Chapter 670 The price paid
In fact, strictly speaking, Hu Lai's goal is not a buzzer beater. First of all, this was not a goal scored in the last minute of the game. After he scored this goal, there were still a few minutes left in the game, and Saudi Arabia might score another goal.
Secondly, this goal is only a "defeat". After all, it is an equalizer, not a go-ahead score.
As long as the players in Saudi Arabia can quickly adjust their mentality and attack with all their strength, they may be able to score another victory.
But when these Saudi Arabian players heard the shouts erupting above the Working People's Stadium in Xingtan City, they felt as if they were not competing against the Chinese team, but fighting against a fierce storm.
How can manpower conquer heaven?
In the face of the furious nature, the Saudi Arabian players almost lost all fighting spirit to resist...
Hu Lai's goal was like a shot of cardiotonic for the more than 50,000 Chinese fans in this stadium. The beating of more than 50,000 hearts was like the footsteps of a giant.
As he gets closer, the next step may be to trample the Saudi Arabian players to death.
After the game restarted, the Chinese team, which had just equalized the score, was greatly boosted in morale and launched the fiercest offensive against the Saudi Arabian goal.
I hope to score another goal in the last few minutes and truly defeat Saudi Arabia.
It's a pity that there is not much time left for the Chinese team.
In addition, the head coach of Saudi Arabia made adjustments on the sidelines, asking the team to shrink their defense and place a bus in front of the goal. The Chinese team still failed to score another goal...
After four minutes of injury time, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.
Although they failed to win the game, the sky above the Working People's Stadium still rang with deafening cheers.
Amid thunderous cheers, the players of the Chinese team, regardless of whether they were starters or substitutes, were celebrating the draw.
For the Chinese team, Hu Lai's ball was too crucial, and this point was too crucial.
"...When we were in an extremely unfavorable situation, our young men from the national football team did not give up and fought until the last minute. Only then did Hu Lai's goal come true." Looking at the players on the field, He Feng said emotionally said.
"This kind of Chinese team may be what our fans want to see. Regardless of victory or defeat, you can always see hope from them... Young people played a vital role in this goal, Chen Xingyi's sudden pass, Gao Ruimin risking being tackled to pass the football to him, and Zhang Qinghuan's scalpel-like pass... In the end, of course, it was a The final word is Hu Lai. The eldest among them, Zhang Qinghuan, is only 25 years old, and the youngest Hu Lai is only 21 years old... If before these two games, there were still people worried about Shi Wuyuan recruiting young people. If it will lead to turmoil in the team and a decrease in combat effectiveness, then I believe that after watching these two games, everyone will only have one thought, and that is..."
Yan Kang shouted from the side: "There are too few tricks!"
He Feng laughed loudly: "Haha! Yes, there are fewer recruits! We are eager to see more young players emerge, because they represent the future of Chinese football! The past, good or bad, cannot be changed. But the future There are endless possibilities! From today on, work hard to create an extremely bright future! Young people! This game has shown you one of the infinite possibilities, and you can become a protagonist in the national team! ”
Qin Qi in front of the TV turned to his father who was watching the game with him and said: "Dad, I want to be the protagonist too!"
Qin Lin rubbed his son's hair and said, "You should first play in the national competition in Jiaxiang. Jiaxiang High School did not participate in the national competition this year. This school's limelight and talents have almost been robbed by Dongchuan Middle School." .”
"It's okay. When I go, Jiaxiang can be revived!" Qin Qi said with great pride, as if inspired by today's game.
※※※
Xie Lan stood in front of the TV, looked at the screen and asked her husband Hu Lixin, who was sitting on the sofa behind her: "Lao Hu, do you think we still have hope to go to the World Cup this time?"
Hu Lixin looked at the screen and shook his head: "I don't know."
"Can you predict..."
"How to predict this? We are still fifth in the rankings, but we are not separated by the top few. Next we will play Australia away, South Korea at home, and Qatar away. Which opponent is easier to deal with?"
After hearing what Hu Lixin said, Xie Lan pursed her lips, frowned, and stared at the TV broadcast without speaking.
After this round of the top 12, the South Korean team defeated the United Arab Emirates 3:1 at home and currently tops the list with 15 points. It has opened a four-point gap with second-place Australia.
Australia is tied with Qatar at home and currently has 11 points.
Third-placed Saudi Arabia, with 11 points, continues to be behind Australia due to a lower goal difference.
Qatar and China are tied with eight points and ranked fourth due to goal difference.
The Chinese team ranked fifth.
The United Arab Emirates, which is still without a win, is ranked sixth.
Judging from this points situation, it is really difficult to say whether there is still a chance.
