"Oh! A shootout!"
"Come on, Higo! You can do this!"
"Iron Wall from Hakodate, show your might to the world! We are waiting for you!"
Even from his place, Higo could see Koji Yabu, the Hakodate native who worked here, and his little daughter, Chiaki Yabu, waving the little Japan flag on the stand. They both wore the proud blue jersey of the Samurai Blue, showing their support for the national team.
The little girl, especially, was waving a piece of paper that showed her support for him. There, Higo could read the nice words with his name being mentioned by the little girl.
Ryu-niichan! Tomo-niichan! Miko-neechan! Ganbatte!
It was written in colorful crayons, and while the handwriting was sloppy, it still carried the genuine feeling of a child supporting their brothers and sister. Higo couldn’t help but smile when he saw this, and the boy even had a time waving at them here.
Unfortunately, this little moment was interrupted by Ito, as the captain called, "Higo! Come here! We have a meeting!"
"Hai, hai!" Higo grumbled grumpily, walking away from his spot. Inwardly, the boy also made a promise to himself, ’After winning the game, I will come here and greet them properly.’
Yeah, after winning the game. Even though the boy didn’t say it out loud, he had never thought of losing today. That confidence stemmed from his experience in the penalty shootout, and while the last time he faced the same scenario, he lost due to his failing to execute the last penalty, the goalkeeper didn’t believe that South Korea would be as stubborn as Shimizu Higashi High in this regard.
"Ryukkun! Come here, I will give you a preview of what to expect!" Kumiko called him out.
Higo didn’t have any reason to refuse it, following his childhood sweetheart like a good puppy. He could also see the others trying to relax their muscles here, while the assistant coach, Akiba-sensei, was explaining what to do and where to aim for the penalty shootout.
"Okay, Ryukkun! Focus!" Kumiko snapped him out of his thought quickly, forcing the boy to put his attention on her. "For the shootout later, you will have to face Park Han-Gyeol first. This is something that Kageyama-sensei and I believe the opponent would do. You still remember how your last matchup against him, right?"
Well, Higo didn’t need to be reminded of that painful experience. The boy put the ball to the back of the net decisively even though Higo still managed to react in the right direction, becoming one of the few players who managed to bag a penalty against him. That was perfect revenge for the save he made in Niigata last August, and now their score was tied again.
"Just like you, he will know what to expect here, so Han-Gyeol will try to put the ball as far away as possible from your reach. Not only that, but he will also hit hard, trying to make sure that you have no chance to stop it. However, thanks to Yamane-san and Mamoru-kun, we have good data here, and out of ten penalties he executed, none go to the middle or a half-assed direction, while seven go to the bottom left of your side. Remember, BOTTOM! Don’t jump too high, okay?"
Higo couldn’t help but nod here, even having time to give a thumbs-up toward both Miki Yamane and Mamoru. This intelligence sure was enough detail, the advantage of having the club’s teammates of the opponent’s players in the national team.
"Then, we also have Lee Kang-In. Even if he failed to score against you earlier, he will definitely take a chance later. Now, the question is, how will he execute it?" Kumiko explained once again. "This is only my guess, so incorporate this into your head, okay?" She stared at Higo intently, as if trying to emphasize something here.
Higo just bit his lips a little, but gave the girl a nod here. He knew that she didn’t mean for him to just use his brain, but also incorporate the information with his clairvoyant ability. Out of everyone in the world, the girl was the only one who knew and could think of a way to take advantage of it at its maximum.
"There are two chances for him: first, if he is confident, he will try to send the ball back to the original path he took earlier just to make a point. However, if he is wavering, looking unsure, or something like that, he will try to push the ball far to the opposite side, trying to wash away the mistake earlier." The girl paused. "I don’t think I need to tell you how to figure out his state, right?"
"No, I know what to do." Higo nodded.
It was also fortunate for his part that Lee Kang-In was not someone who could hold a good poker face. Even in the penalty earlier, his eyes were so expressive to show his confidence, as if tellingHigo that the ball would go in. The goalkeeper didn’t believe that Lee Kang-In would be able to completely hide his emotion later, and he vowed to himself that he would stop that boy’s penalty for the second time today.
Right after that, Kumiko also explained the intelligence that the team gathered about South Korean players and their track record in penalties. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any data here, as the junior-level game wasn’t something that was tracked professionally.
Still, any information could be useful, and Higo tried to save as much as possible inside his head.
Meanwhile, the outfield players also got ready for the shootout. The order had already been determined here. First, it would be Morita, the best taker on the team. Then, Kawabe came in second, followed by Tagawa, Miki Yamane, and lastly Mamoru.
Yeah, it would be the team’s prodigy himself who would determine the team’s fate later.
"Okay, everyone is ready, right?" Kageyama-sensei called out. Seeing the determined nods from the players, he continued, "Well, I don’t need to say any motivational speech again. You guys know what to do here. So, I will say one last thing. Let’s beat South Korea and snatch the ticket to the quarterfinal!"
"YES, SENSEI!"