Like the players, Chen Yuan sitting at the coaching bench by the sideline also shuddered. However, he didn’t think too much about it, just feeling that the autumn sun was still quite harsh—sitting there for just a moment made him sweat.

After the dead ball, Lvjing International kicked off again. His players reorganized for the next round of attack, which took quite some time.

Chen Yuan could see Hongjing Eighth’s tactics. Overall, they were just using an iron bucket formation and big kicks to clear the ball and waste time.

Chen Yuan wasn’t worried about these tactics at all.

After all, “defending” meant constantly following the attacking team’s rhythm, requiring high concentration from the defenders, and consuming more player energy than actively attacking.

Indeed, judging from the running speed, initiative, and frequency on the field, Hongjing Eighth’s students were already showing signs of fatigue.

“What other tricks do you have?” Chen Yuan thought while looking toward the Hongjing Eighth coaching area.

In the distance, the female teacher with a short ponytail remained standing by the sideline.

The woman was somewhat short, had fair skin, and didn’t look like a PE teacher in terms of her energy. So it was quite normal for an ordinary high school to find a female teacher to lead the football team.

A female teacher leading the team, no coach…

Chen Yuan felt even more reassured—Hongjing Eighth had absolutely no tactical preparation.

Although everyone could talk about “counterattack” tactics, there were profound intricacies involved, including countless routines and technical tactics, not something a team like Hongjing Eighth could master.

So their so-called counterattack was purely defensive since they couldn’t compete anyway.

While Chen Yuan was thinking and observing, the first half quickly passed.

The referee’s whistle sounded, and on the scoreboard, the black digits 0-0 were particularly eye-catching.

Youth football matches in reality were quite different from the lively scenes in anime. Secondary league matches were so boring that even dogs wouldn’t watch, let alone high school team-level matches.

Therefore, when all the players retreated to the rest area, the entire field suddenly became empty and quiet.

Two egrets descended from the sky, waddling on the grass, enjoying a leisurely walk.

Lvjing International’s players also walked off the field just as leisurely.

Perhaps it was truly the dry season, but Chen Yuan instantly felt his temper flaring.

“Everyone focus!” He clapped his hands forcefully.

The players straightened up, but some couldn’t help yawning.

“What are you thinking about?” Chen Yuan’s voice grew louder, and thinking of the pressure on his position made him even angrier. “Are you proud of a 0-0 draw with a high school team?”

“What did I say before the match? I told you to score more goals in the first half. What were you doing? Do I need to record you to show you how you played—like taking a stroll?”

The coach’s tone rose, naturally transferring pressure to the players. Often, the coach’s role is to remind players when they become mentally lax.

Sure enough, after his shouting, all the players took a deep breath, and no one remained lazy and scattered.

On the other side of the field, is the Hongjing Eighth camp.

The students here were all very quiet. They drank water, wiped sweat, and at most exchanged a word or two in low voices, nothing more.

Lin Wanxing put away her phone, having just sent the first half situation to Wang Fa. She had also taken several short football videos at appropriate times, asking for the coach’s assessment.

But Wang Fa was probably busy at Yongchuan Evergrande Club and hadn’t even replied to her earliest message.

Lin Wanxing put down her phone, and someone glanced at her. She unscrewed a bottle cap and took a sip of water.

“What did the coach say?” Fu Xinshu asked.

“Nothing at all,” Lin Wanxing answered.

Qin Ao — “So we still follow what he said before?”

Lin Wanxing — “Should be.”

Yesterday, although Wang Fa verbally said he was going to Yongchuan for work, before leaving, he still gave the players final tactical guidance.

Wang Fa said that if the students could maintain a 0-0 finish in the first half, that would already be half of their success.

And the second half would be their real opportunity to implement “Tactic One.”

At that time, Wang Fa predicted on the tactical board that after failing to score in the first half, Lvjing International would become anxious in the second half.

They would increase the pressure up front, while their retreating would not be as active as in the first half. Then, if there was a chance to get the ball, it could be given to Lin Lu for a breakthrough.

The reason was simple—Lin Lu was small in stature and had twisted his foot in the last match. Even a fool would know to choose Lin Lu’s route for attacking.

“I don’t understand. If the opponents will attack from my route, why give the ball to me?” Lin Lu was confused.

“Stupid,” Chen Jianghe suddenly understood. “It’s precisely because they think you’re weak and want to attack from your side. That means they’ll press forward on your route, with everyone up front. Once we get the ball, they definitely won’t have time to defend on your side.”

“Oh! Psychological warfare?” Lin Lu suddenly got excited.

“It’s not that complicated. If it’s 0-0 at halftime, they’ll get anxious in the second half. We just need to wait patiently, and we’ll have our chance,” the coach had said at the time.

By the field, Lin Lu lowered his head, covering it with a towel to wipe sweat.

Qin Ao finished a bottle of water and crushed the mineral water bottle.

