Everything started from a normal pass from Makino on the back. Morita, who was getting pressured by Ukraine’s number 15, Kyrylo Dryshiliuk, would usually pass the ball back immediately. However, this time, it was different.
He checked his shoulder for a moment, and when the boy noticed that the number 15 was so close to him, he finally took action. He acted like he was about to pass back, but the moment his shoulder dropped, Morita turned sharply to the left side, the spot where the number 15 came from earlier.
This caught that number 15 off guard, and since he had just run from there, the boy had to stop his momentum and turn around to chase Morita. While it might sound simple, it took that number 15 about 3 or 4 seconds to do that, and in that time alone, Morita could get away from the pressure in the midfielder easily.
"SHIT! Cover!" That number 15 shouted while trying to turn around as quickly as possible.
Then, the number 8, Oleksiy Khakhlvoy, came to support. He put his body in line, trying to block Morita’s route to run. However, at the last second, Mitsuki Saito suddenly appeared in his line of sight, enough to distract that number 8 from Morita.
’Fuck!’ The boy cursed inwardly.
Usually, in this situation, Morita would use a quick one-two pass with Mitsuki Saito to get away from this kind of opponent. However, his teammate had done well to catch the number 8 off guard, and with a little flick to the right side, Morita changed the direction a little, getting away quickly from the pressure that had been breathing on his neck since the beginning of the game.
"OH, SHIT! IS THAT MORITA?!"
"COME ON, MORITA! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!"
"CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN! YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!"
The supporters shouted with a mix of excitement and nervousness right now. This was the first time they saw Morita getting a good position like this, and while they didn’t dare to hope for a direct goal, at least the people on the stand wanted to watch something happen on the pitch.
Of course, Ukraine would never let him go that easily. Besides the number 15 and 8, who were so close to recovering to their original position, one more player came to block his route. However, Morita had never intended to carry everything alone on his shoulders.
’With one more player chasing me, that means one of my teammates will be in a better situation. This is just simple math, right?’ He smirked a little bit, especially after finding out the person who got a good space on the front line. ’Well, Mamoru-kun, you want to redeem yourself for that first chance, right? Then, I’ll give you a chance! Run!’
Thud!
He sent a through ball to the left side, not straight to the flank, but closer to the half-space area and even going to the penalty box. There, Mamoru ran diagonally from the flank, sprinting as hard as he could muster to get the ball first. He managed to get one step earlier, but behind him, somehow, Yukhym Konoplia also ran as fast as he did, chasing from behind.
’Shit! This is the chance that Morita-san provides me with so much hardship; I cannot waste it away!’ The boy gritted his teeth, trying to force all the muscles on his lower limbs to speed up one more time.
One of Ukraine’s central defenders also shifted toward that side, trying to shut down Mamoru’s running route. However, the Japanese prodigy had already locked his other teammates in the box, and once he got closer enough to the ball...
BAM!
A low, diagonal pass was whipped from his spot. Their goalkeeper, Andrey Lunin, hesitated for a second before moving to the other side of his goal. While at first, he wanted to catch the ball directly, it was still a bit too far from his reach, and Miyashiro was also there to distract him as well. So, the goalkeeper decided to change his focus, following where the ball would go.
Unfortunately, this was proven to be a mistake.
On the other side of the flank, Kawabe appeared out of nowhere, getting away from his defender’s blind spot to be in the best position possible to receive the ball. When he saw the pass was coming, the winger couldn’t help but grin here, knowing that this was his chance to open the score.
’Good pass, Mamoru! Leave the rest to me!’
He didn’t even need to use any complicated technique. Just a little jump was enough as the ball was still at the height of his waist. Still, this wasn’t that big of a hassle for him to do the final execution, as a little tap-in to the near post was enough to get the ball to the back of the net.
BAM!
Andrey Lunin, who was trying to cover all the ground there, failed to arrive in time, and as a result, he could only watch the ball slam the back of his net with a helpless reaction.
"AAAAARGH!" Kawabe roared immediately, running to the stand with his face flushed in excitement. "COME ON!" He punched the air enthusiastically before spreading his arms wide, as if asking for more cheers from the people there.
"OH! A GOAL! A GOAL!"
"Hahaha! Our Team Japan is the best! Come on!"
"Who scores this time?! Is it Miyashiro?!"
"No, it is the loudmouth brat, Kawabe! HAHAHA!"
The atmosphere exploded from the stands as all the supporters of Japan were celebrating this goal as well. They all laughed to the point they cried, somehow finding this situation to be surreal. Even though this was still the 10th minute of the game, and Ukraine had all the time in the world to overtake the score, at least, this goal was enough to give them a feeling that they could win this game.
Soon enough, Morita and Mamoru joined, followed by the rest of the players who slapped the boy’s back quite hard or even jumped for a piggyback. They all shared the same excitement here, hugging each other with the same thought in mind.
’It is the World Cup’s final, and we are in the lead! Fuck yeah!’