Midfielder Ruler

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The first exchange between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo was in the pre-match ceremony after the national anthem. The captains of both teams went to the Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci to guess the ball. However, the exchange between the two was very routine and they nodded politely. and shaking hands.

Not long after, the fanatical atmosphere at Fisht Olympic Stadium was reduced to a minimum, and fans from both sides held their breath, waiting for the referee's opening whistle.

There were ten seconds left before the start of the game. The fans in the stands turned up the volume as the countdown Arabic numerals displayed on the large LCD screen erected at the scene.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

As the fans counted down to the Arabic numerals 1'1', the referee Sandro Ricci blew his long whistle: "Beep~"

Cristiano Ronaldo kicked the football to Moutinho who was outside the center circle. At the same time, CCTV 5 commentator He Wei habitually said the opening remarks: "CCTV, CCTV! Now broadcast for you. The game is a live broadcast of the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia between the Chinese team and the Portuguese team! The Portuguese team wearing red jerseys and red pants is the first to kick off. They start from the left side of the broadcast screen. Attack sideways to the right..."

The quarter-finals between China and Portugal are the last quarter-finals of this World Cup. The winner will go to Moscow to challenge England at the Luzhniki Stadium.

The knockout round itself is a game that no one can afford to lose, because the event reaches the quarter-finals and even the semi-finals. Elimination means elimination. If you want to participate in the World Cup again, you have to wait four years.

Professional players themselves live on youth, and no one knows what will happen in four years, especially for those players who are entering their thirties.

Even if you can participate in the World Cup again in four years, can you still enter the quarterfinals?

So professional players all know to live in the moment and seize the day.

You can't predict what will happen in the future, so you can only do your best in the current game.

Closer to home, the Portuguese and Chinese teams in this World Cup played defensively and counterattacked, so the beginning was very boring. No matter who was leading the game, it seemed very awkward, because the playing style has already taken shape, and temporary changes are accompanied by high risks. Neither Santos nor Lippi dared to take risks.

In the blink of an eye, five minutes into the game, both sides were focused on the midfield battle, so not a single shot occurred.

The direct confrontation between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo that media reporters and fans wanted to see happened once. However, it was a pity that the 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo did not break through in the face of Tang Zheng's help. Quickly handed it to teammate Moutinho and then ran towards the penalty area.

Many commentators expressed support for Cristiano Ronaldo's choice, because Cristiano Ronaldo's current ability is more reflected in his sense of smell in front of the goal and his role as a terminator, and at the age of 33, his explosive power is not as good as before. Tang Zheng, who is hot and at the peak of his career, trying to break through is the stupidest way.

In addition, the World Cup is different from the league and the Champions League.

Every player with a sense of national honor will put the interests of the country first and will not be emotional at all, especially a player like Cristiano Ronaldo who has experienced countless big scenes.

Besides, defeating Tang Zheng doesn't require a breakthrough, he needs to help the team score!

However, the Chinese team defended very well and did not give Portugal too many offensive opportunities.

The Chinese team poses a great threat to Portuguese left back Guerrero on the wing. Lu Liang, who previously played for Dortmund, switched positions with Wu Sanshi. He knows the technical characteristics of his former teammate very well.

It is a pity that the quality of Lu Liang's cross after the breakthrough was not good. In addition, Fonte and Pepe controlled Sun Jingbo in the penalty area well and successfully cleared the ball.

Five more minutes passed before Portugal took the lead with a shot.

Cristiano Ronaldo received Moutinho's 45-degree cross from the right in the penalty area and completed a header, but he was unable to overcome the joint defense of Feng Xiaoting and Gao Zhunyi, and the football was blocked by the goalkeeper. Yan Junling confiscated it easily.

※※※

"Ouch, ouch, ouch -"

Although the match between the Chinese team and the Portuguese team was relatively dull, the fans on both sides of the match were enthusiastic and created waves of loud cheers.

The fans were very excited, and the players in the stadium seemed to be affected. The originally relatively stalemate scene became heated.

When Hao Junmin turned around to meet the ball, João Mario made a very big move from the side and rear, and shoveled Hao Junmin into the air.

