Chapter 216: World Cup! I'm Coming, I Fight, I Conquer
On May 27 the Belgium national team flew into London.
Xia Qi, Luke Shaw and Theo Walcott, as hosts, entertained their Arsenal teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Thomas Vermaelen.
Belgium had been drawn into Group H at the World Cup with South Korea, Algeria and Russia.
At the dinner table, the World Cup was an unavoidable topic.
Compared with England's death group, Belgium was undoubtedly lucky—no matter what, they essentially held a qualification spot.
Unlike England, where Italy and Uruguay were like three tigers fighting and someone would surely get hurt.
"Mario said he's got a surprise for you."
"That kid's even got the No.9 in the Italian team now and he's acting cocky, but compared to Lorenzo Insigne and Antonio Cassano, Mario really is the most dangerous in their squad..."
"But I think the hardest guys to deal with in Italy are Juventus' grim duo: Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci, and their keeper Gianluigi Buffon."
"Theo, if you get a chance to shoot, don't hesitate—speed beats all in football. Those three won't give you time to set up. Luke, Mario's on you—take out Italy and we'll have six points."
At that moment, they didn't yet know that Costa Rica—whom they thought were free points—would be the real beast in the group.
In the original timeline, Costa Rica won two and drew one for seven points and marched proudly into the knockout stage,
then knocked out Greece in the round of 16 and lost 3:4 to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
Italy, which looked weak, was truly weak; England, which looked strong, lived up to the nickname "Europe's China team."
Both teams were eliminated after the group stage!
Belgium in Group H ultimately fell in the quarterfinals, losing 0:1 to Lionel Messi's Argentina.
Of course, that was in the original timeline. In this world, if both teams performed better, they might still meet in the semifinals.
And the agreement between Xia Qi and Toni Kroos could only be fulfilled in a final meeting.
The five of them chatted a while longer about Italy's likely formation.
"Four at the back is probably certain, although the three-at-the-back trend is popular in Serie A."
"What about midfield? Four or five?"
"Italy, like us, lacks top-level forward options—likely a lone striker, so that'd be five in midfield."
"Oh man, Mario will be upset to hear you say he's not outstanding."
"Heh, it's a secret. I'll pay you hush money."
"About the same as us then?"
"Maybe a small difference in the defensive midfield roles. We play a double pivot; they might have Daniele De Rossi as a single pivot."
"That Roman? I like his beard..."
The next day, in the match against Belgium,
none of Arsenal's five stars started.
They had only just finished the Champions League final on the 24th; the coaches feared their fatigue and kept them all on the bench.
Without Xia Qi linking things, the "two Ds" looked unwatchable—Frank Lampard and later Maguire were like enemy moles; several passes gifted possession to the opposition.
By the 20th minute of the first half, proud England trailed 0:2.
Fans at Wembley chanted Xia Qi's name, but Roy Hodgson was proud too—was it true England couldn't have hot soup without "Chef Xia"?
Hodgson substituted Ross Barkley on for Frank Lampard and brought Daniel Sturridge on for Danny Welbeck from Manchester United,
moving Wayne Rooney back into the number-10 role to organize attacks—Rooney's post-Cristiano era position at Manchester United.
But Rooney's reputation as a playmaker outpaced his actual organizing ability; he could stop the collapse but lacked the punch to level the score.
In the second half Xia Qi finally came on, accompanied by the "two Ds"—Lampard and Steven Gerrard. England switched to a 4-4-2 in the second half; Hodgson's second-choice system.
(In friendlies, players substituted off can return; that rule doesn't apply as strictly as in competitive matches.)
Kevin De Bruyne also came on for Belgium.
With Xia Qi in England's midfield, Lampard and Gerrard could coexist,
and the final score was a 3:2 narrow win for Belgium over England.
After the match Xia Qi and Kevin De Bruyne swapped shirts.
The Arsenal five promised to meet again in Brazil!
After the game, the media called for the second-choice 4-4-2 to be promoted to the first XI—after all, sitting a talent like Frank Lampard on the bench felt like a waste...
...
The following day Xia Qi's agent Joanna came to the national team base to discuss summer transfer issues.
