Chapter 26: Ending the Suspense

"CD!"

"CD!"

"CD!"

Fans began to shout out the combination name the commentator had just made up.

It seemed to confirm the commentator's words that Ronaldo and Deng Kai had an even better understanding.

The two of them passed the football back and forth several times in the subsequent game.

They both created threats.

In the 19th minute, Ronaldo cut in and passed the ball to Deng Kai.

Deng Kai took a shot without stopping the ball, which "amazed everyone".

The football nearly shot down the pigeons in the sky.

This seemed to prove that his opening shot was indeed a wild guess.

His shooting skills were not so great, oh.

After the football flew into the stands, Deng Kai sheepishly waved at Ronaldo and gave him a thumbs up.

The thumbs-up striker is always likable.

Ronaldo didn't say much.

This made his teammates marvel.

If it were anyone else who took such a wild shot, Ronaldo would have blasted them.

Indeed, love in this world is unfair; some have none at all, while others are loved much more.

In fact, Deng Kai's shot was mainly an attempt.

He wanted to see if there was a bug in the system he could exploit.

He wanted to know if Black Panther Hunt could be triggered by a teammate's pass.

It proved there were no loopholes to exploit.

The football had to change possession first.

In the 39th minute, Ronaldo took a shot from the left side of the penalty area.

The shot was powerful and forceful!

But the goalkeeper from Maxa Sports finally played a role, parrying the football out for a corner kick.

Sporting Lisbon won a corner.

Ronaldo actively went into the penalty area, very lively.

Bang!

The number 10 from Lisbon took the corner.

Ronaldo jumped high but failed to reach the football.

The central defender from Maxa Sports, standing 1.76 meters, completely dominated Ronaldo.

He headed the football out of the penalty area.

Andoya, who also went up for the header but didn't jump, immediately followed the football.

But Deng Kai, already on the outskirts of the penalty box, got there before Andoya; the football was flying straight at him.

"Deng Kai is well positioned; he should be able to control the second touch!"

"Ah! The football is flying a bit high; it's a bit difficult for Deng Kai to deal with at that height."

"Andoya is rushing over; Deng Kai doesn't have extra time to handle the football."

"Once they make physical contact, it's very likely Deng Kai will lose possession."

"Andoya is already commanding his forward teammates to sprint; he's confident of winning possession!"

As the football fell,

Andoya, who had been charging fiercely, suddenly stopped two meters in front of Deng Kai.

Any stop by Deng Kai would surely bounce the football towards Andoya.

Because it was a very difficult ball to control, falling near Deng Kai's chest.

For players of this age group, controlling such a ball usually means a two-meter radius.

Andoya started to feign moving towards him, applying psychological pressure on Deng Kai to increase the difficulty of his trapping. Now with good positioning, he was ready to steal the ball as soon as Deng Kai touched it.

It was indeed clever.

Maxa sighed regrettably on the side.

If it were a taller player, at 1.8 meters, he could have taken a direct volley without trapping the ball.

But Deng Kai was only 1.49 meters.

Hm?

With Deng Kai's movement, everyone was stunned.

Chest trap!

Deng Kai used his chest to control the ball.

There was also a slight arching motion backward.

He completely dissipated the force of the football, perfectly causing it to land in front of him.

This moment showcased the full extent of Deng Kai's ball control ability of 63.

It was a masterclass in ball control.

Andoya miscalculated!

Knowing he had missed the chance to steal, Andoya immediately planted his feet, leaned slightly forward, and expanded his defensive range.

He tried to intercept Deng Kai's subsequent pass.

With his height and long legs, if Deng Kai still tried to pass the ball into the penalty area, Andoya might intercept it.

Bang!

A loud sound.

The football hadn't touched the ground when it shot out like a bolt of lightning.

It flew past Andoya again, who once more remained unmoved.

Just like in the 22nd second of the opening.

Not only Andoya, but also the players behind him had no time to react.

