My Ultimate Gacha System

Chapter 358 - 33: England VS North Macedonia I

Pitch — Warm-Up

7:00 PM

The tunnel walk for warm-up happened in a line with Demien following the team toward the pitch, and when he emerged from the red-walled corridor into the vast bowl of the stadium the sound hit like a physical force that had weight and pressure and the specific quality of seventy-three thousand people who had come early and were already in full voice.

He jogged onto the pitch with the substitutes while the starters warmed up at the other end, and the grass was perfect under his boots and the lines were sharp and Old Trafford under lights was different from the empty walkthrough yesterday because now it was full of people and noise and energy that changed everything.

The scale was overwhelming in ways that San Siro hadn’t been overwhelming because this was tighter and louder and the three tiers wrapping around the pitch trapped sound and pushed it back down onto the field, and seventy-five thousand capacity was a number that didn’t fully register until you stood in the middle of it and felt the weight of all those eyes and voices.

The warm-up routine started with two laps and Demien jogged with the other substitutes—Eze, Phillips, Mount, Grealish, Wilson—and they moved at the steady pace that warmed muscles without burning energy, and nobody spoke because speaking required volume that would strain voices before the match even started.

Dynamic stretching followed in a circle near the corner flag where the substitutes spread out with enough room to move properly, and Demien went through hamstrings and quads and groins and calves with the same focus he gave it at Atalanta because the routine worked regardless of which stadium surrounded it.

Passing drills came next with pairs working on first touch and weight and accuracy, and Demien paired with Eze while they played short passes back and forth with increasing pace and decreasing distance, and his first touch was clean every time because the preparation had been thorough and his body knew what to do.

Light shooting followed and Demien took three attempts from the edge of the box with two finding the corner and one going wide, and Phillips from ten yards away nodded once without saying anything because the ratio was acceptable for warm-up shooting.

England fans filled three sections and their voices combined into sustained waves of "GOD SAVE THE KING" and "ENGLAND! ENGLAND!" and "THREE LIONS" that never fully stopped, and North Macedonia fans occupied one corner with maybe three thousand supporters who were loud but completely drowned out by the home support.

Demien practiced one Cruyff Turn during passing drills and his body executed it perfectly with the muscle memory that came from the legendary skill being integrated, and Phillips noticed from five yards away and his voice carried just loud enough to hear.

"Save it for the match," Phillips said. "If you get on."

Always that IF because nobody knew what ninety minutes would bring.

Seven-thirty arrived and the warm-up ended, and both teams walked back toward their dressing rooms with fifteen minutes remaining until kick-off, and the crowd’s noise followed them through the tunnel until the door closed and reduced it to a muffled roar.

Players’ Tunnel

7:42 PM

Both teams lined up in the tunnel with England in white home kits and North Macedonia in red away kits, and children mascots held players’ hands while officials positioned themselves between the teams and the match ball sat on its presentation stand waiting.

Demien stood near the back of the England line with the other substitutes because the starting eleven led the walk and everyone else followed in order, and through the tunnel opening he could see the pitch and the crowd and the lights and the specific configuration of Old Trafford that made it different from every other stadium.

The noise was already deafening and the match hadn’t started yet, and this was what he’d worked for but he was on the bench and might not play and might get five minutes and might get none, and accepting that reality was part of being a substitute at international level.

The referee checked his watch and signaled to both captains, and his voice carried down the tunnel clearly.

"Let’s go."

The teams walked out and the noise erupted into something bigger than what had come before, and seventy-five thousand people stood and clapped and sang while England players waved to the crowd and North Macedonia players stayed focused and professional.

The national anthems started with God Save the King first, and the crowd sang while Demien stood on the touchline with the other substitutes and his hand went over his heart and he watched the starting eleven lined up at the center circle standing at attention.

North Macedonia’s anthem followed and the home crowd respected it with silence, and when both anthems finished the teams took their positions and Demien walked to the bench with the other substitutes and sat between Eze and Phillips.

Kane and North Macedonia’s captain met at the center circle for the coin toss and the referee raised his whistle to his lips.

Fweeeeeetttttttt!

England versus North Macedonia. UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier. Old Trafford. Kick-off.

First Half —

7:45 PM - 8:30 PM

1’ - 10’

England came out aggressively with Rice and Henderson controlling the midfield and Saka and Rashford stretching North Macedonia’s defense wide, and Foden dropped deep to receive while Kane’s movement created space between the lines, and the pattern was clear from the first minute that England wanted to dominate possession and force North Macedonia into defending.

North Macedonia defended in their compact four-four-two mid-block exactly as yesterday’s video had shown, and Elmas and Bardhi worked hard in the center to deny space to Rice and Henderson, and their wingers tracked back diligently to support the fullbacks, and this wasn’t Malta because their organization was professional and their discipline was genuine.

Demien watched from the bench and studied how Elmas positioned himself relative to Rice, and how Bardhi timed his presses on Henderson, and how their wingers knew when to tuck inside and when to stay wide, and the information went into his mental file because if he got called on he’d need to know these patterns immediately.

12’ |

The buildup started from Stones who played into Rice, and Rice turned and found Henderson in space, and Henderson switched play with a diagonal ball to Shaw on the left who had pushed high, and Shaw drove forward with the ball at his feet before crossing low and hard into the six-yard box.

Kane arrived at the near post with perfect timing and his side-foot finish went bottom corner before the goalkeeper could react.

GOAL: ENGLAND 1-0 NORTH MACEDONIA (12’ — Kane)

Old Trafford exploded and the noise reached a level that made the warm-up noise seem quiet, and Kane wheeled away with his arms wide while teammates mobbed him, and the bench stood to applaud because that was protocol even when you weren’t playing.

Demien clapped with the others and his reaction was professional support rather than excessive celebration because he wasn’t involved and excessive celebration from the bench looked performative.

North Macedonia restarted quickly without panic because they’d expected England to score and their game plan was clearly to withstand pressure and hit on the counter when opportunities came.