Chapter 420: First Match, Japan Vs. Greece

That afternoon.

The warm-up matches for all 32 teams have ended.

Players from all over the world have quickly begun training for the group stage starting tomorrow.

The Japanese team is no exception.

After the three teams completed the selection of members, Ishikawa, Byodoin and Oni took their respective team members to the special training room of the hotel and started training.

Especially Ishikawa.

The three Kurobes noticed that the other party seemed to have a densely packed training plan in their hands.

Byodoin and Oni are no less generous.

These three people are very ambitious, but at the same time, they are not the kind of frivolous and reckless people. Their ambitions are entirely based on strong strength.

What makes the three Kurobes even more reassured is that each of the three team leaders is an extremely mature and independent person, and there is no need for them to worry at all.

That night.

The three teams left from different rooms.

Mitsuya, who was responsible for recording the data, clearly felt that although these people looked tired. But there was a sharper look in his eyes.

I can tell.

These selected players are also full of energy for the World Cup starting tomorrow.

The next day.

About eight o'clock in the morning.

As the participating teams were assembled, the teams headed to the competition venue under the leadership of their respective head coaches.

Court No. 9, East End.

Compared with the No. 1 court in the central area yesterday, the scale here is obviously smaller. In the open-air stadium, the steps of the surrounding stands are distinguished by chairs of different colors.

Although it is an open-air environment, it is kept very clean. Except for the less obvious traces of rain washing under the chairs, there is no difference between the other places and the indoor venues.

Boom!

At this time.

The iron door at the entrance opens.

Immediately afterwards, a group of teenagers wearing blue and white coats, led by a young man with curly and fluffy hair and a sunny appearance, walked onto the edge of the court.

"They're coming!"

In the stands, the Greek fans suddenly became excited. In the central area of ​​the stands, some people even excitedly raised the Greek flag and waved it vigorously.

"Greece!"

"Greece!"

"Greece!"

Suddenly.

As if it had been rehearsed long ago, the audience excitedly shouted the Greek team's slogan. Everyone is looking forward to the representatives of their own team.

"Are those our fans?"

In the Greek team, a tall and tall young man covered the sun with his hands, and the corner of his mouth curved: "Not bad, these guys deserve some response from me, Apollo Stephanopoulos."

Said.

The young man raised his left hand and bowed gracefully toward the audience.

"Okay, Apollo."

Next to Apollo, another boy who looked exactly like him said in a deep voice: "Don't get too carried away, those guys are coming."

Um?

Hear the words.

The boy named Apollo looked up at the open iron door on the other side. I saw a young man with fiery red hair and a fierce face leading a group of teenagers in red and black coats, filing in.

"cut!"

Seeing this, Apollo curled his lips in disdain and waved his hand: "It's just a team ranked outside the 20th. There are no players worth paying attention to."

"You're wrong about that."

Suddenly, the leading player of the Greek team turned around, shook his head and said: "In yesterday's warm-up match, the Japanese team defeated the German team with three consecutive victories. They are no longer unknown."

Zeus Iliobolus.

15 years old (high 1).

The Greek team is responsible for dealing with the Japanese team in the group stage, and is also the leader of the entire Greek team.

"Are you kidding me?!"

Hearing Zeus's words, Apollo's eyes widened suddenly and he said in disbelief: "The Japanese team has won three consecutive games. The German team?!"

He could understand each word, but when put together, he couldn't understand it at all.

That's the German team, not a team of cats and dogs.

Three consecutive wins?

No matter how you look at it, it seems like a fantasy.

"This is a fact."

At this time, the young man named Orion Stephanopoulos, who looked exactly like Apollo, said, "This matter has gone viral among all U17s."

"It's actually true?"

Apollo's eyes widened and he looked at his opponent in disbelief. In an instant, the previous disdain on his face completely disappeared, replaced by an extremely strong look of fear.

"That's true, but..."

At this time, a young man with a slender figure and a soft appearance said: "The good news is that there is no one who played against the German team yesterday."

