Chapter 207 200: This is China

"The Japan Team has launched a fast counter-attack."

"Nakamura Shunsuke has the ball on the left wing. His individual skill is incredible. He dribbles straight down the left flank and sends a cross into the box."

"A player follows up in the center for a close-range header!"

"Liu Yunfei makes the save!"

"His reaction was incredibly fast, tipping the ball over the crossbar. It's a corner kick for the Japan Team."

"And it's Nakamura Shunsuke again, stepping up to take the corner."

"He takes the corner, it goes to the far post... Nakata Hiroshi... GOAL!"

"But the Chinese Team's players are protesting! We can see goalkeeper Liu Yunfei and several other Chinese players all signaling for a handball foul. It was a very obvious handball."

"Looking at the slow-motion replay, Nakata Hiroshi did indeed deliberately knock the ball into the goal with his hand. It's an indisputable handball, clear as day. The referee has clearly made the wrong call."

...

Yang Yang saw the national team players signaling for a handball, but to his surprise, not a single one of them rushed over to pressure the referee.

This was completely unreasonable.

The Chinese Team had just been hit with such a blatant bad call, yet no one was going to the referee to protest? They just half-heartedly signaled for a handball and then prepared to head back for the kickoff as if nothing had happened?

'Aren't they being a little too obedient?'

As a player who had spent a year making his way in European Football, Yang Yang knew very well that in situations like this, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you didn't protest, if you didn't apply pressure, the referee wouldn't pay it any mind.

'Of course you can't just charge the referee, but you can't be this polite, either, can you?'

Yang Yang immediately rushed forward, hands clasped behind his back, and roared at the Kuwaiti referee, "That was an indisputable handball! You need to reconsider! They deliberately knocked the ball into our goal with their hands. How can that count as a goal?"

"As the referee, can you really allow something like this to happen?"

"And another thing! They pulled me down in the penalty area earlier! It happened right under your nose. Did you not see that either?"

Yang Yang remained calm on the inside, but on the outside, he was a picture of agitation. He looked like an angry lion, relentlessly bearing down on the referee, but he kept his hands behind his back the whole time—a common practice in the European leagues.

The referee kept backing away, repeatedly arguing that he hadn't seen the handball.

"Then you should put on your glasses, sir! It was such an obvious handball, and you're telling me you didn't see it?"

The Japan Team players got fired up too and quickly rushed over. A few of the defenders, who had been holding a grudge against Yang Yang for a while, charged forward and gave him a hard shove.

Yang Yang was knocked to the ground. He wasn't hurt, but he simply decided not to get back up.

Seeing this, the surrounding Chinese players instantly blew their tops.

'Making a bad call on a handball is one thing, but now you're not even going to let us protest?'

'They dare to push our guy?'

'Don't they know where they are?'

'This is China!'

The national players swarmed forward. The tension between the two sides was palpable, the situation ready to explode at any moment.

This forced the referee to quickly blow his whistle, stop the match, and try to calm down the players from both teams.

On the sidelines, Chinese Team head coach Arie Haan quickly understood what was happening. He immediately began roaring at the fourth official, relentlessly chewing out the referee for his biased officiating against the Chinese Team. A player pulled down in the box was ignored, and now an obvious handball was ruled a goal—how was anyone supposed to play like this?

"If you don't give us an explanation, we're walking off the pitch!" Arie Haan roared furiously.

The entire crowd of over 60,000 fans erupted in anger along with him.

What is a home-field advantage?

This is a home-field advantage!

The roar created by over 60,000 fans was enough to strike fear into anyone's heart. Even the Japanese players didn't dare act overconfident anymore, let alone the Kuwaiti referee who was already starting to doubt the accuracy of his own call.

"The entire Beijing Workers' Stadium is protesting."

"It has to be said, the Chinese Team has definitely been treated unfairly. A moment ago, the players were being far too civil, ready to accept the referee's call and head back to the center line for the kickoff. But Yang Yang decisively rushed up to protest and apply pressure."

"The player who pushed him down was the opposing center-back, captain Miyamoto Keisuke. He must have a guilty conscience, because from any angle you look at it, that was an indisputable handball."

"Besides, just before that, Yang Yang was pushed to the ground by an opposing defender in the box, and the referee didn't make a call."

"Although as the host nation, the Chinese Team should exhibit the grace of a great country, on the football pitch, when you need to pressure the referee, you have to apply that pressure. After all, the referee's standard of officiating can completely change the game."

"In this respect, Yang Yang handled it much more cleverly than the other national team players. Now, let's see how the referee deals with it."

...

The Kuwaiti referee immediately ran to the sideline to consult with the fourth official and the linesman. He quickly came back with a decision.

Goal disallowed!

Now it was the Japan Team's turn to explode. They all began protesting, but this time, the referee's stance was firm.

After disallowing the goal, the referee turned to Yang Yang, who was still sitting on the ground, and showed him a yellow card.

Yang Yang remained on the ground, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture as if to say, 'Right, I deserve a yellow card, and I'll gladly accept it. But what about the guy who pushed me over?'

