Chapter 402: 20 Minutes, 3-0, Another Disaster for China
Even though it seemed from the initial momentum that Spain would crush China, the situation changed once the referee blew the whistle to start the game.
For this match, Spain's starting lineup consisted mostly of young players, while China fielded their strongest team. This gave some Chinese fans a glimmer of hope:
They didn't think China could beat a full-strength Spanish team, but against a lineup with many substitutes, China might have a chance. After all, anything can happen in football!
On the field, China's performance initially seemed to encourage this optimistic view. Spain immediately launched an attack after kickoff, but their young players either lacked stability or weren't coordinated well enough. Their early attacks didn't pose any real threat and even resulted in a mistake that almost allowed China to launch a counterattack.
In these few minutes, the standout players weren't from Spain but from China: the team captain and midfield core Zheng Zhi, and right midfielder Sun Ke. Zheng Zhi was one of the few who could hold onto the ball and pass it under the pressure of Spain's players. The other Chinese players struggled to maintain possession when pressed and often lost the ball easily.
China's almost-successful counterattack in the first half started with Zheng Zhi in midfield, finding Sun Ke on the wing. Sun Ke used his speed to break through and pushed into Spain's 30-meter area. However, Sun Ke's physical strength and ball control weren't enough, and he lost the ball after being intercepted by Spain's defensive midfielder.
Although this counterattack didn't result in a threat or even a shot on goal, it still excited the Chinese fans present, boosting their morale.
"Go, China!"
"Well done, Sun Ke!"
"Keep it up!"
Even though many fans came to see the Spanish stars, as Chinese people, they couldn't help but support their national team. Despite often being disappointed by China's football team and criticizing them harshly, these fans felt a sense of pride whenever the team showed even the slightest improvement. They didn't expect China to defeat the powerful Spain, but if the team could show courage and create a few threatening attacks against such a strong opponent, they would be satisfied.
"Strengthen the pressing in the middle, mark their number ten. He's the only one in their midfield who can hold the ball!" Spain's captain Ramos immediately instructed the young players.
Although their opponent was weak, Spain had done some homework on China before the match. Their scouting reports showed that only a few players, like Zheng Zhi, were truly threatening. Zheng Zhi had played in the English Premier League, but his age was a disadvantage. Xavi, who was the same age as Zheng Zhi, had already retired from the Spanish national team, while Zheng Zhi was irreplaceable in China's team. This showed how lacking China was in talent.
Despite being young, the Spanish players were highly skilled. Those selected for Spain's national team were mostly key players in their clubs. Under their pressing, Zheng Zhi struggled to find space and time to handle the ball. China's midfield quickly lost control and couldn't keep possession, with Spain dominating the ball.
Losing the midfield had severe consequences. Spain pushed their formation forward and began a siege on China's half.
Perrin, China's head coach, stood up and watched intently. Spain's attacking prowess was well known globally. Even with only a few main players on the field, their attack was still formidable and too much for any Asian team to handle. Despite setting up various defensive strategies in advance, Perrin wasn't confident they could withstand Spain's relentless attacks. He couldn't help but worry for his players.
As China faced the siege, the fans couldn't help but become anxious. Spain's offensive was relentless, with Morata and Isco getting frequent chances to shoot. China's goal was under constant threat, and it seemed like a matter of time before it was breached.
Their fears were soon realized.
In the 9th minute, Lin Quan sent a through ball to Morata, who squeezed into the penalty area and shot powerfully, breaking through China's defense and scoring.
The coordination for this goal wasn't complicated or particularly clever. China's defense had only shown a tiny gap, but Lin Quan seized it sharply, delivering a deadly pass.
Morata, already anticipating the gap, had begun his run before Lin Quan's pass, perfectly receiving it.
Though Morata's finishing was often criticized and wasn't as consistent as top strikers like Lin Quan or Diego Costa, he was confident against a team like China and a goalkeeper like Wang Dalei, who were common in Europe.
With high confidence, Morata's shot was not only on target but also exceptionally precise, starkly contrasting with China's often embarrassing shooting skills, impressing the Chinese fans.
"So this is the skill of a world-class forward? Incredible!"
In defense, Feng Xiaoting couldn't stop Morata, who bulldozed his way into the penalty area and blasted the ball into the net.
This kind of forward felt like an overwhelming force. While the Chinese Super League had many foreign players, none seemed as powerful as Morata. Even the foreign stars at Guangzhou Evergrande paled in comparison!
They then realized that Morata was merely a substitute forward for Spain. When Diego Costa was available, Morata couldn't even start and had to watch from the bench.
The stark difference between Spain's backup forward and all their foreign players felt suffocating!
At this moment, the Chinese fans truly realized the gap between the two teams. This absolute difference in skill couldn't be bridged by spirit or willpower.
After the goal, Morata was ecstatic, sliding to celebrate at the sideline and thanking Lin Quan for the assist.
Compared to the excited Morata, Lin Quan remained calm. Scoring against China wasn't something to get excited about.
As a time traveler, Lin Quan understood the real strength of China's team better than anyone.
Despite their world ranking around 70, their actual strength was even lower. In Asia, China was only a second-tier team. Competing with top-tier teams like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Iran was out of the question, and their chances against other second-tier teams like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Uzbekistan were also low.