"It's indeed good news."

Commander Zeus said with a smile: "However, no matter who the opponent is, I hope everyone will use all their strength to complete the next game to their heart's content."

"knew."

Everyone nodded.

No one was dissatisfied with this boy with a baby face and a sunny-next-door vibe. On the contrary, everyone was very excited to be on stage with Zeus.

For the sake of victory and their commander, almost everyone was prepared to risk their lives.

"Is the opponent the Greek team? Phew!"

Entering the stadium, Niou, who had long silver-blue hair, uttered strange syllables and had a glint in his eyes.

"That's right."

Liu, who serves as an adviser and is also the representative of the 14 junior high school students selected, nodded and said: "Looking at their lineup, they should be all elite. If I guessed correctly, they should have given up the game against the Swiss team."

“A wise choice.”

Renzu next to him nodded and said.

If he were the head coach of the Greek team and had to choose between the super dark horse and the second best player in the world, he would definitely pay more attention to the latter.

Therefore, the Greek team's tactics are also very simple.

Because it is a four-for-two rule, as long as they finish second in the group in terms of total points, they will be able to advance to the next round.

In other words.

The Greek team can completely give up the showdown with the Swiss team and concentrate its elite on dealing with the Japanese team and the Australian team.

"I just didn't expect that it would be their team leader who was leading the team."

Liu raised his head and looked in the direction of the Greek team, the baby-faced boy with extraordinary temperament: "Although Zeus is only a freshman in high school, his reputation in Europe is already as high as that of the leader of the Big 4."

"That's right."

Kimijima on the side nodded and said: "In the next World Cup, he will definitely participate in the competition as a professional player. At that time, the Greek team will probably become the most popular seeded team besides the Big 4."

"Is he only a freshman in high school?"

Tetsuya Hara, who is also a freshman in high school, said in surprise: "As expected of the European region where there are so many talented people, a player like this in Japan will definitely be able to sweep through an era, right?"

"Maybe before."

Gui Ke, who was the leader of the team, suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, and immediately looked at each other in surprise. Especially the few junior high school students in the team, in their impression, the ghost has always been a serious person, even a fierce and serious image.

Unexpectedly, the other party would say such words.

"It can be seen that the other party regards us as weak persimmons."

At this time, Irie, who was wearing round-framed glasses next to him, raised his glasses and said with a smile: "I just don't know how strong this Greek team, ranked tenth in the world, is."

Hear the words.

Others also cheered up.

They raised their heads and looked at the representatives of the Greek team with sharp eyes.

"Next, the World Cup is about to begin, the group stage, the Group B match between the Greek team and the Japanese team."

The radio sounded.

Ghost and Zeus each led their team members into the stadium. The two captains came on stage and shook hands with each other.

"Well!"

Despite the language barrier.

But both parties felt the extremely good temperament in each other.

"interesting."

After letting go of his hand, a look of surprise flashed deep in Zeus's eyes: "I didn't expect that besides Shin Ishikawa, there are other characters within the Japanese team that I can't see through."

In circles centered on Europe, Zeus is extremely well-known. Not only because of his great strength, but also because of his rather special [omniscience and omnipotence] ability.

He can discern the inner activities of his opponents through meticulous observation. Many times, other players couldn't hide any secrets in front of him.

but.

When Zeus faced the ghost, he felt an extremely heavy and terrifying aura from this fierce-looking opponent, like an abyss and purgatory.

"Oni Jujiro?"

Zeus secretly wrote down the opponent's name: "It seems that the strength of the Japanese team is indeed much stronger than it appears on the surface!"

"He is indeed Europe's super newcomer."

Ghost also felt a little pressure on Zeus.

The other party's gaze seemed indifferent, even a little more cordial. But in fact, it is as sharp as a sharp blade and can cut open people's hearts.

If it weren't for Gui's calm personality and firm will, he might have been shaken by the other party's gaze.

then.

Under the surprised gazes of their respective players, the two nodded to each other and then exited the court.

