Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 279



Only Noblemtl

Episode 279 World Cup Final Mock Test

The first of the final evaluation matches, the match against Turkey, will be held in Sangam.

The second evaluation match, against Switzerland, will be held at Suwon World Cup Stadium, and the third evaluation match, against Honduras, will be held in the United States.

As it was the last mock exam before the World Cup, the atmosphere was bright yet solemn.

The manager had to go out as a representative and face the reporters for the pre-match interview, and Leon gave a smooth and standard interview.

“Today is an evaluation match against Turkey. Do you plan to play against them with your existing tactics? I’m also curious about whether Kim Min-woo and Kim Jun-young will start.”

“We will have a final look at the tactics we will use at the World Cup against Turkey. You also asked about the Manchester kids. My answer is yes.”

Everyone was in that mood. First of all, the atmosphere was really good. The team was running without forgetting the loss, and the performance was also hot.

“The FIFA rankings of Korea and Turkey are 18th and 42nd respectively, with a difference of nearly 24 places. Considering today’s match and the current national team record, I don’t think anyone will doubt that Korea will win. How do you predict the outcome, coach?”

“The ball is round. It is an area where it is impossible to say for sure who will win or lose. Who would have predicted that Korea would beat Germany 2-0 in Kazan in 2018?”

A clean, no-frills answer.

The reporters also seemed to largely agree, tapping away at their laptops.

“During the last A-match, the coach had the new players compete with the experienced players. And in this final evaluation match, it seems like a lot of the new players have finally boarded the national team. Will the players selected this time ultimately participate in the World Cup?”

“It’s not confirmed yet. I’m going to look at everything in this final evaluation. Some of them might drop out. Or they might be relegated to the reserves. Then, the veterans can join the national team.”

It was a statement that could have been very sensational at times, but Leon’s position as a manager on a winning streak was greater than that of any manager he had ever been in charge of.

Those who heard the director’s interview remarks afterwards thought so. They foolishly thought that he would do well on his own.

Now, there is no particular burning, and no force glaring at the director in discontent.

Leon has put together a lineup of the best players without any external pressure… .

Also, the coach of Turkey, who entered the country this time and will be playing against Korea, said a few words in the interview.

“Coming to Korea reminds me of 2002. It remains a good memory for me. At that time, we beat Korea, but now we are facing Korea as a challenger. Playing against a strong team like Korea before the World Cup will definitely have a positive effect on our national team.”

“Korea has a golden generation of star players. Are you confident that you can win against Korea?”

“Winning is the goal of every manager. However, this evaluation match is more about checking the team’s strength before the World Cup than winning, so I will focus more on teamwork than winning.”

The Turkish national team coach is someone who has been through a lot in this field, so his tongue skills are no ordinary skill.

* * *

Just before the friendly match against Turkey, Sangam World Cup Stadium was literally packed with people.

‘I know Old Trafford is bigger than Sangam, but the cheering is incomparable.’

Perhaps because of the national team’s great performance, the cheering was really hot. Even before the game started, people were surfing, beating drums, and waving flags.

I realized that there must be a lot of people here, thinking that my family must be there too, amidst the huge crowd.

And the giant Taegeukgi flag was slowly rising. I sang the national anthem to the accompaniment.

When I was in high school or middle school, I used to lip-sync a lot because I thought it was kind of ‘cool’ to just open my mouth and not sing the national anthem, but now that I’m an adult, my thoughts have completely changed.

Living abroad for a long time makes me realize the importance of my home country even more.

Sharing the same race, language, and culture was more important than I thought.

And so the pre-game ceremony is over.

“I won’t say much. Let’s show people what kind of people you are. Let’s show them what kind of drama we’re going to make at the World Cup. Turkey? Switzerland? They’re nothing compared to what we’re going to meet. You know?”

We gathered in a circle before the game and cheered, starting with captain Son Heung-min. I felt a drone camera hovering above us. And we finished the ceremony with a ‘Wow!’

The players went to their respective positions, and I also waited in front of the goal for the game to start. And… … .

Beep!

The first round of the final evaluation has begun.

Our attacking line went deep into the Turkish defense as soon as the game started. They didn’t have a chance to shoot right away, but they moved around here and there as if they were testing the waters.

Left flank. Center. Left flank again. This time, long reverse.

However, Turkey is not swayed and has a strong organization.

I briefly admired it when I saw it, because it seemed to confirm the conclusion that Kim Shin-ah had made while surfing the web.

[Kim Shin-a: The Turkish coach has a long career in Italy, so he is likely to play defensively! Italy is famous for its defense in soccer, right?]

[Kim Min-woo: How do you know such things?]

[Kim Shin-ah: And since she was a defender during her time as a coach in Türkiye, she seems to place more importance on defense]

Surprisingly, Kim Shin-ah’s prediction was accurate. It was a prediction that was like catching a rat while the cow backed away, but in any case, Turkey actually focused on understanding us by firmly closing the back door against an aggressive Korea.

‘I guess I’ll try going up slowly too.’

It was very early in the game, but I went forward, leaving the goal empty, to take advantage of the offensive advantage. I had to go forward, if only to take advantage of the enhanced trait ‘Wedge-shaped Goalkeeper’.

