Essien stormed through the tunnel and into the locker room, his face flushed.
He exhaled heavily.
His arms and legs tingled.
He could not understand what had just happened.
Ten minutes.
That was all the time he had faced Ho-young.
And yet he felt it clearly.
Now he understood why so many world-class players who had faced Ho-young spoke so highly of him.
Their words echoed in his mind.
Javier Mascherano once said Ho-young had gone beyond world class. If he ever came to the Premier League, though that should never happen, Mascherano might have to leave because there was still no way to stop him.
Patrick Vieira admitted that even in his prime, he might not have been able to stop him.
Gennaro Gattuso cursed and said he was ridiculously good.
Carles Puyol called him a disaster.
Sergio Busquets said he grew stronger every year, no, every month, and that was what made him terrifying.
Alex Ferguson joked that discussing how to stop him was harder than discussing when Liverpool would next win the league.
Those words now struck him deeply.
It was a strange experience.
That was not football.
It felt far removed from the football he knew.
It was as if a conductor disguised as a footballer had stepped onto the pitch.
Just ten minutes.
It had been brief, but it was still vivid.
The moment he came on, Ho-young shouted instructions and moved tirelessly.
He controlled the midfield from deep to the front line, orchestrating his teammates' movements.
Then he raised the tempo and unleashed attacks.
Conceding would not have been surprising.
If the opponent had been Real Madrid instead of Korea, Ghana might already have been overturned.
This is dangerous.
And there were still 45 minutes left.
We have to change the flow in the second half.
That was why halftime was critical.
This time would determine the outcome.
Essien steadied his winning mentality and thought calmly.
To regain control and momentum, we must press Ho-young and dominate midfield.
Midfield control.
That was the key to both defense and attack.
The second half began as night deepened.
Neither side changed formation, and the battle in midfield continued.
[Essien receives the ball, lays it off to Kevin-Prince Boateng, then drops back and keeps moving.]
Essien roamed everywhere, constantly searching for space.
When a teammate was in trouble, he sprinted over to support.
If there was no passing lane, he shielded the ball himself and created space.
He did not shy away from physical duels.
He embraced them.
Thud.
[Yeom Ki-hun challenges, but he is brushed aside. He almost falls. The referee lets play continue.]
[It seems he judged it a fair challenge.]
Essien burned himself out running.
That was the essence of a box-to-box midfielder.
With his aerial ability, he began winning second balls and gradually took control of midfield.
Yet strangely, the team's overall situation did not improve.
Damn it.
They had nearly secured midfield control. From there, they should have pinned Korea back.
But that did not happen.
Instead of being trapped centrally, Korea slipped through gaps like mice and disrupted Ghana.
They stretched the pitch wide.
Rather than engaging in central battles, they spread left and right, increasing Ghana's fatigue.
Damn.
When he came to his senses, the match had shifted in an odd direction.
For someone known for his strong mentality, it was hard to accept.
How did I not notice this?
Fourteen minutes had already passed in the second half.
Fourteen minutes since Ghana believed they had regained control through their build-up.
But that was not true.
Essien thought he had seized control through sheer effort, but it was an illusion.
For fourteen minutes, all he had done was run across wide spaces to protect possession, draining his stamina.
Nothing more.
Ghana had not registered a single shot.
It was meaningless football with no real gain.
A self-inflicted mistake.
In trying to overwhelm the opponent, he had forced his teammates into excessive exertion.
It was only the 60th minute, yet Ghana's players already showed signs of fatigue.
Midfielders, defenders, even forwards had burned through energy.
Meanwhile, Korea had conserved strength through organized defending and positional discipline.
The match was still ongoing, but Essien looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Unbelievable.
He had been completely beaten in the psychological battle.
He lacked nothing in judgment, anticipation, positioning, boldness, or composure, yet he had not foreseen this.
It had happened seamlessly.
The cause was obvious.
That guy.
At the center of it all stood Ho-young.
He had not retreated.
While pretending to engage in physical midfield battles, he had repositioned his teammates to build a favorable structure.
He funneled Ghana inward, forcing them into pointless running and draining their stamina.
He avoided a direct endurance battle and maximized efficiency.
Maestro.
He was a conductor.
This is bad.
Essien sensed it faster than anyone.
Something sharp and heavy was pressing down on Ghana.
It did not take long for the momentum to swing toward Korea.
62nd minute.
Tap.
The ball reached Ho-young's feet and was quickly shifted wide.
