Chapter 27 - 25 — Eleven Metres II

Chapter 27: Chapter 25 — Eleven Metres II

The ball entered beside the far post.

Yanis continued running for two steps before turning toward the Metz bench with both arms spread. The substitutes leapt from their seats but remained beside the technical area as Rafael reached Yanis near the corner and caught him around the shoulders.

"Come on!" Yanis shouted.

Several teammates joined them, and the referee reached the group before waving everyone back toward halfway.

Yanis pulled free from Rafael and pointed toward the centre circle. "We can get another."

Lens restarted before the noise around the Metz bench had settled.

Their right-back remained deeper now, while the defensive midfielder stayed close to Rafael whenever he dropped. The change prevented Metz from repeating the route that had created the equaliser.

When Rafael next received under pressure, he tried to find Yanis, but the defensive midfielder blocked the lane and deflected the pass back toward Lens. Rafael turned and chased as the home side carried possession into Metz’s half, although their cross travelled beyond everyone inside the penalty area.

Both teams made changes as the match became more stretched. A fresh Metz winger attempted to run behind the defensive line too early, and the assistant referee raised his flag before the pass reached him.

"Look across!" Yanis shouted.

The substitute acknowledged the warning with one raised hand.

Lens replaced their striker and one midfielder, and the new forward immediately began attacking crosses instead of dropping toward the ball. His first opportunity arrived when the left-back lifted a high delivery toward the penalty spot.

The striker climbed between both centre-backs and directed his header downward. Metz’s goalkeeper spread himself, and the ball struck his right leg before bouncing across the six-yard box.

A Lens player rushed toward the rebound, but the Metz left-back reached it first and cleared beyond the touchline.

The goalkeeper climbed to his feet and struck both gloves together. "Wake up! We’re still playing!"

The warning did little to slow the match. Possession changed repeatedly as midfielders reached loose balls late and both defensive lines began leaving space behind them.

Metz recovered possession with Rafael standing near halfway. He controlled the pass, turned and saw only one Lens defender between him and the penalty area.

"Go!" Yanis shouted from the right.

Rafael carried the ball forward while Yanis and the substitute winger sprinted to join him. Neither had yet reached a position from which Rafael could find them, and a Lens midfielder was already recovering behind him.

The defender continued retreating and waited for Rafael to commit, so Rafael slowed, turned and returned possession to midfield. The chasing Lens player rushed past him without touching the ball, while Metz moved the pass wide and gave their runners time to arrive.

The attack ended with a blocked cross, but Lens never received the isolated counterattack their defender had been inviting.

The board beside the touchline showed three added minutes.

Lens spent the first defending a corner. Their centre-back headed clear, and the home winger attempted to break down the right, but Metz stopped him near halfway.

The remaining time passed through two throw-ins and a long clearance that Rafael could not reach. When the referee checked his watch and ended the match at 1–1, several players bent forward with their hands resting on their knees.

The referee pointed toward the penalty area.

There would be no extra time.

Metz returned to their technical area for water while the coach gathered the players who had finished the match and confirmed the order they had prepared. Rafael would take the fourth penalty.

The referee called both captains forward for the two coin tosses. Once the goal and the team taking the first kick had been determined, the eligible outfield players gathered inside the centre circle while the goalkeepers moved to their required positions.

Rafael stood beside Yanis among the burgundy shirts. Across the pitch, one goal waited beneath the noise of the home support, and eleven metres separated its line from the penalty mark.

Metz took the first kick.

Their player positioned the ball, retreated and waited for the whistle while the Lens goalkeeper moved along his line. The shot went low to the right, but the goalkeeper chose the opposite corner.

Lens answered by driving their first penalty into the upper netting.

The second Metz taker slowed during his approach and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way, while Lens’s second attempt reached the side netting.

Two penalties each, and neither team had missed.

Metz’s third taker left the centre circle, causing the conversations around Rafael to fade. The player positioned the ball and walked backwards before sending his attempt at a comfortable height toward the goalkeeper’s left.

The Lens goalkeeper guessed correctly and pushed it away with both hands.

The home players shouted from the opposite side of the centre circle, and Yanis released a long breath beside Rafael.

Lens’s third taker converted into the bottom corner, giving the hosts a 3–2 advantage.

One of the match officials beckoned toward the Metz players.

Rafael stepped away from his teammates.

"Rafa," Yanis called.

When Rafael looked back, Yanis struck one fist against his chest.

Rafael continued toward the penalty area. The ball waited beside the spot, and he picked it up, placed it down and turned the valve away from the part his right foot would strike.

