First A-Match: Part 3
“Then, I’ll call up the players for the Poland match. Goalkeeper: Kim Eun-hye, defenders: Park Hye-ri, Kang Yeon-ji, Seo Hye-won, Kim Yu-jin, right wing: Lee Ju-hyun, midfield: Han Ye-jin, Son Ju-hee, left wing: Yoon Seo-hee. Forwards: Kim Seul-gi and Ryu Ha-neul. We’ll line up in the 4-4-2 formation we practiced...”
As expected...
I knew this was coming, but nothing had changed. I glanced at Yoon Seo-hee, and she was smiling sweetly at me.
What a cold smile...
I had thought that smile had been cold all along. It made my face burn with embarrassment. Still, since she was a senior, I couldn’t ignore her, so I nodded once and turned my gaze toward the coach.
Ha… Is this okay?
The only change from the Norway match was that Jo Seo-hyun had been replaced on the right wing by Lee Ju-hyun, an EPL veteran now playing in the Middle East league. If Poland was a World Cup qualifier, this lineup would likely become our starting XI, barring any injuries.
Against Poland it might be fine, but against the strong European teams we would inevitably feel the defensive burden.
Among the midfielders, Han Ye-jin from Crystal Palace had some defensive capability, but she was primarily an attacking midfielder, not a specialist. Even with Son Ju-hee’s defensive tendencies, the two of them alone couldn’t cover the defensive gap Yoon Seo-hee and I created.
Ha, if only it had been Valentina…
If Son Ju-hee had been Valentina, her seemingly endless stamina could have covered things, but she was just Son Ju-hee. Even if she was a solid midfielder in Korea, the skill gap in Europe was enormous.
Still, the attack is covered…
Of course, this lineup was the most complete offensively, but Korea fundamentally relied on counter-attacking. Even with this attacking XI, against the nation’s football powerhouses, our defense would be torn apart in no time.
It was the same in my previous life. Even with talented attackers helping me, tournaments were limited to group-stage advancement without solid defense.
Even at the 2030 World Cup, where my skills were at their peak, we topped the group but were eliminated in the round of 32 by Brazil. I had grabbed the opponent by the throat and scored a hat-trick, but the chronic weakness against South American football still struck, and I retired from the national team in a fit of rage after conceding six goals.
So that’s why I grabbed onto Yoon Seo-hee’s skirt…
That was why I had taken the risk of rebellion and clung to her. Defense was crucial in tournament matches.
But the result had only been piling up black history with nothing gained. Or if I had gained something…
“Ha, Ha-neul-ah.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Then, shall we run a match simulation tomorrow? I’ve already set it up…”
Only that we could get closer to Yoon Seo-hee?
Ha… We finally got a chance to avoid piling up more black history.
If I had continued believing Yoon Seo-hee was the national team’s shadowy power broker, the longer the period, the heavier the self-loathing would have grown. It was fortunate that the stupid misconception had lasted only a week.
“Senior, but if I stick with you, weird rumors might spread. It’s already late today. Sorry.”
“Ah, ah… Sorry. I thought too much like a nephew. Since you’re a man… Sorry, I only thought about myself.”
“No, it’s possible.”
Of course, even if we got close, rumors were out of the question, so I maintained a proper distance from Yoon Seo-hee.
Ha…
But it wasn’t comfortable. The slight droop at the corners of Yoon Seo-hee’s eyes. It was too subtle to call a change, but after getting closer, I could tell.
Yoon Seo-hee was depressed.
If left like this, she would probably blame herself and dig into the ground alone.
“Then, let’s do it at the café. There’s plenty of space.”
If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared whether she was depressed or not. But Yoon Seo-hee was a key player on our team. I couldn’t leave her depressed before tomorrow’s match, so I suggested an alternative.
“Then, is it okay? If we play outside, won’t it look weird?”
“It’s fine. It’s just table tennis during break— what’s the big deal? But, senior, when I saw your stats? Those stats were a bit weird. Can you modify them?”
“Eh? There are ways to modify with the in-game editor and the built-in editor. The built-in editor affects every game that uses the database file, while the in-game editor only modifies within the save file…”
Shit, what is this?
Relying on this person for World Cup preparation. What a headache.
“Ha, haha. Really? Then, do as you like.”
