God Of football

Chapter 81: Boy In A Den Of Men

The fans refilled the stadium seats after they had gone for their break. Many fans had taken these 15 minutes to replenish as the first half had dried them. The first half they had just witnessed was beyond great.

They were now waiting eagerly for the second half. The players from both teams were met with a wave of cheers and applause for the first-half performance after they stepped out of the tunnel.

And now, the fans were poised for the second.

The players stepped onto the pitch and quickly got into positions at the urging of the referee, who didn’t want to waste more time than necessary.

No substitutions had been made after the break as it seemed that both Coaches were satisfied with the performance of their players.

Morata stood over the ball, waiting patiently for the referee to start the second half. A glance at his watch brought the sound of the referee’s whistle to life.

The stadium erupted into cheers once more as they looked to enjoy this second half.

”An early goal would be nice,” a blonde Spaniard in the crowd said with a slightly depressed look. ”Do you think they would allow us to score that easily” a slightly older man who looked to be the father of the blonde man spoke.

”That’s why it was a wish. You don’t have to be so critical about it, Dad,” the younger man said. The older man laughed at his son’s words while slapping his thigh.

”Yeah, it was a wish,”, he said after he finished laughing. The second half of the match between Spain and Germany kicked off with tension in the air.

Spain came out looking to assert control, still relying on their classic tiki-taka approach to dominate possession.

Germany, however, aimed to disrupt Spain’s rhythm by increasing their intensity and pressing higher up the pitch.

The intensity that marked the first half continued, with both teams battling for dominance on the pitch.

Spain immediately made use of their kickoff advantage, weaving intricate passes around the midfield.

Their midfielders, sharp and agile, threaded the ball between German defenders, looking for any gaps to exploit.

Germany, however, anticipated Spain’s strategy. Their defence held a tight line, pressing up the field to reduce the space Spain had to work with, making it difficult for the Spanish midfielders to find their forwards.

3 minutes after the start of the second half, Rodri orchestrated a play with skill and vision. After looking for Ferran Torres on the left flank, the former sent him a low-driven ball.

Emre Can tried to intercept the ball before it got to Ferran but couldn’t. Rodri’s pass was that good. The ball found its way to the feet of Ferran Torres, who turned sharply to face Henrich after carefully controlling it.

Looking to challenge for the ball.

The two went at it as one was trying to escape with the ba while the other was trying to take it. The confrontation between the two was a bit of a spectacle as the fans enjoyed one-on-one.

As Ferran engaged in a heated one-on-one battle with Henrichs, the Spanish left-back, Jose Gaya, darted past Germany’s right-back.

Seeing this, Ferran sent the lofted ball to Gaya, who wasted no time and released a dangerous cross into the penalty area.

The ball was met by Alvaro Morata, who skillfully flicked it toward the goal. For the umpteenth time, Germany’s goalkeeper, Ter Stegen reacted instantly, diving to push the ball away, showcasing lightning-fast reflexes and keeping the score level.

The save drew a roar of approval from German fans, while Spain continued to press on. The ball had gone out for a throw-in after a clear by Niklas Süle.

Ferran Torres took the ball and backed up after looking into the penalty area. With a sharp flick of his wrists, he sent the ball flashing into the box.

Jonathan Tah headed the ball out of the danger area, but the ball still fell to Ferran Torres, who was on the byline.

Florian Wirtz rushed at Ferran but the former’s defensive capability wasn’t that strong. Ferran Torres took this opportunity to drive the ball to the arc outside the box before sending a grounded pass into the box.

The Spanish fans rose once again in anticipation of what was going to happen. Morata had taken advantage of the chaos and broken past the defensive line.

With the ball coming his way and the keeper doing the same, Morata flicked the ball over Ter Stegen, chipping the latter to score a great goal.

The stadium roared to life after Spain’s goal as the Spanish minority gave their all in celebration, but it was cut short when the referee blew his whistle.

The fans all turned to look at the linesman who had flagged Morata for an offside positioning. The Spanish players approached the referee to confront him about the goal.

