Chapter 7

When the game reached the final twenty minutes in a deadlock, the situation began to change.

With little time left in the match, the young players on the field started to become anxious and restless, as none of them had made a decisive play, let alone scored a goal.

In such a situation, individualism began to resurface in both the red team and the blue team.

The well-organized offensive structure of the red team, which Zhou Yi had established, started to show signs of disintegration.

A clear sign of this was that fewer players were willing to pass the ball to Zhou Yi, and the number of times he received passes from his teammates was decreasing.

Especially near the penalty area, players with the ball preferred to take matters into their own hands rather than pass to Zhou Yi to organize the attack.

Zhou Jianliang, sitting in the stands, frowned again. If this continued, his son wouldn't get any chance to show his skills...

He was still very concerned about whether his son would be selected for the final team. After all, that was the ultimate goal of his son's participation in this tryout.

"Ah, it's a mess again..." Xiao Wang, sitting on the platform, also noticed that the game was reverting to its old pattern.

Hao Dong remained silent, still focused on Zhou Yi. He wanted to see if the boy could remain calm in such a situation and what kind of performance he would put up.

He was really curious.

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Zhou Yi passed the ball to a teammate and ran to an open space, hoping the teammate would pass it back to him. However, the teammate who received the ball turned and took a shot, sending the ball high over the crossbar, posing no threat to the blue team's goal.

Zhou Yi didn't complain about his teammate. This wasn't the first time it had happened, and he had gotten used to it.

In fact, he was also anxious, but he knew that the more anxious he was, the more important it was to stay calm. Of course, he wanted to rush to the goal and score, but he was also aware of his technical strengths. If he rushed to the goal and no one could pass him the ball, what was the point of being there?

Instead of wasting opportunities, it was better to think about how to create them.

He looked up and observed the situation on the field.

The game was almost over, and everyone was anxious. Not just the red team, but the blue team's players also wanted to score and win the game.

Therefore, their defense wasn't as tight as before, and they weren't as tightly packed. Zhou Yi noticed many open spaces near the blue team's penalty area. These spaces varied in size, and while they might not seem critical at the moment, if he could do something, they could become critical.

But how could he create these open spaces?

He began to frequently turn his head to observe the surroundings, memorizing all the information, and forming a bird's-eye view of the field. On this map, the positions of every player from both the red and blue teams were accurately marked. Zhou Yi, like a hawk, could see everything clearly from above.

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Huang Zhihua got the ball again outside the penalty area. Since he was still far from the goal, he didn't take a direct shot. He didn't know what to do—should he rely on his skills to break through? He had used this move several times before, and it worked well outside the penalty area, but once he got closer, it became almost impossible.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of Zhou Yi out of the corner of his eye.

The remaining clear-headed part of his mind reminded him of the passes Zhou Yi had made to him. Since he didn't know what to do, why not pass the ball to Zhou Yi?

With this thought, Huang Zhihua passed the ball to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi faced the ball and made a move as if he was going to receive it and go left, causing the blue team's defender in front of him to move early. However, Zhou Yi didn't receive the ball but let it roll past him from left to right.

Then he turned and chased the ball, leaving the blue team's defender who thought he was going left behind!

Zhou Yi then suddenly accelerated, cutting diagonally towards the blue team's penalty area!

Although Zhou Yi wasn't a speed player, it didn't mean he was slow. In such a short distance, his sudden acceleration was quite threatening.

Seeing this, Zhou Jianliang excitedly stood up from his seat, raising his arms and shouting, "Go, son!"

The parents of the blue team players shouted loudly, hoping their children could stop Zhou Yi from getting close to the penalty area.

Unconsciously, everyone realized that Zhou Yi was the most threatening player on the red team...

The blue team's defenders moved to intercept, blocking Zhou Yi's path and preventing him from entering the penalty area.

At that moment, Zhou Yi swung his right foot.

But he didn't take a long shot; instead, he gently flicked the ball in the opposite direction!

The ball passed between him and the blue team's defender, rolling to the other side, where there was no blue team defender!

A huge open space!

Huang Zhihua appeared in this huge open space and received the ball from Zhou Yi!

"Great pass—" Xiao Wang shouted excitedly again.

Even Hao Dong couldn't help but be moved, his facial muscles twitching.

When it was difficult to break through the defense with passes, this kid chose to combine dribbling and passing to create an open space!

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Huang Zhihua seemed surprised to receive Zhou Yi's pass, but he quickly reacted.

Shoot!

He could even hear his father's roar from the stands.

This was indeed a great opportunity!

With this thought, Huang Zhihua swung his left foot and took a powerful shot!

This time, he didn't aim for the angle but for power.

Power can create miracles!

The ball, shot by Huang Zhihua, flew like a cannonball towards the far corner of the goal!

The blue team's goalkeeper made a desperate dive, not wanting his goal to be breached in the last few minutes of the game...

