First Goal of the U-20 World Cup
Thud! Thud—
Jung Hyuk drove the ball forward, cutting swiftly into Cuba’s penalty box. His dribbling pace was faster than usual; he was pouring every ounce of speed into the run.
Keep the tempo high!
He intended to settle the duel with Piedra before Labrada could arrive in support from behind.
In that instant Piedra closed the gap and stretched out a leg. Physically weak but solid in the tackle, Piedra meant to use his best weapon against Jung Hyuk.
Jung Hyuk, however, had already read the movement.
Yeah. I figured you’d never try to muscle me off the ball.
Thump—
Jung Hyuk dragged the ball inside with the sole of his foot, slipping past Piedra’s outstretched leg, then flicked it outside and burst through. It was one of his signature moves—the phantom dribble. Sudden as it was, Piedra still reacted with sharp concentration.
Thud! He desperately jammed his shoulder in and flung out an arm, trying to stop Jung Hyuk from escaping. But Jung Hyuk simply shoved him aside with raw power and kept going, never once losing control of the ball even in the middle of the rough physical contest.
“Damn it! Why can’t I take it off him?!”
Piedra roared, face flushed crimson. Jung Hyuk’s expression stayed ice-cold as he punched straight through. An opponent’s anger meant nothing to him.
With Piedra brushed aside, only the goalkeeper and the goal stood in front of him.
A one-on-one with the keeper.
Jung Hyuk felt not a flicker of hesitation. He had absolute confidence—he would win this every time.
And right now—
He hammered the ball toward the net.
Boom—
A clean, pure strike. A sharp crack exploded through the air as the ball rocketed forward. The distance to goal was short.
Cuban goalkeeper Sanchez’s face twisted.
…Damn it!
Sanchez had been a keeper since childhood and possessed excellent instincts. He could sense, almost by feel, which shots were savable and which were not.
Right now his instincts screamed that Jung Hyuk’s shot was unstoppable.
Those instincts never lied.
Swish—
The net bulged. The balance between the two sides shattered in that single moment.
And then—
Jung Hyuk sprinted straight behind the Cuban goal. There, Korean fans who had come all the way to the stadium to cheer for the national team were roaring with everything they had.
…Thank you.
The support of the fans had always been a massive source of strength for him. Especially the cheers of an entire nation when he wore the national-team jersey. It had been true before the regression, and it was true now. He was always grateful to them.
Standing before them, Jung Hyuk let out a fierce, full-throated roar.
This was his first appearance at a U-20 World Cup, and his first goal on this stage. More than that—it was a goal he had never scored in his previous life: a goal as a teenage national-team player.
His chest burned hot.
Face flushed with excitement, Jung Hyuk bowed deeply toward the fans—a silent greeting of gratitude.
And when he straightened up again—
A message floated before his eyes.
You have scored your first goal in the U-20 World Cup.
2 points have been awarded as a reward.
The reward for scoring the first goal of the U-20 World Cup was points.
Not one point—two full points.
A smile tugged at the corner of Jung Hyuk’s mouth.
“Coming through at a perfect time.”
His stats had already risen enough that growth had slowed compared to the early days. Moments like this made every point precious—like rain after a long drought.
Use them right away.
Jung Hyuk immediately spent the points he had just earned. He had already decided to go all-out in this U-20 World Cup; there was no reason to hesitate.
Speed has increased by 2.
Current Speed is 82.
The stat he chose was Speed.
The reason was simple. Right now it was the attribute that would give him the highest efficiency—useful in both attack and defense. On top of that, it was one of the hardest stats to raise through training alone.
Looking pleased, Jung Hyuk jogged back to his position.
At that same moment, Korea’s sports communities were burning hotter than usual.
Jung Hyuk.
Interest in him had the sports communities not just hot—they were on fire. Korean soccer fans only grew more heated as time passed, thanks to Jung Hyuk’s continued performance.
Thump! Jung Hyuk chested down a slightly overhit ball. The instant he controlled it, heavy pressure swarmed him. After that earlier goal, the Cuban players had realized just how dangerous he was and began double- and triple-teaming him.
In a blink three players surrounded him. The press was so intense most players would have been completely smothered, unable to do a thing.
Jung Hyuk was different.
With a calm expression he simply scanned his surroundings.
Quite the welcoming party.
His wide vision took everything in and finished the calculation at the same time. He bounced the ball he had chested once more off his knee.
Thump!
And in that instant—
Far off on Cuba’s left flank, a sprinting figure entered his sight.
Ryu Seung-wook. Solid player.
Starting up front today, Ryu Seung-wook was a player who would go on to put in strong performances in the K League in the future. Excellent technique and quick feet were his strengths.
Jung Hyuk never missed that run.
“Stop him!”
“Cut it out even if you have to foul!”
“Don’t let him move freely!”
Thud-thud-thud!
The Cuban players lunged desperately toward Jung Hyuk. He smiled at the three of them.
“Too late.”
The ball still hanging from the knee bounce—Jung Hyuk swung his leg through it. He leaned his body left as if falling and struck the ball with the instep of his right foot.
Boom! The ball left his foot clean and rocketed out on a diagonal laser toward the left.
His passing stat wasn’t high, and this was a long ball over distance, so the quality wasn’t perfect. On top of that it was more of a volleyed strike than a measured pass; accuracy was never going to be elite.
But it was more than threatening enough.
