"Niko, Aiku, you two will be the cornerstone of our defense." Jinpachi said seriously, "You'll face tremendous pressure, as the entire team's defense will depend on you both."
"Why? Shouldn't there be four defenders?" Ashito asked with confusion from the side.
"Because our greatest advantage is our offense." Jinpachi explained, "Most of us were originally forwards, and our attacking ability is our greatest weapon, so we can employ special formations."
Previously during the U-20 Match, he had Blue Lock use a 4-5-1 offensive formation. In reality, once the team launched an attack, the formation became more extreme — only three players truly guarded the back line, while the other seven participated in the offense.
Now with Ryōsuke's addition and the growth of other players, Jinpachi was preparing to deploy even more aggressive tactics.
"For the remaining two wing-back positions, they need to push forward during attacks. Rather than being defenders, they're more like supplementary personnel at the back of midfield, following the players in front to join attacks.
But due to their deeper positions, they still need to assist Aiku and Niko on defense. This position requires players who excel at both offense and defense." Jinpachi spoke deliberately, "The first person, Rin Itoshi, has outstanding individual skills, combining both offensive and organizational abilities, while also possessing good defensive capabilities. You are the best candidate for this position."
Rin's all-around abilities were exceptional, making him a versatile player perfectly suited for this role.
"The back line..." Rin's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Being assigned to the back line was unexpected — he certainly would have preferred a forward position. But given the circumstances, he had no choice; being able to play in the match was enough.
Being able to play alongside Sae and Ryōsuke, letting them witness his abilities — that was his thinking.
Although on the surface it was a 4-3-3 formation, in practice it functioned more like a 2-5-3 hyper-offensive specialized formation.
"Hmm." Rin nodded.
After announcing Rin's name, tension filled the room — only one starting position remained.
Despite everyone making it onto the National Team, they all knew that only securing a starting position truly mattered.
All eyes turned to Jinpachi's face as the atmosphere grew intense.
"Now for the final position." Jinpachi fixed his gaze on one player, "Yoichi Isagi, it's you."
"Me..." Yoichi couldn't hide his surprise, having never expected to make the starting lineup.
The non-starters included exceptional talents like Seishirō and Reo, as well as standouts like Kenyū and Tabito.
"My reasoning is simple: you can deliver excellent results at both ends of the field, and your organizational abilities allow you to maximize your teammates' offensive potential." Jinpachi pushed up his glasses, "Any objections? If you're unwilling, I can give the starting position to someone else..."
"No, I'm willing!" Without a moment's hesitation, Yoichi nodded with absolute determination.
This was an extremely important opportunity for him, one he absolutely couldn't afford to miss!
He wanted to become the world's best striker, and the U-20 World Cup was the perfect stage to prove himself!
Yoichi resolved to demonstrate his abilities in the upcoming match. He was confident he wasn't inferior to any of the other starting players!
After the final position was announced, audible sighs spread throughout the group. Though everyone desperately wanted to be starters, no one voiced any objections.
Ashito observed Ryōsuke and the others intently. Though disappointed at not qualifying as a starter due to his current abilities, he found renewed motivation in this challenge.
'I'll work hard to earn my chance to play!' He promised himself.
"Good, our starting lineup is now set." Jinpachi continued, "But this is only the current formation. The lineup may change later, so don't become complacent just because you've been selected as starters. This applies to substitutes as well — be prepared to take the field at any moment."
"Understood!"
Everyone nodded to Jinpachi in unison.
"From now on, we'll focus training around the starting lineup, with the substitutes forming a team for practical scrimmages."
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
Over the next week, Jinpachi led the starting lineup through final intensive training.
Daily physical training intensified, while tactics became more structured and specialized.
Each day, the starters competed against the substitute players. With Genzō sidelined by injury, the substitutes formed an eleven-person team with Gin Gagamaru as goalkeeper — essentially returning to fundamentals.
The substitute players, frustrated at not making the starting lineup, channeled their disappointment into these practice matches. Determined to prove themselves superior to the starters, they competed with remarkable intensity.
Even these non-starters ranked among the nation's elite players.
This explosive atmosphere dramatically increased the intensity of practice matches, driving rapid improvement on both sides.
Day after day, every player poured their full energy into training, all preparing to give everything in the upcoming matches.
❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖
The week passed quickly...
Now the U-20 World Cup qualifiers' opening ceremony was about to begin!
The team packed their bags and boarded a special bus to the sports arena.
Though these were only the AFC Youth Championship Qualifiers, they had to succeed here to advance to the main U-20 World Cup tournament.
And Ryōsuke and his teammates would be playing the opening match of the qualifiers — against Saudi Arabia Youth. Although the schedule didn't differ much from the original work, there were still minor variations.
{T/N: As I suspected, the author hadn't even come close to the Blue Lock qualifiers, or even the match against PXG. So now he's basing it on the World Youth Tournament from Captain Tsubasa. I won't give too many details about the events, but you can research on the Wiki if you want to prepare for the teams that will be playing.
And by the way, correcting the information from the previous chapter, the number of teams is now only 16 teams, since Oceania was left out and some spots were reduced, with four Groups (ABCD). Japan is the host this time, with Brazil as the winner of the previous cup.
