Chapter 478 - 84 — England Vs Italy - Ten Minutes III

Around the twenty-ninth minute, Italy adjusted again, this time properly.

Cristante stayed almost permanently in Demien’s zone.

Barella pressed him from the left.

Frattesi began dropping earlier instead of joining every attack immediately.

Di Lorenzo was told to pick his forward runs more carefully — England were countering into the space behind him now.

The next time Demien received the ball, three Italian midfield bodies converged on him at once.

He smiled briefly, because that much attention on him meant space was opening somewhere else.

He played backward to Rice.

Barella followed the ball.

Cristante stayed watching Demien.

That left Bellingham a moment of room between them.

Rice found Jude.

Bellingham turned and drove centrally.

Di Lorenzo tucked inside to help.

Rashford attacked outside him immediately.

Bellingham released Rashford, and Demien kept moving toward the left edge of the attacking third rather than standing still after his pass.

Rashford returned it inside to Bellingham.

Bellingham touched it into Demien’s path near the left corner of the box.

Di Lorenzo recovered toward him.

Cristante was sprinting back from behind.

Scalvini couldn’t step fully — Kane occupied the central lane.

Demien took his first touch inward.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Thierry Henry — Va-Va-Voom」

He glided diagonally inside from the left, keeping the ball just outside Di Lorenzo’s reach.

Di Lorenzo expected another touch toward goal and shifted his weight for it.

Demien found the half-yard he needed and opened his body.

Donnarumma leaned toward his near side, reading the angle as a drive across goal.

Demien wrapped his right foot around the ball instead and curled it toward the far corner.

Donnarumma dived full stretch.

It bent beyond his fingertips and struck the inside of the netting.

England 3 — 1 ItalyDemien Walter 32’

Hat-trick.

Ten minutes from the first goal to the third.

Wembley lost all control before he’d even finished turning.

Demien screamed, sprinted for the corner, grinning without knowing what to do with himself because the third had arrived too fast to process.

He slid several yards on his knees, got straight back up, and was hit from both sides at once — Bellingham on one, Rashford on the other.

Kane arrived laughing.

Rice had sprinted the length of the pitch despite being the one who usually shouted at everyone to get back.

Walker arrived last and grabbed him around the head.

"England were behind after fifteen minutes," the commentator said, voice climbing. "Demien Walter has scored three times between the twenty-second and thirty-second minute. A nineteen-year-old midfielder has just scored a ten-minute hat-trick against Italy, in a qualifier, at Wembley."

Demien looked up at the scoreboard once the group finally let him go.

WALTER 22’

WALTER 27’

WALTER 32’

His breath caught for a second, seeing all three lines stacked together.

In Italy’s bench area, Adriano remained standing, slowly shaking his head.

Then he laughed once, disbelief tipping over into something closer to awe.

He still looked frustrated by the score — both things were true at once.

On the pitch, Cristante pointed toward Demien while arguing with Barella.

Scalvini and Acerbi exchanged words about who should step when Demien came from midfield.

Donnarumma retrieved the ball from his own net and drove it back toward halfway rather than stand there stunned.

As Demien walked back for the restart, he glanced once toward Italy’s bench.

Adriano caught his eye and shook his head with an incredulous grin.

Demien smiled once, then turned back to Rice before Italy restarted.

England didn’t add another before halftime.

In the thirty-fifth minute, Scamacca dropped outside the box, controlled it with Maguire tight to him, and created just enough room for a left-footed strike.

It traveled narrowly wide of Pickford’s post.

Pickford shouted at the midfield afterward, and Demien raised a hand and dropped several yards closer to Rice for the next phase — three goals didn’t excuse anyone from the defensive work still in front of them.

In the thirty-eighth minute, Italy built another dangerous move down their right.

Berardi came inside.

Di Lorenzo overlapped.

Barella moved in behind Demien this time.

Demien tracked Barella while Trippier and Rashford dealt with the wide pair.

Di Lorenzo crossed low again.

Frattesi attacked the near post and missed the contact by inches — the same route that had produced Scamacca’s opener.

