When Hu Lai ran onto the training field in full view of everyone, he apologized to head coach Parotti with a smile on his face:

"Sorry, sorry, I'm late, I'm late... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The coaches looked at him, and so did the youth team players training with him.

This is indeed a very strange thing.

Being late for training was the first time this happened to Hu Lai.

Although he is not the kind of player who often stays and takes the initiative to train, he is definitely very professional.

I am never late or absent from training, and I conscientiously complete everything the coach asks me to do.

So when Hu Lai was late for training, everyone found it incredible.

Even if he was only five minutes late...

"It's unbelievable..." Parotti shook his head in response to Hu Lai's apology, "Did you encounter a traffic jam?"

As the head coach, Parotti has already begun to find reasons for Hu.

On the one hand, it is due to his "good guy" personality, and on the other hand, it is naturally because Hu Lai is the team's number one star and has no bad record before, so the head coach is willing to give him a chance.

But unexpectedly, Hu Lai shook his head: "There's no traffic jam, sir. I just started late because I was watching the game at home..."

"A game?" Parotti was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "A game between you and the Japanese team?"

Hu Lai nodded.

"So that's it." Parotti asked him again, "Then the result of the game is..."

Hu Lai shook his head: "I don't know. I hurried to train before the game was over, but I didn't expect to be late..."

"You are only five minutes late." Parotti said, "But according to the rules of the team, you still have to contribute five hundred to the team fund. This is the rule, you know."

Hu Lai nodded.

According to the team rules, if anyone is late, he will be fined 100 euros for being late for one minute. The team has a special treasury, and all fines will go into this treasury.

Then any activities the team has, such as team building, etc., will be spent through this money.

No matter what the reason is, even if you encounter a car accident on the road and act bravely to save others, you will still have to pay the fine.

Rules are rules.

Therefore, even a player like Hu Lai, who has never been late before, has to take the initiative to hand over the fine to the team's treasury after being late.

"No problem, I accept the punishment."

Seeing Hu Lai's crispness, Parotti nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, now go warm up and try to keep up with the training rhythm."

Looking at Hu Laiqu's back warming up, Parotti turned to assistant coach Enzuo Nahel and said: "Go and check online to find out what the result of this game is."

Nahel took out his cell phone to check and quickly gave Parotti a reply:

"The game is not over yet, but it is almost over. The score is now 2:2.

It’s a draw.”

"Can the Chinese team without Hu still draw with the Japanese team, which is fighting for the right to qualify?" Parotti was a little surprised. "The performance is quite good."

※※※

The stadium is full of people, and if you listen carefully, you can hear majestic singing coming from the stands.

The fans of the Chinese team are singing that "old" song over and over again:

"Chop the devils' heads with the big knife!"

"The stoppage time has reached the last two minutes, and the score is still 2:2. The Japanese team's desperate fight... was interrupted! The Chinese team's counterattack!"

The singing stopped suddenly and was replaced by deafening cheers.

"Zhou Zijing headed the ball back... Guo Junfu caught the ball and led it forward, but no one came up..."

After Zhou Zijing headed the ball, he immediately rushed forward and took away the Japanese team's central defender. After Guo Junfu, who came on as a substitute for Zhang Qinghuan in the second half, got the ball, no Japanese player within ten meters in front of him came up to guard him.

Of course, behind him, Morikawa Junpei was desperately chasing after him.

But Guo Junfu didn't give him a chance to catch up with him. After seeing that the Japanese team players were restrained by Zhou Zijing, he took a long shot from outside the penalty area!

"Guo Junfu's long shot! Ouch! Nishiguchi Nobuo made a key save. He saved the football from the bottom line! The Chinese team won a corner kick!"

"In the last minute of injury time, the Chinese team got a corner kick. Don't be anxious at this time, take your time...Eh? Don't be anxious!"

Seeing Guo Junfu running towards the corner flag area to take a corner kick, He Feng and Yan Kang became anxious.

