From Arsenal to the Ball God

Ma’el looked at Burger King’s youthful appearance and smiled slightly. This was the rising period of the opponent’s career, he probably didn’t like eating hamburgers yet.

He walked towards his own half, waiting to kick-off again. After the second half began, his teammates passed the ball to him more frequently, and he believed he could still create opportunities.

...

”Beep!”

After Giroud initiated the kickoff from the center circle, the ball quickly moved towards the left side of the France team, with players from both teams closing in.

”Bang!” Valbuena quickly advanced the ball steadily to Ma’el. He had played against Arsenal for Marseille twice before, personally experiencing Ma’el’s pressure.

Not to mention, after Deschamps took over the France team, he clearly expressed his intention to make Ma’el an important player.

Such a player, likely to be the future offensive core, is better to ingratiate early.

During his time on the field, every time he held the ball, he would pay attention to Ma’el’s position and would pass the ball whenever there was a chance.

”Bang bang bang...!”

Ma’el charged at Alderweireld with the ball, boldly displaying his dribbling skills.

After finding an opportunity, he dribbled to start increasing the rhythm. Alderweireld struggled to keep up alongside him, and the two quickly approached the baseline area.

Ma’el glanced at the center, finding Giroud tightly marked by the opposing central defenders, and the other players not well-positioned either.

He sought a breakthrough towards the center, suddenly stopping the ball abruptly.

Alderweireld also halted suddenly, and due to his height, he became unbalanced.

”Slap.... Bang!”

Ma’el sidestepped with a directional dribble past him, immediately facing van Buyten and the assisting midfielder Fellaini’s defense.

It was a familiar scene. He once again accelerated, trying to engage them in a high-speed confrontation.

”Thump thump thump!”

In the Belgium’s penalty area right corner, a strong pressure quickly enveloped it. The rhythm on this side was distinctly different from elsewhere, almost as if the space felt distorted.

Van Buyten soon couldn’t withstand Ma’el’s pressure, getting tricked into sitting down by Ma’el’s zigzag movements. Fortunately, he desperately extended a leg after sitting down, poking the ball away.

”Slap!”

Ma’el didn’t expect this, losing control of the ball, and it was subsequently cleared by Fellaini sliding in to sweep away.

With a smile at the corner of his lips, he gestured an apology towards his central teammates... then ran back to his position.

No one blamed him, knowing that this kind of ball-holding play easily resulted in loss of possession. As long as the ball-holder was threatening and impactful, the France team remained gracious about his attempts.

Moreover, every time Ma’el exerted significant pressure on the opponents, giving the illusion of almost breaking through the defense.

Dribble on!

Feel free to dribble!

If you lose it, I’ll get it back for you.

”Limit his reception!”

In the Belgium’s central defender position, van Buyten shouted with a bitter expression: ”Seal the passing lanes, we can’t let him come through so easily every time, we won’t be able to defend many times.”

The five-defender formation was supposed to be robust; they didn’t understand why the team frequently ended up in dangerous situations.

”Do you want to switch?”

Left central defender Kompany, seeing van Buyten’s struggle, asked, ”Give the coach a heads-up, I’m ready to switch with you anytime.”

”No need.” Van Buyten waved it off, indicating it wasn’t necessary for now, though he didn’t rule it out completely, ”Let’s see later.”

...

The match continued to progress. The feeding of possession made Ma’el play smoother and more comfortably.

The France team’s back and midfield lines were reliably solid. Unlike in the first half, he didn’t retreat to receive the ball, but stayed forward to pressure the opponent.

In the 68th minute, both teams launched successive attacking plays against each other.

”Bang!”

First, Ma’el once again bypassed Alderweireld’s defense and sent a curved cross towards the center.

The ball was headed away by Kompany, and the rebound was claimed by Valbuena, who passed it to the right flank.

The newly-appeared Menez was quite skilled, swiftly bypassing Witsel in two to three touches, leisurely aiming towards the center, delivering a half-high cross.

The ball was swift, with the forwards and central defenders unable to clear. It veered towards the far post.

”Bang!”

Ma’el suddenly burst in from behind Alderweireld, and in urgency, used a jumping instep to cushion the ball towards the goal.

The shot had some power, but was too close to Courtois, who blocked it away from the goal.

”Bang!” Kompany reacted quickly, following up to clear the ball to the front position, landing just right for Timmy Simmons.

Belgium’s counterattack turn!

”Whoa! Whoa!”

Hazard started running towards the space behind the France team’s defense, calling for Timmy Simmons to play the ball quickly.

Timmy Simmons didn’t drag the pace, stopping the ball and immediately playing a short pass into the space behind the France team’s defense.

But the ball wasn’t well-placed, intercepted by France’s defender Sako, who cut off the passing line with a diagonal run.

”Get the ball out!”

France’s midfielder Yohan Cabaye saw something, pointing to his feet to signal Sako to release the ball quickly.

Sako’s feet were a bit slow. As he prepared to strike, he suddenly saw a figure rush from behind, dispossessing the ball under his feet.

How was he so fast?!

He looked on in astonishment as Hazard had already passed by him.

Koscielny lowered his center of gravity to defend against Hazard. After a few fake moves, he quickly surrendered the defensive position... Fortunately, the fullback Klich covered up.