Additional information: the "minor variation" mentioned is because Saudi Arabia was in Group H of the qualifiers, but now is in the same group as Japan.}
Everyone walked into the venue where several National Teams had already been waiting.
The moment they entered, they felt all eyes on them. Without a doubt, they had become the common enemy of all Asia.
Ashito looked around, involuntarily swallowing. He had never witnessed such a grand scene before — not just players, but spectators from everywhere had completely filled the venue.
Though he had played in several matches before, he had never seen this many spectators.
The crowds at previous club matches couldn't compare to this, and while the second stage of Blue Lock had worldwide influence, it had no live audience.
This was Ashito's first time in a venue with such a massive crowd.
"It's amazing, isn't it?" Beside him, Haruhisa looked around, his eyes full of anticipation, "This is even better than the J League. Just imagine, Ashito, what it would feel like to have fans from across the world cheering for you."
"Yeah!" Ashito nodded, his body trembling slightly.
It wasn't just nervousness but more excitement. This made him even more eager to get on the field like Haruhisa and Ryōsuke.
Just then, a soccer ball came flying like a bullet, heading straight for him!
Ryōsuke reacted quickly, pulling Ashito aside as they dodged the ball. It hit the ground with a loud bang, revealing just how powerful that shot had been.
"Sorry, sorry! I accidentally miskicked during warm-up!"
Three men with darker skin approached them.
Because the U-20 World Cup was being held locally, the super-conductive simultaneous translation device developed by Mikage Group was being widely used, allowing players from different countries to communicate freely.
The entire Blue Lock Hero League was essentially an advertisement for this translation device from Mikage Group.
From the flags on their uniforms, Ryōsuke identified their team.
Thailand Youth.
These three were the notorious Khongsawat Brothers from the Thai team.
Known for their brutal, dirty playing style and underhanded tactics on the field, Ryōsuke felt nothing but disdain toward them.
The ball they had just kicked was, without doubt, a deliberate provocation.
"Using that much power for warm-up? It seems Thai players have serious control issues with their footwork." Ryōsuke replied, his face expressionless.
"You sure can talk big." One of them said with a smirk.
He was Falan Khongsawat, the eldest of the three brothers.
The other two were Sakun Khongsawat, who was tall and large, and Chana Khongsawat, who was short with a mushroom haircut.
{T/N: Chana where I live is another name for pussy…}
All three had arrogance in their eyes, completely dismissing Ryōsuke and his teammates.
"Although your so-called Blue Lock Project looks impressive, at the end of the day, it's just a show, isn't it? Spending all that money to hire world-class stars to create buzz, making the whole world think you're strong. What will happen when you, with all those high expectations, get crushed by our Thai team?" Chana's face wore a smug smile as he taunted, "Especially you, Ryōsuke Kira! I can't wait to see you all humiliated!"
"You bastard!" Yoichi, standing nearby, immediately flared up at these words.
"Is that so?" But Ryōsuke remained calm. He merely narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled, "Then how many times should I blast through your goal? Five times? No, at least eight."
"Stop talking big..."
Before Chana could form a retort, Ryōsuke walked over to the ball they had kicked.
"Here's your ball back. Catch it well!"
❖ First Form ➠ Thunderclap and Flash! ❖
The instantaneous burst of power created a thunderous boom across the field as the ball flew right past Chana's head.
He stood frozen in place. Unable to even see the ball's trajectory, he could only feel a terrifying gust of wind passing by, causing a noticeable stinging sensation on his cheek.
In that moment, his heart almost stopped — as if a cannonball had just grazed past him.
"You! Do you have a death wish?!"
The tall and burly second brother, Sakun, angrily stepped forward while Ryōsuke maintained his smile.
"What's wrong? Why are you angry? I'm just returning the ball you kicked over. Can't handle it?"
"You!"
Before Sakun could continue, someone pulled him away, dragging him to the side. The previously arrogant brothers suddenly fell silent.
Singprasert Bunnag.
"Although we're not first-round opponents, we'll meet soon — I will completely destroy you, Ryōsuke Kira." Singprasert fixed a beast-like gaze on Ryōsuke.
"Bring it on, if you can." Ryōsuke responded calmly.
"The tension is already this high?" Ashito muttered quietly beside him.
Without another word, Singprasert left with the three brothers. Ryōsuke's kick had once again drawn everyone's attention.
"Just like thunder."
"It seems his reputation isn't unfounded, Ryōsuke Kira."
"Can't wait to face him."
Meanwhile, a young man approached Ryōsuke with a friendly smile, extending his hand.
"You must be Ryōsuke Kira. I've watched every match of your Blue Lock! You're amazing! Your teammates too! I truly look forward to having an exciting match with you. Oh sorry — I was too excited and forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mark Owairan, captain of the Saudi Arabia Youth."
Behind him stood an incredibly tall and muscular man, like a human wall, making even the large-framed Shōei look small in comparison.
{T/N: Probably Vulcan, a forward from Saudi Arabia Youth.}
Mark's face wore a smile, and his behavior was very polite. Yet his eyes showed no trace of fear, as if victory was already within his grasp.
❖❖❖
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