A player's youth lasts only a few years and it's natural to "sell" at a good price. Arsenal's owner was notoriously stingy and unlikely to raise his wage structure, so leaving might really happen.
But Xia Qi didn't want to be anyone's sidekick—after back-to-back European Golden Boots and a Ballon d'Or season, he didn't need to play deputy for anyone.
Look at what happened when Rooney served as Cristiano Ronaldo's support—what did he get in return?
So Xia Qi was currently in that awkward position of being highly priced but with limited suitors.
Platforms above Arsenal would basically mean Real Madrid; the Bundesliga held little appeal for him. So realistically it came down to Real Madrid.
Barcelona wouldn't sell their homegrown talents—at least not within the next five years.
"Talk first. Anyway, if Cristiano isn't leaving, I won't go. I'd rather revive Juventus or Milan in Serie A... I'm a big name—where I go there's attention!"
"Paris Saint-Germain? They'd pay you huge wages..."
"PSG, eh?"
"Let's talk after the World Cup. For now, your future at Arsenal isn't certain. He even gave me a sports car to try to keep you, but you know their price point and our offers..."
Joanna spread her arms with a big gesture and wore a helpless look.
If Arsenal's owner were more generous, staying would be best for Xia Qi. Cristiano was still in his prime and Real Madrid hadn't exhausted his commercial value; they weren't keen on selling him.
They wanted Xia Qi to join Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema as a combination,
but that clashed with Xia Qi's principle: he refused to be a "Rooney." No way.
"Good luck at the World Cup! Whether I can become a little rich depends on you—stop worrying about transfers and endorsements. We can elevate Arsenal to the altar and build other gods. Frankly, I support you going to Juventus..."
"You don't recommend PSG?"
"They've got money, but you aren't at the cash-grabbing stage yet. PSG's base is flimsy. I favor Juventus, AC Milan or Inter—though Serie A is actually poor. Your owner's just pretending to be poor."
"Anna, you're getting more and more like a strong career woman. I hear you want to run for office after retirement?"
"Heh! I'll lead Britain to be the center of Europe and even the world..."
"Feels like you're describing China."
"Heh!"
...
On Children's Day they flew to Mexico.
On June 3 in the afternoon they would face the hosts.
In this friendly Hodgson finally deployed England's first-choice 4-2-3-1.
England played brilliantly in this match.
With Liverpool's double pivot freeing Xia Qi to commit fully to attack,
Theo Walcott netted a hat-trick, Wayne Rooney scored twice, and Sturridge and Xia Qi each got a goal.
In the end England thrashed the opponent 7:1. Xia Qi had one goal and four assists to earn man of the match; Walcott took the match ball.
After this game, the media clamoring to make the 4-4-2 second XI into the first XI vanished.
Claims that Rooney could organize as well as Xia Qi disappeared.
The media and fans accepted that England had a striker Wayne Rooney but not a midfield Rooney.
Rooney stopped going around telling people he was a better organizer than Cristiano and as valuable as Lionel Messi.
England's squad had a day off in Mexico City, then on June 5 flew to Brazil, transiting in Rio de Janeiro before heading to Manaus.
Upon arrival Hodgson ordered closed training.
In England's first-choice 4-2-3-1,
Xia Qi's right-wing was Theo Walcott; the left back wing was Luke Shaw—both club teammates and friends of Xia Qi.
The left wing was the carefree Raheem Sterling—a lad who makes friends easy. Steven Gerrard was already fond of Xia Qi.
Before closed training even began, these four's goodwill toward Xia Qi had reached 80; the "telepathy" attribute was ready to unlock.
So England's midfield at this time was a hundred times stronger than in the original timeline.
Rooney wanted to be the leader but was destined to be second; his abilities were not enough to be a locker-room alpha, so he felt a bit uncomfortable with Xia Qi.
But they had no big conflict, and Xia Qi was a kind of "nurturer," so Rooney and Xia Qi's relationship hovered around a 72 affinity.
Striker Daniel Sturridge, who might now get minutes because Xia Qi had moved into midfield after winning the European Golden Boot, had greater goodwill toward Xia Qi than Rooney did—about 78—close to unlocking the "telepathy" boost with a little cultivation.
So for Xia Qi it was more urgent to build relationships with the defenders than to strengthen ties with the forwards.
