Chapter 296

After the quarter-final match with Italy, the Chinese Olympic team flew to Shanghai the next day.

The next semi-final match of the Olympic team against Nigeria will be held at the Shanghai Stadium.

When arriving in Shanghai, the Olympic team was warmly welcomed by thousands of fans.

Among them were not only local fans in Shanghai, but also many fans from other provinces and cities who rushed to Shanghai to watch the semi-finals.

Everyone was waiting in the terminal hall. When the Olympic team players came out with their suitcases, they were immediately welcomed very warmly.

If the airport security and armed police had not been prepared, the Olympic team would have been stuck in the Shanghai Airport and could not move.

Even so, the fans were still excited and shouted slogans to Jiang Xiaolin and others through the human wall formed by security guards and armed police:

"National Olympic Team, come on!"

"National Olympic Team, good job!"

"China, win!"

"Jiang Xiaolin, I love you!"

Although the fans were extremely enthusiastic, the crowd was surging, and Jiang Xiaolin and others could only wave and thank the fans, but did not dare to approach to sign autographs and take photos with some fans.

If Jiang Xiaolin and others dared to approach, there might be a stampede.

How long has it been since Chinese men's football players have experienced such enthusiasm?

In the past, Chinese men's football was the object of scorn by others. Even if the performance was good occasionally and there were fans to pick them up at the airport, it was only a few or dozens, pitifully few.

But now after defeating Italy and advancing to the Olympic semi-finals, the National Olympic Team has truly enjoyed the treatment of national sports heroes.

Without daring to stay too long and interact with the fans who met them at the airport, the coaches and players of the National Olympic Team left the hall as quickly as possible under the escort of security guards, boarded the National Olympic Team bus, and then drove to the hotel arranged by the event organizing committee under the escort of police cars.

The excited fans in the airport slowly calmed down and dispersed.

But the scene of thousands of fans welcoming the National Olympic Team at the airport that day was still reported on the national TV news, which aroused the admiration of fans across the country and also showed the popularity and attention of the Chinese National Olympic Team at that time.

After settling down in the hotel, the team conducted recovery training that afternoon.

Two days later, on the afternoon of August 29, the iconic building of Shanghai, Shanghai Stadium, was already packed with fans from all over the country.

This time it was not just the local fans of Shanghai.

In fact, the local fans of Shanghai did not grab many tickets for the semi-finals.

There were more tickets that were snatched away from various channels by fans from all over the country who flocked to the stadium.

Even some of the earliest fans ran to the Shanghai Stadium to buy tickets after the quarter-finals, and then stayed in the square outside for more than two days by making do with simple *.

Even so, these fans are happy and excited.

If a reporter goes to interview them, they will feel very proud and proud of their identity as Chinese fans.

In the past, it was a bit embarrassing to say that they were Chinese fans, for fear of being despised and misunderstood by outsiders.

But it is different now.

As the Chinese Olympic team continues to create good results and history in the Olympics, especially after the quarter-finals defeated Italy and advanced to the semi-finals, calling oneself a Chinese fan is no longer a despised name, but a truly face-saving identity.

For these die-hard fans who have supported the Chinese team for many years, what does it matter if they wait outside the stadium for the game a few days in advance and stay in *?

It is undoubtedly the most comfortable to be able to rush to the game venue as soon as possible, wait for the game to start leisurely, and not worry about traffic jams, no tickets, etc.

Of course, in addition to the fans who bought tickets or were not in a hurry, there were more fans in the square outside the stadium who were determined to buy a ticket no matter how expensive it was.

They had long been unable to buy tickets through regular channels, so they flocked to the stadium before the game started, ready to buy a ticket from scalpers to watch the Chinese team's semi-finals no matter how expensive it was.

But there were too many people with this idea.

It was not just fans from Shanghai, but fans from all over the country.

Scalpers couldn't entertain them!

There was no demand for tickets, so what could they do?

Some people shouted 1,000 yuan for a ticket in the square, but no one paid attention. They shouted 2,000 yuan for a ticket, but they still couldn't buy it.

Until the game was about to start, someone shouted 10,000 yuan for a ticket, but still couldn't buy it.

