Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 305



Only Noblemtl

Episode 305: A New Era

The world’s attention was focused on the France vs. Argentina semifinal match, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

A massive dome stadium with a capacity of 105,000 seats.

As expected of a stadium built by the United States, it was the world’s largest dome stadium. Although it has now been surpassed by Singapore’s National Stadium as the world’s largest stadium, it was still a stadium of enormous size.

The completion cost was 1.3 billion dollars. In the US, when a stadium is built, hundreds of millions of dollars are simply handed over…

[Kim Shin-a: Do you know that? If you line up the most expensive stadiums in the world, the US has all but 4 of the top 20.]

[Kim Shin-ah: Seriously, Heavenly Country]

[Kim Shin-ah: What’s more surprising is that Europe can’t even enter Wembley]

[Kim Min-woo: ??]

[Kim Shin-ah: Remodeling is excluded, yes]

[Kim Min-woo: I’m more surprised that you know that]

[Kim Shin-ah: Haha]

[Kim Shin-ah: Look at the way you turn it around]

And, as expected from a city in the American South, the crowds cheering for Argentina were huge. The crowds cheering for France were comparable, but Argentina was definitely more noticeable.

[Kim Min-woo: But they said that the country was going bankrupt, but there are so many people who came all the way to the US to cheer them on.]

[Kim Shin-ah: I guess they all sold their houses and exchanged the money into dollars?]

[Kim Min-woo: ??]

[Kim Shin-ah: They are selling all their assets and coming to the stadium]

[Kim Min-woo: ????????? Why like that]

[Kim Shin-ah: Well… because it’s fun]

[Kim Min-woo: tsk tsk]

[Kim Shin-ah: That shows you are serious about soccer]

[Kim Shin-ah: First of all, let’s have a drink because it’s Messi’s last dance.]

Well, actually, that’s irrelevant.

Regardless of who advances, I hope the game goes into overtime, and if possible into penalty shootouts, and it’s a tense match.

We’ve lost all our energy, so you too need to work on getting all your energy back and advance to the finals.

As I was watching TV with that mindset, the game finally started.

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. A return match after four years. What will happen in this match? Most experts agree that France will beat Argentina and advance to the finals.

“Hmm.”

Didn’t you say there was nothing to eat at the famous banquet hall?

The game was more boring than expected.

Both teams knew that this was a very important match, so they were unable to approach each other carelessly.

“I think I’ll go to sleep after watching this… .”

Kim Jun-young yawns and then jokes with Lee Kang-im. There weren’t any issues at the beginning of the game.

I was also more focused on eating a late-night snack than watching the game.

The first 20 minutes.

Finally, the development that catches the eye begins.

Argentina picked up the ball on the wing, dribbled past two French defenders and passed the ball between their legs.

And then Manchester City’s Julián Alvarez received the pass and kicked it with one touch, but the shot was too weak.

A shot straight at the goalkeeper, but it was the first effective shot of the game.

Lee Kang-im said something when he saw that scene.

“Looking at what they’re doing, it looks like we’re going to win?”

“Oh, you’ll get karma if you say that.”

As the game began to loosen up, Argentina continued its attacks.

This time it was Lionel Messi.

He caught the ball and made a long throw, then switched to the opposite direction.

A player enters the box and tries to shoot, but the shot is blocked by the goalkeeper.

The scenes that followed were mostly Argentina’s attacks. It was unexpected. It was like watching the first half of the last World Cup final.

France gets hit, Argentina gets hit.

“France does have a lot of missed passes, though?”

Just when I was starting to feel a little bit strange about France, the French counterattack began.

[Dembele, come on, push in!]

[Dembele! Cross chance!]

Dembele cut into the box and wasted time trying to sneak in.

Just when it seemed a little too late, he threw a ground pass right in front of the goalkeeper, but the timing of the players didn’t match, so the pass went over the top.

Oh, well then, as I look at him pitifully, someone appears from outside the screen like a flash of light.

[Okay, and shoo-!]

[Gooo …

[Kylian Mbappe! Kylian Mbappe!]

[France captain Kylian Mbappe, who bursts in like lightning and scores the first goal in an instant!]

“oh…?”

This is a bit boring.

