Nishimura's team gathered together.
Coach Ishii stopped in front of them.
"Alright, we'll be playing a 4-4-2, just like I said. Andou in goal. Ueno at right back, Sugimoto at left back. Noguchi and Kinoshita will be our center-backs. Hamada and Koyoma will play in central midfield. Shimizu on the right wing, and Yasuda on the left—even though it's not your natural position, I know you'll do the job. Up front, Nishimura will play as the second striker, with Aliberti leading the line."
Coach Suzuki then called over Kaneko's team.
"Alright, lads, we'll stick with our usual formation: 4-3-3. Yamauchi in goal. Takeda at right back, Kuwahara at left back. Aoki and Aoyama as the center-backs. Tamura will play as the holding midfielder, with Ono and Enomoto ahead of him in central midfield. Tanaka starts on the left wing, Nakamura on the right, and leading the line as our lone striker is Kaneko!"
As both teams began taking their positions on the pitch, many students gathered around the fence, curious to see Riccardo.
A girl walked past the pitch with a gym bag in her right hand.
Noticing the crowd gathered around the playing area, she slowed down and stopped to watch.
Her high ponytail swayed with every step, while her striking blue eyes scanned the pitch with curiosity.
"Sato!"
Sato turned at the sound of her name and spotted another student waving her over.
"Hi, Yuzuki!"
"You've already finished training?"
"Surprisingly, yeah... why are there so many people here?"
"Shūdan-teki's famous men's football club is about to play a practice match. But that's not the real reason everyone's here. The new transfer student just joined the team."
Sato looked across the pitch, searching for him.
"The new student... the one who got in through the principal's recommendation?"
Seeing that Sato was looking for him, Yuzuki pointed him out.
"Yeah, that's him."
Sato studied Riccardo.
"He's gotten himself into quite a mess. He went from being the most hated student to joining the worst club in the school... that team isn't united at all."
"Yeah... it's that coach's fault. None of the boys who've joined the team over the past ten years have ever liked him, but for some reason no one ever gets rid of him."
"Not reaching the National Tournament for ten years... at a school like this, that's practically a crime."
The referees walked onto the pitch, and Riccardo noticed them, impressed.
This school really is elite...
The players took up their positions.
Kaneko stood over the ball, ready for kick-off.
The referee blew the whistle, and Kaneko rolled the ball to Tamura, who immediately switched play to Tanaka on the left.
Tanaka drove straight at Shimizu, knocked the ball slightly toward the touchline to get past him, then caught up with it in an instant, continuing his burst down the wing.
But as he took his next touch, Ueno stepped in, looking to win the ball.
Still sprinting, Tanaka slipped the ball through Ueno's legs with a nutmeg and kept going.
Riccardo watched him closely.
He's making runs like that right from kick-off...
As Tanaka reached the edge of the byline, he looked up and spotted Kaneko in the middle before whipping in a cross.
Noguchi battled with the striker inside the penalty area, but Kaneko timed his run perfectly and met the ball with a header.
The effort was straight at Andou, who gathered it comfortably.
Sato looked genuinely impressed.
"That Number Seven is lightning fast!"
"Coming from Japan's future hundred-meter champion, I'd say that's quite the compliment."
On the pitch, Andou spotted Hamada unmarked near the halfway line and threw him the ball.
Hamada controlled it before playing it out to Shimizu, who was drifting inside from the right wing to receive.
Shimizu noticed Enomoto closing him down as the ball arrived, but instead of controlling it, he let it keep rolling.
Using the sole of his left foot, he guided it across to his right before pushing it forward in a movement similar to La Croqueta.
Enomoto was completely thrown off by the move and beaten for pace.
But Kuwahara immediately stepped up to pressure him.
Seeing the situation, Shimizu instantly lifted his head and spotted Yasuda on the opposite flank.
Without hesitation, he switched play with a long diagonal pass.
The ball reached Yasuda perfectly in stride, but his first touch let him down.
Sensing the opportunity to win possession, Takeda closed him down.
"Yasuda!"
Yasuda immediately looked up and saw Nishimura checking toward him.
With the inside of his left foot, he slipped the ball to him.
Nishimura controlled it calmly, waiting for pressure from the opposing midfielders.
But it wasn't just Tamura and Ono who charged at him.
Kaneko also rushed in aggressively.
"You're trapped!"
Nishimura immediately searched for an outlet.
