Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 293



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Episode 293 MZ Goalkeeper

There is a saying that goes, ‘The easiest day was yesterday.’ This is true for everything in life, but it was especially true for the World Cup.

Senegal was probably the easiest opponent they would face in the tournament, but it was not an easy opponent to underestimate or to be confident of a victory.

The first half ended with Son Heung-min scoring the opening goal, and the match seemed to be going smoothly, but it was truly intense.

Senegal did not want to be defeated so easily and gave it literally everything they had in the second half.

Korea, who were already one goal ahead, seemed to have become a little mentally relaxed and continued to create attacking opportunities for the opponent, and I had to do it every time.

‘Coming.’

A counterattack starting from Senegal’s camp.

To be honest, it was really scary to watch the counterattack coming from far away from the other side.

I’ve never experienced it before, but it feels like watching a tsunami approach.

‘It would be better if the counterattack proceeds quickly, since we have to just watch the counterattack proceed like this…’

I’m scared. I’m afraid that it might work.

In soccer, even a momentary mistake can lead to a goal being conceded in an instant, so you must never let your concentration go.

I gulped and prepared myself… …and barely managed to block a cold shot from just outside the box.

Fortunately, the defenders blocked the shot, so it wasn’t that strong.

And Senegal’s attacks continued throughout the second half. It was a scene that clearly showed that we did not have the upper hand against Senegal.

Senegal is also strong enough.

If I hadn’t been there, the winner and loser would have probably been split evenly.

And again it’s our ball possession time.

Rear build-up process.

Kim Min-je passed the ball back to me under pressure from the opposing attacker, but it was a bit sloppy.

I had to kick the ball, but I kicked the grass and the ball came too slowly.

‘What the heck!’

Then, in an instant, the Senegalese attacker runs past Kim Min-je. He was already running and had some acceleration.

In an instant, a trajectory was created, and I also ran hurriedly.

‘That kid is closer!’

He was faster and closer. I stretched my body wide and reduced the angle to the minimum in order to somehow prevent this sudden loss.

The opponent kicked immediately because he couldn’t get past me or get the ball. The distance was too close for him to get past me.

And the shot hits me in the chest and I catch it with both hands. I just lay down with the ball still in my hands.

“Oh, shit.”

And then, holding my breath, I cursed Kim Min-je inwardly dozens of times. Yes. That’s the charm of soccer. No matter how well I play, I can still concede a goal due to my team’s mistake.

‘Should we be nervous now even when our team has the ball?’

What the hell is this case.

Kim Min-je approached me late and apologized. I nodded and told him to focus a little more, and the game resumed.

.

.

And surprisingly, the same thing happened again.

This time it was in the Senegalese camp.

It was when the opponent was building up from the back and the goalkeeper got the ball.

Kim Jun-young and Son Heung-min ran at the goalkeeper at the same time, and the goalkeeper’s first touch of the ball was a little long.

Son Heung-min collided with the goalkeeper, and Kim Jun-young took a long touch and fired a turning ground shot before the defenders could react.

The goalkeeper had already made his move and could only watch the ball slowly roll away, and so did the defenders.

The ball rolled slowly and gently landed in the goal net.

It was a goal.

“Wow. This is it?”

Watching Kim Jun-young and Son Hong-min raise their hands in joy from the other side, I thought, this is life.

The same situation can happen on the other side at any time. Oh my god… .

The stadium is buzzing with excitement as Korea scores its second goal. There are many fans rooting for Korea here in Boston, even though it is in the East.

There was another collision with the goalkeeper, but it was so minor that the referee did not blow the whistle or check the VAR.

“I think it’s actually over at this point.”

Even in a 1:0 situation, we were blocking the opponent’s attack opportunities, but 2:0?

Wouldn’t the opposing attackers be more defeated than me? Against a goalkeeper who hasn’t conceded a goal since his debut, we need to score not one, but two goals, or even three to win.

‘I’m sure the Senegalese players are thinking we lost by now.’

That’s a good thing.

Son Heung-min 1 goal.

Kim Jun-young 1 goal.

Total score 2 to 0.

Let’s just keep going like this.

.

.

And the game was nearing its end.

Senegal continued to play aggressively, but several shots failed to result in goals.

I blocked it well, but when we were ahead by about 2:0, the players also defended actively to protect the score.

and-

Beep— beep— beep!

The score ends 2:0 without any changes!

Advancement to the round of 16 has been confirmed.

Following the 2022 Qatar World Cup, they will also advance to the round of 16 in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup.

‘Advancing to the round of 16 for the second time in a row. That’s great.’

Knowing how hard and great what we have achieved, I decided to take off my goalkeeper gloves and enjoy this moment.

Of course, it doesn’t end with making it to the round of 16. I have no intention of being satisfied with just making it to the round of 16.

‘First, we have to surpass the achievements of our seniors in 2002. We made it to the round of 16 in 2010 and 2022.’

I greeted each and every player who was moved and encouraged them for their hard work.

By the way, who are our opponents in the round of 16? Anyone. Except Brazil and France.

* * *

The round of 32 schedule has ended.

Korea easily defeated Senegal 2-0 to advance to the round of 16, and other teams that are generally considered strong also advanced.

Japan, ranked first in Group G, faced third place in Group H, which was second place in Group H, Chile.

After a very fierce match, Japan won by a narrow margin of 2:1 and advanced to the round of 16. As they were a rival country, I had hoped they would be eliminated in the round of 32, but unfortunately that was the result.

Well, Japan is also a strong country.

