Li Qingqing bent down to pick up the football, took two steps forward, and came to the penalty spot. Then she leaned down again and placed the football on the white penalty spot.
As she did so, the stands at Sequoia Sports Park were particularly quiet.
Whether they were Chinese or French fans, or neutral fans, they were all quietly watching the figure placing the football on the field.
In a certain area of the stands, the players of the Chinese Olympic team all stood still and looked at the field with breathless concentration.
No one spoke.
A close-up shot was shown on the big screen at the scene, in which the football was gently placed on the turf by Li Qingqing's hand.
Some people turned to look at the big screen, wanting to see if Li Qingqing had placed the ball well.
For penalty kicks, the quality of the football placement can really determine the final result of the penalty kick. Otherwise, why would so many professional players place the football carefully and carefully for a long time when taking penalty kicks?
Hu Lai was also watching the big screen, but his attention was not on football, but on Li Qingqing's wrist.
There, there was a rope bracelet of the same style as on his wrist...
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Behind Li Qingqing, the players of the Chinese and French teams were standing on the center line, standing in a row with each other, holding each other's shoulders around their teammates. Some looked at the back in the penalty area with serious and nervous expressions, while some lowered their heads and muttered,
Others simply turned their backs.
France's forward Lilith Raza was the one who turned her back.
Under such circumstances, the commentator He Feng could not help but lower his voice, as if he was afraid that his voice in the commentary box would disturb the players on the field:
"...The penalty shootout finally came to the last round. Li Qingqing played for the Chinese team. Since French forward Lilith Lazar missed the penalty before, the score of the penalty shootout was 4:4... As long as Li Qingqing
If we can kick this penalty kick in, the Chinese women's football girls will reach the Olympic finals..."
It was clear that what he was talking about was a very exciting thing, but He Feng did not dare to raise his voice.
The TV screen showed the penalty kick situation between the two sides: the French team, which kicked first, had taken all five rounds of penalty kicks. Because Lilith Lazar missed the penalty kick in the third round, the French team now has four points.
On the Chinese team's side, Li Qingqing, who was the last to take the penalty, had not yet kicked it. He scored all the first four penalty kicks, which was also four points.
With the score 4:4, as long as Li Qingqing scores a goal, he can defeat the French team with a score of 5:4 and reach the Olympic finals.
But this also means that a huge burden falls on the shoulders of Li Qingqing alone.
Why did everyone like to put players with outstanding penalty kick ability in the fifth position in the past? This is to ensure that the ball can be kicked in at this time, rather than being forced by pressure and missing opportunities.
If Li Qingqing cannot take this penalty kick, the French team will come back to life, but the morale of the Chinese team will be a heavy blow, and it will also bring great psychological pressure to the Chinese team's free throw players who will appear next. It is equivalent to
Throwing the responsibilities that originally belonged to you onto your teammates...
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Xie Lan and Hu Lixin accompanied Li Ziqiang to watch the women's football semifinals.
During the competition, Xie Lan has been very active.
But seeing this scene, she also calmed down.
He put his hands together in front of his mouth, gritted his teeth and stared at the TV screen, his body trembling slightly.
Inside, Li Qingqing had already laid out the football and was standing up to retreat.
She only took two steps back and then stopped.
Then her beautiful face appeared in a close-up on the television broadcast.
Because she had played for a full 120 minutes, her face was rosy and her hair was wet with sweat and stuck to her forehead and cheeks.
She raised her hand to push away the hair on her forehead near the corner of her eyes, then turned her head slightly and looked at the referee, waiting for the signal.
The referee blew the whistle.
Li Qingqing leaned forward and started running!
"Look at Li Qingqing..."
She rushed behind the football in two steps, then raised her right leg, straightened her instep, pointed her toes down, and hit the football firmly!
Bang!
A muffled sound stood out in the quiet stadium, which also showed how powerful this shot was...
The football flew toward the goal like a cannonball!
The French team's goalkeeper jumped out and she made the right decision!
But this is meaningless... because Li Qingqing shot the football too fast. Even if she judged the direction correctly, she could not stop the ball!
The football hit the crossbar of the goal before she could pounce on it... the lower edge!
Then it bounced down, bounced up into the sky, and was stopped by the net at the top of the goal. Then it lost all its strength and fell down into the goal.
