69novels Chapter 47 South Korea's crushing defeat!
Chapter 47 South Korea's crushing defeat!
In the stands, Cha Bum-kun's face was ashen, and his hands were trembling slightly.
He thought of the World Cup four years ago.
At that time, the South Korean team was coached by Cha Bum-kun, and they faced the Netherlands in the group stage.
At that time, Cha Bum-kun was also full of confidence, believing that he could defeat the Netherlands with an offensive strategy.
The results of it?
They were completely overwhelmed by the Dutch team, who scored five goals.
This crushing defeat was actually the most direct reason why Cha Bum-kun was later dismissed.
And today...
The South Korean team was playing at home, and they were already down 0-3 before halftime!
This seems even worse than back then!
Or rather, even more embarrassing!
After all, although South Korea lost five games in the World Cup in France, the Netherlands had world-class stars such as Bergkamp, Overmars, Davids, Stam, and Van der Sar.
To be honest, it's not particularly surprising for an Asian team to lose to such a strong European team.
But today's opponent is the Chinese team!
Also in Asia, and the opposing team is a team known for its "fear of Korea".
Is the 27-year history of never losing to the Chinese team in official competitions really coming to an end?
And there's a possibility of losing badly...
Cha Bum-kun really finds this result hard to accept.
Just a few days ago, he was cheering for the South Korean team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, and even shed tears in front of the camera.
But if we get slaughtered by the Chinese team in the third-place match, it feels like it would diminish the significance of this semi-final journey...
Kim Joo-sung, who was standing next to Cha Bum-kun, also fell silent at this moment.
Then, he finally spoke, though somewhat incoherently:
"Uh... I think... yes, halftime is almost here. I believe that after the adjustments at halftime, our Korean players will definitely bounce back and bring the score back!"
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The second half.
When the broadcast cameras focused on the clock above the stadium, everyone realized that Kim Jong-sung's "prediction" was nothing but wishful thinking.
Match duration: 80 minutes.
Score: China 5-0 South Korea!
Yes, the South Korean team not only failed to catch up, but also conceded two more goals to the Chinese team!
Some South Korean fans couldn't stand the constant cheers and songs from the Chinese fans and left the stadium early.
In fact, after the start of the second half, Hiddink's team did not give up, and the South Korean team launched wave after wave of attacks against the Chinese team with the support of the home fans.
But the Chinese team was getting stronger and stronger, while the South Korean team's impatient attack was more like gambling on luck, constantly smashing into the penalty area, which had no effect at all.
Later, Hiddink even fielded forwards like Choi Yong-soo and Hwang Sun-hong, hoping to turn the score around with a desperate attack.
However, this comes at the cost of further losing control of the midfield, having fewer defenders, and allowing the Chinese team to more easily exploit the space behind South Korea's defense.
In the 70th minute, Shao Jiayi's long pass found Yang Chen, who had successfully broken the offside trap. After starting his run, Yang Chen immediately shook off the two South Korean center-backs behind him and easily scored a goal against Lee Woon-jae one-on-one.
In the 80th minute, Yu Genwei, who came on as a substitute for Yang Chen, dribbled past Hong Myung-bo in the penalty area and scored with a low shot.
5-0!!!
The South Korean team suffered a truly crushing defeat!
This goal completely shattered the confidence of the South Korean fans, and the mass walkout occurred at that moment.
Losing is acceptable, but losing to the Chinese team by such a score is just too hard to accept!
And it is quite obvious.
These South Korean fans who left early were actually lucky.
Because they won't have to see China score a sixth goal.
In the 90th minute, the South Korean team once again attacked the Chinese team's penalty area, hoping to score a goal and salvage some pride.
Lee Chun-soo attempted to pass the ball into the penalty area, but Du Wei overpowered Hwang Sun-hong and cleared the ball with a header.
Standing on the perimeter, Gao Yao judged the landing point, stopped the ball steadily, and then passed it to Ma Mingyu in front.
These two players had replaced Li Xiaopeng and Qi Hong on the field just over ten minutes earlier.
At this moment, Park Ji-sung appeared next to Ma Mingyu, trying to reach out and intercept the ball.
