Chapter 298: Chapter 245: The Ruthless United States Team

In the stands, many South Korean fans roared in anger.

But even more fans had fallen silent.

No one could have imagined that the match, which had been going so well in the first half, would take such a violent turn in the second.

Stretchers, red cards, bloodshed—so much had happened in just over twenty minutes that many people’s minds went blank from the shock.

In the VIP box, the South Korean president’s face was grim, and he remained silent.

The many invited guests around him whispered amongst themselves.

Zheng Mengjun’s hands gripped the armrests of his chair, and he sat as still as a statue, unmoving.

When Park Ji-sung was kicked to the ground and carried off the field, Zheng Mengjun had already been left dumbfounded.

He had considered that the United States Team might retaliate, but for the sake of his own future, he was willing to bear the consequences of his actions.

Zheng Mengjun had even planned it all out. After the match, he would immediately represent the South Korea Team, follow the example of the Japanese, and bow in apology to the United States Team. If bowing wasn’t enough, he would kneel. The old saying about a man’s knees being worth their weight in gold didn’t apply in South Korea.

Then, he would shift all the blame onto Hiddink. If the United States Team insisted on pursuing the matter, he would push Jin Xiaozhong forward to take the fall.

But he never expected the United States Team to take their revenge right then and there, on the field.

Park Ji-sung!

Zheng Mengjun knew of this player. He was a promising young talent with great potential, and crucially, only 21 years old.

That kick... although he didn’t know the extent of the injury, it was most likely a serious one.

For a moment, Zheng Mengjun even felt a twinge of regret. ’You take out one of ours, we take out one of yours.’ Even if the South Korea Team won, it would be a pyrrhic victory—injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred of their own.

The only thing he could be thankful for was that the South Korea Team had taken the lead.

’As long as we win, that’s all that matters. If the South Korea Team falls in the Round of 16, all my years of effort will have been for nothing.’

Then, Zheng Mengjun saw Ryu Hyang-tae being carried off the field.

The corner of his eye twitched violently. He thought to himself, ’There are only about ten minutes left. The match is almost over. We just have to hold on.’

On the field, the South Korea Team had already tightened their formation.

But at this moment, the United States Team was out for revenge, long past caring about winning or losing.

In the 82nd minute, at midfield, South Korea Team forward An Zhenhuan leaped up to receive the ball. While in mid-air, he suddenly heard someone shout, "Watch out!"

The next moment, something else appeared in his vision, moving faster than the ball. His world went black, and he instantly lost consciousness.

TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!

Moreno blew his whistle frantically.

A wave of shocked cries swept through the stands.

In the front row of the stands, former Miss South Korea Lee Hye-won’s body went limp, and she collapsed.

It was O’Brien. He had charged in from the side at almost the same time, leaping just as high. He raised his left leg, his body slamming violently into An Zhenhuan’s, his left knee connecting squarely with An Zhenhuan’s face.

It was practically a flying knee strike!

An Zhenhuan, still in the air, was sent flying two meters as if he’d been hit by a car. He went completely still.

Moreno ran over and couldn’t help but shiver as he looked at the murderous O’Brien. He had a feeling the guy wanted to beat him up.

He pulled out a yellow card. The second yellow turned to a red, and O’Brien was sent off.

O’Brien stared directly at Moreno and walked past him without a word.

’He actually wanted to punch the bastard, but assaulting a referee was another matter entirely.’

An Zhenhuan was also carried off the field.

But the retaliation didn’t end there.

In the 86th minute, defender Jin Taiying and United States Team forward Moore clashed in front of the penalty area. Moore took an elbow to the ribs, turned, and kicked Jin Taiying in the upper thigh.

Jin Taiying immediately clutched his vital area and collapsed, and he was hastily substituted off.

When the camera panned to Moore, he wore a look of frustration, as if annoyed that his kick had been a little off target and hadn’t landed exactly where he’d intended.

The South Korea Team was trembling. It even got to the point where a player would receive the ball, see a United States Team player charging at them, and just turn and run, completely forgetting about the ball.

The entire stadium was in an uproar. In the stands, many South Korean fans were now furious to the extreme.

Words like "murderer" and "assassin" echoed throughout the stadium.

Even louder shouts could be heard from outside the stadium, where nearly one hundred thousand more South Korean fans were gathered.

But the members of the United States Team didn’t care at all. If a foul was needed, they committed one; if a player needed to be taken down, they took them down. They showed no mercy.

In the 91st minute, United States Team defensive midfielder Amas followed up in the center and took a powerful shot. The ball went wide, smashing violently into the left side of Moreno’s face.

Moreno fell to the ground on the spot. It took him a full twenty seconds to get back up.

’Once he was up, Moreno thought about pulling out a card, but then he put his hand back down. At this point, it was meaningless whether he gave a card or not.’

’He was genuinely afraid that one of the American players would go crazy and give him a vicious blow.’

Fortunately, wanting the match to end as quickly as possible, he had only given four minutes of stoppage time.

When a panicked South Korea Team player cleared the ball with a long kick, Moreno hastily blew the final whistle to end the match.

A few of the South Korean players’ knees gave out, and they collapsed right onto the ground.

Everyone was panting for breath, having even forgotten to celebrate.

