Football singularity

Chapter 823: Chapter 823 Tall Blonde & Handsome (Pause)

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

[Germany 3-1 Hungary]

[78’]

Hungary, trailing by two, threw caution to the wind and charged forward with desperation. Germany, which began playing possession football again, absorbed the pressure deftly, but it only lasted so long. In the 78th minute, a rare Hungarian venture forward saw Kleinheisler pick up a loose ball just outside the German box after a scramble following a Négo throw-in.

The Osijek midfielder took a touch to set himself, under the pressure of Rüdiger, then unleashed a dipping half-volley goalward. Neuer flung himself full stretch, right glove clawing at the incoming ball, grasping it to his body.

"Neuer!!!!" Mowbray roared as the keeper safely landed on the turf. "He comes to Germany’s rescue once again!"

[82]

Around the 80th minute, newly subbed-on Wirtz won a free kick on the right flank after dancing past two Hungarian defenders. The referee immediately blew his whistle despite the Hungarians’ protest, giving the Germans a lethal chance located on the flank just outside the box. Gündoğan whipped the ball around the two-man Hungarian wall, curling a deep inswinger to the back post.

It dipped through the traffic like a stone across water, and the box exploded into motion. Hummels rose above Fiola at the far post, snapping his neck, sending the ball back across the six-yard box. Rüdiger arrived at the far side, sliding in ahead of Négo, his outstretched boot connecting with the ball and redirecting it low toward the near post.

Gulácsi threw himself down to his right, both palms flat, and somehow managed to paw the ball onto the woodwork. The rebound spilled into the six-yard box, where Gnabry lunged in ahead of Botka, his boot clipping the ball goalward. Szalai, the Hungarian centre-back, threw his entire body across the line, arms tucked at his sides, and blocked it with his chest before hacking it clear.

"Oh, the scramble!" Mowbray called. "Two shots, two blocks, and Hungary somehow lives!"

"That’s what I call team defending, Guy," Jenas exclaimed, half-laughing. "Every one of those men would run through a wall for Marco Rossi. Nothing pretty about it, but they are keeping this within reach."

[86’]

Germany decided to add another goal in the dying minutes after weathering a long-range effort from the desperate Hungarians. Neuer finding Rakim on the flank launched a quick throw through the night air, and Rakim killed it dead with a single touch. He wiggled away from his marker and launched a diagonal cross-field through ball over the top of the Hungarian defenders from the halfway line.

Wirtz, on the right flank, had timed a run off the shoulder of Botka, peeling from midfield into the space behind the Hungarian back line. The Leverkusen midfielder made his run late, so late that Botka had already turned to press Sané in the middle third, leaving him with acres of green ahead.

The ball dropped perfectly onto his right boot just inside the box, cushioned by his first touch, before he took a second stride. Gulácsi came charging out, arms spread wide, but there was just too much space for Wirtz to miss, and the youngster dinked it low across the keeper’s frame. He strained his glove, trying to get a hand to it, but caught nothing but the air where the ball had been a half-second earlier.

"WIRTZ!" Mowbray shouted, his voice climbing. "The Leverkusen connection strikes again!"

"They make it look easy," Jenas exclaimed, half-laughing. "That is fifty-plus yards through the air, dropping onto Wirtz’s boot like it has a homing device attached. Their chemistry, and you can see just how they gave some of the best coaches a headache trying to deal with them."

[Germany 4-1 Hungary — Wirtz 84’]

[88’]

Hungary got their last hurrah in the 88th, after Rossi made his final changes, throwing on fresh legs in the form of Nikolics for Sallai. Germany held onto possession with a vice grip and began stroking the ball around their midst. It only lasted as far as Négo, who picked up a loose ball on the right flank and drove forward, exchanging a one-two with Ádám Szalai.

Using the space he created, he whipped a low cross into the six-yard box. Ginter tried to intercept but only managed to divert the ball into the air, forcing Neuer between the lines to readjust on the fly. Roland Sallai wasn’t going to miss the chance to fight for space between Hummels and Rüdiger and stabbed it home as the two centre-backs stood rooted.

