Chapter 197 190: Really Getting Old

"The second half is about to begin."

"The Chinese Team is making their second substitution of the match."

"It's clear that Arie Haan wasn't satisfied with the team's performance in the first half. He's now substituting Yang Yang for Zhou Haibin."

"This is the Chinese Team's second substitution, after the one involving Shao Jiayi."

"This is seventeen-year-old Yang Yang's first call-up to the National Team. Tonight's appearance makes him the youngest player ever to play for the Chinese Team. Before tonight, that honor belonged to Zhou Haibin."

...

The moment Yang Yang stepped onto the field, the entire Beijing Workers' Stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

All the Chinese fans in attendance had high hopes for Yang Yang. They were eagerly anticipating his appearance, hoping he could turn around the team's terrible performance and unfavorable situation from the first half.

Meanwhile, Yang Yang was trying hard to compose himself.

Ever since returning to Beijing to train alone, he had been craving a match.

The feeling was almost like an addiction; the longer he waited, the stronger the craving grew.

But he also knew he couldn't go all out. He was only seventeen, his physique wasn't a match for the adults, and the Asian Cup had just begun. He had to restrain himself to preserve his hunger and his form.

...

...

When the second half began, the Chinese Team showed a fierce desire to win right from the start.

The Bahrain Team was using a 3-5-2 formation. Their three defenders operated mostly inside the penalty area to deal with the Chinese Team's two forwards, which left more space open on the wings.

Yang Yang had noticed this issue back in the first half, and after coming on, he actively made runs to exploit it.

Less than two minutes into the half, Shao Jiayi made a beautiful breakthrough in the center before passing the ball out to the right wing, finding Yang Yang who had run into open space.

The moment Yang Yang received the ball, the Bahraini defenders tensed up. As they saw him advancing down the right flank, one of their defenders quickly charged out of the box. But Yang Yang immediately sent a curling cross toward the near post.

Hao Dong got to it first, heading the ball from close range, but it went just over the bar.

Although it didn't result in a goal, Yang Yang's high-quality cross right after coming on earned him a roar of approval from the crowd. Hao Dong also gave him a thumbs-up from a distance as encouragement.

This attack clearly sent a cold sweat down the Bahrain Team's spines, especially their left-sided defenders.

Their number seven midfielder, who had been very active in the first half, now started paying more attention to the newcomer, Yang Yang.

Soon after, the Chinese Team created another threat. Zhao Junzhe sent a lofted pass into the box, but after bringing it under control, Li Jinyu's poked shot was saved by the Goalkeeper. Another golden opportunity missed.

The left wing quickly launched an attack as well. Yan Song and Zhou Ting combined, ending with a direct shot from Zhou Ting that the opposing Goalkeeper fumbled. Chaos ensued in the box, but the Chinese Team couldn't capitalize on the rebound.

And Yang Yang, after dropping back to receive a pass, quickly initiated a one-two with Shao Jiayi towards the center. He then played a diagonal pass from the right half-space behind the defenders, but Hao Dong was a step too slow to react and couldn't catch up to the ball.

After ten solid minutes of attacking, the Chinese Team finally scored a goal.

Shao Jiayi intercepted the ball in midfield and quickly sent a precise pass to Yan Song on the left. Yan Song broke through, shook off the opposing right-back at the byline, and forced the defender to block the ball with his hand after falling. The referee unhesitatingly awarded a penalty.

Zheng Zhi calmly converted the penalty, equalizing for the Chinese Team.

One-one. Both teams were back on a level playing field.

After conceding, the Bahrain Team quickly made a substitution to further strengthen their midfield defense.

...

...

After about ten minutes on the pitch, Yang Yang had mostly familiarized himself with the rhythm of the game and figured out Bahrain's defensive setup.

With Yan Song performing exceptionally well on the Chinese Team's left wing and launching repeated attacks, the defense covering Yang Yang on the right inevitably slacked off. This, in turn, gave Yang Yang more opportunities.

During an attack from the left that failed to create a threat, the ball was passed back to Zhao Junzhe in midfield. At that moment, Yang Yang quickly shook off Bahrain's number seven midfielder, ran towards the center, and raised his hand, calling for the ball.

Zhao Junzhe switched the play, sending the ball over to him.

Bahrain's number seven immediately closed in to defend, but before he could get near, Yang Yang chested the ball down, met it with his right foot, and flicked it right over the number seven's head before spinning around and taking off.

The instant Yang Yang accelerated, the number seven was already beaten. It was too late to stop him.

This sudden move drew a huge cheer from the entire stadium.

Yang Yang quickly caught up to the ball and charged down the right wing, picking up more and more speed.

Their number twelve defender decisively challenged him, but Yang Yang was already at full tilt. Before the defender could get close, Yang Yang beat him with a feint. The whole move was clean and fluid; he didn't slow down at all as he carried the ball straight into the penalty area.

Yang Yang's sudden charge into the box completely disrupted the opponent's defensive formation. The central defender was forced to leave Hao Dong and press Yang Yang. But using his God's Vision, Yang Yang keenly spotted Li Jinyu's movement.

