Chapter 64: Dark Horse (Seeking Collections)

Beep, beep, beep!

The three-whistle blast echoed, bringing the full match to an end.

Green Little Lions defeated Hamburg U15 with a score of 2:1.

He Chaoyue and Xiang Ming both scored, securing the victory for their team.

However, Hamburg U15's set pieces and corner kicks—leveraging the German youths' height and physical advantages—truly caused them massive trouble and even yielded a goal.

Compared to the match against Torino, this game proved to be much more arduous.

It also highlighted that the Green Little Lions are indeed vulnerable to being suppressed in terms of physical stature.

Yet, the outcome was still favorable!

With an average of 70% possession throughout the match, 8 total shots including 4 dangerous efforts, they converted two into goals.

Had it not been for the opposing goalkeeper's heroic performance, the little lions might have widened the goal difference even further.

Following this fixture, all three group matches concluded.

The Green Little Lions won all three games, advancing to the Round of 16 as group leaders!

This meant their first round in the knockout stage would be comparatively easier.

"Everyone played exceptionally well. This match executed our tactical philosophy wonderfully!" Tong Xianfeng paused, then abruptly spoke up, "Especially you, Wei Lai. Your decisions in midfield spared us from numerous dangers. Once the midfield stabilized, the capabilities of both our front and back lines were unleashed."

"However, there were also issues. The full-backs cannot rush forward simultaneously; when one goes up, the other must stay back. Pay constant attention to your teammates' positioning and provide cover at the first opportunity!"

"Furthermore, commit tactical fouls when necessary. You all played far too nicely—on this point, you need to learn from Yang Fan!"

Yang Fan raised his chin proudly.

In this match, he committed the most fouls and was also the sole recipient of a yellow card among the Green Little Lions.

Tong Xianfeng shifted his tone and said, "Starting tomorrow, the knockout stage begins. The matches will become much more intense, and our opponents will be even stronger. Therefore, we must stay prepared at all times. Pack your luggage, and we will conduct our post-match review once we return to the hotel!"

......

Inside the hotel room.

Wei Lai was on a video call with his father.

"Three consecutive wins, advancing as group winners, having defeated Torino U15, Hamburg U15, and Standard Liège U15?"

Wei Chenggong exclaimed in admiration, "That impressive? Torino and Hamburg aside, I remember Standard Liège is a club from Belgium, right?"

"That's right!" Wei Lai replied with a beaming smile, looking thoroughly delighted.

"Though playing against Hamburg was the toughest. When those German guys squeezed in with their sheer physical bulk, very few of our players could hold their ground!"

Hamburg featured tall and strongly built players with an average height exceeding 178 centimeters.

Their corner kicks and set pieces genuinely posed a considerable threat to the little lions.

"Truly magnificent!" Wei Chenggong gave a thumbs-up. Standing nearby, Chen Qian chimed in, "Xiao Lai, playing football is fine, but don't get injured! Dodge when you need to—listen to your mother!"

Wei Lai smiled, while Wei Chenggong turned his head and protested with dissatisfaction, "Dodge what? You have to fight when it's time to fight, show some grit."

Chen Qian's expression shifted slightly.

Wei Chenggong's tone also changed abruptly. "However, your mom isn't wrong either. Getting injured would be troublesome, and you still have to play in the U-17 World Cup. Being cautious never hurts—keep it up, son! Both your mom and dad support you! When the World Cup comes around, the two of us will go to the stadium to support you live!"

"Mm-hmm!"

Wei Lai agreed with a smile, then said, "Dad, Mom, I won't chat with you for now. The post-match review is about to start, I have to go!"

"Off you go, off you go!"

Hanging up the phone, Wei Lai saw that Yang Fan had also finished his call.

As for He Chaoyue, he was sitting quietly to the side, waiting for the two of them.

"Aren't you going to call home?"

Wei Lai asked He Chaoyue.

He Chaoyue replied indifferently, "There's no need to report on a match like this. It's not like we've never won before!"

Wei Lai and Yang Fan exchanged glances.

Yang Fan said fiercely, "Old Wei, can you tolerate this?"

Wei Lai: "Pin him down!"

By this point, He Chaoyue had already bolted out of sight in a flash.

He certainly dared not go toe-to-toe with these two fellows; neither of them was in his weight class.

Watching He Chaoyue scurry away, Yang Fan laughed heartily, "Coward!"

