Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 102



Only Krnovel

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After beating France, we received a lot of congratulations from all over.

As always, Kim Shin-ah sent a lot of funny pictures to the family group chat, saying it was a community reaction, and every time I saw people making a fuss, I couldn’t help but smile.

“???: Kim Min-woo is sold for 50 billion won”

◆(My favorite video of Mourinho sitting on the bench and running out with his coaches)

「(Breaking News) Director Choi Yong-seok, “Kim Min-woo, a player far ahead of his time”」

◆In the era of “4G” and “5G”, “15G” is used to play···.

“???: What? Kim Min-woo has to go to the military? ”

◆(Photo of Kim Jong-un smiling) Let’s unify

“Hey, shit, there’s a UFO in the stadium. T_T”

◆(Photo of Kim Min-woo jumping up and raising both arms during the defense) Taking Min-woo away ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ

[Breaking News] French players suspected of using drugs]

◆So damn “weak”

“I personally find this more fun···.”

This is a picture of two grandfathers playing chess. The grandfather, who has a record of 199 losses and 1 win, recently won a game and shouts, “You’re no good at it.”

The old man on the other side tells me to stick with him again, but the old man who teases me never sticks with me.

It made me laugh when I saw the Korean and French flags stuck on the faces of those grandfathers.

If they face France again, they will have to go to the finals, but if France advances to second place in the group, they will have to face the “goat” Argentina.

Can France beat Argentina and advance to the final?

I can’t guarantee it.

Whichever country advances, the world’s attention will probably be focused on it. It’s a rematch after two years since the Qatar World Cup.

“Thanks to that, the bracket is also really good.”

It is not yet certain as the final third match has not been played, but even if South Korea draws, it will secure first place in the group.

If that happens, the original quarterfinal matchup against Spain will be changed to Japan (you again?), and the semifinal opponent will be Brazil or Ukraine.

We were confident against Ukraine since we had faced them in a friendly match, and Brazil would be tough, but they are not the national team, and we have beaten France, which is stronger than Brazil, so we did not think we would lose.

Above all, it is much better to meet Brazil without Neymar than to meet Argentina with Messi.

[Kim Shin-a: Wow… It’s really a generational difference. A guy who played neighborhood soccer gets an annual salary of 6 billion won, and even stops Mbappe who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup… You’re the best!]

Knock knock.

[Kim Min-woo: I think I won because I was lucky, not because of my skills.]

[Kim Shin-ah: Luck is also a skill lol]

[Kim Min-woo: Okay lol]

[Kim Min-seok: Right~ haha ​​Our son doesn’t get an annual salary of 6 billion won from Yabawi, right? haha]

Many of his colleagues from his days at Suyang High School in Korea also sent him congratulatory messages. Not only Kim Jun-young and Han Seung-woo, who are active in the professional scene, but also Ko Young-jun and Lim Seung-min, who entered college soccer, sent their regards.

In particular, it had been a long time since I last saw Ko Young-jun and Lim Seung-min, but I guess they felt burdened to contact me first since I had risen to such a high place.

“From now on, I guess I’ll have to contact you first···.”

They say that a position makes a person, and even if people are the same, if they are in a high position, they tend to look different and have a difficult time.

And I also got a call from Hanover.

-Kim. I enjoyed the France match. The fans have high expectations for you. I’m sure you know that.

It was Jan. I felt embarrassed while talking on the phone and shrugged my shoulders.

“It was the coach who gave me the opportunity to play that allowed me to come this far.”

-Kim. If there was a player like you, I would have given him a chance to play no matter what kind of goalkeeper there was. It was only your ability that gave you a chance to start after beating an overwhelming competitor. If you don’t play someone with your level of ability, you’re just being racist.

Oh, you. Why are you acting so embarrassing? You never say that kind of thing. Did you feel precious because I was away from Hanover for a while?

I hung up the phone after talking to Jan for a few more minutes. I also contacted Corsic, Captain Fischer, and Sophie Riva to say hello.

-Minwoo! I really enjoyed the game! Did you see the video posted on Hannover’s SNS?

“Oh, is that what Kim Kim Kim is saying?”

-Yes. How is it? I took a picture and uploaded it.

It was kind of funny when Corsic got up and said that. And it was also funny when the players were really happy because France lost. Hannover didn’t have any French players, and most of them were German.

“It was fun. It was funny.”

I had quite a long conversation with Sophie.

Most of the stories were related to Hanover.

and,

“I guess I should quit now. It’s time to go to training.”

-Ah! Of course! Then, Minwoo, finish the Olympics well and see you in Hanover!

“is it so.”

I hung up the call and looked at my phone.

“Is something good happening?”

It was a bright voice.

Or maybe he’s just happy with my performance.

Sophie was a club staff member who guided me before I joined Hannover, and we still maintain a close relationship.

“Minwoo, what are you doing! Let’s go!”

“Oh, yes!”

I put my cell phone in my pocket and ran to Lee Jin-seop’s office.

*

A few days of training in preparation for the war in Egypt.

And then the war against Egypt.

Since Korea would have been first in the group even with a draw, they used a space defense strategy from the beginning of the game, just like in the match against France.

And here’s the important point. Egypt and France were in different situations.

Egypt has a star player named Mohamed Salah, but unlike France, they do not have two wings (Griezmann, Coman) to support their ace.

Salah struggled alone without wings, a similar feeling he had already experienced once in a friendly match against Ukraine.

