Asian Cup: The Showtime
The stage of the World Cup, which can be said to be the dream of every player. Reaching the quarterfinals on that stage meant that, at least within the football backwater of Asia, there was no rival.
And the strategy of Asian countries facing such a nation generally boiled down to one: defense first, then counterattack.
In fact, Australia and Saudi Arabia, which we played friendlies against, were teams aiming for the 4.5 World Cup tickets distributed among Asian teams, so they were teams that showed off a bit, but when facing us, they almost always played a 10-back tactic.
Actually, the 10-back tactic was a tactic that even Real Madrid, who won the Champions League 3 times in a row, Bayern Munich, the German champion, and even Barcelona, where I belong, had to work hard to break through. It was quite difficult for a team like Korea to break through the 10-back.
But since the goal of every match was victory or at least a draw, the 10-back was also a tactic that was likely to collapse if they conceded one goal.
...Just like now.
Thud!
Yu-ri's shot barely hit the post and went out. Other players looked at the scene with regret, but didn't express any greater emotion.
Why?
Because such chances were coming out about once every 5 minutes.
The reason for this was thanks to Chen Weilan, who was marking me.
Chen Weilan, who had the audacity to take her eyes off me and play with her hands, lost her mind for a moment and couldn't catch me, who had just tackled her. And the Chinese backline, which hadn't expected Chen Weilan to be easily broken through, was instantly caught off guard by me.
In contrast, Kim Seul-gi, who trusted me, broke through the line by breaking Chen Weilan's line as I broke through her, and that led to our first goal.
After that first goal, it was our showtime.
Especially, after stripping Chen Weilan, who had lost her mind after the first breakthrough, it was too easy to create chances.
"Ugh..."
The face of Chen Weilan, who had been viciously hitting my back, was nowhere to be seen, and she looked like she might have tears in her eyes as she looked at me. That was only natural, because in this match alone, the number of times the ball passed between her legs had already reached 6.
I slightly lifted my foot, and her legs closed in.
'Scared.'
A slight smile came out, but that alone was enough for her to fulfill her role. By closing her legs, she bought some time for the defense to return. If it were usual, I wouldn't have done such a thing and quickly tackled and advanced, but I had to pay back the viciousness of hitting my back.
Next time we face them, just seeing my name on the lineup would make them want to be subbed out during the game, trembling.
I slightly leaned my body to the left and pretended to charge. And Chen Weilan, who was quite intimidated by even that simple fake, her body shot in the direction I faked. And that posture couldn't be done with her legs closed, so naturally her legs spread.
I lightly pushed the ball through her legs,
"Aaaah!"
A scream came out as she tried to close her legs. But the ball had already exited.
And the moment she closed her legs, my body had also exited her range, so that was the 7th time. As if all of this was just a joke, I turned and passed the ball back to her, and her legs were shaking.
'7 times in 30 minutes is a bit much?'
Giving up 7 times between the legs in just 30 minutes on an international stage watched by almost all citizens of their country. It was a situation worse than being stripped naked, so her legs shaking was inevitable.
Well, I wasn't sad about it, though.
I once again gestured for a pass to me. And after passing through several players, the ball settled under my foot.
Unlike before, the Chinese formation was organized, so the defense blocking me was two players.
'Who is this... Jang... what was it? Anyway, then Han Ye-jin would be the one left open?'
I quickly checked the open space and looked at Chen Weilan. Just by looking at me, she closed her legs. She was already in a state like Pavlov's dog, trembling at my gaze once.
I moved my body slightly towards Chen Weilan. Despite my small movement, she reacted greatly, and without realizing it, she blocked the path of the guy who came to help her, and in that short moment when they got tangled, the ball under my foot disappeared.
"Ugh!"
Chen Weilan blocking between the legs,
"Eh, where?!"
Jang, who was looking around.
But the ball that was under my foot had already arrived at Han Ye-jin, and I quickly ran and got out of their range. It was a bit funny to see Han Ye-jin running to block me like in neighborhood soccer, but since I had to focus on the next play, I held back my laughter and ran forward.
And, Han Ye-jin who received the ball in a no-mark state now gave me a perfect 2:1 pass to the unmarked me.
"Uaaaa!!"
At that moment, a heartfelt scream came out. Well, she probably intended to do a back tackle. But if you were expecting it, there was no tackle you could avoid in the world.
I passed the ball between my two legs and lightly jumped to avoid Chen Weilan's tackle, and as soon as I planted my foot on the ground, I ran forward and lured the center back towards me. In response, the wing forwards ran forward and pulled the fullbacks, lowering the offside line, and in between, Kim Seul-gi received a no-mark chance again.
Thud.
And I wasn't the type to miss such a chance.
Bang!
-Waaaaaaa!!!!
With this, the score was 2:0.
I glanced at the bench and saw that Coach Diana was nodding with satisfaction. Now, all that was left was to exit the field before the crazy Chinese players made unreasonable back tackles or body checks.