Wei Lai also smiled and said, "Let's go, time for the review!"

......

Inside Tong Xianfeng's room, the cluster of little lions gathered together.

Some standing, some sitting, they packed the entire room to the brim.

Opposite them stood a computer screen displaying match footage.

Tong Xianfeng began, "First of all, everyone should thank Team Leader Liang for braving the blazing sun to film this precious match footage for us."

With that, Tong Xianfeng initiated the applause, and the others quickly followed suit.

Liang Xu also stood up with a smile, indicating it was only his duty.

Only then did Tong Xianfeng continue, "This is our next opponent, Portuguese powerhouse Porto U15. They advanced as the runners-up of Group A and will face us tomorrow!"

"This match was their third group game against Barcelona, and although they suffered a narrow 1:3 defeat to their opponents, the gameplay they displayed is worth our attention!"

"Here, we need to be vigilant about two specific opponents. One is their number 9, the tall center-forward Rosan, with an official height of 187 centimeters!"

Gasp!

Everyone drew a sharp breath in unison!

At 15 years old, 187 centimeters—he was practically a giant!

"How are we supposed to defend against this big guy? He's practically an aerial bomber!" Yang Fan grimaced.

Jacob and Sonny were not short either.

Yet neither exceeded 180 centimeters, with Jacob being slightly taller at 179 centimeters.

An 8-centimeter height difference was enough to cause a massive headache.

"The height gap cannot be bridged; we can only restrict them through other means," Chen Shaojie spoke up. "We cannot allow them to freely execute crosses from the flanks!"

Finishing his sentence, Chen Shaojie looked at Yang Fan and said, "Brother Yang, you're taking the blame for this next match!"

"Take the blame?" Yang Fan sneered. "I'll dump the blame right back on his head, what is there to fear? Let's take 'em down!"

Tong Xianfeng chimed in at the right moment, "Number 7, Belay, has immense speed! Extremely fast! Even faster than He Chaoyue!"

"Most crucially, his acceleration and instantaneous explosive power are enough to shake off anyone!"

"The combination of these two players is Porto's most threatening attacking routine: one tall, one fast, coupled with crosses, making it very easy to generate dangerous shots."

He Chaoyue stated, "We cannot let this number 7 get into a one-on-one situation; Yang Fan cannot hold him off."

Yang Fan protested with dissatisfaction, "Hey! Old He, you have zero faith in me, don't you?"

He Chaoyue retorted, "Just speaking facts. In a one-on-one, can you keep up?"

Yang Fan pursed his lips. Despite his deep annoyance...

"I can't keep up!"

"I'll operate more in the left zone," Wei Lai raised his hand and said. "Once Yang Fan pins him down, I can rush over to provide double-teaming support!"

Against a player with such explosive speed, unless he applied close marking immediately, Wei Lai would have no choice but to call for backup.

Moreover, in this match, he could not vacate the left flank.

If he left, he wouldn't make it back in time.

Abandoning total coverage to increase zone-based cooperative defense and completely block the opponent's primary attacking routes left only...

"I'll drop back!" Xiang Ming volunteered, raising his hand. "Old Wei has already made sacrifices, so I'll also surrender part of our offense, letting Luo Xiang and He Chaoyue take charge of the attack!"

Having said that, he looked at He Chaoyue and declared, "Thirty minutes. If you don't score a goal, we're done for!"

He Chaoyue touched his ponytail and tossed his head.

"Twenty minutes will be more than enough!"

"Damn it!" Xiang Ming turned his head and curled his lip. "I just can't stand that attitude of his!"

Wei Lai suddenly asked, "He Chaoyue, how many goals have you scored?"

He Chaoyue held up five fingers.

"Two in the first round, two in the second, and one in the third!"

Wei Lai paused in astonishment, turned around, and asked, "Can someone tell me what the top scorers' chart looks like right now?"

Liang Xu suppressed a smile and pointed at He Chaoyue. "He's currently at the top of the scoring charts!"

"Wait..." Yang Fan interjected abruptly, "Across our three matches, we've scored nine goals, conceded two, and have a goal difference of plus seven? We're that fierce?"

Liang Xu nodded. "That's why you are now considered the dark horse team. During today's match, I spotted coaches from several other teams filming your gameplay, including Santuario and Barcelona. You've caught their attention!"