In the 39th minute, Su Hang dropped back again.
This time, the German defenders dared not get too close.
He took the ball with ease and pushed forward, even flashing a few stepovers right in front of Frings.
As Frings hesitated between "taking out Su Hang's leg" and "taking out both legs," Su Hang pulled off a classic Figo-style flick over, beating him cleanly one-on-one.
Metzelder immediately stepped up to cover.
Su Hang followed through with a diagonal pass toward Villa.
Villa had the perfect chance to shoot the moment he received it—but instead, he nudged the ball for the onrushing Fàbregas to finish.
But how could a midfielder's shooting compare to a forward's?
Fàbregas launched a rocket that nearly took down one of the fighter jets flying over Berlin.
"Oh! What a shame!"
"Spain's attack is collapsing!"
"Other than Su Hang, it looks like every Spanish player has lost their nerve."
"Especially Villa—he's wasted two golden chances already."
Su Hang saw it too.
Even the usually fearless Villa was buckling under the pressure of the World Cup, too afraid to take the shot.
It was clear that setting up teammates wouldn't work anymore.
If Spain wanted to equalize—if he wanted to restore their confidence—it would have to be him.
In the 41st minute, Germany launched a counterattack.
Schneider whipped in a cross from a 45-degree angle, and Klose met it with a powerful header.
Casillas reacted instantly, pulling off a brilliant save before Puyol cleared the danger.
Germany earned a corner, and both sides battled fiercely in Spain's box, with the Germans forcing several corners in succession.
It wasn't until the 44th minute that Alonso's long pass finally pushed the game back into Germany's half.
Su Hang received the ball near the halfway line and threw in a series of feints, spinning and turning until Frings was chasing shadows.
Finally, he drove forward.
Frings backed off nervously, like a bird ready to flee.
Only when Metzelder and Mertesacker shouted for him to hold his ground did he finally charge at Su Hang.
A defensive midfielder and two center-backs closed in, trapping him.
Thud!
With nowhere left to turn, Su Hang blasted a shot that struck Mertesacker's thigh and deflected behind.
Corner kick!
"Oh! Su Hang's like a caged beast—his struggle mirrors the entire Spanish team."
"Under relentless German pressure, Spain's players are completely drained. The fact that no one could even support that counterattack says it all."
"Villa, García, Fàbregas—they can't offer Su Hang any help at all!"
Those who understand football know this isn't one man's fault—it's the result of being under siege for too long.
But those who don't? They start blaming everyone.
Blaming Villa, García, and Fàbregas for not pushing up.
Blaming Su Hang for dribbling too much instead of waiting for teammates.
Blaming him for being selfish, for forcing shots when there's no clear chance.
In the 45th minute, Fàbregas took a short corner to García.
Su Hang held off Metzelder at the near post, signaling for the pass.
García played it across.
Metzelder timed his move, lunging in to challenge fiercely.
But he didn't expect Su Hang to suddenly duck forward, wrapping his left arm around Metzelder's thigh and lifting him with a back-carry motion.
Metzelder, standing 1.93 meters tall and built like a tank, would normally overpower Su Hang.
But the instant his feet left the ground, all that strength vanished.
It was only for a split second—but it was all Su Hang needed.
He trapped the ball and readied his shot.
Thud!
Straightening his body, Su Hang struck the ball backward with his heel.
As Metzelder landed, he spread his legs wide, throwing all his strength into shoving Su Hang away—
and the ball slipped cleanly between them.
Whoosh!
It flew straight into the net.
Lehmann didn't even have time to react.
Thud!
Su Hang hit the ground hard after the challenge.
It looked messy—but who cared?
In the face of a goal, who cared about looking messy?
He jumped up and sprinted toward the corner flag.
"My God! Unbelievable!"
"Su Hang has scored an absolutely stunning goal!"
"A backheel beauty!"
"One-one! Spain equalizes!"
"No one expected it—the scorer is once again a Spanish player, once again a Real Madrid player!"
"Su Hang redeems Ramos! He's brought the game back level!"
"Oh! Here it comes—Su Hang's trademark celebration!"
"Let's shout it with him…"
"Siuuuu!"
The long-silenced Spanish fans exploded into life, dancing and singing wildly in the stands.
"Su Hang again!"
"Four goals! He's caught up with Klose at the top of the World Cup scoring chart!"
"Four goals in two matches—this young man's scoring power is unbelievable!"
"If Shevchenko is Ukraine's nuclear warhead, then this striker is Spain's atomic bomb!"
"And while Shevchenko's explosion came only in the Champions League, Su Hang's has carried from the Champions League all the way to the World Cup!"
"So that makes him Spain's hydrogen bomb!"
Su Hang couldn't help but laugh at the commentators' creativity.
And why the "Spanish atomic bomb" and "Spanish hydrogen bomb"?
Because, well—Spain doesn't actually have nuclear weapons!
When the fourth official raised the board, two minutes of added time seemed normal enough.
But soon, the Germans would regret it.
In the 46th minute, Su Hang dropped back into midfield to join the press.
He was relentless—borderline crazy now.
After a series of German passes, Su Hang flew in with a perfect sliding tackle on Ballack.
Ballack instantly protested, calling for a foul.
But the referee waved it off, saying the challenge was worthy of Cannavaro himself—clean and precise.
Alonso immediately launched a long ball forward.
Villa went one-on-one with Metzelder and, despite the height difference, managed to win another corner for Spain.
As the clock ticked on, most Spanish players surged into the box for the set piece, while Germany's coaches frantically signaled to the fourth official that time was up.
But by custom, the corner had to be taken before the whistle could blow.
Their protests were pointless.
García was set to take it, but Su Hang jogged over and whispered something to him.
The Germans instantly caught on.
"Oh! Su Hang's setting up another short-corner routine—just like the one they scored from earlier. Guess he's not very original, huh? If it works once, just keep doing it?"
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
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