“First, today I made a save file for the Poland match, so tell me your stats and I’ll modify them with the built-in editor for next A-match. Honestly, just changing them like this would make the game less fun, but since it’ll be buffed in the next update anyway… Honestly, this game is important on physical, so Ha-neul, you can’t show even half the performance you put on in the league. Honestly, I enjoy this game, but the developer clearly doesn’t know football well. In football, physical isn’t that big a factor. Don’t you think so, Ha-neul?”
“Ah…. Yes…”
Even at kindergarten it wasn’t this bad…
…A lot of headache.
Fortunately, thanks to yesterday’s adjustment that lifted her mood, today Yoon Seo-hee started flying from the opening whistle.
Poland’s formation was the same 4-4-2 as ours. The difference was that Polish players possessed the physicality that worked in Europe, and they relied on classic 4-4-2 counter-attacks after defense.
Against such a defensive team, Yoon Seo-hee showed her true worth without restraint.
Impressive…!
Yoon Seo-hee dribbled past the opponent’s fullback again.
So far Yoon Seo-hee had attempted three dribbles. Two of them had crossed into the path of Poland’s tall centerbacks and been blocked, while the shots after dribbling had been saved.
And her fourth attempt was a cutback after the dribble. Since we had already exchanged signals in training, I drew the defenders’ attention with an obvious action.
“Senior! Here! Here!”
I raised my hand and ran into the space where the centerbacks overlapped. The opposing centerbacks’ eyes immediately focused. Since I, who had scored twenty goals in just four months, was drawing aggro, they had no choice but to stare.
I wove an S-shape between the centerbacks to create space, and the moment they got closer, the ball left Yoon Seo-hee’s foot. The pass was not aimed at me but at the slightly freed Kim Seul-gi.
Kim Seul-gi received the ball while turning away from goal, taking advantage of the loose pressure like showing off her EPL seasoning. Then she turned and shot.
The shot was clean, like a Premier Leaguer, but Poland’s goalkeeper was also a Premier Leaguer, so it was not an easy opponent.
Thud.
The ball bounced off the goalkeeper’s hand but came a bit far, yet it rolled toward me waiting for the second ball. However, one centerback was already charging at me.
Since shooting would have resulted in the ball bouncing off that player’s body, I stretched my leg, controlled the ball with the sole of my foot, pulled it toward me, then slipped past the falling centerback and gently placed the ball into the goal.
-Waaaaaaa!!!
“Ha-neul!”
“Cr! As expected, Ha-neul!”
The result was a goal without needing to say anything.
Clearly the two-striker formation has this advantage.
It was a header, but it was possible only because we used the two-striker setup. If I had asked Yoon Seo-hee to use a one-striker tactic, we would have had to pound the goal more.
As I had felt in the Norway match and training, our offensive tactics were solid enough to break Poland’s renowned defensive line with just a few attacks.
And at the center stood Yoon Seo-hee, who could destroy the left-side line and distribute to the middle with her kicking power, and Kim Seul-gi, who had decent heading and aerial ability despite not being particularly tall.
Both were irreplaceable resources.
After that, we pressed Poland, and Lee Ju-hyun, who had played on the right wing, received my pass and fired a powerful long-range shot that became a goal, allowing us to score two points against Poland.
But, showing defensive problems, we conceded two goals to Poland, and the final score was 2:2.
Against a good defense operating at slow tempo, scoring two points would be enough for the World Cup stage, but… I feel uneasy that we conceded two goals to Poland. Even though I coordinated the game, conceding two goals is a bit serious…
In the group stage we would face the eternal favorites “Die Mannschaft” Germany, Mexico with its 16-strong DNA, and Sweden as the underdog from North Europe. Especially Germany and Mexico’s attacking power ranked among the world’s top, so even in the group stage we needed a breakthrough.
…I still hadn’t thought of a clear breakthrough.
Moreover, since I learned that Seo-hee senior is not the real power behind the faction in the national team, I need to solve the faction issue too… With this attack-defense imbalance, if there’s no team spirit, we are 100% eliminated.
Plus, I hadn’t thought about Yoon Seo-hee’s shocking appearance, but I also needed to solve the faction issue deeply rooted in the national team.
Ah, whatever. Let’s focus on the club first. Now I need to prepare for the quarterfinals.
“Then, thanks for flying all the way from Europe to play an A-match. The players in Europe also suffered. Let’s see you in May without injury. Good work.”
“Coach, thank you for your hard work.”
So, my first national team selection ended with bringing concerns about the direction of the national team.