Chapter 2102 Heroes of Japanese Football
Shanhai Stadium, originally called Shanhai Stadium, can accommodate 80,000 people.
As the home stadium of Shanhai Mariners, Shanhai Stadium is a comprehensive stadium with a track.
In order to host this World Cup, Shanhai Stadium was renovated.
The main thing is to cancel the track and turn the stadium into a professional football stadium.
There is a row of billboards between the stands and the competition area, which makes fans feel immersed in watching the game, and the players can better feel the enthusiasm of the fans.
China is hosting the World Cup this time and has renovated many domestic stadiums.
Some are like the Shanhai Stadium, which was converted from a comprehensive stadium into a professional football field, and some are like the Phoenix Stadium in Yunyang City, which was expanded from a capacity of 30,000 people to a capacity of 45,000 people.
Others, such as the Lotus Stadium for the opening ceremony, were downsized from a capacity of 80,000 to 70,000.
Shanhai Stadium only canceled the running track and changed it into a professional football field. The capacity has not changed, it is still 80,000 people.
The stadium is now filled with people, and more than half of the 80,000 people are Japanese fans who keep singing and roaring.
Because this World Cup is being held in China, it is more convenient for Japanese fans to watch the game.
In addition, there are many Japanese in Shanhai, so in this crucial game for the Japanese team, they almost enjoyed real home court treatment.
In this stadium, which can accommodate 80,000 people, there are probably 50,000 Japanese fans.
The momentum they created completely overwhelmed the German fans.
"The game has entered the final stage! The German team is constantly launching fierce offensives! No matter what, we must withstand their attacks!"
In the noisy scene, the Japanese commentator shouted at the top of his lungs.
His voice even trembled.
It shows how nervous he is.
In the stands opposite him, there is a large screen showing the real-time score:
2:2
Game time 97:46
The injury time for this game is nine minutes.
There were less than two minutes left before the game actually ended.
Because the Japanese team's last game opponent was South Africa, the weakest team in the group, so if they can draw with Germany in this round of group matches, they can greatly increase their chances of qualifying for the group.
A draw with Germany would not only allow Japan to gain one more point, but also force the German team to make a desperate move when facing Switzerland in the final round.
In this way, even if Switzerland beats South Africa in this round, it may not be able to qualify - the Japanese team can score five points if it wins against South Africa, while Switzerland will only score four points if it loses to Germany.
So this draw is crucial.
In the noisy stadium, Janus Edman pointed to his head and shouted to his teammates: "High ball! High ball!"
He has advantages in height and strength. If his teammates pass the football to his head, he can use his header to score the Japanese team's goal.
The Japanese team has natural shortcomings in this regard.
As soon as Edman finished his gesture, the German team passed a high ball from the wing and hit his area.
Edman raised his arms and then jumped for the top!
Japan's central defender Tanaka Sean jumped up and collided with him. Under the interference, Edman's header was slightly higher and flew over the crossbar.
It would be wrong to say that the Japanese team does not have a single "master".
For example, the Japanese center back Sean Tanaka, who competes with Edman for the top spot, is 1.87 meters tall and weighs 78 kilograms, which is not considered thin.
However, you can know from this stitch-like name that Sean Tanaka is a naturalized player.
His original nationality is British, his father is Scottish, and his mother is Japanese. He was born in Scotland, returned to Japan when he was in middle school, and later became a Japanese citizen.
In fact, he can be regarded as a player trained in Japan's youth training.
However, the Japanese team only has a player as big as Sean Tanaka.
Others are still "dwarfed" in front of the "long-standing" German team.
Moreover, there is still a clear strength gap between Sean Tanaka and Edman.
Otherwise, the defense would not be so embarrassing.
Edman has already scored one goal in this game, which he scored under the defense of Sean Tanaka.
Sean Tanaka is still considered a top central defender in Japan, but looking at Europe, he is relatively average. Not as good as Wang Guangwei...
After completing the top battle and successfully guarding Edman, there was no joy on Tanaka's face. He was breathing heavily, and his expression was even a little numb.
When Junpei Morikawa saw him like this, he also knew that Sean Tanaka had reached his limit.
What Morikawa Junpei saw, Sugiyama Tatsuya also saw.
He pointed at the team's goalkeeper Hiroki Ueshima with the arm wearing the captain's armband, and yelled at him: "You have to come out during the corner kick, Ueshima!"
Hiroki Ueshima gave him a thumbs up, indicating that he understood.
When the entire team's defense and control capabilities are relatively weak, the goalkeeper needs to expand his defensive range and take full advantage of his ability to reach out.
The German team's corner kick made the Japanese team very nervous.
The German team obviously knew this very well, so they increased their troops in front of the Japanese team, preparing to complete their victory in one battle and defeat Japan.
Morikawa Junpei originally planned to return to the goal to help defend.
But he changed his mind when he spotted Germany's right midfielder Patrick Littlemüller running near the touchline.
Germany's corner kick was taken by their attacking midfielder Torey Weil.
If he kicked directly in front of the goal, what would Litmuller do running over?
Although Littlemüller did not run directly to the corner flag area, but stood far away at the junction of the extension line and the sideline of the penalty area.