After scoring, Morata was very excited, running to the sideline to celebrate and thanking Lin Quan for the assist.
Compared to Morata's excitement, Lin Quan was much calmer. Scoring against China wasn't something to be excited about.
As someone who had crossed over to this world, Lin Quan knew better than anyone else the true strength of the Chinese team.
Even though their world ranking was around 70, their actual combat power was even lower. In Asia, China could only be considered a second-tier team.
They couldn't compete with Asia's top teams like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Iran, and they didn't have a high chance of winning against second-tier teams like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Uzbekistan.
Even when facing third-tier teams like Thailand or Iraq, China can still cause an upset and create a disaster for themselves. There's a saying that China's football team never disappoints in disappointing people.
After just ten minutes against China, Lin Quan deeply understood this. Despite China's low possession, the players acted as if the ball were a hot potato during the brief moments they had it. No one dared to hold onto the ball, passing it away immediately out of fear of losing it.
Occasionally, a few players did try to hold the ball, but their lack of skill made it futile. Under Spain's pressure, they quickly lost possession. After these turnovers, Lin Quan could even hear angry shouts from the stands, criticizing the players for holding the ball too long and losing it, thereby putting the team in danger.
This criticism was partly accurate. Losing the ball in their defensive third was indeed dangerous, as it immediately allowed Spain to threaten China's goal and possibly score. But with China's formation so compressed, unless they blindly cleared the ball forward, they couldn't even get past the halfway line. In such a case, it didn't matter where they lost the ball—it only meant Spain had to make one more pass.
The game continued with Spain maintaining their aggressive attack, now even more intense than before. China was defending desperately but couldn't hold the ball or mount any threatening attacks. Spain's goalkeeper was almost playing in midfield, participating in the attack.
The defensive pressure on China increased, and the players found the ball increasingly difficult to handle. In the 15th minute, Isco broke through and passed to Morata, whose shot was saved by Wang Dalei, but Nolito followed up and scored. Spain 2:0 China.
This scoreline wasn't surprising for a match between Spain and China, but conceding two goals within six minutes made the Chinese players and fans nervous. Would this turn into a disastrous defeat?
They remembered two years ago when China lost 1:5 to Thailand. In that match, China conceded two goals in the first half, pulled one back with a penalty, but then conceded three more in the second half, ending in a humiliating defeat.
Now, facing a stronger opponent than two years ago, did this mean the scoreline would be even more shocking? "Another disaster today!" "Sigh, why challenge Spain? It's a death wish!" "The football association said playing against top teams would improve our level, right?" "Improve? By getting beaten up?" "Exactly! Our players can't even hold the ball, can't organize an attack, and even parking the bus doesn't help. We've conceded two goals in 15 minutes—what will the score be after 90 minutes?" "Sigh, this is with Lin Quan showing mercy. He's been passing the ball since the start without taking a single shot!"
Realizing this, the fans acknowledged that Lin Quan had been playing very unselfishly, focusing on passing. They had seen him score four goals in the Champions League final, so they had no doubt about his scoring ability. If this goal-scoring machine got serious, China would have conceded more than two goals by now.
Typically, a team that concedes two goals might throw caution to the wind and go all out. With nothing to lose, why not fight back? After all, it was just a friendly match with no pressure.
But China wasn't like most teams. After conceding the second goal, their psychological burden increased instead of decreasing. Remembering the harsh criticisms from fans after past losses, the players anticipated the same treatment after this match. Losing to Spain was expected, but losing by a large margin wasn't acceptable.
So, they became even more cautious, not daring to attack recklessly. With China taking the beating without fighting back, Spain didn't hold back either. Having almost secured the victory with two early goals, Spain's players relaxed and started displaying dazzling passing combinations in the attacking third.
China's players lacked confidence, fearing mistakes and subsequent blame, so they rarely pressed Spain's players tightly. This gave Spain plenty of time and space to handle the ball, increasing their passing success rate and the number of threatening passes.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, after completing 13 passes, Spain practically passed the ball into the net. This time, the scorer was finally Lin Quan. He, Isco, and Morata played intricate one-twos and tore apart China's defense. The defenders couldn't even foul before Lin Quan broke into the box. Given the perfect opportunity, Lin Quan couldn't pretend to miss and lightly scored.
After Lin Quan's goal, the stadium fell silent. The 90,000-plus fans were stunned! They had often seen Barcelona and Spain's national team perform such dazzling plays on TV, but seeing it live was a completely different experience. Witnessing Spain score such a brilliant goal left them in awe: "Can football really be played like this?" It seemed like China and Spain were playing entirely different games!
The officials present from the Chinese Football Association turned red with embarrassment. They had expected a significant gap between the two teams but hadn't imagined it would be this vast. Moreover, they couldn't use the excuse of different ethnicities, as Spain's star player was of Chinese descent!
It was clearly a gap in technical skills. Spain's players weren't particularly tall or physically imposing, but their ball control was outstanding. They had won back-to-back World Cups with their technical style of play. Spanish midfielders were highly sought after by Europe's top clubs. A club without a Spanish midfielder couldn't even call itself a top team.
All of Europe seemed influenced by Spain, with technical football rising faster than ever. In that case, why not learn from Spain?
(End of Chapter)