Chapter 355: Team clearance

Chapter 355: Team clearance

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was jointly hosted by four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Chinese team was grouped with Iran, Uzbekistan, and the host Malaysia.

Except for Malaysia, which had relatively weak strength, Uzbekistan and Iran were both strong opponents. Fortunately, with Wang Feng's return, all the overseas players had already gathered, giving head coach Ali Han more confidence.

Wang Feng and Dong Fangzhuo were the two highest-valued players in this group. According to authoritative transfer market websites, Wang Feng's current value had reached 150 million euros, and Real Madrid certainly considered him a non-transferable asset.

Dong Fangzhuo's excellent performance at Alkmaar had increased his value to 15 million euros, with a further upward trend. His age was a major plus.

How to make good use of these players was also a big question. They would first face three intensive group matches. After consultation with the coaching staff, it was decided that Dong Fangzhuo would lead a half-reserve lineup against Malaysia, while going all out in the remaining two matches.

Of course, Wang Feng would still sit on the bench. If the situation didn't look good, he could enter the game at any time to avoid any unexpected events in the opening match.

After several days of adaptation training in China, the team flew to Kuala Lumpur on July 5th, where they would finalize their preparations.

At 8 p.m. on July 10th, at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, the opening match of the Asian Cup between China and Malaysia officially kicked off.

Ali Han deployed a 4-4-2 formation, with goalkeeper Li Leilei, defenders Du Wei, Zhang Yaokun, Ji Mingyi, and Zhang Shuai.

In midfield were Zheng Bing, Wang Dong, Zhao Junzhe, and Zhao Xuri.

The forwards were Dong Fangzhuo and Han Peng.

Apart from Wang Feng, Sun Jihai, who played for Manchester City in the English Premier League, Zheng Zhi from Charlton, Shao Jiayi from Bundesliga's Cottbus, and Sun Xiang from Eintracht Braunschweig were all placed on the bench.

After receiving the ball, the Chinese youngster smoothly entered the penalty area, facing the last defender in front of him. He used a fake shot to deceive the defender, then shot past him, scoring 1-0!

No one expected that even against a strong team like Iran, China could play so easily!

And when it was the 15th minute, Sun Jihai intercepted Iran's attack in the backcourt, immediately passing to Shao Jiayi in midfield, who seized the opportunity to send a through ball to the penalty area.

Wang Feng, relying on his speed, shook off the defenders and rushed to where the ball would land. Facing the onrushing goalkeeper, he lifted his foot and shot, once again piercing Iran's goal, 2-0!

Conceding two goals so early left Iran in disarray, while China's morale soared. They firmly controlled the game's rhythm, focusing on defense while organizing attacking opportunities.

In the 37th minute, China got another great opportunity. Wang Feng held the ball on the right, suddenly accelerated to pass the defenders, crossed to the bottom, and Dong Fangzhuo fiercely pushed away the Iranian defender who wanted to head the ball, forcing him to foul the Chinese striker.

The referee decisively awarded a penalty to China, which Dong Fangzhuo personally took and scored, making it 3-0!

In the second half, as Iran made successive substitutions to launch a fierce attack, combined with the large lead, the players' mentality inevitably relaxed, allowing the opponents to score in the 51st and 67th minutes.

Ali Han quickly came to the sidelines, loudly urging the players to focus and continue controlling the game, not giving Iran any chance to exploit.

This was when Wang Feng played his role. In the 78th minute, Li Weifeng intercepted Iran's attack and immediately sent a long pass to Wang Feng in midfield, who, despite the defense's interference, still controlled the ball steadily.

The Chinese superstar then accelerated past the defenders, dribbled past a center-back, and rounded another defender to enter the penalty area. When the goalkeeper rushed out, he cleverly sidestepped him and scored into the empty net.

4-2! Wang Feng, like Dong Fangzhuo, scored twice!

Many overseas Chinese fans in attendance considered Wang Feng an idol and source of pride. They never expected to witness such a spectacular solo goal from the Chinese superstar, making their presence at the stadium feel like being at a home game in China. The Iranian players' rising morale was once again dealt a heavy blow.

Ultimately, they failed to make another breakthrough, and China secured a crucial victory. With two wins out of two, they secured advancement from the group stage in advance. Because Iran had defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 in the first group stage match, China could almost be said to have locked in first place in the group.