Fox in the Penalty Area

"Laski...chance!"

The commentator roared, and Dominic Lasky appeared behind the goal.

The football is flying high from the front.

And he was in an unmarked situation!

The Chinese fans in the stands also burst into eager cheers—because of Hu Lai, Lasky, as Hu Lai's teammate in the club, naturally won the support of the majority of Chinese fans.

So in the semi-finals of the "China Cup" between Poland and Mexico, Poland became the "home team".

Amidst the cheers of the Chinese fans, Lasky adjusted his pace while running, then jumped up and turned towards the football in the air.

Mexico's goalkeeper Salvador Manriquez had almost raised his hands in surrender - he turned around, raised his hands, and saw Laski hitting the football in the air!

And it was too late for him to make a save, and he could only watch the football fly over his head and fly towards the goal behind him... click back!

"Lasky header!"

The football was pushed out in a parabola and flew towards the goal under everyone's gaze.

At this moment, on the big screen in the stands in the distance, the time of the game is beating:

94:21

The whistle for the end of the game is approaching, and this is the last attack of the Polish team in this game.

He has a perfect opportunity!

As long as this ball can be scored!

Lasky's gaze was fixed on the football, and the goalkeeper had raised his hand to surrender, but if the football fell into the goal frame...

But he saw the football hit the top of the crossbar, and then popped out of the bottom line!

"Oops!" The Chinese commentator yelled regretfully. "Laski missed the chance to tie Mexico! This is Poland's last chance to attack in this game! What a pity! What a pity!"

Watching the football fall beyond the bottom line, Laski's legs gave way and he knelt down in front of the door. He then held his head in his hands and sighed.

At this moment, the referee also blew the whistle for the end of the game.

"The game is over! Mexico defeated Poland 2:1! Laski almost became a Polish hero at the last moment! Unfortunately, although his header bypassed the goalkeeper, it was rejected by the crossbar!'China Cup' The first semi-final is over, congratulations to Mexico for qualifying for the final..."

In the TV broadcast, Lasky looked very regretful and frustrated.

"Before the game, Lasky said that he and Hu Lai agreed to meet in the final. Now he bids farewell to the final first. I have to say that this is indeed a very regrettable thing... But in fact, Lasky doesn't have to So disappointed, he scored the only goal of the Polish team in the game, he played very tenaciously and well..."

The commentator said it well, Lasky's performance in this game is actually very good.

In addition to that goal, he had several shots that fully tested Mexico's goalkeeper Salvador Manriquez.

The last offensive opportunity was instigated by him after he suddenly went up in the midfield, and in the end he ran to the back point to hit the football.

Although they didn't score, the Polish team wouldn't even have this attack without Laski.

Helplessly, in terms of overall strength, Mexico, which was in the top 16 of the last World Cup, is indeed better.

Mexican goalkeeper Manriquez was not in a hurry to celebrate with his teammates, but first pulled up Laski who was kneeling in front of his door, and he stretched out his hand to pat the latter's shoulder and face to comfort him. But Laski remained sullen.

It wasn't until he was interviewed on the sidelines that he somewhat recovered from the frustration.

"Sorry, I failed to keep my promise, Hu." He shook his head at the camera lens. "I wish you good luck and hope you can reach the finals. It's up to you!"

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"Let's see my son next!"

Xie Lan stood in the stands of the Provincial Sports Center, took a photo of the stadium, and then sent it to Moments with such a text.

She had just followed the school bus of her husband's school to the game site.

There are about forty minutes left before the semi-final between the Chinese team and the South African team.

The stands are already full of people, almost "full seat".

This is in contrast to the last match between Poland and Mexico.

Although Mexico was one of the top sixteen teams in the last World Cup and a traditionally strong team in Central and North America, in terms of influence in China, it is definitely far inferior to the host Chinese team.

That game was not scheduled to be held at the Provincial Sports Center, but at the stadium in Liucheng District, west of Jincheng. The game time is also in the afternoon, and the game time between the Chinese team and the South African team is the prime time at 8 o'clock in the evening.