"Uuuuuu——"

Immediately, Fisht Olympic Stadium burst into deafening boos from Chinese fans.

Tang Zheng, Li Kui and Lu Liang, who were not far from the incident, immediately went up to question Joao Mario for the foul. Fortunately, the referee on duty, Sandro Ricci, was very good and put himself on Joao Mario's side. In front of Ang Mario, he drove away the Chinese players who were trying to find an explanation.

As the captain, Tang Zheng also realized something, turned around and pushed his teammates back, and then complained to the referee Sandro Ricci about Joao Mario's big move.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo knew he had to say something and walked up to the referee to help his teammates plead for mercy.

Referee Sandro Ricci looked at the two people talking to each other. He first waved to his Chinese teammates to indicate that they could enter the field for treatment, and at the same time smiled and nodded lightly.

However, he had no intention of letting Joao Mario go. The rhythm of the previous game was very stable, and suddenly becoming heated was not what he wanted to see, so he punished him severely when the movements became larger.

In the helpless look of Cristiano Ronaldo, the referee Sandro Ricci took out a yellow card towards Joao Mario.

According to the slow-motion replay, Joao Mario's action was indeed very big and fully worthy of a yellow card. In addition, it caused dissatisfaction among Chinese players and fans, and the referee Sandro Ricci had no problem giving a yellow card.

However, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo did not communicate directly, which disappointed many people.

Joao Mario's yellow card was very timely, and the referee Sandro Ricci suppressed the excitement of the players on both sides.

Central 5 commentator He Wei is very satisfied with the approach of referee Sandro Ricci: "If the referee Sandro Ricci did not give Joao Mario a yellow card, it is likely to cause an imbalance in the mentality of the Chinese players. Since The referee Sandro Ricci tacitly accepted Joao Mario’s big move as a routine move, and the Chinese players can do the same. When the time comes, favoring one over the other will cause huge problems and will seriously affect the quality of the game..."

When the game reached the 16th minute, the first confrontation between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo occurred.

Cristiano Ronaldo received a pass from William Carvalho on the left and cut inside laterally. His change of rhythm shook Zhang Linpeng and Li Kui away, and he swung his right foot 26 meters away from the goal.

Tang Zheng, who has a strong ability to read the game, was very timely in his defense. The moment Cristiano Ronaldo took off his foot, the ball bounced off his right thigh.

"Oh oh oh oh--"

Accompanied by huge exclamations from the Chinese fans, William Carvalho passed the ball directly to the left back Guerrero without stopping. The latter passed the ball too far and was cleared by Zhang Linpeng who returned to the right side to defend.

The Chinese team responded two minutes later. Tang Zheng intercepted William Carvalho's pass to Bernardo Silva and passed it directly to Lu Liang on the left.

Lu Liang dribbled the ball and ran wildly along the left sideline. Facing the defense of Guerrero and Pepe, he chose to go inside. Then he took a long shot from the left side of the penalty area, forcing goalkeeper Patricio to make a key save. .

"Ouch, ouch, ouch—"

The frenzied atmosphere at Fisht Olympic Stadium was palpable.

Because...the Chinese team got the first corner kick of this game!

Fans who are familiar with the Chinese team know that corner kicks are an important scoring method for the Chinese team.

As the captain, Tang Zheng has an unparalleled ability to score headers. Tang Zheng has helped the Chinese team score an astonishing six goals in the past four games and is tied for the top scorer list with Harry Kane. In a rare corner kick Given the opportunity, it is very possible to create a threat and even score a goal!

The Chinese team won a corner kick, and Portuguese head coach Santos seemed very nervous. He stood on the sidelines and kept giving instructions, indicating that the team should focus on Tang Zheng.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe were responsible for marking Tang Zheng, and the commentators in the on-site commentary box gradually became excited.

During the defense process, it is normal to pull the jersey, and Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe cooperate very well. Pepe defended Tang Zheng head-on while also blocking the referee Sandro Ricci's line of sight. Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldo reached out and grabbed Tang Zheng's jersey.

