Chapter 322: Advancing to the Top 8

In the twenty-seventh minute of the match, the Chinese Team launched an attack down the right flank.

On the right wing, Chen Tao attempted an incredibly imaginative backheel flick to get past his man, but was viciously brought down by a sliding tackle from the opposing number fourteen, Reinhard. This won the Chinese Team a free-kick just outside the 30-meter line.

Reinhard received a yellow card from the referee for the foul.

Chen Tao was uninjured. He quickly got back to his feet and from a distance, gave Yang Yang a gesture to show he was fine.

It was a set piece from a long way out, making a direct shot on goal impossible. They would have to rely on a tactical play.

Chen Tao took the free-kick quickly, chipping the ball to the right side just in front of the penalty area.

Gao Lin, reading the play perfectly, ran over to receive the pass. Under pressure from a Germany defender, he calmly chested the ball down and, before it hit the ground, laid it back to the supporting midfielder, Zhou Haibin.

Zhou Haibin took a touch and then spread the ball to the channel on the left.

Since the start of the match, Yang Yang hadn’t had many opportunities.

He had been the target of Germany’s tight marking. Although Klauen had switched him to the left wing, the Germany Team immediately shifted their defensive focus, limiting Yang Yang at every turn.

But this time was different. After the ball was worked through the center-forward Gao Lin, play was rapidly switched from the right flank to the left.

The moment Zhou Haibin received the pass, Yang Yang was already on the move, making a quick diagonal run from the left channel toward the edge of the penalty area.

“Zhou Haibin spreads it to the left…”

“Yang Yang receives it, this is a chance!”

On the edge of the box, just as Yang Yang received the ball, the opposing center-back, Marvin Matip, immediately closed in, using his body to block him.

A player of African descent, Matip held dual citizenship for Cameroon and Germany. Standing at only 1.84 meters, he was incredibly strong, particularly with his lean, powerful physique.

As soon as Matip got close, Yang Yang felt like he had run into a brick wall, almost bouncing off the defender. It disrupted his dribbling stride, but he had been mentally prepared for it and recovered quickly, adjusting in time.

After that first contact, Matip sensed his chance and immediately tried to press forward again for the tackle.

But Yang Yang used his body to shield the ball, keeping it under control with his right foot.

Matip was on Yang Yang’s right, his back to the goal. Yang Yang was side-on, facing the right wing, also controlling the ball with his right foot. This put Yang’s body between Matip and the ball, making it impossible for the defender to get a foot in.

Instead, it was Yang Yang who, after steadying himself, quickly pushed the ball into the center and exploded into motion.

After more than half a year of strength training, Yang Yang had not only built up muscle and upper body strength, but his explosive power had also improved. No matter the defender, he always had the advantage in that initial burst of acceleration to shake them off.

It was the same this time against Matip.

In the goal behind Matip, Adler was positioned toward his left, his eyes glued to his teammate’s back.

From this angle, he couldn’t see Yang Yang, but he remained on high alert, not daring to let his guard down for even a second.

But in the blink of an eye, he saw a figure dart out from behind Matip, immediately followed by a loud BANG—unmistakably the sound of a shot.

Adler reacted almost instantly, diving to his left—the right side of the goal—in a near-reflexive response, following the motion and direction of Yang Yang’s leg swing.

The German goalkeeper stretched out his left arm, extending his body as far as he could.

He could clearly feel the sensation on his left fingertips.

‘I got a touch on it!’

But just as a wave of ecstasy washed over Adler, it was immediately followed by despair.

His long years of training as a goalkeeper had made his sense of touch incredibly sharp. He knew it was just the feeling of his fingertips grazing the ball.

He was powerless to stop the ball from finding the back of the net!

…

“GOAL!!!!”

“The twenty-eighth minute! The twenty-eighth minute!”

“Oh my God, Yang Yang! It’s Yang Yang again!”

“He has stepped up once more! In the twenty-eighth minute, with a right-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area, he has broken through the Germany Team’s goal!”

“That was an absolutely stunning, sudden strike! The German goalkeeper, Adler, reacted with lightning speed and made a diving save, but he still couldn’t keep the ball out of the net! It’s one-nil!”

…

The moment Yang Yang created a sliver of space for himself away from Matip, he shot without the slightest hesitation.

Germany has never lacked high-caliber goalkeepers; their ability to develop them is simply too strong. And from what was seen in the first half-hour of this match, Adler’s skill and reflexes were indeed outstanding, bordering on world-class.

Against a goalkeeper like that, the only way to score was to catch him off guard. Give him enough time to react, and you could forget about finding the net.

Because of this, the shot wasn’t from a great angle, but it was just too sudden, hit with too much power, and traveled too fast. Although Adler reacted and got a hand to it, the ball still went in for a goal!

After scoring, Yang Yang quickly turned and ran toward his teammates. He first ran to Gao Lin, then grabbed Zhou Haibin firmly with his other hand. The three of them began to celebrate exuberantly, right under the noses of the German players.

One-nil! The momentum was now with the Chinese Team!

Now that they had a goal, they no longer needed to fear Germany’s defensive counter-attacks!

