"Ah, that’s better!"

Donovan was the first to get up, stretching his body with a look of pure comfort on his face.

The massages were a given. He knew that after every training session, when they were completely wiped out, Chen Yu could always help them recover their energy in no time, leaving them full of life.

But this time, what pleasantly surprised him was the cup of brown sugar ginger tea.

It was piping hot. He downed it in one go, and the warmth spread from his stomach, seeming to seep out of every pore.

The chill that had built up in his body during the first half was swept away just like that.

Now, his body was warm all over, as if he hadn’t even played a game.

"Don’t just stand there. Keep moving," Chen Yu urged.

For this match, Alina wasn’t just being modest with his words; he was being modest with his tactics too. The strategy was defense and counter-attack.

He then demanded that everyone had to run—run with all their might. They had to fight for every ball. On every defensive play, the forwards couldn’t just watch from the front; they had to fall back.

And on every attack, the defensive line had to push up. The plan was to run, run from start to finish. If anyone couldn’t run anymore, he would be subbed out immediately.

This was targeted specifically at the Croatian lineup’s weaknesses: their advanced age and lack of stamina.

So, from this perspective, Chen Yu thought, ’Alina does want to win, or at the very least, fight for a draw.’

Fifteen minutes passed in a flash. Alina didn’t go into too much tactical detail. His instructions could be summed up in a few words: just like the first half, keep running.

Many of the opportunities to threaten Croatia’s goal in the first half had been created by running.

It proved the tactic was sound.

Besides, the United States Team was young and full of stamina. Since their technique wasn’t up to par, their only option was to run their hearts out and be more aggressive.

And Chen Yu soon discovered that Alina’s tactic seemed to be flawless.

The United States Team really did create a scoring opportunity through their relentless pressing.

「71 minutes in.」

As the second half resumed, the rain had lessened somewhat, but it hadn’t stopped.

And after running for a full seventy minutes, Croatia’s stamina was clearly becoming an issue.

Suker had started to just wander around up front, completely unable to run anymore.

Their midfield was no longer initiating attacks, instead just passing the ball back and forth, seemingly having accepted the result of a draw.

But just as Alina had said, opportunities are created through fighting. Hajuk showed no mercy to his former Bayer Leverkusen teammate, Niko Kovac, capitalizing on an overly casual back pass to intercept the ball.

He followed up with a long pass, sending it straight down the right flank.

It was Donovan again.

He sprinted down the right wing at top speed.

Zvonimir Soldo, at the ripe old age of 35, turned to give chase.

But in the light rain, Donovan was like an arrow, accelerating faster and faster because he had noticed the pass was a bit too long.

Behind him, Soldo’s face was taut as he held his breath and sprinted desperately, but he could only watch Donovan pull further and further away.

At 35, he really couldn’t outrun a young guy like Donovan.

Seeing he couldn’t catch up, Soldo reached out to pull him back.

RRRIP! The jersey tore free; he couldn’t hold on.

Donovan was completely unaffected and continued his mad dash.

Soldo, on the other hand, staggered, his legs gave out, and he tumbled onto the turf.

Donovan received the ball and looked up.

He was not disappointed.

The 26-year-old center forward, Clint Mattis, had kept up and was wide open.

He trapped the ball and sent a pass straight to the center.

Mattis received it, made a slight adjustment, and unleashed a furious shot.

The shot was fairly straight. Pletikosa got to it, but not completely. His rain-slicked gloves were slippery, and he couldn’t get full control of the ball.

THUD. He fell to the ground and watched the ball roll into the net beside him, furiously slamming a fist onto the grass.

Goal!

At 71 minutes, the United States Team broke the deadlock and scored.

Jorjic was stunned, standing dazed in the wind and light rain.

On the field, Mattis threw his arms open and rushed excitedly toward Donovan, roaring at the sideline.

Chen Yu hadn’t even had a chance to yell "Great shot!" before Alina grabbed him in an excited hug.

"We scored! We’re in the lead!" Alina jumped up and down with excitement.

Chen Yu couldn’t help but shout excitedly as well.

Previously, Chen Yu had been like many Americans, not particularly fond of soccer. He found it too slow, with teams sometimes playing a whole game without a single goal.

But now, Chen Yu was feeling the charm of soccer.

When you’ve been braving the wind and rain, waiting anxiously for over an hour, going from initial excitement to fatigue, and finally to a state of numbness where you’ve even started to accept a draw, a goal arrives.

In that instant, all the waiting and agony found an outlet, a release.

It was like plenty of foreplay, all for that final moment’s rush. The climax was certainly joyful, but the entire process was enjoyable too.

"Don’t celebrate too early, there are still over twenty minutes left." After the celebration, team leader August Martin couldn’t help but pour some cold water on their excitement.

He was afraid their joy would turn to sorrow, with the 3 points for a win becoming just 1 for a draw. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

If the score had remained tied, Croatia might have given up and settled for the draw.

But now that they were behind, there was no turning back. They had to give it their all.

And comebacks often happen at times like this.

"Right, right, right." Alina snapped back to reality and hurried to the sideline, signaling for the players to fall back and defend.

In his mind, this goal was just a stroke of luck for the United States Team. The Croatian tiger had simply dozed off and given them an opening. He figured they shouldn’t push their luck; they should just park the bus in front of the goal and hold on until the end of the match.

At that moment, however, Chen Yu suddenly noticed that Soldo, who had been chasing Donovan, still hadn’t gotten up after falling.

Moreover, Croatia’s medical staff had rushed onto the field.