They felt that it was a very good result for the Chinese team to draw with the Japanese team under such circumstances.

On the contrary, the Japanese team will not be satisfied with this result, they will be anxious.

If they are anxious, why should we be anxious?

In the imagination of the two commentators, the entire Chinese team should now respond to the last minute of the game with a calm attitude.

Try to delay time and give the Japanese team a draw. As a result, the Japanese team's group ranking dropped from second to third, sending them to the play-offs!

However, none of the Chinese players on the court seemed willing to delay the game. Except for Guo Junfu, who was going to serve, everyone else also ran forward and rushed into the Japanese team's penalty area, actively trying to attack.

Logically speaking, the Chinese team's corner kick tactics at this time should be based on delaying time, arranging two players to take corner kicks, and only arranging one center in front of the goal. Others, including the center back, are all in their own backcourt and cannot go up.

Then when the corner kick is taken, he will wander around the opponent's corner flag area, with the receiving player protecting the football, forcing the opponent to foul, or continue to take corner kicks.

But what the Chinese team is showing now is that they treat this corner kick as a normal corner kick.

No one went up to cooperate with Guo Junfu to delay time.

Center back Wang Guangwei also rushed to the Japanese team's goal, trying to compete for the top spot.

This made the two commentators in the stands confused - the score of 2:2 was obviously enough to push the Japanese team to a dead end, why was it necessary to press on?

If you want to defeat the Japanese team at home, you will also face the risk of being attacked by the Japanese team's desperate counterattack, losing the game instead and giving the Japanese team three points...

What a waste of money!

But the Chinese players on the court and on the sidelines didn't see it that way.

Chen Xingyi, who had been substituted, stood on the sidelines and shouted into the court: "Lao Wang, get up! Get to the front!"

In fact, Wang Guangwei had already gone up, but Chen Xingyi still couldn't help shouting. He was not shouting for Wang Guangwei, but for himself.

They were once again faced with a situation where they could win but they could also lose, and if they did nothing they could just draw.

But this time, most of them made different choices than last time.

※※※

“Is the Chinese team crazy?”

Carlisle, the head coach of the Japanese team, widened his eyes when he saw this scene:

"Are they really not afraid of us fighting back?"

"Isn't this a good thing? We still have one last chance to fight back..." the assistant coach asked.

Carlisle stopped talking. This was indeed a good thing for the Japanese team. He was previously worried that the Chinese team was delaying time intentionally.

But looking at it now, the Chinese team did not choose to do that.

The Chinese team, which was thought to lose easily to the Japanese team before the game, seems to be unwilling to just draw with the Japanese team!

This is a good thing for the Japanese team, but Carlisle is always vaguely worried.

He was worried that the Chinese team would really use this corner kick opportunity to push the football into the Japanese team's goal...

But the situation no longer allowed Carlisle to do anything else.

The referee blew the whistle and Guo Junfu kicked the football towards the Japanese team's goal!

Wang Guangwei leaped high and headed the ball towards the goal!

Nobuo Nishiguchi was beyond his reach, but Junpei Morikawa, who was guarding the back post, jumped up and pushed the football out!

"Junpei Morikawa! Goal line rescue! The Japanese team escaped!" the Japanese commentator exclaimed again and again.

The football that was pushed out by Junpei Morikawa on the goal line did not fly out of the baseline, but flew into the penalty area.

Players from both sides are competing for football placement.

"There is still a chance to launch a counterattack..."

The Japanese commentator also shouted anxiously.

But before he finished speaking, he saw a person in the penalty area leaping high, jumping higher than anyone else!

He is wearing a red jersey and his number is nine!

"Zhou Zijing!"

He jumped in the air, across the mountain, and hit the football on his head!

Then he rubbed the football towards the goal in a very awkward posture!

Nobuo Nishiguchi flew into the air and lifted it up with all his strength!
To be continued...