Demien turned to Trippier and pointed at the space rather than celebrating the miss.

The problem was still alive.

In the fortieth minute, Bellingham won the ball and released Rashford.

Rashford attacked Di Lorenzo, cut inside, and shot toward Donnarumma’s far side.

Donnarumma got down and saved.

Demien reached the edge of the box for the rebound, but Cristante got there first and cleared.

In the forty-second minute, Udogie drove down Italy’s left, Foden losing him initially.

Barella received inside and slipped Udogie in behind Walker.

Demien saw Frattesi beginning another late central run and tracked him instead of chasing Udogie.

Udogie entered the box and shot toward the near corner.

Pickford got down and made a strong save.

"He can’t get the first three yards free like that," Demien told Foden after the save.

"Walker stepped inside," Foden said.

"Sort it after the whistle," Rice said, already reorganizing the midfield. "Focus."

In the forty-fourth minute, Italy recovered possession after an England attack broke down.

Udogie carried through the left.

Barella moved inside him.

Frattesi started toward the box.

Demien tracked the run.

Barella tried the cutback toward Frattesi.

Demien arrived shoulder-to-shoulder and stepped across the passing lane before Frattesi could receive it.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」 「Fabio Cannavaro — Wall」 「STATS ACTIVE」 「Defensive Awareness: 93 | Interceptions: 94 | Reactions: 99」

He blocked it away from Frattesi and released Foden immediately rather than clearing it out of play.

「MATCH MISSION PROGRESS」 「Defensive Recoveries: 4/4」

Foden carried it into Italy’s half, but Acerbi ended the counter with a clean challenge.

Through stoppage time, Italy kept possession rather than committing everyone forward.

Barella and Cristante circulated it patiently.

Demien dropped beside Rice.

Bellingham stayed slightly higher in case England won it back.

His breathing had gone heavier now, the carries and three celebrations and the defensive recovery work finally registering even against his stamina.

Italy sent one last diagonal toward Di Lorenzo.

Trippier headed it clear.

Rice reached the second ball.

The referee blew for halftime.

Fweeeeeetttttttt!

England 3 — 1 ItalyGianluca Scamacca 15’ — Demien Walter 22’, 27’, 32’

England left the pitch without acting like the job was finished.

Kane walked beside Demien. "They’ll come out harder in the second half," he said. "This isn’t decided."

Rice was already deep in conversation with Trippier about Di Lorenzo’s overlap by the tunnel entrance.

Southgate waited near the tunnel mouth and pointed Demien straight toward the dressing room rather than stopping to say anything about the hat-trick.

Italy left differently.

Cristante and Barella were already talking about Demien’s positioning as they walked in.

Donnarumma moved quickly down the tunnel, saying nothing.

Scamacca looked frustrated, his opening goal already buried under everything that had followed it.

Adriano moved from Italy’s bench area toward the tunnel with the rest of the squad.

Demien’s halftime update appeared once he’d reached the corridor outside the dressing room.

「HALFTIME MATCH UPDATE」 「Goals: 3」 「Direct Goal Contributions: 3/2」 「Pressure-Release Actions: 5/6」 「Defensive Recoveries: 4/4」 「Clear Chances Created: 2/3」 「Bonus Objective — Secure EURO 2024 Qualification: IN PROGRESS」 「MAJOR ACTIVATIONS」 「Press Resistant」 「First-Touch Set」 「Ball Winner」 「Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker」 「Through-the-Lines Drive」 「Jay-Jay Okocha — So Good Twice」 「Dipping Power Shot」 「Marcel Desailly — The Rock」 「Gareth Bale — Galáctico Surge」 「Thierry Henry — Va-Va-Voom」 「Fabio Cannavaro — Wall」

Demien reached the tunnel entrance with Rice and Kane.

Adriano came across from Italy’s bench area toward the Italian dressing room, and slowed when he reached him.

Nothing hostile in it.

Adriano looked at him for several seconds, glanced once toward the scoreboard reading 3-1, and shook his head with a disbelieving laugh.

"I knew you got better," he said. "I didn’t know you turned into this."