Before the game, Rick Link was extremely relaxed. No matter how violently he was tumbling in his heart, at least on the surface he gave the players of the Chinese national junior team a very good example. At the same time, in the pre-war encouragement, he also
Conveyed his meaning: "I told everyone during the semi-finals. We have made history, we have this strength, and we can enjoy the game. The same is true for this game. Our opponent's performance is far better
They are not as strong as Nigeria, so I believe everyone can deal with them better."
The Mali team's historical performance in the U17 World Junior Championship is very average. This is the first time they have entered the finals of the World Junior Championship. However, in last year's U17 African Cup, they won the championship after defeating South Africa 1:0.
.
In this match leading to the finals, Mali's strongest point was their defense. In terms of offense, except when they faced the North Korean team, which had a big score of 3:0, the others were 1:0, 2
:1 Such a score.
And compared to Nigeria, the Mali team relies more on the body, and their tactical arrangement can be said to be simpler - holding firmly in the backcourt, the players on the wing are faster and more physical, and the center and shadow forward grab points in the penalty area.
Compared with Nigeria's head coach Amunike, who played in Europe and was influenced by tactics in Barcelona, Mali's head coach Baye Ba started his career in Mali, and his handling of tactical details is even worse.
When the game started, the Mali team was obviously more nervous than the players of the Chinese national junior team. Everyone was entering the finals for the first time, but their players seemed to be timid and out of shape.
Only two minutes into the game, after Xiang Tiange from the right came up with an assist, a not-so-good cross was actually blocked by the opponent's defender No. 3 Bagayoko with his hand.
The referee decisively gave the Chinese national junior team a penalty kick.
Mali goalkeeper Samuel Diarra, as the Golden Glove Award winner in the history of this World Junior Championship, will face the test of Nie Jiang, who is currently the top scorer.
In the end, Nie Jiang calmly pushed into the lower left corner, and the score became 1:0. The Chinese national junior team got a dream start.
Liu Jianhong, who was in charge of the commentary, also had an unexpected look on his face: "Haha! Penalty kick, the Chinese team got such an opportunity at the beginning, this shot should come from Nie Jiang. He has now scored eight goals, which is
Osimhen, who is currently ranked first in the World Junior Championship, also has eight goals, but Nigeria has been eliminated. The third-ranked player behind is two less than Nie Jiang. If Nie Jiang scores a goal, he will be
He will surpass Osimhen and firmly hold the advantage."
"No matter what the final result of the Chinese national junior team's game is, Nie Jiang should be the top scorer." In this game, LeTV also used its strongest commentary team, Liu Jianhong and Huang Jianxiang. Huang Jianxiang also appeared this time
Very proud.
When Nie Jiang scored the ball, Liu Jianhong shouted loudly: "The ball is in, in, in. The Chinese national junior team has taken the lead, and the national junior team will be much easier in the following games."
"This national junior team is one of the few teams that can play ground ball and play very well. Being able to control the ball well is our biggest advantage." Huang Jianxiang also began to brag about his home team at this time, "At the same time, we
The counterattack is extremely threatening, as long as everyone keeps their mentality, it will be difficult for the Mali team to play."
Sure enough, the Mali team, which had planned a defensive counterattack before the game, was completely in a dilemma - they wanted to attack, but there were not many ways to attack; they were already lagging behind when they defended, and there was no point in defending.
With a big wave of head coach Baye Ba's hand, the Mali team began an all-out attack.
Since the beginning of the World Junior Championship, Mali's offense has been mainly concentrated on their left wing.
Bagayoko, who gave the Chinese national junior team a penalty kick at the beginning, and left winger Mahler are actually the most threatening side of the Mali team.
But Hajdala, their left midfielder in the middle, is more responsible for defense, so in the transition in the middle, Hajdala mostly fills in for Bagayoko. He does not have much organization and
The ability to deliver.
The Chinese national junior team also noticed this, and the right midfielder interfered with him from time to time, which caused the Mali team's attack on the left to be very awkward. Hajdala often failed to pass the ball quickly during transition, allowing
Mali's attack speed slowed down at every turn.
On the contrary, the Chinese national junior team, which had one goal in hand, played very patiently. They knew that the opponent just wanted to counterattack, and I would never take risks without a good opportunity.
The national junior team gained possession of the ball in the midfield, leaving the Mali team to rely more on constant pressing and fouling.