"The ball...the ball is scored!! Beautiful!! Chinese team! Chinese team won! Chinese team reached the Olympic finals! This is the second time that the Chinese women's football team has reached the Olympic Games after 32 years since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The final! Coincidentally, the Olympic Games 32 years ago were also held in the United States!"
Xie Lan jumped up from the sofa in front of the TV, screamed and clapped her hands, and then hugged her husband Hu Lixin beside her.
Li Ziqiang, who was next to him, let out a long breath. He tried to stay calm just now and almost didn't stop.
"The game is over! In the 120-minute match, the Chinese women's football team and the French team tied 1:1... The two sides had to conduct a penalty shootout. In the last round of the penalty shootout, Li Qingqing withstood the pressure and played Score the last goal! Let the Chinese team successfully enter the final! In the final, the Chinese women's football team will face its old rival, the host U.S. women's football team! They will compete for an Olympic gold medal!"
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When the Chinese Olympic team players in the stands saw the football flying into the goal, they all raised their arms and shouted:
"sharp!"
"pretty!"
"Li Qingqing is so handsome!"
Hu Lai was also among the cheering crowd, but what he shouted was: "Qingqing is awesome!"
None of the Olympic team players next to him dared to shout like this, only him...
And even though he shouted, no one dared to stop him, saying, "It's not polite to say 'awesome' to a girl." Who has the qualifications to educate a couple on how to get along with each other?
In addition to them, cheers also erupted from other places in the stands.
Los Angeles is the city with the largest number of Chinese in the United States. About two-thirds of the fans present at this women's football match support the Chinese team. For the Chinese women's football team, it can be said to be the complete home court.
Amidst the cheers, Li Qingqing turned around, opened her arms and ran towards her teammates.
When they hugged each other, the French female football players far away felt sad.
Especially Lilith Lazar, who missed the penalty kick, was lying on the ground with her hands covering her face, crying so hard that no one could pull her up.
In the end, two teammates and the captain pulled her up from the ground.
She still cried bitterly and deeply blamed herself for her performance.
It wasn't until Li Qingqing came over to hug her friend from when she was playing football at Eger in Paris, and held her in his arms to comfort her for a long time, that Lilith gradually stopped crying.
Finally, she held Li Qingqing's face, their foreheads touching each other, and whispered something.
It took a long time for the two to separate.
Li Qingqing continued to celebrate with her teammates, while Lilith followed her teammates to thank the French fans who came from afar to support them.
The two friends left with their backs to each other.
Lilith was still wiping tears with the back of her hand, while Li Qingqing had already run towards his teammates.
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The Chinese team soon gathered to thank the fans.
When they walked to the stand area where the Chinese Olympic team was, they saw the boys from the Olympic team and waved to greet them.
The Olympic players in the stands also waved back.
They applauded and gave thumbs up to the female football players.
This scene was captured on live broadcast.
Moreover, the TV broadcast clearly gave a close-up shot of Li Qingqing of the women's football team and Hu Lai of the Olympic team.
In front of the TV, Xie Lan smiled broadly and slapped her harder.
Li Ziqiang forced a smile.
Some things are no longer controlled by his will...
During the TV broadcast, the commentator He Feng was still stabbing him in the heart: "Ha! In this game, the boys from the Olympic team also came to the scene to cheer for the girls of the women's football team! This is a very normal thing. But.
For Hu Lai, I'm afraid it's not just as simple as coming to cheer for the women's football team..."
Yan Kang laughed at the side and said: "The director even cut to the faces of two people to see their smiles... Although everyone around them is obviously smiling, why do they think their smiles are different from others? Haha.
!”
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Hu Lai's eyes fell on Li Qingqing.
Li Qingqing's eyes also fell on Hu Lai.
Then Li Qingqing stopped applauding, put down her left arm, leaving only her right arm raised, curled up her four fingers, leaving only her little finger, and slightly bent it, making a "hooking" motion.
After Hu Lai in the stands saw her move, he also raised his hand and responded to Li Qingqing with a "hooking" gesture.
This is an agreement between the two of them, made before this semi-final.
Li Qingqing will work hard to help the team reach the finals, and if she achieves this goal, Hu Lai must also reach the finals.
Li Qingqing used this little move to tell Hu Lai:
I've fulfilled my promise first, now it's your turn!