The referee’s assistants had said that Morata was in an offside position, but they still told the referee to check the VAR to ease the lumps in the hearts of the Spaniards.

Veteran referee Clement Turpin approached the VAR and stood there for a minute, trying to see if they had made the right call.

After a while, he came back and signalled that the offside still stood. The Spanish fans grumbled and booed the referee.

The referee restarted the game with a free kick to the Germans. With the ball back in play, Germany aimed to catch Spain on the counter-attack, moving with speed and precision.

Germany’s midfield dynamo, Florian Wirtz drove forward, slicing through Spain’s midfielders with clever footwork. The Spain players tried to limit him by rushing with numbers but he still got away.

A slick one-two with the German forward, Thomas Muller left him in a favourable shooting position. Florian Wirtz adjusted and took a powerful shot from outside the box, only for the Spanish goalkeeper to make an equally impressive save, tipping the ball just over the crossbar.

After that scare, Spain regained composure, slowing the game down to regain control. They started building up from the back, drawing Germany into a high press.

Using quick, short passes, Spain successfully manoeuvred the ball through Germany’s pressure, looking for an opportunity to break through their opponent.

The moment Spain’d attack began, the referee blew his whistle as he pointed in a direction. The players all looked in the direction he pointed, only to find Serge Gnabry on the ground.

The winger was writhing in pain on the ground. The German medical team wasted no time and rushed towards him but a quick look at the players told them that he wouldn’t be able to continue.

German Coach Rudi Vőller signalled for Dortmund player Julian Brandt to join the mix. The German fans frowned as it seemed that the extent of his injury was bad but we can’t judge from the surface look.

Luis de la Fuente took advantage of the break and substituted Morata. The latter came out for fresh legs, Joselu to join.

”Izan, get ready. Coach wants you on in 5”. Izan, who was spacing out, heard Pablo Amo speak.

Izan came out of his reverie and walked up to the throwline to start warming up. The Spanish fans who saw this were excited that their wonderboy was coming on but, at the same time, worried if this was the right situation to put Izan in the game.

The latter had proved himself well against Georgia but was a weaker side. Could he handle the German team?

Well, they would have to see him play in the game to see if it was a right or wrong choice. Joselu came on in the 55th minute, a moment after Brandt had had come on.

The match resumed with fervent anticipation as both teams had just settled into the second half. Blows were traded in the following minutes as both teams tried to put the ball at the back of the opponent’s net.

”Here,” the kit manager said as he tossed Izan his jersey. Izan excitedly wore the kit and stood on the touchline. As Izan waited to be subbed on, another spark ignited for Spain.

Pedri, who had been quiet for a while galloped across the field like a horse on steroids. Emre Can tried to halt the midfielder’s run, but Pedri just sidestepped him.

Another look in front made Pedri pass the ball ahead before going around Henrichs. With a swift movement, Pedri turned around and zoomed past Gündogan who was trying to tackle the ball.

It seemed like he was trying to take on the whole team. The German team focused their attention on the oncoming sword that was trying to pierce their shield.

Joselu, who seemed to sense Pedri’s intentions, made a timely run behind the German defence. With one look at the scene in front of him, Pedri sent the ball behind the German defensive line.

All eyes tracked the loose ball but it wasn’t loose for long when Joselu went through with a powerful shot.

The ball zoomed past Ter Stegen’s outstretched hand, but the Spaniards were disappointed when it hit the post and went out of bounds.

The fans recovered when the referee blew the whistle for a corner as Ter Stegen had got his fingertips on it.

The touchline assistant also raised his board and showed a change of personnel as Olmo came out for Izan in the 58th minute.

The cheering of the fans rose as Izan got on, seemingly to encourage the kid who had stepped into a den of men.

Gaya signalled at Izan to go and take the corner as it was in a position that suited his right foot. Izan nodded and walked to the corner flag, setting the ball down as he waited for the referee’s signal.

A/n: I love the Golden tickets and stones but do you know what I love more? Its you guys and girls and the whole colour spectrum. Enjoy