Just then, from a corner of the stands, an angry South Korean fan was the first to jump down and rush onto the field.

Then another, then several, then many more.

A large number of security guards and police had been assigned to this match precisely because of the United States Team.

But faced with tens of thousands of fans, this security force now seemed inadequate.

"Stop them!" In the VIP box, Zheng Mengjun was so panicked his vision started to blur.

If these hooligans were allowed to rush the field and injure the United States Team players, this would no longer be a simple soccer match. It could escalate completely into a political incident.

’That other incident just happened not long ago, and the Americans are still going around the world, confronting people and looking for culprits. For something like this to happen at this time... one can only imagine the consequences for South Korea.’

The South Korean president beside him also stood up in a panic, ordering his aides to act quickly to stop the fans. The safety of everyone on the United States Team had to be guaranteed, no matter what.

The unluckiest person was Alina. Having been sent off, he was right there in the stands.

Fortunately, when the United States Team had first started their counter-attack, several police officers and security guards had surrounded him for protection.

Now, facing the enraged South Korean fans, these men used their own bodies to shield Alina, desperately escorting him down from the stands.

"Mr. Alina, please get back to the locker room, quickly!" pleaded a police chief in charge of security, his face pale with anxiety and utter frustration.

’These American players! They hadn’t left the field immediately. A few of them were even provoking the fans in the stands, making universally understood gestures.’

’It’s just adding fuel to the fire!’

’But what could he do? If these Americans were actually harmed, the embassy and the local military garrison would get involved.’

Alina straightened his disheveled clothes, snorted coldly, and only then signaled for his players to return to the locker room.

Anger was one thing, but Alina was genuinely afraid his players would be surrounded and injured.

Surrounded by three layers of police and security guards, enduring a sky full of flying water cups, shoes, and other debris, the United States Team contingent finally made their difficult retreat to the locker room.

Because this was the final match of the Round of 16, there were actually quite a few coaching staff members from other national teams in the stands, scouting.

It wasn’t just the South Korea Team; the United States Team had nearly finished first in their group and was also well worth scouting.

But no one could have predicted that the match would turn out like this.

"That was brutal!"

Spain’s assistant coach Lorenzana was aghast. A scene like this was extremely rare in the entire history of the World Cup.

"Brutal?"

Next to him, National Team head coach José Camacho snorted coldly. "If you ask me, the South Korea Team deserved it."

Camacho was paying closest attention to this match. After their victory over Ireland in the knockout stage, their opponent in the quarterfinals would be decided between the South Korea Team and the United States Team.

In the first half, Camacho hadn’t thought much of it, only that the United States Team was surprisingly strong, while the South Korea Team’s reputation was undeserved. It was incredible that they had managed to eliminate Portugal.

But in the second half, everything changed.

A United States Team player was taken out by a dirty foul first.

Even their head coach was sent off.

’At that moment, Camacho was completely stunned. This is clearly a fixed match!’

If Spain had to face a South Korea Team like this in the next round, Camacho would rather bench all his starters and forfeit the match.

’The World Cup is important, but is it more important than the players’ health?’

Just as Camacho was feeling angry and helpless, the United States Team began its revenge.

They were even more vicious than the South Korea Team. It was obvious to Camacho that the United States Team no longer cared about winning or losing; they were simply out for revenge.

Watching the South Korean players being carried off the field one after another, Camacho felt nothing but a sense of cathartic satisfaction.

"You’ve got to hand it to the Americans. They’re ruthless enough," Camacho said with a grin. Anyway, he felt that if he had been in Alina’s position, he definitely wouldn’t have dared to order his players to retaliate on the spot. At most, he would have filed a protest with FIFA after the match.

But would a protest be of any use?

Who was Zheng Mengjun?

If FIFA hadn’t given the nod from within, would that Moreno dare to officiate like that?

Lorenzana was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a wry smile.

They were Americans, after all. Everyone understood.

"Look," Camacho said, pointing down at the field. "The South Koreans get beaten to a pulp, and they still have to safely escort the United States Team back to their locker room."

Three layers deep, they formed two human walls, linking hands to protect the United States Team members in the middle.

Meanwhile, they showed no such courtesy to their own compatriots, the local fans who were clamoring for justice against the United States Team. Anyone who didn’t listen was immediately struck and kicked.

Anyone who didn’t know better would think the United States Team was the home team.

To cripple South Korean stars on their own turf, endure a siege from South Korean fans, and still be politely escorted away by South Korean police... in the entire world, probably only the United States Team could receive such treatment.

After this moment of reflection, Camacho suddenly grew excited. "You know, I think we really ought to thank the United States Team. This whole mess they’ve caused is a good thing for us. Not only are the South Korea Team’s key players injured, but the referees in the next match definitely won’t dare to be so blatantly biased. And you just wait and see, the United States Team won’t let this go."

The United States has always been the one bullying others around the world, and it’s the same in international sports. When have they ever suffered such a humiliating grievance? How could they possibly let the South Korea Team off so easily?

That’s why, in Camacho’s view, the South Korea Team was completely finished.

With this, Spain’s path to the semifinals was all but guaranteed.

Group B hadn’t been strong to begin with. Spain had advanced with three wins in three matches. Now, it seemed like they’d hit the jackpot, with a free pass all the way to the semifinals.