The ball went into an empty space where there were no players, and since it looked like there was no one on the screen, I thought that was the end of the situation, but Mbappe suddenly appeared, kicked the ball, and scored.

Mbappe’s whirlwind speed and explosive power. The two combined to score at a time no one could have imagined.

[France is ahead!]

[Unlike 4 years ago, this time France scores first! Kylian Mbappe!]

Mbappe roared with joy as if he had sharpened his sword of revenge. Even if you watch the replay, the goalkeeper reacted by blocking it, but unfortunately the shot went straight into the goal.

It was a bit of an unfortunate scene from the goalkeeper’s point of view.

And Argentina immediately counterattacked.

Lionel Messi from the free role charges into the enemy’s territory. The French defense immediately goes on high alert, but with his unique soccer sense, he breaks down the defense with one killer pass.

[Julian Alvarez! Now break through! Left foot shot!]

[Oh, but it gets blocked.]

“It’s getting a little fun now.”

Once the game was lit, it started to spread endlessly. Next up was Aurélien Chouameni.

[Choo Ah-me-ni! Break through the center! Dembele receives it, and then― ah, this is blocked!]

It’s fierce. It’s fierce.

It was clear that Argentina had the game under control until the middle of the first half, but the mood changed again when Mbappe scored an absurd goal.

“Wow. But why is Messi, who is going to retire soon, so good?”

As Lee Kang-im said, Lionel Messi was doing all kinds of playmaking despite his age.

Sometimes he hits the ball directly, sometimes he passes it to break down the defense, and sometimes he attracts the opposing players to create space.

He is definitely a player who will be a real headache if you face him.

‘The world is full of Mbapenes and Hollands, but it still seems like they have a hard time surpassing Messi and Ronaldo.’

I don’t know about Ronaldo because I haven’t met him, but at least Messi was a real piece of shit. How fraudulent of a player was Messi in his prime?

Messi, who scores 91 goals in one season, is a true legend… .

Fierce attacks and defenses came and went, and I was so focused on the game that I didn’t even realize how much time had passed, and before I knew it, the first half was over. That quickly?

It was so much fun, but we only scored one goal.

And as I chatted with my teammates for a bit, the second half quickly approached.

Unlike the first half, where there were no major issues, the second half was heated from the start.

The referee’s whistle blew and the ball was circulated for about 30 seconds before Argentina struck in an instant.

There were only three passes.

On just three occasions, the French backline was compromised. Julian Alvarez burst into the box and… … shot!

“Whoa!”

He hit the post and the cool shot went straight into the net. It was a goal. The watching teammates were all amazed or screaming at the absurd action.

[As soon as the second half starts, Argentina’s counterattack begins!]

[Lionel Messi’s half-beat quick pass, and then a powerful shot after a penetration by Julián Alvarez. What a neat development!]

The commentators who were watching also raised their voices in excitement. It was getting more and more exciting. They really aren’t easy there. When you get to the semifinals, it’s easy to see a matchup where it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to win.

Score 1:1.

The game is back to square one.

We continued to watch this match with excitement.

And after about 10 more minutes of fierce attack and defense, France’s counterattack continued.

Argentina’s defense had nine players, but he easily destroyed them with a single pass through the forward, heel, and short pass to the side.

The French attackers quickly approached the goal, and Mbappe calmly shot after receiving the final pass. The shot went straight into the goal.

[Kylian Mbappe! Here we go again!]

“haha.”

I laughed out loud as I watched.

Seeing them break through Argentina’s defense like that, I’m already nervous about what they’ll do when they face them in the final.

France, once again ahead, continued to press.

There is still quite a bit of time left until the end of the game to begin consolidation.

However, as expected from a country known for producing great games, Argentina did not give up without a fight whenever they met.

Rodrigo de Paul, who started as a winger, passed the ball to Messi, who was standing still outside the box.

Messi received the ball, took a few steps diagonally, and then fired a long-range shot that went straight into the left goal.

It was a mid-range shot that made your mouth drop open just watching it.

“Whoa! What the heck!”

“This is crazy!”

It was Lionel Messi’s last fiery shot. A crazy long-range shot like that against France at the age of 39. Does that make sense?

The score is again 2:2. It’s back to square one.