Therefore Xia Qi refused to room with Rooney; he asked Hodgson to room with Everton center-back Phil Jagielka instead.
The other center-back, Gary Cahill, was a veteran—Xia Qi trusted him, and building rapport with Jagielka would help the team defensively.
Attack wins fans,
defense wins championships,
and the Netherlands' long drought explained that well.
When Rooney learned Xia Qi didn't want to room with him, his goodwill fell from 72 to 68.
Xia Qi found it a little amusing.
Oh Rooney—broad and narrow-minded!
No wonder Cristiano had long since left Manchester United and occasionally ridiculed him.
Professional players really don't need to behave like that.
On the training ground Xia Qi strove to cultivate relationships with his teammates.
The World Cup!
Every four years—
what player can turn down its allure?
Xia Qi certainly could not.
Days passed and public excitement about the World Cup rose as the tournament neared.
Soon it was June 13, opening ceremony day!
England's first match was June 15, so Hodgson announced players were released for a day after the camp lock was lifted.
Players who had been at the base for a week asked the assistants for their phones at once when "disband" was called.
Xia Qi checked his phone and saw missed calls—Mario Balotelli topped the list, averaging three calls a day.
He envied Italy's open training.
Next on the list were his parents...
Oh—Wenger had called yesterday.
Xia Qi rang Arsène Wenger and thought it was about transfers, but Wenger talked about the 4-2-3-1, its shifts into 4-2-2-4, 4-1-1-4, 4-3-3 and ideas to vary the system—exactly the content Xia Qi had been training that week.
On the call, Wenger asked Xia Qi to work more with the full-backs—Luke Shaw and Glen Johnson—on late runs into the box.
That way England's 4-2-3-1 could evolve into a more attacking 2-2-5-1,
the two at the back and two holding mids would be enough when the team committed fully forward,
and the front five could transform into 3-3 or 2-1-3 patterns, making England's attack more versatile.
Xia Qi told the "sage" about his difficulties linking with Glen Johnson.
Xia Qi couldn't please everyone; his affinity with Glen Johnson hovered around 65—the lowest in the squad—
so their passing combinations often produced errors...
"Affinity rises not only with more communication but by catering to someone's hobbies—you could learn about Glen's pastimes..." Wenger suggested.
Xia Qi chatted with Wenger for over two hours until Mrs. Wenger got a bit annoyed...
After that Xia Qi phoned his parents and learned they had come to Brazil but weren't yet in Manaus.
The World Cup—of course they wanted to see the opening ceremony. His parents promised they'd come to watch his first match, so Xia Qi could prepare with peace of mind.
Finally he called Mario Balotelli back.
Now opponents, both were trying to belittle their former brotherhood...
"Make Joe wash his backside clean—I'm going to blast him."
"Joe, someone's gushing that they like your backside." Xia Qi handed the phone to Joe Hart.
Joe Hart and Mario traded barbs.
"Mario, I ordered a life-sized doll from Japan—when you go home crying you can hug it; she'll comfort you..."
"Save it for Xia Qi, mine's genuine leather."
Bloody hell!
Heartless!
Having a girlfriend is such a big deal?
As if I never had one...
...
Outside the England base the media swarmed, mostly British outlets, then Chinese media.
As an ethnic Chinese, Xia Qi was pursued by Chinese outlets—CCTV, Tencent, Xigua...
Stepping out with Joe Hart, they were startled by the array of cameras.
Reporters flocked to them as stars flashed.
"I heard you refused No.7 because of Cristiano?"
"No.7 is Uncle Beckham's number—I'm neither as handsome as him nor have as pretty a partner; I lack two points. I choose No.9, any problem?"
Reporters burst into laughter. They praised Xia Qi's wit but wouldn't let him off so easily.
"Now that you're playing in midfield, should Mr. Rooney give you the No.10 shirt?"
"Stiffness is Germany's trait—do you have German blood?" Xia Qi paused and then said, "If the number doesn't mean anything, why do you fuss over it?"
Heh!
The crowd laughed again.
A reporter asked, "Xia, any goals for the World Cup?"
Xia Qi hesitated a moment and then said: "World Cup! I'm coming, I fight, I conquer..."
(END CHAPTER)
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