The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 39 - 25: One vs. Three

Osnabrueck, Germany.

In the 30th round of the 2nd Bundesliga, Mainz was away to face Osnabrueck.

From the moment the match began, Wang Shuo deeply felt just how intense the competition in Europe’s professional leagues was.

Even if it was just the 2nd Bundesliga.

After his stellar performance in the last round, Head Coach Klopp decided to stick with the same starting lineup for this match.

The only difference was that this time, the 2nd Bundesliga television broadcast listed Wang Shuo as the center-forward when introducing the starting lineup.

However, Osnabrueck’s head coach, Wolitz, had his eyes on him.

For this match, Wolitz not only set up his defense to counter Mainz, but also specifically assigned Dominic Ndjeng—a 1.82-meter-tall center-back with dual German and Cameroonian citizenship—to man-mark Wang Shuo.

This center-back’s key traits were his speed and endurance.

’Professional coaches react unbelievably fast!’

On Mainz’s side, the starting lineup was unchanged, except for left-back Marco Rose, who was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Whether it was the Brazilian player Wellington, the local player Markov, or the young Croatian Landka, none of them had earned Klopp’s trust for such a crucial match.

So, Uncle Mustache opted to have right-back Christian Demetraz fill in at left-back.

Meanwhile, the home team, Osnabrueck, adopted a 4-3-2-1 formation with three defensive midfielders, making it clear they were going to play a defensive, counter-attacking game.

Under these circumstances, Mainz’s offense ran into major trouble, while a crack appeared in what was supposed to be their most solid defensive line.

In the 34th minute, left-back Demetraz conceded a corner kick while defending on the end line.

During the subsequent corner kick defense, the Mainz defenders lost their man, failing to mark the opposing center-back, Thomas Sigyn.

Sigyn powered a header straight into the goal guarded by Ischdonat.

"GOAL!!!"

"A brilliant set-piece from a corner in the 34th minute."

"Thomas Sigyn opens the scoring for Osnabrueck!"

"Now, all the pressure is on Mainz."

"Mainz, who were unstoppable in the last round, haven’t been able to gain any advantage today at Bremen-Brueck Stadium."

"Wolitz’s defensive counter-attack tactic might not be pretty to watch, but it’s proving to be incredibly effective!"

The moment Sigyn scored, the more than 10,000 fans in the stadium leaped to their feet.

The frustration that had been building for over half an hour of being suppressed was completely unleashed in that instant!

...

As a forward, Wang Shuo had been positioned upfield during the corner kick defense, ready for a quick counter-attack.

This conceded goal had nothing to do with him.

But like his teammates behind him, he was still incredibly frustrated.

Osnabrueck was marking him very tightly in this match.

No matter where he went, that number 40 center-back named Ndjeng was always on him.

On top of that, all three defensive midfielders were focused on defense.

This was the first time since arriving in Germany that Wang Shuo had truly experienced what it felt like to play against an ironclad defense. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

When Wang Shuo saw his teammates in the midfield and defense hanging their heads in a bit of a panic, he immediately realized the problem.

’I can’t wait any longer. I have to move the plan up!’

According to Wang Shuo’s original plan, he had intended to wear down the Osnabrueck defenders in a battle of attrition.

He would use his superior stamina to exhaust them and then look for an opportunity to score.

The most likely window would have been in the final 20 minutes of the second half.

But after seeing the look on the Mainz players’ faces, Wang Shuo realized something.

Confidence!

Although they had achieved a massive 6-1 victory over Paderborn in the last round, Mainz had played too timidly over the past few months.

All the players had their confidence worn away.

Now, as soon as they fell behind in a match, they were prone to getting anxious and panicking.

The longer this went on, the worse it would be for Mainz.

Just then, the head coach on the sideline was also waving frantically at his players.

"It’s okay! Conceding one goal is no big deal! Push forward! Keep attacking!"

Klopp was clearly concerned about the team’s confidence as well, and he hoped they could equalize before the end of the first half.

"Wang!" Klopp called out.

"Push up further! Get up there!"

Wang Shuo raised a hand toward Klopp to show he’d heard.

But Osnabrueck’s defense was just too compact.

After the restart, Mainz immediately organized an attack.

The team wanted to attack down the left flank with Foyelner initiating the play, but they were stifled.

Wang Shuo dropped back from his forward position to receive a pass from Kalhan. He played a one-touch pass back to Gunkel.

Although it was just a simple transitional pass, it immediately gave Gunkel an opportunity to connect directly with Foyelner.

After receiving the ball on the left side of the attacking third, Foyelner cut inside but was double-teamed by two defenders.

He had no chance to enter the penalty area.

Wang Shuo, who had been preparing to make a run into the box, quickly changed his mind, altering his course to offer support.

As he called for the ball, he also gestured for Foyelner to make a diagonal run into the box, wanting to set up a one-two wall pass.

And the result?

Foyelner was completely blocked by the defenders, unable to even get into the penalty area.

Wang Shuo was left with no choice.

With center-back Sigyn in front of him and a holding midfielder behind him, he was caught in a pincer. Forced to trap the ball and turn, he immediately played a square pass.

Just then, Kalhan surged forward and, from the right side just outside the Arc Top District, immediately took a long-range shot.