"One last confirmation, are all the reporters in front ready? Is the live broadcast room ready?"

“All OK!”

"Countdown preparation, five, four, three, two, one, start!"

Qi Wei turned his head to the camera in the middle of the studio and smiled: "Friends, good afternoon everyone! Welcome to "I Love the World Cup". Today's "I Love the World Cup" is a bit different from usual, starting from 5pm, because there is a very critical game at 12pm tonight. I think everyone should know that it is the life-and-death battle between the Chinese team and the Ukrainian team. Whoever wins will qualify!"

※※※

"Teacher Liang, are you okay?" Dozens of students sat in their positions, staring at Liang Ke who was debugging in front of the TV.

The air conditioner was turned on in the classroom, but Liang Ke was still sweating profusely. The TV was fine when the advertisement was just now, why did the show lose its signal at the beginning? But he was so anxious.

He patted this and that, and there was still a snowflake on the screen.

Regarding the class this afternoon, the school posted a notice on the sign at the school gate at noon, and only three classes were held in the afternoon, and all the rest of the time was spent watching the World Cup broadcast until school was over. Previous evening self-study was cancelled in order to let the students go home early and not delay watching the World Cup.

There are several Chinese team members who have walked out of Dawn, which is a kind of support for them.

Finally, when Liang Ke accidentally touched the optical fiber line behind the TV, the picture suddenly returned to normal, and he realized that it turned out that the optical fiber line was loose.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then they saw the Chinese team's bus on the TV screen.

"What we see now is the entrance of the hotel where the Chinese team is staying. Several Chinese players have already sat in the lobby, and people have also walked out of the elevator one after another. They don't seem as nervous as people imagine. I hope the young men can keep this state until the end of the game."

Seeing that the TV was fine, Liang Ke moved a chair from the podium and sat next to the TV, crossed his legs, squinted his eyes and watched intently.

※※※

The reporters were in and out at the hotel entrance, and Sophie was also in the crowd. Due to Zhang Jun, she knew the Chinese players. When she walked into a certain player, the other party would take the initiative to say hello to her, and she took the opportunity to take a photo. Li Yan did not go with her, but went to Ukraine for an interview.

Qiu Suhui and Hu Li did not come down, and there are not many Chinese players in the lobby now. For more time, the players sit on the sofa and do their own things, while the reporters gather together to chat in groups. The topic is naturally inseparable from the Battle of China-Ukraine at 5:30 pm.

It is still 10:30 in the morning and the bus stops at the door, but it does not mean that it will leave now. People who come down come to relax. After lunch, they will have an hour and a half of lunch break. After they wake up, they will wait for the rest of their time before they set off to the Allianz Stadium.

There are also tired reporters who find a place to sit down. The reporters who have relatively good relationships with Chinese players will also sit next to the players and chat for a while. After the Chinese team achieved good results, Qiu Suhui also relaxed the restrictions on media interviews. The current situation is absolutely invisible before the opening game.

Sophie didn't rest. She was always paying attention to the direction of the elevator. She hoped that Zhang Jun would appear there.

The elevator door opened, but Xiang Tao came out, which disappointed Sophie a little.

Someone patted her gently and looked back and saw that it was Yang Pan. "Are you waiting for Zhang Jun?"

"Yes." The two of them are very familiar with each other, so there is no need to be polite about them.

"Don't wait, he won't come down until the gathering time."

Sophie turned her head and looked at Yang Pan.

"This game is too important for him and the Chinese team. He doesn't want to be disturbed by anyone or anything now, so he chose to stay alone in the room."

"That's it..." Sophie understood Zhang Jun. The one who has the greatest psychological pressure now is not Qiu Suhui, but Zhang Jun. He really needs to be alone and calm down. "But... it's not good to be alone, otherwise he will not be able to perform during the game. Yang Pan, do you understand this truth, right?"

