Chapter 72 - 70 - Answer the call II

Chapter 72: Chapter 70 - Answer the call II

"Rafa’s joining us late, so help him through anything he hasn’t seen. We’re not going back over two days of work, though. Keep the session moving."

A few players glanced Rafael’s way.

Antwi looked at him. "If you’re unsure, ask. You’ll pick the rest up while we work."

Rafael nodded.

The first exercise began.

A midfielder received facing forward while Rafael held himself outside the nearest centre-back’s shoulder.

The defender stepped toward the ball.

At Metz, Caron would usually release the next pass.

Rafael accelerated behind him.

The pass didn’t come.

The midfielder took another touch, carried forward and only then raised his head. By that time, the centre-back had recovered the yard Rafael had created.

The ball went sideways.

Rafael curved back toward the line.

A few rotations later, he received near the right side with a winger moving outside him.

Rafael played the ball first time into the channel.

The winger had checked toward his feet instead.

The pass rolled through the space behind him and reached a defender.

"Feet there," the winger called as they turned.

Rafael lifted a hand. "Got you."

On the next attack, England’s other centre-forward came toward the same pocket Rafael had chosen.

They both slowed.

The midfielder hesitated and a defender stepped through to take the ball.

The striker pointed toward the defensive line while they jogged back.

"If it starts from there, I’ll come short. Keep him back."

"Yeah."

The next repetition began before they reached their positions.

The midfielder from Rafael’s first run received again.

His first touch settled the ball.

The second carried him forward.

Rafael stayed alongside the centre-back.

Only when the midfielder lifted his head did Rafael move.

The pass arrived before the defender could turn properly.

Rafael reached it outside the area.

The winger to his right was already checking toward him.

Rafael held the ball for another moment and played into his feet.

The winger shifted past the approaching full-back and accelerated outside before driving a low ball into the area.

A defender stretched across Rafael’s run and cleared.

Antwi called for another ball from the side.

They reset.

At seventeen the first time, Rafael would already have been counting who had beaten whom, who had scored and which forward the coaches had watched longest.

The next pass came into midfield.

Rafael looked at the players around it instead.

England’s other striker dropped underneath.

Rafael stayed against the centre-back.

The midfielder found the striker’s feet, and when he turned, the winger beyond him had enough room to attack outside.

The move reached the box before the goalkeeper pushed the shot around the post.

They jogged back.

Nothing stayed fixed for long. The midfielder who had carried the extra touch twice released early on the next attack, while the winger who preferred the ball to his feet went behind the moment the full-back stepped too high.

Rafael shortened one run, abandoned another and kept moving with the play.

During the full-sided phase, he went beyond the centre-back and saw the midfielder look directly at him.

The pass went left.

Rafael checked his stride and continued into the next position as England kept the ball.

Several passes later, the attack broke down near the corner.

The next pass into Rafael arrived with a centre-back already pressed through his back.

The contact shifted him half a step, but Rafael widened his stance and brought the ball into his body before the defender could come around him.

A midfielder moved underneath.

Rafael laid it into him and turned.

When they met again a few minutes later, the defender leaned into Rafael earlier and got less movement from him.

The ball travelled away.

As the line pushed out, the centre-back glanced across.

"Strong, aren’t you?"

Rafael smiled briefly and followed the play.

The throw came in before either said anything else.

Training continued until Antwi finally called them in.

The following morning, Colombia filled the screen in the meeting room.

Antwi stopped one sequence as a Colombian midfielder was already closing the receiver.

"If you take this square and haven’t checked behind you, he’ll arrive before you’ve decided what you want. Make them travel. If we beat the first man, don’t hand them the ball back by rushing the next action."

The clip continued.

Later, on the pitch, Jashayde Greenwood worked through the middle with the group most likely to start.

Rafael took the same position for the other side.

Greenwood checked toward midfield during one attack and laid the ball off. The winger beside him stayed wide, the midfielder carried into the opening and Greenwood curved away before the return pass shifted toward the opposite side.

Nobody needed to point where the next run should go.

Rafael watched until his group rotated in.

His first pass arrived with a defender tight behind him.

He returned it into midfield and turned.

The midfielder carried.

Rafael waited.

Another touch came before the player’s head lifted.

Then Rafael moved.

The pass found him still onside, and he sent the next ball toward the winger before the defence could close around him.

The winger dragged his shot wide.

They reset immediately.

Later, the other forward dropped underneath possession while Rafael remained high, leaving enough room for the midfielder receiving the layoff to turn and carry toward the area. ℯℯ𝑙.

The resulting cross was blocked.

The whistle came, the groups changed and Greenwood returned to the likely starting side.

Rafael picked up two loose balls near the touchline and carried them toward the equipment bag with the others.

Greenwood’s name appeared through the middle when England’s starting eleven went onto the board on Thursday.

Rafael’s sat among the substitutes.

He read the team once, took his seat and looked toward Antwi when the coach entered for the final instructions.

There had been no surprise waiting for him.

Greenwood had worked with that group throughout the preparation, and now he remained with them.

When the meeting finished, the players began standing.

Blue light flickered at the edge of Rafael’s vision.

[ANSWER THE CALL — ACTIVE]

He dismissed it and followed the squad out.

Centre Sportif de Colovray felt small after Saint-Symphorien, but the England badge on Rafael’s training top brought back something familiar as he stepped onto the grass.

Colombia were warming at the opposite end.

The England starters moved through their final passing work while Rafael joined the substitutes.

One of the midfielders received centrally.

He settled the ball, carried the extra touch Rafael had seen all week and then looked forward.

The winger outside him checked short.

Greenwood adjusted his movement instead of going behind too early.

The pass found him after the picture changed.

Rafael followed the move until another ball rolled toward the substitutes.

He stepped into the sequence, played his pass and moved into the next space.

The return reached him.

A few minutes later, one of the assistants clapped loudly.

"Inside, lads."

The starters went first.

Rafael followed with the substitutes.

When England returned, Colombia were already moving into their half.

Rafael took his place on the bench and leaned forward as the players spread around the centre circle.

The midfielder standing over the ball glanced toward the right.

The winger had already started drifting inside.

The referee checked both teams and raised the whistle.