The two countries were really tight. It was fire vs. fire throughout the game. It was so hot that it felt like my eyes would get burned watching it… Is that too much of an exaggeration?

Anyway, this match, like the match between us and Brazil, was not decided within regular time and ended up going into overtime.

[This is a match that we really don’t know until the very end. Who will be our final partner will be decided within the last 30 minutes of overtime.]

“It’s a dragon and a tiger fighting. It’s a dragon and a tiger fighting.”

It was a fight between a dragon and a tiger.

Whoever came up, it didn’t seem like an easy opponent.

and.

All the valid shots, close calls, and near misses.

118 minutes of extra time.

France pass the ball around the Argentina box.

Rabiot, who entered the box from the side, passed the ball to Griezmann in the center. Griezmann received the ball with his back to the opposing defender and turned around halfway to shoot.

But the shot is blocked by Emiliano Martinez.

And then Mbappe received the ball that bounced off Emiliano Martinez’s foot and fired a shot into the goal with one touch.

The shot, fired into the right corner of the goal, far from the goalkeeper, was unstoppable.

Even the country can’t stop that. It’s too far away. It’s impossible to stop it unless you predict it in advance.

Mbappe’s ground shot went into the net without any resistance and became a goal.

[Mbappe, gooo …

[Kylian Mbappe! Hat-trick! Just like 4 years ago, he scores three goals against Argentina!]

The commentators chanted “Killian Mbappe!” as if they were worshipping some kind of idol.

Would people cheer like that if Kylian Mbappe scored against Korea? Ugh…

The atmosphere was dramatic as it was a theatrical goal that came just before the end of the overtime.

All the French players rushed to Mbappe and played the hamburger game, while the Argentine players collapsed on the spot or hung their heads.

I don’t know, the ceremony time was a little long, so they gave us about 3 more minutes later as extra time, but I’m not sure.

Can you create something in 3 minutes?

‘What if it’s Lionel Messi?’

But time was too short.

France was determined to defend and Argentina was determined to attack, but there were several effective shots and there were moments when I thought, “Huh? Will it really go in?”, but in the end, France succeeded in defending the ball.

Beep— beep— beep!

That’s how the game ended.

France, who barely managed to hold off Argentina’s fierce onslaught, eventually advanced to the final after a close match that went into extra time.

“Whew… Are we going to end up fighting France?”

I had so much fun watching it that I didn’t even realize how much time had passed, but seeing France’s offensive power, it looks like the finals will be a really tough match.

It won’t be easy because my physical strength is already very weak.

The commentators also seemed to be deeply impressed by this famous match and began to share their thoughts.

[In the end, like this, an era ends and a new era begins.]

[The era of Lionel Messi is now over. The next final is between South Korea and France. In fact, the narrative of this final is also very exciting.]

[Yes. Is it the first-ever World Cup win by an Asian country, or is it France who will lift the World Cup again after beating the defending champions and heralding the era of France?]

[Yes. It’s also exciting when you look at it as an individual figure. It’s a showdown between Kylian Mbappe, who ended the Lionel Messi era, and Kim Min-woo, who brought down Ballon d’Or winner Erling Haaland.]

[It’s a match between Mbappe, who took down Messi, and Kim Min-woo, who took down Holland. In fact, both of these players want to prove that their time has come. Perhaps, depending on who wins the final, the point of view will be what kind of era will unfold in the future.]

[If France wins, it will mean that Mbappe has finally broken through Kim Min-woo… … It will be really big in a symbolic sense. If South Korea wins, which I really hope they do, then won’t the era of strikers be over and the era of goalkeepers be here… I’ll make a cautious prediction.]

“Ohh …

Other players who were listening to it together were praising me, saying things like, “The era of Daeminwoo has arrived.”

I was afraid that he might be discouraged after watching this game, so I played along confidently.

“I showed you. Holland? Neymar? It’s easy.”

“Is it easy? When I played against Neymar, I thought I would die because it was so hard.”

Hey, that clueless pervert… .

I won’t say who.

“I’ll just show you. I’ll just show you again who won the Olympic gold medal.”

“Wasn’t that something you did because of me?”

“Oh, bro. Come here for a bit.”

Brother Kang-Im. Brother, this really won’t work out. To the Room of Truth.