Super Marshal

October 11, Benyudko Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

As the fourth round of the top 12, the Chinese team, currently ranked first in the group, challenged Uzbekistan, third in the group, in an away game, which naturally attracted the attention of the entire Asian football world.

The AFC arranged Sri Lankan referee Pereira for this game. He had officiated six games of the Chinese team, with a record of one win and five losses. Therefore, when the news came out, the country was filled with grief and grief. This referee will be the disaster star of the Chinese team and will be extremely detrimental to the Chinese team's game.

Gao Han still had a four-three-three lineup in this game. The goalkeeper was Yan Junling, the defense was Jiang Zhipeng, Feng Xiaoting, Mei Fang and Zhang Linfan. The midfielder had Zheng Zhi behind, Hao Junmin and Zhang Xizhe up front, and the frontcourt trident. It is Wu Lei, Zhang Yuning and Gao Lin.

Uzbekistan also sent out its main players. In addition to the main central defender Ismailov who accumulated yellow cards and was suspended, the midfielder Akhmedov, the core midfielder of Iran who missed the last round due to injury, also made a comeback in this game. This makes Uzbekistan, which plays at home, even more powerful.

But what is surprising is that Gao Han, who has always focused on prudent use of troops, turned against the guest in this game uncharacteristically. After the opening, he took the lead in launching an attack, led by Jiang Zhipeng, Hao Junmin and Wu Lei on the left. A very determined attitude, forcing Uzbekistan to launch an offensive.

Only two minutes into the game, Hao Junmin turned his back to the goal on his left rib. After receiving the ball from Zheng Zhi, he took a step back under the opponent's marking. Without the opponent's midfielder to mark him, he suddenly turned around. He passed the ball directly to Wu Lei.

Wu Lei pulled the ball to the outside of the penalty area, without stopping the ball at his feet. He pushed it with his right foot and sent it to the left wing, to Jiang Zhipeng who was inserted in the back row.

After Jiang Zhipeng received the ball, he walked to the bottom line and then gently passed the ball behind the opponent's right back. Hao Junmin quickly penetrated the penalty area from the left rib, received the ball and passed it back to the penalty spot in an inverted triangle.

It's a pity that for such a wonderful goal coordination, because Wu Lei was closely guarded by the opponent, Zhang Xizhe did not react immediately, which directly caused the ball to be obtained by the opponent's player and failed to create a threat.

But this attack destroyed the morale of the Chinese team.

Three minutes later, the Chinese team's offensive came back again.

Jiang Zhipeng, who was still on the left, received the ball from his teammate and went all the way to the baseline to cross. After Zhang Yuning blocked the defender with his body, he headed the ball a little and passed it to Wu Lei, who pushed the ball with his right foot without thinking.

There was only a bang as the ball hit the right post and bounced out.

Wu Lei missed an excellent scoring opportunity and fell to the ground with regret.

In the eighth minute, there was another continuous cooperation from the left side of the Chinese team. Wu Lei won a corner kick opportunity for the Chinese team. Hao Junmin's free throw made the opponent's penalty area tremble. Finally, the goalkeeper decisively attacked and knocked the ball out with both fists. But then Zheng Zhi's long-range shot from outside the penalty area turned into an anti-aircraft gun.

In the 12th minute, Jiang Zhipeng dribbled the ball from the left to the edge of the penalty area and suddenly took a heavy shot. However, the ball hit the defenders in the penalty area and bounced off the baseline, once again winning a corner kick for the Chinese team. .

Hao Junmin's corner kick accurately found Zhang Yuning, but the latter's header was slightly higher than the crossbar.

But three minutes later, Wu Lei took the ball from his left rib and cut in and shot a long shot, which missed again.

No one expected that the Chinese team would play so fiercely after the start. You must know that this is an away game, and the strength of Uzbekistan they face is not weak at all.

Even sitting in the home team's coaching bench, Uzbekistan's head coach Babayan looked worried. He was obviously very depressed and anxious about the start of the game. He had planned to suppress the Chinese team at the beginning, but it was not expected. But in turn, they were shocked by the Chinese team's attacking momentum.

Is this still the rumored Chinese team that has been weak for many years?

It's no wonder they were able to win three consecutive games in the top 12.

In the past ten minutes of their attack, just a left attack evolved into a complex and changeable routine. It is not difficult to imagine that under the coaching of Gao Han, the overall strength of this team has indeed improved a lot. improvement.

At the very least, it is a huge difference from the top 40 games.

If this continues, I'm afraid I won't even be able to defend it.

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"Almost twenty minutes."

In the visiting team's coaching bench, Xiao Mu reminded Gao Han softly.

Gao Han immediately raised his head and glanced at the scoreboard. It was more than eighteen minutes, which made him shake his head helplessly.

He was really unwilling to fail to score, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Uzbekistan's right wing is a weak spot. Gao Han formulated an opening attack strategy, hoping to gain the upper hand in the away game and win the first victory. Therefore, not long after the opening, he immediately used his skill card, and the team was indeed right on the scene. Uzbekistan has developed a suppressive trend.

Unexpectedly, Uzbekistan's defense was also very tenacious. Under the strong attack of the Chinese team, although it was a bit chaotic, it held on to the goal and did not give the Chinese team the slightest chance. In addition, the strength of the Chinese players is indeed limited, such as It was indeed a pity that Wu Lei's shot just hit the post.

If the international players were just a little bit stronger and had better opportunities to score, they could score at least three goals in the beginning and send Uzbekistan home directly.