And on the global stage, it wasn’t a bad result that the sense of competition was killed and Asian teams advanced further.

‘I guess it’s because it’s the round of 32, but it’s so hard to watch the results.’

There were too many, as there were 32 countries competing.

Croatia beat Cameroon 2-1 and Spain beat Ecuador 3-0.

Germany beat Turkey 2-0, Argentina beat Sweden 2-1, and England beat Iran 3-0.

The result was that teams that were generally considered strong defeated teams that were considered less strong.

This is the so-called ‘arrangement’ result.

As the tournament progressed, no upsets occurred that would surprise the world.

Let’s look at the results of the countries that caught my eye.

‘As expected. I guess the weight class difference was unavoidable.’

The result of the round of 32 match between France and Norway, which was played out under everyone’s attention, was, as expected, a French victory.

The score was 3:1.

Norway had relatively weak players except for Holland Odegaard, and they could not match France, where almost all of the starting players play for big clubs.

[Silent Holland, Mbappe flying high. France wins with a score of 3-1!]

Holland, who had never missed an attack point before meeting me, had to end his World Cup journey bitterly without scoring a single attack point in the match, perhaps because he was in a slump again or because the team’s weight class was something that even a world-class Ballon d’Or striker couldn’t do anything about.

It must be unfortunate for the parties involved, but the result was as everyone expected.

Conversely, it would have been a huge upset if Norway had captured France.

And next is the bracket for our round of 16 opponents.

[Italy 2 vs 0 Austria]

Italy, who had been absent from the World Cup for a long time, advanced to the round of 16 by beating Austria 2-0. They were our opponents.

It was not a twist of fate, but Korea met Italy in the round of 16 again after 24 years.

“The Azuri Legion… .”

Italy is currently in such desperate need of a place in the World Cup that it seems as if no other country is as desperate to advance to the next round as they are.

Not only did they fail to qualify for the Qatar World Cup, but they also failed to qualify for the Russia World Cup, and in the last World Cup they qualified for, the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Italy suffered the humiliation of being eliminated in the group stage in third place.

What about the 2010 South Africa World Cup?

Even then, Italy failed to advance to the tournament, being eliminated in the group stage.

It would have been nice if we had at least won one game in the Brazil World Cup, but we had to pack our bags without even a single win in the South Africa World Cup due to the defending champion jinx.

In other words, Italy qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in 12 years and advanced to the tournament for the first time in 16 years.

And Italy’s opponent was Korea.

An opponent we meet for the first time in 24 years. And just like that time, it’s the round of 16.

Italians still cannot accept the results of 2002 and are blaming Korea.

No wonder rumors of referee bribery are still circulating 24 years later.

Since then, whenever Korea fell or lost, the country that they liked the most was Italy, and this time they got caught in the crossfire.

but.

Even though Italy met Korea, which it hated so much, it could not smile.

Korea has historically been a close prey in World Cups, while Italy has been quiet.

“We will face Korea in the round of 16, and the people of the country want revenge for 2002. Can we beat Korea this time and advance to the quarterfinals?”

“The situation is completely different now. Korea is no longer an easy team, nor is it a team that can be guaranteed to win.

This is the World Cup, Mr. Reporter. We lost like that in 2002 when we were considered weak, so how can we guarantee victory now?”

Coach Luciano Spalletti answered the Italian reporter’s question with a stiff expression.

The reason I couldn’t smile even though the moment to make a decision had come was because Korea’s power had become too strong recently.

Korea won all matches in Europe, and at the opponents’ homes.

Even when they beat the Netherlands, Europe was not only surprised but also wary.

So it was only natural that Italy looked worried.

In 2002, they lost unfairly, but how crazy will the Italians be if they lose fairly and justly in 2026, when times and technology have advanced?

Naturally, once Italy was confirmed as our round of 16 opponent, we were asked similar questions.

“We are once again facing Italy, the team that started the myth of the semifinals in 2002. It has been 24 years since we last met. Kim Min-woo was not born at that time, so he may not know… … .”

The gist of the question was simple.

So, can you guys beat Italy again like your seniors?

Yes, I admit it. I didn’t watch the game at the time. At best, I only saw the highlights on YouTube.

But if there’s one thing I can be sure of.

“… …Why should we be afraid of Italy?”

“yes?”

“Italy was eliminated in the group stage in 2010, and again in 2014. Isn’t it a weak team that won’t even be able to participate in the World Cup in 2018 or 2022? It seems like Italy should be afraid of us, not us.”

“……yes!?”

“We made it to the round of 16 in 2010, and although the results weren’t great, we’ve always been successful in qualifying for the World Cup, and we made it to the round of 16 last time. I honestly think we’re an easier opponent than Senegal.”

Season 23 Kim Min-woo ON!

I saw that the reporters were so nervous about the name of the country called Italy that I just blew it.

And the interview I did will soon be widely known all over the world. That’s the era we live in.

Italy will be furious at my remarks, and with such provocation, it is certain that the round of 16 match will be a hot affair.

Since I was already doing it, I even poured oil on it.

“There is no reason for us to be afraid of a country that has lost to North Korea, reporter. Without further ado, let me just show you the game. We came here to win this World Cup.”

“Wow… … Haha. I see. As expected from Kim Min-woo. Confidence… … Ahaha.”

This is the MZ goalkeeper.

This is a generation that speaks out.

‘Well, if the opponent had been Brazil or France in the first place, I wouldn’t have said such things.’

When I hit someone, I tend to look at the other person.