Chapter 47: The Judge Lends a Hand

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  On August 3, China's strongest lineup since the start of the Asian Cup faced off against Iran, their toughest opponent yet, at Beijing Workers' Stadium. Due to years of accumulated grievances (fine, only grievances, no grudges), every member of the Chinese team was determined to fight to the end with Iran.

  In the 2nd minute, Hao Haidong, full of fighting spirit, launched an attack on the left flank in the front court. The final pass from Sun Xiang was not good enough and was easily cleared by the Iranian defender. One minute later, Shao Jiayi made a powerful long shot from outside the penalty area, but unfortunately, the ball flew out after hitting the crossbar.

  Just a few minutes ago, Iran was pressed by the Chinese team they had always looked down on, which naturally made the Iranian team furious. They quickly strengthened their offense and in the 6th minute, Karimi broke through Shao Jiayi's defense and passed the ball into the penalty area, but it was intercepted by China's goalkeeper Liu Yunfei.

  "Jia Yi broke through the defense on the right, kicked the ball into the middle, but unfortunately, it was headed out by an Iranian defender! CCTV commentator Du Xuan exclaimed in disappointment. However, just two minutes later, he let out a cold sweat, "Madavikia got the ball, shot from a small angle! Off target! Ali Daei was one step behind at the far post, what a close call! China's old problem of not marking tightly has occurred again!"

  After a few more minutes, Duan Xuan's voice suddenly became excited. "Gao Jun suddenly intercepted the Iranian team's pass! The ball was passed to Hao Dapao's feet! Hao Dapao made a breakthrough into the penalty area, shaking off all the opposing players who were defending him! However, there was no angle for shooting anymore, so Hao Dapao passed the ball back to the middle of the field. The ball went in! It was Jia Yi, Shao Jia Yi scored with a mid-field steal and shot, China took the lead 1-0! This collaboration was very beautiful!"

  "Uh, this is a classic counter-attack tactic combination. Gao Jun cut off the opponent's pass and in the first time accurately sent the ball to Hao Dong's front, triggering this successful counter-attack, showing his extremely fast reaction, broad vision, and accurate passing skills. Also, I don't know if Duan Xuan has noticed, but Gao Jun, this little guy, although rarely participates in midfield pressing, his number of times cutting off opponent passes is among the top in the Chinese team. This shows that he is very good at predicting the ball route, which is something many experienced veterans can't do, and Gao Jun is only 16 years old, what a magical kid! Guest Tao Wei also nodded in agreement, and after he said this, Gao Jun later got another nickname "Magical Kid", and it's worth mentioning that this is one of his many nicknames that is most recognized by domestic fans..."

  But the performance of Gao Lin on the field had just begun, in the 24th minute, Xu Xiaofei made a mid-field interception, and the Chinese team launched a quick counterattack. Gao Lin received the ball at the edge of the penalty area and used continuous acceleration and direction changes to beautifully shake off the defender. Facing the Iranian goalkeeper who came out to block the angle, he directly pushed the shot into the far corner of the net, and the Chinese team took a 2-0 lead!

  "Xiao Gao is not only accurate in shooting, but also skilled in dribbling. With such ability, why is it that he rarely beats his opponents in the game?" Duanyan asked in puzzlement.

  Tao Wei, being a former player himself, naturally knew what was going on and immediately explained, "Dribbling too much can easily lead to being intercepted or fouled by the opponent. Xiao Gao is still young and his body hasn't fully developed yet. If he gets injured because of this, the consequences will be much more severe than for adult players. Moreover, when he doesn't dribble, the opposing team's defense will inevitably become complacent, making it easier for him to break through at critical moments..."

  "It turns out it's like this, it seems that being a player isn't easy either!" Duān Xuān heard and sighed.

  2:0 leading, whether to continue strengthening the attack or defend the victory, there were differences of opinion within the Chinese team, resulting in a disconnection between offense and defense. Iran took advantage of this opportunity to launch a large-scale counterattack. In the 38th minute, Iran's Madavikia passed from the right side, Alavi shot strongly outside the penalty area, China's goalkeeper Liu Yunfei was blocked by his vision and could not save, and could only watch the ball enter the net, the score on the field became 2-1.

  Those veterans who experienced the 1997 World Cup qualifiers suddenly recalled the game where Dalian Wanda was leading 2-0 but was reversed by Iran with a score of 4-2, when the Iranians also relied on a brilliant long shot to sound the counterattack horn. Fortunately, among the players on the field, only Hao Haidong, Li Ming and Sun Jihai had experienced that nightmare, and there was not much time left in the first half, so China finally maintained a score of 2-1 until the second half, and used the halftime break to adjust their mental state.

  In the second half, China's offense improved slightly, but in the 49th minute, a sudden disturbance occurred on the field. Iranian player Zare retaliated by pushing Shao Jiayi to the ground in the penalty area and was shown a red card and sent off! Zare was very angry, thinking that his push was not enough to make Shao Jiayi fall, and he completely pretended to be down!

  The verdict of the referee cannot be changed, and Zare finally left the field with tears streaming down his face. The Iranian team immediately replaced Badawi to fill the gap left by Zare's departure, but the impact of having one less player on the field was still significant. Meanwhile, China, now playing 11 against 10, gained a huge momentum boost and quickly took control of the field...

  In the 54th minute, China won a free kick at the front of the penalty area 25 meters away. Shao Jiayi's direct shot was saved by Iranian goalkeeper, but Gao Lin, who had anticipated the rebound, quickly made a forward run and scored with a supplementary shot, allowing China to widen the gap again!

  This goal, though not spectacular, completely got rid of the burden of fear of winning or losing for the Chinese players. Not only did they defend more steadily, but their offense also improved greatly. Meanwhile, the trailing Iranian team launched a desperate counterattack, and for a while, the game was extremely intense with both sides going back and forth.

  In the 69th minute, Li Ming was shown a yellow card for fouling on the right flank, and with age catching up to him, his physical strength was almost depleted, causing China's defensive intensity on the right flank to drop significantly.

  Iran team naturally would not let go of this loophole, in the 74th minute, Ali Daei divided the road, Kaabi slanted pass penalty area, suddenly inserted Madavikia fish jumped top but slightly biased, Ali Han was shocked out of a cold sweat, he immediately replaced the veteran Li Ming with Hu Jiamin, hoping to suppress the opponent's lively left route with his excellent attacking ability, and even if Hu Jiamin's defensive ability is insufficient, at least he has plenty of physical strength, in defense can always be a troublemaker...

  Hao Haidong's appearance on the field instantly revitalized China's right-wing attack. In the 80th minute, Hao Haidong's powerful long shot from outside the penalty area caused the Iranian goalkeeper to fumble the ball, and Gao Lin grabbed the ball near the penalty line. However, due to his position, he didn't have a shooting angle, so he quickly passed the ball to the middle of the field, where Hua Dapeng was waiting in front of the goal. With one push shot, he easily scored, expanding China's lead to 4-1! This score was unprecedented in the history of matches between China and Iran, and China's morale soared to an all-time high, with their football skills becoming more and more smooth...