Honestly, this was not the first time Zion made this kind of move. Even if the rest of the players acknowledged the boy’s talent in being the outfield player, one thing they hated the most here was his recklessness in his approach.
Zion would always take his sweet time whenever he received the ball, not releasing it until the last second the opponent was about to reach him. It seemed that he was at his peak confidence, especially when he had never been cut off even for a single time in his career. He just liked to tease death itself while also giving his teammates a heart attack in the process.
This was just one of the occasions when things didn’t go as planned. However, this time, his recklessness really went south.
Receiving the pass from Miki Yamane, the boy took his time relaxedly, even giving instructions to the players in the midfield to spread more.
"Come on! Open more room!" Zion shouted from his spot. "Where the fuck do you want me to pass if you are cramped in the middle like that?!"
However, little did he know that Andrea Pinamonti, with his last drop of stamina, was chasing from behind desperately. Yuki Kobayashi, who was keeping an eye on him, was caught off guard, and it was Ito who noticed the movement first.
"FUCK IT! ZEE, CLEAR IT AWAY!" The captain shouted while cold sweat rolled down his back right now. In his mind, it was better to play it safe than get burned for being too close to the fire here.
Unfortunately, Zion was anything but conventional. He didn’t really care about the fire in front of him. Hell, if anything, the boy seemed to want to invite it to get closer. He glanced at Pinamonti for a moment before starting to stutter, teasing the Italian striker as if he was about to kick the ball before canceling it over and over again.
This was a blatant invitation to the opponent to get closer, and when Ito saw this, he couldn’t help but curse once again for his troublesome junior.
"Fuck it! Spread around! Get ready to receive the bomb!" He shouted to the others.
Indeed, this was exactly a bomb. In basketball, it was like passing the ball when the shot clock was about to be zero. Whoever did that would be hated by the rest of the team. Still, somehow, though, Zion felt that doing this over and over again was not wrong.
Even the good-tempered Ito just felt the corner of his lips twitching in speechlessness, inwardly promising that he would smack the boy on the back of his head later.
However, he was helpless in this situation. Little did the captain know that the other players from Italy had already rushed forward as well, encircling the penalty box with numbers. They also marked all the players around, getting ready to chase them like a wild dog the moment the ball was passed here.
Then, the moment of truth finally came.
Under Andrea Pinamonti’s pressure, when it was just one step away from Zion, the goalkeeper finally released the possession. However, instead of sending it far, the boy just passed it horizontally to the flank, where Sugawara was trying to open up the space there.
Poor boy, he looked like he was about to pass out when receiving that ball. His first intention was just to follow Ito’s order to spread around and give the goalkeeper more space to breathe. Sugawara didn’t expect that he was the unlucky one, receiving the bomb out of nowhere. With one player shadowing him from behind, he couldn’t help but scowl, cursing at Zion secretly.
’Fuck it, Zee! I will pay it back ten-fold later!’
He didn’t just stay frozen on the spot, but picked up the ball as quickly as possible. Then, with a slightly panicked state, the boy kicked the ball as far away as possible.
BAM!
Unfortunately, this plan didn’t work well. What he didn’t expect was that it wasn’t just one player who surrounded him, but two. The other one had just rushed from the back, jumping at the same time as when Sugawara kicked the ball. As a result, the ball didn’t go far, instead bouncing to the middle of the penalty box.
"SHIT! YUKI! CLEAN IT UP!" Ito shouted, a thick vein popping on his forehead.
Kobayashi also reacted, trying to track the ball in the air. However, Pinamonti also moved as well, and the boy’s exhaustion seemed to dissipate straight in that moment. They fought for the ball, and as a result...
BAM!
Another collision was on the board. This time, Kobayashi managed to win the ball, but his clearance wasn’t that good. No, the center back could only send the ball a few meters away from the box, and there, Sebastiano Esposito was standing as if he knew exactly where the ball would land.
The Italian genius didn’t even need to move here, just controlling the ball with his chest. Not only that, he faced the goal straight away, and the other Japan players around were too far to cover the space in front of him.
This was the most ideal spot for him to take a shot.
"FUCK! I get it!" Miki Yamane gritted his teeth as he slid through the grass, sending a tackle to block the space.
Unfortunately, Esposito was in a calm state. He didn’t even blink, just cancelling his shooting stance in the last second to avoid the tackle. Not only that, but he also pushed the ball slightly to his right side, creating a good angle and good momentum for his run-up before taking a shot.
Everything happened only in three to five seconds, enough for people to miss it if they blinked. However, Sebastiano Esposito did it meticulously, avoiding all the traps in front of him before his gaze finally landed on the goal.
This time, with the calmness of a veteran player, the boy didn’t use any sophisticated technique, just brute force from his right foot. However, the result was still good enough, because...
Thud!
The ball slammed through the back of the net without Zion being able to stop it, giving team Italy the goal they had been waiting for.