Chapter 363 Japan u17 vs Argentina u17 VIII
Chapter 363 Japan u17 vs Argentina u17 VIII
None were expecting such a turn of events. It’s not like such tactics hadn’t been used in football before. But, not every day one would see teams implementing such tactics. And, based on the expressions on the opposing coaches’ faces, it appeared that even they were surprised by the outcome. Sure, Diego had designated Claudio as the free-kick taker, but he had never seen his guys practicing such maneuvers during training.
Also, Claudio and Mateo’s relationship status was rather sour. Moreover, after that previous tactical change, their relationship had further deteriorated. Claudio disliked Mateo for taking away his position while Mateo disliked Claudio because he was being such a bitch.
But, the way those two were playing today, it didn’t occur to anybody that there was any disagreement between those two. So, how could they display such a well-crafted play while having such a bad synergy? It was a total mystery to both the coaching staff and the players as well. As Claudio struck the ball, the ball sailed above the heads of the players of Japan who had made a huge blunder thinking that Mateo was going to take the strike. Now, they had messed up their timing, there was no going back. All they could do right now was to anxiously follow the ball, hoping that somehow Shun would make the save and salvage them from embarrassment.
Having his vision blocked, Shun could hardly see the ball. Not to mention the blunder of his teammates which greatly misled him into thinking that the ball was coming. “Gooooaaaaaalllllllll!!!!!”
The entire stadium shook as thousands of fans shot forth from their seat while erupting into an ecstatic roar upon witnessing the ball sailing inside the post. Jumping and hugging, as they celebrated the goal, the stadium atmosphere became extremely lively. Resonating to the joyous chants and cheers of the fans, Claudio ran to the sidelines with his eyes full of ecstasy and excitement. It was his second goal of the game and the response he was getting from the fans was even more electrifying than before. While the commentator was singing his praise, fans were showering him with love and affection. At this moment, he truly felt like he was at the top of the world. It was such a magical experience that he just couldn’t stop himself from smiling and drowning in this experience.
Even Mateo who hadn’t involved himself in the previous celebration was celebrating like crazy, right now. Hiro on the other hand while getting treated on the sidelines was out of words. The disappointment was palpable in his eyes, yet not even a single gasp was escaping his mouth. He shouldn’t be feeling such. But, even while feeling disappointed by the outcome, he couldn’t lie to himself that it was one of the best goals he had seen so far. A powerful volley from a spot-kick from that far, he had rarely seen such occurrences take place in football.
Though, he wasn’t uttering a single word it didn’t mean that it was peaceful around him. In fact, with all the uproar taking place in the stadium, it was rather noisy. Not to mention the disappointed cries of his teammates who were seated alongside him in the substitution box. The state of his teammates who were present on the field was no different than those of his teammates in the substitution box. Frustration and disappointment were palpable in their eyes and those dull faces were a testament to their falling morale. After this second goal, the match however only went downhill for the Japanese side as players of Japan struggled to move the ball forward. Let alone scoring back, they couldn’t even register any shots on target.
Nijichi who had to carry the whole burden on himself was the one who suffered the most. With both Hiro and Yutaka gone, nobody was present there to provide him with passes which only decreased his maneuverability. Then again, to make matters worse, the Argentinian side scored their third goal of the game in the 87th minute of the match, extending their lead even further from an accurate shot of Mateo. After this, one could say that the game was as good as over. And, from the defeated and exhausted looks of the Japanese player, it was rather evident that they wanted this match to end faster so that they wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. Literally, they had no motivation left to keep their legs going any further. They were at their limits. Still, the Argentinian side however showed no mercy. It didn’t matter to them if their opponents had lost their will to fight. As long as the clock was ticking, they would keep on attacking without any mercy. And, that’s what they did as well. While only a few players from the Japanese side fought until the end, most of them didn’t even bother competing.
Despite being agitated by the lack of effort of his teammate and fury towards himself for failing to stop those three goals of the opposing team, Shun kept on fighting until the end. Standing as if nothing had happened after each fall, he continued to defend the post, unwilling to bend. “What the hell are you doing Rin? How could you let him run past him?” criticizing the mistake of Rin who had let Claudio run past him, Shun yelled, “Put some effort fu….,” but as he was about to cuss, he paused midway noticing the referee. “Tch!!” clicking his tongue, he then zipped his mouth. Watching his teammates allow the opposing players to slip past them time and again, he had been utterly disappointed. More than the pain of defeat, he was furious at the lack of effort from his teammates. If only everyone did their job properly, he wouldn’t be getting this worked up. With seconds remaining for the match to come to an end, Mateo then lined up at the corner to take the very last corner of the match. It was the last corner of the match, yet he appeared hungry.
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