Understanding the intent, Park Ji-seok exchanged a quick one-two with him, opening space on the flank.
John Paintsil and Andre Ayew closed in aggressively.
"Stop him."
"Now."
But Ho-young made an unpredictable move.
Swish.
Just as Paintsil and Andre converged.
He spun sharply in the opposite direction at a speed almost impossible to track.
[He slips between them with a quick change of direction.]
[That is the McGeady spin, a technique used by Ireland's Aiden McGeady.]
A move requiring exceptional ball control and touch.
If the Marseille turn was a full 360-degree spin, the McGeady spin involved a 270-degree turn before cutting at a right angle.
It was effective when switching from flank to center or vice versa, instantly reversing the direction of attack.
It could unsettle an entire defensive line.
And this was that moment.
[He drives centrally. Ho-young cuts inside. Anthony Annan closes him down.]
[They must react quickly.]
Annan rushed toward him, startled by the sudden change.
[He beats him as well.]
As if he had anticipated it, Ho-young cut again at a 90-degree angle and opened another lane.
Almost there.
His sharp gaze shifted to the right flank.
Right-back Cha Du-rim was charging down the touchline like a predator.
Ho-young had drawn Ghana left, creating the gap.
Essien realized it quickly, but the ball had already left Ho-young's foot toward the open space.
[He chips it. Cha Du-rim receives. Ho-young is making a run into the box.]
[Good. Cha must find him.]
Cha instinctively returned the ball.
A low cross into the penalty area.
Boom.
The cross was slightly short, but Ho-young's burst of speed and finishing made up for it.
His powerful strike buried the ball into the corner of the net.
[Goal. Ho-young scores the equalizer.]
[His tenth goal of the World Cup. Excellent. This is what we needed.]
At eighteen by Korean age.
In his first World Cup, he had reached ten goals.
There was no celebration.
He retrieved the ball and carried it to the halfway line.
He intended to ride the momentum and score again.
[This is the fighting spirit needed at the World Cup. It is time to unleash the energy we have saved.]
[Ghana are visibly exhausted. It shows on their faces. Now it is our turn.]
As the commentators said, Ghana were drained.
Korea's momentum surged upward.
Damn it.
Rajevac could only think of holding on until penalties.
This World Cup was the greatest opportunity of his life to prove his worth.
Taking Ghana to the quarterfinals had already felt miraculous.
Before the tournament, many had dismissed him.
Now he was praised as a Serbian coach with charisma and harmony.
One more step would mean the semifinals.
He could not give up.
Just thirty more minutes.
If they endured the second half, they could regroup and push for penalties.
He shouted.
"Andre, drop fully into defense."
Rajevac instructed even his forwards to commit to defending.
Korea, meanwhile, attacked with quick combinations and penetrations, mirroring Ghana's own style.
It was Ho-young's decision.
With no space behind, we must unsettle them and target the flanks.
He formed a two-striker partnership with Park Ju-hyung, dominating the box.
"Ho-young, I will drop deeper and create confusion. Find the space."
As time passed, Park's off-the-ball movement stood out.
Yeom Ki-hun accelerated the playmaking.
Ki Sung-yueng handled build-up and pressing, widening space up front.
Park Ji-seok moved tirelessly, tightening the pressure.
With Ghana's press loosened, everything flowed.
[The team is united and moving organically. That is football. Opportunities will come.]
[Ghana are holding deep. Six defenders are in their own box. Jonathan Mensah and Lee Addy are blocking relentlessly.]
[But Korea can break through. They must not stop until the whistle.]
Approaching the 87th minute.
The final push.
Korea's true offensive surge came in the last ten minutes.
Exploiting Ghana's fatigue, Oh Beom-seok and Cha Du-rim relentlessly attacked both flanks.
Crosses increased.
Dominating the box with power, Ho-young created chances continuously.
[Two minutes remaining. This could be the last attack.]
[It is possible. Late goals are common at the World Cup because of desperation. Stay composed.]
[Here it comes. Cha delivers.]
A diagonal cross came half a beat early.
Ho-young had already secured position.
John Mensah, 180 centimeters and nearly 80 kilograms, challenged him, but it was not enough.
At that moment.
Just before contact, Ho-young snapped his head, redirecting the ball completely.
Richard Kingson reacted quickly, but it was too far.
Exactly the 92nd minute.
Thud.
A dramatic goal that sent them straight to the semifinals.
And exactly one minute later, the match ended.
(To be continued.)