N-A-A Chapter 43 Waiting for You to Make the First Move
Chapter 43 Waiting for You to Make the First Move
2002 6 Month 29 Day.
Daegu World Cup Stadium.
To host this World Cup, South Korea built ten stadiums, one of which is Daegu Stadium.
The third-place match of the 2002 World Cup will be held here!
The stadium, which can hold nearly 70,000 spectators, was already packed.
However, there weren't many Chinese fans at the stadium today, only about 10,000.
This is certainly not because Chinese fans don't pay attention to this third-place match.
Instead, South Korea secretly manipulated the system, making it very difficult for Chinese people to purchase tickets, which ultimately led to the tickets ending up in the hands of South Koreans.
Since we can't gain an advantage on the field, let's do something off the field. Otherwise, wouldn't our great Republic of Korea be wasting its time as the host?
This approach appears to be quite effective, at least in the initial entry phase.
Due to the verbal sparring between the two sides before the match, the Chinese team players were met with a barrage of boos and jeers during their warm-up.
The 60,000 South Korean fans in the stadium created a huge roar, seemingly trying to overwhelm the Chinese players and tear them to pieces.
However, the Chinese players, who have already experienced so many World Cup matches, have not been affected in any way.
You can snort all you want, I'll warm up my own!
Meanwhile, the Chinese team's coaching staff on the sidelines were studying the starting lineup for the South Korean team that they had just received.
Actually, there was nothing unexpected about it; it was all within Ye Xian's expectations.
A standard 3-5-2.
Goalkeeper: Li Yunzai.
Defenders: Lee Min-sung, Hong Myung-bo, Lee Eul-yong.
Midfielders: Lee Young-pyo, Yoo Sang-chul, Park Ji-sung, Lee Chun-soo, Song Jong-gook.
Forwards: Ahn Jung-hwan, Seol Ki-hyun.
"It seems likely that Hiddink will stick to his previous playing style."
Ye Xian analyzed:
"His 3-5-2 formation is quite flexible. If the two wing-backs drop back, it becomes a five-man defense, which focuses on defense."
"But if they push forward, it will turn into five midfielders competing with us for control of the midfield."
"It's more likely they'll push Lee Chun-soo up the front line, creating a three-striker formation, and then use their home advantage to launch a counter-attack!"
"We'll have to deal with each situation as it comes..."
soon.
As the rousing FIFA entrance music played, the referee team led the players from both teams into the Daegu World Cup Stadium.
The entire stadium erupted in enthusiastic applause!
Milutinovic walked over and shook hands with Hiddink.
However, while Hiddink was shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with Milutinovic, his eyes kept glancing towards Ye Xian.
It's clear he understands that Ye Xian is currently in charge of the national team's tactics...
However, Hiddink did not take the initiative to talk to Ye Xian.
Although both China and South Korea surprisingly advanced to the semifinals, international opinion is now polarized:
When talking about the Chinese team, everyone talks about how Ye Xian's tactics are brilliant.
However, when talking about the South Korean team, it is always associated with words like "biased refereeing," "unfair," and "dirty tricks."
Hiddink's name was hardly mentioned!
So now this famous Dutch coach is determined to completely overwhelm his opponent tactically and win the bronze medal in this World Cup!
……
With the referee's whistle, the 2002 World Cup third-place match officially began!
China kicks off.
Yang Chen passed the ball to Qu Bo, who then passed it back to Li Tie in the defensive midfield position.
There wasn't much suspense regarding the starting lineup for the Chinese team today.
Goalkeeper: Jiang Jin.
Defenders: Wu Chengying, Yang Pu, Du Wei, Xu Yunlong;
Midfielders: Shao Jiayi, Li Tie, Li Xiaopeng, Qi Hong;
Forwards: Yang Chen, Qu Bo.
The only available substitutes are Ma Mingyu, Gao Yao, Yu Genwei, and goalkeepers An Qi and Qu Chuliang. That's it.
Even veteran Ma Mingyu seemed a bit tired...
So Shao Jiayi was put in the starting lineup.
