Cao Baiming was leading the charge, his teammates unable to catch up!
Let's see how he handles this...
He's shooting directly!!!!
He just crossed the midfield! With no one to receive the pass behind him, this thunderous long-range shot flew directly towards the goal!
Lloris reached out nervously to save it, but as expected, it was a moment too late!
GOAL!!! Cao Baiming! The pride of Tangguo!
A last-minute winner! In the ninety-eighth minute, at the very last second of stoppage time, it was that man who stood up and scored directly into the net, a shot that hit Enrique in the face, and the face of every Spanish player!
The camera focuses on Enrique on the sidelines! His expression clearly shows he's just been hit in the gut!
A goal like this should only exist in heaven! A shocking, world-shattering elevator kick!
With this goal, the Tangguo team secured first place in the group and a spot in the next round, loudly announcing our name to the whole world!
After scoring, the Tangguo team players enthusiastically rushed towards their absolute hero, Cao Baiming!
Cao Baiming, the Tangguo team's attacking defender! A true powerhouse!
They ecstatically lifted Cao Baiming and tossed him into the air. His body, almost depleted, felt instantly re-energized, as if he had drunk an energy drink!
Cao Baiming's long shots are as uncontainable as ever.
Then, the referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the match.
Spain's hopes were also extinguished.
Every single one of them played well, earnestly and diligently, but they just couldn't win.
This sense of powerlessness made the players extremely angry. Although they still comfortably qualified, they felt something was missing.
Cao Baiming's face was filled with satisfaction. He had timed it perfectly at the end, not a second too early or too late.
He scored and immediately heard the referee's whistle, which he had anticipated, but it also depended on the referee's cooperation.
The referee for this match was from the Premier League and had previously officiated an Arsenal match, specifically a game against West Ham United.
Cao Baiming shook hands with everyone with a smile and happily walked off the field.
The system's voice echoed.
"Beep beep beep! Congratulations to the host for scoring a total of three goals in this match, completing a hat-trick! 16 successful dribbles, 56 successful tackles, 35 successful defensive plays..."
"Total points awarded: ninety thousand!"
Hearing the system's report of these statistics, Cao Baiming was somewhat surprised.
He felt like he had been defending and tackling all match, but he never expected it to reach 56 times!
Their opponents had incredible composure! If it were Salah, he would have despaired and retreated long ago!
Following this was a notification about entering the knockout stage.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host's team for successfully qualifying from the group stage with first place in the group standings, advancing to the knockout stage! This reward includes a random supply pack, and the rewards for the knockout stage will be upgraded!"
Cao Baiming's eyes lit up. Upgraded rewards?
The World Cup upgraded, and then upgraded again for the knockout stage! He wondered to what extent it would be enhanced!
This was great news; he hoped it would send him soaring!
At this moment, Wu Dahai walked over. He was quite lucky. The players' faces were beaming with smiles.
They had won the match in the end, so his own mistake seemed insignificant. The players' excitement began to take over.
If they had lost, his teammates would have probably beaten him up, with Cao Baiming leading the charge.
His small frame couldn't withstand Cao Baiming's fists.
Seeing that no one was angry, he joined in the celebration and they walked towards the locker room together.
At this point, all the members of the Tangguo team, not just the players who played the entire match, but also those substituted in the midfield, those brought on as substitutes, and those who sat on the bench for the whole game, everyone was there, celebrating together.
They had already reached the locker room, with Li Gang being the last to enter.
However, the Spanish players had not yet left the field. They must be feeling terrible right now.
It felt as bad as being eliminated.
After the match, Enrique's bold pronouncements were rehashed and twisted by the media and fans, repeatedly taunting him!
Meanwhile, the outside narrative was completely dominated by Tangguo. Almost the entire world's attention was focused on this Tangguo team, and on this inconspicuous group.
Tangguo fans couldn't control their tears upon seeing this. Many had already cried.
After decades of waiting, repeatedly choosing to continue believing in their national team, they finally saw hope!
Overnight, Tangguo's championship odds increased fifteenfold, ranking them eighth among all teams!
This position was just below the in-form Netherlands!
Soon, the results from other groups also came in, and the group stage outcomes were completely clear.
The fans were thrilled!
Of course, apart from the German fans, no major upsets occurred among the other strong teams.
The fundamental reason was not the even distribution of groups, but rather that some strong teams had been eliminated even before the group stage began!
The most typical example of this was the Italian team, where Qian Duoduo played. As a constant presence in the World Cup and a winner of countless trophies, they couldn't even qualify for the group stage this time!
What was most infuriating was not the Italian fans, but Zizou Zidane, who had been brought back to represent the French team!
Sixteen years had passed since 2006! He would never forget his last World Cup match; the situation, the feeling, was still vivid in his mind even now.
It was unlikely that young Materazzi would be successfully summoned back, but at least he deserved a chance for revenge. His greatest wish in coming to the World Cup was to get revenge against Italy!
As a result, the opposing team didn't even make it to the finals! Had they been scared off?
As the external situation gradually solidified, fans engaged in widespread discussions, making bold predictions for the knockout stages of the finals.
Each subsequent match would be tensely hundred times more intense than the previous group stage games, because in such matches, losing just one game meant a complete farewell from this World Cup!
For the Tangguo team, their next opponent was gradually confirmed: the Red and White Checkered Army, who had topped another group. Although pre-match predictions still favored the Checkered Army, the difference was very small.
Li Gang and the Tangguo team's management granted the players a day off as a reward.