Shooting Trajectory is Visible - Chapter 79



Only Krnovel

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It seems like we haven’t been in Qatar for very long, but we’re already facing the final match of the group stage.

Our final opponent was China, who were burning a ray of hope after losing to Uzbekistan and drawing with Thailand.

The current standings for Group C are as follows.

==Group C==

1. South Korea 2 wins in 2 matches / 6 points.

1. Uzbekistan 1 win, 1 loss in 2 matches / 3 points.

1. Thailand 2 matches, 1 draw, 1 loss / 1 point.

1. China 2 matches, 1 draw, 1 loss / 1 point.

======

In this situation, I don’t know where the hope circuit can be drawn, but according to Kim Shin-ah, inside China, if Uzbekistan draws or loses to Thailand and China beats Korea, they could possibly get second place! It seems like they are thinking about this kind of development.

‘It’s not even funny.’

Even Uzbekistan couldn’t surpass me, so what can you say about me?

[Kim Shin-ah: But since the prerequisite is that Korea is already confirmed to advance to the tournament, I think you expected that Kim Min-woo would not appear?]

[Kim Min-woo: You’re saying you’ll win without me?]

[Kim Shin-ah: I guess so? In fact, Thailand and Uzbekistan are also very different.]

In short-term competitions, once the tournament is set, they often give goalkeepers a break, but I’m not sure.

Director Choi Yong-seok didn’t seem to have any intention of letting me rest.

The competition isn’t that long anyway.

The U23 Asian Cup tournament does not have a round of 16 and starts from the quarterfinals.

So the competition schedule ends much earlier than other competitions.

And as expected, Coach Choi informed me that he would be sending me to the starting lineup for the match against China.

It seemed like they were assuming the worst case scenario.

If China beats Uzbekistan and the points are tied, the country they face will change.

So I went to the Chinese war, and unfortunately, I completely trampled on the hopes of 1.3 billion people.

“Long shot, shoot! But it’s a long shot.”

“Long Tan, that’s too bad. I wish you had tried to kick it long like your name. Then, who knows, maybe it’ll go in again?”

“Is that so? Haha.”

China didn’t have many opportunities to begin with, but I easily blocked even those few opportunities.

‘This is worse than a clean practice match…’

How did you lose to a team like this, Stork!

If it was great, it was great. Honestly, I think we would have won even if two people were missing.

······Well, the game ended with Korea’s victory without any major surprises.

3:0 win.

It was a refreshing victory for Korea after a long time.

Although Korea had a somewhat uneasy victory over Thailand and Uzbekistan, the manager, coaches, and even the players brightened up after they achieved a clear victory over China.

And the quarterfinal bracket has been completed.

Korea’s quarterfinal opponent was Iran.

Korea’s long-standing rival in the Asian Cup.

Even in normal times, they would not be an opponent to be taken lightly, but because Korea is a country with outstanding athletic ability, they were an opponent that could not be taken lightly even more.

The only good thing is that they have beaten China and their competitiveness has improved considerably.

“Whew. This is gonna explode.”

I looked at the quarterfinal bracket and laughed.

The bracket was as follows.

==

Korea vs Iran

Australia vs Iraq

Saudi vs Uzbekistan

Japan vs Qatar

==

I guess my guess is that the teams that are supposed to advance will advance eventually.

The Korea-Iran match is meaningless because of my existence. Korea wins! Bang bang.

It’s hard to predict the outcome of the Australia vs Iraq match, but I think Australia will come up because of their reputation.

The Saudi Arabia vs. Uzbekistan match will be played by Saudi Arabia, the winner of the last tournament, although Uzbekistan will be a bit weaker, and the Japan vs. Qatar match is a tough one to explain.

The national team has been training hard in preparation for the quarterfinals. I have also participated actively, but compared to the training in Hannover, the national team training has been quite relaxed.

Since the matches were scheduled every few days, it seemed like they were going a little more leniently to fit the schedule rather than training hard.