"Yes, yes, I understand. I have said a long time ago that Zhang Jun is a slutty guy. But don't worry, Sophie, he has been here for so many years, and he also knows how to adjust his mentality. And I know very well that he is a big competition player. The more important the competition is, the more extraordinary he can perform."

Sophie decided not to continue the topic anymore, and she joked with Yang Pan: "Are you ready? Don't get weak at that time!"

Yang Pan waved his hand: "How is this possible? I am the one who has prepared the most!"

Sophie remembered that in the first year of high school, before Shuguang and Affiliated High School of Science and Technology, Yang Pan performed very calmly, not like a fifteen-year-old high school student at all. When she thought about it carefully, she had never seen Yang Pan nervously, this young and mature person.

"You are busy, I have to go up. See what Zhang Jun is doing. Don't fall asleep..." Yang Pan waved his hand.

"How is it possible? It's you who want to fall asleep!" Sophie teased in Yang Pan's tone.

Yang Pan laughed loudly, waved his hand and turned toward the elevator.

He is really not nervous, and this is not pretending to be strong. No matter when, he is definitely a trustworthy person.

※※※

When Yang Pan came in, Zhang Jun was reading a book on the bed. Yang Pan glanced at the cover, and it was the book "Do you care about playing football?" written by Zhang Lintao.

"You have read this book countless times, won't you feel bored?"

"No." Zhang Jun turned another page. From the degree of irritation at the edge of the page, you can see how many times the book has been read.

"Well, that's right, you like reading this book."

Zhang Jun continued reading.

"Oh, I met Sophie below." Yang Pan said to Zhang Jun while turning on the TV.

Zhang Jun took the book away and looked at Yang Pan.

"She has been waiting for you, we chatted for a while. I said you were adjusting on it alone. She asked me to tell you, and you should pay attention to relax and move. She really cares about you."

"I know, I know..."

"So have you adjusted it now?"

"I think it should be fine."

"That's good. I think you can just play the night game as an ordinary game. You don't actually need to prove anything. You are the best!"

※※※

The weather today was good, sunny, but not very hot, with cool breezes blew by. Shepchenko was moved by such weather and wanted to come out for a casual walk, but unexpectedly, he was surrounded by a group of reporters as soon as he got out of the elevator.

Among this group of people, he has the most reporters in his motherland, followed by Chinese journalists. Of course, because he plays football in Serie A, many Italians have also come.

"Andre, it looks like you are in good spirits!" Someone greeted Shepchenko loudly.

Shepchenko naturally had to give a gift with a smile, but the next question was the man: "Then there should be no problem with the Chinese team in the evening, right?"

"We can't say that now. The Chinese team is not weak." He looked at the Chinese reporters around him and replied politely.

"You have entered the World Cup finals for the first time and achieved good results and may qualify. Do you feel very happy?"

“The World Cup has always been my dream.”

"According to AC Milan won nothing last season, but you personally participated in the World Cup for the first time. Do you think the World Cup is more important than the club?" This was asked by an Italian reporter. He had a little bad intention and must be a reporter from the Sport of Rome. However, Shepchenko had long been used to it. He replied: "For me, the national team is equally important as the club. Last season was just because of our bad luck. Who wouldn't want to win all the championships?"

The reporters laughed.

"It is said that you value this game with the Chinese team very much. In addition to deciding whether you can qualify, is it also related to your relationship with several Chinese team members?" Shepchenko, the reporter who asked this question, knew a Chinese reporter named Li Yan, who often interviewed him during Serie A.

Li Yan's question is also something other Chinese journalists want to ask, and they all care about Shepchenko's views on the Chinese team and Chinese players.

"Well, that's it." Shepchenko thought about it before answering this question, "I'm very familiar with Yang, and we often call during the World Cup. He is a very, very stable player, which is terrible. He is fast, has amazing long shots, and has a good crossing. He is a big trouble for us during the game."

Shepchenko's evaluation of Yang Pan was very high.

"What about Zhang Jun?" Li Yan continued to ask.

