My Ultimate Gacha System

Chapter 360 - 35: England VS North Macedonia II

65’ |

Southgate’s voice carried clearly to the bench. "Grealish, Walter, Mount—get ready."

Triple substitution. Demien stood with Grealish and Mount and all three began removing their tracksuits, and the fourth official prepared the substitution board while the three of them did final stretches and checked their boots and waited for the stoppage.

Demien’s heart rate increased slightly but not dramatically because this was opportunity arriving based on match needs rather than promises being fulfilled, and staying calm was part of being ready.

The fourth official raised the board at the next stoppage:

OFF: Henderson (8), Foden (11), Rashford (10)

ON: Grealish (7), Walter (26), Mount (19)

Fresh legs. Attacking intent. England three-nil up but Southgate wanted to control the game and potentially add more goals rather than just manage the lead.

Southgate’s instructions to all three were brief and collective. "Keep it moving. They’re tired. Exploit the space when it opens. Stay sharp."

Not singling anyone out. Professional instruction.

Demien jogged to the touchline with Grealish and Mount and all three checked in with the fourth official simultaneously before stepping onto the pitch, and the noise hit differently when you crossed the white line because now you were IN it rather than watching it.

Sixty-fifth minute. England three-nil up. Twenty-five minutes plus stoppage to make an impact.

The system notification appeared in his peripheral vision.

「MATCH MISSION ACTIVATED」

「ENGLAND VS NORTH MACEDONIA」

「OBJECTIVES」

「- Maintain match rating of 7.0+」

「- Score 1+ goals OR provide 1+ assists」

「- Complete 85%+ passes」

「REWARDS」

「100 TP | 2 SP | 100 MP」

He dismissed it mentally and focused on the immediate reality.

Henderson jogged off and his path crossed Demien’s near the touchline, and he extended his hand for a brief high-five while his voice carried one piece of advice.

"Sharp touches," Henderson said. "They press quick when they get near the ball."

Simple. Direct. Useful.

Demien nodded and took his position as the left-sided eight alongside Rice in the double pivot, and Grealish went to the left wing while Mount took the right and Saka pushed central behind Kane.

North Macedonia kicked off after the substitutions completed and the match resumed.

First touch incoming.

66’ |

Rice won the ball in midfield after a North Macedonia pass went slightly astray, and he turned and saw Demien marked but available in the center circle, and the pass came with the weight that expected Demien to control it cleanly.

Bardhi pressed from behind immediately with the aggression that came from a midfielder who’d been running for sixty-six minutes and knew fresh legs had just entered, and his positioning was tight and physical in ways that Malta’s midfielders hadn’t been physical.

This was different.

「TRAIT ACTIVATED」

Press Resistant

The ball arrived and Demien’s first touch took it but the contact was slightly heavy and the ball bounced away from him further than intended, and it wasn’t disastrous but it wasn’t clean either, and Bardhi closed fast while Demien had to adjust his body position to recover it.

He got there first because Reactions at eighty-eight helped him adjust quickly, but the pressure forced him to play backward to Shaw immediately, and the pass was safe but not progressive.

Not perfect. Not the start he wanted. Match pace was faster than training pace and the adjustment period was real.

Kane glanced back without his expression showing criticism and the look was just observation because everyone settled into matches differently and one heavy touch didn’t define a performance.

69’ |

The ball broke loose in midfield after Rice challenged for a header and didn’t win it cleanly, and it dropped between Demien and Bardhi with both arriving simultaneously for the fifty-fifty challenge.

Demien committed fully because backing off after the earlier mistake would signal hesitation, and the combination of Strength at ninety-seven and Aggression at ninety-four and Reactions at eighty-eight meant his body position won the space before Bardhi could establish his own position.

「STATS ACTIVE」

Strength: 97 | Aggression: 94 | Reactions: 88

He won it cleanly and shielded the ball with his body while Bardhi tried to come around him, and the Press Resistant trait kept his touch controlled even under the physical challenge, and he played a simple pass to Mount who had dropped to receive.

Mount drove forward and England’s attack built again.

Kane from up front gave a brief nod that acknowledged the response because winning the ball back after making a mistake showed mentality, and mentality mattered more than technique when adjusting to match intensity.

72’ |

North Macedonia pushed forward trying to get the consolation goal that would make the scoreline respectable, and their commitment in attack meant more bodies were high up the pitch and their defensive shape was stretched.

A corner for North Macedonia in the seventy-first minute was caught cleanly by Pickford who threw the ball quickly to Stones to start the counter-attack, and Stones drove forward five yards before playing to Rice who had space in midfield.

Rice pushed forward with the ball and North Macedonia scrambled to recover, and their defensive organization was disrupted because they’d committed players forward for the corner and the transition caught them wrong.

Rice played the ball to Demien on the half-turn just inside North Macedonia’s half with two of their midfielders recovering but not yet set, and Demien’s first touch was clean this time because the adjustment period had passed and his body had found the match rhythm.

「TRAIT ACTIVE」

Press Resistant

The touch set the ball and he took one more to position himself properly while his head came up and Composure at ninety-one kept his decision-making clear.

「STATS ACTIVE」

Vision: 77 | Composure: 91

Kane made his run through the middle and dragged the center-back with him, and Saka came diagonally from the right with perfect timing, and the space opened in the channel between North Macedonia’s fullback and center-back where Kane’s run had created the gap.

Demien waited. One second. Kane’s defender committed fully and the gap widened and Saka accelerated into it.

Now.

The legendary skill activated and the through ball came off the outside of his right boot with the curve that bent it away from the covering midfielder who lunged desperately.

「LEGENDARY SKILL ACTIVATED」

Andrea Pirlo — Deep-Lying Playmaker

「STATS ACTIVE」

Curve: 92 | Short Passing: 88

The ball traveled twenty-eight yards and threaded between two defenders while curving away from tackles, and it arrived exactly as Saka hit full stride in the penalty area with the weight that was perfect because too hard meant the goalkeeper would claim it and too soft meant the defender would intercept.

Saka received in stride and the goalkeeper rushed out but Saka’s finish was calm with the side-foot placement finding the far corner.

GOAL: ENGLAND 4-0 NORTH MACEDONIA (72’ — Saka)

Old Trafford erupted and seventy-five thousand people roared at once, and Saka wheeled away and pointed both hands directly at Demien while his voice carried even over the crowd.

"BRILLIANT BALL!"

Grealish sprinted over and jumped on Demien’s back and his voice was loud and genuine. "Fucking unreal pass, mate!"

Mount ran up tapping Demien’s head and Rice grinned from distance and Kane gave a thumbs up from up front, and the acknowledgment was real because the pass had been elite level regardless of who played it.

The assist counted. The vision demonstrated. Seven minutes after coming on and the earlier mistake was erased by quality.

Commentary booth:

"What a pass from Demien Walter! Threading through three defenders with perfect weight and vision! That’s world-class playmaking from the nineteen-year-old! After a shaky start when he first came on, he’s announced himself with that ball!"

In the directors’ box Julian Ward from Liverpool made a note on his tablet and leaned to speak to the colleague beside him while Darren Fletcher from Manchester United sat forward and said something to the scout on his left.

Both watching intently now because the assist was Premier League quality.