The others might not think of it seriously, but Makino was so familiar with this kind of play. The ball was moved back from the center spot as quickly as possible, followed by five or six players swarming the opponent’s territory like lightning.
This was the exact Blitzkrieg scheme that led Hakodate Nishi to the national tournament last winter, one that made every team they faced tremble in fear. However, this time, Ukraine did the more extreme version of it.
If Hakodate Nishi initiated the attack from Takaaki, their metronome in the midfield, Ukraine pulled this attack from the very back of their territory, with Andrey Lunin initiating the attack. This allowed all the strikers and midfielders to rush forward, with two full backs even having time to support from behind.
BAM!
Now, the Hail Merry pass was launched in the sky, and their second striker, Kyrylo Dryshiluk, had already pivoted himself in front of Ito, getting ready to battle Japan’s captain for this aerial ball. His height was around 188 cm, just slightly taller than Ito, but the boy’s body was built like a fucking tank. Even Ito himself had a difficult time trying to move the striker in that split second.
However, Makino couldn’t care less about it. When everyone’s attention was on the ball, his eyes darted everywhere, keeping track of every single Ukrainian player who tried to sneak in. Then, when he finally caught someone trying to sneak in, coupled with Dryshiluk’s positioning, Makino’s brain worked at light speed.
’The ball is going there!’
Thud!
In the next second, somehow, Dryshiluk managed to win the aerial ball against Ito, sending a flick to the penalty box without even looking. Hell, he himself didn’t even face the goal, making everything look like he had a pair of eyes on the back of his head.
"Yes! Good pass!" Supriaha grinned while running, seeing the ball following him from the right side. This was the perfect situation for the boy, as he himself didn’t need to adjust his positioning. Even from this spot with him running at full speed, Supriaha was confident that his first-time shot would be dangerous.
However, before he could swing the ball...
BRUGH!
"SHIT!" The boy widened his eyes in shock, getting his balance a little bit thrown off.
It was none other than Makino who took action, as he came out of nowhere to press that striker from the left side. The pressure was not hard enough to throw him off the ground, but the pressure was real here. Makino didn’t intend to let him have a chance to shoot comfortably.
’Don’t think you can do it easily in front of me!’ He gritted his teeth.
Supriaha also fought back. Even though his balance was off for a moment, the boy could still run, and he was also chasing the ball at this time. He showed how strong his core was by being back on track immediately, and the striker even showed how fast he was by almost getting past Makino, who was one step earlier here.
However...
Thud!
The challenge from Makino was enough to allow Zion to get out of his six-yard box, and the boy didn’t hesitate to throw himself in front of the two of them to pick the ball. His timing was perfect, as the goalkeeper even avoided a clash with the other two. Not only that, he got back to his feet immediately, not even blinking before throwing the ball so far it even reached the center line.
"COME ON, KAWABE-SAN!" He shouted so loudly, piercing the sky in Lublin.
"Ha! Nice throw, Brat!" Kawabe grinned as he saw the ball coming at him. The winger controlled it with his chest easily, turning the ball around with an exquisite yet equally effective move without wasting too much time.
There, he saw so much space in front of him, as the opponent’s wing back was still too far from Japan’s territory. Without hesitation, Kawabe started hitting his accelerator, speeding up with the ball on his feet.
"Oh, shit! Move back! Move back!" The Ukrainian players on the front line ran frantically back toward their territory, trying to recover their original shape.
Still, they weren’t that worried here. No, they still had three strong central defenders and two strong holding midfielders watching over their territory. There was no way Japan could break through their box so easily with this formation.
True enough, even though Kawabe managed to get closer to the box, he did everything on the flank. Once his eyes darted to the opponent’s area, the boy frowned a little, finding so many players with yellow jerseys gathering there.
’Wait, have they already been back? This is so quick!’
One thing he mistook here was that it wasn’t all of the Ukrainian players who were back, but those who were in the box were the tallest among them all, making it hard for Kawabe to find his teammates. Miyashiro was just like a small tree in a big forest, trying to stand out as much as possible to tell Kawabe where he was right now.
The boy took his time slowly, and when he finally noticed that he was close to the byline and the other Ukrainian players were shutting him down, he finally took action.
BAM!
For a moment, it looked like a low shot to the ground. However, Kawabe didn’t aim it at the goal. No, it was a cutback pass, not aiming for Miyashiro, who was trying to push the opponent’s defensive line as close to the goalkeeper as possible. The target was Mamoru, who was trying to sneak from the other flank, and now, the boy had quite a good angle to take a shot by himself.
"Yes! Nice cut back, Kawabe-san!"
However, Mamoru only managed to raise his right foot here. Before he could swing it, one person suddenly moved so fast, getting in front of him before launching a decisive sliding tackle.
BAM!