Chapter 381 Joy and grief
??Just as the sound of the final whistle echoed in the stadium, supporters of Japan rose from their seats wearing big wide smiles on their faces. Cheering at the top of their lungs, they celebrated their victory against the opposing team.
Meanwhile, on the field, many yers from Japan got down on their knees. Ovee with joy, they couldn''t even bring themselves to stand. Tears trickled down their face while smiles of joy blossomed on their faces.
They had done it. They had handed the opposing team their first defeat. And, they had salvaged their journey.
Sure, they hadn''t won the tournament. But, by winning this game, they had at least saved themselves from elimination.
And, as long as there''s an opportunity, they could still dream of lifting the cup.
No sooner had the shrill sound of the whistle chimed, than the reserve yers of Japan rushed onto the field. Invading the pitch, they headed straight to their teammates to celebrate their victory, appearing quite ecstatic.
"Shun, let''s go?" asked one of his teammates.
"You go, I''ll jointer," Shun replied politely with a smile on his face.
"Suit yourself," saying so, he flung onto the pitch.
Now with everyone gone, he was left all alone in the substitution box. And, with their absence, the previously packed substitution box became quite empty. However, despite their absence, it wasn''t the least bit silent.
With all the noise circting in the stadium, how could he expect it to be peaceful?
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, he found sce in this noisy environment. Those cacophonous cheers though loud were like music to his ears. It was a testament to their triumph.
Leaning his body close to his knees, he then cast a solemn look at the scoreboard before turning his head to look in the direction of Taki.
"Seems like I can''t rest easy from now on," he murmured while curling his lips.
For sure he was implying that his position in the team won''t be guaranteed like it had been until now after this brilliant performance from Taki. Now, if he wanted to safeguard his position then he''d have to be even better.
Apetitor had shown up. And, a quite capable one on top of it.
Then, he again diverted his gaze toward Hiro. Fixing his gaze on Hiro who right now was joyously celebrating the victory, he murmured, "Just what made you so sure about him?"
Remembering the time Hiro had stood up for Taki in the locker room during the halftime, he couldn''t help but feel perplexed. It was really like he knew the future.
While he was contemting, looking at him, suddenly Hiro called out to him.
"What are you doing over there all alone? Come, join us..."
Upon hearing his call, his expression eased up and a smile blossomed on his face. Nodding to himself, he whispered, "There''s no point contemting. You were always like this. Unpredictable and mysterious"
Then he rose from his seat and yelled, "Coming...."
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Beep!!
"Finally after an exciting 90 minutes, the game hase to an end. And, my oh my, what a one-sided game it was," announcing the end of the game, thementator made hisment, "And, for sure after such a devastating performance, it''ll be theirst game"
"Only a miracle could keep their hopes of continuing the tournament alive"
Right now, the scene at the stadium that hosted the game between Argentina u17 and Pnd u17 was quite heartbreaking to look at. And, even the stadium appeared mostly empty.
However, it wasn''t empty like this before. Some moment ago, it was pulsating with the cheers of the fans from both sides. But, right now, Argentinian fans dominated the stands.
The reason for such an event was quite evident on the scoresheet.
Argentina u17: 4 vs Pnd u17: 0
Exactly just as the scoresheet read, the Polish team lost the match with a devastating score of four to nothing. Conceding two goals even before the end of the first half, this game had been nothing but a one-sided pounding to them.
The final scoresheet was already disheartening enough to look at, but if one looked at the match statistics, they''d be even more devastated. One would even question why they conceded so little if one were to look at other stats of the match.
Against their 2 shots on target, the Argentinian side had a whopping 16 shots on target. Against their measly 23% positioning, the opposing side dominated almost the entirety of the game with a 77% positioning.
Other stats such as corners, and freekicks, were even more ridiculous.
And, it''d only be a shame to mention those stats.
With performance as such, one might question if the football association of the Polish side was even serious about thepetition. Or, they just chose yers at random.
Based on the results, one could conclude that this campaign was an utter failure for the Polish team.
However, to be honest, they had fared really well against this Argentinian team today. From the whopping 16 shots on target, they had only conceded four of them, avoiding a whole 12 of those threatening shots shot at their way.
And, considering how dominant the opposing side had been, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that they have yed decently today.
It was just after that match against Japan, that something had really changed for the Argentinian team. All of a sudden they had be even more threatening.
But no matter what, despite their performance, the only thing that matters in football is the result. No matter how good a team ys, if they can''t outscore the opposing team, then there''s no meaning at all.
Who cares if a team ys well? Who cares if a team ys fairly? As long as a team doesn''t win, nobody will care.
Only the victors will be remembered in the end while the losers fade away with time.
And just like this after their third defeat in a row, the Polish team got eliminated from Group D while Japan with their win against Senegal still somehow managed to stay afloat.
Now, they had topete against several other third-ce teams for an opportunity to reach the knockouts. Though they had won the game, they were still ced third in the group due to the goal difference.
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