"How about it?"

Vulkan Larsius, a slender young man who serves as the staff officer of the Greek team, asked: "Lord Zeus, can you read the thoughts of the opponent's general?"

"Sorry to disappoint you."

Zeus shook his head and said: "The opponent is not an ordinary player. Although the players of this Japanese team are all unfamiliar faces, my intuition tells me that they are very strong and you must not take it lightly."

"Well."

Zeus's words shocked everyone's hearts.

"Don't worry, Lord Zeus."

At this time, a young man with a handsome face and curly hair walked to the edge of the court confidently: "We will definitely not let you down in this game."

tread!

His voice fell.

A tall young man with a beard walked behind him, and his body was filled with a faint silver light.

"Leave the game to us!"

"Next, the Doubles 2 match is about to begin."

“The Greek team representatives Taranta Hercules (high 3) and Papadopoulos Evangelos (junior 3), against the Japanese team representatives Kimijima Ikuto (high 3) and Nioh Masaharu (junior 3) )!”

"Please prepare both players."

The radio voice fell.

I saw a young man with long flaxen hair and glasses from the Japanese team, and another handsome young man with silver-blue hair, walking into the court one after another.

"Kimijima and Niou?"

In the rest area not far away, someone showed a surprised expression.

"Kimijima is calm, Nioh is sharp."

Taneshima smiled and said, "This pair is a good stepping stone for the first game."

Everyone nodded.

Facing the world's tenth Greek team, Oni's arrangement is indeed safe. Both Kimijima and Nioh are characters that can make people feel at ease.

Soon.

Both sides stepped into the court.

Because of the language barrier, the two sides did not communicate too much. After the referee tossed a coin to guess the side, the serve was officially determined.

"The game will be decided in one set."

"In the first game, the Greek team representative Taranta Hercules serves, and the game ends!"

On the high chair.

The referee looked at the young man with a full beard in the corner.

"Is this guy really a high school student?"

Seeing Hercules' appearance, Hiyoshi in the stands couldn't help but complain.

It's the opposite of Zeus.

Hercules looks too old, even Byodoin and Oni pale in comparison to him.

If you don't know him, you might think he's a retired professional player pretending to be a Greek player.

Snap!

Snap!

Snap!

Under everyone's gaze, Hercules calmly bent down and tapped the tennis ball.

It seemed that everything in the outside world didn't exist for him.

Whoosh!

Suddenly.

He threw the tennis ball up, stretched his arms quickly, locked his eyes on the tennis ball in the air, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes: "Use this ball to open the situation!"

Bang!

With a crisp sound.

The tennis ball was hit hard by him.

The speed was so fast that many spectators could only see a trace of afterimage. However, Kimijima reacted quickly. Almost the moment the tennis ball landed, he had already moved to the vicinity of the landing point.

Swish!

However.

At the moment he raised the racket and hit it, the tennis ball that was supposed to bounce straight suddenly turned. Like a playful tail of a cat, it brushed past the racket.

Snap.

Looking at the tennis ball falling outside the court, Kimijima narrowed his eyes.

"15-0!"

The referee on the high chair immediately announced the score.

"It appears, it's the [Innocent Tail] of Hercules senior!"

Evangelos, who served as a forward, said excitedly.

At this time, he felt full of security. Because he could partner with a top player like Hercules, Evangelos didn't need to worry about the trend of the game.

"Even the high school student on the opposite side couldn't hit this serve back, and this junior high school student must have been able to just watch."

Bang!

At this time.

Hercules shot again.

The tennis ball flew out at high speed, and it was already very difficult to capture its trajectory. Not to mention, Hercules was still on it, applying an extremely strong side spin.

Just when almost everyone thought that this junior high school student with silver-blue hair would not be able to hit the tennis ball back, a crisp sound suddenly rang out.

Whoosh!

Then.

A pale yellow tennis ball shot out quickly like an arrow.

“Sorry.”

But Ren Wang only showed a faint smile on his face: “I have seen too many such skills.”