Ryu Seung-wook’s off-the-ball movement into space was excellent, and all Jung Hyuk’s ball needed to do was drop somewhere near his run.
Ryu stretched his leg long. Thump! A slightly heavy first touch. But he quickly secured possession and cut diagonally. At the same time he checked over his shoulder, reading the positions of teammates and Cuban defenders.
That was enough. He faced forward again and made his decision.
I have to finish this myself.
Waiting for support risked losing the chance. It wasn’t offside, and even if the angle was a little tight, he still had a one-on-one with the keeper.
As a striker, he had to put it away.
Thump! Ryu curled the ball with his right foot, aiming for the far right corner. No mistake. The ball bent hard and true.
Sanchez flung himself full length, arm stretched, but it wasn’t enough.
Swish!
Korea’s second goal exploded into the net.
The score now stood at 2–0.
Jung Hyuk’s personal tally: one goal, one assist.
The roar of the Korean fans inside the stadium grew even louder. This was Turkey, not Korea, so their numbers were small—but their support was still tremendous.
“Jung Hyuk! Keep going!”
“Our Hyuk, fighting! Let’s get one more!”
“That pass was insane! And Ryu Seung-wook’s finish was perfect!”
Naturally the Korean national team’s momentum soared. A two-goal lead gave the players massive psychological stability. With their minds freer, their movements gained composure.
Riding the wave, Korea continued to dominate Cuba.
Thump!
“Aargh!”
Jung Hyuk watched with a frustrated expression as the ball struck the post and bounced out.
So close. I hit that well.
He had dragged a defender into the box himself before laying it off to Kwon Jang-hoon charging from behind. Kwon produced a clean strike that, unfortunately, only found the woodwork.
Korea kept hammering Cuba right up until the end of the first half.
When the second half began, one substitute entered the pitch.
Oh Jung-hoon.
Coming on for the second half, he beamed at Jung Hyuk.
“Hyuk, hook me up with those honey passes.”
“If you’re in a good spot, I’ll give it to you.”
“Hey! My mom and dad are watching on TV right now. If you don’t feed me a good one today I’m telling Mom on you.”
Haha!
Jung Hyuk laughed at Oh Jung-hoon’s shameless cheek. At the same time he studied him with curious eyes.
He’s not nervous at all?
Jung Hyuk himself was effectively thirty-eight years old with a veteran’s mountain of experience, so nerves never touched him. But this was Oh Jung-hoon’s national-team debut. Playing in front of this many spectators was almost certainly a first for him.
Trembling would have been natural—yet Oh Jung-hoon showed zero nerves. Instead he just kept cheerfully declaring that he wanted to score.
Actually, this is perfect.
If a teammate could stay free of bad nerves and show his true ability, that only helped Jung Hyuk. More chances for assists or quality link-up play. On top of that, Oh Jung-hoon was currently the teammate who clicked best with him. Having his best partner in good form was a huge boost.
The second half kicked off and Korea attacked even more aggressively—completely different from the defensive, score-protecting approach Cuba had expected.
Thud!
Up front, Oh Jung-hoon won an aerial duel against Piedra. He nodded the ball down with his forehead for Ryu Seung-wook. Whoosh! Ryu scanned around. One defender stood in front of him.
Let’s go around once.
Thump!
Ryu switched it to Kim Seon-wook charging down the right flank. Kim never slowed, driving deep into Cuba’s right side before whipping a high cross into the box—aimed squarely at Oh Jung-hoon, whose physicality and heading were outstanding.
“Haaap!”
Oh Jung-hoon roared as he leapt. He beat Cuban defender Martinez in the contest and smashed the ball downward with his forehead.
Boom! A powerful header. The ball bounced once off the ground before flying toward goal. Those irregular bounces are nightmares for keepers.
So Oh Jung-hoon was certain.
His shot was going in. He was about to show his parents watching on TV something spectacular.
Then a super save exploded. Cuban goalkeeper Sanchez produced a world-class stop.
Whoosh! Thump! With animal reaction speed Sanchez punched Oh Jung-hoon’s header away.
“Ah…!”
Oh Jung-hoon’s face crumpled with disappointment.
In that exact moment a player charged toward the loose ball Sanchez had punched clear.
Jung Hyuk stretched his leg toward the floating ball.
Perfect timing!
He side-footed it cleanly—one of the most efficient ways to place a pass exactly where he wanted. While the keeper was still off-balance, Jung Hyuk’s ball rolled straight to Oh Jung-hoon’s feet.
“Oh Jung-hoon! Focus!”
Startled!
Jung Hyuk’s shout snapped Oh Jung-hoon back to reality. He swung his leg. The disappointment vanished; he struck the ball with razor-sharp concentration.
Swish!
The net billowed hard. The shot had been that fierce.
And then—
Oh Jung-hoon sprinted straight toward the cameras.
What he did next was pure shock value.
“I am a legend! The man who will become a legend is right here!”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
Jung Hyuk frantically tried to stop him, but it was already too late. Face blazing with excitement, Oh Jung-hoon kept spouting absolute nonsense.
“The man who will become the best player in the world is standing right here! Nobody can stop me! Woooooooo!”
To the reporters this was pure gold—the juiciest material imaginable for the perfect story.
Click! Click! Cameras fired in a frenzy. Secondary cameras filming the match locked onto Oh Jung-hoon and refused to let go.
Sigh…
Jung Hyuk let out a long breath and muttered under his breath.
“Why the hell does he always have to go full throttle like that…”