Football singularity

Chapter 822: Chapter 822 Peek ’A’ Boo

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[23-06-2021 | Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany | 20:40 CEST]

[Germany 0-0 Hungary]

Hungary sensed a scent of blood and, for the next few minutes, actually dared to cross the halfway line with purpose. Sallai and Szalai combined again on the left, a smart layoff between the two producing a snapshot from twenty yards that Neuer palmed calmly onto the roof of his net. The corner was won by Kimmich in the air, and Hummels latched onto the second ball to clear it far.

Germany answered in kind as Kroos and Gündoğan, who had been oiling their engines, began threading the ball through the eye of a needle. Their passing play dragged the Hungarian midfield out of shape stitch by stitch. Rakim and Sané exchanged flanks, refusing to let their defenders get used to them, forcing Hungary to guess what kind of attack would come from where next.

In the 41st minute, Sané dropped to the halfway line and slid a diagonal pass into Rakim’s feet at the top of the D. Two red shirts converged on him, Schafer from the front, and Kleinheisler from the side. Rakim let the ball roll across his body, invited Schafer to lunge, then dragged it back with the sole of his right boot in a single lazy movement.

Schafer flew past him as the seventeen-year-old twisted past him, glanced up to see Kleinheisler commit the same lunge his teammate had already botched. He rolled the ball between the midfielder’s legs with the outside of his left foot and soon passed them.

"OH! Rex on the move!" Mowbray, called Rakim, was through the middle, now driving at the back line at speed.

Gnabry darted across into the box, drawing a defender with him, and Rakim glanced his way long enough to sell it. He exploded forward with a burst of pace, appearing before Orbán, who stepped up to make the stop. He performed two quick step-overs with his upper body, saying enough to force the defender to block his breakthrough to the left.

As if waiting for it, the outside of his right boot scooped around the ball and escaped to the right, slapping away Orbán’s grabby hand. Botka, who had reacted fast, slid in from the right, deftly anticipating where the ball would be in the next moment. Rakim reacted faster, though his long right leg shot out to wrap around the ball and scoop it back in a makeshift elastico.

He just about vaulted over the sweeping slide that had come up empty, having to brace with his right hand just inside the box. Keeping himself up, he pulled the ball back to the right, narrowing the angle toward the near post as the out-rushing keeper moved to shut him down. Before the Goalie could close the angle further, he fired off a rocket to the roof of the near corner, threading it past Gulácsi’s shoulder.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXXXXXX!!!" Mowbray’s voice cracked as the ball hit the top of the near-post netting with a violent snap. "SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, WITH A STATEMENT FINISH!"

"Guy, that’s a highlight reel right there, and you can tell it’s just another Tuesday for the lad", Jenas laughed in disbelief. "The turn on Schafer, the nutmeg on Kleinheisler, the elastico under Botka, the finish across Gulácsi, sheer finesse."

The German bench spilled out of the technical area, celebrating the lead. Rakim did not race to the corner flag, reducing his run to a walk, brushing nonexistent dust off his left shoulder before being mobbed by his teammates. "The cheek! I love it. That’s a boy who has zero fear of this moment." Jenas stopped laughing long enough to comment.

[Germany 1-0 Hungary — Rakim 42’]

Hungary restarted with a force looking to get back quickly, dominating play with an attack over the next few moments. In the 45th minute, Sallai chased down a lazy pass meant for Hummels on the halfway line, forcing the Dortmund defender to hurry his clearance. The ball skidded straight to Kleinheisler, who took one touch and clipped a diagonal ball into the channel that Fiola had begun overlapping into

Kimmich, who had drifted infield, was late to recover, and the Fehérvár fullback crossed early, sending a low, driven ball that skidded across the six-yard box. Ádám Szalai bullied his way ahead of Ginter at the near post, and his stretched-out boot met the delivery head-on, smashing it past the diving Neuer. The ball sent the net rattling, and the Hungarian section erupted, a red-white-green explosion. Szalai raced off toward the corner flag, both fists raised toward his fans, roaring at the top of his lungs.

"SZALAI!" Mowbray called. "Hungary strike back within three minutes! The captain leads by example!"