Naturally, Tang Zheng didn't want to suffer a loss, so he waved his hand and hit Cristiano Ronaldo's right hand that was grabbing the jersey.

Cristiano Ronaldo obviously did not expect that Tang Zheng would be like this and did not react. As a former Real Madrid teammate, Pepe couldn't stand it and took the initiative to help Cristiano Ronaldo and questioned Tang Zheng emotionally.

Tang Zheng didn't know Peipei's true intention. He raised his hands and showed a harmless smile.

When the Chinese players in the penalty area saw Pepe causing trouble for captain Tang Zheng, they immediately went to defend Tang Zheng.

"Beep~"

At this time, referee Sandro Ricci decisively blew his whistle and ran to the location of the incident.

Although Sandro Ricci did not see Tang Zheng slap Cristiano Ronaldo, he can guess based on her many years of coaching experience, and he can also communicate with the video referee through the headset.

Therefore, the referee Sandro Lippi raised his finger at Tang Zheng and Pepe, called to a relatively empty place, and established his authority as the referee. ,

The scene when Tang Zheng hit Cristiano Ronaldo with his palm was captured on the broadcast. British Sky TV commentator Andy Gray said with a smile: "Tang's blow was really cruel, and Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't react in time. But I have to say that Tang has a lot of experience in the game and remained calm in the face of Pepe's provocation."

"Haha~" Martin Taylor held his stomach and laughed: "Cristiano Ronaldo is really wronged, old man, look... he's stunned."

Central 5 commentator He Wei did not laugh, but also gave a wonderful comment: "Who would have thought that the first contact between Tang Zheng and Ronaldo would start in this way? I don't know if the fans in front of the TV have thought that I am did not think of."

Cristiano Ronaldo saw Tang Zheng being very well-behaved in front of the referee, and felt very unhappy. The slap he received from Tang Zheng just now was really cruel, and he still feels a faint pain.

Not long after, Hao Junmin took a corner kick on the right side of the attack. Tang Zheng did not fully take off under the double pressure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe. The football missed and was pushed out of the penalty area by Guedes.

Although it was Guedes who made the save, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe contributed a lot. It was their efforts that prevented Tang Zheng from grabbing the spot. Therefore, Portuguese national TV commentator Fernandez was full of passion: "The despicable move again How about it? Beautiful defense! Cristiano Ronaldo defended Don perfectly! Saved the game!"

In the 30th minute, the Portuguese team also received a corner kick. Tang Zheng, the Chinese team's best heading player, naturally shouldered the important task of defending Cristiano Ronaldo.

The on-site director directly gave a close-up shot of Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo. The fans sitting in front of the TV could clearly see the two people constantly pulling each other. Maybe the referee Sandro Ricci couldn't stand it anymore. He He blew the whistle in his mouth and called Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo to the open space alone to give them a lesson.

Everyone is a veteran in football, and they are like primary school students in front of the referee. When they entered the penalty area to compete for the top, the two of them kept making small moves, but the referee Sandro Ricci did not blow the whistle again this time.

It is normal for small movements in the penalty area to occur endlessly. As long as it is not a particularly big movement, the referee can turn a blind eye.

Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo have been teammates in Real Madrid for three seasons, and they know each other's characteristics very well. Although Moutinho's free kick placement is very good, Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo did not succeed under the interference of the other party. Being able to take off completely, Sun Jingbo, who was defending behind him, pushed the ball out of the baseline just to be on the safe side.

Moutinho took another corner kick, but this time Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo also missed it. Fonte hit the ball, but he failed to find the crossbar and the ball went over the crossbar.

The confrontation between Tang Zheng and Cristiano Ronaldo was not limited to this, and they met again in the subsequent game time.

The Chinese team organized an attack, and Tang Zheng stepped in to participate in the attack. As he was about to take a shot, he was kicked to the ground from behind by Cristiano Ronaldo, and referee Sandro Ricci's whistle also sounded.

Tang Zheng spread his hands and looked at Cristiano Ronaldo, but Cristiano Ronaldo didn't say anything, which was helpless.

Cristiano Ronaldo noticed Tang Zheng's helplessness and smiled inwardly.

Let you hit me with your palm, hum!

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