Well, Tagawa didn’t really understand what the others were thinking right now. In his mind, as long as he put the ball in the back of the net, he would’ve done a great service to the team, and that was the most important thing to do right now.
After putting the ball on the penalty spot, the boy took a deep breath before turning to Higo. "Don’t worry, Ryusuke! Unlike Kawabe, I will not waste your hard work!"
Higo couldn’t help but want to slap his forehead right now. Tagawa was great, as he was always friendly to everyone, including him. However, the boy had one bad side here. He didn’t have a filter, often saying whatever came to his mind. This would give him so many enemies in the future.
Just like right now, he said it so loudly that even the players behind the center line couldn’t help but smack their heads. Kawabe’s face also darkened as if he was going to swallow Tagawa in one go. However, in the end, the boy could only sigh here, knowing exactly that Tagawa was right.
He wasted a rare chance for the team to take the lead that Higo created with hard work, and now, Tagawa would have the same chance to do what he couldn’t do.
Honestly, the boy was in a dilemma right now. He wanted Tagawa to score and give the team the lead, but he didn’t want to face the boy’s bragging later. In the end, he just put a flat face, not reacting to anything. Yet, the aura surrounding him was so dark and heavy that it was enough to make the others walk away from his spot.
Meanwhile, after saying something so outrageous like that, Tagawa just put the ball on the spot innocently, as if he didn’t just mock his teammate’s failure earlier. He looked at the referee with such eagerness, waiting for him to blow the whistle.
The man gulped for a moment, but after he was snapped out of his thought...
FWEEE!
The whistle was finally being blown here. Then, Tagawa also made his run, ready to launch a rocket. He was exactly like Park Han-Gyeol. No deception, just using his muscle to exert his dominance here.
CLANK!
His right foot whacked the ball straight to the left. The direction was bad, still too close to the goalkeeper like Kawabe earlier. However, it rose so quickly to the crossbar, the spot that Kang Do-Jin didn’t dare to touch. Once the ball hit the bar, it bounced down violently, then went up once again to hit the upper net of the goal.
It was a powerful display from Tagawa, as if saying that he was not here just for fun and a giggle.
"HA!" Tagawa laughed when he saw the result of his work, then pointed at Higo enthusiastically. "See? I told you so!"
The moment he was back in the line, though, all the Japan players slapped him on his back, some with quite a bit of power in it. While they acknowledged Tagawa’s talent, the boy sure could be so infuriating sometimes. Hell, that was probably why Kawabe didn’t want anything to do with him.
Still, the goal came in a timely manner. Now, the score was 1-2, and with only two rounds left, if somehow South Korea failed to score next and Japan could capitalize on it in the next turn, they would win the game without having to play the final round. Now, South Korea was on the edge of the rope, so close to falling off the cliff.
Now, they had no choice here but to score the goal, so the South Korean team sent their best player to execute the fourth penalty: Lee Kang-In.
Honestly, it was a big gamble. After all, the boy failed to score a penalty in normal time, and there was a fear that he would be burdened psychologically by that failure. However, they couldn’t help it. Right now, they had no safe option that could get through Higo’s defense while also facing the pressure of everything here.
This was the burden that the team’s best player had to face, and even if Lee Kang-In wanted to run, he wouldn’t be able to do that.
Well, the boy himself seemed unfazed in this situation. He walked to the penalty spot, picking the ball on the ground and rolling it slightly before trying to prepare himself for this. The sequence of moves was done so casually as if this was not a big moment for him and his team.
Honestly, the only hint of emotion that could be seen right now was his physical exhaustion. Other than that, everything looked fine for him.
At least... That was on the surface.
Even from his spot, Higo could see nervousness reeking from that boy. Lee Kang-In clenched his fist so tightly that his shoulder rose a few inches higher as he was so tense, and moreover, he sometimes walked with the same side of arm and foot swinging together before the boy corrected it quickly, showing that his mind was a giant mess right now.
Seeing this, Higo knew exactly what he was going to do. ’Yeah, Kumiko-chan said that if he was nervous, he would go for an extreme opposite of the direction he attempted earlier, right? So, if before, he went for the bottom left, this time, he will try to kill it to the top right! Come on! I get this!’
Higo didn’t even think of any other possibility here. The boy trusted Kumiko so much, believing that there was no way Lee Kang-In would defy her prediction. He even forgot that Kumiko always reminded him that this information was just supplemental, and everything could change on the pitch.
’Come on, give it to me!’ He licked the corner of his lips secretly, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
Then, a moment later...
FWEEE!
Lee Kang-In ran slowly, his eyes shifting between the left and right sides so quickly. It seemed he wanted to confuse Higo until the last moment. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, because the boy had already foreseen everything inside his head.
’Yes... There!’
BAM!