And just a few hours before the Iran match.

[Sophie: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ When are you coming ㅠㅠ]

Sophie’s random KakaoTalk message.

Sophie is German, but she had KakaoTalk, and because she liked K-pop, she tried to learn a lot about Korea, and that led to this result.

I heard that he tried to make Korean friends through KakaoTalk, but he only met perverts, so he gave up.

I also found out that Sophie likes Korean food a lot more than I thought. What did she say? Did she say that she eats kimchi at least once a day?

When I first heard that, I thought it was a joke and laughed haha, but then the mood became awkward…

[Kim Min-woo: What’s going on??]

[Sophie: The fans are really upset because Kim Min-woo is gone… The performance has become a bit strange…. We played the second game without Kim Min-woo, and we drew ㅠㅠ We have 1 draw and 1 loss ㅠㅠ]

[Kim Min-woo: Yes..?]

I read that message and pursed my lips. In fact, I hadn’t looked into the situation in Germany because I was trying to adjust to life here.

I also had faith in Jan, so I thought he would somehow get through it.

But I guess that’s not the case.

[Sophie: Did you check the news about the last match? We lost 1:4 ㅠ]

[Kim Min-woo: ???????????? Didn’t Chiller go to the game?]

[Sophie: I went out! I went, but I guess my performance wasn’t up to par because it’s been so long since I’ve been out.. This time, we tied 2:2, so the fans held a joint funeral for Chiller, Yan, and our team leader ㅠㅠ]

Oh wow···.

Sophie also seemed to be very sad as she is a member of the club and a Hannover fan.

How should I console them? No, rather than that, is it right to complain like this just because I’m the only one missing? Surely Hannover was a pretty good team even without me?

[Kim Min-woo: Just hold on until the next match. I’ll be back soon. Since the matches here are every three days, the tournament will be over in nine days!]

[Sophie: We have to play until Paderborn without Minwoo… Ah…]

In my conversation with Sophie, I even heard that Hannover ultimately failed to secure the top spot and handed the ranking over to Jean Pauli.

And if they draw or lose the next game, they can’t even guarantee second place.

“This is going to cause trouble for me too···.”

Since all of this started with my trip to Qatar, I cannot be free from responsibility.

“Hanover is crying.”

A compound word of ‘seep’ and ‘Kim Min-woo’.

I think Jan became dependent on me without even realizing it.

Well, it was because we had a solid goalkeeper that we were able to play aggressively in every game.

I wasn’t too worried about Hannover. Hannover’s next opponent is Paderborn, and although they are a mid-table team, they are definitely easier than the two teams they faced before.

I’d probably catch an opponent like that or at least draw.

‘Currently, Jean Pauli is in first place with 59 points, Hannover has 58 points, and Hamburg is in third with 56 points, so even if Hannover draws and Hamburg wins the next game, we’ll still be tied on points. And we’re way ahead on goal difference, so if I come back and we win the remaining two games, we’ll be promoted. That’s it.’

Of course, if you think about the complexities of the situation, even if I return, my shattered performance may not recover and I could end up with nothing.

But let’s not overcomplicate things.

Because Jan isn’t that incompetent.

As for the club’s work, I believe in the club, and I should focus on that first.

*

The Iran match wasn’t as difficult as expected.

Even Iran, considered one of Korea’s strongest rivals in the national team, was colorless and odorless in the U23 team.

Rather, it seemed that Korea, whose performance had improved, was putting pressure on Iran.

However, the score remained 0:0 while maintaining a certain level of tension.

Then Iran counterattacks.

I let out a short scream.

“Tchcha.”

And then I jumped lightly and blocked it.

He also used a quick and accurate kick to send the ball to Jo Young-woo.

Jo Young-woo dribbled hard like a crab, but his dribble was so long that he couldn’t even shoot and the ball was taken away.

‘Oh, my goodness.’

