Chapter 390 Knockouts II
??Outside, the stadium was a cauldron of anticipation and excitement. Streaming through the turnstiles, fans dressed in their team jerseys were hurrying to their seats. Some painted faces could also be seen in the stands.
gs and banners were fluttering freely in the evening breeze. The stands were filling rapidly and it was getting crowded with every passing moment.
Currently, the entire stadium was pulsating with the collective energy of thousands of voices. Chanting and singing in unison, their voice was creating a symphony of support that was reverberating throughout the stadium.
In the VIP sections, the presence of some notable figures could be seen. Exchanging polite conversations that defied the festive mood in the ordinary stands, they were casting eager nces at the stands and the pitch.
"Here theye"
Finally, after a little wait, yers emerged on the field. As they made their appearance, they were weed by a deafening roar from the stands.
By now most of them had already gotten used to the extravagant reception. Thus, nobody appeared awestruck despite the thunderous reception they received at the moment.
Cameramen followed them as they struggled to capture their faces with the camera lenses. The giant screens around the stadium flickered to life, disying their determined faces in it.
Then, they all lined up for the national anthem.
p!! p!! p!!
A round of apuse followed right after the end of the national anthem. Then they all exchanged friendly handshakes with each other before walking to their position to start the match.
Beep!!
Then, with a sharp st of the whistle, the game began, and the stadium exploded into a frenzy of noise and movement, each yer driven by the roaring encouragement of their fans and the weight of the momentous asion.
Fueled by the earlier words of encouragement, yers of Japan sprung into action as they led the charge. They were determined to get a goal.
However, opposing yers remainedposed as they tackled the frontal assault of the opposing side. They were in no hurry. And, as such they began to spread first to broaden their options.
The y styles of both teams were almost identical to each other— both of them yed a passing-style football.
Despite generating quite a lot of chances, neither side could deliver the final blow that made an impact on the game. And, the score remained the same.
Today, the Japanese side was ying quite an interesting game. Not sparing any effort, they were all giving their all. And, due to that the opposing side despite their talent reserve was finding it quite difficult to find the back of the.
''They''re not even a defense-based team. Yet, why can''t we prate their defense?''
Unable to prate the defense line of the opposing team, many of the Japanese yers couldn''t help but wonder if they had made some kind of mistake or if it was just that their approach was wrong.
Frustration was evident on their tired faces.
It''s not that they hadn''t tried to prate the defense line of the opposing team. But, somehow every time, when they tried to prate their defense line, they were running into a wall.
Through passes, solo dribbles, long passes, you name it, any method they tried to break their defense was getting neutralized time after time. And, it was starting to get on their nerves. Just why were they not being able to break into their penalty spot?
While they were starting to show signs of exhaustion, opposing yers seemed totally fine. Well, why wouldn''t they be in better condition than them since they had been tirelessly running all over the field since the beginning of the match?
On the other hand, the opposing side had barely run. Yet, somehow they were covering the entire field without even breaking a sweat.
The reason why they were able to do so was rather simple. They hadn''t invented any sort of new ying styles and neither was there anythingplex going on. They had assembled a great squad where every yer was equally talented.
And, unlike them, they didn''t rely on one single yer to produce the result. Every single one of the opposing yers contributed equally to the team which greatly lessened the burden ced on individual yers.
''It''s really tough to y against a team with three quality ymakers'' Hiro thought while ncing at the midfield trio of the opposing team with a mix of envy and admiration.
They too had a midfield trio simr to the opposing team but Takeshi leaned more toward a pure defensive midfielder position than a ymaker. Truly speaking, his passing wasn''t very impressive. The only thing he was good at was winning back the ball.
And, often due to Takeshi''s shorings, Hiro would have to drop deep to support him.
Having studied the game of the Japanese team, the opposing side was fully aware of the person responsible for the build-up. And, they spared no effort to neutralize the person responsible. Be it by cornering him or by limiting his chances, they did everything to keep him in check.
However, while keeping him in check, they didn''t sacrifice their gamey. They just positioned themselves better so that they could spring into action at any moment. Their role simply wasn''t limited.
Yet still, despite the vignce of the opposing yers, today Hiro had often broken free from their encirclement. Making use of the gaps left behind in the formation of the opposing team, he had been organizing the gamey of his team.
Like a skilled maestro, connecting different musicians to create a beautiful symphony he had been moving freely on the field, connecting his teammates.
Yet somehow, they hadn''t been able to score today.
Just minutes before the end of the first half, Hiro sensed an opportunity when one of the opposing fullbacks rushed up-
field leaving his position. However, to utilize this space left behind the opposing yer, he first had to win the ball as the ball was still in their possession.
Signaling Takeshi to swap with him, he then positioned himself in the defensive midfield position while Takeshi rushed in front to snatch the ball away from Alex who was preparing to send a long ball to the nk where the opposing fullback was making his solo run.