"The Italian goalkeeper..." Tsubasa murmured.
On the field, the match resumed.
The Hamburg players restarted with a throw-in. The ball headed toward Schneider, who controlled it effortlessly. He turned and started pushing toward the opposing goal but I stepped in to block his path.
"Shin Orochi..." he said under his breath, his expression more serious than ever.
"Karl-Heinz Schneider. Just you and me now." I said as I began to defend against him. He first tried to push straight past me with raw speed and strenght, but I was fast too and strong. He couldn't create any space. Then, true to his usual style, he tried firing a shot directly into my stomach, hoping to knock me off balance. But knowing his brute-force tactics and how he plays, I anticipated it. I shifted my body just in time to absorb and deflect the shot, trying to control the ball but the sheer power behind it made that nearly impossible.
The ball ricocheted and landed at Matsuyama's feet.
"What...?" Schneider muttered, looking at me in disbelief.
"My turn." I said calmly.
It was time to show him my game.
Without hesitation, Matsuyama sent the ball forward to me.
I launched into a sprint, dribbling with my right foot, then switching to my left mixing in stepovers and feints with lightning-fast changes of direction.
"Incredible..." said Kaltz from the back. "So this is what another top-tier player like Karl-Heinz looks like..."
After weaving past several defenders, I found myself facing Schneider once again.
For a few intense seconds, we locked eyes and battled, a true duel. But eventually, I got past him.
As I lined up for a shot just outside the penalty box, Wakabayashi called out from the goal.
"I'll stop your shot."
'Time to wake you up earlier than planned.' I thought. 'Snake Shot.'
I struck with my left foot.
The ball exploded off my foot with a violent swerve, trailing a green blur as it flew. It appeared off-target veering hard right then suddenly curved left, still looking wide. Again, it twisted and swerved, zigzagging back and forth through the air unpredictably, gaining speed with each shift, taking the form of a serpent crawling in the air.
It was a nightmare for any keeper.
"GOAL!! GOAL!!" the commentator shouted, overwhelmed with excitement. "The score is now 2–1." He pointed out.
"What was that?" said Wakabayashi, stunned, he hadn't even had time to react.
'How is this possible? Knowing Orochi a little, he's probably capable of shooting like that with his other foot… maybe even with the outside of both feet!' he thought, even more shocked.
"He scored from outside the box… against Wakabayashi." muttered a Hamburg player, just as stunned as the rest of both teams.
Only Schneider remained unfazed or at least, he didn't show it on his face.
The crowd fell into stunned silence.
"What a shot... technique, power, and speed." whispered Juan Diaz.
The players returned to position, but just then, the referee blew the whistle for half-time.
"I didn't expect this friendly against an Asian team to turn into this." said one of the Hamburg players.
"They had zero chance of winning, but now..." started another until Kaltz cut him off with a deliberate cough.
Inside the car, heading to the stadium…
"Orochi, incredible. He hasn't slacked off, has he widened the gap even more?" asked Tsubasa, his eyes still on the screen.
"Exactly. In just one year in England, he's shown exceptional ability. I didn't even know he was here today." said Munemasa. Then he added. "We're almost there."
"Perfect." replied Tsubasa.
"Besides you, Taro Misaki is also missing from the team. We'll need your Golden Duo."
Back on the pitch. The second half had begun.
"Pass me the ball." I called to Kojiro Hyuga, since I was on the left. But he didn't pass. Instead, he kept dribbling, managing to get past Kaltz. Now just outside the box, he unleashed his Tiger Shot — but Wakabayashi saved it.
"He caught the ball!" exclaimed the commentator.
"What!?" shouted Hyuga.
On the sidelines, Tsubasa had just arrived.
"He stopped Hyuga's Tiger Shot." he said, impressed.
Back on the field.
"Hmph. Schneider!" Wakabayashi shouted, launching the ball far forward, regaining a bit of confidence.
It landed at Schneider's feet.
"Go, Karl!" shouted Marie from the stands, she had made it in time.
'Marie... you came to see me?' Schneider thought, a fire lighting up in his eyes. 'This third goal will be for you. A hat-trick, it's mine.'
Without hesitation, he began tearing through the field, passing every single player in his path.
"He's dribbled through the entire defense and now he's face-to-face with the keeper!" said the commentator, electrified.
Schneider fired off his Fire Shot — and scored.
"GOAL!! And that makes three for Hamburg! Schneider completes his hat-trick!" the commentator roared.
"Well done, Karl!" Marie cheered joyfully, joined by the rest of the crowd.
"You're a beast out there." said one of Schneider's teammates, patting him on the back.
"Damn, my hand..." murmured Wakashimazu under his breath, unnoticed by everyone, except me, of course.
"Wakashimazu, you should come off." I told him.
"Why?" he asked, trying to play it off.
"Don't pretend, you know exactly what I'm talking about." I replied firmly, while the others began noticing that Tsubasa had arrived. "Anyway, it's your decision. Do what you want." I added before walking off to rejoin the team.
"Tsubasa, are you going to play?" asked Ishizaki excitedly.
"Of cour—" Tsubasa was about to reply when—
"We were chosen for this training camp. If Tsubasa plays now, it's disrespectful to the others who weren't selected." said Matsuyama, cutting in.
"But we all know Tsubasa didn't play earlier because of his injury." Ishizaki responded in defense.
"That's right. We need Tsubasa." said Takasugi. "Besides, Orochi wasn't selected either."
"Yeah, and I've got a problem with people acting like we already lost." said Hyuga, stepping in. "I swore we'd win this match, we, us." He added with conviction.
"We could've done this without Orochi. And now Tsubasa? If we hadn't been able to win, I would've taken full responsibility!" he continued, his pride on full display.
"It's too late to be thinking like that now. I'm playing." I interrupted, cutting through the tension.
"If you don't want Tsubasa to play, fine, especially since he's still slightly injured."
"Alright... Tsubasa, without unanimous support from your teammates, I can't put you in." said Coach Mikami.
"I understand." replied Tsubasa calmly.
Coach Mikami then turned back to the bench. "Sorimachi and Sano, get ready to come on. Masao Tachibana, you're coming off, you too." he added, pointing to another player.
Tsubasa encouraged the team.
"Just like Hyuga said nothing is lost yet."