October 10, 2019.
Wembley Stadium.
UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.
England versus Bulgaria.
The stands were filled with white shirts, red crosses, and waving flags, while the pitch echoed with passionate cheers.
Whoosh!
When the England players walked out, Wembley erupted into a frenzy.
After the national anthem, the players huddled together.
Henderson shouted, "Stick to the pre-match plan! Stay focused and don't get nervous!"
"Don't let the fans down, and don't let yourselves down either," Ling added. "Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
They all thrust their hands upward in unison and roared together.
Beeeep!
A piercing whistle blew, and the two formations collided.
Were Bulgaria strong? Not particularly.
Historically, they had produced excellent players and had their moments in European football, but this current side was not at the same level as England.
From the start, England controlled the tempo.
Chilwell cut inside from the wing into the box, his shot was saved by the goalkeeper, and Ling tapped in the rebound.
Only four minutes had passed since kickoff and England already scored!
"England!"
"Ling!"
"Three Lions!"
The England supporters in the stands chanted in perfect rhythm.
Honestly, Ling had played in front of 70,000 or 80,000 fans many times at club level, but hearing national-team cheers felt different.
That feeling pushed him into scorching form.
And poor Bulgaria suffered for it.
Just six minutes after the first goal, Ling received a long pass from Henderson in the backfield.
He controlled the ball with his thigh and dribbled past the first defender in one smooth motion.
Then, with a delicate chip, he evaded the chasing midfielder.
"Another chip!"
"Beautiful!"
"Ling dances on the edge of the box, chipping past one defender, then lifting the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net!"
"The movement flows seamlessly, and the timing is absolutely perfect!"
Even though Bulgaria were clearly outmatched, this goal was still spectacular.
Clive Tyldesley keep raising his voice.
Ling sprinted to the edge of the stands, urging the fans to get even louder.
"England! England! England!"
Kane shook his head with a smile.
The gap was simply too large.
Meanwhile, younger players like Sancho and Mount watched with admiration, feeling that their future with the national team was so bright it was almost blinding.
On the sidelines, Southgate applauded softly.
He had to admit he had underestimated Ling.
Maybe "underestimated" was not the right word.
This player always brought surprises, making it impossible to guess his ceiling.
After taking a two-goal lead, England completely let loose, shedding their usual restraint and nervousness.
After all, confidence was crucial in competitive sports. It could transform a team into two completely different versions and even help them achieve the impossible.
Shortly after, Ling took control of the midfield, dictating the tempo, deciding the direction of attacks, and setting the pace of advancement.
Bulgaria could only exhaust themselves, scrambling back and forth.
A defense that patched one hole only to open another was inevitably going to be riddled with gaps.
In the 19th minute, Kane and Sterling made forward runs, creating space at the edge of the penalty area.
Ling received the ball, adjusted his position, and—
Boom!
He unleashed a stunning long-range strike, completely shattering Bulgaria's morale.
How could they possibly keep playing?
To put it bluntly, Ling's performance was like a higher-dimensional force crushing them, and not just by one or two dimensions.
All Bulgaria wanted now was for the match to end quickly.
Meanwhile, the fans in the stadium were ecstatic, reveling in the performance of a Ballon d'Or-caliber player.
Every moment — dribbling, evading, battling, shooting — was electrifying.
"The ball is in again!"
"In the 67th minute, England lead Bulgaria 8–0. Ling has scored his sixth goal and is being substituted off by Southgate."
"Listen to the thunderous cheers from Wembley. I'm sure none of the fans regret coming today. This match has been worth every second."
"Let England's hero of the day rest well and prepare for the tougher match against the Czech Republic in five days."
Ling waved to the stands as he made his way off the pitch.
Six goals.
Some might accuse him of stat-padding... and they would be right.
He was indeed padding his stats!
Having chosen this shirt, he was determined to be the best.
National-team goal records, appearance records — he would leave none untouched.
He wanted to set a benchmark so high that it would seem almost impossible for future generations to reach.
Why?
To show young players that there was always a goal to chase and always room to improve.
"Well done."
Southgate patted Ling on the shoulder and said earnestly, "As the complete playmaker in this system, I think you've adapted very well. But don't accommodate others too much. Make them adapt to your rhythm. If they can't keep up, they still have to adapt. Those who fail to adapt will be left behind. Otherwise, against stronger opponents, this will become our biggest weakness."
Undoubtedly, the current England team's ceiling had risen because of Ling.
Everyone else still had to play their roles properly.
"I'll make some adjustments going forward," Ling replied.
Southgate's point was valid, but it was not without flaws.
A core-centric playstyle required teammates to adapt to the star player, but only if their abilities were up to par, much like Manchester United this season.
Objectively speaking, England's players were much stronger than China's, but even then, balance was still essential.
If the team rigidly followed an absolute core-centric approach, matches against stronger opponents could still descend into chaos.
Finding the right balance was the real key.
'Southgate's tactical thinking is practical, but sometimes a bit conservative,' Ling thought.
If it were him from a season ago, he might have fully agreed.
But as his understanding of modern football deepened, he could now see more layers.
Thankfully, Southgate was willing to listen.
Otherwise, intervening in this area would have been difficult.
Even after Ling was substituted, the England players remained high-spirited, scoring three more goals in the final 20 minutes.
In the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, England defeated Bulgaria 11–0 — a resounding victory.
England's road to the European Championship had taken another confident step forward.
However, throughout the long qualifying process, the outcome of every match remained crucial.
Next, England would face the Czech Republic away on the 15th!
📰 BBC Sport: Ling Scores Six as England Thrash Bulgaria 11–0 at Wembley
📰 Sky Sports: England Run Riot in Euro Qualifier as Ling Sets New Personal National-Team Record
📰 The Athletic: Southgate's England Show Ruthless Edge, But Bigger Tests Still Ahead
📰 Manchester Evening News: United Star Produces Six-Goal Masterclass Before Czech Republic Trip
📰 Daily Mail: Wembley Witnesses Ling Show as England Hit Eleven
📱 @ThreeLionsWatch ✔
England 11–0 Bulgaria. Ling scored six! He is a cheat code wearing No.7!
| ↳ 📱 @StretfordEndTom
| Reply: United fans watching England discover weekly Ling addiction in real time.
📱 @EnglandTalks ✔
Celebrate the win, but don't lose your head. The Czech Republic will be a much better test.
📱 @NeutralUCLWatch
Scoring six for England after scoring twice in Salzburg a few days ago is absurd. Load management has left the chat.
📱 @CNFootballRealist
Seeing him do this for England still hurts, but the lesson is obvious: this is what happens when talent grows in the right system.
📱 @YouthCoachLiu
People can argue about nationality all day. I'm showing my academy kids Ling's movement before the third goal tomorrow!
📱 @HupuFootballCN
Scoring too many goals is meaningless, scoring too few is no good, not scoring at all is even worse... so what exactly is acceptable?
| ↳ 📱 @OldFan1988
| Reply: Celebrate the performance, but stay calm. The real matches are always against stronger teams.
📱 @WembleyVoice
The scary thing isn't the score. It's that England looked like they were still holding back after the sixth.
----
Damnit, i was reading a football fanfic but the mc name is Luo naduo (Ronaldo) lmao and yes as you can see its another chinese r9.. do you want to read it ?