His fingers grazed the ball, but it didn't change its trajectory much, still flying straight towards the far corner of the goal.

Huang Zhihua had put all his strength into that shot.

Almost everyone's eyes were fixed on the ball. Would it go in?

Under the gaze of dozens of people, the ball hit the far post and bounced back!

"Ah!!"

The shouts of disappointment and relief from the parents mixed together.

But just as the parents were still shouting "Ah," a red figure suddenly darted out in front of the blue team's goal, diving to head the ball as it bounced off the post!

The ball flew straight into the empty goal.

Goal!

The stadium, which should have been filled with cheers, suddenly fell silent.

At that moment, one person, no, two people, clapped their hands.

Zhou Jianliang clapped and called out, "Well done!"

On the platform nearby, Hao Dong also stood up and clapped Xiao Wang on the shoulder, "It's him!!"

He had seen clearly that after passing the ball, Zhou Yi didn't stop but suddenly accelerated towards the goal, as if he already knew what would happen next...

Sure enough, the ball hit the post and bounced back, and Zhou Yi, who had sprinted forward, met it with a clean diving header. For a forward with a good goal-scoring rate, this wasn't difficult.

To be able to organize the midfield and score a goal, could there be a more perfect performance? And he was a substitute, with less time to show his skills than others.

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After scoring, Zhou Yi was very excited. He got up from the ground and ran straight to the sideline without stopping. He didn't hug his teammates, and they didn't seem to want to hug him either.

He ran to the bottom of the stands and shouted to his father, "Dad, I scored! I scored!"

As Zhou Yi ran to the sideline, Zhou Jianliang also ran down from the stands, almost falling because of his excitement. He stumbled but managed to catch the railing and didn't fall to the ground, though he looked quite disheveled.

But Zhou Jianliang didn't care. He held the railing, stood up, and gave his son a thumbs up, "Well done! Well done!" As a father, he didn't forget to remind his son to stay calm. "Stay calm, the game isn't over yet! Keep playing well!"

Zhou Yi saluted his father, "Don't worry!"

His son turned and ran back to the field, while Zhou Jianliang turned to look at the other parents. He saw envy and jealousy in their eyes and sat down, feeling very satisfied.

Why didn't they think of this when they were making fun of my son?

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After Zhou Yi scored, he not only broke the deadlock in the score but also disrupted the delicate balance in everyone's minds.

Before, although they all wanted to score, no one had done so earlier, and no one had stolen the spotlight.

Now, Zhou Yi had stolen everyone's spotlight.

Moreover, you couldn't even accuse Zhou Yi of hogging the spotlight. Since coming on as a substitute, he had focused on passing and assisting his teammates, and many of them had scoring opportunities thanks to him.

Even the final shot that Zhou Yi took was a follow-up to Huang Zhihua's shot hitting the post and bouncing back. You could say he was lucky, but why was he the one who got lucky?

When the others saw Huang Zhihua take the shot, they all went into spectator mode, but only Zhou Yi persisted in cutting inside, and his persistence paid off, giving him this opportunity to shine.

What else could be said?

Even if they were unwilling, they had to accept it.

After someone scored, the remaining players suddenly lost their motivation to continue fighting—everyone could see that Zhou Yi's performance was better. He could not only pass and organize but also score goals. Compared to him, what did they have to show for themselves?

In this mood, the last few minutes of the game passed quickly, and the referee blew the final whistle.

The final match was over, and it was time to reveal the results.

Hao Dong stood in front of the exhausted and panting young players again.

"Does anyone remember the last thing I said before the game, kids?"

Hao Dong's question left everyone puzzled. Some shook their heads, and others had no reaction or didn't know how to react.

"I reminded you that football is a team sport. Unfortunately, you either didn't hear it or forgot it. Only one person did what I said, and you all know who he is."

Some turned to look at Zhou Yi, who was standing at the back of the line.

"So, I think he should be the last one selected, and no one should object, right?" Hao Dong asked.

Some shook their heads, some remained silent, but no one objected.

Even Huang Zhihua, who was confident, just lowered his head and said nothing. He had thought that if he had scored, he would have been the winner.

But after hearing Hao Dong's words, he realized that even if he had scored, he might still have been the substitute selected.

Seeing no objections, Hao Dong looked up at Zhou Yi and said, "Zhou Yi, come here."

Zhou Yi walked to the front of the line, standing in front of Hao Dong, under the envious gazes of everyone.

Hao Dong pulled Zhou Yi to his side, facing the players and their parents.

Zhou Yi wasn't embarrassed and stood confidently next to his idol, immediately spotting his father in the crowd.

His father was holding a camera in one hand and giving him a thumbs up with the other.

"Congratulations, you have the qualifications to go to Europe!" Hao Dong patted Zhou Yi's shoulder hard.

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