novelraw Chapter 350 - 24: Malta VS England II
Chapter 350 - 24: Malta VS England II
87’ — 90’+3’ |
Malta restarted and pressed forward for the final minutes with the particular desperate energy of a side trying to salvage something from the evening, and Demien tracked a Malta midfielder driving into space in the centre with Eze out wide and the nearest cover coming from behind.
The Malta player’s weight was on his left foot and the pass was going inside to the striker, knee height, right foot, arriving in about a second and a half.
He moved to the lane.
「STAT ACTIVE」 Defensive Awareness: 73 | Interceptions: 82
His boot stepped into the passing channel before the ball arrived and it ran cleanly onto his foot and he was already turning before the contact finished, and the possession change happened in one motion rather than two.
He played it wide to Eze and Eze drove into the corner to wind the clock down while the Malta midfielder stood and watched, and in the eighty-ninth minute Demien received centrally with space opening ahead at twenty-eight yards and the Dipping Power Shot sitting in his inventory, but the scoreline was five-nil and the professional choice was back to Stones who slowed the tempo, and he played it there and took up his position and the game managed itself through three minutes of added time without incident.
Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt! Fweeeeeetttttttt!
FULL TIME: MALTA 0-5 ENGLAND
He raised both arms toward the England section and they were still going, the specific sustained noise of a group who had watched something unexpected and were still processing it, and somewhere in the middle of the sound he could make out his own name in the rhythm of the chant.
Kane found him near the halfway line and put one arm across his shoulders while they walked.
"That goal," Kane said. "The dip on it."
"Yeah," Demien said.
Kane didn’t add anything. Just kept the arm there for a moment before dropping it as they reached the tunnel entrance, and that was enough.
Rice passed him coming the other way and touched his fist briefly. "Welcome to senior football."
Away Dressing Room — 10:15 PM
The room settled with the noise of a clean win — boots coming off, showers running, the particular low-volume satisfaction of a team that had done what it came to do without drama and wanted food and a bus and a bed in that order.
Kane came in last and went straight to the match ball sitting on the physio bench where the kit man had left it, and he walked across the room and held it out toward Demien.
"Take it," Kane said.
Demien looked at it. "You scored the penalty."
"Your goal. Your debut." Kane pressed it forward. "Take it."
Demien took the ball and held it — white leather, Malta crest and England crest both printed below the match date, 16/06/2023. His name wasn’t on it yet but the date was.
Southgate came in two minutes later and the room went down a level without anyone deciding to quiet it.
"Good performance," he said. "Professional from the first whistle to the last. Malta were what we expected and we handled it correctly throughout." He paused. "A few individuals made the most of their opportunity tonight." He didn’t name anyone. The room understood. "Three days until North Macedonia at Old Trafford. Significantly better opposition. Stay focused." He looked around. "Well done. Shower and bus in thirty."
He left.
The FA photographer appeared in the doorway and Kane waved people together for the squad photo, and he pulled Demien to the centre of the group and Rice stood on the other side of him and the match ball was in Demien’s hands and Phillips put his hands on Demien’s shoulders from behind while Grealish made a face at the camera from the end, and the flash went off twice.
Team Hotel — 11:30 PM
He was still pulling his boots off when his phone started going.
The England official account had posted the highlights first — five goals, the full package — with a note at the end showing Wilson’s goal from Demien’s pass and then the dipping shot, both in slow motion. Sixty-seven thousand likes in twenty minutes.
His notifications had gone past a hundred before he’d finished reading the first ten.
Isabella:I screamed at the television when you scored. I’m crying. Call me when you can. So proud. Ti amo ❤️
Sophia:THAT GOAL. I watched it four times already. The whole bar in Milan went quiet and then absolutely lost it. I’m still shaking. Call me. So proud of you baby. xxx
Luca:Fratello. WHAT. The whole Braga squad came to watch the second half because word got around an Italian was playing for England. You just scored on your debut. CALL ME. 🔥🔥🔥
Marco:Outstanding. Goal and assist in thirty-three minutes. Both clubs were represented in Malta tonight. They’ve seen everything. Focus on Monday and then we talk. Proud of you. — M
De Roon:Watched the match. That goal was special. You’re ready for this level. Congrats.
Koopmeiners:🚀🚀
Lookman:MY GUY. That dip on the shot 🔥
Gasperini:Bene. Continua così.
He scrolled the transfer accounts briefly and Romano had posted twice and Ornstein once and both Liverpool and Manchester United had left emoji comments on the England account’s post of his goal, which said everything about where Thursday and Friday’s meetings were heading without saying any of it directly.
He set the phone face-down.
Eze was on the other bed already changed. "You broke the internet."
"It’s Malta," Demien said.
"It doesn’t matter," Eze said. "That goal’s going to be on every channel tomorrow. That’s the kind of thing that doesn’t care what the scoreline was."
Demien didn’t answer that and set the match ball on the desk beside his charger and went to the bathroom.
12:45 AM
Eze was asleep and the television was off and the room was the specific warm quiet of a Mediterranean night with the window cracked and the sound of the sea somewhere below.
He opened the system panel one more time.
「MISSION COMPLETE」 「SENIOR ENGLAND DEBUT」 「33 Minutes Played | 0 Errors | 1 Goal | 1 Assist」 「BONUS OBJECTIVES EXCEEDED」
「MATCH PERFORMANCE BREAKDOWN」 「Epic Skill Activations: 2 (Step-Over Combo | Dipping Power Shot)」 「Legendary Skill Activations: 2 (Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker ×2)」 「Trait Activations: Press Resistant — 4 instances」 「Pass Completion: 96% (24/25)」 「Duels Won: 6/6」 「Key Passes: 3 | Shots: 1 | Interceptions: 2」
「REWARDS」 「Base: 100 MP + 2 SP」 「Debut Bonus: 50 TP」 「Goal Bonus: 100 MP」 「Assist Bonus: 50 MP」 「Clean Performance Bonus: 1 SP」 「Skill Showcase Bonus: 50 TP」
「TOTAL RECEIVED: 100 TP | 3 SP | 250 MP」
「UPDATED BALANCE」 「390 TP | 14 SP | 263 MP」
「NEXT MATCH: North Macedonia (H) — Monday, June 19 | Old Trafford」 「TRANSFER MEETINGS: Liverpool — June 22 | Manchester United — June 23」 「DECISION DEADLINE: June 26」
He looked at the balance for a moment and then closed the interface.
Outside the window Malta was quiet and the sea was somewhere in the dark and in England his goal was playing on a loop on every sports channel, and in three days there was Old Trafford, and four days after that there were two meetings, and six days after that there was a decision that would determine the next five years.
He closed his eyes.