Tens of thousands of fans could only stay in the square outside the stadium in disappointment, watching the live broadcast on the big screen in the square and listening to the sounds coming from the square to comfort themselves: at least it was the closest place in the country to the game, and they could still hear the sounds coming from the stadium.

As for the stadium, it was already full of people.

The fans had been beating gongs and drums, singing and dancing since the two teams hadn't started warming up.It was like celebrating a festival.

When the Chinese Olympic team came out to warm up, the atmosphere reached a climax.

"Chinese team, we must win!"

"Come on, Olympic team!"

"Enter the finals and win the championship!"

Various slogans filled the entire stadium.

It was just a warm-up before the game. The fans were cheering for the Olympic team at the top of their lungs before the game started, which showed how excited everyone was.

I don't know if they can still shout after the official game starts.

I guess many people's voices will be hoarse today.

Soon, the warm-up before the game ended, the starting players returned to the locker room, listened to the head coach's encouragement again, and then prepared to play.

Before the game, Jiang Xiaolin spent 1 attribute point to increase his "pick-up" skill from 16 to 17, and the attribute point balance was 56.

Then, it was the appearance ceremony, the national anthem, the group photo, the side selection, and waiting for the game to start.

At this moment, countless fans at the scene and in front of the TV have been waiting for a long time, and they are already excited.

The commentator said excitedly:

"Dear audience, the two teams have completed the ceremony of choosing sides, and the game is about to begin."

"For Chinese football, this is an unprecedented game."

"Whether it is the Olympic team or the national team, the Chinese men's football team has never advanced to the semi-finals of the world championships before. Today is the first time."

"And the Chinese team defeated Italy in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-finals."

"Nigeria, the opponent in this semi-final, is definitely not as strong as Italy. Since the Olympic team can even eliminate Italy, it is naturally possible to make history again, defeat Nigeria to enter the finals, and participate in the championship competition."

"Let's wait and see!"

The fans are excited and the players are also full of fighting spirit.

This is very different from the situation before the quarter-finals.

Before the quarter-finals, because they were facing Italy, the players of the Olympic team were seriously lacking in confidence. Therefore, Jiang Xiaolin clicked on the team halo to check the team's on-the-spot status, which was only 77%. Jiang Xiaolin finally spent 30 attribute points to increase the team's status to 100%.

But today, perhaps the last game against Italy and the reversal victory gave the players more confidence, and Nigeria was far less deterrent than Italy. All the players of the Olympic team seemed to be full of fighting spirit, as if they were eager for the game to start earlier, so that they could eliminate the opponent earlier and really advance to the finals.

In fact, this mentality is a little proud and underestimates the enemy, which has an impact on the team's status.

After the side-choosing ceremony, before the game started, when Jiang Xiaolin clicked on the team halo to check the team's status, the overall on-the-spot status of the Chinese Olympic team was 88%.

But if some players were not a little proud and underestimated the enemy because of their victory over Italy, the status might exceed 90%.

Fortunately, the Chinese team still has Jiang Xiaolin, a cheater with a system plug-in.

Jiang Xiaolin immediately spent 20 attribute points to increase the on-the-spot status from 88% to 100%, and the attribute point balance became 36.

When Jiang Xiaolin increased the on-the-spot status of the Olympic team to 100%, the players who looked down on Nigeria suddenly felt a flash of inspiration. They suddenly thought that Nigeria was also ranked in the 20th place in the FIFA world rankings, higher than Japan, the highest ranked team in Asia. What qualifications did the Chinese team have to look down on them?

So, the contempt for Nigeria in their hearts no longer existed.

But the fighting spirit for the game became stronger.

This was of course not because they really figured it out, but because Jiang Xiaolin cheated, the system made them figure it out, and made them feel that they figured it out.

No matter what kind of psychological changes they went through, in short, the players of the Chinese team felt that they had reached the state before the game with New Zealand, Belgium, and Italy.

That feeling of bursting state was really great.

Everyone was eager for the game and full of confidence, but not conceited, but confident that they could play at their best and defeat their opponents.

Such mental and physical preparation can be called 100% on-site state, which is also the expensive and amazing part of using the system team aura.

Everything was ready. At 18:00 on the afternoon of August 19, 2008, with the referee's whistle, the first match of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Men's Football Semi-final between the Chinese National Olympic Team and the Nigerian National Olympic Team officially started at the Shanghai Stadium, which can accommodate more than 56,000 fans.

