Football singularity-Chapter 475 Electric Touches

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[SECOND HALF – 60: 22| Stadion Widzewa Łódź | Time: 45:00 | England 3 – 1 Germany]

Keith Downing, England's U-20 coach, could be seen barking instructions at his squad, which looked stunned as they watched the German team celebrate their recent goal. "Jamal and Phil, three minutes!" he exclaimed as he glanced at the group of boys warming up at the side of the field.

"James, your thoughts," He asked his assistant coach as a light scowl appeared face. Nothing has been going right since Rakim scored that header, which came out of the blue.

"Wirtz and Angelo Stiller are our real problem. Rakim's work on the field is so dazzling that the work they do to keep their team's pace goes unnoticed. However, each time they launched an effective attack or counter, one of them was pulling the strings." James calmly analysed, raising a hand to push up the rim of his glasses.

"Musiala should unlock that defence, and Phil should come in handy unlocking that left flank, which should loosen up some pressure on Saka on the right." Keith calmly analysed, just as Greenwood passed the ball back to Mount, restarting the game in the 61st minute.

"You thinking of taking Greenwood off too?" James asked just as their team managed to work the ball up the left flank. Jadon Sancho's movement had become too predictable for Asta, making it far too easy for the German right to contain the winger.

This time was no different as Sancho attempted a stop-and-go, which worked in getting by Asta, but the right-back's agility was top-notch. Sancho barely managed to get a meter from the defender before he came sliding in. His form was a textbook mix of power and control, doing just enough to scoop the ball up with his right foot, sending the ball out for a throw-in.

"Maybe, but that number 3 is living in Sancho's head rent-free, and each time he stops him, he becomes more predictable to him," Keith commented with a light frown, wondering how this young player would develop in the future. "His game is still too one-dimensional right now."

"Indeed, shall we get the substitution on? I don't see him breaking through that rut now." James questioned, just as the ball once again went out of play for an England goal kick after a long-range attempt from Rakim from the left flank.

"Sure, have Jamal come over for a short chat." He responded as James went over to call the two players over.

Moments later, little Jamal, standing at 1.84 meters, stood next to him. He wore the three Lions number 11 that looked slightly baggy on him, especially with the white Under Armour long-sleeve compression shirt he wore underneath. He looked youthfully at just 16 with a head of dark short curls as he buzzed with excitement, ready to play despite their team losing.

"When you go, I want you to play the CAM role, have Jude and Declan play in behind. The Germans holding defenders have been too comfortable so far. I need you to unlock that defence and create some chances." He told the kid in front of him, looking into his brown eyes for any hint of hesitation, but he found none.

"Don't worry, Coach, I'll get us back into this fight," He responded with a bright smile as he proceeded to lightly punch the older man on the shoulder. "Haha, that's the spirit, son, now go get on, you have some work to do."

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[65]

"Would you look at that, Paul, Keith Downing is finally making a substitution," Eddie Hall spoke into the Mic as the fourth official raised up a board showing a red 17 and a green 7, signalling Phil Foden would be replacing Jadon Sancho. That wasn't all, as a second later a red number 6 appeared with a green 11 signalling Mason Mount's exit for Jamal Musiala.

"Honestly, it's about time he made some sort of move if he wants any chance at a comeback," Paul Garner's voice resounded a second later as the two players jogged to their positions.

"Musiala and Foden are on," Eddie Hall confirmed as the camera panned to the touchline, showing both players crossing into the field with confident strides. "You'd expect some fire and finesse from that pair—Phil has shown real versatility in the tournament, and Jamal with those deceptive touches and that unique burst."

Paul Garner nodded in agreement. "Foden will look to operate just inside from that left flank, giving Asta a new look, while Jamal, that boy's a wild card. You give him space around the box, and he'll make magic. But can he pull it off against this disciplined German core?"

As the game resumed, Germany maintained their compact 4-2-3-1 shape. Angelo Stiller, calm and controlled, dictated tempo like a metronome while Wirtz scanned for gaps between England's back line.

But the introduction of Musiala brought an instant shift. In the 67th minute, after a short exchange with Declan Rice, Musiala dropped deep to receive the ball near the halfway line, turning swiftly on the half-turn to burst past Niklas Tauer. The crowd erupted with renewed energy.

"Oh! That's why you bring on Jamal!" Paul exclaimed, just as Musiala slipped a weighted through-ball into the path of Saka, who darted inside from the right. The ball was carved through the German midfield triangle with surgical precision.

Saka came alive as he took a soft first touch, dragging Noah Katterbach wide with a quick feint. The German left back bit, and he cut the ball back across the edge of the box. Jude Bellingham stepped over it—a dummy that fooled even Bella-Kotchap—and let it roll into the path of Foden.

Foden struck the ball first time with his left foot, aiming for the far-right side of the goal. However, since it was his first touch of the ball, he had not quite gotten a feeling for the ball yet and was struck with too much power. Unbehaun, who had moved to the left side of his goal in anticipation of a shot, now stood rooted, unable to react to the shot.

Luck was on his side, though, as the ball loudly impacted the right post and ricocheted out, spinning away from the goalmouth and rolling harmlessly toward the corner flag.

"Aaaaand that's the post rattled!" Eddie Hall exclaimed, voice rising with the surge of crowd noise. "Foden nearly wrote himself into this game's folklore with his first touch!"

Paul Garner followed up, "That was inches away. You can feel the shift in momentum. Germany needs to steady the ship."

Back on the pitch, Unbehaun exhaled sharply, then jogged over to retrieve the ball, patting the post with a quick gesture of thanks. Meanwhile, coach Baum signalled for a few players to warm up as he also wanted to make some changes. The Germans had been rattled for the first time in over twenty minutes, which was a sign of things to come for the English contingent.

Musiala got right into the midst of things from the moment he stepped onto the field. He was like a fish in water amid the midfield battle, gliding past challenges using little over 3 quick touches. Almost immediately, the England side's ball retention picked up as Tauer and Stiller struggled to contain him.

[69]

He got his chance in the 69th minute after Bellingham's through ball sent Foden running to the left corner flag. The winger managed to catch the ball just before it could go out for a goal kick, but quickly faced an encirclement from Asta and Jamie, blocking his path forward. Reacting on instinct upon seeing Jamal appear in a pocket of space behind Jamie, he didn't hesitate and chipped the ball over the German winger.

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Jamal, who was around the corner of the 18-yard box, lightly jumped up to chest the ball down, doing his best to hold Tauer back. The tall German defensive midfielder was mindful not to commit a foul; thus was a step too late to react when the ball hit the ground as the second it did, Musiala disappeared.

His right foot had deftly hooked the ball, dragging it backwards through Tauers' open legs. In the same movement, his left pivoted, and he snaked around his marker, latching onto the ball from the other side. A shooting lane immediately opened up as he wound up for a shot, prompting Armel Bella-Kotchap to lung in front of him.

The expected shot never arrived, though, as Jamal's right foot merely lightly nudged the ball to his left, followed by a stronger tap to his right. His momentum exploded with the ball, and he was through. Now in the box, he continued forward as he sized up the charging Luca Unbehaun.

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To Be Continued...