Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

Chapter 60 59 - Mistakes

Lucas walked towards the penalty spot with his heart pounding. He took a deep breath, trying to calm the whirlwind that was forming inside him. He looked at the opposing goalkeeper, a tall boy whose eyes seemed not to blink, fixed on Lucas with a menacing intensity.

Lucas knew that all eyes were on him. He knew that his teammates placed the same trust in him that he had placed in Nishida and Kenji. Now it was his turn to carry all that weight. But unlike many other times, Lucas felt a calm come over him.

It was as if, at that crucial moment, everything he had trained for, all the afternoons he had spent on the pitch perfecting his skills, had been condensed into a single simple gesture: the kick.

'Breathe, concentrate and shoot. Nothing else matters now,' he thought, repeating the words Yamamoto always said during penalty shoot-outs.

He placed the ball carefully on the spot, as if it were a ritual. The goalkeeper's eyes never left his. Lucas tried to decipher his opponent, looking for some hesitation, some sign of nervousness, but the goalkeeper seemed impassive, a veritable wall of concentration.

Taking two steps back, Lucas heard the referee's whistle. It was the signal he needed. The world stopped for a brief second. He stepped forward confidently and shot. The ball came out hard, heading for the bottom left corner. The goalkeeper even tried to throw himself at it, but it was too late.

The ball kissed the net and Lucas raised his arms, letting out a cry of relief and satisfaction.

"That's it!!!"

Now they were ahead once again. If they kept this up, all they needed was for Toshonori to make a save or their opponent to throw it away.

"Come on, Toshinori... you can do it!" Lucas greeted Toshinori before turning back to his teammates in the middle of the pitch.

The next player from Nishikawa High School approached the mark. Luke and Klaus had already kicked, so Wushia High School's chances were better than ever.

Toshinori positioned himself in the goal with his legs slightly bent, his body ready to react to any movement. His eyes were fixed on his opponent.

The referee blew the whistle, and the opposing player advanced. The shot went into the bottom right-hand corner. Toshinori was quick to pounce, but the ball slipped under his body and into the back of the net. The tie was back on.

"Damn..." Lucas whispered, clenching his fists.

It wasn't Toshinori's fault, the shot had been good. Now it was Tsukada's turn. He walked to the penalty spot with a firm stance, although Lucas could see a slight tremor in his teammate's hands. Tsukada had always been a reliable player, but shooting wasn't exactly his strong point.

The stadium fell silent for a brief moment when the referee blew his whistle. Tsukada ran, and the sound of the kick echoed.

The ball went wide left, only for the Nishikawa High School goalkeeper to guess the side and dive. With a quick touch with the palm of one hand, the goalkeeper deflected the ball away.

"Oh, no!" One of the live commentators said. "It was a good shot, but goalkeeper Namiki read the Wushia High School No. 10 like an open book!"

The ball rolled slowly off the sideline, and goalkeeper Namiki, with a discreet smile on his face, stood up and shouted to his teammates.

The tie still stood, but Tsukada's mistake had tipped the scales dangerously in Nishikawa High School's favor.

"I'm sorry, guys." Tsukada said as he walked back to the center of the field.

"It's not over yet." said Nishida, concentrating on the goal where the penalty kicks were being taken.

"One mistake doesn't define you, Tsukada," said Lucas, putting his hand on his colleague's shoulder, trying to offer some consolation.

Tsukada just nodded, his eyes still fixed on the ground. The mistake seemed to weigh heavily on his back, as if the entire team was to blame.

But there was no time for regrets. Nishikawa High School's next player was already in position. The striker was an unknown, a player who had come on at the end of the second half and played a long time. Nobody knew what to expect. However, Lucas knew that this was the kind of substitution made with penalties in mind.

Toshinori had his arms open and his eyes fixed on his opponent as if they could pierce his soul. He knew that this was one of the decisive moments of the match. A single movement, a split second of hesitation, and everything could be lost.

