Football singularity

Chapter 826: Chapter 826 Catastrophe

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[28-06-2021 | Arena Națională, Bucharest | 20:10 EET]

The stadium fell into a tense hush as the Swiss medical staff knelt beside Breel Embolo, who was grimacing as one of the physios gently examined his left wrist. They misted his wrist with magic spray, the aerosol cooling his skin to near-freezing temperatures.

"Looks like he landed awkwardly," Martin Tyler observed. "You can see immediately where the pain is."

After a minute of assessment, the Swiss physio wrapped the wrist tight with athletic tape, cinching it firmly before Embolo flexed his fingers experimentally. He nodded once, then again, and pushed himself up onto his feet with his good hand. The Swiss contingent behind the near goal erupted in relief, banging their drums, scarves lifted toward the drizzle.

"He’s going to continue," Smith noted approvingly. "Good news for Switzerland. Embolo is one of their key outlets and losing him inside ten minutes would have been a serious blow."

"They will need him if they want to mount an upset," Tyler added. "But he will have to leave the field first."

While Embolo was being guided to the sidelines, Shaqiri had already claimed the ball. The Swiss superstar stood at the edge of the box, twirling it between his hands as he waited for the referees at the spot. Referee Fernando Rapallini quickly performed his checks, and Shaqiri placed the ball down and immediately took four steps back.

He rolled his shoulders once, exhaled through his nose, and settled into his stance, both hands on his hips. Neuer, on his line, bounced twice on the balls of his feet, gloves slapping together, eyes locked on the Swiss midfielder who was his teammate as little as six years ago.

"Shaqiri stepping up," Smith noted. "He’s taken and scored his last four for Switzerland, if my memory serves. Cool head, doesn’t overthink it, and he’s got the technique to place it either side."

"Neuer is going to have to guess here, Alan," Tyler agreed. "You cannot react to a well-struck penalty from twelve yards. It’s a coin flip, and it’s a big one. Because if Switzerland go one up in the tenth minute, on this surface, in these conditions, Löw’s tactical experiment is under immediate threat." Referee Fernando Rapallini lifted the whistle to his lips and blew a sharp, clean note.

(FWEEET!)

The stadium went silent, all eyes on the German box, but Shaqiri did not rush it. He took four steady steps, closing in on the ball, as his hips opened at the last instant, keeping eye contact with Neuer all the way. His right foot swept through the ball with clean contact, sending it arrowing toward the bottom right corner.

Neuer had already committed to the left; the German captain flying full stretch, right glove clawing at the empty air where he had guessed the ball would be. Only to watch it curve away past his outstretched boots and thud into the back of the net. The Swiss section behind the goal exploded, red-and-white flags waving frantically in the drizzle. Shaqiri sprinted to the corner flag, both fists raised, a wide roar escaping his chest as his teammates chased him down.

"SHAQIRI!" Tyler called. "Switzerland leads! Cool as anything from the Liverpool man!"

"Perfect penalty, Martin," Smith agreed, shaking his head. "Look at the technique, pressure? What pressure?"

[Germany 0-1 Switzerland — Shaqiri (pen) 11’]

[17’]

The match settled into a strange rhythm for the Germans as the Swiss pushed and pulled them with their pressing. On the wings, both wingers tried to find a path through, and in the 17th minute Gnabry got the first real chance. A cut back from the overlapping Kimmich, who had dragged Zuber down to the corner flag.

The Bavarian winger immediately cut in, escaping Xhaka pressure with a drop of the shoulder. Elvedi tried to step up, but Gnabry had already fired, sending a cannon to the far left of the goal. Between the sticks, Sommer was left rooted, reacting late to the incoming ball, but the post came to his rescue, pinging the ball out for a goal-kick.