‘It’s definitely a threat to Salah. But.’

Soccer is a sport played by 22 people.

Although one person can play more than one role, unless he is at the level of Messi, his role is limited.

Salah, like Ukraine’s Mikhael Mudrik, has struggled to create something on his own, but has had less of an impact on the game than Mikhael Mudrik.

“Brother Jinseop! Good!”

It’s not just because Lee Jin-seop’s form has improved.

Sala was completely isolated.

To be precise, the ball did not reach Salah’s position, and when he went down to receive it, he could not break through the thick defensive wall.

It is harder than you might imagine to break through a defensive wall as a striker, let alone a winger.

Even Mudrik was able to run wild because the players around him were giving him some one-twos, but Egypt was becoming increasingly numb to Coach Choi’s suffocating defense.

Boohoo-!

A powerful mid-range shot from Salah that flew in with a heavy heart. However, the trajectory was way off.

It seemed like they were determined to do something, but we were defending tightly to not give Salah any chance.

‘Egypt must be frustrated too. If they win this match, they could advance to the tournament depending on the circumstances.’

If Egypt beats us in this match, we’re in real trouble.

Egypt lost to France and beat the United States.

Korea beat the US and beat France.

France beat Egypt and lost to Korea.

America lost to Korea and lost to Egypt.

So the current ranking is.

Korea 2 wins, 2 matches, 6 points, goal difference 2.

France 2 matches, 1 win, 1 loss, 3 points, goal difference 1.

Egypt 2 matches, 1 win, 1 loss, 3 points, goal difference -1.

USA 2 wins, 2 losses, 0 points, goal difference -2.

==

Excluding the United States, which was eliminated, all three countries had a chance of being eliminated and a chance of advancing to the tournament.

Korea will advance unconditionally if they draw, and France also has to win unconditionally to advance on their own.

Egypt also has to win because the US, which has lost twice, cannot catch France.

So, all three countries were unable to rotate and were giving their all to win the last game.

It’s not like Korea is always being pushed by Egypt. If you look at recent matches, they’ve defeated Ukraine, Morocco, and the United States in succession.

Well, France did win, but if you look at the performance alone, it was a crushing defeat, so they are excluded.

Even as Egypt, they could not have been too aggressive in their attacks because they were afraid of being imitated by France and being punished by Korean players who were trying to counterattack and penetrate the back space (our wingers are famous for their speed).

So, as the clock ticked down and we played more relaxed, Egypt became more anxious.

It was news from outside that finally caused Egypt to change its strategy.

France scored first against the United States, and if things continue this way, Egypt will definitely be eliminated.

Egypt needs to score at least two goals to advance to the tournament, and if they continue like this, their defeat is certain, so Egypt has raised its line with the mindset that it is a do-or-die game.

In particular, many players were placed near Salah to allow him to run wild.

‘These kids?’

As Egypt changed, Korea also made some changes.

First, replace the defensive players.

and······.

“Ugh!”

I used a quick and accurate kick and threw it with my hand.

The ball I threw, as if I was doing a shot put, flew far, very quickly, and accurately towards Eom Won-seok.

Won-seok Eom ran as if he had been waiting, trapping and hitting continuously. It was a refreshing run just to watch.

Egypt invested a lot of resources into offense, and soccer is a sport where the game changes depending on where and how limited resources are invested.

Egypt, which invested heavily in offense, was conversely lacking in defensive numbers.

Eom Won-seok broke through the flank like Mikhail Mudrik, who felt a wall around him (there was actually no one to block him), and instead of passing the ball to the players around him, he solved it himself.

A shot that goes through the leg, which is humiliating for the player.

The shot passed the goalkeeper’s leg and went straight through the net, leading to a goal.

It was a goal of tenacity achieved by running all the way from the half-line.

“Nice!”

I liked it and clapped my hands.

Then, won’t I also be recognized as an assist?

Last time he was a goalkeeper who scored goals. This time he’s an assisting goalkeeper?

We were happy, but Egypt, on the other hand, was frustrated. Far from scoring a goal, they were punished by a counterattack as they had feared.

Now Egypt needed to score three goals to qualify for the tournament. And that was impossible. I couldn’t even concede a goal to the crazy trio of Mbappe, Griezmann and Coman, so it was ridiculous for Salah to score against me alone.

And the game went as predicted.

We tried to penetrate the opponent’s back space whenever we had a chance, but Egypt forcibly ignored it and imitated France, only to end up conceding another goal.

Even though Korea scored and said, “It won’t go down like this? It won’t go down like this?”, Egypt ignored the harsh reality and continued to stick to the same tactics, and were beaten in the same way again.

Now Egypt’s only chance of winning is to score four goals in the shortest time possible.

Even if Messi comes, it’s impossible.

And, ironically, only then did Egypt admit reality and lower its line.

What do I do then? I’ve already been hacked twice and suffered irreparable damage.

‘It’s literally like locking the barn door after the horse has bolted…’

It has to be done this way!

Egypt, obsessed with the stereotype that “the best team in the world is a draw,” was suffering results worse than a draw.

and······.

Beep- beep- beep-!

The referee’s whistle to end the game.

We ran around the field and hugged each other without saying who would go first.

Korea has advanced to the group stage in first place in a big competition like the Olympics. And with 3 wins out of 3! I can’t hear it, but the commentators’ words sound like a hallucination.