The Dream
Two days later, Rafael prepared well for this match in order to win it in order to pass to the next challenge.
He walked into the waiting room with his teammates, and as usual, since Reo is the team captain, it was his duty to encourage them. He stepped forward and attracted their attention.
"Okay guys, we only have a little left to move forward to the next challenge. Let's do our best."
"Yes!!"
Advancing to the door of the corridor, they entered to meet up with Team W who was already waiting for them.
Team W :
1. Raito Fuwa
2. Kei Shishiya
3. Koki Mera
4. Kai Tokita
5. Yujin Koshinaka
6. Takuma Isezaki
7. Noboru Jigen
8. Hiromu Munakata
9. Keisuke Wanima
10. Junichi Wanima
11. Yusei Amazora
-------------------------
Team V entered the field and each one went to his position.
Strikers from each team advance to the midfield in order to wait for the ball to fall from above and take it.
After the timer on the screen ran out, the ball fell and Reo was able to keep it and take it.
He swiftly passed the ball to Nagi, who then passed it to Rafael, he moved forward, aiming to create space between himself and his teammates.
After Rafael received the ball, defender Yujin Koshinaka came at him aggressively. Rafael skillfully maneuvered the ball, tricking Yujin into thinking he would pass to the left. Instead, Rafael passed in the opposite direction, causing Yujin to fall to the ground in surprise.
Rafael advanced and lofted the ball high into the penalty area. Reo leaped up, heading the ball into the net, securing his third goal of the challenge.
After Reo scored the goal, he jumped on Rafael's back, "Rafael, your dribbling and lifting the ball like that is excellent, you're really great."
"Next time pass to me, I want to score too."
"Sure Nagi let's continue now."
After celebrating the goal, twins Junichi Wanima and Keisuke Wanima returned to midfield to resume play.
After the start of the match again, the twins moved the ball forward quickly. After Junichi passed in front of Reo, he quickly kicked the ball to his brother.
Keisuke dribbled quickly towards the penalty area. Just as he was about to shoot, Retsu intervened, applying pressure and causing Keisuke to lose his balance. As a result, the ball rolled out of play along the touchline.
Masumi approached Retsu and gave him a pat on the shoulder, saying, "Nice job! If it weren't for you, he would have scored."
Retsu was encouraged by Masumi's words and determined to do his best.
Keisuke took the ball for a throw-in and saw that all his teammates were closely marked. With no other option, he passed it to his brother, who was also tightly defended by Rafael.
Rafael jumped and took the ball with complete ease and moved forward with crazy speed.
The opponent's defense was almost empty because the defenders were advancing into the team's half of the field V in order to play the throw-in.
When they noticed Rafael running with the ball, the defenders rushed to return to their places.
The guard had no solution, so he rushed to Rafael in order to intimidate him.
Rafael saw that the goalkeeper had left the goal approximately 7 meters away, so he kicked the ball in the shape of a panenka, which did not allow the goalkeeper to do anything. He was just watching the ball enter his goal.
[Goaaaallll!!]
[Team V 2:0 Team W]
Nagi stood in front of Rafael, "Well done, but you can pass it to me next time so I can score."
"Okay, but just once."
"Just once"
After 65 minutes, the score was 4:1 for Rafael's team.
Nagi scored one goal, Reo scored one goal, and Rafael scored two goals. The opponent's goal came from one of the twins who scored a penalty kick after the ball touched Retsu's hand in the penalty area.
....
The ball went out to the opponent's corner and it was Reo who would kick the corner kick. He signaled his teammates to gather in one area in order to increase the chance of scoring a goal.
Reo kicked the ball and it curved into a C shape and entered the goal without anyone touching the ball.
The goalkeeper was taken by surprise when Reo managed to score directly from the corner kick, as he hadn't anticipated such a scoring play from that position.
The match ended with a score of 5:1 for Team V
Team V erupted in cheers as they celebrated advancing to the next stage. Reo congratulated his friends, saying, "Great job, everyone! Winning our second match means we've officially moved on to the next challenge."
"In the next match, let's not exert ourselves too much to avoid the risk of injuries. Make sure to rest well before the next challenge."
Before they left, the team's standings in terms of points and each team's top scorer appeared on the screen.
Team ranking:
Team V : 6
Team top scorer: Rafael da Silva , 6 goals
---
Team X : 3
Team top scorer: Shoei Baro , 5 goals
---
Team Z : 3
Team top scorer: Meguru Bachira , 3 goals
---
Team W : 3
Team top scorer: Keisuke Wanima , 2 goals
---
Team Y : 0
Team top scorer: Ikki Niko , 1 goal
-----------------------------
Baro watched the teams' standings on the screen and noticed the top-ranked team in the group along with their leading scorer. A frown gradually appeared on his face.
"Who is this Rafael? I want to see him defeated by me. I am the king here, no one else," he said angrily, feeling upset because Rafael had scored more goals than him.
Team Z reacted with shock upon learning that Team V had won two consecutive matches. This shock was amplified, especially for the team's top scorer, who had scored a total of 6 goals, averaging 3 goals per match.
"I think we will face a very difficult team that is different from the other teams we have faced," Chigiri said.
Kunigami responded, "We will devise a strategic plan to face this team head-on."
Reo approached Rafael, "Rafael, you are the top scorer here. I think you can score 15 goals before this challenge ends."
After Reo finished speaking, the writing on the screen changed to the upcoming confrontations:
Team V vs Team X
Team Z vs Team W
--------------
After Rafael read what was written on the screen, he was surprised that Team Y was not present in the third confrontation.
As if Ego could read Rafael's thoughts, his voice echoed in the place [Team Y surrendered because their confidence was shattered due to their loss of two matches in a row, but as I said before, even if the team loses, who has the right of passage to the next challenge is the top scorer Niko]
Raphael nodded as he understood the logic behind Ego's words.
[The important thing is that I want to say to Team V, congratulations for advancing to the next challenge, and also if you win the next match, you can not play the last match]
Reo was taken aback by this and asked Ego again for confirmation, to which Ego replied affirmatively.
"I take back what I said, guys, when I said that we should not use our full strength in the football match. Now our goal is to win this match and help Rafael become the top scorer in this group."
After everyone agreed with Reo's words, they went to their rooms to rest.
Rafael entered his room and took the phone out of his bag in order to pass the time until it was time to sleep.
He entered the photo album on his phone and browsed through it. A picture attracted him, so he entered it and was shocked by it.
The picture is of him, his mother, and his uncle taking a selfie. In the picture, Rafael is holding a World Cup medal around his neck.
Rafael fell silent as he remembered what it was like for the first time to win the 2002 World Cup.
'I can't wait to win the World Cup again.'
'In order to win it, I must train well. Tomorrow I will challenge myself and run 50 kilometers in half an hour at full speed on the treadmill.'
-----------------------------------------------------
Your support and comments encourage me to do more.