"Zhang? He is my opponent." Shepchenko only said this simple sentence to Zhang Jun.

Many reporters thought this showed Shepchenko's contempt for this former "losed player". She only treated her as an ordinary opponent in the game, and her status was obviously not as good as Yang Pangao. But Li Yan would never see this way. There were probably not many people who could be regarded as an opponent by Shepchenko. Unexpectedly, Zhang Jun had such a high status in Sheva's heart.

"Thank you for your evaluation, so let's look forward to the competition between you and him." Li Yan said this sentence in Italian, and he didn't want his colleagues to hear what he meant.

Shepchenko gave him a knowing smile, and obviously he understood.

※※※

In China, when it was late at night, in Germany, the night had just come. At this time, the Allianz Stadium was full of people, and everyone was waiting for the two protagonists of the game: the Chinese team and the Ukrainian team.

And they are still making final preparations in the locker room.

"I don't think everyone is very clear about the importance of this game, but I hope everyone can relax. Do you still remember what I said to you before? Every step we take is to create history. We have completed the task. After that, no matter how we go, we will worry about everything. Because our performance has exceeded everyone's imagination." Qiu Suhui stood in front of the 23 Chinese team members and made the final mobilization for them.

Everyone was ready to go, just waiting for Qiu Suhui to say, "Everyone is on!" and then got up and rushed to the court. Are they nervous? They were nervous. But they never looked forward to a game as soon as possible like this time.

All the players should say that. Qiu Suhui glanced at the team members, then opened the door behind him and said, "Go out." Except for the sound of shoe nails hitting the ground, all the team members did not make any other sound. They didn't say a word, and their expressions were very serious on their faces.

※※※

As the captain of Ukraine, Shepchenko stood at the front of the team, and next to him was the captain of the Chinese team, Zheng Jun. Players from both sides stood side by side in the player passage, waiting for the referee in front to take them into the court.

Zhang Jun was still at the end of the team, and he looked at Shepchenko from afar. Maybe he himself did not realize that whether he admitted it or not, Shepchenko is the target he wants to catch up. He can only look at Sheva's back now. Maybe he will stand in front of Sheva in the future and become a sign that others can catch up.

He didn't think so much now. He just kept stroking the bracelet on his wrist with his hands, muttering in his heart: Sophie, watch me play football!

※※※

Sophie was on the phone with Li Yan, and Li Yan told her to take more photos of Zhang Jun and Shepchenko because the special project behind them was very necessary. At this moment, she heard a huge cheer from the stands - they appeared!

Take a photo, shake hands with each other, pick the sides, exchange team flags... After a fixed procedure, the players on both sides stood at their position, waiting for the referee to whistle to whistle.

Zhang Jun stepped on the football and turned his head to look at the referee on the side, just like a sprinter at the 100-meter starting line.

The only difference is that the sprinter was waiting for a gunshot, and what he was waiting for was a whistle.

"beep!"

"The referee whistle sounded, and the game began! Zhang Jun kicked the ball to Wu Shangshan, and Wu Shangshan passed it back..."

Zhang Jun rushed towards the Ukrainian goal, while Shepchenko rushed towards the Chinese goal. The two passed by like this, running towards their respective goals without any pause or hesitation.

After receiving the ball, Li Yongle did not immediately pass the ball to the front, but passed it horizontally to the full-back Xiang Tao. Xiang Tao did not pass it forward, but returned it again, and the central defender Li Suisheng was receiving the ball. Their current purpose is to pull the Ukrainian formation apart and create space.

In terms of strength, the Chinese team is actually similar to Ukraine. The two teams have equal opportunities, which side is better at seizing the opportunity. As the commander, Li Yongle did not dare to make a rash move, so he took a more secure start.

Shepchenko rushed straight to Li Suisheng, hoping to intercept the ball on the spot to fight back. Li Suisheng did not dare to delay and quickly passed the ball to Li Yi in front, but his pass with a sudden and obvious intention was cut off by Vorenin who followed up!
To be continued...