"They’ve been waiting for this all night, Guy," Jenas noted. "The Germans switched off, and they weren’t going to miss the chance."

[Germany 1-1 Hungary — Á. Szalai 45’]

(FWEEET! FWEEET!)

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[46’]

Both sides emerged unchanged from the tunnel, and Germany kicked off looking to assert dominance as Kroos immediately dictated the tempo. Whatever Löw had said in the dressing room had clearly registered, because the passing was sharper, the movements a touch quicker, the intent to bury Hungary early clear. Within ninety seconds, Sané forced Gulácsi into a low save with a curling effort from twenty yards.

The corner was cleared but only as far as Kimmich, whose second cross was hacked away by Botka. The rebound fell to Gündoğan at the top of the box, and the City man dragged his half-volley just wide of the far post. Hungary weathered the storm for ten minutes, fighting for every second and contesting every tackle. Rossi could be seen pacing in his technical area with a clipboard in hand, directing play from the side, trying to find glue to stitch his defence.

"Germany turning the screws," Mowbray observed.

In the 56th, Gündoğan and Kroos exchanged a one-two on the edge of the Hungarian third, then Kroos rolled it wide to Gosens. The Atalanta wing-back drove down the left, hugging the touchline, drawing Négo out to meet him. He whipped in an early cross, a curling ball toward the back post, and Sané rose above Fiola to nod it back across the goal.

Gnabry attacked it, sliding in at the far post ahead of Botka, and his outstretched boot guided the ball past Gulácsi into the bottom corner. The Bayern man barely watched the ball settle into the back of the net and popped up from the turf, racing to the corner flag, stirring the sauce in his bowl.

"GNABRY!" Mowbray shouted. "Germany back in front! And it’s beautifully worked from start to finish!"

"Löw would have drilled that routine all week," Jenas added approvingly. "Gnabry lives for those runs. Perfect timing, and even better finish."

[Germany 2-1 Hungary — Gnabry 56’]

Hungary threw off their defensive tactics as Sallai and Ádám Szalai pushed higher, pressing with more aggression. The change opened up the match, and both sides began trading blows in the middle third. In the 63rd minute, Hungary’s Nagy wrestled the ball from Kross in a fifty-fifty in the midfield, catching the Madrid man high on the shin.

The whistle came, but Kroos was already down, clutching his ankle. Karasev showed Nagy a yellow that could have been red, and Hungary took full advantage of the pause to reset for the free kick. The Madrid man received treatment for a while but was forced to exit the field for the restart.

Florian Wirtz came on in his place, slotting into central midfield alongside Gündoğan as Kroos limped off to a warm reception. The Leverkusen youngster joined the City man behind the ball, looking to float in an attack from the set piece. The whistle came, and Gündoğan swung his right foot through the ball, curling a deep inswinger toward the back post.

Rüdiger rose above Fiola with a yelp, but Gulácsi met his glancing header on the line and caught it in desperation. The Hungarian keeper held onto it for a long time before dropping it to his feet, drawing Gnabry in before passing it out to Botka. The Hungarian defender scanned his area but quickly panicked as Rakim moved to shut him down.

Half-turning, he sent the ball back to his keeper, but in his haste, he didn’t put as much power into it as he wanted. Rakim wasn’t going to miss this chance and exploded past him, chasing after the trickling ball as Gulácsi panicked and raced out of his six-yard box. The winger reached the ball first, less than a meter in front of the keeper, immediately angling a right-footed strike to the far corner.

Gulácsi reacted instinctively, dropping onto his left knee to block the angle, but Rakim dragged the ball across his body. In one smooth motion, he manoeuvred past the downed keeper and slotted the ball into the empty net with the inside of his left foot from a tight angle. He jogged to the corner flag, covering his face with both hands, performing the peekaboo celebration.

"REX! Has A Brace!" Mowbray called. "he sniffed that out and punished it clinically."

"Botka has to do better there, Guy," Jenas added, in exasperation. "Simply not good enough for a player at his level.

[Germany 3-1 Hungary — Rakim 66’]

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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