Chapter 842 Battle Against Bulgaria at Stade de France! Ma’el’s Career Goal Rate! Crushing Victory Over Malta_3

"We might face more challenges, but still, if something is too easy, it won’t attract anyone or bring any joy!"

"Yeah.....!" The players nodded in agreement and laughed, then started jumping together shoulder to shoulder.

During halftime, Deschamps, who originally planned to scold the team, eventually didn’t utter a word of criticism, only emphasizing the issue of underestimating the opponent and urging everyone to pursue more goals.

"Substitution?"

Finally, he approached Ma’el to ask if he still wanted to play in the second half of the match.

At this point, he must inquire and respect the opinion of the team’s core.

Because players like Ma’el might avoid playing after securing victory, fearing injury affecting club matches and the hope of being the best.

"I want to continue."

Ma’el shook his head, lightly smiled, and expressed his thoughts, "Having come back so hard, just two games, I still cherish them.

"Of course, if you want to give substitutes a chance, I’m okay with being replaced, but I won’t actively request to come off."

"I understand your meaning." Deschamps grinned and pointed at Ma’el, walking away with a smile.

"Beep!"

After the second half began, the situation tilted heavily towards the France team, and the Bulgaria team gradually lost any strength to fight back.

In the 61st minute, Menez, who was just substituted in, managed a sweeping pass to the center amidst losing balance.

"Bang!!"

Ma’el pushed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal from the center, scoring a rare easy goal. After scoring, he slid in celebration at Stade de France.

20th goal!

In the 10th match representing the France team, he had scored 20 goals and 5 assists, averaging 2.5 goal involvements per game!

He can confirm this is a journey of conquest, an important period of harvesting personal honor and team honor!

"Beep beep!"

In the 78th minute, the substitution board was raised, and Griezmann stood on the center circle’s arc, waiting to play.

Seeing that the substitution board showed number 7, Ma’el turned and walked towards the sideline, raising his hand to clap with the enthusiastic French fans.

"Clap clap.....!"

This was his first time playing at Stade de France home ground with the France team, 2 goals and 1 assist, this was his home debut performance and also his European Qualifiers debut performance.

He was quite satisfied with this, it was worth the trip!

"Come on!"

"Clap...!"

After fist bumping with Griezmann, he took the towel handed by the assistant coach and walked towards Deschamps who was smiling.

"I have a question."

He approached and actively asked, "Who is the historical Assist King of the France team? I’ve noticed it’s rarely mentioned."

"I’m not sure either," Deschamps chuckled awkwardly, hugged him, then turned to ask the assistant coaches this question.

"It should be Zidane, I remember his national team assists were 26."

"No no no, not sure if it’s Henry, but he assisted 27."

"Let me check."

"It is Henry!"

"27," Ma’el shrugged, lamenting: "That’s a lot, I didn’t expect Henry to hold the titles of both top scorer and Assist King, he really had a remarkable career."

His impression of this star striker, who he collaborated with briefly, grew deeper. Originally, he just thought Henry was a superstar, didn’t realize he held so many records.

It seems Messi and Ronaldo’s incredible careers caused many to overlook the dominance of this forward in the past.

"Mr. Deschamps."

After pondering this, Ma’el smiled at Deschamps and said, "Do you think I could potentially reach those two titles in the future?"

Deschamps looked at him with a grin, then replied confidently after a while, "You should be asking when you’ll achieve those positions."

"Then when?"

"Less than 10 years? Or less than 5 years? Actually, I can’t say precisely, just feel you’ll do it soon."

"Haha....."

Ma’el chuckled twice, didn’t mention his ambition to reach those positions by the 2014 World Cup, and returned to the bench to watch the match while sipping water.

When time reached the last moments, Bulgaria seemed to decide to go all out, pressing forward to attack.

Having attacked all game, France team showed signs of discomfort, but for now, people didn’t think much of it, as a last-minute desperate attack from a weaker team could still pose threats, it’s common.

Even Ma’el optimistically watched the field, thinking the match would soon end, securing their first 3 points.

"Bang...! Swish...!"

But Bulgaria managed to add a touch of magic, scoring 2 goals with a headed cross and quick shot from the flank in the 83rd and 89th minutes!

Four to three!

"Beep! Beep! Beep——!"

After a tough, high-pressure defensive battle, France team finally maintained their 3 points, but the four-to-three score left everyone with gloomy faces heading to the locker room.

While taking off his shin guards in the locker room, Ma’el felt the silence among everyone and the fear of post-match criticism, especially the defensive line players.

He observed Deschamps’ expression and noticed he too seemed quite unsettled.

"Sigh....."

He sighed lightly, this is football, it can make emotions fluctuate drastically in a short time.

No one can always obtain the desired results, even if you scored 2 goals and 1 assist and eventually won the game.

"Almost upset by Bulgaria! France team won their first European Qualifiers match 4-3, but the defensive performance was worrisome, potentially struggling against Denmark and Czech Republic!" ——French L’Equipe