Because it was a volleyed snap shot!

Everyone thought Deng Kai would wait for the football to land, use his right foot to control the ball, search for an opportunity to pass back to a retreating teammate, or lob the ball back into the penalty area.

But... the football never had the chance to land.

Deng Kai went for a direct volley.

With his shooting skill that's more likely to send balls flying into orbit, he actually...

Whoosh!

The football flew into the net, stirring up countless white splashes.

Many players' vision was blocked, and they had no idea what had just happened.

They all started to look for the "culprit."

But Deng Kai had already dashed to the corner flag area with the fastest speed.

In an instant, Ronaldo realized who had scored the goal.

He immediately followed Deng Kai and caught up with him.

Deng Kai stretched out his finger and twirled it around.

Ronaldo nodded.

The next moment, the two leapt high together, spun 180 degrees in mid-air, and then came crashing down with a thud.

"Siuuuuuuuuu!"

Only then did the commentator come to his senses.

"A perfect volleyed snap shot!"

"This shot was absolutely stunning!"

"Just now everyone was saying Deng Kai couldn't shoot, and then he scored such a brilliant goal!"

"He scored two goals today that could be nominated for the best goals of the round!"

"It seems Deng Kai is only suited for high-difficulty goals."

"Let's congratulate him, this is also his second goal in the U15 league!"

"Three to zero! Sporting Lisbon has almost secured the match in advance!"

"They finally made a comeback!"

...

During the halftime break, Maxa couldn't have been happier.

One special thing about youth team matches is that... comebacks are very rare.

A win is a win, a loss is a loss.

And it's almost always a big scoreline.

This has to do with the unstable mentality of young players.

With the wind behind them, everyone might play extraordinary.

Against the wind, everyone is a damn nightmare.

Sporting Lisbon's results were dismal this season, but Ronaldo became increasingly famous because he was able to keep scoring, keep craving for victory, even when the team was behind or losing.

Even if they were three goals down, he would still urge his teammates to pass him the ball, and he'd keep challenging the opposition's defense.

So far, he's ranked fifth on the league's top scorer's list.

For a team second-last in the points table, this is incredible.

And this is the overall list for all five ABCDE regions, not just the one Sporting Lisbon is in.

"Play well in the second half, just follow the plan I had laid out before," Maxa said, pointing out strategies as if he had actually made any beforehand.

Compared to the lackadaisical Maxa, Cadar Sport's coach clearly put in more effort.

As soon as the second half started, Deng Kai felt the opposition restricting him.

Not just Andoya, but another midfielder as well.

Double-teamed?

This was treatment worthy of a star.

As a result, Deng Kai's chances to perform suddenly dwindled.

Sporting Lisbon's midfield was clearly unbalanced, and they began to be pushed back into their own half by Cadar Sport.

But Ronaldo was on fire.

Even if Sporting Lisbon's main brigade didn't move past midfield, as long as they got the ball to Ronaldo, he could still dribble into the offensive third and create threats.

In the 66th minute.

Deng Kai, with the ball, was pressured by the physical presence of Andoya.

Deng Kai leaned his body, almost completely resting on Andoya, just barely standing firm, but was still being pushed back by Andoya.

At a crucial moment, Deng Kai kicked the football upfield.

Then he was heavily pinned down by Andoya.

The referee didn't blow the whistle immediately, because the pass had created an opportunity.

No one expected that Deng Kai, not adept at physical confrontations, could still manage to pass the ball under such circumstances.

Only Ronaldo had chosen to believe and run from the beginning.

Hence, when the football was passed, only Ronaldo could keep up with it.

One-on-one!

Ronaldo received the ball for a one-on-one!

Confronting the advancing goalkeeper, Ronaldo coolly swayed left and right.

Eventually, he faked out the goalkeeper and easily sent the ball into the net.

Ronaldo, with a brace!

Deng Kai, with an assist for a brace!

A total score of four to zero for both teams!

The suspense, over!