"Okay, we have done a fucking great job against Mexico! Now, it is time to determine what kind of an opponent we want to face in the next round!" Kageyama-sensei slammed the board to wake everyone up from their daydreaming.
It was two days after the game against Mexico, and they finally started talking about the last game of the group. The confidence was overflowing this time, and based on their look, they seemed to be ready to face even the best team in the world right now.
This was just how teenagers were. One bad result was enough to make them think they were the worst shit ever, but one good result was also enough to revert all of that judgement to give them the ego as big as the moon itself, making them think they were the greatest thing ever to grace the world.
This was not the first time Kageyama-sensei faced a bunch of hyper teenagers like this, and the man always found it was the hardest to control the guys when they were so excited like this. So, the best way to do that was to push them harder, letting them burn their energy through training until they forgot about the excitement a few days ago.
Still, it was not time to do that right now, because they were still in the middle of a meeting.
"Our last opponent is going to be Ecuador, a team with a tough defensive discipline and a high usage of physical clashes to deal with any difficult situation." The man began explaining the general information here. "Even Italy has a difficult time breaching through their defensive line, so we are probably going to face the same."
Some of the boys on the back couldn’t help but snort. "Bah! That doesn’t mean Ecuador is that strong. It can also mean Italy’s offense sucks, right? I mean, they need a massive luck to score against us."
Poor boy, he said it too loudly to the point that Kageyama-sensei was able to hear him. "Well, thank you for your opinion, Hinata, but if you dare to look down on your opponent again, we will have to double your physical training for the rest of the tournament."
The boy looked like he was about to pass out instantly after being called like this. Somehow, he forgot one golden rule here. If he wanted to make a snide comment about the opponent, he better got as far away as possible from the head coach, as the man didn’t want the players to underestimate their opponent here.
"Okay, I know that you guys cannot truly focus on the game, so we will start calculating our chances here." The man focused back on the topic again. "First of all, defeat is not a choice. Even if we would still advance to the next level from the best third position, we will be far from a favorable position."
Then, the projector showed a big table.
"This is how the drawing would be depending on which teams get through the next round from the best third spot route. As you can see, no matter what the others’ results are, our chance in here will be against Senegal, Uruguay, and Ukraine. Not the strongest team at the senior level, I know, but at this junior level, you can expect them to bring down even the best team in the world. Not only that, the path would be difficult if we are going to face them."
True enough, everyone could see that even if they managed to win in the top 16, the quarter-final would be difficult to deal with. If they won against Ukraine, they would have to face Colombia. France if they won against Uruguay, and Argentina if they got through Senegal. All of them were far more difficult than necessary.
"That’s why we cannot lose against Ecuador!" Kageyama-sensei slammed the table again, enough to make the closest players there jump in surprise. "I don’t care if we win or draw the game, because the opponent’s level and our path will have similar difficulty. However, going to a game aiming for a draw will never end up good, so we will come with the intention of defending our position at the top of the standings!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Then, the meeting began to enter the main part, where they started talking about team Ecuador. Honestly, there was almost nothing to discuss in this matter. The South American team was solid as a rock, fouling while also winning duels a lot, and in offense, they were just going for the wait-and-see approach.
This was the kind of passive team that would rather go for 0-0 rather than losing the game completely.
Still, the intelligence about their defensive habits was quite informative, like how their right back often got disconnected from the whole defensive system to chase the winger on the flank, or the defensive midfielder who fancied himself as a ball handler and liked to carry the ball the longest on the team.
Every intelligence matters here, giving the team a better chance to win the game.
Kageyama-sensei also announced the squad for that game. Unfortunately, there would be no rotation in the goalkeeper section, so Higo had to be satisfied with himself sitting on the bench and being Zion’s warm-up partner later. Honestly, the boy started to lose his patience here, feeling his hands itchy for not taking any action since the tournament began.
Other than him, some of the main players were also rested. Miyashiro, the team’s best player so far with three goals, would start the game from the bench, being replaced by Tagawa. Koki Morita would also take a rest, since his ability would be needed more in the knockout stage.
Other than that, some minor changes were also made, enough to make the team unrecognizable, but still quite strong to face the opponent. Kageyama-sensei was also quite satisfied with this configuration, feeling relieved that he had a chance to rest some of his key players.
"Still, remember this, guys, especially the players who will have a chance to showcase why you deserve to be on the roster." The man turned solemn for the first time of the day. "This is not just an empty game that you can show off as much as you want. We are still eyeing the win here, so don’t you dare slacking off or stop running even for a second!"