From Arsenal to the Ball God

Sagna looked at Lewandowski wearing the number 9 jersey, feeling an admiration for ”a great man should be like this”.

Ma’el nodded, watching other forwards shine, he also had a tingle in his feet, eager to score his first goal in the European Cup.

After this goal, the second turning point of the match occurred just before the end of the first half.

Greece’s defender Papastathopoulos tripped Poland’s number 10, Obraniak, receiving a second yellow card which turned into a red and was sent off.

As he left the field, he was visibly displeased, which also provoked booing from the Greek fans.

Ma’el and Sagna quickly took out their phones to watch the replay, only to find that Poland’s number 10 clearly slipped on his own, yet the Greek defender took the blame.

Misjudgment!

”This just happens sometimes.”

Sagna, seeing his point validated, shrugged boastfully, ”See, Greece was about to gain momentum, but was suddenly harmed by a misjudgment, appealing after such matches is useless.

”I still hope replays could be available on the football field, giving referees a chance to rewatch and clear their vision.”

Ma’el smiled, VAR would indeed arrive in a few years, but its emergence did not receive unanimously positive reactions as expected and remained controversial.

Not dwelling on this point, they waited for 15 minutes and then watched the second half of the game.

Just when they thought the hosts would win easily, another twist occurred.

The Greek substitute forward Salpingidis played better and better, scoring a goal through a counterattack in the 51st minute.

10-man Greece leveled the score!

This was not the end, barely more than ten minutes later, as the Poland team was about to launch an all-out attack after making a substitution, Greece, through another counterattack and Salpingidis, created danger again.

He formed a one-on-one in the penalty area, causing Szczeny, who came out to tackle, to become very tense, ultimately making an uncalm move by tripping him over!

”Beep!”

The main referee’s whistle blew, sending off Szczeny with a red card and giving Greece a penalty opportunity!

Red card and penalty combo!

The scales tipped once again, this time towards Greece, the drama of the match was unimaginable for everyone!

”Ah.....”

Ma’el and others shook their heads regretfully, mourning for their club teammate Szczeny for a few minutes, and also sympathizing with the host team.

”Boom!”

The Greek captain then took the penalty shot, but just as people thought he would lead Greece to a miraculous comeback, he missed!

The substitute goalkeeper Tidong flew and blocked the ball, which was then cleared by the Polish defender!

It’s not over yet!

More twists!

Ma’el and Sagna were both stupefied, not expecting such an entertaining match, stirring everyone’s emotions repeatedly.

”Beep! Beep! Beep—!”

The final result of the match was a 1-1 draw, with both sides shaking hands at the opening match.

After the match, as Sagna left, he sighed to the two of them, also reminding them, ”This is the European Cup, this is the Intercontinental Cup, we must be prepared for all kinds of uncertainties.”

Ma’el smiled at him, although very heavy in heart, still chose to calm everyone down, ”What’s the rush? Come on, our Arsenal trio should also summarize this day to the cameras.”

Sagna and Koscielny instantly stopped in their tracks, with smiles on their faces, it seemed to have become their routine show.

The two walked to Ma’el’s side, facing the camera

This time, they didn’t shout anything, but instead lively danced and sang, ”Dun Dun Dun Dun... I have a friend!”

In their spirited dance steps, everyone could see, they truly entered a new Chapter, writing a new story of their own.

”Poland draws 1-1 with Greece! Lewandowski scores, Salpingidis elected as the best player of the match!” - Poland ”Sports Paper”

”Russia defeats Czech Republic with 4-1 victory! The first team to win in this European Cup, Pavlyuchenko with 1 goal and 2 assists, Arshavin assists twice!” - Russia ”Daily Paper”

”The first round of Group A has all finished, two matches of the first round of Group B will be held on June 10th, Group C on June 11th, Group D on June 12th!” - UK ”Daily Mail”

...

The next day, the blazing sun shone over Poland Warsaw, the Group of Death, Group B’s matches officially kicked off.

In the afternoon match between Netherlands and Denmark, thanks to Kroon’s early goal, Denmark defeated Netherlands 1-0, creating the first upset of this tournament.

This made the advancement situation in Group B very hazy, bringing great pressure to Germany and Portugal playing later in the evening.

Kroon’s name appeared on the headlines all across the media today, outshining even Ronaldo, who was about to make his first appearance in this tournament.

At 7:30 in the evening, the Portugal vs Germany battle officially started in Ukraine.

This match was a tug-of-war, a scrimmage, with both sides receiving 4 yellow cards in just one half, yet unable to break the opponent’s net.

Ronaldo’s condition seemed a bit off, unable to get much support from his teammates under Germany’s iron defense, only getting 2 shooting opportunities, both from long shots.

”Boom!!”

In the 72nd minute of the match, the in-form Mario Gomez helped Germany score a goal, which became the winning goal of this match.

Germany eventually defeated Portugal 1-0, securing a strategic advantage for advancement.