Wembley returned, but this time the memory carried more than noise, pain and the sight of the goalkeeper moving early.

It showed him the mistake.

His approach had narrowed because his body was protecting his injured knee. His final step had landed too close beneath him, preventing his hips from opening, and the goalkeeper had read the direction before Rafael made contact.

That knee belonged to another body and another match.

Rafael pressed the ball into the grass, walked backwards and shifted half a step farther left, keeping the technical adjustment he had made on Wednesday.

The Lens goalkeeper pointed toward one corner and spoke to him, but Rafael kept his eyes on the ball.

The whistle sounded.

Rafael began his approach and planted his left foot beside the penalty spot without pain. The goalkeeper committed early, and Rafael sent the ball into the opposite corner.

The net caught it cleanly.

Three-three.

Rafael returned toward the centre circle, where Yanis met him at the edge and struck both palms against his shoulders.

"Yes, Rafa!"

Rafael gripped the back of his neck briefly before they turned together to watch Lens’s fourth taker.

The Metz goalkeeper crouched on his line as the shot travelled toward the left corner. He moved early enough to reach it and forced the ball away with both hands.

The burgundy shirts inside the centre circle jumped together.

Metz’s fifth taker walked forward with an opportunity to restore their advantage. His penalty passed beneath the Lens goalkeeper’s hand and struck the back of the net.

Metz led 4–3, and only one Lens player remained.

He left the centre circle without looking toward his teammates. The Metz goalkeeper waited between the posts while the supporters behind him called the taker’s name.

The referee blew his whistle.

The Lens player ran forward and struck through the ball, but it climbed immediately and passed over the crossbar.

Silence held for less than a second before Rafael started running.

The Metz goalkeeper sprinted from the penalty area and met his teammates halfway. Yanis reached him first, with Rafael and the rest of the players arriving immediately behind.

As the final kick had ended the contest, the substitutes poured from the technical area to join them. Someone caught Rafael around the neck, and another player collided with his back and pushed him deeper into the crowd.

Yanis appeared between two shoulders.

"We’re through!"

Rafael grabbed the front of his shirt. "We’re through!"

Yanis shouted it again before disappearing beneath the players surrounding their goalkeeper.

The coaches allowed the celebration to continue before directing everyone toward the Lens players. Handshakes gradually replaced the shouting, although several Lens players remained motionless near the centre circle and their goalkeeper stood alone outside the penalty area.

Rafael found the centre-back who had marked him and shook his hand before following his teammates toward the travelling supporters.

Blue light appeared before he reached the touchline.

[POST-MATCH SUMMARY]

[Result: Victory on Penalties]

[Full-Time Score: 1–1]

[Penalty Shootout: 4–3]

[Individual Performance: Penalty Converted]

[Mission Status: Completed]

[Unclaimed Rewards: 1]

[VIEW REWARD]

[CLOSE]

Rafael selected close, and the panel disappeared.

Clips from the shootout had already reached the squad’s group chat by the time the team bus left Lens. Players replayed the goalkeeper’s save and the final miss from different angles, with each recording producing another burst of noise from the back rows.

Rafael watched one video of his penalty on Yanis’s phone. His approach began wider than it had at Wembley, his final stride remained balanced, and his left foot held firm when it met the turf.

The goalkeeper moved first.

Rafael returned the phone.

Once the noise began to settle, the assistant coach rose from his seat. "Paris Saint-Germain won their quarterfinal. The semifinal draw hasn’t been released yet, so nobody knows who we’re facing."

"It’ll be PSG," Yanis said after the assistant coach sat down.

"You said that before we played Lens."

"I was one round early."

Rafael leaned against the window while the team bus carried them back toward Metz. Some players slept, but others continued refreshing the official page despite repeated instructions to put their phones away and rest.

The academy buildings were visible through the windows when several phones sounded almost together.

Yanis sat upright and unlocked his screen.

"What does it say?" someone called from behind them.

"Wait."

"Just read it!"

The head coach rose near the front of the bus.

"We are at home next Sunday," he said, drawing several cheers before raising his hand for silence. "Against Paris Saint-Germain."

The bus filled with voices. One player struck both hands against the ceiling, while another wondered whether PSG might strengthen their team with anyone who had been playing for the reserve squad. Someone behind him replied that they had barely survived Lens and should worry about that first.

The System’s unopened reward returned at the edge of Rafael’s vision, but he dismissed it without looking away from Yanis’s phone.

[SEMIFINAL]

FC METZ

vs

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN

The bus doors folded open, but Rafael remained seated for another moment and read the pairing again before Yanis nudged his shoulder and the line began to move.