The crowd flared up, their excitent over the bars. Suddenly, the previously damp arena was flipped inside out. Finally, the dreadlock had been broken, and Japan had taken the lead.
The stadium was in turmoil.
As for Doan who had scored the goal, he was exhilarated beyond asure. A wide grin
adorned his visage as he sprinted through the field with his eyes gleaming.
Other players chased him but he wouldn't stop. He had set his eyes on the stand full of ecstatic supporters, awaiting to celebrate the mont alongside him.
Hiro, on the other hand, didn't participate in the celebration. While the others paraded around the field, he applauded from a distance.
It's not that he hated being part of the celebration. Instead, it was because he was already thinking about their next step.
Hiro could tell that it wouldn't be the end.
Certainly, they had taken the lead. However, Portugal was tenacious and intimidating. They wouldn't sit still and take the beating docilely.
On the field, a clear divide could be seen. One side was high on morale, the other struggling to keep up.
Despite being the team's captain, Bruno couldn't even bring himself to console his teammates. He was well aware that this goal was the result of his selfishness.
However, he was too proud to accept it.
So, he didn't even bother to apologize. Rather he kept his mouth shut and ventured into the field like it was a fluke.
'That bastard! Look at him acting like it wasn't his fault.' Felix could tell that Bruno was avoiding him intentionally.
Even now, he was still bothered by Bruno.
Felix's bloodshot eyes were fixated on Bruno. However, he couldn't bring himself to convey his inner thoughts either.
While their morale was already decreasing, Felix didn't want to worsen the situation by sowing seeds of disharmony in the team. So, despite feeling furious about Bruno's selfishness, he tucked his fury inside.
'You owe us an apology. But before that, we should do sothing about the match first.' Felix clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Prideful as he was, he still put the team first.
Felix's eyes darted to Hiro. While the Japanese players were celebrating, he was applauding from a distance. That face was the last thing he rembered before the Japanese side opened the scoresheet.
'Can he predict the future?' Felix couldn't help but contemplate.
'Just why do I feel like we are being manipulated?' Felix started having a negative on. 'Nah! That can't be right. I must be overthinking. But one thing is certain, he's got a good ga sense.'
Even Felix couldn't help but complint Hiro. Though Doan had scored the goal, it wouldn't have been possible without Hiro's intervention.
Soon after the celebration ended, the ga resud.
For the next couple of minutes, Japan faced an intense round of offense. Well, they had expected it. So, they dealt with it finely.
However, suddenly, the air crackled, and the atmosphere surged. Like the rumbling of thunder, the stadium rumbled.
Hiro blinked through the haze of excitent, trying to make sense of the energy shift that rippled through every corner.
The roar of the crowd had intensified, their cheers no longer a simple expression of support but a primal outcry of anticipation.
"What's going on?" one of the Japanese players asked breathlessly, his gaze darting toward the sidelines. Another player, beads of sweat trailing down his temples, shook his head with confusion and realization.
And then Hiro saw it the source of the sudden frenzy.
With the grace and presence of a figure that seed to transcend the sport itself, Cristiano Ronaldo was stepping forward.
Even as he pulled off his warm-up vest and handed it to a staff mber, his every movent seed magnified, each step echoing with the weight of a legend entering the battlefield. His na rolled over the crowd like a wave: "Ronaldo! Ronaldo!"
Ronaldo paused at the sideline, his eyes scanning the pitch with the practiced gaze of a veteran warrior sizing up both foe and field.
Though his years in football had earned him the title of icon, there was nothing aged about the intensity in his eyes. He exuded confidence, an aura that seed to compress the very air around him.
Ronaldo then walked to the sideline, waiting to enter the field.
After a while, the assistant referee lifted the substitution board, signaling for substitution.
Ronaldo's influence on the field was almost imdiate. Imdiately, upon his arrival, the entire atmosphere around the team shifted.
With their sight set on the goal, they built their montum.
Hiro and his teammates found it increasingly difficult to fend off the opposing side. It was already tough for them. But now, with Ronaldo's addition, it beca even tougher.
However, the toughness didn't brew solely from Ronaldo's arrival. Their exhausted state played an equal role in it.
Nanami was well aware of their exhaustion. So, he had already started to plan so changes. Identifying the exhausted players, he had selected a few players to substitute.
Beep!
The ball went out of the bound.
With less than ten minutes remaining on the clock, Nanami substituted three of their core players including Aya, the goalkeeper.
In today's ga, Aya played a huge role.
Making nurous saves, he had kept them afloat. But in doing so, he had utterly exhausted
himself. So, Nanami had decided to bring him out.
Nanami feared that if he kept on going, he might injure himself.
"I'll leave the rest to you," Aya said before leaving the pitch.
Naoto nodded and assured, "I'll do my best."
Imdiately after the substitution, the ga resud.
In the 89th minute of the match, Ronaldo broke free from his markers. Though he wasn't fast
like he used to be, he had positioned himself perfectly.
Due to that, he easily got through his markers.
But he was well aware that he wouldn't be able to keep up. However, he was confident in his
shooting and finishing.
So, after shaking his marker, he attempted a shot from outside the box.
The shot was on target and it approached the post at a threatening pace. For a mont, many
of the Japanese supporters felt as if their hearts ca out of their mouths.
Fortunately for them, Naoto ca to their rescue.
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