Nigeria was the one who got the kick-off right.

Although the Chinese team defeated New Zealand 10-0, defeated Belgium 4-1, and defeated Italy 2-1 in a reversal, and advanced to the semi-finals, NigeriaThey didn't take the Chinese team seriously.

Foreigners' inherent prejudice against China is difficult to eradicate.

New Zealand is a weakling, and Belgium is not strong either. Everyone thinks that the reason why the Chinese team eliminated Italy was that the Italians made a mistake and gave Jiang Xiaolin a penalty.

Even if they play ten more games, the Chinese team will never be able to eliminate Italy again.

This is the feeling and opinion of everyone in Nigeria, from players to coaches to fans.

Moreover, in the third group match, the Chinese team lost to Brazil 1-3, proving that the Chinese team is not really that strong!

As an African eagle, although Nigeria's national team record is not the world's top, it is also ranked in the 20th in the FIFA world rankings.

Moreover, in terms of the performance of the U23 National Olympic Team, the Nigerian National Olympic Team has better results than the adult national team.

Nigeria's entry into the Olympic semi-finals is simply a normal performance, not the upset of the Chinese team.

They tied the Dutch National Olympic Team in the group stage, and their strength is evident.

Therefore, in this semi-final, the Chinese team regarded Nigeria as the easiest stepping stone to advance to the finals. Nigeria also regarded the Chinese team as a stepping stone, thinking that God took care of them and gave them such a weak opponent in the semi-finals.

Although the Chinese team was the host and there were tens of thousands of fans cheering for the Chinese team, the Nigerians didn't take it seriously at all.

Nigeria, which got the kick-off right, launched a crazy attack from the beginning of the game.

Their formation was also a 433 crazy attack formation. They didn't care about the tactics of the Chinese team or Jiang Xiaolin's counterattack.

Perhaps, in the minds of Nigerians, before Jiang Xiaolin's counterattack goal, they had already scored N more than Jiang Xiaolin.

Therefore, Jiang Xiaolin's counterattack didn't need to be taken seriously at all.

As an African eagle, and able to reach the semi-finals, Nigeria's attack is indeed sharp.

This is really not the arrogance of Nigerians.

In the first attack at the beginning of the game, Nigeria almost broke through the defense of the Chinese team.

If Zheng Zhi had not been experienced and timely intercepted the wonderful pass from Nigerian midfielder Keita, the opponent's forward would have rushed into the penalty area to receive Keita's wonderful pass and made a threatening shot.

Then, not long after the first attack, in the 3rd minute, Nigeria launched another attack from the wing.

Full-back Okonkwo suddenly joined in the assist, catching the Chinese team off guard.

Okonkwo and forward Ogbuke made a cross position change, and easily broke through Hao Junmin's defense and drove the ball to the bottom line.

About 20 meters away from the bottom line, full-back Tan Wangsong stepped forward to intercept, and Okonkwo suddenly separated the ball and went around the sideline.

Tan Wangsong could not catch up, and could only watch Okonkwo dribbling away with the ball. He was left behind by others, and even his full on-the-spot status was useless.

Things were simple afterwards.

Okonkwo made a successful cross from the bottom, and Nigerian center forward Odemwenji followed up with a header from the middle, scoring the first goal of the game.

Fortunately, Odemwenji's header was slightly straight due to the interference of center back Li Weifeng, and the angle was not reached. Goalkeeper Qiu Shengjiong, who was in the right position, subconsciously clapped his hands to block it, and then pressed the ball firmly under his body before the opponent followed up with a supplementary shot, defusing Nigeria's threatening attack in the first 3 minutes of the game.

Nigeria's two waves of attack at the beginning made the Chinese team a little unprepared, and also made the fans in the stands tremble with fear, fearing that the Chinese team could not withstand such a crazy attack from the opponent.

Fortunately, in the subsequent games, the Chinese team immediately showed the excellent state in the previous game against Italy. Using the individual performance of the players and the overall cooperation, they firmly defended their backcourt and penalty area, and did not let Nigeria easily threaten the Chinese team's goal.

The 100% overall on-the-spot state of the Chinese team began to really play a role.