The back-and-forth chances between our team and the opponent continued. This time, the opponent launched an attack once again from my flank. Since my attributes still weren't strong enough, I couldn't stop two opposing players at the same time when I was left alone. After getting past me, their midfielder quickly advanced toward the goal.
I had to push myself to the limit in this match if I wanted a chance to be selected for the team. So even though I'd been beaten, I sprinted toward the goal. Just as the opposing midfielder found a good angle and took the shot, I reached the goal line and prevented the ball from going in at the last second.
After the play, a system message appeared:
• Hidden achievement: You earned 500 points for completing the "Goal-line Block" task.
I had both proven myself within the team and gained extra points.
For the rest of the match, we created another dangerous opportunity and, together with my teammates, scored one more goal. When the final whistle blew, we left the pitch with a 4–1 victory. Immediately after, system messages began to appear:
• You earned 600 points for winning the match.
• You earned 1,000 points for completing the U16 football skill test of an amateur club.
After checking the messages, we moved to the waiting area for the judges. This test, just like the first one, lasted about an hour and a half, and the exhaustion was visible on everyone's faces. In the waiting area, I saw Alex and Ben. Since we had been in different matches, we hadn't had the chance to evaluate each other's performance from our own perspective.
Ben turned to me and asked the first question:
"Were you able to perform the way you expected in the match?"
Alex answered immediately:
"I scored 1 goal and made 1 assist. As a midfielder, I'm satisfied with my performance. But since the match ended in a draw, I don't know what the jury will decide. I'm a little nervous, to be honest."
Aside from the level 14 player who participated in the trials, he was the one with the best attributes; as expected, he had played well.
After Alex, I spoke:
"I scored 1 goal and made 2 assists."
Hearing that, both of them looked at me in surprise. Ben was the first to speak:
"Seriously!? After seeing the bad result you got in the physical test, I didn't expect a performance like that. So you really came here confident in the trials."
Even though there was no bad intention in his words, hearing my weak physical test result mentioned still lowered my mood a little. Noticing this, Alex stepped in:
"Ben didn't mean it badly. Actually, with your technical skills, your chances of being selected are quite high," he said.
Since I knew Ben's intentions, I didn't dwell on it too much and smiled, saying it was fine. After that, Ben explained his own performance:
"I only managed to get 1 assist, but defensively, I played very well in midfield. We won the match 3–1, and the goal we conceded wasn't my fault."
All of us had a high chance of being selected. In fact, unless something went very wrong, Alex and Ben seemed almost certain to be chosen.
About 20 minutes later, the judges came to the waiting area and announced that the results would be sent electronically on Thursday. The players selected for the team would go to the club on Saturday to receive detailed information and learn their place in the squad.
Once the trials were over, we started to leave the club. Alex and Ben gave me their contact information, and we agreed to hang out together in our free time whether we made the team or not.
Afterward, since I was off work today, I headed straight home.