Chapter 96: First Battle Against Switzerland

  But what delighted the Chinese youth team members was that in the first match of Group F, the two strongest teams Brazil and Nigeria ended 0-0, which is undoubtedly very beneficial for China. However, whether China can advance smoothly depends on their own performance.

  However, the national youth team members who were still a bit tense at the beginning of the match against Switzerland completely relaxed soon after, because the opponent's passing mistakes were too many, and it looked like they were similar to the domestic Jia-A league teams, and even the relegation zone Jia-A league teams. Even Gao Jun felt a little unbelievable, "Is this the European qualifying team? How can they be so weak?"

  The head coach Klaas-Jan Huntelaar naturally knew what was going on. First, the excellent young players from European countries would not join the national youth team once they were selected for the national team or even became a regular player in a club (especially in the top five leagues). As a result, it is difficult to gather all the best players of the right age, which is very different from other continents. This inevitably weakens the strength of European countries' youth teams. In addition, the training time for young teams in European countries is generally shorter, and the tacit understanding between players is not good, so mistakes in passing the ball during matches will naturally occur more frequently.

  But the main reason is that this Chinese youth team performed too well. Football matches are a contest of restrictions and counter-restrictions. When one side performs extremely well, the other side will inevitably perform poorly. The big gap between the two sides is mainly due to the inconsistent league schedules in Asia and Europe. At the time of the World Youth Championship, the European season had already ended, so the young players from European countries were generally physically and mentally exhausted. In contrast, the Asian leagues were just entering their peak period, so the Chinese youth team's players were at their competitive best. The impact of this difference is probably not less than one level.

  Moreover, the U23 team he is leading now is likely to be the strongest young team in Asian history, and even if it's absolute strength, it will surpass the second-rate Swiss team in Europe. Being able to beat the Swiss team on the field without giving them a chance to fight back isn't strange at all. However, Krautz didn't let his disciples give the Swiss an inch, as beating someone when they're down has always been a German tradition. Moreover, what Chinese players lack most is confidence, and if someone delivers themselves to be bullied, how can this opportunity be wasted?

  CCTV-5's famous commentator Huang Jianxiang is also relaxed, "Today the Chinese youth team performed too well, while the Swiss team made frequent mistakes. It seems that winning this game should not be a problem."

  "The match that just ended between Brazil and Nigeria, although they exchanged white papers, both sides showed a very high level of competition. Today's Swiss team can't compare to them." Guest Tao Wei was also optimistic, but he still maintained necessary caution, "But on the field, anything can happen, so the young men of the national youth team still can't be careless."

  Due to Gao Lin's growing reputation in the world football scene, the Swiss youth team still implemented targeted defensive measures against him, despite European youth teams generally placing more emphasis on nurturing talent over results. However, thinking is not the same as doing. The Swiss team's idea was similar to that of many of Gao Lin's previous opponents - they believed that by shutting down the other players in China's front line, they could render Gao Lin, who relies mainly on scoring from counter-attacks, ineffective.

  "Gao Jun sent the ball out, Yu Hai inserted in time on the left road and received the ball. The Swiss player rushed over, and the ball was passed to Aolin. Aolin returned it to Gao Jun, who passed it to the side. Huo Jiamin made a single-handed shot! Beautiful coordination! Alas, Huo Jiamin's shot was too accurate, but was blocked by the Swiss goalkeeper. Unfortunately, Yu Hai's supplementary shot went high above the crossbar. China's luck is really not good." Huang Jianxiang's excited and regretful voice kept ringing out, fully reflecting the Chinese team's wave after wave of offense on the field.

  "We must score as soon as possible, if we wait until the Swiss team gets used to our playing style, it will be even harder to score." As he thought of this, Gao Jun's peripheral vision suddenly noticed the team's defensive core, Feng Xiaoting. He couldn't help but feel a surge in his heart and immediately passed the ball back to midfielder Zhou Huaikai, shouting loudly at him, "Give the ball to Feng Xiaoting as much as possible, let him boldly make a forward run, now the Swedish players can't even spare anyone to defend against him."

  Feng Xiaoting was originally a "wing-back" who liked and excelled at attacking, and when Gao Lin gave her the freedom to roam, she immediately became excited and carried the ball forward to participate in the attack. The Swiss team did not expect that China's central defender would actually carry the ball deep into their own territory, and it wasn't until Feng Xiaoting had already carried the ball past midfield that someone reacted and loudly called for a teammate to rush over and intercept. However, at this time, Feng Xiaoting used a beautiful fake move to shake off the opponent's right-back who was rushing over, and then continued to carry the ball towards the opponent's penalty area...

  "Feng Xiaoting has passed one person, he entered the forbidden area, Gao Jun got rid of the defender, and passed it to make a single knife! Ah, he shot himself, the ball hit the post and flew out of bounds, what a pity! The opposing goalkeeper seemed to have touched it a bit, and the referee gave a corner kick." Huang Jianxiang exclaimed with a disappointed face, while also commenting on the slow-motion replay of the previous attack, "Feng Xiaoting's fake move was very beautiful, his dribbling speed was also very fast, it's hard to believe he's actually a center back, but the final handling was rushed. At that time, Gao Jun had already successfully ran out of space, if passed, it would have been a single knife, and Gao Jun's single knife has almost never failed so far, definitely much more reliable than him shooting himself..."

  Feng Xiaoting did see the empty space, and with his passing technique, it wasn't difficult to accurately pass the ball over. However, at that moment, the young player's desire to perform overrode the team's interests, causing him to subconsciously choose to shoot himself.

  If this shot had gone in, Gao Jun would have had nothing to say, but the ball didn't score and Feng Xiaoting couldn't help but worry that Gao Jun would blame her. However, Gao Jun ran over and smiled at Feng Xiaoting, saying, "You shot beautifully, unfortunately just a little short, let's keep going, as long as you have the opportunity to insert forward, you must resolutely insert forward, whether it's shooting or passing is up to you to decide. Now we're all being watched closely, your sudden forward movement will disrupt their defensive system and create opportunities for us..."