The fierce match continued until the 75th minute.
The physical fitness of both players has reached a bottleneck.
Two consecutive games within four days, while traveling halfway around the world, were a severe test for the physical fitness of the players on both teams.
Especially the Chinese team, they flew from China to Paraguay before this game, and their journey was almost twice as long as their opponents.
Although Shi Wuyin made some adjustments to the starting lineup in the second round, it could not completely solve the physical problem.
On the other hand, Hulay, who flew from the UK to Paraguay and then from Paraguay to China with the team, performed well physically. Originally, the most worrying thing was his physical fitness, but now it seems that there is no big problem.
People have to lament that playing in the Premier League is really a workout. Hu Lai's physical strength has improved further than before.
In short, Hu Lai's benefits of studying abroad to play football are reflected in almost every aspect.
It also made both the Chinese team players who played alongside him and the young Chinese players watching the game in front of the TV more eager to go abroad and play football in Europe.
"I want to go to Europe to play football too!" Zhou Zijing said to himself among his Olympic teammates watching the game together, staring at the TV screen with burning eyes.
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As the physical fitness of the players on both sides declined, Paraguay coach Arturo began to consider changing tactics.
The score has not changed now. The Chinese team leads Paraguay 1:0 at home, but the total score is Paraguay leading 3:2.
In other words, as long as Paraguay can hold on to this score, they will eliminate the Chinese team and return to the World Cup finals after 20 years.
So is it necessary for Paraguay to continue attacking and pursuing goals?
At present, the young goalkeeper of the Chinese team is obviously in very good condition. Neither Sosa nor Ramirez, nor anyone else, can break through the gate he is guarding.
Anyway, Paraguay has worked hard so far and even missed a penalty kick.
Previously, Arturo planned to let Paraguay score an away goal. Now it seems that continuing to pursue away goals may be a big risk.
So he decided to change his strategy and goals and defend the one-goal lead to end the game.
Judging from the first round of the game, when Paraguay was fully defensive, the defense line led by Arce was completely able to withstand the Chinese team's attack.
Anyway, we only need to hold on for fifteen minutes, and the Chinese team also has physical problems.
Thinking of this, he immediately used hand gestures and whistles to convey his adjustment instructions to the players on the sidelines:
Reclaim the defense!
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"Paraguay actually retracted... Damn it!"
"It's normal. They only need to hold on to this score to go to the World Cup. If they don't take it back at this time, are they still pressing forward and waiting for us to counterattack?"
"Come on Hu Lai! Come on Luo Kai! Come on Chen Xingyi and Zhang Qinghuan! Just score one more goal!"
"Arce is really strong, and it is not easy for Hu Lai to break through his defense... Although the Chinese team is already very good at this level, I still feel unwilling..."
…
As Paraguay changed its tactics, many Chinese fans commented on the Internet, expressing concern for the Chinese team.
There are only ten minutes left before the end of the game. Can the Chinese team score a goal in the remaining time?
At present, it cannot be said that there is no chance at all, but the probability is not high.
Moreover, they also have to worry that after the Chinese team presses hard, Paraguay will take the opportunity to sneak attack, and then they will be sent home directly...
Paraguay's forward Ramirez is fast and a good counterattacker. So they do have the ability to sneak attack the Chinese team.
This is what makes the Chinese team particularly uncomfortable.
But the entire Chinese team, including Shi Wuyin, was not qualified to choose whether to attack or not.
They have no other choice but to attack.
So we must attack, we can only attack!
Shi Wuyin stood on the sidelines, waving his arms to let the Chinese team press forward.
Even if the opponent's head coach will see through the tactical intentions, it doesn't matter, because this is not a secret in the first place...
In this way, with a somewhat tragic flavor, the Chinese team persisted in launching attacks on Paraguay's goal despite physical problems.
"Hulay! He took the shot before Arce! Unfortunately, due to Arce's interference, he still kicked the football wide..."
"Julay collided with Arce in the penalty area. Neither side hit the ball. The ball was intercepted by Paraguay goalkeeper Almiron who came out!"
"Zhang Qinghuan cums! Oh! It's a little bigger!"
…
Although Chinese fans cheered for the Chinese team's offense in the stands, the Chinese team's offense still failed to score a goal.
At the same time, the game time is still passing ruthlessly minute by minute.
The Chinese fans at the scene kept looking at the big screen to see how many minutes were left in the game.
