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[Saturday, 26/10/2019, 20:30, Zdzisław-Krzyszkowiak-Stadion, Poland]
The players jogged back onto the field, the crisp October air tingling against their skin under the floodlights of Zdzisław-Krzyszkowiak Stadium. The scoreline glared from the digital board: Japan 0-2 Germany. The Japanese players looked sharper now, their expressions focused, a stark contrast to the tentative energy they'd shown in the first half.
The referee blew his whistle, signalling the start of the second half. Japan kicked off, with Ao Tanaka playing a short pass back to Takehiro Tomiyasu. From the sidelines, Masanaga Kageyama stood at the sidelines with his arms crossed as he watched the ga unfold.
Germany, full of confidence from their dominant first-half display, imdiately pressed high up the pitch. Rakim led his midfield lineup the field as they maintained a compact formation as he gestured for his teammates to close down the Japanese midfielders. Tanaka calmly sidestepped Leweling's press, shifting the ball wide to Daiki Sugioka on the left flank.
Sugioka took a touch and scanned the field, spotting Ritsu Doan darting into space on the opposite side. Sugioka's cross-field ball soared through the cool night air, arcing toward Ritsu Doan. The Japanese winger controlled it with a deft touch, drawing a smattering of applause from the crowd. He imdiately faced up against Noah Katterbach, feinting left before darting down the right flank.
Katterbach, quick to react, stuck out a leg and deflected the ball out for a throw-in, breaking Japan's montum. From the touchline, Masanaga Kageyama clapped his hands together, shouting encouragent. "Stay sharp! Move the ball faster!"
Germany's defensive structure shifted slightly, their backline marshalled by Arl Bella-Kotchap, whose booming voice carried over the hum of the crowd. Rakim Rex drifted into a pocket of space near the halfway line, positioning himself to intercept any loose passes. Since he wasn't defensively inclined, he aid to just excel at zonal marking as he drifted into the blind spots of the nearby players.
[47]
Japan began to build from the back, Takuya Yasui receiving a short pass from Tomiyasu. Yasui turned quickly, evading Angelo Stiller's attempt to close him down. With a flick of his foot, he sent the ball through to Takefusa Kubo, who found a seam between Germany's midfield lines.
Kubo spun around Niklas Tauer with a touch so smooth it left the German midfielder flat-footed. The crowd gasped as Kubo drove forward, his pace quickening as he reached the edge of the final third. Spotting Ayase Ueda making a diagonal run between Bella-Kotchap and Kevin Ehlers, Kubo threaded a perfectly weighted through ball.
Ueda latched onto it, his first touch setting him up for a shot. He let fly with his right foot, but Luca Unbehaun dived low to his left, palming the ball away with a firm hand. The rebound rolled toward Hiroki Abe, who had charged into the box, but Simon Asta reacted first, clearing it upfield to safety. A collective groan from the Japanese fans echoed through the stadium.
[53]
Germany, unshaken, regained possession and shifted into their thodical build-up play. Angelo Stiller dropped deeper to collect the ball, gesturing for his teammates to spread out. The German players moved like clockwork, as they ford little triangles and moved into the passing lanes they had practised. They slowly but surely started to chip at the defences of the Japanese players moving from flank to flank as they didn't force an attack.
Being up by two goals allowed them the luxury of taking their ti as they tried to bait their opponents to make a mistake. Their short precise passes started to frustrate Japan's attempts to disrupt their rhythm. The crowd murmured in anticipation as Rakim picked up a hospital ball that was ant for Niklas by Jamie.
Leaning on Kubo who tried to pick up the loose ball he turned with the motion of the ball escaping the midfielder as he dribbled into the centre of the field. He wasn't moving fast in fact he was barely half jogging as he scanned the field like a predator debating his next move. For a short mont, he was completely unmarked at the centre of the field as the nearest players were in a 3-ter radius.
The stadium seed to hold its breath as Rakim Rex advanced, the ball glued to his feet as if tethered by an invisible string. He moved with an aura of calculated nace, his eyes darting between his teammates and the defensive line in front of him. He seed to be debating whether to unleash his inner Hanma and take on the entire team with just his sheer skills.
Japan's midfield hesitated for a fraction of a second, unsure whether to press him or fall back to protect the space behind them. Takefusa Kubo, recovering from his earlier challenge, sprinted back into position, shouting at Yasui to close the gap. Yasui stepped forward, trying to cut off Rakim's angle, but the German playmaker shifted his weight imperceptibly and glided past him with a quick flick of the ball to his left foot.
The Japanese defenders tightened their lines, Tomiyasu barking orders as he gestured for his teammates to stay compact. But Rakim's movents were hypnotic, his rhythm unpredictable. As he approached the final third, Kevin Schade made a darting run down the left flank, pulling Riku Handa out of position. Rakim saw the opening and, with a sudden burst of acceleration, drove straight toward the heart of Japan's defence.
Drifting closer towards the left flank he perford a few step-overs drawing the nearby defenders in. Takehiro Tomiyasu stepped up to cover the area that Handa had just left and didn't hesitate to go in for the tackle. However, he hit nothing but air as Rakim perford a Roll Croqueta to skip past him.
What followed was a deft reverse Elastic that allowed him to skip past another defender as he cut into the ranks of the Japan defence. The crowd held its breath as the Japanese defence converged on him as it looked like he would go all the way. That's why what he did next left them all baffled, his right foot scooped up the ball sending a chipped pass over the head of Ao Tanaka.
The ball arced gracefully over Tanaka's outstretched foot, its trajectory perfect as it descended into the path of Jamie Leweling, who had been hoping for a pass. He wasn't free to think of his next action as Riku Handa clung to his side but the fact they entered the box worked in his favour. Fouling here was as good as gifting the Germans a goal and Riku wouldn't risk it.
"Oh, he runs, is that a Roll Croqueta? Rakim is through, what's he going to do next... Oh my, he sends a pass...Jamie Leweling" Paul Gartner could barely control his emotions as he watched the play unfold eager to see what would happen. He didn't have to wait as the German winger controlled it with his chest, letting the ball drop in front of him as he was already swinging his foot.
The ball touched the ground, and his boot connected with it as a loud dull thud resounded at the Zdzisław-Krzyszkowiak-Stadion. "Riku Handaaaaaa!" Paul exclaid again his voice cracking at the end as the viewers watched Japan's right-back Riku Handa dive feet first.
Just like Jamie was aiming to hit the ball the mont it landed so too was Riku who bet his entire career on this piece of heroics. It worked in his favour as both of them hit the ball at the sa ti but with his foot looking the way forward it sharply rebounded out of the box. Japan's fans breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped concerning what would have been the proverbial nail in the coffin.
However, their sighs of relief quickly turned into gasps of anticipation as Hiroki Abe went to pick up the ball that was zooming his way. The winger approached the ball followed by Simon Asta who had his number the entire ga not letting him see the goal with the ball at his feet. What followed could only be described as cartoonish as Hiroki suddenly fainted turning left as the ball neared before letting it slip through his legs whilst turning right.
Rounding the dumbfounded Simon who was left unbalanced and slipping to the ground he turned on the jets. He chased after the ball barely managing to latch onto it before it could go out for a throw-in, but he was in the clear. A white tsunami bearing the flag of the rising sun was imdiately released as they all charged forward for the counterattack. The stadium roared to life as Hiroki Abe sprinted down the left flank, the ball under his command and the Japanese supporters on their feet.
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To Be Continued...
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