The Chinese Team's players weren't stupid; they quickly understood his meaning and began protesting again, though with much less intensity than before. Their main point was, Yang Yang was the one who got pushed down, so why was he getting a yellow card?

The referee pacified the Chinese players, indicating that he wasn't finished. He soon turned to the Japanese players, called over Miyamoto Keisuke—the one who had pushed Yang Yang—and casually brandished the yellow card in his hand.

This was a case of punishing both sides equally.

However, the Japan Team's handball goal was nullified, and the Chinese Team was awarded a goal kick.

Only then did Yang Yang get up from the ground with a grin. He glanced at the Japanese players, who were all fuming, and felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

'This is China's home turf. You think we'd let you take advantage of us?'

Football is a war without gunpowder. Once both teams are on the field, the goal is to defeat the opponent by any means necessary.

Just like how the Japanese players knew full well it was a handball, but would never admit it.

Even though the Chinese Team was playing at home, they shouldn't be overly civil and yielding. On a football pitch, that's not a virtue.

Nice guys finish last. Yang Yang had taught the national team players a valuable lesson tonight.

That yellow card not only restored their one-goal lead but also struck a blow to the Japan Team's morale. On top of that, it got the opposing center-back, Miyamoto Keisuke, a yellow card of his own. It was absolutely worth it.

After all, Yang Yang was an attacking player, so a yellow card didn't mean much to him. But Miyamoto Keisuke was a center-back. A yellow card would force him to be more cautious and hinder his performance.

...

"Yang Yang really handled that cleverly."

"Sometimes, our players are indeed too civil and yielding. They lack that mentality of fighting for every inch, which makes us look a bit like pushovers."

"This time, with Yang Yang taking the initiative to protest, coupled with the roar of the crowd, I believe the referee's calls will be a bit more fair from now on."

...

...

Having a goal they shouldn't have gotten in the first place disallowed had clearly infuriated the Japan Team.

After the restart, the Chinese Team took a goal kick, but the ball was quickly intercepted by Japan in the attacking half. Japan launched a swift counter-attack, while the Chinese Team fell back quickly to their own side of the field, waiting for the opponent to advance.

It could be said that after the handball incident, the momentum and psychological state of both teams had completely reversed. The Chinese Team now held the advantage in every aspect. The players were more united than ever, steadfastly executing their proven tactics and repeatedly thwarting Japan's attacks.

Previously, the referee had been somewhat lenient towards Japan, considering their ball possession, the greater experience of their players, and their subtle, hard-to-spot fouls. The standard of his calls had been tilted in their favor.

But after the handball incident, the referee re-evaluated his officiating standards and became more impartial.

In the sixty-third minute, the Chinese Team launched another counter-attack.

Yang Yang, who had dropped back to the edge of the box to defend, suddenly surged forward with the ball. He made a lung-bursting eighty-meter run to the right side of the opponent's penalty area. Under tight pressure from Japan's left-back, he forced his way into the box from the byline and then cut the ball back to the right side of the penalty spot.

Li Ming rushed to meet it and fired a shot with his right foot, blasting it past the Japanese keeper. Two-nil!

This was definitely the goal that would seal the victory, and it was an indisputable one.

Now two goals down, the Japan Team grew even more frantic. Their head coach, Zico, was fuming on the sidelines, constantly screaming at the referee until he was shown a yellow card and finally piped down.

Especially after the seventy-fifth minute, Japan's attacks became more desperate, while China's defense grew more and more confident.

In the seventy-seventh minute, the Chinese Team launched another counter-attack. Yan Song attempted to break through on the left wing but was stopped, so he passed horizontally to the center. Yang Yang ran onto the ball at the edge of the penalty area. As the opposing center-back, Miyamoto Keisuke, hesitated on whether to commit a foul, Yang Yang once again unleashed a powerful shot with his right foot. The ball rocketed into the net! Three-nil!

After scoring, Yang Yang was so exhilarated that he ran off the pitch.

Everyone in Beijing Workers' Stadium was wildly chanting Yang Yang's name. He ran to the sideline once more and fell to his knees below the section of the stands where his parents were sitting. His parents and Su Ye were once again captured by the broadcast cameras.

Yang Yang's goal had essentially locked in the victory.

When the match reached the eightieth minute, Arie Haan substituted Hao Dong for Yang Yang. Every single fan in the stadium rose to their feet, giving Yang Yang a thunderous round of applause as he walked off.

One goal and two assists—Yang Yang had completely orchestrated this final.

But even more importantly, when the referee made the bad call on the handball, he had proactively applied pressure and argued the case. He not only nullified a wrongly awarded goal for the Chinese Team but also dealt a huge psychological blow to the Japan Team. This caused them to lose their composure in the subsequent play, making it difficult for them to mount any more threatening attacks.

In contrast, the Chinese Team's three goals were all genuine, indisputable goals from open play.

The moment Yang Yang left the pitch, fans in the stands could no longer contain themselves and began celebrating wildly.

As the broadcast camera panned across the crowd, you could even see numerous fans covering their faces and weeping.

The Chinese Team had finally won a championship!

The dream that so many people in football and so many fans had hoped for for so many years had finally been realized tonight!