If there is no chance, the performance of the Chinese team in these two games is really full of hope. Everyone is willing to believe in this hope.
But if there is a chance... the Chinese team failed to win against Saudi Arabia at home and missed the opportunity to surpass Qatar in the standings and catch up with Saudi Arabia and Australia. This is enough to make pessimists give up hope for the future. Next up is an away game against Australia or a home game against South Korea. Which one is easier to deal with?
In these two games, as long as the Chinese team loses one game, it may be eliminated early.
This is equivalent to walking a tightrope without any protective measures at a height of 100 meters. The possibility of falling is really too great...
After this game, some fans online began to feel very regretful and unhappy that the Chinese team had not been able to win against Qatar at home.
After all, if the Chinese team had won that game and scored three points, it would now have ten points, which would be one point less than Saudi Arabia and Australia. The situation would be much better than it is now.
But unfortunately, there are no ifs in the world. In other words, everything has pros and cons. If the Chinese team had won the key battle with Qatar under the leadership of Wilson, then Wilson might not have dismissed get out of class.
And if Wilson doesn’t leave get out of class, how can Shi Wuyuan come on stage?
If Shi Wuyin doesn't take the stage, how can young players like Chen Xingyi and Luo Kai appear in the national team?
With Wilson's stubborn tactical system and employment concepts, even if he is lucky enough to win against Qatar at home, will he be able to defeat the United Arab Emirates away from home and draw with Saudi Arabia at home?
Therefore, the situation may become that the Chinese team has three points with Qatar, but may lose the four points from these two games.
Xie Lan obviously also understands what situation the Chinese team will face next.
That heart has to be kept hanging like this.
Either wait until the Chinese team finishes playing in the top 12, or get off halfway.
She took out her mobile phone to see how fans online praised her son, in order to ease her worries about the future of the Chinese team.
At this moment, her son appeared on the TV screen, standing in front of a background board and being interviewed by reporter Wang Shanshan.
So she put down her phone and stared at the TV screen.
Wang Shanshan still said to Hu Lai with a sweet smile: "First of all, congratulations to you Hu Lai. Your goal at the last moment helped the Chinese team equalize the score. So what do you think of this game?"
< br>
"Ah, I'm very happy to be able to help the team equalize the score, but it would be even better if we could win..." Facing the camera, Hu Lai, who had just finished the game, still had some sweat on his face, not to mention the stains on his hair. There were dirt and grass clippings, and the red jersey was also stained everywhere.
The TV camera also moved down to Hu Lai's calf. The long socks have been taken off, the shin guards have been removed, and many red and blue-purple traces can be seen in the exposed areas, and there is even a little blood in some places.
These are the "memorials" Hu Lai left when he played against his opponents on the court.
In addition, the prominent blood vessels and veins on the calf are also a bit shocking to see - as Hu Lai increased his core strength training during this period, the varicose veins became more serious than before.
A professional player's legs definitely look unsightly, and can even be said to be "ugly." Their legs have extraordinary skills, but they also have to pay some price, and this is one of the prices.
Seeing Xie Lan in front of the TV was very heartbreaking.
Although her son said it would be better if he could win, the mother could still see that even for this unsatisfactory draw, her son had tried his best...
※※※
After a brief interview with Wang Shanshan, Hu Lai left in a hurry.
He wouldn't even wait to get on the bus back to his hotel with his teammates.
Instead, he will take a special car specially arranged for him by the national team directly from the stadium to the airport in Xingtan City. Then take a flight back to London.
There are direct flights from Xingtan to London, but unfortunately, there are only three flights a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Today is Wednesday, but the flight departure time is at 11:30 noon on Wednesday.
So Hu Lai missed today's direct flight back to London.
If he still had to wait for a direct flight, he would have to wait until Friday.
This is absolutely not possible.
Because on Sunday, Leeds City will go away to challenge Abion. When he returns to London on Friday, it will be difficult to catch up with Sunday's league game.
So now he must fly back to the UK immediately. Even if there is no direct flight, he can choose a connecting flight.
Abion is currently ranked fifteenth in the league, one place higher than Leeds City, and can be regarded as Leeds City's direct competitor in relegation.
He must rush back in time to participate in the team's league preparations.
For this reason he will have to choose a connecting flight, which may take him more time on the journey, but at least he can return to Leeds before Friday.
A reporter photographed Hu Lai leaving in a black car outside the stadium.
As the only Chinese player playing in Europe, traveling back and forth like this may become a daily routine for him in the future.
I hope this kind of effort is worth it...
The reporters who saw this scene said silently in their hearts.
※※※
PS, two updates have been restored! (End of chapter)