Here Gao Han was regretting that his team failed to score a goal, but behind him, Xiao Mu had a look of admiration on his face.

In fact, it is indeed risky to adopt the opening attack strategy, and it is an away game. The coaching staff has reservations about this. After all, Uzbekistan's overall strength is still stronger than the Chinese team. However, with Gao Han's persistence, the team finally won An offensive strategy was formulated, but the opponent was caught off guard immediately after the opening.

It should be said that the current start has reversed the situation of the Chinese team very well. Uzbekistan's game plan has been disrupted. They will definitely have to adjust for a period of time, and it may even be difficult to form a rivalry throughout the first half. The Chinese team's suppression also bought enough time and space for the Chinese team.

However, if we failed to score a goal at the beginning, it will probably be even more difficult in the future, especially if we give Uzbekistan time to adjust. If we want to score again, it will be many times more difficult than in the opening stage. Especially we have to consider Uzbekistan will definitely adopt an offensive strategy at home next.

Just when Gao Han and Xiao Mu were thinking about the game, the situation on the court suddenly changed.

Uzbekistan launched a counterattack and quickly passed the ball into the penalty area of ​​the Chinese team. Feng Xiaoting forced the opponent's center to header the ball to clear the ball. However, due to the interference of the opponent, the ball fell not far, but just in the center of Uzbekistan When he stepped in from behind and hit the goal directly, captain Zheng Zhi quickly controlled the second goal. At the top of the penalty area, he took the lead and passed the ball over the opponent's midfield. He quickly chased after it and headed the ball to the right. The road was handed over to Zhang Linfan.

Zheng Zhi's outstanding performance made Gao Han and Xiao Mu on the sidelines couldn't help but applaud him.

It is definitely a blessing for the national team to have such a veteran in charge.

Therefore, Gao Han also reminded Wang Lei many times in the national team, asking him to pay more attention and observe Zheng Zhi, and also asked Zheng Zhi to guide Wang Lei more.

Although in the club, Illarramendi and Kante are both the world's top midfielders, Wang Lei's characteristics are not similar to them. On the contrary, Zheng Zhi has played as an attacking midfielder and has very comprehensive characteristics and experience. Such richness, and most importantly, familiarity with Chinese football and the national team, convinced Gao Han that he could help Wang Lei.

"Tell them to slow down the offensive and stabilize the defense." Gao Han said reluctantly.

He had ten thousand reasons not to be willing to take it back after failing to score a goal, especially the overwhelming advantage at the beginning.

But what if you are unwilling?

Uzbekistan has already adjusted and withstood the Chinese team's three opening blows. They have gained a firm foothold. If they don't retreat at this time, will Uzbekistan be allowed to fight back?

Sometimes, the head coach has to let go and gamble, but the more important thing is to know when enough is enough.

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Twenty minutes into the game, the Chinese team began to slow down its offensive, and Uzbekistan's performance also improved greatly. It began to reverse the situation and launched a wave of offensive against the Chinese team.

During a long pass from the backcourt to the forward point, the opponent's left winger grabbed the first landing point and hit the center. However, Zheng Zhi tightly entangled the opponent's midfielder with the ball, forcing the opponent to appear during the cross pass. He made a mistake and gave China a chance to take a throw-in. This time his beautiful defense also won him applause again.

Just two minutes later, it was Zheng Zhi who made a decisive move at the critical moment. He used his body to block the passing direction of the opponent's midfielder and blocked the ball with his body, allowing Zhang Xizhe to grab the ball and make a big-footed clearance.

As Uzbekistan's offense spread, the national players began to clearly realize that the coaching staff's preparations before the game were still in place. Uzbekistan's offense was more on the left, and the Chinese team also started on the left. Targeted defense prevented the home team's offense from creating a threat.

On the contrary, it was the Chinese team that retreated and began to launch a counterattack. The veteran Zheng Zhi not only played a significant role on the defensive end and was the backbone of the Chinese team's midfield, but also frequently planned threatening offensives on the offensive end.

In the 39th minute, Zheng Zhi stole the ball in the frontcourt and then split the ball. Zhang Linfan made a pass from the right. Zhang Yuning and Wu Lei got the chance to score in front of the goal. Unfortunately, the opponent's defense was extremely tight and there was no chance. Can break the door.

Although they failed to score a goal, the Chinese team relied on this attack to gain momentum and soon launched another attack.

Three minutes later, the Chinese team had the best scoring opportunity in the entire first half.

Jiang Zhipeng passed the ball diagonally from the left to Hao Junmin. The latter made a precise through ball and sent the ball to the feet of center Zhang Yuning, allowing the latter to form a one-man attack. However, due to the interference of the opponent's central defender, Zhang Yuning's subsequent kick He failed to hit the goal with his foot and hit the opponent's goalkeeper directly, missing the best scoring opportunity in the game.

This mistake made Gao Han and the coaching staff on the sidelines shocked, and at the same time helpless.

Zhang Yuning missed several opportunities in the last game. This game is obviously not exciting enough, and his state is a bit ups and downs. This is understandable for Gao Han. After all, he is only nineteen years old, and he has traveled a long distance to return to the country to serve as king. He has the ability to adjust himself. What is lacking.

The shot just now was a little too hasty. If I adjust it and observe it before shooting, I guess it will be fine.

But sometimes, football games are like this.

For Zhang Yuning, Gao Han cannot ask for too much.