CHAPTER 1891: CHAPTER 988: IS THE WORLD CUP JOURNEY COMING TO AN END?

What no one expected was that there would be an own goal by the national team.

The audience at the scene couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.

As for the Spanish team’s fans, after seeing this goal, they were cheering and jumping for joy. The Spanish team players were very happy as well, because they gained a point.

And this point was "put in" by their opponents themselves.

"Ah, this."

Huang Youjie, for a moment, didn’t know what to say.

"This own goal is indeed surprising," Ding Yue sighed helplessly as he shook his head.

To be honest.

This own goal hardly had much to do with the national team players. It was mainly because the situation on the field was too chaotic at the time. Then, the Spanish team attempted to shoot, and as a stroke of luck, the ball deflected off a national team player’s body and veered towards their own goal.

At the same time, the national goalkeeper Zhu Cheng was also somewhat bewildered. He never expected the ball to deflect off his teammate, which made it impossible for him to stop this own goal in time.

The national team player who caused the own goal, upon seeing the ball go in, became emotionally distraught and very upset.

After all, it was because of himself that the own goal gave the Spanish team a free point.

"It’s okay."

Goalkeeper Zhu Cheng came forward, patted the shoulder of this teammate, and comforted him, saying: "There were too many unexpected elements in that goal. Next time when we’re defending, let’s take these possibilities into account and strive to do better."

Upon hearing the comfort from his teammate, the mentality of the defensive player improved.

At this moment, players can’t afford to have their mentality collapse, even if an own goal was conceded, because there’s still a long time in the match. If a player’s mentality collapses now, it would seriously affect the subsequent match, probably forcing the head coach to make a substitution.

And if the player is replaced now, it would add even more psychological pressure.

On the sidelines, Coach Hou Xiangming also gave the player who conceded the own goal a gesture, which meant to "console" and encourage him just like everyone else.

After all, the own goal has already become a fact. No matter how regretful or unfortunate it seems, it’s unchangeable. However, the game has to continue, and in the subsequent process, players should try not to be affected by this own goal. Otherwise, if the team has internal mentality issues, it could easily give the opponent opportunities.

Encouraged by this own goal, the entire Spanish team was highly spirited.

The most crucial part is that due to this own goal by the national team, the Spanish team was temporarily leading two to one. With the lead advantage, naturally, the Spanish team players were full of fighting spirit.

Facing the spirited offense by the Spanish team, the defense of the national team was also well-executed.

It seems.

The recent own goal did not have any obvious impact on the national team’s defense line. Their defense was well-done, and the strong offensive motivation generated by the Spanish team, thanks to the own goal, didn’t gain them any advantage. It was already neutralized by the national team’s defense before even reaching goalkeeper Zhu Cheng.

Similarly.

The offensive opportunities found by the national team were also strongly neutralized by the Spanish team. The two sides thus entered into an exciting exchange of attacks and defenses.

It can be said that every attack was very exciting, making people hold their breath.

But ultimately, the result of each attack was not very satisfactory, as neither the national team nor the Spanish team’s shots had good results.

The first half of the match quickly ended, with both the national team and the Spanish team attacking many times and taking many shots, many of them on target. But ironically, neither team scored a goal.

So.

After the end of the first half, the Spanish team was still leading with a score of two to one, and then with the referee’s whistle, the first half of the match ended, and the players from both sides gradually left the field for a halftime break.

Next, the cheerleading squad appeared, with passionate music and their dance performance eliciting waves of cheers from the audience on site.

"Principal Ding, shall we go take a look?"

Seeing that it was halftime break, Principal Xu Dongcheng was reminded of the previous match against the Baxi team, where Principal Ding went to check on the national team’s resting room during halftime.

"No, let’s let them have a good rest. The second half will be a tough battle."

Ding Yue thought for a moment, then shook his head and said.

Going there might unnecessarily add pressure on the players, better to let them rest well and think about how to play the second half. Going there would inevitably add some pressure on them, mentally and otherwise.

Last time, it was because the national team was leading that going there naturally gave more motivation to the players. Now isn’t the right time to go.

"Hmm, that’s true."

Principal Xu Dongcheng agreed upon hearing this, understanding that Principal Ding had a valid reason not to go this time.