The fans who went to the Poland-Mexico game didn't even fill the stadium when the game started.

In the end, according to the statistics of the stadium, the attendance of that game was 27,000 people.

Even before the match between China and South Africa started, the seats were already full—the capacity of the Provincial Sports Center was 60,000.

The defeat of the Chinese team in the Asian Cup did not affect the enthusiasm of the majority of Chinese fans.

Not long after Xie Lan finished posting on Moments, someone replied: "Little sister, are you here too?"

It's her big brother.

"Yes, I came with the team organized by Lao Hu School. Are you there?"

"We stand across from you."

Xie Lan looked up, and there were so many Chinese fans in red clothes that he couldn't tell where his eldest brother was.

But anyway, it must be in the crowd.

She lowered her head and replied on the phone: "Where's Dad?"

"Dad is watching at home, and Mom won't let him come to the scene."

Seeing this sentence, Xie Lan laughed.

Dad's body is really not suitable for watching the game... But Dad will definitely have to chatter with Mom, and then lose the battle.

After settling the children down with the school teacher, Hu Lixin turned his head and saw Xie Lan smiling with his mobile phone, so he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, even my elder brother came to watch the game..." Xie Lan showed her mobile phone to her husband.

Behind them, the children standing in their respective positions are chattering and discussing:

"I guess we can win this game!"

"Oh, your guess is too simple, isn't it?"

"Guess the score! Guess the score! I'll come first, 3:0! The Chinese team wins!"

"Then I guess 4:0!"

"I think 2:0 is fine..."

"No matter how many you guess, I think Hu Lai will definitely score!"

"Hey! You're flattering him in front of our coach!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The little ones laughed.

Hearing this conversation, Xie Lan smiled first and looked at her husband at the same time.

Hu Lixin, who was originally stern and serious, gradually laughed under his wife's gaze.

※※※

"We have been training intensively for the past few days, and I know you will be a little tired. But I believe that after you step on the court, you will find that the training for the past few days is effective. This game will be a very good one. This is a good opportunity to test the effect of our training these days."

Jorge Dillon is in the locker room giving his first pep talk to the Chinese players.

"I've always told you to think of yourself as a strong team. Not only tactically, but also psychologically. No matter what problems you encounter on the court, don't panic. After all, you have participated in the World Cup. And this South African national team has not participated in the World Cup yet. This is your home field again, and you must believe from the bottom of your heart that you can beat your opponent!"

"If you have a chance, take a risk. If you don't have a chance, keep the ball. Keep your formation intact, your head clear. Dare to make moves, dare to imagine."

"The most important thing is to be bold and have confidence! Whether it is South Africa or Mexico, they are just opponents, and we are also their opponents. They will also be afraid of us, because we are really strong!"

Dillon repeatedly emphasized "we are very strong" in order to instill confidence in the players of the Chinese team.

In his opinion, this is more important than any technique and tactics, and it is the basis of all performances.

He believes that Chinese players lack confidence, and he doesn't know whether it is influenced by the traditional virtue of modesty, or because they have been cooking for too many years and dare not have confidence. After all, confidence with strength is called self-confidence, and confidence without strength is called arrogance.

Although there is an outstanding performance in the World Cup, Chinese players think that it is a special case under special circumstances and cannot be used as a reference.

During the World Cup, it can be said that they did their best to achieve such results.

Let them reproduce again, they themselves think it is impossible...

Players without confidence dare not make moves or make decisions on the court, let alone take risks when making decisions. You can only follow the rules, how can you win?

Dillon wants to change the Chinese team in all aspects in terms of techniques, tactics and mentality.

And all the changes start from this first game!

"Starting from today, it is a new life for Chinese football. A brand new national team will be displayed in front of the eyes of the world. From today, we are officially embarking on the road to the 2030 World Cup!"

Yu Jintao passionately translated Dillon's words and said them aloud to the international players in the locker room.

According to common sense, the road to the 2030 World Cup should start with the top 40 qualifiers, but it is actually true. Because the goal of this brand new Chinese team gathered here was originally to be able to participate in the World Cup three years later.