The Reçuecian National Football Team was not given an easy schedule for the beginning of qualifying. Their very first game was away against the highest-ranked team in the group, their second game was at home against the third seed, and their third game was away again against the second best team they'd face in qualifying. One could forgive the Reçuecian team for a few weak results to start off their qualifying campaing. When playing the best in the world, you have to shrug off a couple losses here and there.
Except that... none of that happened. Reçueçn had tied Qasden when visiting TV City, and now had come away with a win against Valladares, visiting them as well. Nil-nil and one-zero, not spectacular results, but not bad for an unranked side against such strong competition. At the same time, the RNFT had done anything but shrug off the one loss they had taken to Santa Regada--instead, they dwelt fixated on it until it had gotten to the core of the team spirit.
If you remember, team Manager Jacques Tremblay had made his best attempt at a pep-talk before the Valladares game in order to get the team out of the lousy mood it had settled into. Apparently, something had clicked.
Firaut had gone up for the coin flip before the game started, but hadn't won it, so Valladares took the ball, setting it up on the center mark as he jogged back to his goal-line. When the whistle blew, a light tap, and a quick pass forward, and the game was on.
Tremblay had started both Leclair and Saunders, who had never been on the pitch together at the same time. He had them both playing their regular position, though, so so this changed the line-up to an even-more-defensive-than-usual 4-4-2. The Unicorns began the game particularly cautiously--the midfielders hung back, and even when they won possession, Reçueçn was mostly happy to play keep away and avoid taking any risks.
Tremblay, from the side-lines, watched his men closely, to see if anything he'd said before kick-in had sunk in. To the commentators watching the match, at first glance, the lack of zest displayed by the team seemed like a bad sign; the way they sat back without taking the initiative seemed indicative of their defeatist attitude. Trembly, however, knew better. He'd chosen the strategy, and he knew that the apparently pessimistic risk-aversion was all part of the plan.
As the game drew on and the Unicorns' defense held firm, the commentators began to liken it to the game against Qasden with which Reçueçn had begun its qualifiers. There were certainly plenty of similarities. Reçueçn, playing away from home, was somehow holding its own against a team ranked much higher than them. Reçueçn wasn't getting any scoring attempts, but they certainly weren't letting Valladares pose too much of a threat. The home team seemed to struggle to push through the RNFT mid-field, and by the time they got into the box, they were being consistently shut down. The home fans weren't happy--they'd expected better against an unranked side.
The Reçueçian squad was playing a quiet, efficient game. The players kept their heads down, and their jaws set with a determination. Tremblay's words rang in their minds:
I don't give a shit... if you don't give out their and play your best, you've let yourselves down. The team
was playing its best. And it was starting to look like it might be enough to hang on.
Half-time came, and the scoreline was still nada to nil. Tremblay hit the gas again in the locker-room. "I've seen you working out there. That's good. I need
more. We can hang on to this game if we keep playing how we have been, but we can
win this game if you guys give me everything you've got. Your fitness training has been coming in useful. You're going to be outrunning Valladares all the second half. Now do something with that."
When the Unicorns came out to start the second half, the pressure had been turned up. They were now fighting back, trying to make runs into the Valladares third of the pitch, trying to eat up a bigger share of possession. Tremblay hadn't used any of his subs yet, though, and the team was struggling to launch good attacks without a center forward on the field.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Tremblay finally went to his bench to give his mid-field some fresher legs. When the substitution was made a minute later in the 59th minute, it was Thomas Büchel who came on for Leclair. Taking off the defensive mid-fielder signaled a shift. Saunders was starting to play further and further up, and the Reçuecian counterattacks were becoming more and more sustained. Possession was now starting to become more balanced. The team, however, still didn't have a center-forward in the game.
It took another ten minutes for Tremblay to decide to finally put on the attacker he'd been missing. To the surprise of those watching, he chose Ly Nasser, who was usually on the second string. Franky, the star, stayed on the bench, for reasons unknown. The team was now back to their usual 4-3-3, but now with an attacking midfielder in Saunders, rather than Leclair who'd been starting during qualifiers thus far, and usually played further back.
The commentators watching were now clearly seeing the determination and effort Reçueçn was putting forth. Reçueçn, far from parking the bus, was actually starting to look like a viable threat to Valladares, the 40th ranked nation in the world. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Franky was out of his seat standing in the technical area, pulling on Tremblay's sleeve and begging to be put on.
"Come on coach, let me play. They need me out there!" Franky was ignoring the remonstrances of the ref, trying to get him out of the technical area. "Please, coach! Put me on!" Franky was beside himself.
Tremblay nodded to him, but gestured him back to the bench. Franky took his seat looking totally dejected, his elbows planted on his knees and his chin in his hands.
Finally, with just fourteen minutes left, Tremblay turned back to Franky. He looked him in the eye. "Take of your pinny. You're on."
Trembly had seen that by now, the fitness training of the Reçuecians had taken its toll. The Unicorns were outrunning their Valladar opponents up and down the field now, beating them to loose balls and intercepting passes. It was now Reçueçn on the attack, and Valladares hanging back, trying to get in their way. With Franky on the pitch, this was even more so. The line-up was now 4-2-4. Nasser and Saunders were almost constantly in the box, while Pélissier and Büchel were running up the flanks and crossing in to them.
Franky had only been on the pitch for four minutes when he got the ball about two thirds of the way down the field. He passed it up to Lebo, who drew a couple Valladar defenders before tapping it back to Franky, now in the center. With a beautiful dribble to juke to the left around his last mark, Franky drew back his left leg and unleashed the shot he'd been waiting for these last three games. Reçueçn's first shot on goal of the tournament. The goalie was nowhere near close enough to the far corner, where it flew past him as if on a mission. The back of the net rippled as the ball burrowed into it. One-zero. Reçueçn had finally scored. And they were in the lead.
From that point on, it was over. Valladares, growing desperate, launched a couple last-ditch counterattacks, but they bore no fruit. The defense was still there, and it shut them down. Just ten minutes after Franky's goal, the game was over--only a single minute of stoppage time had been added. Reçueçn had won.
As the whistle blew, the RNFT players rushed the field, piling on top of Franky. Even a 1-0 qualifying win was big to them--it was their first win since the IAC. Tremblay allowed them time to celebrate, before grouping them in a huddle on the center circle.
"This'll be short, boys. Good game. You played your hearts out! That's all I ask for, and now you see the results. I only want cheerful attitudes from here out. You can do win again like this--you can score more goals, even. So let's do this again!"
Previous Match
Valladares 0-1 Reçueçn
World Cup 83 Qualifiers — Matchday 3
Metropolis, Valladares
Goalscorers: Franky Adams 81'
Reçueçn line-up: Gerauld Firaut (c), Leo Beck, Ägidius Heissler, Norman Bright, Oliver Spencer, Luc Pélissier, Grégoire Leclair, Harold Saunders, Maynard Hebron, Hippolyte Lavigne, Freeman Lebo
Substitutions: Büchel for Leclair (59'), Nasser for Hebron (68'), Adams for H. Lavigne (76')
World Cup 83 Qualifiers — Matchday 4
Bye
Upcoming Match
Reçueçn vs Starcom Racing
World Cup 83 Qualifiers — Matchday 5
National Stadium, Reçueçn, Reçueçn
Reçueçn line-up: Gerauld Firaut (c), Leo Beck, Ägidius Heissler, Norman Bright, Oliver Spencer, Luc Pélissier, Harold Saunders, Maynard Hebron, Hippolyte Lavigne, Franky Adams, Jean-Baptiste Brochard