Fu Xinshu mentally went through the passing route of Tactic One again.

The referee re-entered the field, and the second half was about to begin.

The startled egrets spread their wings, and the football, like a bullet, swiftly cut across the field.

At the beginning of the second half, Lvjing International truly changed its tune, starting with a fierce storm-like attack. Following Chen Yuan’s arrangement, the players took advantage of the golden five minutes after kickoff, frantically breaking through Hongjing Eighth’s penalty area defense.

After continuous passing, a Lvjing International midfielder got the ball at the edge of the penalty area and immediately shot from a distance!

Fu Xinshu immediately interfered, causing the long shot to miss the goal, but quickly, a second long shot came.

The football came like a cannonball. This shot was within the frame of the goal. Goalkeeper Feng Suo dived to make the save, firmly pressing the ball under him.

“More interference at the edge of the penalty area!” Fu Xinshu shouted to the defending teammates inside the penalty area.

The third long shot arrived 30 seconds later. Qi Liang lunged from the side, blocking the ball with his body. His teammate Zheng Ren fell to the ground.

Zhi Hui ran over to pull him up — “Are you okay?”

Zheng Ren touched his chest, then shook his head.

The match continued, time passing second by second. Lvjing International’s attacks grew more intense. Their defenders all pressed past the halfway line, leaving only two people in their half.

This was also Chen Yuan’s arrangement.

In his view, Hongjing Eighth’s only tactic was long passes, which were easy to defend against. They didn’t need to keep too many people in the back.

Lin Wanxing also watched the transitions between attack and defense on the field. Just then, her phone vibrated.

She quickly took it out, only to find it was a promotional text message. There was no new WeChat notification either, so Lin Wanxing put her phone away.

It was the 23rd minute of the second half, with a quarter of the match time remaining.

The score remained at 0-0.

Chen Yuan on the sideline could no longer stay calm.

He rose from the bench, and stood by the sideline, putting more pressure on the players. He continuously waved his arms, signaling the players to press forward even more. He ordered them to squeeze out their last bit of energy to tear through Hongjing Eighth’s defensive line.

30 minutes.

The situation Wang Fa had described finally occurred.

Lvjing International broke through Lin Lu’s defense from the flank and then passed directly into the penalty area. Qi Liang tangled with a Lvjing International forward.

The ball rolled past the feet of both players, with neither able to get it. Zheng Feiyang appeared timely on the path of the rolling football, raising his foot to control it steadily.

At this moment, Lin Lu, who had been used as a breakthrough point to beat, mysteriously appeared at the corner of the penalty area. And in front of him, there was no one defending.

Zheng Feiyang immediately raised his foot, sending a ground pass to Lin Lu!

After receiving the ball, Lin Lu immediately turned, and Fu Xinshu, who had waited for a full 75 minutes, was perfectly positioned within his field of vision!

Lin Lu raised his foot accordingly, sending another ground pass to Fu Xinshu. He began to run forward, continuously running.

“Tactic One” on paper was a simple passing combination.

But behind the simple passing route were unpredictable changes every time a human foot contacted the football.

It was the strength and angle of the pass, the speed and route of the run, the position and posture when receiving the ball, and the precision of passing the football from one point to another.

It was what they had repeated over and over during those three days, been corrected, and then repeated.

The football raced across the green field like a white lightning bolt.

Fu Xinshu received the ball and turned, with Lvjing International’s midfielders immediately pressing toward him.

Two days, from sunrise to sunset, countless practices.

When Fu Xinshu raised his head, the retreating Qin Ao naturally appeared in the most appropriate position within his field of vision.

Fu Xinshu raised his foot again, sending a ground pass near the halfway line. Qin Ao got the ball!

Just like that, Hongjing Eighth used simple coordination to sharply tear open Lvjing International’s midfield blockade.

There was no one defending around Qin Ao. He immediately carried the ball, charging toward the opponent’s half.

Chen Jianghe was furthest forward, Fu Xinshu slightly behind in the middle, and Lin Lu on the right. Together with Qin Ao, they spread out their attacking formation and began to sprint simultaneously.

Everything perfectly aligned with the lines Wang Fa had drawn on the tactical board.

The sky was clear and bright, with a vast expanse without clouds.

Ahead was the wide green field, and behind were the Lvjing International players who, as if awakening from a dream, were rushing back in pursuit.

But it was already too late.

Qin Ao carried the ball to the edge of the penalty area before a defender hastily retreated. He made a sudden stop and passed the ball horizontally.

Chen Jianghe, following up in the middle, was completely unmarked. Meeting the rolling football, he directly shot with a push.

Time’s flow suddenly slowed.

The Lvjing International goalkeeper’s face was frozen in astonishment. His entire body slowly fell toward the direction the football was entering, as the black and white leather ball brushed past the goal line, lightly splashing a few bits of grass.

In the next second, the white net rose backward, and the football crashed in forcefully!

1-0!