’Yes, that’s the pass, Kawabe-san! That’s it!’ Mamoru grinned, his eyes tracking the ball on the pitch while calculating where it would fall.
This switch play came in time, as all the France players had shifted their attention to Kawabe. Even though there were still some who were close to him, they had just shifted toward the right side for even a moment, and this gave Mamoru a valuable time to act.
It also helped that the cross that Kawabe sent was not the high type that would be slow to fall. No, it was a low cross that was whipped at high speed, giving Mamoru the chance to go further before anyone could shut him down.
"Shit! Move! Move! Move!"
France’s defensive midfielder, Enzo Loiodice, gritted his teeth as he was trying to chase Mamoru from behind. This was the second time he was late in anticipating the opponent’s attack, and slow-witted as he was, the boy could see the pattern here. Unfortunately, right now was not the time to think about it, as he still had to stop Mamoru first.
He wasn’t alone, as their other full back, Thomas Basila, was also trying to shut Mamoru Down. However, the Japanese prodigy found a path that crossed the two players, and he didn’t hesitate to push the ball there.
As a result, both Enzo Loiodice and Thomas Basila stopped for a moment, thinking that their teammate would be the one responsible. That brief pause, even for a second, was enough for Mamoru to get through that tiny hole easily.
"FUCK YEAH, MAMORU!"
"COME ON! THIS IS IT!"
The other France players were still trying, but at this point, Tagawa, Miyashiro, and Kawabe had been following from behind, intending to support the front line with their presence. This was enough to spread the opponent’s defense thin and give Mamoru the space he needed.
Now that Mamoru had everything, the boy didn’t hesitate, just pushing the ball as far away as possible until he was close to the penalty box. Even though he wasn’t as fast as Kawabe, once he got the momentum, it would be impossible to stop him.
Then, the same scenario happened just like how the first goal unfolded.
France’s goalkeeper tried to close the distance, but this only revealed a weakness in Mamoru’s eyes. The prodigy didn’t go overboard, just sending a groundball between the goalkeeper’s legs, humiliating that boy once again in this game.
Thud!
"YES!" Mamoru laughed, not even stopping his run. The boy went to the corner spot before doing a knee-slide in front of Japan’s supporters. "Come on!"
Kawabe followed from behind, rushing so quickly before slamming into the boy at full speed. "Damn, Mamoru! I know you can do it! Fucking hell!" he laughed so much that tears started to flow from his eyes.
"Come on! We are leading by two goals against France! We can do this!" Tagawa joined the group hug; his big body engulfed the two boys in one swoop.
One by one, all the Japan players joined, expressing their excitement for the goal. They didn’t expect that everything would go so well that they were now leading one of, if not probably the best team in the tournament by two goals. Everything went so smoothly that they couldn’t help but feel like this was the easiest game they had in the knockout game so far.
After this, France tried to push back, at least wanting to shorten the gap to one goal before the first half was over. Unfortunately, Japan still maintained a high-discipline defense on the back line. After getting over their nervousness in the first couple of minutes, Nagai and Makino proved to be a solid duo, and while sometimes their shortcoming was getting taken advantage of, they still backed each other strongly, not allowing any dangerous threat to come to France’s side.
It also helped that Japan had already proven themselves to be dangerous in a transition attack. They didn’t hold that much possession today, only 34 percent. They also only got two shots on target so far, and yet, thetwo of them were converted into two goals, showing how effective they were on the front line.
This was enough to make France’s defensive line wary, and even their midfielders didn’t dare to push too far, not wanting to get caught off guard once again by either Mamoru or Kawabe. As a result, their help in offense also started to decrease, and it helped Japan maintain their lead comfortably.
The rest of the first half went quite steadily. France still tried to pull a few tricks, but their execution was abysmal. Sometimes, Zion didn’t even need to move, just watching the ball go high or wide far from his goal.
The closest one came from Moussa Diaby, who tried to break through from the right side, but he was too egotistical, executing the ball even from an impossible angle. As a result, Zion just caught it easily, giving Japan another chance to slow down the game.
This state lasted for the entire game. Of course, Kageyama-sensei was the happiest when he saw this. Even though he didn’t show it, the man had been worried sick when he delegated the task to Kumiko, wondering whether it would be a mistake or not. He had already prepared an apology letter to the media as well, preparing to shield the girl from any criticism outside.
Who would’ve thought that, not only did the girl do a better job than he expected, she even led the team to get a comfortable lead before the first half was over. While the game was still long, at least he could be optimistic facing the second half.
’Yeah, as expected, her ability to lead the game is superb. If only she were a little bit older...’ He sighed in pity.
His mind got distracted once again, as right after this, the referee finally blew the whistle three times in a row.
FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!
Seeing the players walking back to the locker room, the coach couldn’t help but clench his fists tightly. ’Yes, we are already half a step into the final. Get the job done, Shishida-san!’