Even in Hannover, I sometimes felt that the offensive development was frustrating, but here, Hannover looked like a fairy.

He hesitates at a clear opportunity and loses it, and when he should have made a one-touch pass, he goes for a two-touch and a three-touch pass, but gets blocked by the defensive wall and loses the opportunity, and when he should have kicked the ball himself, he passes the ball to a teammate and loses another opportunity.

I just let all that frustration pass by thinking that it couldn’t be helped because it was at this level.

Korea is a sight to behold, but the opposing country is no slouch either.

“Tchcha.”

I blocked Iran’s counterattacks with a lot of spirit. Unlike the attackers I faced in the league, it was easy here.

It’s a level of competition that makes you let go of your tension even when you try to relax.

But the opposing attackers don’t seem to be like that.

The Iranian attackers were dumbfounded, shocked, and ultimately cursed at me for blocking their chances so easily.

Even though I didn’t know what it meant, I could tell it was a curse word just from the intonation of the voice.

…Then what are we going to do?

What can you do besides stop me?

And once again, Korea and Iran are fighting fiercely, and Iran seizes the opportunity to attack again.

The penalty box was packed with players and a cross was coming in.

And the header went straight into the Iranian player’s head.

“Tchcha.”

I easily blocked that header too.

Easy, easy.

The expression on their face was blank, as if it was a turning point for them.

And again he used a quick and accurate kick to send it to Jo Young-woo.

The guy dribbled similarly to before and lost his chance to attack.

‘It’s really Jagangducheon.’

A showdown between two proud geniuses.

I was so dumbfounded that I laughed in vain in front of the goal. How could their levels be so similar? To put it in old-fashioned terms, it was just ‘very, very’.

Time continued to pass like that, and the score was still 0:0 at 67 minutes in the second half.

Iran has a crucial opportunity.

They started running towards the Korean goal, which had only one defender.

And even our Jinseop was completely fooled by the opponent’s fake motion.

Is it an illusion that the expression on the face of the running Iranian attacker looks delightful?

I slowly approached and prepared to block. And then a trajectory was created. Just before the Iranian attacker took the shot.

“Tchcha.”

I bend down and put my hand on the trajectory, and the shot hits my hand and flies far away. It’s out of the goal line. It wasn’t even a corner kick.

“#%!##%#!”

An Iranian player yelling at me.

I blinked and said,

“It’s a sack.”

“@!#!@%!!”

Where is the dog barking···.

I stumbled back towards the goal and felt something prickle pop on the back of my head.

“Ouch! Shit!”

This crazy kid. He hit the back of my head!

I just lay on the floor and rolled around.

The referee rushes over and shows a red card to the Iranian player who hit the back of my head.

“Hey! Minwoo! Are you okay!?”

Lee Jin-seop rushed to me, and many of my colleagues who saw this rushed to the Iranian player who hit the back of my head and protested.

The game heats up in an instant.

“Huh, bro. That crazy bastard hit me. Isn’t that a total piece of shit?”

This is the first time in my life that something like this has happened, so I was really surprised. In a competition with VAR, and with the referee right behind him watching, he hit the back of the head?

“That’s right, you crazy bastard. But it’s good! We won because one person was sent off! It’s all thanks to you!”

“Oh, that’s true, but···.”

What kind of kid is this?

Do you hit people because you’re angry?

‘Hey, wait. Is that it?’

If you get too good at the game, your opponents will sometimes start swearing at you in the chat window.

It was an insult used to mean that the opponent was too good and there was no way to deal with it, and it was considered a compliment to the users who were playing the game.

In a way, the Iranian striker was praised for his actions.

It’s something like, you’re so good at it that you can’t help but hit me in the back of the head.

Anyway, the game was basically over thanks to that crazy guy.

And as everyone expected, Iran, with one player missing, was sent off in the quarterfinals after being defeated by a dramatic goal from Korea in the 85th minute.

It looks very nice.

End

ⓒ Doctor Am