitutions. He first replaced Chen Tao and then Gao Lin. The last substitution spot was prepared for Lin Feng, but at this time the Chinese team won a free kick in the frontcourt and Lin Feng was taking the penalty. "After the game, let's replace him. The rest is garbage time. There is not much point in keeping him on the court. If the Japanese team plays tricks and injures him, it will not be worth it." Zhu Guanghu was in a very relaxed state and spoke happily to the assistant coach beside him. Lin Feng saw that his teammates were already warming up on the sidelines and knew that this might be his last chance on the court. So he took it a little more seriously! After looking up at the position of the Japanese goalkeeper, Lin Feng took a few steps back and gestured to his teammates who were pushing and shoving their opponents in the human wall and the penalty area. Although the Chinese players in the penalty area did not understand what the gesture meant, they all started their actions after seeing it. Some of them pulled towards the left side of the penalty area, some ran to the right side, and some went around to the front of the human wall... The Japanese goalkeeper was slightly distracted by the Chinese players doing Brownian motion in the penalty area. However, just when he was distracted, the football flew towards the goal at high speed with a sound of breaking through the air. The Japanese goalkeeper's pupils suddenly shrank and alarm bells rang in his heart. He had already sensed the danger, and his brain issued the order to save the situation in the shortest possible time. But by the time the brain's commands reach the limbs, the football is already within reach. With a crisp sound, the Japanese goalkeeper didn't even have time to raise his hands before he heard the sound of the football hitting the net. He turned his head to check and saw the football lying in the net and spinning non-stop. It’s the 7th goal! The Japanese team's goalkeeper collapsed inside his own goal as if all his strength had been drained away. This was the first time that Kawashima Eiji was selected for the Japanese national team. He never expected that this first trip to the national team would bring him such great humiliation. 0: 7!

The bright red numbers on the scoreboard deeply hurt his heart. He had a premonition that the impact of this game would probably last throughout his entire career and become a lifelong shame! After Lin Feng scored directly from a free kick, Zhu Guanghu couldn't wait to make the substitution. Lin Feng didn't celebrate either. He applauded the stands on all sides and walked towards the sidelines. The fans in the stands also gave him warm applause. In this game, Lin Feng completed a hat trick and provided an assist, and his performance was impeccable. If he hadn't played as a team in the first half and had been a little more 'selfish', maybe he would have scored more than three goals! For Lin Feng, it doesn’t matter. Whether he scores a goal himself or assists his teammates in scoring a goal, as long as he can lead the team to victory, that’s enough. "Brother Lin, here's a towel!" "Brother Lin, drink some water!" "Brother Lin, let me help you massage your legs!" After Lin Feng left the court, the young players on the bench handed him towels and water, and some even diligently helped him massage his legs. In the hearts of these young players, Lin Feng's image is as tall as a god! And this victory has further deepened their impression! Lin Feng was a little uncomfortable being called "brother" by a group of people older than him. He smiled and took the towel and water handed over by his teammates, but politely declined the offer of a leg massage. On the other hand, Gao Lin on the side seemed contented, massaging his legs and acting like a team leader. Don't ask, the answer is he scored twice, the answer is he is the team's top scorer. What? Lin Feng scored more goals than me? He is the second best scorer in the team. Are you dissatisfied? After Lin Feng left the field, the Chinese national team played more casually and had fewer chances to score goals. The score of 7:0 remained until the end of the game. In the end, with this overwhelming victory, the Chinese team made it to the finals as they wished, and will compete for the championship with the winner between South Korea and North Korea tomorrow! (End of this chapter)