But in that case, how can they possibly win the game?

David Carter frowned.

After stepping onto the field and seeing the situation, his thoughts changed as well. He still didn’t know how many chances he had left to win that one and only spot, but compared to making the West Expedition team, he now cared more about winning the match.

He didn’t want to just stand by and watch the team lose, even if this was a hastily assembled squad.

He had to do something.

……

When the Red Team attacked, they all swarmed forward, but since everyone was playing their own game, they basically posed no real threat to the Blue Team’s goal. Instead, they lost possession during the attack, and the Blue Team booted the ball out with a big kick. The ball flew straight to midfield, right in front of David Carter, landed, bounced up, and was brought down by David Carter with his chest.

Then David Carter stopped the ball under his foot. He didn’t charge forward with it, which surprised quite a few people.

John Carter was very excited in the stands—after all, this was his son’s first touch in the match. He stood up from his seat and shouted, “Go, son!!”

David Carter held the ball, not making a single move.

It was as if he was frozen, but to most people, it looked more like he was at a loss after his debut and first touch.

While he was dazed, the Blue Team players all rushed at him, planning to steal the ball and launch a counterattack.

The Red Team players started running back, waving and shouting at David Carter as they ran: “Pass! Pass the ball!”

Everyone wanted David Carter to pass the ball to them, but David Carter didn’t do that.

Facing the onrushing crowd of red and blue, he still didn’t make any move.

It was as if… he was completely scared stiff.

The fastest runner was the Blue Team’s number 9 forward, Andrew Foster. He took the lead, and his speed was the fastest among all twenty-three players. He was absolutely confident in his pace.

He believed that with his full-speed sprint, the newly substituted Red Team player wouldn’t possibly be able to react…

But just as he was about to reach David Carter, David Carter suddenly turned around and back-heeled the ball to the center-back behind him!

Andrew Foster didn’t think much of it—his eyes were only on the ball. Since the opponent passed the ball back, he’d just keep chasing. With constant pressure, the Red Team’s defender was bound to make a mistake!

But as he swept past David Carter like the wind, he heard that kid shout, “Pass it back!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew Foster saw David Carter quickly move to the side after passing, pointing down at his own feet with both hands, signaling his teammate to pass a ground ball to him.

But Andrew Foster’s speed was clearly faster than his brain’s reaction. David Carter’s figure quickly disappeared from his peripheral vision, and he didn’t have time to think about what David Carter was up to—he just kept charging toward the ball and the Red Team’s number 5 center-back.

……

At first, when William Thompson saw the ball suddenly passed to him by that substitute kid, he was internally collapsing—The opponent is pressing so hard, and you pass the ball to me? Are you trying to set me up!

For a moment, he was at a total loss—this time, it was real, not just looking lost.

But just as he didn’t know what to do, he heard the substitute who passed him the ball suddenly shout, and at the same time run toward the center, just… emerging from behind Andrew Foster, so he could see him clearly and didn’t have to worry about Andrew Foster intercepting the pass, since they weren’t on the same line at all.

Seeing David Carter’s move, William Thompson quickly swung his leg and kicked the ball right back to David Carter.

He had just passed the ball when Andrew Foster lunged in, stretched out his leg, and missed!

William Thompson had temporarily escaped trouble, but he’d created a problem for David Carter.

To make sure Andrew Foster didn’t intercept, William Thompson had kicked the ball with a lot of force and in a hurry. It didn’t look like a pass, more like a clearance that didn’t quite work. The ball bounced and skipped quickly across the grass, heading straight for David Carter.

It wouldn’t be easy to control such a “pass.”

And if David Carter couldn’t control it well, the Blue Team player charging at him from behind could easily steal the ball and launch a counterattack.

At this moment, David Carter lifted his right foot and calmly brought the difficult ball under control. Without pausing, he immediately used his left foot to pass the ball to another center-back, the Red Team’s number 4, Kevin Parker.

Just as he passed the ball, a Blue Team player charged in from behind, but of course, missed the ball.

But this scene made the spectators break out in a cold sweat—if David Carter had taken even a moment longer to control the ball, he might not have been able to make the pass, and the Blue Team player could have poked the ball away from behind…

In the stands, the parents of the Blue Team players let out a huge sigh, regretting that the Blue Team hadn’t seized the chance to steal the ball up front and launch a counterattack.