Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 290



Only Noblemtl

Episode 290: A Familiar Situation

In fact, this match was structured so that both sides could win if there was an implicit agreement between the two sides.

This third match was a match between 1st and 2nd place, and 3rd and 4th place, so if 1st and 2nd place each earned just 1 point, they could maintain their current rankings.

Two countries with 6 points and 4 points.

On the other side, there are two countries with 1 point and 0 points.

It was obvious where the match would be more intense and fierce.

“We will win every game. Once we enter the World Cup, winning is our goal.”

Leon’s pre-match interview.

Since they couldn’t openly say at an official event, “Let’s collude and split the points between us!”, Leon and the Norwegian national team coach gave lip service interviews saying that they would do their best in the final third match.

But looking at the lineup, which was announced much earlier than usual, it was obvious what each member was thinking.

Korea selected all of its sub players except Kim Min-woo.

Norway’s lineup is a good mix of first and second teams.

Norway’s failure to deploy the second team this year was likely a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.

Unlike Korea, Norway is a second-tier team this year, and if they concede a goal, they could fall to third place depending on the results of the other team’s match.

‘I thought you weren’t going to play today, but you’re playing?’

Between the first and second teams, Holland was a starter. Still, he doesn’t want to face France, right?

There’s nothing more to talk about.

If those two meet, it’s like Messi and Ronaldo meeting at the World Cup when they were still active.

I don’t know how the game will unfold, but either way, I’ll be meeting Holland again, this time at the World Cup.

Maybe it’s a twist of fate.

Of all the countries, I can’t believe I ended up in the same group as Norway.

The only silver lining is that Martin Odegaard is on the bench.

“… I don’t know how Norway will play. They might be aggressive, or they might just play the ball around, trying to get a point each. Regardless of how they play, we’ll play extremely defensively.”

Leon’s tactics against Norway were extremely defensive.

A tactic that has neither the intention of winning nor the intention of losing.

It seemed like they were going to start off by blocking two buses from the beginning, but it wasn’t to that extent, and he preached that they should also attack through counterattacks depending on the situation.

As the saying goes, the best defense is offense, so if you just keep blocking, your opponent will be able to hit you with ease.

If you occasionally empty the back space, your opponent won’t let his guard down and rush in.

‘I wish the game would end with them just looking at each other… … Well, I don’t think Holland, who is on a roll, will just sit by and watch that happen.’

Ultimately, only the match itself can tell what will happen.

Our final group match returns us back to LA’s SoFi Stadium.

Since the opponent is Norway from Northern Europe, it seems unlikely that this match will receive the same overwhelming support as the first match.

Living abroad, I felt that white people, even though they came from different countries, secretly took care of each other because they were the same race.

Maybe it will be the same this time too?

The captain for today’s game will be Park Seung-ho, who also played a leading role in the Olympic team.

We went out to the locker room to get our spirits up. The manager and coaches told us that if the game seemed to be going strangely, they could bring in the regular first-team players, and they told the bench players not to be too relaxed.

… … Well, given Leon’s personality, I don’t think he’d actually be put into action.

* * *

The final group stage matches, where all matches start at the same time, on the same day, and at the same time.

The match starts with Norway scoring first with the referee’s whistle.

Norway defied our expectations and started to push the line like a beast thirsty for victory right from the start of the game.

I realized that I was the only sure starter among the 11 players, so I played a very bold and decisive game.

‘It will come out like this… .’

What Norway was trying to do was lay the foundation and solidify it.

In order to aim for our goal and get as many shots as possible, the first task was to firmly control the midfield, and Norway was following that process faithfully.

If we lose the battle in the central plains without putting up much resistance, the future games will be very difficult.

And now the flow is… … .

‘I don’t like it. I don’t like it very much.’

It seems like the stage right before a one-sided game begins.

I know. Because I’ve been hit so many times in Hannover, I can get a rough idea of ​​how the upcoming game will go just by looking at the players’ positioning, the flow of the ball, and their movements.

‘Holland will soon become the Grand Prince of Suyang.’

He’ll be leading his men in front of the goal with all his might, shooting all kinds of shots. Shit…

Is it my illusion that I can see the future 10 minutes from now?

I can see it, I can see it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean our players were pushed back and couldn’t do anything.

Even though they are subs and Korea has weak depth, they are not so weak that they can’t even scream and collapse against Norway’s 1.5 team.

Our players were positioned six in front of the box and scattered in other spaces, constantly disrupting Norway’s attacking efforts.

Since they were players with nothing but stamina left, they didn’t even walk. They kept running and pressuring their opponents, and Norway also took a step back in response to our active resistance and built up slowly.

In this way, Korea took the lead and Norway took the offensive for nearly 20 minutes in the first half.

There were no valid shots during the process.

Since the opponent didn’t give it their all either, it took quite some time to dominate the match.

But somehow the game gradually became more and more in Norway’s favor, and now it was completely half-court.

Looking at the formation, it looked like Norway had no intention of competing with us.

Or maybe it’s forcing Leon to do something like, “We’ve already picked half of our starting lineup as regulars, so you should send up a few of your own, too.”

And now that Norway has completely finished coloring, they begin to attack in earnest.

One two pass.

It was a give and take pass.

A collaboration between opposing midfielders.

