I AM the Football Star

Chapter 854 - 207: Battle for the Final Four Spot, Yet Another Hat Trick!

"5-3! The most sensational group stage match of this European Cup revealed, with the qualification spots alternating seven times, thrilling!"

"Golden Boot candidate? The young Italian refuses a penalty and still gets a hat trick. Is he truly the King of Europe?"

"No one has ever refused a penalty while scoring twice, except for Lu!"

"Dark horse reversal, charging into the knockout stage! San Remo miracle invades Europe, unstoppable?"

"Group of death, survival mode! This Italian team possesses immense fighting spirit, showcasing a Renaissance amidst a generational shift!"

"Champion genes! Maniero returns to the national team, Italy is still that unbeatable force!"

"The youngest hat trick in European Cup history is born! Two months ago, he just claimed the youngest hat trick in the UEFA Europa League!"

"Scoring beast! The top scorer of the European Cup group stage—is it accidental or inevitable? He scored seventy goals and sixty-six goals in the past two seasons!"

"Madeira exits in regret, Portugal don’t cry!"

"Another red card! Laveran: Besides getting a red card, I don’t know what other way to stop that bastard!"

"Canisell: The regret is that even a red card can’t stop that Italian player from scoring! The pressure he brought me is even stronger than Mancini! You’d think I’m seeing traces of Moreira and Mateo in him."

"The prodigal son returns, Nelka helps France Team advance to the knockout stage! Arsenal made the right purchase this time!"

"Zidane: I’m not surprised by this result, this Italy team has the X factor, any outcome is normal."

News items flood social platforms.

The biggest impression after reading is... this European Cup, no miracles!

France, England, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Wales, Italy.

Besides Wales and Italy, the other six teams are ones predicted to advance before the games.

Even Wales can’t be deemed unexpected because their opponents are Poland and Switzerland.

Switzerland has always been considered a strong team, but they never won a major tournament title, always remaining as a supporting role.

Poland, need we say more, famously the soft team in major competitions.

Basically, among the eight teams advancing, only Italy Team was not predicted to qualify.

They dragged France Team and Portugal Team into the abyss, finally stepping over Portugal Team to emerge.

In terms of numbers, this is the European Cup with the highest accuracy of predicted advancing teams, hence people say there are no miracles.

But... if you only look at Italy Team, then they actually created a miracle in this European Cup.

Many people are shouting "San Remo miracle has succeeded again" because of this.

When Maniero took over, the highest expectation was to lead the team into the knockout stages.

But that was the highest expectation.

In fact, after tying with France Team, Italy Team would’ve satisfied fans even without qualifying.

Even if facing defeat like Russia Team with three losses, fans would criticize but Maniero’s coaching position would still be unshaken.

This clearly shows everyone knows how severe the problems Italy Team faces are.

But who would’ve thought the situation would unfold this way?

No one can find faults with Italy Team’s performance.

Among them, Lu Yang from Italy, participating in the European Cup for the first time, stands out remarkably.

Seven goals in three matches, leading the scorer’s chart by a wide margin!

For maintaining team order, he even refused a penalty while scoring twice! He’s practically the model of internal ethics and rules for the team!

The last moment, with an imaginative super long-range shot, shattered personal record for distant goals, completing a hat trick that’s more dramatic than a movie!

If the previous consecutive matches of 2+1 earned Lu Yang recognition within the circle.

Then this 3+1 made those who know of him completely acknowledge him.

Countless young children who love football abandoned their first football love to become followers of Lu Yang.

Statements like "What? You actually want me to take a penalty? No, impossible! The true strong don’t need penalties!", "Penalties don’t count as goals, Lu never cares for them, me neither!", "Coach, I don’t want to be the first penalty taker anymore, I want to be Lu instead of Ancelotti!" are frequent.

Numerous veteran players and fans were dumbfounded.

Do young people nowadays have something wrong in their minds?

Not wanting penalties?

Are they crazy!

But you have to admit, these statements, when uttered, are quite catchy!

"He can’t keep refusing penalties forever, maybe next match when there’s a penalty, he’ll take it!" Some believe Lu Yang’s refusal is overhyped, like Kong Rong giving up pears.

What if Lu Yang couldn’t stomach it?

What if he felt the penalty was too stressful?

What if he was feeling unwell at the time?

These doubts aren’t very strong, but some people carry such thoughts.

They can’t accept that their cherished things could be disregarded so nonchalantly.

They need to find reasons to convince themselves, otherwise their belief systems would face immense challenges.

Therefore, a certain betting company even opened odds for "Will Lu Yang refuse the next penalty Italy Team faces? How about the one after that?"

Among them, most participants chose that he would never refuse, believing once he takes a penalty, it can’t be taken by anyone else, and Lu Yang would hold onto this right, like Ancelotti, for several years.