…

…

“Gao Lin!”

Arie Haan sat in the stands, quietly muttering the name he had only just committed to memory during this FIFA U-20 World Cup.

For the past year, he had been trying hard to find a suitable center-forward to partner with Yang Yang, but he had yet to find a player who satisfied him. Here at the Netherlands World Youth Championship, however, he had suddenly discovered this promising young talent.

“This center-forward isn’t bad. He plays smart, and his footwork is quite good,” Assistant Coach Dejan said with a nod.

“Select him for the National Team after the U-20 World Cup. We’ll give him a try during the away match against Japan,” Arie Haan decided.

That away match against Japan was scheduled for August, which was not on an official international match day.

When Arie Haan had previously negotiated with Ajax, they had flatly refused, because the Chinese Team had already qualified. There was no need to call Yang Yang back to the country to play at this point.

And when speaking with Yang Yang, he had also stated that he would respect Ajax’s decision.

His absence for a period last season had significantly impacted the team’s performance, a fact Yang Yang still regretted. In addition, the team was determined to make a mark in the Champions League this season, so he didn’t plan to participate in the August World Cup qualifier.

To be blunt, that match was meaningless for the Chinese Team.

Both Arie Haan and the Football Association were well aware that this match was more for testing new players than for achieving a result.

On the other hand, it was crucial for Japan and Iran. As a result, the football associations of both countries had come to China to lobby—one hoped the Chinese Team would go easy, while the other hoped they would go all out to stop their rival, preferably by calling back key overseas players like Yang Yang.

The Chinese Football Association had gotten smarter now and was starting to try and profit from the situation.

It couldn’t be helped. They had been taken advantage of so many times in the past; how could they pass up this rare opportunity to be on the winning end of a deal?

And calling up a few more talented players who fit the team’s tactics for evaluation undoubtedly aligned with Arie Haan’s plans for next year’s World Cup campaign.

Especially finding a suitable center-forward partner for Yang Yang as soon as possible.

…

…

After being scored on by the Chinese Team, Germany began to lose their composure.

They had only played for thirty minutes and were already a goal down. How could the Germany Team just continue to sit back and defend?

Thus, after conceding the goal, the Germany Team began to press forward more aggressively.

Yang Yang communicated with Hao Junmin and Zhou Haibin to drop back a little and let the Germany Team push forward.

As long as Germany was willing to press up, there would be plenty of space in behind them.

On the sidelines, Klauen clearly had the same idea. He immediately signaled for the players to pull back slightly and maintain their overall formation.

After conceding, Germany’s young players started to get impatient. Coupled with the Chinese Team’s deliberate withdrawal, they immediately began to push up, especially in the midfield and attack, frequently crossing the halfway line.

Germany’s change in approach did put more pressure on China’s midfield, but just as Yang Yang had predicted, it also left larger gaps in their defensive line.

In the forty-third minute, the entire German team pushed past the halfway line to press. After a series of passes from the Chinese Team, Gao Lin once again used his body to hold off a German player at the near post before laying the ball back to Hao Junmin.

Hao Junmin made a quick forward run and, upon receiving the ball, threaded a pass in behind the German center-back, Matip.

Yang Yang made a diagonal run in behind at top speed, chasing the ball down and heading straight for the penalty area.

Matip chased relentlessly, staying just behind and to the side of Yang Yang, trying to work with goalkeeper Adler to stop him.

But as he reached the edge of the six-yard box, Yang Yang suddenly chipped a pass with his left foot to the far post, where Chen Tao had followed up to easily tap it in from close range.

This goal was an absolutely selfless gift from Yang Yang!

It was well-known that on the National Youth Team, Yang Yang had a license to shoot at will—a privilege granted to him by Coach Klauen.

In that situation, there would have been nothing wrong with Yang Yang taking the shot himself. But he resolutely chose to pass to Chen Tao, who was in a better position and had a higher chance of scoring, which truly demonstrated his unselfishness.

That was why, after scoring, the first person Chen Tao ran to was Yang Yang.

The assist was as brilliant as it was clever. There wasn’t a single defender near Chen Tao; all he had to do was stick out a foot and push the ball. He didn’t even need to hit it perfectly straight—as long as it wasn’t too wide, it was a certain goal!

It was as if Yang Yang had selflessly handed him a goal. How could he not be grateful?

Yang Yang didn’t mind, though. He cared more about whether the team could win, and besides, Chen Tao’s position really had been better.

Perhaps it was an act that wasn’t selfish enough for a striker, but that was just Yang Yang’s style.

He had always firmly believed that if he passed to his teammates, his teammates would pass to him. He believed this whether he was playing for Ajax, the National Team, or the current National Youth Team.

Besides, he had already scored five goals in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and was leading the top scorer chart.

…

…

Chen Tao’s goal completely shattered any hope the Germany Team had left.

Even after the second half began, and Germany started to play more proactively, they were still unable to break through the Chinese Team’s goal. The defensive line, led by Feng Xiaoting, performed very well in this match, giving Germany no real chances.

In the end, the Chinese Team defeated Germany two-nil, smoothly advancing to the quarterfinals.