He passed the ball forward from the half space, and the player who received it turned around halfway with his back to our defender and sent in a very short cross.

The player who had passed the ball entered the box as soon as he passed and confused our defenders. Jinseop Lee, who was starting this time, jumped up and tried to head it away, but it was a ridiculous move.

‘It’s fake. It’s a pass to Holland!’

The short cross went just wide of the Norwegian and our defenders and was delivered to the feet of Holland, who started as the striker.

It looked clear to me, because the trajectory had already been created.

And Holland fired a right-footed shot before the ball even hit the ground.

I reacted immediately and jumped. The shot was aimed at the right corner of my target, so I stretched out my right hand and blocked it.

It was out of bounds, but I gulped at Norway’s first meaningful shot on target in the game.

“As expected. This isn’t enough?”

Even though his shot was blocked, which was almost a goal, Holland responded to me with a smile. I nodded in return.

“Do whatever you want. I’ll block it all.”

The next corner kick attack ended with a clean defense by Korea.

And then it was Norway’s turn again.

I don’t know why, but Norway was currently using their turns infinitely. Our attack turn was far away… .

‘Here it comes again.’

Minutes after the situation was over, Norway attacked again.

Opposing winger attempting to cross from the area where the corner kick flag is located.

Our fullback tried to block it, but the opponent passed the ball between the fullback’s legs.

And Lee Jin-seop hits the ball while falling down.

However, the ball is kicked away and the opposing player catches the ball again and sends a short, dull cross into the center of the box.

‘It’s a header.’

I followed the trajectory and jumped, hitting the ball with my left hand as it entered the goal. It was Holland’s attack again.

Two effective shots in this match, one with Holland’s right foot and one with his head, but I blocked both attempts.

Norway starts to attack as if it has really started to move.

40 minutes in the first half, with the pressure continuing.

Our defense crumbles again with three light passes: thud, thud, thud.

He watched the opposing attacker rushing towards the box, read the final pass trajectory, and jumped out.

The final pass trajectory was a flow that led to Holland, who had an unmarked ball.

I was planning on intercepting the pass before Holland could even get to it, and then I reached out and caught the ball as soon as he grounded it out.

“Oh, shit.”

It seems like they blocked a lot more shots in this game than in the previous games 1 and 2?

It’s obvious since everyone except me is a sub, but…

I looked towards Leon just in case. I thought that some players might be replaced as the team kept facing a scoring crisis.

But Leon just scratched his chin and did nothing. He just stood there blankly, watching. Damn it.

* * *

The first half ended and the second half began. There were no major changes. There were no player substitutions.

Coach Stole Solbakken hoped to continue the momentum into the second half and secure a draw or win.

“Hollan. If you want, I can substitute you in the second half.”

“No. I’ll keep running.”

The opposing team is currently playing with all non-regular players except Kim. There is no better time to score against Kim than now.

If we go back to the league, this situation, this structure, will never happen.

This was Kim’s golden opportunity to score his first goal. Holland didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

Five minutes into the second half.

The game was still going well for Norway, but Norway had not deployed their best players, and even though the opponent was a second-team team with only one player, they were openly defensive and it was not easy to break through.

Even though they had an overwhelming amount of ball possession in the first half, they didn’t have many scoring chances, so in the end,

‘I have to do it.’

Like the last two games.

Since Holland was monopolizing Norway’s attack points, he eventually had to do it again. He was confident he could do it.

“Bob!”

Winger Bob snatched the ball from the opponent’s possession down the flank, like a predator taking a bite out of its unsuspecting prey.

And Bob started a psychological war by dribbling into the box.

Should I hit him directly or should I hit him further?

The opposing defenders did not approach easily and held off, with almost four players drawing aggro to Bob.

It was a very good situation.

All eyes were on Bob.

As soon as Bob was surrounded, he immediately passed the ball to Holland, who was hiding in the blind spot, and Holland shot a beat faster.

He fell over after faking a shot that looked like it was going to go to the right, but it was actually a left-footed kick, so the goalkeeper had no easy time stopping this shot.

In fact, if the opposing goalkeeper hadn’t been Kim, Holland would have been convinced that the shot was a goal.

but.

“Fuck.”

That damn iron wall never makes a mistake.

‘I really thought it went in this time.’

I tried to get up again and get ready, but then a thought occurred to me.

Does fake mean nothing to Kim?

How can you block it so well?

He blocks it very easily, either by using mind control or by knowing where it is going in advance.

Holland had been playing incredibly well in the match against the United States and the Ivory Coast, and it seemed like he could continue this momentum and score a goal in the match against Korea, so he was very disappointed with his current situation.

Because I knew what kind of flow would follow if things continued like this.

Although it was frustrating, Holland got up with the determination to try again.

.

.

And 10 minutes later.

Beep!

In the process of blocking Korea’s counterattack, the referee called a foul and we ended up giving Korea a free kick.

It was a nightmare.

We all came together as one to protest the referee’s decision, but we had to stop because if we protested any further, it would have been like pulling out a card.

And then there comes Kim from afar. Stately, jogging. Slowly.

‘Is it really true that I can’t score a goal for Kim?’

Holland stared blankly at Kim as he approached, as if he was watching a bullet barreling toward his forehead in slow motion.