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Chapter 347 Japan u17 vs Poland u17 III

Brimming with confidence, the opposing players started pressing high right from the get-go. Running wildly after the ball like an enraged wild boar, they did what anyone with a brain would do— they tried to take advantage of the obvious weakness Japanese players were displaying right from the get-go.

They tried to take advantage of the sloppiness and low self-esteem of Japanese players by intimidating them with their relentless charge.

And as expected of the Japanese players, upon experiencing the intense pursuit of the Polish players, they lost their composure.

No sooner had the game started than their formation started showing signs of collapse as several holes emerged in their formation. Mispasses, mispositioning, and miscommunication had become a common sight on the field right from the start.

And the Japanese fans, disappointed and frustrated by the miserable gameplay that their sides were displaying on the field, most of them were on the verge of losing their sanity.

It hadn't even been that long, yet most of them were already tongue-tied.

It was the worst starting they had seen to date from their players.

Given their mistakes and clumsiness on the field, it didn't take long for the opposing side to take control of the game. And the first breakthrough moment came quite earlier than expected as well.

Stealing the ball from Nijichi who was trying to move up-field, Patryk Mazur who was playing as a defensive midfielder for the Polish side charged forward with the ball.

To stop him, Hiro rushed towards him since he was the one closest to him.

Defending wasn't his forte yet still, he had to stop this man at all costs right now or else he wouldn't get an opportunity to salvage the self-esteem of his teammates.

This challenge, as much as it was a crisis, was also an opportunity. But everything depended on the outcome whether it would turn into an opportunity or a crisis.

Sure his defending techniques weren't as good as the defenders of his team but still he had learned enough basics of the art of defending to cover his flaws.

Keeping his eyes on the ball and the movement of the player while also keeping track of his eye movements, Hiro approached the incoming Patryk who was rushing toward him without any fear.

Having studied the gameplay of Patryk, Hiro was aware that as much as Patryk was good at retaining position, he was also a beast at ball handling.

And even with his tiny frame, he was quite sturdy on top of that. So, trying to outmaneuver him using his physique was out of the question as well.

At this moment as Patryk approached closer to Hiro, both their eyes met for a brief moment. Each flashing with confidence, unwilling to back down.

Making it appear as if he was swaying his body to the left, Patryk tried to deceive Hiro with a body feint. But Hiro didn't move as he was expecting.

Instead, he calmly moved his body towards him while also keeping track of the position of the players behind him.

Rushing forward recklessly would only result in his defeat.

Being aware of the consequences of recklessness, he didn't react to the provocation of Patryk. Instead, he maintained his pressure on Patryk by keeping the distance between them close but not close enough for Patryk to make a sudden dash.

Faced with Hiro's composure, Patryk's eyes became a little restless.

He knew that Hiro wasn't good at defending. And he was confident enough to take Hiro by himself. But what he didn't expect was that he could cover the flaws in his techniques with his cool-headedness and positioning.

Once again, he tried to use his body feint. But this time, he didn't try to fake his movement. Moving along with the ball, he tried to get past Hiro using a combination of body feint and stepover at the same time.

Now, Hiro could no longer keep on maintaining his distance from Patryk. He had to intercept or else Patryk would simply pass the ball to one of his teammates.

Although he had kept him occupied, giving enough time for his teammates to position themselves. But in doing so, he had allowed Patryk time to think and also allowed Patryk to move in their half.

Now...

Finding an opportunity after waiting for so long, Hiro swept his leg towards the ball and made his move.

However, what seemed to be an opportunity was rather a bait.

A bait, set up by Patryk to lure Hiro into making his move. And Hiro who thought that he had done fairly well by keeping Patryk occupied fell for this trap.

Patryk then simply did a one-two and got past the reach of Hiro.

Seeing Patryk's figure sprinting past him with the ball, Hiro's eyes became extremely frantic as he tried to change his direction as fast as he could and pursue Patryk again.

And, he successfully managed to do so as well.

But Patryk however, didn't continue pushing forward with the ball. Instead, he made a through pass to his teammate who was trying to cut inside the attacking third from the center.

While most of his teammates were still unaware of the intention of Patryk's pass, Akutsu reacted quickly as he noticed the number ten of the opposing team making his run from the flanks.

"A good pass from Patryk Mazur" praised the commentator, sounding rather serious and captivated.

Alongside Patryk Mazur, there was another beast on this Polish side. Their number ten, Jakub Adkonis. Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m nov𝒆lb(i)n.c(o)m

With exceptional off-the-ball movement and an innate ability to smell goal, he would have perfectly played the role of a number 9.

Yet even with such ridiculous goal-scoring capability, he played as a midfielder.

And this man who was nearly about 185 cm tall was right now rushing towards the ball with eyes that seemed to be hungry for the goal.

The crowd upon witnessing this intense clash so early in the match, couldn't stop themselves from staring at the field with anticipation and excitement flashing in their eyes.

Both Jakub and Akutsu reached the ball almost at the same time. But the one to have the last laugh was the opposing midfielder, Jakub.

With a single touch of the ball, he evaded the reach of Akutsu. However, he didn't manage to completely leave him behind as no sooner had he got the ball behind Akutsu, than Akutsu started chasing after him.

Sensing the pursuit of Akutsu, he could tell that if he continued to hog onto the ball, he'd lose the ball eventually.

Thus, after getting close enough, he fired the ball from outside the box. After all, most of his goals had come from the spot outside the box.