The final battle of Wahaha's European tour.
Sporting Lisbon U15's starting lineup:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lourenço, Marcelino
Veloso, Kai, Semedo
Araujo, Angelo, Manuel Duarte
Pilar
Compared to the first half of the season, the lineup had changed slightly.
Veloso replaced Sergio, who had transferred to Boavista U15 during the winter window.
In addition, Kai's position shifted from right midfielder to a true central midfielder, giving him maximum freedom.
Semedo dropped slightly deeper, almost like a defensive right midfielder, mainly responsible for covering Kai's back.
Veloso acted as a midfield sweeper. Triguera positioned him as Kai's personal "bodyguard."
This setup was actually requested by Kai himself.
Maxa had found it hard to agree to such an unorthodox arrangement. To other coaches, it looked like he didn't even understand football.
But after Triguera "discussed" it with him, Maxa immediately changed his tone.
Kai's wild ideas were exactly why he was so good.
As Kai's coach, he would support him without reservation.
The Wahaha team also lined up in a 4-3-3 instead of the more common 4-4-2.
Up front, Yu Shihao, Gao Lin, and Hao Junmin formed a trident.
Hao Junmin had excellent passing.
Gao Lin could play as a target man and still had strong finishing ability, making him the team's second top scorer.
Yu Shihao was the most dangerous — fast, strong in contact, extremely agile, nicknamed the "Little Sichuan Loach."
Their midfield was the weak point, but defensive midfielder Chen Tao still had decent passing despite being defense-first.
The defense, however, was solid.
Left back Zhao Peng was the oldest player on the team, and currently the strongest physically.
Though… whether that advantage would last in the future was another story.
After all, relying on age bullying kids only works for so long.
On the other hand, right back Wu Xudong — someone nobody had even heard of — was shockingly good.
During the mixed training sessions between the two teams, Triguera had taken a liking to several Wahaha players.
The one he liked most was Wu Xudong.
Purely based on performance, Zhao Peng and Yu Shihao looked the strongest.
But Triguera was a top youth coach.
He could see clearly:
Zhao Peng relied too much on physical maturity. His ceiling might be limited.
Yu Shihao's static talent wasn't outstanding either. With countless elite wingers produced every year in Europe and South America, it would be hard for him to stand out.
But Wu Xudong was different.
His top speed was even faster than Shihao's.
On Sporting's side, only Cristiano Ronaldo could outrun him.
No one else could catch that monster.
"He's different physically," Triguera commented during discussions with both coaching staffs.
"Because he's from the Inner Mongolian grasslands," Lin Tao bragged immediately. "Raised on beef and mutton since childhood. Cement-like muscles. Body fat almost like a pro athlete!"
Wahaha's center-backs were Shao Jiawei and Feng Xiaoting.
Shao Jiawei was a year older, so he looked stronger in training.
But he hadn't grown up in a formal football system. His ball sense, dribbling, and passing were weaker.
His strength was mental toughness — calm under pressure, great defensive decisions.
A big-heart player.
Feng Xiaoting, on the other hand, came from professional youth training.
Balanced ability, solid fundamentals, high potential.
A future star in the making.
Goalkeeper Zeng Cheng was roughly on Pilar's level — maybe even slightly better.
The whistle blew.
Kickoff.
The match officially began.
The Wahaha team still followed their traditional "friendly" mindset.
They had trained together for days and felt like friends, so they subconsciously held back.
Sporting Lisbon?
Way more professional.
No mercy.
Battle mode on from second one.
After kickoff, Kai tapped the ball to Veloso.
Veloso passed left to Araujo.
Araujo moved it to center-back Angelo.
Kai dropped deep to support.
Behind him, Wahaha players followed but didn't press.
After all, it was still the back line.
Then—
BOOM!
Angelo's pass came in.
Kai deliberately let the ball roll past him…
Turned…
And launched a long pass instantly.
The ball flew straight toward Wahaha's penalty area.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who hadn't drifted wide at first, suddenly exploded forward.
Lourenço sprinted alongside him.
Shao Jiawei and Feng Xiaoting reacted late, scrambling back.
Too slow.
Ronaldo was too damn fast.
They couldn't stop him at all.
At the edge of the box, Ronaldo cushioned the ball perfectly.
It barely left his feet.
BOOM!
Shot.
Zeng Cheng hadn't even come off his line yet.
No chance.
1–0.
The score changed instantly.
"What the hell are you doing? Wake up! This is a match!" the Wahaha coach screamed from the sideline.
Only then did Wahaha switch from friendly mode to competitive mode.
They kicked off again.
But right after the restart, they felt something they hadn't felt in training.
Pressure.
Veloso, Lourenço, Marcelino, Kai — all pressing like mad dogs.
Wahaha's midfield couldn't breathe.
They were forced to pass backward.
"Can't move it forward!" Chen Tao yelled while sending the ball back.
Shao Jiawei quickly split it wide.
Zhao Peng launched a long ball toward Yu Shihao on the wing.
Duarte immediately body-checked him.
Pure physical battle.
Duarte wasn't huge, but still stronger than Shihao.
Boom!
Duarte suppressed him cleanly and stole the ball, passing to Manuel.
Manuel recycled to Semedo.
Semedo instantly found Kai.
Kai received.
Yu Shihao rushed in at full speed.
Fast as hell.
But Kai calmly dragged the ball behind his foot.
Shihao flew past.
Then—
Boom!
The ball was already gone.
Kai carried it forward.
Shihao twisted his body, accelerated again, chasing desperately.
"This kid's explosive and agile," Triguera commented. "If he stays healthy, he can survive in Europe."
Lin Tao's staff hurriedly wrote everything down.
Every word from a top European youth coach was gold.
"Why didn't Kai pass?" one Wahaha assistant muttered. "Ronaldo was making a run. That was a good chance."
Triguera smirked.
"Kai never misses a pass… unless he doesn't want to pass."
"I watched your training. Your players aren't bad."
"But your positional understanding is too shallow."
"Midfielders only pass? Defenders only defend?"
"That kind of teaching kills creativity."
Suddenly—
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Kai drove straight through the middle.
Chen Tao stepped up to intercept.
Shihao chased from behind, tugging and pulling.
Both were grabbing each other.
That's why Chen Tao dared to commit.
He stretched his leg—
Then something weird happened.
Kai touched the ball with his right foot.
The ball jumped left.
Left foot touch.
The ball shot forward.
Fried Meatballs.
A lightning-fast lateral shift of nearly forty centimeters.
Kai and Chen Tao crossed paths instantly.
Clean breakthrough.
Shihao couldn't change direction in time.
He crashed straight into Chen Tao.
Both fell flat on their asses.
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