'Just in case, let's concede one goal or so...'
The remaining time in the first half was 15 minutes. After all, my substitution was definitely after the first half ended, so I decided to aim for one more goal.
"Haneul-ah, good passes. It seems like I might even get a hat-trick?"
"Yes, senior. I'll push it for you."
Kim Seul-gi, who had already received two assists from me today, patted my shoulder and passed by.
"...I can score goals too."
Yu-ri made a disappointed expression when she saw my figure, but Yu-ri's role today was the bait. Of course, it was decided by me, the commander on the ground.
Since China was aware of Yu-ri's foot, the line was lowered, and in that state, it was more likely that Kim Seul-gi, the hexagonal striker, would have higher probability than Yu-ri, so Kim Seul-gi was set as the main player today.
"Go on, keep penetrating inside. I'll poke it for you once."
Well, Yu-ri had to run as if she would receive the ball to shake the goal more easily, so there was no need to mention that fact.
"Okay. Let's try to make one together. I prepared a ceremony."
"What?"
"I won't tell you."
...I was a bit curious what ceremony Yu-ri prepared, but since the important thing was the victory of the match, I had no intention of changing the plan.
'Well, since there are still many Asian Cups left, there will be a chance someday.'
After putting the curiosity about Yu-ri's prepared ceremony on hold for the next one, the game resumed with China's kick-off. China tried hard to send the ball to Li Xuan, but the already evaluated Li Xuan, who was a big club level, didn't easily connect the ball,
"Run!"
As Cut passed the ball to Han Ye-jin connecting it to me, a chance came again.
Thud.
China, trailing 2:0, didn't have the luxury of attaching a marker to me even in attack, so I received the ball comfortably with my chest, then turned the direction towards China's goal.
And in front of me, running were Ryu Ha-neul, Kim Seul-gi, and Jo Seo-won in a three-top.
I ran at full speed, making the opponent's defense line backpedal, and as the three attackers crossed the line, I faked sending to Jo Seo-won and strongly kicked the ball with my left foot.
The pass I sent looked like it was heading to Jo Seo-won as intended, but when it reached a certain position, it curved slightly towards Kim Seul-gi as I searched for the out side. When the Chinese defenders realized that, it was already after my body had shot towards Jo Seo-won.
Kim Seul-gi wasn't the type who couldn't compete for the aerial ball in that situation,
Thud.
She lightly headed the ball's direction.
...And at the position where the ball fell, Yu-ri was standing in a no-mark chance.
Bang!
A sound like her stomach being pierced, Yu-ri's powerful shot in the penalty box hit the corner of the goalpost.
-Waaaaaaa!!!!
With that, Yu-ri, who scored the team's third goal, ran to Kim Seul-gi, who assisted her, hugged her and started expressing gratitude.
"Seul-gi senior...!"
It was quite pleasant to score a goal on a big stage like the Asian Cup, and her feet were off the ground, but it was a normal ceremony if it were normal, but after saying that I had prepared a ceremony for her, doing such a ceremony gave a strange feeling.
"...That wasn't the prepared ceremony, right?"
"Of course not."
"I thought..."
"...What kind of expression is that."
"No, I thought you wanted to do that ceremony with me. Well, even if it's not a ceremony, I can give you a light hug, but."
"...That's not it! And, let's focus on the game, Ryu Haneul! It's not over yet!"
It definitely had a teasing flavor. After all, if there was no room, I wouldn't have been able to make such jokes during the game, but now the score was 3 points apart. The match today could be considered over.
"Then, Ha-neul. Today, in the second half, it's rest. If you want to run more, just say it anytime."
"It's okay, Coach. Since there are still tournaments left, I'll manage my condition while resting."
"Alright, Seo-won in the spot where Ha-neul is missing. And on the right is Yu-ri, and on the left is Seo-hee. Overall, build up similarly to the first half, but there's no need to rush. Ji-hye. Please interpret."
"Understood."
With that, I could rest in the second half like the Philippines match, and we conceded one point to the China who was launching a fierce attack, but we could finish the match 3:1 without conceding any more.
"Ryu Haneul player! Like the Philippines match, you were subbed out after the first half today as well. Was there any discomfort or something?"
"It wasn't that. I just took a rest in preparation for the tournament. It has nothing to do with our tactics anymore, so I'll refrain from commenting on that part."
Because I came out of the field after playing only the first half for two consecutive games, I was a bit grilled by the reporters after the match.
Anyway, we could cleanly win 2 wins in the two group stage matches and the following third match against Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan, who defeated the Philippines, struggled a bit by coming out with a 10-back even if it was a draw to advance to the round of 16 as a wildcard, but after repeatedly hitting the posts, I scored a goal and won 1:0.
...Meanwhile, South Korea's 16th round against Bahrain, who rose to 3rd place in Group A...
After all the group stage matches ended, what remained was the tournament.
The goal was always winning, and the start was decided against Bahrain, the 16th round opponent, and the official Asian Cup began.