Chapter 798 Something Special
Chapter 798: Chapter 798 Something Special
If you’re enjoying the story, consider voting to show your support. Feel free to join me on Discord to chat and share your thoughts: https://discord.gg/hTQJtj2K9U.
#More than 10 Chapters ahead on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/TrikoRex. If you have a moment, leaving a review would mean a lot to me and help me see who’s interested in the story’s future.
~~~
[2021-06-07 | MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA, Düsseldorf, Germany | 21:30 CET]
By the 80th minute, the colour on the wall had become clear, and the paint was pretty much dry. The home side had come into the second half with a vengeance, breaching the Latvia goal early in the 5th minute when newly subbed on Rakim bent a cross into Gnabry’s run. The German international broke past his marker, meeting the ball on the volley, smashing it beyond the reach of Ozols.
Ten minutes later, in the 60th, Rakim decided he wanted in on the action and exchanged a series of one-touch passes with Jamal to slice up the left flank. The attack was so fast that by the time the Latvian defenders realised the danger, the winger had found his shooting angle. Without bothering to adjust, he sent a left-footed trivela strike, bending it venomously to the top right corner.
"REX!" Bartels’ voice climbed sharply. "Six-nil, and what a finish from the young man! That outside of the boot, the dip, the curl—pure quality from the Champions League winner!"
"That’s a goal that announces him on the international stage, Tom," Réthy added. "The technique to strike it with the outside of his right foot from that angle, and the audacity to even attempt it."
Feeling their pride hurt, Latvia decided to go for broke, charging forward with abandon as their coach made changes of his own. Renars Varslavans, the subbed on forward, got on the end of a nifty counter, breaking past the subbed on Niklas Süle, who found himself wrong-footed. The striker broke into the box with speed, heading straight for Neuer, who immediately abandoned his goal, arms spread wide.
Maybe due to the long spell of inactivity or lack of sharpness, the goalie was a second behind. Varslavans wasn’t going to miss that opportunity and blasted the ball beyond the keeper’s reach.
"Well, there’s a consolation for Latvia," Bartels noted as the small contingent of travelling fans erupted in the corner of the stadium. "Renars Varslavans gets his name on the scoresheet, and you have to feel happy for them after the night they’ve had."
"A good moment for Latvian football," Réthy agreed. "Both Neuer and Süle caught napping for a moment there, but credit to Varslavans for the composure to finish it."
The goal seemed to inject some life into the Latvian side, who now pressed forward with a touch more belief, sensing they could perhaps grab another to make the scoreline a little more respectable. Their captain, Cernomordijs, gestured furiously to his teammates to keep pushing, knowing that with the German side’s relaxed posture, opportunities might present themselves.
Germany, for their part, kept their composure as Löw barked instructions from the touchline. The opponents’ substitutions had broken some of the rhythm, disrupting their dominance. Süle seemingly needed longer to get his engine going and decided to sleepwalk his way through, and they got caught.
The minutes ticked down as the German side remained in possession but lacked the venom they’d shown earlier. They did what they did best, strangling the game with possession, killing any hints of a comeback. Around the 86th minute, Musiala nearly scored the seventh after combining with Rakim and Kross to find himself free at the edge of D.
He sent a powerful skipper along the ground that sent Ozols diving across his line in desperation. He was a second late, but Lady Luck, who had abandoned him, decided to throw him a bone as the ball bounced off the post. Scrambling up from the ground, he punched his hand forward, poking it out for a corner before Werner could jump on the second ball.
In the dying seconds, Rakim found himself with the ball at his feet near the corner flag, two Latvian defenders pressing him cautiously. He sized up his man, feinted a cut back, only flicked the ball through Jagodinskis’s legs, drawing gasps from the crowd before exploding past him. Chasing after the ball, he whipped in a cross into the box, trying to make the connection with Can, but Ozols decided to punch it clear.