"Sallai!" Mowbray called. "A consolation for Hungary! They have kept fighting!"

"That’s their tournament, Guy," Jenas observed. "They came here to make life difficult for the giants, and they have done exactly that against France and Germany. Full credit to Rossi and his men."

[Germany 4-2 Hungary — Sallai 87’]

[90+4’]

Four minutes of stoppage time elapsed quickly, amidst the avid singing of the Allianz. The seventeen-year-old sensation had a chance for a hat-trick in the second minute of added time when Sané cut the ball back to him at the top of the box, but his curling effort with the outside of his right boot fizzed a foot wide of the far post.

"Oh, so close to the hat-trick!" Mowbray exclaimed. "He wanted that one!"

"Guy, he’s had his fun tonight," Jenas said, laughing. "Two goals, an assist that will be shown on every highlight reel for the next month. He can walk off with his head held high." Karasev checked his watch one final time, then lifted the whistle to his lips.

(FWEEET! FWEEET! FWEEEEEEET!)

~~~

[23-06-2021 | Kava Cafe, West Village, New York | 15:15 EDT]

May pushed through the glass door of Kava on Hudson Street, the little bell above jingling as a wall of espresso and jazz met her at the threshold. The place was tucked between a florist and a wine bar, all reclaimed wood, mismatched tiles, and slow ceiling fans that did more for the aesthetic than the temperature. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and the after-lunch crowd had thinned out to a scattering of laptops and a mother rocking a stroller by the window.

She was fifteen minutes early, though she had meant to be thirty, but the last of her catalogue shoot had taken longer than expected. She had somehow got roped into modelling the new line of boots, and the shoot took longer than anyone was comfortable with. Her peach-blonde hair had been pulled up into a loose claw clip, a few strands framing her face from the humidity that had followed her the four blocks from the hotel.

She wore a cream sundress that fell just above her knees, a small tan leather handbag on her shoulder that matched her boots and leather jacket. Sunglasses pushed up into her hair, the concealer under her eyes working overtime after four hours of sleep and a two-hour shoot that had run long. It had only been five days, but by then she felt like she had aged a month and wanted to go back to her gaming PC.

She ordered a matcha at the counter, paid in cash, and slid into the corner booth next to large windows overlooking the busy streets. Her phone buzzed against the table, drawing her attention. A smile immediately bloomed on her face as her thumbs hovered over the screen, and she eagerly read the text.

Rakim: They keep handing me alcohol I can’t drink (>_<) MOT IMG

Rakim: also miss you

She’d watched the second half from the makeup chair on her phone while a stylist worked on her hair for the day’s second look. Whooping when Wirtz slotted the fourth, much to the stylist’s annoyance, who fussed over her look. When Rakim ghosted past two Hungarians for the fourth chance and bent it wide, she had thrown her phone into the air, only to realise he had missed.

May: You owe me a new screen!!!

May: Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, can’t wait for dinner, they have been starving me for a week.

Rakim: Done. They gave us the afternoon.

May: Great, I should be on time. I’m flying Lufthansa

Rakim: So long as it’s not Spirit Airlines

She smiled as she set the phone face down, thanking the waiter who had just delivered the matcha. It was still slightly too hot to sip, and she wrapped both hands around the ceramic anyway. The bell above the door rang again, and her eyes locked onto those of a tall, handsome young man with dirty blonde hair.

Standing at six-two with broad, full shoulders, College clearly agreed with him as his facial features were now chiselled. He had put on real muscle in the year and a half since she’d last seen him. He wore a plain grey-t that fit tight across his biceps, and his hair had been cut to fades on the sides, a little length on top, with twists starting at the front where he’d been trying something new.

He spotted her before she raised a hand and crossed the room to her table in a couple of large steps. May stood from her chair and went straight up on her toes to hug him, both arms wrapping around him and squeezing him tightly. She got a whiff of his cologne and didn’t recognise the cool scent, but felt like it suited the new him.

"Yo," he awkwardly said, straining to free himself. "Can you let me go now? Folks are looking."

"Oh, shush", she chided, slapping his shoulder. "And OMG, you sound Texan!"

"C’mon, Sis, you’re being weird."

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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