In the 20th minute of the first half, the Mali team organized an attack on the left. Hajdala was snatched by Yang Yilin and Zeng Wengrong. The Chinese national junior team, who stole the ball in the frontcourt, launched a sudden and fast attack.
After receiving the pass from Yang Yilin, Liu Ruofan passed the ball to Zeng Prosperity, who ran to the wing. The latter passed an inverted triangle pass on the left side of the penalty area to Nie Jiang who was pulled out of the penalty area.
Nie Jiang first made a fake shot and made a dunk, passing the central defender Fofana who came to defend. Then Nie Jiang shot a powerful shot from the penalty area and found the upper right corner of the goal.
Samuel Diarra lived up to his former Golden Glove Award title. Taking advantage of the unique explosive power and arm length of African players, he actually saved this shot that went straight into the dead center and saved it from the penalty area.
The national junior team's hope of expanding the score was dashed.
Rick Link gave encouragement on the sidelines. After applauding vigorously, he gave Nie Jiang a thumbs up. The national junior team is playing extremely easily now, and his demeanor is also very relaxed.
The head coach of the Mali team, Baye Ba, shouted angrily to the court, asking his players to strengthen their defense against Nie Jiang. Before the game, he regarded Nie Jiang as the biggest threat to the Chinese national junior team. Now
Our own players easily gave Nie Jiang a chance to shoot. This is so inappropriate.
After missing the goal, the Chinese national junior team continued its own tactics, passing the ball in the midfield. After all, this is a U17 game. It is difficult to control the mentality of young players. Hajdala was intercepted once before and almost caused a loss.
His team lost the ball and then never got the ball. He saw Zeng Prosperity commanding him in the midfield and knocked Zeng Prosperity to the ground with a brutal tackle.
The referee gave Hajdala a yellow card without thinking about this foul, and then asked the doctor of the national junior team to come in. Rick Link was also heartbroken. Nie Jiang scored more goals because he scored more goals.
He has received more attention from others, but Zeng Prosperity is the absolute core organization of this national youth team.
If Zeng Wengrong is injured, there will really be no one to take over the offensive organization of the national junior team.
Liu Jianhong was also worried and said: "Zeng Wengfeng has already scored two goals and three assists so far. He is definitely the core player of this national junior team. I hope nothing happens to him."
"If this situation continues, Zeng Fansheng will definitely be another player with an excellent future." Huang Jianxiang also nodded and said, "This is another energetic midfielder trained by the Longteng team."
Fortunately, Zeng Fansheng returned to the field quickly after being examined by the team doctor. The two commentators also breathed a sigh of relief. Rick Link also felt relieved and applauded Zeng Fansheng.
Zeng Prosperity, who returned to the court, was not affected by the violation just now. When faced with Hajdala's defense, he became even more determined.
After receiving the yellow card, Hajdala was frightened. Facing Zeng Prosperity's breakthrough, he seemed a little timid.
Seeing Zeng Wengrong's performance, Liu Jianhong also smiled: "This player's footwork is really strong. I wonder if he can develop as well as the star seniors who came out of the World Junior Championships before."
"The World Junior Championship has produced a lot of stars." Huang Jianxiang is very familiar with the history of the World Junior Championship. "Xavi and Iniesta both won the World Junior Championship and later the World Cup.
, can be said to be a star coming out of the World Junior Championships. I hope Zeng Prosperity can work hard to catch up with these players."
After seeing Hajdala's performance, the head coach of the Mali team had to make adjustments to his tactics and let the right midfielder Diakite and Hajdala switch positions.
At the same time, he asked Coita, the attacking midfielder, to help retreat and defend. Such an adjustment would only make the Mali team's offense even more weak.
In the 40th minute of the first half, the national junior team almost scored again. This time it was Shen Jun on the left. Cao Jinghao's cooperation broke through the Mali team's defense on the right. In the end, Cao Jinghao's shot once again tested the Mali team.
Muir-Diarra.
"If it weren't for the performance of the Mali goalkeeper, the national junior team would have expanded the score long ago." Liu Jianhong also said regretfully at this time, "We should strengthen our shooting here."
"It would be troublesome if a goalkeeper really gets his hands hot." Huang Jianxiang had his own opinion, "Control the ball more and attack a few times in the final stage of the game, and you will have a greater chance of scoring."