‘I definitely felt like my special weight class had gone up when I used it during practice matches.’

If we really look at it, it wasn’t as good as when he kicked after turning on the quick and accurate kick, but it was on a level lower than that. More precisely, it was 1.5 levels lower.

“Minwoo!”

Kim Min-je, who was out in front of me, receives the ball and passes it to me. I came out of the box, but it was still safe because I was at the back.

In addition, Turkey was playing safely in the beginning of the game, so there were no Turkish players nearby.

‘These kids?’

Can you give me a space where I can be comfortable? I’m going to get in trouble, right?

After looking around for a moment, I sent the ball deep to Son Heung-min, who was playing on the left wing for today’s game.

“Phew,” my cheek flew away refreshingly.

So much so that the people gathered at the stadium cheered slightly instead of singing the cheering song.

Son Heung-min took my long ball with his foot as if he was used to it. The spectators watching him excitedly exclaimed in anticipation at his light wit.

It was a neat touch, but I thought, is it really that good?

‘When I see things like this, I think Korean people are really cute. I look forward to even the scenes that I would normally just watch in the EPL.’

And Son Heung-min’s dribbling. His signature dribbling that makes you want to poop, whether to go left or right.

And the left!

‘oh my.’

I ended up turning it over.

*Turnover (offensive possession lost due to a mistake)

And there was someone who ran towards the Turkish player who stole the ball, and that was Lee Kang-im.

Lee Kang-im snatched the ball back from the opponent before he could kick it elsewhere and, like he had shown in the previous practice match, sent a killer pass forward that toyed with the defenders.

Those two things happened in an instant as if they were one, and the situation was almost identical to that time.

The defenders are frozen solid, and only Kim Jun-young reacts to the pass, breaks the defensive line, and enters the box.

‘At this early hour?’

Startled, I continued to watch.

The Turkish goalkeeper was equally surprised and couldn’t do anything, so Kim Jun-young calmly kicked the ball into the left goal.

The goalkeeper tries to react by stretching out one leg, but… … .

““Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!””

The cheers that could be heard throughout the stadium were heard.

The net rippled and the ball went in. It was a clear goal.

The Turkish players looked at each other in bewilderment, as if they had not expected a goal to be scored so early despite their defensive play.

‘Ah. Is this it?’

Kim Min-woo, it’s you again? You started it again?

I gave it to Son Heung-min, Son Heung-min failed to dribble and took it away, Lee Kang-im took it away, Lee Kang-im made a crazy killer pass to Kim Jun-young. And Kim Jun-young ran to score a goal while the defenders were frozen. This was the whole process.

‘In fact, the biggest contribution here is from Kang Im-hyung, who gave the kill pass.’

After all, if I hadn’t sent the captain a pass that seemed to have been measured with a ruler, wouldn’t this situation never have happened in the first place?

I know it’s a bit much to brag about myself, but I had a stake in this situation, so I shouted out loud.

“Daeminwoo!”

Of course, my voice was buried in the cheers of tens of thousands of people.

But people who watch soccer at least know how much of a part I had in this goal. I was the so-called goal maker.

Although we cannot directly create goals except in free kick situations, we can create situations indirectly like this.

In a way, it’s like an ‘invisible hand’.

First of all, I also put my hands together and waved to fit the mood. Not long after the game started, the score was 1:0.

It was a pleasant start.

Turkey conceded a goal, but they did not change their tactics or anything, and continued with the same style.

We also scored a goal, but there was no reason to change our style, so the scene of Korea hitting and Turkey blocking continued for quite a while.

However, as the situation did not turn around and the momentum grew to the point where a second goal could be scored, the Turkish coach also felt that this could not continue and changed his tactics.

Since there was no change and he kept getting hit, he meant that he was going to step forward and hit too.

The intention was too obvious.

The Turkish players pressed more aggressively than before and did not let me feel comfortable even when I had the ball.

‘Oh. That’s scary.’

I only passed the ball to another player when I was right in front of the Turkish player to drain his energy as much as possible.

We moved on to full-scale dog training.

Rather than an active attack, they continued to tire out the opponents with a tiki-taka feel of pass-pass-pass-pass.

However, as they were an opponent who poured out resources such as physical strength, mistakes could not be avoided on our side, and finally, the Turkiye side attempted an attack worthy of being called an attack.

‘Since you’ve used up a lot of stamina, you’ll probably want to try to make a plausible effective shot.’

The opponent’s first attack. I was a little nervous too.

It was a shot from outside the box. Even though there were a lot of defenders, it was a quick shot with a trajectory that went right into the goal.

It was my turn to step forward.

‘Huh!’

I jumped high to the right and knocked the shot away. It was a powerful shot, not one to be caught.

‘We shouldn’t let our guard down just because we rushed in at the beginning.’

It was a team with some strength.

Of course, just to that extent.

It was just that he had the potential, but not to the extent that I felt threatened.

I stood up again as if nothing had happened, but the fans watching must have thought my save was amazing because they cheered and chanted my name three times in a row.

I smiled at that shout. At Manchester United, such saves are so common that they are now just applauded, but in Korea, the reaction is really delicious.