I AM the Football Star-Chapter 433 - 122: Brit Awards and the England-Italy Showdown
"Maniero is awesome!"
"Lu Yang is invincible! I just knew Maniero was right to bring Lu Yang this time, Lu Yang is a player who will never disappoint!"
"The Italy National Youth Team simply crushed their opponents in this match, from the first half to the second half, from offensive stats to defensive stats!"
"Think about it, Poland and England drew, and we brutally defeated Poland, so the next and final group stage match, our game against England, isn’t it going to be..."
"You’re really bold, bro! You dare to think of that?"
"According to your calculations, then tomorrow’s second match of the second round between Spain and England in the group stage, Spain should be able to win big."
"Makes sense, maybe we’ll know the answer tomorrow, which is extremely important for our third match."
"Honestly speaking, every time Lu Yang is on the field, Morici performs remarkably well. Previously against Spain, he was almost invisible. In this match against Poland, he looked like a top-class midfield commander!"
"I’ve always said, wherever there’s Morici, you need Lu Yang to maximize Morici’s abilities."
"It’s not just about Morici. The Italy Team has changed significantly this time, and it’s closely related to Lu Yang; he almost fills in the gaps for every player in the Italy National Youth Team on the field."
"The only pity is that Lu Yang’s first shot didn’t score, damn that goalpost! Otherwise, Lu Yang would have had a hat-trick!"
"Debuting for the National Youth Team with two goals and one assist, those stats are already impressive."
"Ah, if only Lu Yang played the first match too, at least we wouldn’t have lost so badly."
The big victory changed the public opinion in Italy, and no one dared to publicly insult and mock the Italy National Youth Team anymore.
This is a very straightforward and realistic issue; it’s actually quite simple not to be scolded, just win the game.
But this simple truth is something some associations just don’t understand. They repeatedly market patriotic sentiments, fool the fans, and morally coerce everyone, while not allowing jokes or criticism against them.
In this regard, all that can be said is that today’s fans truly have higher ethics and knowledge, to the point that even the football association thinks they can use internet trolls to suppress the voices of angry fans.
Excuses like underestimating the enemy keep coming up.
With the current National Team, who are they qualified to underestimate?
Don’t they know their own position?
Win, and you deserve to be arrogant.
Lose, and stand ready to take the blame.
Where is there so much glory in defeat?
In competitive sports, weakness is the original sin, and you still think you can shift the blame?
Back to the main topic.
After the big victory, the players of the Italy National Youth Team finally received the praise they imagined.
"Sogel breaks through self-limits, scores his first goal for the National Youth Team!"
"Ligue 1 superstar Sevajos redeems himself, two shots from the same position, finally scoring a goal!"
"Fifteen million-dollar star Sevajos leads in successful dribbles throughout the match!"
"Lazio’s right winger Pompey perfectly assists and scores, having the most threatening attacks this match!"
"The winger finally finds freedom, Canyes’ crosses are a major threat, successfully claiming an assist!"
"Living up to the golden midfield name, Morici controls the game, assists Lu Yang in scoring a splendid goal!"
"With two shots and one assist, crowned the best player of the match, when Lu Yang arrives, the blue sky of Italy shines bright!"
"The Eastern Sun brightens the blue coast of Italy, Italy sees a glimmer of hope to advance!"
"The most handsome Scorpion Tail, unconventional shooter Lu Yang delivers once more!"
"The King of Long Shots returns, the Italian Cannon blasts through Poland’s gate!"
Meanwhile, over in Poland, even though they suffered a heavy defeat in this match, the Polish people are well aware that they need to cheer and support their National Youth Team.
After all, Poland’s last group stage opponent is currently looking like the strongest, Spain.
The Polish cannot afford to demoralize themselves at this moment.
Therefore their media also fervently promote topics like "losing the match but not the spirit, Pavovsky leads this European Youth Championship’s scoring chart with three goals!" also aiming to divert attention from the Polish players’ less-than-stellar performance in this match.
The next day, the second round, and second matches in each group began.
The most anticipated match of this round was undoubtedly Spain VS England.
This battle almost determined which team from Group A would advance.
And the result was quite shocking.
The Spanish Bullfighter Corps, who won big in their first match against the blue Italy, was unexpectedly defeated by the Three Cats, oh no, Three Lions team, losing 2-1 with a last-minute goal by England!
Before the match began, everyone thought Spain had a bigger chance of winning.
After all, England being held to a draw by Poland in the first round already showed their seemingly poor form in this championship.
But not long after the match started, Spain received a harsh welcome from England.
England Youth Team’s top star Mancini dribbled past two players and scored a brilliant goal. This was also Mancini’s third goal in the European Youth Championship, putting him equal with Pavovsky at the top of the scorer’s list.
In the second half, around the sixtieth minute.
Spain seemed to finally awaken, as Enriquez displayed a brilliant mid-field solo run, breaking through the Three Lions’ defense by himself, and after drawing out the England goalkeeper, he passed the ball diagonally to his teammate.
The teammate scored a sitter, the kind even grandma could score."
Spain equalized 1-1.
However, the English were truly insane; in the ninetieth minute, they won a corner kick opportunity, and England’s substitute midfielder Jesse Raisim scored the winning goal amid the chaos, becoming a hero for England.
