Minato quietly nudged Captain Bread with his arm, urging him to speak.

Bread gritted his teeth and whispered, "I'm sorry, coach, we let you down. In the second half, we will fight for our lives—"

Carter waved his hands. "No, you misunderstood. You didn't disappoint me. On the contrary, I was basically satisfied with your performance in the first half."

Bread looked at Carter in astonishment, "But coach, we are two goals behind..."

Being two goals behind is not a big deal. The most troublesome thing is that the Bucks Steelhorns were beaten by the Buccaneers and had no power to fight back at all!

If we continue playing like this, we will probably lose another 3 goals in the second half!

The eye-catching score of 5:1 graffitied on the wall could really reappear! Carter said, "You just heard how strong Albert's scoring data was... But you have to think about it the other way around. With such strong data and such a big advantage, they only scored two goals in the first half. Doesn't this just show that our defensive strategy has basically been achieved? In the first half, we consumed almost 70% of their physical strength. They still want to save their physical strength to play against Rugby Golden Fleece three days later. In the second half, they will definitely relax a lot."

What the hell?

From this perspective, the Bucks' defense in the first half was indeed good.

There was an obvious loophole on the left side, but the Bucks Steelhorns withstood the Buccaneers' fierce bombardment and did not allow the Buccaneers to expand their score advantage.

The first half was over and the score was already 2:0, but just as Coach Carter analyzed, the Buccaneers simply couldn't put in as much energy as they did in the first half! So... in the second half, the Bucks Steelhorns had a good chance!

All the players looked up and looked at Coach Carter intently.

Coach Carter said in a deep voice: "In the first 10 minutes of the second half, we still have to continue the defensive counterattack strategy of the first half. I want you to hold on to the 2:0 score and never give the Pirates any chance to expand the score. Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!" the team members responded in unison.

"Okay! As long as you can survive the first 10 minutes of the second half, I will start making substitutions. When I start making substitutions, our formation will change from the previous 4231 to the most familiar 442 diamond formation, and we will play the style of play we are most familiar with!"

"Yes, coach."

The team members' faces were still full of worry.

After all, they were two goals behind, and changing back to a 442 formation at this time didn't seem to change anything.

unless……

Substitution on the left side...

Although Gu Ran appeared calm on the surface, the blood in his body was flowing uncontrollably at an accelerated rate.

The fifteen-minute halftime break is over.

Players from both sides returned to the court and changed sides to continue the fight.

After the halftime break, the players of the Buccaneers were all in high spirits, while the players of the Bucks Steelhorns had serious faces and looked like they were ready to fight to the death.

The game started with the Bucks Steelhorns kicking off.

The Buccaneers' offensive and defensive tempo in the second half slowed down just as Coach Carter had expected.

After all, their advantage has been established and they don't need to try too hard, which is also to avoid injuries and maintain physical strength.

Three days after this game, the Corsairs will visit the powerful Rugby School.

If the Pirates can draw with Rugby Golden Fleece away from home, then they will basically have one foot into the top 16 in the country. If the Pirates can beat the Golden Fleece, then they will qualify for the group stage.

Therefore, the focus of the pirate ship is on three days later.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, neither side had a very good performance and the scene was a bit dull for a while.

The time to change formation is getting closer!

On the visiting team's bench, Coach Carter said in a deep voice: "Go warm up... sissy!"

"Yes, coach." The sissy sitting on the other side of Gu Ran said gently.

Gu Ran's heart almost stopped.

Carter's words just now, "Go warm up", instantly made Gu Ran's blood boil!

Unexpectedly, the result was to let the sissy warm up...

Carter looked at the situation on the court and said calmly: "Gu, how is your physical condition?"

What the hell!? Here it comes!

It's my turn this time!

My chance to play is really coming! Gu Ran suppressed his heart's beating again, "Coach, I assure you, my physical fitness is totally fine."

Carter deliberately said with contempt: "People often overestimate themselves."

Gu Ran immediately said: "I didn't overestimate myself! Coach! My physical fitness is really fine! I can play!"

Coach Carter looked back at the expression on Gu Ran's face and said, "Haha... Do you really want to play? But you know what? You have only been on the school team for 3 days and have not yet gotten used to the other players. If I let you play after only 3 days, I must be crazy to do that."

Gu Ran did not give up, "Coach! Give me this chance! Let me prove it to you! I will beat those arrogant bastards for you! Please believe me!"

A rare smile appeared on Carter's tightly pursed lips, but it was fleeting: "Tell me, did you do anything you shouldn't have done last night?"

"No!" Gu Ran hastily assured: "Absolutely not!"

Carter shrugged. "So what are you waiting for? Why don't you go warm up?"

Gu Ran was stunned, "Coach...Yes!!!"

Finally! Finally!

Gu Ran stood up excitedly and took off his pants.

——After changing into No. 3 sports shorts, Gu Ran began to warm up on the sidelines.

Finally, I can play in the national competition! Although Gu Ran has 12 years of experience, and although Gu Ran is mentally prepared to come on as a substitute, when this moment really comes, Gu Ran still can't control his excitement!

I want to play well! I want to prove to the coach that his choice is correct!

I want……

Gu Ran, who was stretching, suddenly stiffened: What the hell?

I wasn't PUA'd by that old troll just now...

Alas, I didn’t defend it by accident!

I'm not a middle school student. I really want to play football. Coach, there's no need for you to PUA me...

Gu Ran didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and continued to stretch and warm up.

Carter looked at Gu Ran warming up and murmured in a voice that only he could hear, "I must be crazy to use a Chinese kid who has only been on the team for three days as a secret weapon... Hehehe."

Seeing the substitutes of the Bucks Steelhorns warming up, the substitutes of the Buccaneers immediately started talking:

"Yo, those stinky fishmongers are ready to change."

"Haha, they're playing like this, there's no point in changing players!"

"Am I seeing right? They're actually going to replace him with an Asian?"

"I heard from Captain Albert that the guy is Chinese and can beat seven of them alone!"

"No way? The country bumpkin can't stand losing, so he starts using oriental kung fu?"

"Hahaha……"

beep--

Taking advantage of the dead ball in the game, the Bucks Steel Horns made substitutions.

Sissy No. 11 replaced the "dog-skin plaster" Boll, who was obviously unable to keep up with Albert, and No. 3 Gu Ran replaced the temporary worker whose lungs were about to be broken from running.

The formation of the Bucks Steelhorns team was adjusted immediately. The original single striker became a double striker, and the double defensive midfielders in 4231 became a single defensive midfielder in a flat formation. The biggest change was on the left side!

Gu Ran jogged into the stadium wearing light gold Messi-exclusive sneakers, and all the Manchester students in the audience booed wildly.

Various discriminatory gestures and swear words followed one after another.

Gu Ran smiled coldly, put his hands on his ears, made a listening gesture, "I can't hear you, please speak louder", and mocked back directly! The students in Manchester were about to explode with rage, and the discriminatory swear words were getting louder and louder! The captain, Mian Bao, quickly ran to Gu Ran and said, "Gu, don't pay attention to the provocations of those bastards, just focus on playing football and guard the left side."

Gu Ran smiled, and his expression gradually became murderous, "Don't worry, they will pay the price for this."

Beep! With the referee's whistle, the game resumed.

…

(End of this chapter)