Well, the attack from Team Japan was fierce, but this time, it was Italy’s time to show off why their catenaccio philosophy was considered the most feared defensive wall in the world. If Japan relied on discipline, they leaned more toward instinct that was somehow connected from one player to another.
One thing that team Japan admired and was scared of most, though, was their opponent’s calmness. Everyone in Team Italy knew full well that time was ticking by, and they needed a goal to avoid defeat. However, they still moved so patiently, as if nothing could shake them off.
Honestly, it should be good for Team Japan. After all, they were the least anxious one here. However, the calmness shown by Team Italy really put them on edge, enough to make them overthink right here.
’Do they still have another hidden weapon on the bench?’
’What if this is just a plan they crafted so cautiously to make us lower our guard?’
’No, we cannot do this all the time. We need to slow down a little bit. Maintain the possession, but no need to push too far.’
In the end, a decision was made. In the 70th minute, twenty minutes before the game was over, they backed down a little bit, retaining possession without risking too much of leaking anything in their position.
This was not the coach’s instruction, but a collective decision made by the players on the pitch based on the current situation. Sometimes, no matter how good the coach was, the players knew better what they had to do.
Of course, Team Italy would never let this chance slip away. After being suppressed for about half an hour since the second half began, they finally had more room to breathe, and they started to exert their pressure once again to create chaos on Japan’s side.
Honestly, this game ran like a pendulum. Both teams would be cautious in the middle, and when the momentum shifted, they would attack relentlessly. But once the momentum died, they would back down immediately, letting the opponent deliver the punch with their strongest shield on.
Ten minutes passed, and the tempo started to decline as well. No team could put high pressure for a long time, especially when the players were this young. No, the physical limitation was too great here, preventing them from going all out till the last whistle.
So, the game entered a stagnant mode, with players from both teams starting to reach their limit. The only difference from the first half was that more shots were taken from all over the place.
No matter how bad the angle was, as long as the players could see the goal clearly and the distance was not that far, a rocket would be launched there. It didn’t always go on target. In fact, most of the shots went to the moon, disappearing among the crowd behind the goal. However, just like a bunch of idiots, they kept repeating the same mistake over and over again, believing that they could pull a different result.
Well, they couldn’t help it. The closer the time was to the end, the more anxious they became, especially team Italy. They needed to score a goal as quickly as possible, not wanting to come back from their first-ever game empty-handed.
Now that Japan had already shut down their territory, the only way to do that was with brute force, which was the most primitive and the least effective method to do so. Some of the shots managed to reach the end of the goal, but most of them just flew far away from the target, giving Japan more time to breathe.
It wasn’t just the players who got anxious. Even the coaches from both teams were the same. They had already pulled their last substitution, with Kageyama-sensei taking off Mitsuki Saito for Yuta Goke, another defensive midfielder. It was clear that the man wanted to defend this result until the end.
Meanwhile, team Italy also put another attacking player up front. Gabriele Gori, a strong ball-winning midfielder, came in for the team’s left back. This was an attempt to strengthen the midfield, ensuring that they would win every second ball on the pitch.
Still, without any result, the substitution looked meaningless, even brainless for some people in the stand.
’What the hell are those Italian guys doing on the bench?’
’That country truly has fallen, right?’
’Yeah, even their youth team couldn’t escape from defeat against a mere Japan.’
It wasn’t like Japan was a weak team, but historically, compared to Italy, they were like a professor and an undergraduate student. There should be no way in hell that the undergraduate student snatched the win here.
However, that was football, and anything could happen in the process.
The closer they were to the win, the further the team’s defensive line dropped back. They couldn’t afford to show any weakness here, so even a free ball coming in their direction would be cleared away without hesitation. This was to ensure that no mistake happened in the process, costing them the whole game.
Still, of course, there would be people who still dared to challenge this decision.
This time, it was Zion Suzuki, the one who always insisted on playing from the back, who defied the order. He felt like controlling possession on the back was more efficient than wasting time by throwing it away and giving it back to Italy, and even when the danger came, he could just whack it up to the frontline with a single kick.
Yeah, in his mind, there was no playing with fire right now, just a pure logical solution for this matter.
However, what he forgot was that his thought required the others to have the same calmness here, and when one player couldn’t follow it up, chaos would ensue. This was exactly what happened when Zion took his sweet time trying to find anyone open, forgetting that more people had already gathered around his territory.
Seeing this, everyone widened their eyes in fright, and even the ever calm and composed team captain Ito couldn’t help but curse.
"FUCK IT! ZEE, CLEAR IT AWAY!"