The sharp forward knew that their number sixteen defender was marking Hao Dong, so he deliberately made a run to the far post.

Yang Yang understood instantly. Instead of making a simple horizontal pass to the front of the goal for Hao Dong as the Bahraini defenders expected, he delivered a driven, long-range cross, sending the ball precisely to the far post.

Li Jinyu was already lying in wait for an opportunity. Overjoyed to see the ball coming his way, he rushed forward and hit it with a sweeping volley.

Yang Yang's pass was perfect, and Li Jinyu's shot was beautiful.

From point-blank range, the Bahraini Goalkeeper was left with no chance!

"GOAL!!!!!!!!!"

"In the sixty-third minute of the second half, the Chinese Team scores again, completing a tenacious comeback against Bahrain!"

"A precise cross from Yang Yang on the right wing, and Li Jinyu calmly seizes the opportunity! It's two-one!"

"That was a truly brilliant attack. We can see clearly from the replay that Yang Yang is the type to be quiet until he does something astonishing. After the team built up pressure on the left, he suddenly delivered the fatal blow from the right."

"Two of Bahrain's defenders simply couldn't stop Yang Yang. And the subsequent cross was superb—low and fast. It was difficult for Bahrain's defenders to intercept, as it could have easily turned into an own goal."

"Of course, Li Jinyu's subsequent shot was also incredibly intelligent. His run to shake off the defender was crucial, and Yang Yang keenly picked up on his teammate's movement to deliver that lethal pass!"

"Two-one, the Chinese Team has turned it around against their opponent!"

"Arie Haan's two substitutions have worked wonders. Especially after Yang Yang came on in the second half, he completely suppressed the Bahrain Team's attacks on their left flank, preventing them from establishing any effective offensive or defensive system for the entire half."

After scoring, an ecstatic Li Jinyu ran off the pitch towards the stands, dropped to one knee, and mimed firing a machine gun. Yang Yang, who was closest to him, watched with envy.

He'd been wanting to design a cool goal celebration for himself for a long time.

"You little rascal, you even fooled me! I thought you were going to pass to me," Hao Dong said with a laugh as he ran up from behind.

But no one thought he was actually mad. With a tough opponent in front of them, as long as they scored, it didn't matter who did it. It was a good thing.

"I saw you, but I thought he had a better chance," Yang Yang explained with a smile.

But that single sentence shocked the other National Team players around them.

'In that split second, with everything changing so fast, Yang Yang actually saw Li Jinyu's run?'

'Even more terrifying, he instantly understood Li Jinyu's intention?'

Forget the others; even Li Jinyu himself found it hard to believe. At that moment, he was mostly just trying to pick up a potential rebound.

"You really saw him?" Hao Dong asked, finding it hard to believe.

Yang Yang just gave a faint smile. It was hard to explain, but he had indeed seen him.

His lack of an explanation, however, only made everyone else more convinced.

Hao Dong shook his head and sighed. "I'm old. I'm really getting old."

For the proud and unruly Hao Dong to say something like that made all the surrounding teammates look at Yang Yang in a new light.

...

...

After Li Jinyu scored the second goal, it was as if the Chinese Team had completed their mission. Their offensive pressure weakened significantly.

From the sidelines, Coach Arie Haan urged his players to keep up the attacking intensity, especially the press on Bahrain.

Yang Yang remained very active on the right wing. Whenever the Bahrain Team had the ball, he constantly pressed their left-back and number seven midfielder, often even pushing into the center.

Although he was just one person, his efforts still had some effect. In the sixty-sixth minute, after Bahrain won the ball in their own half and passed it again to their number seven, Yang Yang harried him relentlessly. He forced a back pass, then chased the ball all the way to the byline, ultimately forcing the opponent into a rushed, long clearance upfield.

This defensive play earned him applause from Coach Arie Haan and Dejan, and many fans in the stadium clapped as well.

At the same time, many players on the field began to realize that perhaps what the coach meant by pressing in the midfield and final third was exactly what Yang Yang was doing: immediately counter-pressing after losing the ball and relentlessly hounding the opponent.

'But can our stamina hold up playing like this? Will it even be effective?'

Just as doubts were creeping in, a Bahraini defender on the field suddenly made a mistake, under-hitting a pass to their number seven.

Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been a huge error, but the fatal part was that Yang Yang immediately pressed him. The number seven hastily tried to cut past Yang Yang but was dispossessed by his outstretched foot.

The entire stadium erupted in excitement once again.

After winning the ball, Yang Yang quickly gave chase, storming all the way to the edge of the opponent's penalty area. Facing a defender, he executed a skillful Pendulum Move, breezing past his opponent and breaking into the box.

This time, he decisively made a square pass to Hao Dong, who had run into an open space. The veteran calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The Bahraini Goalkeeper's attention was fixed on Yang Yang, and he could only watch helplessly as the ball found the back of the net.

Three-one!

An excited Hao Dong rushed over, grabbed Yang Yang's hand, and pulled him along in a sprint toward the sideline.

And the entire Beijing Workers' Stadium went wild, erupting in a frenzy of celebration.