Please vote to show me your support for the story. The higher we climb in the rankings, the more motivated I will feel. Mass releases will be rewarded for each 10 rankings we manage to climb.
#More than 10 Chapter ahead on my : /TrikoRex
{!!!Please leave a Review it helps me a lot and lets me know how many people are invested in the future of this novel!!!}
The stadium gradually regained its voice, swelling into a wave of anticipation as the players once more took their positions on the pitch. Matteo Smith stood firmly over the ball at the centre circle, shifting his weight restlessly from foot to foot, his eyes locked forward. After confirming readiness, the referee glanced around carefully and blew his whistle sharply—extra time was underway.
"Here we go then," Jamie Oliver announced, his voice a blend of excitement and tension. "Thirty minutes to decide who moves on, and who goes home."
Smith immediately tapped the ball backwards to Giovanni Reyna, who calmly settled possession before laying it back further to Weston McKennie. Germany, cautious, maintained their compact diamond midfield shape, looking to pick up from where I left off. Rakim drifted just behind Moukoko, ready to pounce at any opening and create opportunities for his side.
McKennie played it square to Musah, who briefly glanced up, assessing options. Kevin Schade approached carefully, wary of committing too aggressively and opening space behind. Musah, content with the tempo, patiently moved the ball out wide to Dest, who had just overlapped with Weah.
Dest immediately faced Joshua Vagnoman, freshly subbed on and decided to latch onto him as he pressured him outward. The German defender closed the space immediately, offering Dest no clear angle forward. Recognising this, Dest prudently returned the ball to McKenzie, restarting the patient cycle once again.
"This is sensible from the United States," Paul Gartner remarked thoughtfully. "Keeping their structure tight, cautious with possession—exactly as coach Ramos instructed."
After a series of controlled passes along their backline, McKenzie spotted an opening and slid a pass forward to Reyna, who turned neatly under pressure from Angelo Stiller. Reyna shielded the ball expertly before cleverly flicking it behind him, allowing Pulisic to receive it at pace. The American winger immediately accelerated, racing toward Simon Asta with menace.
Asta quickly stepped back, keeping his stance balanced as Pulisic feinted inside, then sharply broke outside toward the touchline. His sudden burst created just enough separation to curl a dangerous cross into the box. Matteo Smith read it superbly, lunging toward the near post—but Lars Lukas Mai, freshly subbed in for Kevin Ehlers, arrived in time, heading the ball firmly clear from danger.
"Superb defending by Mai," Oliver declared appreciatively. "Already proving why coach Baum trusts him in these critical moments."
The ball fell to Rakim deep in Germany's half, who immediately attempted to initiate a quick counter. He glided forward gracefully, sidestepping Musah's energetic challenge, before threading a sharp pass into midfield, finding Florian Wirtz on the move.
Wirtz swiftly turned, eyes scanning forward as Rakim continued his run ahead. Weston McKennie quickly recognized the danger, sliding across to shadow Wirtz tightly. Instead of forcing the pass, Wirtz wisely slowed the pace, turning and distributing calmly sideways to Kevin Schade.
Schade rolled it back toward Angelo Stiller, allowing his team to reset their attacking shape and patiently wait for the Americans to lose their defensive discipline. "Both teams clearly cautious," Gartner commented knowingly. "Neither wants to be the first to make a mistake now."
"After making it this far, it's hard making that choice to risk it all on an all-or-nothing attack," Oliver commented, doing his part of the commentary of keeping the fans engaged. "Oh, Stiller decides to take the chance,"
His exclamation was spot on as, moments later, the figure of Jamie Leweling could be seen darting down the right flank as he stretched his foot out to latch onto the ball. In the next step, he brought the ball under his control just as he crossed the final third. He feinted left just as George Bello stepped up to block his path but chose to break through on the right the moment his marker took the bait.
Exploding past Bello, he nudged the ball forward, making full use of the space in-behind. Leweling sprinted hard toward the byline, lifting his gaze briefly to assess his options in the box. Rakim was already arriving at the penalty spot, dragging Chris Richards with him, while Moukoko hovered dangerously near the six-yard area. Leweling didn't hesitate—he whipped a sharp, driven cross toward the near post.
McKenzie lunged in desperately, extending his leg fully, managing to divert the ball slightly off-course. The deflection looped into the air, spinning dangerously toward the back post. CJ dos Santos reacted instantly, shifting his feet quickly and leaping high to punch it clear just ahead of Moukoko's poised leap.
"Great anticipation from CJ dos Santos again," Oliver remarked excitedly. "He's shown remarkable composure under immense pressure today."
The punch landed safely at Mark McKenzie's feet, allowing the United States to settle possession once more. He kept the ball close, holding off Florian's determined pressing before turning and calmly distributing it back to Weston McKennie. The experienced midfielder immediately gestured for his teammates to take positions, patiently regaining their composure.
The game took a steady turn for the next couple of minutes as both teams fought for possession and continued to test each other. In the 12th minute of extra time, Rakim controlled the pass back from Moukoko right outside the centre circle. Before any opponents could close him down, he pulled the ball back with his left foot and then kicked it toward Angelo Stiller, Germany's holding midfielder.
Tauer was also quick while controlling the ball. He stopped it with a single touch and immediately passed it towards Wirtz a few paces ahead. The latter also controlled it well before squaring it to Rakim, who had just made a run into an unmarked pocket of the space within the American half.
He quickly shrugged off the two American midfielders marking him despite how desperately they tried to hold onto his jersey retaining control of the ball.
He raised his leg, seemingly as if he was just about to pass the ball, but the next moment, he turned around with the ball glued to his boot to execute a Marseille turn. His sudden turn allowed him to break past another two defenders, leaving them in an awkward position to interfere. Without losing a second, he lifted his foot, nudging the ball forward, intending to continue his run towards the American box.
However, it was at that moment that he felt a firm tug on his jersey. He tried to shrug off the opponent's grip while continuing his run. But the opponent stubbornly held onto his shirt and didn't let him take another step with the ball. In the end, he stopped struggling and raised his hands in annoyance as he looked back at who was hanging onto him.
Just as the whistle blew, he came face to face with Yunus, who was still holding onto his jersey as if his life depended on it. An awkward silence lingered between them, but it was quickly broken up by a few players joining, wanting to continue the match. Luckily for Yunus, he merely got away with a warning, but now they had to face a direct freekick from just outside of the box.
"This will probably be the last action of the first half of extra time, and the man of the moment is Rakim Rex," Paul Gartner commented just as Rakim closed in on the ball at an angle, "It's the moment of truth and he shoots."