[24’]

Sommer took his time restarting, letting the drizzle settle into his gloves before rolling it out short to Elvedi, and Switzerland used the breather to reset their block. They tried to slow the game down and look for a chance to attack, enjoying a spell of possession. They worked the ball past the halfway line, working the ball into the final third at the feet of Shaqiri.

"If they wanted someone to have the ball, it would be this guy," Smith commented as the Swiss superstar, buoyed by his goal, drove at the retreating Kroos looking to take him on. He dropped a shoulder selling a breakthrough to the left and scooped the ball to the right looking for the breakthrough, but he never got that far. "Leon Goretzka! He clamps that down."

"He’s looking for a foul, but Fernando is having none of it." Tyler commented as the referee could be seen backtracking as he shook his head, pursing his lips. "Kross picks up the loose ball, and the Germans are charging forward."

The Madrid man pinged it forward to Werner, who used his body to shield Akanji before laying it back to Müller in the space vacated by Shaqiri. The Bayern veteran did not need a second invitation, spinning past Freuler with a drop of the shoulder that was almost cruel in its ease. Suddenly, the middle third opened up in front of him, and the Germans were three-on-three storming into the final third.

Müller slid it wide to Rakim on the left, then continued his run forward. The seventeen-year-old barely had time to touch the ball before Widmer was on him, forcing him to shift it wide. He rolled it under his sole and accelerated to the side of the box, but Widmer stayed on him, and he came to a sudden stop as his left foot moved across to cut back.

Widmer stretched out his foot to make the block, but the cut-back never came as Rakim’s left foot moved over the rolling ball. His right foot caught the ball on the Rebona sending it curving through the box with pace right into the run of Werner. The Chelsea forward attacked it first-time at the near post, his outstretched boot connecting with the ball at knee height.

The ball catapulted off his boot heading for Sommer at the near post, trying to somehow squeeze by him. It pralled off his chest, looking to fall back into play, but the keeper was quick enough to lunge forward and smother it.

"Timo Werner," Tyler said, exhaling. "That’s the sort of chance he has to bury at this level."

"Sommer is not to be beaten, Martin," Smith added quietly. "He did everything right and kept it simple and is rewarded with a save."

[32’]

Switzerland grew into the game, channelling the confidence of the lead as Petković’s men no longer sat as deep. Pressing higher up the pitch, they denied Kroos the time he had enjoyed in the opening quarter hour. The German’s rhythm began to crack as the space to play their possession game disappeared, with the Swiss side putting pressure on their central pivots.

More passes began going sideways and backwards rather than through the lines or forward. In the thirty-fourth minute, Seferovic drifted into the channel between Rüdiger and Hummels, and held the ball up long enough for Xhaka to follow up. He feinted a lay-off to Xhaka but slotted it the other way to Shaqiri, with the back of his foot, who was arriving late from midfield.

Shaqiri played it wide to Widmer on the right, drawing Gosens across the pitch, before the young fullback whipped in a low, driven cross. It skidded across the wet turf toward the penalty spot, where Embolo, who had been silent after coming back into the game, had ghosted. Positioning himself in the space between the German centre-backs, the Benfica striker did not need a second touch.

He met the cross first-time on the bounce with the inside of his right foot, gently guiding it low toward the bottom corner. Neuer flung himself down to his right, both palms flat and fully extended, but even he couldn’t make up the distance and could only watch the ball skip into the side netting. The Swiss section behind the goal once again erupted for a second time in twenty-five minutes, red flares igniting in the drizzle as Embolo sprinted toward them with both arms outstretched, his teammates chasing him down.

"HARIS SEFEROVIC!" Tyler shouted. "Two-nil to Switzerland! And Germany is staring down the barrel of a genuine catastrophe!"

"Martin, this is what I was worried about pre-match," Smith exclaimed, half-laughing in disbelief. "We talk about how dangerous this Swiss side can be, especially with a Germany that has a tendency to snooze in the first half."

[Germany 0-2 Switzerland — Seferovic 34’]

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TO BE CONTINUED...

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