In fact, it wasn’t just Kumiko who thought that, but Higo himself was also in the same boat. He still regretted the fact that he wouldn’t be able to come later since the team had already used the two substitutions bonus for the extra time, but right now, jealousy had no place in the team.
"Oi, Big Zee, we are getting closer to the shootout, so tell me honestly, are you ready for that?" He stared at the boy’s eyes intently. "I know that facing a penalty is not your best skill, but we will need you at your best for later. Do you need anything else to help you?"
Even though he was still reluctant to not be able to play today, Higo knew one glaring fact here. If the team lost, he wouldn’t be able to play again in this tournament, so helping Zion to handle this situation would be crucial. While Kumiko said that she wanted to win in this extra time, he knew that his childhood friend had already started thinking about the shootout right now, and the best he could do to help was to talk to Zion.
The boy himself didn’t answer the question straight away. He paused for a moment, and after a while, a wan smile that was far from his usual playfulness suddenly formed on his face. "Well, even if I said that I am not ready, I don’t have that much choice, right?" He asked.
Indeed, even if he wasn’t ready, the boy had no choice or room to back down right now. Still, it was quite surprising for Higo to hear the vulnerable tone in the boy’s answer. It seemed that for all the big talk he said, Zion was still quite nervous the closer they were to the shootout. Just like Higo said, the boy wasn’t really that good at stopping a penalty, and he was so afraid of being the reason why the team lost today.
"Eh, don’t think too much about it, Zee!" In the end, Higo just patted the boy’s back firmly. "Just go all out and don’t think about anything else, just like your usual self! Kumiko-chan will give you guidance on what to do in the shootout later! Trust me, she is the best in this regard!" Higo gave a thumbs-up as if he was praising the boy here.
Not that he lied about this, since Higo truly believed that Kumiko should’ve already learned about the opponent well enough to face the shootout. This was something she had always done in every game in the winter tournament, and as a result, while the team back then still lost against Shimizu Higashi, they still managed to drag that powerhouse team to the round of the eleventh in the shootout.
She clearly knew what she was doing here.
After their short conversation, the referee finally blew the whistle, signaling that the break was over. Soon enough, all the players came back to the pitch, getting ready to start the second half. Japan, particularly, was so motivated right now, feeling like the new adjustment that Kumiko made could lead them to victory today.
The moment the referee blew the whistle, everyone sprang immediately, occupying the enemy’s territory. This move caught all the Senegalese players off guard, as this didn’t seem to be like what their coach said.
"After trying so many dirty tricks against us and seeing that those don’t work, they would never dare try something like that again. At the end of the day, we are superior in physicality, so they would back down instantly in the second half and try to reach the shootout safely. At that time, when you have a chance, try to strike as hard as possible, but if no space is open, you can back down slowly. Our priority here is to get to the shootout safely and snatch the win from their hand!"
That was what their assistant coach, who replaced the head coach, said. However, it seemed that he judged wrong here. He might be right if it was Akiba-sensei who took over the team, but Kumiko was definitely more adventurous in this regard.
Almost all the offensive players from Japan rushed forward without hesitation, and soon enough, Senegal found something dangerous lurking in the shadow. They didn’t know how Japan did it, but their defensive reaction became slower than ever. The help from the midfield always came late, and the defenders often faced an isolation battle against technically gifted Japanese players like Morita or Kawabe.
They still didn’t know that their number 6 was being targeted, and it would take a while until they noticed it since there were two players who had their eyes on that poor boy.
Then, what everyone was waiting for finally happened.
It had been three minutes since the second half started, and Morita once again received a pass so close from Senegalese number 6. This time, it came from Makino as the boy bypassed the midfield to send the ball close to the opponent’s defensive line.
Just like usual, the number 6 pressed him immediately, intending to kick him out of the team’s territory. However, even though the boy was persistent, Morita still knew one or two tricks to deal with him.
He didn’t even use any sophisticated dribble here. Just a quick one-two pass with Yuta Goke behind him to readjust his position, and with a little shoulder shake, he got the space he needed to send a through ball to the penalty box.
Thud!
"OH! Yes, Morita!" Kawabe grinned excitedly as he received the ball after cutting into the penalty box from the flank.
Usually, an act like this would’ve been cut off by that number 6. However, since that boy was preoccupied with Morita earlier, he was not in the best position to do that. As a result, Morita managed to escape from the flank so easily after catching his defender off guard, and without even controlling the ball, he curled it with his left foot to the far post of the goal.
BAM!