This red card was like the culmination of every bad luck that the team had suffered today. Makino himself didn’t complain here. He accepted the red card quietly, taking off his tops before high-fiving some of the guys who came at him directly.
"Don’t be too sad about the red card, Makino. You saved my ass, so leave the rest to me." Ayumu Seko patted the boy on the back of his head.
"Good job on that quick decision, Makino-kun. You have proven yourself to be an excellent defender." Ito also nodded, voicing his genuine emotion right now.
Indeed, even though Makino got a red card, no one from Team Japan blamed him for that. After all, the professional foul was done at the right time, and if Makino failed to do so, the team’s chance to overtake the score would be so close to null already.
Even the opponent players couldn’t help but put some respect on Makino’s name. Buletsa got up from the ground, looking at the boy who had just fouled him earlier with a complicated gaze.
’That level of conviction before he fouled me... That was not a reckless action, but a calculated one. He knows that even though the team lost one player, they would still be able to encircle us in our territory, so their chance is still there. In that split second, he calculated everything and picked the best choice for his team. What a respectable defender...’
Makino himself didn’t know what the opponent’s player thought about him. Even if he knew, the boy couldn’t care less about it. He just walked away from the pitch, smiling wanly to the coach and the bench players there and said, "Sorry, I haven’t done a good job today."
The first one to react, though, was Kumiko. The girl engulfed her high school friend in a bear hug, holding his head while looking at him firmly. "You have already done a great service for our country. No need to think about anything else, just wait in the tunnel. Whether we are crying in joy or sorrow, we will do it together as a team."
"Yeah, don’t think too much about it." Kageyama-sensei nodded, patting the boy on his shoulder while still looking at the pitch. "Just wait here and watch. No one is allowed to face the result alone in the locker room."
Makino was stunned for a second before finally nodding a little, tears starting to flow down his face. Even though he knew what he had done was the best for the team, that didn’t mean the boy had to like it. He was so frustrated right now, even punching the tunnel’s wall out of anger.
’Out of any time in the world... How could I make the best choice in the final at the cost of me like this?! Damn!’
Higo also watched his friend leaning weakly on the tunnel’s wall, but the boy didn’t intend to say any word to his former captain. No, at this point, any consoling words would be like an insult for the boy who had fought tooth and nail for the team, so it was better to let him vent out his emotion first.
Still, the boy’s image inside his head also moved up a little bit higher. While Higo knew that Makino was not someone who liked to think too much on the pitch, the boy’s decisiveness when he wanted to do something was always remarkable, and that was also exactly what happened earlier.
’It is unfortunate that you have to do that when the team is losing... No one is going to appreciate you for that.’ He shook his head secretly.
After this. The game continued again with a free kick for Ukraine. It was in a great spot to shoot directly, but instead of doing that, they just played it short, putting the ball to the flank immediately with their winger protecting the ball so close to waste more time. This was a classic tactic for a winning team to kill the momentum.
Even though in the end, Miki Yamane managed to bounce the ball to that Ukrainian winger’s feet, the man managed to waste at least another minute there, shortening Japan’s lifespan more.
Kageyama-sensei also started going berserk. He couldn’t care less about being one man down, putting another striker to add more gunpowder. Right now, they had seven attacking players on the front line, only leaving Ayumu Seko and Miki Yamane guarding the back.
At this point, defense was no longer something that the team could afford right now. Only by attacking decisively could they have a chance to tie the game.
Unfortunately, all the effort they made seemed to be futile. No matter how hard they tried, Ukraine’s defensive line was still tight as ever, with their players getting interlocked with each other to make sure no leak could escape on their side.Somehow, the closer they were to the end of the game, the higher their concentration level was, maintaining the level of discipline that they had maintained since the game began.
Even Morita himself started to get frustrated, and he was the best player on the team. After wasting so many chances without getting any result, the boy could be seen yanking his hair in frustration.
"Goddamnit! Why are we fighting against a literal wall?! This is so fucking ridiculous!" He kicked the grass in irritation.
"Don’t stop moving, Morita! Stop wasting time more than necessary!" Kawabe shouted, having his breath already at its very last one.
"SHUT UP! I know it, you Bastard!" Morita shouted back, starting to run back again to get the ball.
Still, time was their enemy today, as the referee started to glance at his watch. The four minutes of additional time had already been running for a while, and they were only several seconds away from the final whistle. At this point, some of the players also started to wilt, knowing that they couldn’t do anything in this moment.
Unfortunately, this was real life, not a scripted anime. It was called a miracle because it was almost impossible to get, and this time, it didn’t come to Japan’s side. After fighting for a while, in the end...
FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!
The referee finally blew the whistle, ending the whole tournament with Ukraine as the new champion of the world.