With all three opponents closing him down, he spotted a tiny passing lane toward Riccardo, who was being zonally marked between the two center-backs.
It's risky... but I have to try!
He threaded the ball through an impossibly narrow gap between Ono and Tamura.
The pass caught all three of them by surprise.
Riccardo moved toward the ball, but Aoki immediately followed, ready to dispossess him.
"Go, Aoki!"
Kaneko shouted.
Riccardo noticed him, but a split second later he saw Shimizu making a diagonal run into the penalty area from the right, attacking the space Aoki had just vacated.
Why not... let's give it a try!
With a quick, almost instinctive touch, Riccardo flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot, changing its direction.
The ball rolled away almost perfectly, right into Shimizu's path.
Shimizu—and everyone else—was left stunned by the pass.
He controlled the ball inside the penalty area, but Kuwahara immediately tracked back from the wing to close him down.
I can't cut inside for a shot with him all over me!
He slowed the play.
After that pass, there's no way he's already in the box...
To his disbelief, Riccardo was right in the middle of the penalty area, battling both center-backs.
But they were too late.
He was faster.
Shimizu slipped a low pass across the box.
Goalkeeper Yamauchi read the play and rushed off his line to cut it out.
Riccardo reacted just as quickly.
With incredible speed, he reached the ball first and poked it with the toe of his left boot, sending it through the goalkeeper's legs as he went to ground.
The ball rolled into the net.
Everyone, both on and off the pitch, was left speechless.
Only Shimizu sprinted over to Riccardo and threw himself at him.
"What was that move!?"
The rest of Riccardo's teammates rushed over to celebrate, praising the brilliant move he and Shimizu had put together.
Everyone except Nishimura, who remained frozen, astonished by Riccardo's technique.
A few moments later, Riccardo broke free from the celebration, walked over to Shimizu, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Great pass. Make a few more like that for me in the future."
Shimizu grinned.
"Obvious!"
Sato watched Riccardo talking with Shimizu, visibly surprised.
"That looked like a really difficult play..."
She then turned toward Yuzuki, whose face was overflowing with excitement.
"I guess you think so too."
"Absolutely! That was amazing! I have to try something like that with the others!"
Yuzuki nodded enthusiastically, her shoulder-length dark red hair swaying with the movement.
Her eyes, the same vivid shade, sparkled with excitement.
Back on the pitch, while everyone was getting into position for the restart, Kaneko stormed over to Aoki and Aoyama.
"How did the two of you fail to stop him?!"
Aoyama stepped in front of him without the slightest hesitation.
He was even taller than Kaneko, staring him down with sharp green eyes.
A few dark green streaks broke up his medium-length hair.
"We tried, but he spun past us in an instant and slipped right between us! If you think it's so easy, why don't you try stopping him yourself?"
"Kaneko, calm down! Focus on the match!"
Kaneko glanced toward the bench, where Coach Suzuki was signaling for him to settle down.
He looked back at Aoyama, his expression burning with barely restrained anger, but somehow managed to keep himself under control.
He then walked toward the center circle to take the kick-off.
As he did, his eyes drifted toward the scoreboard.
05:23 Team 1 0–1 Team 2
Before restarting play, he grabbed Tanaka by the right arm.
"Look for more crosses like the one you delivered at the start of the match."
Tanaka pulled his arm free.
"Obviously I will... but next time, try scoring instead of hitting the goalkeeper."
Kaneko smirked confidently.
"Don't worry. I won't miss the next one."
Coach Ishii watched the players with a satisfied expression.
Then he turned to Nishimura.
"Nishimura!"
He looked over at the coach.
"You saw it, didn't you? So... you know what to do."
Nishimura frowned in confusion.
What exactly was I supposed to understand?
At that moment, the referee blew the whistle to restart play.
Kaneko rolled the ball to Tamura, who immediately noticed Tanaka calling for it on the left wing, just like in the opening attack.
Instead, Tamura carried the ball forward a few more meters before Nishimura stepped up to press him.
Seeing the pressure, Ono moved closer.
"Here!"
Tamura passed to him and continued his run around Nishimura.
Ono spotted it and returned the ball into space.
Tamura advanced unchallenged until Hamada stepped out to close him down.
Enomoto immediately offered support on the left.
He received the ball with Shimizu already pressing him.
Even so, with his left foot, he managed to lift the ball high enough to clear the midfield and switch play to the right wing, where Nakamura was waiting.