Currently, the 4-4-2 diamond midfield formation is the best way to bring out the strengths of these players and also counter the South Korean style of play.
On the field.
As soon as Li Tie got the ball, he noticed that the South Korean players were all pressing forward aggressively.
Ahn Jung-hwan, Seol Ki-hyeon, and Lee Chun-soo all targeted the Chinese team's backcourt, while Yoo Sang-chul and Park Ji-sung also pressed forward.
It's definitely a three-striker formation!
The South Korean team's formation instantly changed to 3-4-3.
This also indicates that, just as Ye Xian predicted, the South Korean team took the initiative from the start and tried to seize the initiative.
However, since Ye Xian had already reminded the players in the locker room, they were not flustered.
Li Tie passed the ball directly back to Du Wei.
Dewey passed it on to Yang Pu.
Yang Pu then passed it on to Wu Chengying.
A few dribbles drew boos from the stadium at Daegu FIFA World Cup Stadium.
At the same time, South Korean fans were constantly shouting "Daehan Minguk!" "Daehan Minguk!" in support.
This caused the South Korean players to press higher and be more aggressive in their pressing, including midfielder Park Ji-sung, who assisted the forwards in pressing.
When the ball reached Wu Chengying's feet, Ahn Jung-hwan and Lee Chun-soo rushed towards him together, while Seol Ki-hyeon cut off his route to the center-back.
At this moment, Wu Chengying saw Yang Chen raising his hand to ask for the ball, so he swung his leg, intending to make a long pass to the front.
But this time, under pressure from the opponent, his shot was a bit rushed, and the ball was closer to the sideline.
Yang Chen jumped up and stopped with his chest, but when his feet landed, the ball went out of bounds as well.
South Korea's throw-in.
The stadium at Daegu World Cup Stadium erupted in cheers.
Wu Chengying gestured to Yang Chen that she hadn't passed well, while Yang Chen gave Wu Chengying a thumbs up, indicating that her teammate had done a good job.
This is a common scene in a team with a good atmosphere, and it's what a mature team should strive for.
When teammates make mistakes, they encourage each other instead of blaming each other.
However, this mistake did indeed hand over possession of the ball from the Chinese team to the South Korean team at the start of the game.
The South Korean team took the ball out of bounds and then began to control the ball and launch an attack.
The Chinese team, on the other hand, remained calm and retreated to their defensive positions, appearing quite cautious.
Therefore, judging from the game, the South Korean team had the upper hand.
They were on the offensive, while the Chinese team was on the defensive and did not use high pressing.
This made South Korean fans happy, while Chinese fans were a little disappointed.
Fans on both sides are exchanging heated words online, but ultimately it all comes down to the players' performance on the field.
The South Korean team is now clearly in the lead, while the Chinese team seems a bit timid and hesitant.
That's so unmotivated!
How can we really take down the Koreans now?
"It seems that the shortage of personnel is having a significant impact on the Chinese team," Huang Jianxiang expressed his concern.
"In particular, the absence of Li Weifeng and Zhao Junzhe has made the Chinese team's defense on the central axis somewhat lacking."
"Perhaps it was with this in mind that Milutinovic and Ye Xian chose to focus on defense, in order to avoid being overwhelmed by the South Korean team at the start of the game."
"If we can hold on, and then counterattack when the opponent's stamina is low, it's possible to score a goal."
"But South Koreans have always been very good runners. Can we hold out until then?"
However, Zhang Lu expressed a different opinion this time:
"I think this might be Coach Ye testing the waters."
"Because Hiddink's tactics are quite varied, even Coach Ye couldn't be certain what kind of style of play the South Korean team would adopt at the start of the game."
"Therefore, observation is necessary."
"He wants to use these first few minutes to stabilize the defense and see if there are any new changes in the South Korean team's attack."
「你看，李天秀不是上去了吗？这说明韩国队就不是提交的名单上显示的3-5-2，而是一个3-4-3。」
"Once we understand, let's wait for Coach Ye to make his move..."
"hey-hey."