It looks like a "melon-eating crowd".
However, Junpei Morikawa used his own experience and intuition to believe that Litmuller definitely did it intentionally.
The German team may want to make a change at the corner kick.
They should adopt a corner kick strategy.
It might be a pass to Litmuller, who then crosses the ball at a 45-degree angle.
It may also be that after passing it to Litmueller, he will take the ball to develop the offense.
It is also possible that after passing it to Litmueller, he could attract the Japanese team's defensive attention, and then Torey Weier would insert the space, and Litmueller would pass the ball to him...
There are many possibilities for changes, and no matter which approach is taken, it is all to tear apart the Japanese team's dense defense line in the penalty area and create chaos.
Thinking of this, Junpei Morikawa decided to leave the penalty area and defend Litmuller.
But he only took two steps. As the referee blew the whistle, Torey Weil kicked the football towards Littlemueller!
Morikawa Junpei rushed forward quickly!
I saw Junpei Morikawa coming menacingly.
Litmuller made a move to cross directly.
I hope I can trick Morikawa Junpei into jumping up and blocking.
However, Morikawa Junpei was completely unmoved and ran away to play football.
Seeing that his fake move didn't work, Litmuller chose to face the football and push the football forward.
In this way, Morikawa Junpei's inertia can also be used to get rid of him.
But this time, Junpei Morikawa still predicted Littmüller's approach, because it was a very conventional way to get rid of the opponent.
So not only was he not thrown away by Littlemüller, he actually changed direction and caught up!
Of course, he also reached out to block and interfere with Litmuller.
"Morikawa! Well done!" The Japanese commentator saw this scene in the commentary box. He couldn't help but stood up from his seat, pressed his headset with his hand, and shouted loudly.
Seeing that he could not get rid of Junpei Morikawa, Litmuller made an emergency stop again and planned to cut inside.
But he stopped suddenly, and Morikawa Junpei also stopped suddenly.
At the same time, he also took the opportunity to come up and fight in close combat!
After taking the corner kick, Torey Weier saw Litmuller being entangled by Junpei Morikawa and quickly shouted: "Pass the ball to me!"
Litmueller intended to pass the ball, but Junpei Morikawa was stuck between him and Torey Weier. If he passed the ball, it might be intercepted.
So Littlemüller hesitated...
Then he remembered, so what if he was cut off?
This is near the sideline!
Even if Junpei Morikawa touches the football off the sideline, the ball is still on the German team's side!
So he decided to pass again.
It was at this moment that Tatsuya Sugiyama in the middle shouted: "Press up! Press out!!"
The Japanese players rushed forward.
Litmueller successfully passed the ball.
The football avoided Morikawa Junpei's feet and rolled towards Torey Weier near the baseline!
After receiving the ball, Torey Weier dribbled the ball laterally and headed towards the penalty area!
Edman passed by the advancing Japanese player and rushed towards the goal.
Upon seeing this, Weier swept the football to the center!
Edman easily pushed the ball into the goal!
Whistles sounded along with cheers and boos at the same time.
So much so that Edelman didn't hear it. He excitedly rushed to Weier near the baseline to hug him.
But Weier's expression looked very annoyed.
The television broadcast focused on the linesman.
He stood on the touchline with the side flag held high.
The referee also raised his hand.
"Offside!! Torey Weil is offside, Edman's goal is invalid!"
"It was indeed offside! In fact, if Litmuller passed the ball directly for the first time, Weyl would not have been offside. But he hesitated and passed the ball again, and Weyl was offside... and the offside was quite obvious!"
Edman heard the footsteps and looked at the referee and linesman in confusion.
It was hard for the other German players to accept it - it was a killer.
They looked at Weier, hoping to get confirmation from the latter that he was not offside, but what they saw was a dejected Weier.
Everyone then understood - it was indeed offside.
Otherwise, how could Weier not protest and appeal?
When Weier received the ball, he actually knew that he was offside, but he did not stop, just because he was lucky...
While the German players were shocked by the offside, the Japanese players cheered.
The German team was offside and the ball fell to the Japanese team. There was not much time left in the game. No matter how long it took, the game could be delayed until the end!
It can be said that the German team's offside attack this time basically announced that the Japanese team successfully tied them!
The game is not over yet, but the Japanese players can't wait to celebrate.
Only Junpei Morikawa did not do this.
After completing his entangled defense against Littlemueller, he turned around and silently walked towards the center.
The referee did not blow the final whistle, so the game was not over yet.
Since the game is not over yet, he will continue to fight.
Litmueller saw the Japanese player's back behind him, then put his hands on his hips and looked up to the sky with a sigh.
The German team's plan to advance to the group stage failed.
The Japanese team has maintained its hope of qualifying for the group!
The Japanese commentator excitedly shouted: "Morikawa! Morikawa Junpei was like a piece of brown sugar, firmly sticking to Litmuller, preventing him from passing the football out immediately! This is a very critical defense, He not only held back the German team's attack, but also held back the Japanese team's slide into the abyss! He retained the spark of hope for Japanese football! "(End of Chapter)