Football singularity-Chapter 449 Desire
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[10/11/2019, Stadion GOSiR, 19:45]
The stadium fell into a brief, astonished silence as the ball looped beautifully toward the far corner, spinning softly in mid-air. CJ dos Santos, initially caught flat-footed, desperately scrambled to reposition himself, leaping across his goal line with an outstretched glove. For a heart-stopping moment, everyone in the stadium watched in breathless anticipation as the ball gently kissed the outside of the far post, narrowly missing the target before rolling agonizingly out for a goal kick.
An audible gasp echoed throughout the stadium, followed by a surge of applause—half from relief, half in admiration for Rakim's audacious effort. "Oh, my goodness!" Jamie Oliver's voice rang out, breaking the brief silence. "Rakim nearly pulled off a goal-of-the-tournament contender! A scorpion kick, inches from glory."
Paul Gartner chimed in, clearly stunned, "That was absolutely outrageous from the young man. A moment of pure genius—you don't teach that."
CJ dos Santos took a deep breath, visibly shaken by how close he'd come to conceding. The keeper set the ball carefully on the edge of the six-yard box, taking a few seconds to let his teammates recover and reorganize themselves. McKenzie gestured emphatically, reminding his defensive partners to maintain concentration as the clock ticked toward the 90th minute.
The American fans, sensing both relief and mounting anxiety, began urging their team forward with rhythmic claps and chants, attempting to inject some late energy into their players'-tired legs.
Dos Santos finally launched a powerful goal kick deep into midfield, aiming for Weston McKennie, whose aerial prowess had been reliable throughout the match. McKennie rose strongly, outjumping Angelo Stiller, to deftly nod the ball down into Giovanni Reyna's path. Reyna quickly controlled it on the bounce, expertly shielding possession from Florian Wirtz, who pressed closely.
[90+1]
The fourth official stepped up on the sidelines, raising his illuminated board: three minutes of added time. On the pitch, Giovanni Reyna turned carefully, intelligently holding possession as Florian Wirtz closely shadowed him. Rather than force the issue, Reyna swung the ball calmly back to Musah, who had drifted into a pocket of space in midfield.
Musah settled the ball smoothly, eyes scanning the field for potential gaps, but the Germans had already fallen back into their disciplined diamond shape. Rakim Even dropped into the midfield line, creating a five-midfielder defence, breaking up any USA attacks before they could mount. With no clear forward option, Musah passed sideways to Weston McKennie, who promptly swept the ball out wide to Sergiño Dest.
Dest took two measured steps forward, hesitating slightly as he saw Kevin Shade already closing him down aggressively. Not willing to risk losing the ball he sent a risky pass down the flank searching Timothy Weah who latched onto the ball with sheer grit as he held off Noah Katterbach. Weah, back to goal, skilfully used his body to shield possession, patiently waiting for support as Katterbach applied intense pressure, not allowing him any easy escape route.
Spotting Dest rapidly moving up in support behind him, Weah carefully rolled the ball backwards to the advancing right-back, who took a confident touch before lifting his gaze toward the German penalty area. He swung his foot delivering a wicked curling cross toward Matteo Smith, who had made a darting run toward the near post. The striker rose powerfully, stretching every muscle to flick a glancing header toward goal—but Luca came out fist first punching the ball out of his box.
That would prove to be the last attack of the allotted time as neither of the two teams managed to mount a meaningful attack. When the referee blew the final whistle, the fans breathed sighs of disappointment with none daring to leave their seats. As for the players, some did their best to catch their breath while others directly sat on the ground as fatigue caught up to them.
"Boys come over here quick," Coach Baum exclaimed from the sidelines urging his players to quickly gather in front of him as the medical staff and trainers went around checking on the players.
"How are you feeling? You took a couple of hard hits this half." Dr Hans Schultz the team's doctor asked the moment Rakim took a seat at an area around their team's technical area. "Let me check that shoulder?"
"It's all good Doc I've played with tougher and rougher defences," Rakim responded with a laboured intake of breath but still let him do his job. A couple of manoeuvring of his arm a little bit of poking and needing that caused him to go through a mixture of relieved and painful sensations. "How is it looking, still young and strong right?"
"Haha, it's mildly inflamed. Just try to brace your falls better, I'll have Müller apply athletic tape and use some freeze spray," The middle-aged doctor said in a light-hearted tone as he got up to check the next person. A few moments later trainer Sebastian Müller appeared to do as the good doctor had said.
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"Listen up lads" Cocha Baum exclaimed clapping his hands to gather everyone's attention. "I know you are tired and everything in your body is telling you to rest but I'm asking you to give me 30 minutes. 30 minutes of grit to make everything we have worked for worth it, I'm already proud of how we have carried ourselves in this tournament, no matter the outcome."
He took a short pause looking into a couple of players' focussed gazes. "On our journey, we have become family and that's something to be proud of but in this game, one of ours is being hunted. He has come through for us when we needed him to, now all I ask from you is to do the same for him and silence this stadium down."
"Yes, Coach!" the players exclaimed their fighting spirit evident as they listened to him speak about how he wanted them to play during extra time. "All right boys for the first half of extra time I want you to play our defensive counter-attacking play. Our attacks will be initiated through Armel and Angelo giving the rest of the midfielder a freer role."
"Look to create quick transitional football and looks to reach the opposing box in under 10 seconds when launching counterattacks. We are all tired so let the ball do the running, that means pass it when possible that goes especially for you two," he said in an amused tone causing quite a few to chuckle as he pointed at Rakim and Wirtz.
"Lars you will be going on for Kevin Ehlers you've done well today. Joshua, you will be going on for Noah, I've only got one job for you to contain Weah on that flank I'd rather he shoots than send another cross into our box," He instructed with a serious gaze picking up the whiteboard from assistant coach Marcus Sorg.
Coach Baum spent the next 5 minutes going over tactics and what they should watch out for as the trainers went about checking on the players. Moukoko got a leg massage because he felt tight, and the doctors wanted to avoid him getting a cramp.
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On the other side of the field, American coach Tab Ramos stood in a tight huddle, his players gathered around him, exhausted but attentive. Ramos spoke in a firm yet reassuring tone, gesturing passionately as he outlined the adjustments needed for extra time.
"Listen closely, guys," he said, scanning each player's face to ensure he had their full attention. "We've come this far by playing our football and executing what we have practised in training. We are not a major football nation, yet they have all come this far to cheer you on so take some pride and give it all you have."
He paused briefly, giving his players a moment to breathe. "Germany is tired too—don't let them fool you. That is why for the first half it's all about maintaining our composure. Gio and Yunus, you've been great at holding possession—keep doing that. Matteo," he turned to his striker, eyes fierce with belief, "stay sharp. You're getting closer every time. Just a bit more movement off the ball and the chance will come."
"Yes, Coach!" The American players echoed; their voices infused with renewed determination.
Back at the commentary booth, Jamie Oliver and Paul Gartner offered their analysis to viewers waiting anxiously for the restart. "What an extraordinary 90 minutes of football we've witnessed here, Paul," Jamie remarked enthusiastically. "Two evenly matched teams, both resilient, both talented—this one truly deserves extra time."
Paul Gartner agreed, voice calm yet full of anticipation. "Absolutely, Jamie. And we have to highlight individual brilliance today as well. Rakim Rex with some spectacular moments, Matteo Smith scoring arguably the goal of the tournament with that breathtaking overhead kick, but let's not forget CJ dos Santos' heroics in goal for the Americans—simply outstanding."
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To Be Continued...
