Chapter 379 Japan u17 vs Senegal u17 X
Fortunately, the ball didn't fall on the feet of any opposing players and instead fell on Takeshi's feet after getting cleared. Otherwise, it'd have been quite dreadful.
This provided them an opportunity to counterattack.
And, Takeshi grabbed the opportunity without wasting any delay. Immediately, after getting hold of the ball, he started to move the ball forward while searching for his teammates.
During his search for his teammates, he found three possible candidates. One was Nijichi who was way ahead of anyone else, another was Yutaka, and the third was Hiro.
Though most of the opposing players were behind him, there were still a decent number of them in their half, guarding their post like guard dogs. Right now, even though they had the upper hand, it still didn't seem enough for them to score.
After weighing his options, Takeshi then released the ball.
But his actions instead of providing assurance, frightened their supporters.
Where is he kicking? Who's even present there?
They couldn't help but wonder upon witnessing the direction of the pass. It was headed to the left flank where nobody was present— not his teammates or any opposing players.
A moment before he launched the ball into that open space, he had received a signal from Hiro telling him to shoot the ball there. At first, he hesitated to do so; considering the absence of his teammates in that vacant space.
But if it's Hiro's decision then he must have thought of it, wouldn't he? There's no way, he'd do something thoughtless, would he?
And because of his faith in Hiro, even though it seemed quite reckless, he nonetheless executed it. Now, it all depended on Hiro. There was nothing he could do. If the ball goes out of play, he'd have to bear the responsibility for blowing away such a golden opportunity.
Making use of his skill Lightning steps, Hiro then rushed towards the left flank where the ball was headed. However, it wasn't only him who was heading that way as one of the opposing players rushed towards the spot as well.
By now the ball was already rolling towards the sidelines. But Hiro was right behind it. However, there was still some distance between him and the ball.
Then to prevent the ball from going out of bounds, he slid towards the ball to increase his reach and his chances of preventing the ball from going astray.
Somehow, by doing so, he managed to keep the ball in play as he prevented the ball from crossing the outline. But in doing so, he slipped way past the ball as he failed to control his momentum.
"You rarely get to see something so amazing in football matches nowadays," the commentator praised Hiro's efforts.
At the same time, words of astonishment escaped the mouths of many fans as they felt thoroughly enthralled by Hiro's recovery.
However, even though he slipped quite far away, nearly crashing against the sponsor board, he still managed to recover himself. Making use of his hands, he swiftly changed his direction while taking advantage of his momentum.
Then, before the opposing player who was chasing after him could reach the ball, he immediately took hold of the ball and started to rush toward the opposing post.
Unwilling to repeat his previous mistake, the opposing keeper rushed towards him without wasting any time. If he allowed him time like he did previously, it would only make things even more difficult for him.
And, this time his shooting angle was quite tight as well. If he could just stop him from advancing in the center, he could limit his shot which would only make his job even easier.
After all tight shooting angle meant limited spots to shoot.
With such thoughts in mind, he prevented Hiro from advancing to the center and forced him into the corner.
Then right at the edge of the penalty box while the opposing keeper was trying to force him into the flanks, minimizing his shooting angle, he took his shot nonetheless. Any more deeper than this then he might really have to shoot from a zero-degree angle.
Even from such a tight angle, he curled the ball towards the post.