’An injury?’

Chen Yu’s heart was in his throat again. As a doctor, he never wanted to see a player get injured.

But recalling the previous scene, there didn’t seem to be any physical contact.

Seeing the Croatian medics’ actions, Chen Yu immediately understood.

’It’s a cramp!’

It was perfectly normal. He was old, had been running for so long, and with the rainy, cool weather, his stamina was depleted.

Jorjic looked to the heavens and sighed, his face a mask of helplessness. He was making a substitution.

In fact, he was subbing out two players at once.

It wasn’t just Soldo; Suker was done for too. He clearly couldn’t run anymore.

He brought on two new players at once, waving his arms, signaling them to attack, and attack again.

He thought back to his pre-match pleasantries, how he’d praised the United States Team for their abundant stamina, youth, and drive, but claimed that Croatia had enough experience to control the tempo of the game. He felt like slapping himself.

He berated himself. He knew they were young and would run hard, yet he hadn’t made any specific tactical adjustments.

’And what "control the tempo"? Just passing back and forth and parking the bus, was it?’

They were the third-place finishers of the last World Cup! If they lost to the little-known United States Team, it would be a complete humiliation!

Crossing his arms, Jorjic watched the United States Team’s players sprinting back in the rain, and his expression darkened further. ’This is just bizarre,’ he thought. ’It’s the same rainy weather, so how can these guys run so much?’

’I know they’re young, but they can’t possibly run like this.’

’It’s been over seventy minutes, and I haven’t seen a single one of their players stop to take a stroll. They’re still flying all over the field. With that kind of stamina, you’d think they trained for marathons at home every day.’

Croatia knew they had to attack, but the substitutions didn’t have much of an effect.

For one, the United States Team had parked the bus. For another, Croatia genuinely seemed to have run out of steam on offense.

The speed that had been their pride four years ago was nowhere to be seen.

Most importantly, the United States Team wasn’t just fast; they weren’t afraid of physical contact. Attack after attack died just outside the penalty area.

As time was about to run out, Croatia, unable to break through, grew not only impatient but also couldn’t help but entertain the thought of giving up.

They truly couldn’t fight anymore.

Just then, another overly casual pass gave the United States Team an opportunity.

Reina shot out like a speeding horse, intercepted the ball, and took off running.

He was so fast. In an instant, he had already crossed the halfway line.

On the sideline, Chen Yu rose to his feet involuntarily.

’This is a true defensive counter-attack!’ he thought.

Chen Yu had already spotted Donovan. The young man’s reaction was swift; he had started sprinting almost the exact moment Reina intercepted the ball.

Croatia’s defensive line was pushed up too far, and the alarm bells were ringing once again.

Facing the defender who came to block him, Reina wasn’t flustered at all.

If you had to name a star on this United States Team, he was one—and the only one.

After all, he had once been the captain of Wolfsburg, a player who had made his mark in the Bundesliga.

He was the core of the United States Team’s midfield, their offensive engine. With his dual Argentine and Portuguese heritage, he possessed a delicate footwork rarely seen on the American team. With a simple change of direction while sprinting at high speed, he dribbled past the defender and broke into the penalty area.

There was only one defender left in front of him, and inside the box, the defender didn’t dare commit a reckless foul.

What was worse for the defender, Donovan had caught up.

In that instant, Reina’s mind remained clear. He faked a shot but calmly pulled his foot back and passed the ball sideways to the right.

Donovan arrived right on time and slotted it home, the ball drilling into the back of the net.

Another goal.

2-0!

Alina was stunned for a few seconds before he snapped out of it, raising his arms high in excitement and running wildly in front of the bench.

The counter-attack had come too suddenly, and the whole sequence was too fast—so fast that he never expected they could score so easily, or that Croatia’s defense could be so disastrous.

He turned, hugged Chen Yu again, and shouted excitedly, "Chen, Donovan was amazing! I have to thank you!"

He looked like he wanted to kiss Chen Yu.

During the qualifiers, Donovan had been very young, but Alina had valued his speed and called him up to the National Team.

But at that time, Donovan was suffering from a groin injury and could never reach top speed on the field.

It was Chen Yu who had completely healed Donovan.

Only then could the young man sprint without restraint.

Chen Yu laughed heartily. ’That’s right, what a great kid. An assist and a goal—he really was the hero of this match.’

On the field, the United States Team players were celebrating wildly.

Their celebration even went on a bit too long.

But the Croatian players didn’t complain to the referee. They just stood there, looking completely dejected.

The rain fell ceaselessly from the gloomy sky, likely mirroring their own mood, which had sunk to the depths of despair.

When they were down 0-1, there had still seemed to be hope.

But now, they would need a miracle on par with the sky suddenly clearing up.

Jorjic stood on the sideline, wooden and motionless.

He actually cared a lot about this match. The goal had been to win and take 3 points.

In Group G, Italy was obviously a powerhouse. Knowing his team’s roster had aged over the past four years, Jorjic held no illusions about being able to defeat Italy.

In Jorjic’s mind, Italy would most likely win all three of their matches and advance as the top team in the group.

Therefore, if Croatia wanted to advance, they had to strive to win both of their remaining matches.

Before the match, Jorjic hadn’t felt it would be a problem.

One was the United States Team, the other was Ecuador. Neither were powerhouses.

Especially the United States Team, a Pot 4 team. By any calculation, they shouldn’t have been a match for Croatia.

Who would have known that in the very first game of the group stage, the United States Team would deliver such a stunning blow, such a huge "surprise."