938 Momentary Oversigh (1/2)
The boring match brought more focus to the temperature and the fans in the stands kept fanning whatever they had in their hands to produce some sort of breeze to take away the summer heat.
The commentator had reminded them no less than a few times that it was 36 degrees Celsius now. Under such a high temperature, time seemed to have slowed down and was about to be solidify…
The rhythm of the match was slow and peppered with mistakes for both sides. Exciting parts of the match were few and far between. This was not what a match between England and Germany should be like.
Compared to the fiery scenes before the match, the difference was massive. Only the most die-hard fan could remain passionate in that situation.
An example would be Fat John and the gang. Fat John took off his shirt and exposed his fats as he led his buddies in their songs and applauses cheering for England. They were located directly under the sun and their sweat on their bare chests glistened under the sunlight, blurring the England flags that were drawn onto their chests.
”In this 36 degrees heat, the players of both sides seem to be still groggy from their afternoon naps. Look at this, Schweinsteiger actually didn't manage to get a hold of this ball…was the pass too fast? There is nothing wrong with the pass from Toni Kroos.”
Schweinsteiger knew he was at fault too as he turned back to give his teammate from Bayern Munich a thumbs up for the pass.
Sammer observed for a while longer and decided that England's counterattack did not pose a threat to the German backline. Therefore, he readjusted his tactics, made his team press up more and make use of the width to find Mario Gómez inside the penalty area. At the same time, he asked them to take more long shots to break down England's defense.
After Germany started to take the initiative, there was some difference in the situation. At the very least, there were more shots for one of the sides.
The Germans started to make some noise again whereas the English appeared to be lethargic.
They were starting to get used to Twain's way of doing things, but they had hoped to be able to get the better of the Germans not just in terms of the results but also in terms of the play.
”Even if we win, this is rather depressing…”
There were some England fans grumbling in the stands.
Of course, the fans were not the only ones who thought that way.
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”I don't think we should just wait for them to attack us all the time!” Walcott shouted while defending a corner.
”What are you trying to say Theo?” One of his teammates asked him.
”We should take the initiative and try to attack!” Walcott said while raising his fist.
”Cut the crap Theo. Do what you have to do…” John Terry, the captain, shouted at Walcott who was not in position yet as he pointed at the penalty area.
”Yes, defense. Defend, defend… I got it.” Walcott shook his head and walked away.
Walcott performed admirably in the first match and resigned his two competitors to the bench, strengthening his hold on the position of right winger. However, he was unable to score in the second game, just like the rest of his team. Now, he hoped to prove himself again in the match against Germany and show the manager what he could do.
”Watch your man! Don't let him lose you!” Terry shouted after putting Walcott in his place.
Walcott did not care about that. He did not have the physique or the height and jumping abilities anyway. He just had to put on a show when defending corners, there was no need for him to really do anything at all.
His mind was filled with thoughts of attacking and he was focused on looking for defensive loopholes within the German team.
To him, this might be a good opportunity. Didn't Boss always say that the opportunity to attack lies hidden in every defense? Now that Germany have a corner kick, their center-backs will definitely press up in attack as well. Their defense will be weakened and now is the best time for him to make use of his speed!
Walcott looked at Mertesacker and Westermann who were jostling with Terry and the others inside the penalty area. The two of them were 1.98 meters and 1.9 meters tall respectively, much taller than Terry and Taylor. The English defense were in a panic just because they were standing in front of goal. However, Walcott thought that was not a bad thing. At the very least, the Germans would never expect their corner kick to become an opportunity for him.
Who stayed back in defense? Jansen, Rolfes and the goalkeeper.
Rolfes was slow, however, Jansen was a problem. The wingback was also a very fast player. If he wanted to get past him, Walcott might have to go to the other side. Jansen was a left-back and his position was directly against the right winger Walcott. Walcott was not afraid of competing with another person in terms of speed, however, in such a crucial moment, it was best to minimize any potential problems and he did not want to overextend himself either.
Next, Walcott started to imagine the possible obstacles that he might face. In his view, the most problematic part was the distance for his acceleration. There were many opponents and very little space, that meant that his speed would not be very effective there. The best way was for his teammate to help him. However, Walcott was worried that the speed of the attack would be slowed down if he passed to his teammate and his plan would go down in smokes. In this situation, he was the only one that he could trust.
He had no choice but to dribble past the defending players with his skills then accelerate and speed through the midfield.
Toni Kroos did not go into the penalty area, choosing to wait for an opportunity outside the box instead. He was a pure attacking midfielder and he did not know how to defend. He was also not the type of players who would put himself in danger in order to stop an attack from the opponent. If Walcott was to breakthrough from his side, he would at most extend his leg in a feeble attempt to stop him. After Walcott decided on a path to breakthrough, he shifted a little to the outside and hoped that the ball would successfully reach him.
He would raise his hand to ask for the ball if Joe Hart caught it. There should be no reason why Joe Hart would not give it to him. If the defenders cleared the ball, then it was up to him to make a correct judgement about where the ball was going to be…
When Lahm placed the ball at the corner, there were a group of English fans behind him in the stands. Those fans kept giving Lahm the middle finger and insulted him using vulgarities that he definitely understood. However, Lahm was unmoved, as if it was mere air behind him. He stepped back after placing the ball and waited for the referee's whistle.
He had to wait for a rather long time as there were some altercations inside the penalty area between the players of both teams.
Mertesacker was 1.98 meters, Westermann was 1.9 meters, Gómez was 1.89 meters and Khedira was also 1.89 meters. There was a suffocating pressure in front of the England goal when these four giants stood around it. Terry, Taylor and Joe Hart felt very anxious. Even Mitchell appeared in front of goal as a makeshift defender.
”Push them out and clear the space!” Joe Hart had already decided to come out to catch the ball or to punch it away. He did not feel safe facing the team with the tallest average height in the competition. He was 1.96 meters and he was still confident that he could compete with the giants of the opposing team.
The referee called Mitchell and Mertesacker to him and warned them not to have any excessive pulling and pushing actions. Both players complained that they had their shirts pulled by the other party.
After waving their complaints away, the referee gave a sign to Lahm with his hand to indicate that he could restart the game. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.
Lahm's ball had a slight outer curl which became more obvious once the ball started to reach the goal.
Joe Hart had a lapse in judgement as he only realized that the ball was going a little too far away from him after he came out. He could not guarantee that he would be able to catch the ball and could only change to punching the ball away in mid-air with one hand!
Hart could barely manage to punch the ball with Mitchell and Mertesacker between him and the ball. As for whether the ball could fly far enough or who would be able to get it… He could not care about that then. He had to take care of his own balance——In order to get his hand on the ball which was flying away from him, he had to dive almost horizontally and he would fall on to the ground now that he had lost his balance. If a German player got the ball then…
What he was worried about did not happen as Walcott's gamble paid off. He got the ball!