"Oh, the cheek of it!" Réthy laughed. "He just can’t help himself, can he? Even in the 92nd minute of a friendly, he’s looking for another."
(FWEEET! FWEEET! FWEEEEEEET!)
[Germany 6 v 1 Latvia]
The final whistle pierced the Düsseldorf night, and the German players gathered briefly at the centre circle to exchange handshakes with their Latvian counterparts. The crowd gave their team a warm ovation as they began their lap of acknowledgement. Six goals, a confidence-restoring performance, and just days before their tournament opener against world champion France, the timing couldn’t have been better.
"Six-one, then," Bartels declared as the cameras followed the players walking off the pitch. "A statement performance from Germany in their final pre-tournament friendly. The questions that lingered after the Denmark draw seem to have been answered tonight."
"To a degree, Tom," Réthy cautioned, ever the analyst. "Latvia is a side that finished bottom of their World Cup qualifying group last cycle. They are not Mbappé and Benzema. Not Cristiano Ronaldo. Not Lukaku. But you can only beat what’s in front of you, and Germany did that emphatically."
"Fair point, but for a side that looked rusty in Vienna, this is the response Löw will have wanted. Six different scorers, fluid attacking play, and crucially, minutes for some of the younger players who’ll be looking to make an impact in the tournament."
Down on the pitch, Rakim could be seen exchanging shirts with one of the Latvian midfielders, both smiling as they posed briefly for the photographers. Wirtz lingered near the tunnel, having been unused but still appeared in good spirits as he chatted with Musiala.
"You have to mention the cameo from Rakim Rex," Bartels continued. "A goal and an assist in just over thirty minutes of football. That trivela finish will be on highlight reels for weeks."
"And the chemistry with Musiala," Réthy added. "The pair of them combine like they share the same brain. If Löw can find a way to integrate that creative spark with the experience of Kroos, Müller and Gündogan, Germany might have something special on their hands."
The post-match mixed zone was a controlled affair, with DFB media officers carefully managing which players spoke to which outlets. Löw had been clear about minimising exposure during the tournament window, but a token few were trotted out to satisfy the gathered press. Tom Bartels and Béla Réthy watched from the broadcast booth as the post-match coverage continued, the ZDF analysts in the studio dissecting the performance.
"Speaking of integration," Bartels picked up the thread, "I noticed Löw kept Rakim off the press list tonight. We won’t be hearing from him."
"Not surprising. The DFB has been protective of all the new faces, but particularly the younger ones. There’s a method to it, of course. Build the team cohesion, control the narrative, let the football do the talking on the pitch."
"And what’s your read on the squad’s mentality going into Munich?"
Réthy paused, weighing his words. "Better than a week ago, certainly. But France will be a different beast entirely. Pogba, Kanté, Mbappé—they’ll test every weakness Germany has. Tonight was a confidence-builder, but the real examination starts on the fifteenth."
The cameras cut to a wide shot of the stadium, the floodlights gradually dimming as the crowds filtered out. In the corner of the screen, a graphic appeared listing the day’s other notable footballing news: Argentina had begun their Copa América campaign with a draw against Chile, with Messi scoring a stunning free kick; Belgium had hammered Croatia 1-0 in their final warm-up; and the latest update on transfer speculation had Jadon Sancho closing in on a move to Manchester United.
"Plenty going on in the football world tonight," Bartels noted, glancing at the rundown. "The transfer market is beginning to bubble away in the background, with the Sancho saga seemingly nearing a conclusion."
"It’s that time of year," Réthy chuckled. "Tournaments on one hand, transfer windows on the other. And speaking of the transfer market, you have to imagine certain agents and sporting directors have been watching tonight’s match with great interest."
"For the Leverkusen trio specifically?"
"For Rakim in particular. Every match he plays now, every touch, is being assessed by clubs across Europe. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, PSG—the rumours have been swirling for months. A summer of decisions awaits."
.
.
.
.
To Be Continued...