But Ma Mingyu didn't prepare to dribble the ball; instead, he flicked it to Qu Bo on the wing.
After receiving the ball, Qu Bo began to take large strides forward, accelerating to catch up with the ball.
Park Ji-sung abandoned Ma Ming-yu and began to relentlessly pursue Qu Bo.
After attracting the attention of several South Korean players, Qu Bo swept the ball across to the middle.
Li Tie followed up with a powerful smash!
This time, he didn't actually knock it away.
His instep struck the middle of the ball squarely, and the ball shot like a cannonball straight toward the South Korean goal!
Li Yun could only watch the ball go in vain.
"Goal again!!!!!!!!! This time it's Li Tie!"
"Wow, even iron trees bloom! Li Tie actually scored a goal!"
"6-0!!!!"
"My God! This is absolutely a massacre!"
"The Chinese team staged a massacre at the Daegu World Cup Stadium!"
"The South Korean defense was torn apart time and time again. The Chinese team basically launched counter-attacks quickly through the midfield every time, with extremely fast speed and very efficient play."
"The South Korean team suffered a complete and utter defeat tonight!!"
"Hiddink's lineup and on-field command, as well as the performance of the South Korean players, all deserve serious reflection."
"Their offense couldn't break through, and their defense was completely overwhelmed by the Chinese team; they were utterly helpless!"
"On the contrary, Coach Ye Xian's coaching of this Chinese team is truly impressive."
"I heard that a Premier League club wants to hire him as a manager; I can only say they have excellent taste!"
"Well, actually there's some good news for the South Korean team."
"That means it's almost time; the referee is already checking his watch."
"This way they shouldn't break their own record for the biggest loss in the World Cup."
"In the 1954 World Cup, they were thrashed 9-0 by Hungary, a team with Puskás and Kocsis..."
The Chinese players were still celebrating, while the referee had already decided to leave early.
With the score already like this, why bother with extra time?
Blow the whistle quickly, at least save face for the host country...
So he simply put the whistle in his mouth and blew the final whistle, which consisted of two short and one long whistle.
When the final score on the scoreboard settled at 6:0, a red frenzy instantly swept through the stands!
China defeated the host South Korea in a resounding victory, making history by winning the third place in the World Cup!
All the controversies and empty boasts about being the "Pride of Asia" and the "Strongest in Asia" have been put to rest in this resounding victory!
For the national team's coaches and players, they were relatively restrained—well, they had already celebrated six goals, so they were a bit "tired of it."
But Chinese fans were completely engulfed in a sea of jubilation.
Someone lit the fireworks that had been prepared in advance. The red fireworks bloomed in the sky above the stadium, illuminating every joyful face.
Some people hugged their compatriots, cheering and shouting, celebrating this hard-won honor in the simplest way;
Some fans even spontaneously sang the national anthem, their loud and passionate voices piercing through the noise of the stadium and echoing in the sky above Daegu...
In stark contrast to the jubilation of Chinese fans, South Korean fans were utterly silent and depressed.
The South Korean fans' stands, which were originally packed, are now completely empty.
The remaining South Korean fans sat dejectedly in their seats, covering their faces with their hands, their shoulders trembling, their eyes filled with resentment, shame, and despair.
Their pre-match arrogance and toughness appeared so laughable and pale in the face of this crushing 6-0 defeat.
Some South Korean fans angrily threw their South Korean flags on the ground, repeatedly muttering, "This is so shameful!" and "How could we lose so badly?"
Some fans embraced and wept, their tears mingling with despair;
Some South Korean fans, their faces full of hostility yet helpless, could only stare intently at the happy Chinese players on the field, uttering resentful "Shiba" and "Ashiba."
On the field, the South Korean players stood dejectedly on the grass. Some had their hands on their hips, some were squatting on the ground, and some even turned around and walked into the player tunnel, unwilling to look at the scene in front of them anymore.
The 6-0 scoreline was the most humiliating moment of their professional careers, and a disgrace to South Korean football.
Faced with this crushing defeat, the glory they once possessed for reaching the semi-finals now seems dim and insignificant...