r18novel Chapter 48: The World Cup is over!
Chapter 48: The World Cup is over!
After the festivities, the World Cup third-place award ceremony officially began.
This is also a special significance of the third-place match.
The third-place winner receives a medal, which can be taken home as a collectible.
As for the fourth place, there was nothing at all!
Of course, the process of awarding the bronze medal will be relatively simpler, since there will be no trophy-lifting process.
But this was no ordinary third-place award ceremony.
This historic award ceremony is destined to be recorded in history!
This was the first time Chinese football had stood on the world stage podium, and the first time Asian football had won the World Cup bronze medal.
Soon, all the lights in the Daegu World Cup Stadium focused on the podium in the center of the stadium.
FIFA officials, dressed in formal attire, slowly walked onto the podium with solemn expressions.
Among them were FIFA President Sepp Blatter and... FIFA Vice President Chung Mong-joon.
Blatter was all smiles, while Chung Mong-joon could only swallow his bitterness and force out a smile.
He obviously came today to present medals to the South Korean team, but he didn't expect to see such a crushing defeat. He felt like he had lost face in front of Blatter.
Doesn't this also reflect that South Korea's previous "victorious" victories against Italy and Spain were actually not entirely genuine?
Once they were in position, the Chinese team's players and coaches went up on stage to receive their awards.
The cheers from Chinese fans erupted once again!
The five-star red flag was waved wildly in the stands, and the singing was loud and passionate, echoing throughout the entire stadium.
The Chinese team members, now dressed in red jackets, walked confidently and proudly onto the podium.
First it was captain Ma Mingyu, then the team's top scorer Yang Chen, followed by Fan Zhiyi, Li Tie...
The coaching staff walked at the very back.
Ye Xian was the last one.
But just as Blatter was about to hang the bronze medal around Milutinovic's neck, the old man suddenly turned around, took a few steps back, and then pushed Ye Xian forward.
"He's the head of our coaching staff, he should be the first to accept this award on behalf of the coaching staff," Milutinovic said to Blatter, pointing at Ye Xian.
"Okay, I have heard about it." Brad nodded, then hung the medal in his hand around Ye Xian's neck.
He smiled and shook Ye Xian's hand, his tone full of praise: "Coach Ye, you are outstanding! You led the Chinese team to create a miracle!"
Ye Xian bowed slightly to Blatter, a humble yet firm smile on his face: "Thank you, Chairman. This honor belongs to the entire Chinese team, to every hard-working player, and to all the fans who support Chinese football."
At this moment, the Chinese fans in the stands erupted in the loudest cheers of the entire stadium.
Louder than ever before!
Fans clearly understand who the biggest contributor to China's outstanding performance in this World Cup is!
The awards ceremony ended quickly.
The Chinese team members raised their medals and waved to the Chinese fans in the stands.
Then, someone, no one knows who, rushed over and lifted Ye Xian up.
A group of players then surrounded Ye Xian and tossed him into the air!
The crowd erupted in cheers.
The slogans "China is awesome!", "Ye Xian is awesome!", and "The light of Asia" once again resounded through the sky!
Where are the Koreans?
No more.
There wasn't a single person left in the stands.
They boasted wildly before the game, but now they've been thoroughly humiliated and all of them slunk home, hugging their blankets and crying!
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the next day.
The Chinese team, after a night of revelry, did not immediately return home.
They will stay to watch the final match of this World Cup.
Brazil vs. Germany!
The match will be held at Yokohama International Stadium in Japan at 19:00 Beijing time.
Despite both teams having reached the finals and won the title multiple times, today's match marks their first encounter in the World Cup!
Brazil's 3R trio launched a powerful attack, while Germany, with their midfield maestro Ballack suspended, could only field a 4-4-2 defensive counter-attacking formation.
Both teams played cautiously in the first half, and the 0-0 scoreline was somewhat dull.
But after the start of the second half, "The Phenomenon" Ronaldo began to take over the game.
In the 67th minute, Ronaldo won the ball back in the attacking third, dispossessed Hamann, and passed it across to Rivaldo.
Rivaldo unleashed a left-footed shot from 20 meters out, and Kahn caught the ball with both hands but unexpectedly dropped it!
Ronaldo surged forward at high speed and poked the ball into the net with his right foot!
Brazil leads Germany 1-0.
In the 79th minute, the Brazilian team executed a classic combination play.
Kleberson advanced down the right flank and then passed the ball across the middle from the edge of the penalty area.
Rivaldo deliberately let the ball pass him by, and it ended up at Ronaldo's feet.
Ronaldo unleashed a precise right-footed shot from 17 meters out, the ball slipping under Kahn's arm and into the net!
Brazil 2-0 Germany!
This score remained unchanged until the final whistle.
Ultimately, Brazil won the 2002 World Cup!
This was their fifth championship, earning them the title of "Five-Star Brazil".
The 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup has come to an end!
Then came the awards ceremony, including individual awards.
Although Kahn made a mistake in the final, he still won the Ballon d'Or thanks to his excellent performance earlier in the game.
The Golden Boot award went to Ronaldo.
The alien scored 8 goals in 7 games, winning the top scorer title without any doubt.
It's worth mentioning that the second and third place finishers both scored five goals: Rivaldo and Klose.
Next up is Yang Chen, who scored four goals!
He is ranked alongside Thomassen of Denmark and Vieri of Italy.
Although he didn't manage to win a bronze boot or anything like that, it's still a very difficult achievement for a Chinese player!
Brazil also occupied most of the spots in the official World Cup All-Star XI, which was announced later.
Goalkeeper: Kahn (Germany).
Defenders: Roberto Carlos (Brazil), Lucio (Brazil), Hong Myung-bo (South Korea), Cafu (Brazil).
Midfielders: Rivaldo (Brazil), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Ballack (Germany), Li Tie (China).
Forwards: Ronaldo (Brazil), Klose (Germany).
Li Tie was selected as the only representative of the Chinese team!
Although Yang Chen performed very well, he was left out due to the intense competition for the forward position.
Li Tie, who played in every single match for the Chinese team, made limited contributions on the offensive end, but his tireless defensive work left a deep impression on the organizing committee.
As for the other positions, due to frequent rotations and a lack of particularly outstanding performances, it is naturally difficult for them to be selected for the best lineup.
You can't just replace Carlos and Cafu with Wu Chengying or Xu Yunlong!
This also shows that the individual abilities of the Chinese team players are indeed relatively average.
The team's ability to ultimately secure third place was truly due to their ingenious tactics that molded the team into a cohesive unit, unleashing their astonishing fighting power!
As for Hong Myung-bo's selection, let's just consider it the last bit of face that the Koreans have to give themselves.
After all, the South Korean defense he led was breached six times by the Chinese team in a single match...
The Brazilian champion and the Chinese bronze medalist performance astonished the media in Costa Rica and Türkiye, who were in the same group:
"It turns out our group was the real group of death!"
"It's really unfortunate that we've run into two of the best teams in this tournament so early!"
Costa Rica, who defeated China 2-0, proudly stated:
"If we were in the same group as South Korea, wouldn't we be able to beat them 8-0?"
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