With long, powerful strides, Nakamura beat Yasuda for pace.
But Sugimoto read it brilliantly and headed the ball clear before he could do anything.
Noguchi pumped a fist after seeing the interception.
"Great job, Sugimoto!"
The second ball dropped to Ono, who beat both Nishimura and Yasuda to it.
Using his pace and physical strength, he held them both off and continued driving forward.
After carrying the ball for a couple of moments, he played it forward toward Kaneko.
Kaneko used his body to shield the ball from Noguchi, who had stepped up to the edge of the penalty area to challenge him.
Then he spotted Koyoma closing in, looking to win the ball.
"Here!"
Hearing the call, he lifted his head and saw Enomoto on the left, with Nishimura tracking him closely.
Without hesitation, he played the ball to him.
Enomoto hit it first time with his right foot, threading a pass to Tanaka, who was sprinting down the left wing.
Shimizu was right behind him, doing everything he could to match his pace.
Instead of controlling the ball, Tanaka knocked it ahead into space, trying to leave his marker behind for good.
But Ueno got there first.
Just before the challenge, Tanaka cleverly flicked the ball back with his heel to Enomoto, who had made a run toward the penalty area.
Enomoto received it, and Hamada immediately rushed in to close him down.
Remaining calm, he brought the ball under control, shielded it well, and managed to escape the pressure.
Meanwhile, Yuzuki watched the match with growing excitement.
"They're moving the ball unbelievably fast!"
Sato smiled, looking completely baffled.
"I can barely keep up with what's happening..."
Enomoto then found the unmarked Tamura.
Tamura looked up and saw Kaneko making a run in behind, while Noguchi struggled to match his physical strength.
He controlled the ball with his right foot and prepared to send a through ball.
But Riccardo charged at him.
"Watch out!"
Kaneko shouted.
Tamura still managed to strike the pass, but just as the ball left his foot, Riccardo got the tip of his left boot to it, slightly changing its path.
Yuzuki's eyes lit up.
"He stopped it!"
The deflected ball flew straight to Shimizu, who controlled it and immediately drove forward.
Almost the entire opposing team was still caught in the attacking half.
Coach Ishii and Coach Suzuki noticed it instantly.
"Counterattack!"
"Get back!"
Riccardo, Nishimura, and Yasuda burst forward in support of the counterattack.
Shimizu carried the ball up the pitch.
Tanaka managed to catch up with him, but Shimizu looked up and picked out Nishimura with a precise pass with the outside of his left foot.
Immediately closed down by Ono and Tamura, Nishimura laid the ball off first time to Riccardo, who controlled it with his back to goal just outside the penalty area.
He turned.
Aoki charged straight at him.
Out of the corner of his eye, he also spotted Yasuda pushing forward on the left wing, with Nakamura chasing him.
Riccardo shaped to pass to him, but at the last moment he feinted with his right foot and shifted the ball wide, gliding past Aoki's challenge.
As he drove toward Shimizu's side of the pitch, Nishimura darted into the space behind Aoki.
Kuwahara was forced to tuck inside to track the run, leaving Tanaka alone against both Shimizu and Riccardo.
Riccardo slipped the ball to Shimizu.
Shielding it well from Tanaka, Shimizu looked up.
He saw Riccardo attacking the box with Aoki right behind him.
At the same time, Nishimura drifted out of the penalty area, dragging Kuwahara away with him.
Shimizu gently rolled the ball into Nishimura's path.
Nishimura turned toward Riccardo's run and delicately lifted the ball into space with a soft touch.
Riccardo arrived just a few metres from the near post, Aoki still tight on his back.
"Back post!"
Yasuda's shout caught his attention.
Yasuda was arriving at the far post with Nakamura tracking him, while Aoyama was sprinting back to cover.
Tamura was also recovering and stood directly in the passing lane.
But Yasuda's call made Yamauchi shift slightly to cover the potential cross.
That tiny movement was all Riccardo needed.
A narrow gap opened between the goalkeeper and the post.
As the ball dropped, Riccardo held Aoki off with his left arm.
Then he struck it cleanly with the instep of his right foot.
The contact was perfect.
The ball rocketed like a missile through the tiny opening.
Yamauchi didn't even have time to react.
The ball slammed into the back of the net.
The scoreboard updated.
11:33 Team 1 0–2 Team 2