Kaneko's goal celebrations end and the team returns to their half of the field.
One of the scouts watches Kaneko thoughtfully. A colleague nearby notices.
"Is something wrong?"
"No... I'm just trying to remember where I've seen the number 9 before..."
After a moment of reflection, he realizes.
"Ah! Now I remember! Four years ago, in middle school, he won the national tournament for two years in a row! And he scored at least one goal in almost every game!"
The other scouts, surprised, turn their attention to Kaneko.
"If it's true... why didn't the Shūdan-teki dare to bet on us?" asks one of them, perplexed.
As Kaneko gets into position, he locks eyes with Riccardo.
Even if it won't be easy... I'll get my starting spot back! Kaneko thinks, fixing Riccardo with a determined look.
Riccardo meets his gaze and senses his intentions. Then, with a confident smile, he makes it clear that he will never leave his starting spot.
Before the game resumes, Coach Ishii makes three substitutions.
Number 8, Ono, comes out in place of number 30, Yasuda.
Number 2, Ueno, is replaced by number 12, Takeda.
Number 11, Shimizu, comes out in place of number 22, Hamada.
Yasuda approaches Nishimura.
"Let's go back to a three-man midfield. You will stay behind Aliberti and Kaneko."
"Got it."
"Control the game! Keep the line low!" Coach Suzuki shouts from the sidelines.
Coach Yamamoto hears the call and watches the Shūdan-teki change formation.
They have changed their formation again... they are clearly playing more defensively now.
Coach Yamamoto looks at Ito, then signals him with his hands to move forward.
The clock continues to tick. Shūdan-teki maintains the lead, struggling.
It is the 88th minute.
Noguchi is out of breath, watching Maebashi Ikuei desperately trying to find space in the Shūdan-teki defense.
A cross arrives in the box and Noguchi jumps on Ishikawa, heading the ball away, avoiding the danger.
How much time is left? he wonders, as he watches Riccardo fight for possession in Maebashi Ikuei's half of the field.
Even if it is only a friendly, this win could be crucial to building team cohesion... Noguchi thinks, just as he sees Aogaki skillfully advance, dribbling past several players.
As captain... I will be the one to protect this result!
Suddenly, Aogaki crosses low to Ishikawa, who receives it with his back to the goal, surprising Noguchi.
Ishikawa tries to turn, but Noguchi approaches quickly, aggressively.
He must not turn!
As he runs, Noguchi hits the ball, but first he hits Ishikawa hard in the shin, knocking him to the ground in pain.
The referee blows his whistle and points to the penalty spot.
Noguchi is left frozen, in disbelief at the absurd mistake he has just made.
Noguchi looks up at the scoreboard: 90 minutes.
For a few moments, he seems to be lost in thought as his teammates try to argue with the referee, but to no avail.
Ishikawa puts the ball on the penalty spot as Andou bounces from side to side on the goal line.
The referee checks everything one last time and glances at his watch.
"After the penalty, it's over!" he announces to both teams.
Shortly afterward, he blows his whistle.
Ishikawa sprints forward and hits the ball hard with his right foot, sending it straight into the center as Andou dives to the left.
Ishikawa scores the equalizer right at the end, and the referee immediately blows the final whistle.
Maebashi Ikuei 3|3 Shūdan-teki
Maebashi Ikuei doesn't celebrate much.
The students and observers in the stands applaud both teams.
Noguchi is paralyzed, tormented by his mistake. Kaneko notices.
The teams perform their usual post-match rituals: thanking the fans, greeting the referees, and showing respect to the opponents.
Then, both teams head to the locker rooms.
The Shūdan-teki are in the locker room in silence, until Coach Ishii enters and, to everyone's surprise, begins to applaud with a satisfied expression.
"You played a great game today..." Coach Ishii says, then adds before leaving, "I want to see the same spirit in the next games as well."
He exits the locker room, followed by Coach Suzuki.
"We'll wait for you by the bus," Coach Suzuki says before leaving.
As the door closes, Noguchi stands up and bows deeply to the team.
"I'm sorry!" he says, causing everyone to look at him. "I lost control and committed a stupid foul. Because of me... because of your captain, we couldn't win!"
"Raise your heads!" Kaneko snaps, clearly annoyed by Noguchi's attitude. "It was just a friendly."
Noguchi raises his head and looks at Kaneko.
"I know... but if we had won, it would have been a real confidence boost for everyone." Noguchi replies, his voice full of disappointment.
"So?" Shimizu intervenes "Let me remind you: this team hasn't made it to the nationals in ten years... and we just tied 3-3 against Maebashi Ikuei, last year's national tournament champion! If that's not a good result, I don't know what is."
The team reacts positively to Shimizu's words and even Noguchi slowly begins to believe it.
"Thank you all..." Noguchi sighs and looks up at the ceiling with a vague, ironic smile. "Look at that... a captain who lets his teammates lift him up."
Then he looks at them.
"From now on, I will be the best captain the Shūdan-teki Men's Soccer Club has ever had!"
His words fill the entire team with joy and energy.
"And I want everyone to give their all, just like you did today!"
"Yes!" the entire team shouts in unison.
The atmosphere in the Shūdan-teki locker room is electric. Everyone is elated.
Meanwhile, in the Maebashi Ikuei locker room, the players are changing in silence.
"Shūdan-teki is really strong this year..." Ito says, taking off his shirt.
"Yes." Watanabe replies, standing next to him.
Then Ito smiles. "Next time I want to beat them, with all our strength!"
Kobayashi laughs at Ito's statement. "Me too!"
One by one, the entire team agrees: they all want to play Shūdan-teki again, and this time they want to win.
"Then there's only one way to face them again: qualify for the nationals! And that's exactly what we'll do!" Takahashi says, standing in the center of the room, further inflaming the entire team.
Later, the Shūdan-teki returns to the bus. Everyone is asleep.
Coach Suzuki watches them with a smile.
"They played really well today," he says, sitting down next to Coach Ishii. "What do you think?"
"They played well, especially considering how little time they had to absorb everything after only a week of training."
"How likely do you think we are to qualify for the national tournament?" asks Coach Suzuki, visibly curious.
"This team has potential. But it'll be my job to bring out the best in them... And as one of my old coaches used to say: let's show them what real soccer is like."
Coach Suzuki chuckles at Ishii's words.
"That coach definitely agrees with you."