The referee's whistle blew, cutting through the air like a blade. The Nishikawa player began his run with quick steps. He kicked the ball hard, aiming for the top right corner of the goal, an unstoppable ball. The ball looked like an arrow, shooting towards the goal with precision, but Toshinori saw it all.

For a brief second, all eyes were fixed on the ball and the goalkeeper who was now flying through the air, like a hawk towards its prey.

Toshinori's fingers, stretched to the maximum, finally touched the ball, deflecting it out of the goal with a firm clap.

A roar of euphoria filled the stadium. The Wushia High School fans erupted in shouts of joy, and Lucas smiled broadly. They were still alive in the game.

Toshinori stood up quickly, raising his fists in the air.

"That's it, Toshinori! What a save!" shouted Nishida.

Now it was Kuwabara's turn. The last of the normal penalty kicks. If the next two penalties were taken, the game would remain tied and other players would have to start taking the penalties one by one until the tie-breaker finally took place.

Kuwabara walked slowly to the penalty spot. He was short but quick and had a good cross. However, what few people knew was that Kuwabara never felt comfortable in high-pressure situations. And now, as he approached the ball, his shoulders seemed stiffer than usual and he was shaking.

"Kuwabara, you can do it!" shouted Toshinori, Kuwabara's best friend.

With the score still tied, a mistake by Kuwabara could cost him the victory.

At that minute, only the wind was blowing lightly through the stands.

Goalkeeper Namiki was already in position. He knew that if he saved that shot, Nishikawa High School would be one step away from victory.

Kuwabara took a deep breath and settled the ball with his feet, took three steps back and, after a moment that seemed to last an eternity, the referee blew the whistle.

The striker waited a few seconds, trying to create discomfort in the opposing goalkeeper, and then ran towards the ball, but unlike Lucas and the others who had shot with confidence, Kuwabara was too careful because he didn't want to. His body leaned slightly backwards at the moment of the kick, and the impact with the ball wasn't firm enough.

The shot came out crooked and slow, making it fall easily into the hands of goalkeeper Namiki. It was the worst shot of all the kicks so far, and probably the easiest save of Namiki's life.

Kuwabara, incredulous, put his hands to his head. He had made a mistake.

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Kuwabara stood still for a moment, his eyes lost, unable to believe what had just happened.

The High School players knew they had an advantage now. The next player walked to the penalty spot with confident strides.

Toshinori, as much as he had saved an incredible shot, was now faced with an almost impossible task. If his opponent hit the target, it would be the end of the line.

Lucas closed his eyes for a moment, trying to dispel the pessimism. He wanted to believe that there was still a chance, that Toshinori could pull off another miracle, but the reality was just as cruel as in his past life.

The referee blew the final whistle, and the Nishikawa High School player sent the ball into the opposite corner. This time, Toshinori couldn't reach it.

The goal sealed the fate of the match.

The Nishikawa players celebrated, running towards their goalkeeper, while Wushia High School stood still on the pitch, trying to process what had just happened.

Lucas felt the bitter taste of defeat spread in his mouth. It didn't matter how hard they had fought, how hard they had tried. His eyes filled with tears. He had the emotional age of an almost middle-aged man, but the feeling of frustration was the same as that of any 16-year-old boy.

He looked up at the sky, trying to keep the tears from flowing, but as his friends around him began to cry at the ready, tears streamed down Lucas's face. Defeat hurt like a stab wound.

Toshinori ducked his head under the crossbar, exhausted, but then a shadow blocked out some of the sunlight beneath him.

"You did what you could. Let's leave here with pride." Kuwabara held out his hand to Toshinori.

Toshinori's mouth began to tremble as he tried to hold back the tears, for seeing Kuwabara with tear-filled eyes was the hardest blow he could have received.

The two of them walked together towards the rest of the team, ready to face what was coming next, but knowing that, despite their defeat, they had done very well.