As the two of them chatted, the first half of the game slowly entered stoppage time. After the referee filled up one minute, he blew the whistle to end the first half of the game. The Chinese national junior team was relaxed
Entering the second half with a 1:0 lead.
During the halftime break, Rick Link suppressed his excitement and pretended to be relaxed to relieve the pressure on the players: "We played very well in the first half. Our advantage lies in the technology at our feet. We stick to our style of play.
They will collapse at the end of the game."
Rick Link's idea coincides with Huang Jianxiang's.
The Mali team decisively made substitution adjustments. Hajdala was replaced by Babakar. An offensive midfielder replaced a midfielder with a balanced offense and defense. This was a strong attack.
The Mali team had a very good idea, but at the beginning of the second half, they suffered another heavy blow.
Just three minutes into the second half, Mali's pass was intercepted by Liming in the penalty area, and he passed the ball to Shin Jun on the left.
Although Shen Jun is not very fast, the quick passing between him, Cao Jinghao and Zeng Prosperity made the national junior team's counterattack speed not slow at all.
Moreover, other members of the national youth team who have gradually adapted to the passing style of the Longteng players are also very impressive. Although Liu Ruofan cannot make a very beautiful offensive cooperation, his transition is still no problem. After making an offensive triangle with Cao Jinghao,
After taking over, he handed the ball to Nie Jiang.
Nie Jiang also knew that he was being closely guarded by the opponent. He did not let the ball stay at his feet for a long time. Instead, he directly played a two-on-two through ball and penetrated the Mali team. Because he was eager to attack, his position was not good.
Neat back line.
This time Liu Ruofan got a single goal.
Liu Jianhong also shouted excitedly: "Nie Jiang's pass was so decisive. After Liu Ruofan received the ball, he made a single shot. It depends on his choice. He pushed the lower left corner. Beautiful! The ball went in, went in, went in! China's national junior
The team expanded the score to 2:0, thanks to Liu Ruofan’s goal.”
"Haha! It's so beautiful." Huang Jianxiang was also so happy that he couldn't close his mouth. "Xiao Liu scored a key goal. We not only have Nie Jiang, but also a shooter like Liu Ruofan."
After scoring the goal, Liu Ruofan's hands were shaking with excitement. He turned around and rushed towards Nie Jiang. The latter's pass was so beautiful, and he did not give up because he wasted two excellent opportunities in the last game.
Doubt yourself, but give yourself trust at critical moments.
Liu Ruofan's gratitude was beyond words. He used his actions to express his gratitude by hugging Nie Jiang tightly.
Other players from the national junior team also gathered around to celebrate the goal. Mali goalkeeper Samuel Diarra depressedly kicked the ball in the goal to express his dissatisfaction.
After scoring the goal, the national junior team also completely relaxed their mentality. If the 1:0 score was not safe, then the current 2:0 score plus the advantage on the field gave everyone reassurance.
In the next game, the Mali team didn't care about the midfield battle. Once they got the ball, they sent it to the two wings, or they simply passed the ball directly to their center Traore.
This kind of offensive method still brought a lot of trouble to the national junior team. Because Liming was injured, his actions in the competition for high-altitude balls were somewhat affected, giving the Mali team several header opportunities in the penalty area.
Mali's team's top scorer Coita's supplementary shot and the second long-range shot outside the penalty area gave the national junior team's shooting and Huang Dawei some tests.
However, Huang Dawei did not let Samuel Diarra excel. He made several wonderful saves in a row and blocked the Mali team's shots.
Twenty minutes into the second half, the Mali team, which had made a fruitless attack, made another substitution. They had performed well in the previous games, but the right midfielder Mecca, who was in poor physical condition, came on and replaced the midfielder Diakite. Now the Mali team
There is no defensive midfielder on the court.
Rick Link also made adjustments at this time. Wang Xing replaced Liu Ruofan, the hero of the goal, allowing Nie Jiang to move out of the penalty area, giving him more space to attack the opponent's defense.
This substitution paid off in the 37th minute of the second half.
At this time, the Mali team's physical fitness had just declined, and Nie Jiang seized the opportunity. After receiving the ball from Wang Xing, he hit it crosswise to Cao Jinghao on the left. The latter cut in from the wing and shot the goalkeeper.
After passing the ball, Nie Jiang resolutely inserted into the penalty area to grab the second point. His shot made the opponent unable to do anything, and the national junior team turned the score into 3:0.
This score also means that the game is completely over, and the victory of the national junior team is just around the corner.
