German fans erupted in jubilation!
Ramos stood frozen, wide-eyed.
Clutching his head, his knees buckled as he dropped to the ground.
Endless regret surged through him.
Casillas, Ibáñez, Puyol, Alonso… all wore the same helpless expression.
That only made it worse for Ramos.
It was then that Su Hang remembered—Ramos was only twenty years old this year.
Barely six months older than him.
At that age, he had already made a name for himself in La Liga, spent a season as a starter at Real Madrid, and secured a stable role in Spain's national team.
It was easy to mistake him for the seasoned, battle-hardened Ramos of the future.
But in truth, he was still just a young man.
At this stage, Sergio Ramos was impulsive, emotionally volatile, and mentally fragile.
Though fast and fearless in tackles, he was prone to being tricked and making costly errors.
An own goal hits a defender like a hammer blow.
And considering the importance of this match, this one was nearly catastrophic for him.
Baby Ramos would probably need a few more years before learning how to recover from mistakes like that—well, not that anyone should ever get used to scoring own goals.
Even though Su Hang rushed back to console him, Ramos couldn't shake it off so easily.
Worse, the mood began spreading across Spain's entire backline.
Their morale visibly plummeted.
In the 15th minute, García, desperate to equalize, unleashed a hasty long-range shot from outside the box—but it was weak and easily caught by Lehmann.
At the 18th, Lahm and Schweinsteiger repeated their move down the left flank. Schweinsteiger crossed, and Klose's header missed wide.
In the 23rd, Lahm once again burst past Ramos on the left, cutting a pass across the box. Klose flicked a first-time through ball forward, but Casillas rushed out decisively, smothering it just before Podolski could reach it.
In the 25th, Klose went down after contact with Ibáñez inside the area, but the referee waved play on.
German players surrounded the referee, protesting, but he wasn't convinced—he thought Klose had gone down too easily.
In the 32nd minute, Lahm and Schweinsteiger combined once more. Schweinsteiger's cutback found Ballack, who shot from a tight angle.
It was a difficult attempt—too sharp an angle to be dangerous.
But the ball ricocheted off Ramos's right leg, deflected toward the post, and bounced out!
So close!
Ramos had almost scored his second own goal.
After that play, Ramos sat down right where he was, his confidence shaken.
He had never felt so uncertain in a match.
Meanwhile, though Germany hadn't extended their lead, every player wore a grin, their eyes bright with belief.
The Germans could feel it—hope.
It seemed as if even the heavens were on their side tonight.
Was this destiny?
Would the football gods let Germany lift the World Cup on home soil?
Would Three-Star Germany become Four-Star Germany this summer?
"Ding! You have activated Thierry Henry's 2002 Moment Card. You will gain his complete understanding of football from that year for fifteen minutes."
Glancing at the game clock, Su Hang activated the card without hesitation.
Normally, he would've saved it for the final ten minutes.
But as the saying goes—when the tide turns against you, it only gets worse. Some matches are lost from the start, and no one can turn them around.
Psychological collapse can be more terrifying than physical defeat.
Once you believe you can't win—you really can't.
But when you believe the basket is as wide as the ocean, even a blacksmith can score eighty-one points!
Kobe: "Hey, are you making fun of me again?"
Author: "Nah, just paying tribute, man."
Seeing the team's spirit crumble, especially Ramos's, Su Hang had no choice but to step up.
"Ramos! Puyol! Xavi! Alonso! Fàbregas! García!" he shouted.
Everyone turned toward him.
"Give me the ball! Got it?"
Xavi froze.
Alonso nodded repeatedly.
Even Ramos, who'd been the most despondent, managed to mumble, "Su, you…"
Su Hang waved a finger with a grin. "Don't call me Su! For the rest of this half, call me Su Hang the Great—the Emperor on the Pitch!"
...
The whistle blew, and Spain restarted play.
Germany, riding their momentum, pressed high. Spain could only hold possession deep in their half, struggling to find a way forward.
Then, in the 35th minute, Su Hang dropped deep into midfield to receive the ball.
Xavi passed it across to him.
Su Hang lowered his body, using his frame to shield German midfielder Frings behind him.
Frings wasn't worried.
They'd studied Su Hang closely before the match.
His dominance against Argentina, they believed, was because Argentina's players were physically weak.
Yes, the famously "iron-blooded" Argentine side didn't rely on strength so much as spirit—a tradition, almost a belief.
That's the South American way: run, tackle, clash, foul—push yourself to the limit for seventy minutes to gain the upper hand.
When it works, they look unstoppable.
When it doesn't, they crumble in the final twenty.
But Germany was different.
German players were tall, powerful—most around 1.85 meters, built like machines.
If Su Hang wanted physical play, they'd meet him with physical play.
He wasn't known for fancy footwork anyway—so what could he really do by dropping that deep?
Take on the whole team alone?
Huh?
The next second, Frings stumbled forward, caught off balance!
He had braced for impact—but Su Hang spun away without even touching the ball!
"Brilliant move!"
"Oh, Su Hang! That gave me chills!"
"He didn't trap Xavi's pass—he let it roll past, spun around, and chased it down himself!"
"Frings was beaten instantly! He had no idea what just happened!"
"Ballack's trying to cover, but Su Hang's already powering through the middle!"
"Friedrich's closing in fast!"
"Su Hang slips a through pass!"
"Villa collects it—what's he going to do? A cross!"
"Oh, what a pity! Metzelder read it perfectly and stretched out to block Villa's pass to García!"
"Spain squander another great chance!"
"But Su Hang's spark—it's back! I knew it! After that superstar performance last match, there's no way he'd stay quiet this time!"
"When his team needed him most—he stood tall!"
"He's lifting their spirits in his own way!"