Perhaps because the team exhausted their energy in the last game, the Portuguese, who returned to their home court, failed to face the obviously weak Vasco da Gama in the 29th round of the league on October 4.

Although they could win, they scored a goal first, but unexpectedly conceded the ball at the last moment, so they had no choice but to accept the result of a draw.

After this game, Li Zhao and Leonard will fly to Lisbon to participate in the remaining two qualifiers of the Portuguese national team. During this period, the Portuguese will also have a Brazilian Cup semi-final against Palmeiras.

The start of the match was the only thing that made Li Zhao a little worried. Although they had successfully passed the last 16 matches of the Brazilian Cup and successfully defeated their opponents, this match was a single round.

It's interesting to think about it. Although there is only one word difference between the Portuguese team and the Portuguese team, Li Zhao feels completely different.

When he was in the club team, his status in the team was unquestionable, and here he was surrounded by great players. Everything needed to be done over again. At most, he was just a newcomer with great potential, and he wanted to get ahead.

You have to prove it with your own strength. However, the performance in the first two games is undoubtedly a good start, which makes the coach very satisfied.

On October 8, Portugal's qualifying match against Denmark will be held at the National Stadium in Lisbon. The brothers Li Zhao and Leonard finally got the chance to start this time, and they also hope to further prove themselves with their performance in the game.

In addition, half of the starting lineup is substitute players, and even the goalkeeper has been replaced by the No. 2 goalkeeper. It seems that coach Santos is indeed planning to train as he said.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the soul of the Portuguese national team, is still here. Although he is not on the roster, he will watch the game and cheer and encourage the players. During this period, he also had a brief exchange with Li Zhao and taught him what to do.

How to adapt to such an environment faster.

In contrast, the Danish team at the other end did not relax at all and still responded with a full lineup. They do not have the capital to do so now, and the situation of qualifying from the group is still grim.

At 7:45 pm, the game officially started. Although it lacked the participation of many big names, it was still a highlight.

"Hey, relax! Just treat this game as a normal training match." said forward Edel, who was also a substitute. He also got a rare starting opportunity, but in terms of experience in the national team

It is still richer than the newcomers Li Zhao and the others.

"It's okay. Actually, I should be more excited now." Li Zhao responded politely.

Edel thought this was a courtesy from Li Zhao, but the fact was just as Li Zhao said. It was impossible to say he was not nervous. After all, it was his first time starting in such a regular game. But deep down in his heart,

There is more excitement and excitement, and it completely covers the nervous emotions, and the more critical moments are reached, the more extraordinary strength can be displayed. This is the characteristic of a competitive player.

At the beginning, half of the Portuguese side were substitutes, so they were somewhat suppressed by the opponent. Especially the Danish team Eriksen and Bendtner cooperated very well, frequently posing a threat to the Portuguese goal.

Shooting. Fortunately, the defense line is still composed of the main veterans, so they can resolve the opponent's attacks many times. After more than 20 minutes of adaptation, the substitutes finally gradually entered the state and began to organize.

Effective counterattack. After all, their own strength is not weak, they just lack some competition experience.

In the 34th minute, the Portuguese team got a very good free kick opportunity. The ball was about 25 yards away from the goal and in a very right position. After some discussion, the teammates gave this opportunity to Li Zhao, although

He wasn't known for taking free kicks, but he took them anyway.

Li Zhao first retreated a long distance, then took a deep breath, and after the referee's whistle sounded, he slowly ran towards the penalty spot. The moment he approached, he secretly changed his foot to touch the ball.

First of all, the football usually arrives about 0.5 seconds later than the goalkeeper's reaction. Don't underestimate such a small time difference, even this small difference will make the variables a little greater.

Denmark goalkeeper Schmeichel indeed made a mistake in his prediction. After the ball drew a strange arc in the air, it flew into the goal in the completely opposite direction of his save.

1-0, Li Zhao scored the third goal of his national team career and also helped the Portuguese team take the lead.

The Danish team was not disrupted by this, and falling behind by one goal did not faze them. They evened the score before the end of the first half. The scorer was their No. 11 Bendtner, who scored the goal.

Eriksen's cooperation finally succeeded in tearing apart the Portuguese team's defense and scored this single goal.

After the start of the second half, Santos replaced several main players one after another, and their addition also gradually turned the Portuguese team over. In the 73rd minute of the game, midfielder Moutinho received a pass from teammate Nani.

After the ball was fired, he shot directly from the front of the penalty area. The football penetrated the opponent's goal like a sharp blade, allowing the Portuguese team to take the lead again.

However, despite the back and forth in the subsequent games, they failed to change the score again. In the end, the Portuguese team won the opponent 2-1 at home with the help of two goals from Li Zhao and Moutinho.

After less than two days of rest, the Portuguese national team went to Belgrade to complete the final match of this qualifier. In the match on October 11, the Portuguese team also adopted the same lineup as in the previous game, and finally won 2-

0 easily won the victory. Li Zhao also scored in this game and assisted substitute forward Eder to score his first goal in this national team.

As a result, after the European Cup qualifiers were completed, the national team also announced its temporary disbandment. It will be a matter of the coming year to reunite again. Taking stock of the performance in these four games, Li Zhao found that he actually scored in every game.

This kind of efficiency is really rare, and it also allowed me to initially gain a foothold in the national team.

But the smooth sailing with the national team did not make Li Zhao very excited, because there was bad news from the club. What Li Zhao had been worried about before happened. The Portuguese was on September 10

They lost in the semi-finals of the Brazilian Cup. The Portuguese, who was missing Li Zhao, seemed to have lost their luck. In this game, although other teammates tried their best and took the lead for a time, they were still beaten by the opponent after the game.

After scoring two goals in a row in the first half, they were ultimately eliminated. As a result, the team could only devote all its remaining energy to the league, and the goal was to ensure the top four positions in the league. For this, coach Hiddink even took

They will treat it with a do-or-die attitude. The Li Zhao brothers must return to the club as soon as possible to regroup with their teammates to fully cope with the final stage of the league schedule.

But before going back, the two of them went to coach Santos' office together, and it was time to make a final decision on some matters.

"Have you thought about that?" Santos asked straight to the point after the two came in, seeming to know their purpose.

"Yes, we both unanimously decided to accept your proposal, but the official report will have to wait until next year!" Li Zhao responded.

"Very good, so I can go back to work. This time, our Olympic team, like the national team, both qualified smoothly, so your reporting time will also be before next summer. When you are finished with the Olympic team

After the competition, you still have to participate in the main match of the national team European Cup. This will indeed be tiring for you, but it is also a good test." Santos was quite satisfied after hearing their answers, so

Then he further explained to them.

Li Zhao also agrees with his point of view. According to normal performance, the Portuguese will have no problem winning the top four in the league this season. In that case, the competition he will face next year will be more intensive.

The Brazilian League, the Brazilian Cup and the Copa Libertadores, these are just club-level competitions. But there are also games of the Portuguese national team and the Olympic team. Watching such frequent events makes people's scalp numb. And every event cannot be
Chapter completed!