The game has reached the 85th minute, and there are only five minutes left before the end of the regular 90-minute game.
A goal in five minutes...
No matter how you look at it, there is little hope.
But the Chinese fans in the stands did not shut up because of this. As long as the Chinese team gets the ball, they will shout as always.
At the same time, if the Paraguayan players take the ball, there will be boos - this is not just a simple attempt to put pressure on the Paraguayan players, but a real expression of dissatisfaction with the Paraguayan players.
Seeing that there was not much time left in the game, Paraguayan players began to fall frequently on the court, delaying time and cutting the game into pieces, frequently interrupting the Chinese team's offensive rhythm.
The Chinese fans were very dissatisfied with their approach, but they could not jump into the stadium and beat up the Paraguayan players. They could only express their anger by booing in the stands.
Paraguay's players are all old-timers, and they turned a deaf ear to the boos in the stands, which did not affect them at all.
Kick as you should.
They even took advantage of the Chinese team's aggressive attack to launch a counterattack, and Sosa finally completed the shot.
This time, Lin Zhiyuan didn't have any convulsions and his performance was very stable. He flew sideways and knocked the football out of the baseline.
"Lin Zhiyuan made a wonderful save. His outstanding performance may be the greatest confidence that the Chinese team can continue to attack..."
Paraguay's players all ran across the half-court to participate in the corner kick attack.
For Paraguay, which has shrunk its defense, their hopes of scoring goals now basically rely on counterattacks and set-pieces in the frontcourt.
Arce, as the captain of the team and a central defender with excellent headers, also pressed in front of the Chinese team's goal.
Although the game will end in a few minutes, if the final decision can be made in this corner kick attack, then the team will not have to suffer in the last few minutes. After all, no one knows what will happen in the last moments of the game...
…
Likewise, the Chinese team is facing a formidable enemy.
Everyone returned to defend inside and outside the penalty area.
Jule, the center, was no exception. He stood at the top of the penalty arc and helped pester a Paraguayan player.
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Amid boos, Paraguay took a corner kick.
The football flew high to the goal of the Chinese team, where Arce and Yao Huasheng were entangled, trying to jump for the top.
"My——!" shouted loudly, and beside them, Lin Zhiyuan jumped up as if out of nowhere, swung out a single fist, and hit the ball!
The football then flew diagonally outside the penalty area.
There is Chen Xingyi there!
But at the same time, Paraguay's left back Juan Balbuena quickly came up from behind, intending to steal or interfere with Chen Xingyi getting the ball.
If Chen Xingyi doesn't handle it well, the ball may be intercepted by Balbuena and launch a second attack.
At this critical moment, Chen Xingyi caught a glimpse of a person coming out of the door and running towards him!
He didn't have time to see clearly who it was, he only knew it was a teammate wearing the same red shirt as himself, so he jumped up and nodded the football with his head.
"Wang Guangwei!" He Feng shouted.
The person who ran out to meet Chen Xingyi turned out to be Wang Guangwei, who was supposed to be fighting for the top spot in front of the goal!
Wang Guangwei raised his foot and pushed the football forward from Chen Xingyi!
Balbuena, who originally wanted to defend Chen Xingyi, suddenly changed his goal and pounced on Wang Guangwei.
The Chinese team's central defender actually pressed out of the penalty area. If he could snatch the ball here, wouldn't it mean that the Chinese team would be missing an important defensive player in front of the goal?!
Thinking of this, his eyes got hot...
Wang Guangwei took a step forward, and when Balbuena pounced on him, he used his long legs to lift the football in the air to the right!
The football flew over Balbuena's head and passed to Chen Xingyi who had already turned around and pushed forward!
The Chinese fans in the stands cheered, and the commentator He Feng shouted in the loud cheers: "The Chinese team's counterattack!!"
Balbuena turned around and found Chen Xingyi holding the ball, and quickly turned around to intercept.
However, Chen Xingyi used his right foot to dunk the football into the middle and missed the opponent!
Wang Guangwei did not stop after passing the ball, but accelerated forward. When Chen Xingyi dunked towards the middle, he decisively accelerated and made an diagonal pass to the left.
Not only him, but all the players of the Chinese team rushed out of their penalty area and quickly passed through the midfield!
At the last moment of the game, the Chinese team, which was supposed to be unable to run, had many players rushing to the front, leaving the Paraguayan team behind!
