THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

The referee blew the whistle and the second half started with Zenit's kick-off.

Zachary moved back into the defensive midfield to intercept long aerial balls from Zenit. He was itching to score. However, he had to win the ball first.

Zenit was still using their 4-4-2 formation with their two strikers leading the attack. Zachary noticed that they had promptly positioned themselves among the NF Academy center-backs when the game restarted.

A long pass from the wing came whooshing in towards the box soon after. Robin Jatta, NF academy's center back, jumped high and headed the ball back into the midfield. Zachary chased after it, struggling to get there first before Artem Simonyan, Zenit's attacking midfielder.

However, Artem was closer to the ball. He got there faster and blasted it back towards NF Academy's goal.

Lars Togstad, NF Academy's other central-defender, replied in kind, making a first-time clearance to send the ball back whence it came. For the next twenty minutes, the game was a spectacle of long balls—just like in the first half. The score remained locked at 0:0 as the clock hit the 70th minute.

The Zenit players had managed to isolate Zachary by 'simply' choosing to pass the ball above the midfield. They hardly played any short or grounded passes. Zachary was at a loss at how to get the ball onto the ground in midfield.

The opponents also defended well as a team. Markov and Sheydaev, their two strikers, did all the attacking—while the midfielders and defenders stayed back to thwart any attempts on their goal. They double-teamed or tackled NF academy players who were lucky enough to pick up a stray ball. More often than not, they won back possession instantly and sent forth long-balls to their strikers, without moving from their positions.

Zachary sighed at the genius and stupidity of the tactic. Since Zenit couldn't commit more players forward, they were not able to score. They left no exploitable gaps in their defense but also condemned themselves to remain goalless. That was unless they could manage to take advantage of a set-piece or exploit a mistake by the NF Academy defenders.

However, the NF Academy defenders were focused and in their best shape since the beginning of the tournament. Coach Johansen had committed four defenders to keep an eye on Zenit's two strikers. Zachary was sure they wouldn't make any mistake that could lead to conceding a goal.

The second half was a monotonous game of long passes that annoyed most of the fans.

The match remained 0:0 as the digital clock on the big screen slowly approached the 90th minute.

Everyone in the stadium, including the players, slowly started to believe the match would extend into extra time—or even to penalties.

However, Zachary never gave up his belief that he could still win the game. He believed there was still a chance to bag it before the final whistle.

The goddess of luck seemed to favor his patience and rewarded him with an opportunity in the 88th minute. The Zenit players had become a little bit lax after a long period of concentration and running. They started making a few mistakes.

One of Zenit's central midfielders miskicked a ball when Zachary was close enough to pounce on it. The other Zenit players hadn't anticipated their teammate losing the ball at that moment. Before they could react, Zachary was already running through them, spearing deeper into their half.

Kasongo, Paul, and Örjan joined the lightning-swift attack, running on his left and right. They drew away some opponents from his path. He quickly advanced towards Zenit's goal, zig-zagging around the Zenit defenders.

Zachary seemed well on his way to scoring another goal with one of his signature runs.

However, Zenit was an experienced youth team. Two center-backs quickly closed him down as he bolted on the green, trying to find a way into the box. They shielded his potential paths to force him towards the sidelines.

Zachary slowed his pace slightly as the defenders approached. But when they relaxed their stances, probably thinking they had him, he accelerated instantly to circumvent them. He dashed past the two defenders on his way towards goal, his motions seamless.

However, he suddenly felt a strong tug on his shirt before he could rejoice. He tried to flick the ball to Örjan, who had just gotten ahead of him, but the defender behind wrestled him to the ground before he could raise his foot. The tall center-back wasn't even putting any effort into disguising his foul.

In the heat of the moment, Zachary was pissed off and turned to have a face-off with him.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew his whistle and came to separate them.

"Cool down, cool down," the referee said to both of them, raising his hands in a placating manner. He showed a yellow card to the Zenit center-back and offered a freekick to NF Academy.

He let Zachary go with a warning.

Zachary was not satisfied by the punishment of the other player. But he held his tongue and concentrated on the freekick instead. There was no point risking a red card when there was the possibility of extra time.

The foul had occurred about forty-five yards from the Zenit goal. Zachary couldn't hit the target with a powerful shot from that distance. So, he called on the rest of his teammates to advance towards Zenit's box.

"All of you go forward and attack, except Kasongo," he yelled at his teammates. "This is our last chance."

Zachary decided to leave Kasongo back to guard against a likely Zenit counterattack. Kasongo was the only person on the team who could match his pace to some extent. Moreover, he was a short fellow and would be of little use against an aerial ball.

"Stay in the center circle," Zachary informed Kasongo as he positioned the ball on the artificial grass. "Be prepared to react to a Zenit's counterattack in case we fail to score. You can foul if you have to."

"Okay," Kasongo replied with a smile. "Good luck." He patted his back before running to the center circle.

The referee blew the whistle, signaling for Zachary to take the freekick. He'd finished organizing the wall of two players, a few meters from the ball.

Zachary raised his arm to signal his teammates to get ready. He took a deep breath to steady himself and observed the entire field of play before him. He took a few steps back and judged the distance to goal once again, deducing what sort of ball he could use against the keeper.

Nineteen players stood between him and the goalposts. Every single player on the pitch, except Kasongo and Kendrick, was ready to either attack or defend-against the freekick. Zachary's soccer brain assessed the risks and deduced the best path for the ball.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle once again, prompting Zachary to take the freekick.

Zachary decided to go with his gut. He blasted the ball with the inside of his boot, sending it on a curved path. It flashed past the two men forming the wall—towards Magnus, the tallest player on the field. The long-range curving pass was pin-point accurate, homing on to the number six among the ocean of players.

Magnus out-jumped everyone in his vicinity and brushed the ball with the top of his head. He guided it towards the top right corner, past Zenit's goalkeeper.

The stadium held its breath—watching, wondering whether the ball would find the back of the net.

Zachary started running towards Zenit's box while the rest of the players watched the ball that could end up deciding who would advance to the semifinal. He'd seen a shadow of the ball bounce of the top post using his Zinedine-Visual-Juju.

"BANG"

As he expected, the ball smashed off the top right corner of the goalposts. The sound of the impact was quite pronounced in the dead silent stadium.

The fans let loose a sigh, more or less in unison.

The NF Academy players struggled to chase down the ball for the rebound. However, the tall center-back, who had tackled Zachary, got there first. He cleared the ball out of the box with a well-timed back-volley.

The ball moved through midair, out of the box, with both Zenit and NF Academy players chasing after it. Kasongo, positioned in the center circle, got ready to deal with a highly possible Zenit counterattack.

However, they all paused their actions as Zachary met the ball about thirty-five yards from Zenit's goal. He worked by instinct to gauge its direction and speed before it could bounce. He caught it first-time on the volley with the top of his left boot, blasting it back from whence it had come.

The ball followed a seemingly impossible curving trajectory, first traveling to the right—then suddenly, veering left at an incredible speed, spinning back towards goal. It homed into the back of the net like a ballistic missile, unstoppable.

Zenit's goalkeeper could only look on in disbelief. Zachary had scored a screamer from thirty-five yards away using his arrow-shot.

1:0.

The cheers exploded suddenly within the stadium as fans marveled at the spectacular display. In the 90th minute, Zachary had had the last laugh, carrying his team into the semifinal.