Chapter Thirty-Four: Conflict Within the Team

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  Lulin was also ruined by injuries in the past, otherwise his development might not be much worse than that of Huo Qigang. Now with a shortage of substitutes for the right forward position, Gao Hongbo did not oppose calling him up.

  As for Gao Lin's former love, Chen Tao, although it is said that he changed his age by 3 years, being able to receive an invitation from a European club is enough to prove his strength. What really ruined him was the club's ban on him, which led to him not playing for a year and a half. However, even so, if it weren't for Deng's sudden emergence, he still had the ability to become the core of the national team. So, if possible, give him an opportunity.

  And that "King Dong" who was high and low, and finally couldn't even sit stably in the main position of China League One, still has some strength at this time. His character is not as vicious as the media propaganda, but he is a player who will not cooperate with others and can only let others cooperate with him, so tactics need to be designed around him, and his strength can be fully exerted.

  Because Gao Jun is also good at quick shots and fast counterattacks, when he's on the field, Xiao Dong doesn't stand a chance. However, if Gao Jun is suspended or substituted out, using Xiao Dong as a wild card might have a decent effect after all, his physical condition is there, and this kid's age is still real. Another reason for recruiting Xiao Dong is that he's currently in Europe with no games to play, so it's better for him to come over and gain some experience points...

  In the first match of the Chinese youth team against Colombia, due to the big purge during the reorganization, the players from the previous national youth team were not convinced by the sudden power seizure of the younger brothers led by Gao Jun. In addition, there was a lack of tacit understanding between the two teams, so the Chinese youth team performed very poorly in the match. Moreover, the Colombian team had been closely guarding Gao Jun, who was the double best player in the previous World Youth Championship, which made it difficult for him to get effective support from his teammates. As a result, Gao Jun hardly got any chances throughout the game, and his only shot came from an unexpected long-range shot, unfortunately, the ball hit the crossbar and flew out...

  Fortunately, the Colombian team also affected their offense due to the excessive energy spent on defense and did not achieve much. As a result, both sides ended in a 0:0 draw after a dull match, this opening is even worse than China's performance in the 2004 Toulon Cup...

  But in the next match, against the strong host France team, the Chinese youth team performed well. In the game, the front four players from the Dongfang team played a wonderful combination, and finally Gao Jun used his speed advantage to get rid of the opponent's defender and break into the penalty area to score with a push shot, China took a 1-0 lead. 7 minutes later, the previously mediocre striker Ah Lin unexpectedly kicked out a world wave at a very small angle, the ball flew into the upper right corner of the French team's goal like a cannonball...

  The host, who had no way to retreat, immediately launched a crazy counterattack and forced the young Chinese team to not even pass half court in the remaining time of the first half. Fortunately, the young Chinese players saw hope for victory and put aside their previous prejudices, united in defense, frequently using their bodies to block shots and clear Frenchmen's must-score opportunities, while goalkeeper Zeng Cheng performed bravely, repeatedly resolving crises and maintaining a two-goal lead until halftime.

  However, at the beginning of the second half, the old problem of Chinese players' lack of concentration recurred. The French team took advantage of the psychological slackness of the Chinese players at the start and quickly equalized. At this time, Gao Jun stood out again. He rushed to receive a pass from his teammate under the double-team defense of two French players, and then shot with the outside of his foot in the first time, the ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the net, China once again opened up the score difference, and the team's morale, which had been somewhat floating, also settled down.

  The French continued to fight back desperately, but the Chinese team, with high morale, persisted and finally defeated this world powerhouse on French soil. This also means that in the next match, China only needs a draw to secure qualification. In addition, after this match, the internal conflicts within the team were also resolved to some extent. Although they are not yet friends, at least they no longer refuse to pass the ball to each other during matches.

  "Drawing at the last minute and then losing" can be said to be a major nightmare in Chinese football history, with no one knowing how many times the Chinese team has unexpectedly lost matches under such circumstances. In fact, the key lies in the fact that most Chinese players lack confidence and are unable to withstand pressure, and this old problem was once again exposed in this match, especially among the older mainstays of the national youth team. On the other hand, the younger players from the 86 national youth team, who had won the World Youth Championship, had a significant increase in confidence and performed relatively more steadily on the field.

  In the third match of the Chinese youth team against Turkey, it was also thanks to Yu Hai that Gao Lin's shot was blocked by the post and the rebound was scored into the net, helping the Chinese youth team tie the score. After the score was tied, the morale of the Chinese youth team was greatly boosted, and several players who were a bit panicked earlier quickly regained their composure. Although Gao Lin was tightly defended by Turkey's "2+1" defense and could hardly get the ball, his teammates still took advantage of his distraction to create space and complete several high-quality shots. In the 65th minute, Zhao scored with a long shot, and it has to be said that Zhao's long shot is still quite accurate at this stage...

  The Chinese youth team won the match 2-1, eliminating Turkey and advancing to the semifinals of the Toulon Cup along with host France. Next, China will face Sweden, a physically strong team known as the "Nordic Pirates", whose players are not very technical but have an average height of over 185cm, making them look like adults compared to the Chinese youth players who are still developing physically.

  To counter Sweden's aerial advantage, Gao Hongbo proposed to Liu Chunming before the game that the team change its previous defensive counterattack tactics and adopt the "high-position pressing + controlling offense" tactics most commonly used by Dongfang in the league, fully utilizing the Chinese players' agile footwork. This tactic is more physically demanding, but one of the characteristics of the Tulun Cup is that each match lasts only 80 minutes, so even China, which has never been good at endurance, doesn't have to worry too much about it.