After Chen Xingyi spiked the ball to the center, he did not continue to dribble the ball, but looked up at the situation in front of him on the right.
He found that Hu Lai was rushing at the front and had just crossed the center line. Lou Jiarong was slower behind him and had not yet entered the center circle.
A little further away, Zhang Qinghuan was also gritting his teeth and running, and there was a tendency to move closer to the middle.
Chen Xingyi passed the football diagonally to Zhang Qinghuan in the distance.
Hulay had already run into the middle of the two Paraguayan players who were rushing back to defend. In front of them was the endless "prairie".
He turned around and saw Brother Huan catching the ball, and immediately made a gesture asking Brother Huan to pass the ball to him.
Seeing this, Paraguay midfielder Alejandro Gonzalez, who was defending in the middle, quickly accelerated towards Jule, and at the same time returned to defend another Paraguayan player in the ribs, their right back Dario Se
Govia also moved to the center, preparing to guard the Chinese team's most threatening player.
Seeing this, Zhang Qinghuan, who had already taken two steps forward, decisively gave the football to Luo Kai, who was approaching the ribs from the left!
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When Luo Kai caught the ball, the Chinese team had already pushed the football to Paraguay's 30-meter zone!
The speed is eye-popping!
It is hard to imagine that this is a collective charge launched by a team that does not have an advantage in physical fitness!
If there were any Chinese fans in the stands who were sitting and watching the game, they all stood up now, leaned forward, cheered, and stared at the football field below without blinking.
No...not just in the stands.
In the living rooms of countless families, in countless bars, teahouses, restaurants, food stalls, and city squares... wherever the live broadcast signal can be received, no one can sit and watch the football at this moment.
Got it!
Billions of faces stared at the gleaming screens. They opened their mouths and forgot to make a sound. They even maintained the same posture as before, motionless as if someone had cast a spell and turned into statues.
There were only live shouts and commentary coming from the speakers: "Zhang Qinghuan made a direct pass! Good shot, Luo Kai——"
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Zhang Qinghuan's pass was advanced and did not pass directly to Luo Kai's feet, but in front of the latter. This allowed Luo Kai to directly catch up with the football and enter the penalty area without slowing down.
Luo Kai did indeed do this. When he caught up with the football, he had already entered the penalty area!
Then...he neither stopped the ball nor cut inside, but raised his left foot and swept the football away!
When Hu Lai saw the football being passed to Luo Kai, he was afraid that he was offside, so he lightly stepped on the brake before entering the penalty area.
So he couldn't keep up with Luo Kai's cross kick.
Luo Kai didn't pass it on to him either.
The football passed near the penalty spot and went straight to the back post. There was...
"Wang Guangwei!"
He Feng roared loudly.
The person who appeared in the back of the Paraguay penalty area was none other than the Chinese team’s center back Wang Guangwei!
He started running wildly from the corner kick. Most of the time, no one looked at him. It wasn't until the football was passed by Luo Kai that many people were shocked to find that a central defender had already reached the Paraguay goal!
And undefended!
Paraguay goalkeeper Almiron followed the football and rushed back. He fell to the ground and rushed towards Wang Guangwei!
He wants to block Wang Guangwei's shot!
But Wang Guangwei didn't want to shoot. He stretched out his foot and passed the football from Luo Kai back to the middle!
There, Hu Lai, who had lightly applied the brakes before entering the penalty area, finally rushed over.
At this time, Alejandro Gonzalez was attracted by Wang Guangwei, and Dario Segovia went to guard Luo Kai.
So much so that there was not a single Paraguayan defensive player in front of the huge goal, and the goal in front of him was empty. Goalkeeper Almiron was lying at the feet of Wang Guangwei, looking back in horror.
There were already huge cheers from the stands of the Lotus Stadium, and they couldn't wait to rush up to the sky!
"Hulai——!!!!"
With everyone watching, Hu Lai gently raised his right foot and swept across his body.
The football was swept into the goal within easy reach by him!
"The goal is in -!!!" He Feng shouted hoarsely, "The goal is in! 3:3! The Chinese team equalized the total score, and there is an away goal advantage! We are only... a few years away from the World Cup.
Minutes! This will definitely be a goal that will go down in the history of Chinese football forever! Its value cannot be measured by money! Because it carries the expectations of 1.5 billion Chinese people!"