Beat to a pulp, kicked Italian football into self-doubt!

That goal completely shattered the mentality of Team A.

They boasted five S-tier players, yet they were actually trailing?

When trailing, one must blame someone to vent their frustrations.

So, who to blame?

Everyone looked toward Aguilar.

Likewise, the defensive strategy of Team A had been dismantled, but lacking the leadership of a "head coach," they couldn't find a way to respond for the time being.

Especially with Lu Yang's repeated forward runs—how were they supposed to deal with that?

Man-mark him?

Can you keep up?

Everyone's stamina was failing.

Don't mark him?

The consequences had already been demonstrated: a conceded goal.

This was equivalent to four people defending against four, but the defensive side suddenly had to account for one extra person. This wasn't just a matter of one more player; it was a matter of a whole series of new permutations and combinations.

This affected the defensive side in every aspect, such as blocking passing lanes, sealing off dribbling paths, and so on.

Soon, the sixty-fifth minute of the match arrived.

Just five minutes after the previous goal, the scoreline changed once again.

Lu Yang made another forward run, and Team A's midfielders and center-backs stood ready.

Soguer pulled to the flank, while Lam stayed in position, letting the right center-back move out to track Soguer.

Moric's pass arrived again; Lu Yang took possession, and the threat surged.

This time, Lam stuck close to Lu Yang, ready to intercept the moment he touched the ball.

He was very confident.

However, the killing blow bloomed in that very instant.

Lu Yang didn't stop the ball; instead, he leaned into Lam with a half-turn, then used his heel to flick the ball in the direction it was rolling, turning a ball heading straight into the penalty area into a lateral pass near the edge of the box.

Lam was stunned.

Someone was there?

BOOM!

Versace unleashed a powerful strike; no one had anticipated this.

The ball drilled straight into the net, the goalkeeper's vision blocked by Lam and Lu Yang, leaving him no time to react.

"It's opened up, Team B has completely opened up!" Carlisle spread his hands, feeling the outcome was already decided.

"Is this a derivative variation of Lu Yang's forward-run tactic?" Ancarelli said. "Normally, Versace should have dropped back to cover after Lu Yang's run, and Team B did indeed play that way before. But this time, Versace didn't. Instead, after feinting a run backward, he surged forward, forming a dual-midfield attacking run with Lu Yang."

Taji said: "Versace is like a man among boys; his positioning was perfect, and this shot highlights his versatility. Of course, Lu Yang's backheel pass was also spot on; a moment later and Versace wouldn't have been in such open space."

Perotta nodded: "And Lu Yang is very cunning; he fully utilized his physical duel with Lam. After the backheel, he bumped into Lam with his body. Otherwise, given Lam's speed and ability, he might have interfered with Versace's long-range shot."

Maniero nodded and said: "So now, Team A is even harder to defend against!"

Sure enough, after the restart, the defensive difficulty for Team A increased once again.

While keeping a tight watch on Lu Yang, they also had to keep an eye on Versace.

Furthermore, if Versace on the left could make forward runs, why couldn't Moric, the defensive midfielder on the right, do the same?

Although this left Team B's defense relatively thin and dangerous, the prerequisite was that Team A had to survive this wave of Team B's attack before they could even talk about a counterattack.

And the 3-4-3 formation was not known for its defense.

It was a possession-based formation, but without sufficient chemistry and a willingness to share the ball, how could they execute it?

In the seventy-third minute, Lu Yang completed another interception, distributed the ball to Moric, and began his forward run.

Facing pressure, Moric chose to pass back to the team's full-back.

At this moment, Versace began to drop back, the center-forward Soguer pulled to the left flank again, and Lu Yang began his surge.

It was the exact same three-man rotation attacking pattern.

Team A's center-backs chose to stay in the penalty area, but it was proven that even Lam alone could not defend against both Lu Yang and Versace.

Numerical superiority in small spaces is always the key to offense and defense.

Whether in football or in war.

However...

BOOM!

After receiving the ball, the Team B full-back quickly returned it to Moric.

Moric didn't even stop the ball, instead opting for a half-turn volley to deliver a rapid pass.

The football flew toward the left flank.

Soguer, left unmarked on the wing, easily collected the ball.

Canyes stepped up to defend, but he was too far from Soguer.

Soguer made a perfect adjustment, waiting for Lu Yang and the team's attacking midfielder to charge into the penalty area before delivering a cross.

Lu Yang and Lam jumped at the same time.

Distracted by the attacking midfielder, Lam managed to head the ball, but it deflected off Lu Yang's head and flew toward the far post.

There, Baizami swept the ball toward the goal; it took a deflection off an A Team defender and bounced into the net!

Four to one!

Team B was playing like madmen!

Baizami ran happily toward Lu Yang.

Since the shot was on target, it wasn't an own goal, but credited to Baizami.

Likewise, Lu Yang was credited with an assist.

It was a goal full of coincidences.

But... from a tactical perspective, it was a goal that was bound to happen sooner or later.

The unmarked Soguer had excellent crossing technique; as long as he completed the cross, the attack was a perfect tactical success.

As for whether it would go in, that depended on luck and individual player ability.

The ultimate goal of tactics is to increase the probability of scoring.

Team B achieved this perfectly.

From Lu Yang charging forward to score.

To Lu Yang charging forward and distributing the ball for Versace to score.

And finally, Lu Yang charging forward to draw defenders away, forcing the opposition to abandon the flank, allowing the wide-positioned Soguer to cross for a teammate to score.

This was the evolution of Team B's tactics, time and time again.

A Team was exhausted, completely unable to stop them.

And Lu Yang had become Team B's greatest weapon and tactical core in this match.

Every attack was built around Lu Yang's forward runs.

Just as Lu Yang had said, A Team lacked a good defensive midfielder; if they had one, it would have made Lu Yang's runs difficult, causing Team B's offensive tactics to fail fundamentally.

The outcome of one matchup affected a chain of others, eventually turning into a total team demolition.

This is football.

The A Team players were truly in no mood to play.

They all knew there was no coming back.

They were now considering their own performances and whether they could be recognized by the five mentors.

Consequently, more and more players began showing off their dribbling skills whenever they had the ball, and A Team's offense completely fell apart.

Everyone wanted to dribble past opponents, and the three forwards up front couldn't get the ball at all.

But the three forwards couldn't blame the others, because they were constantly losing the ball themselves.

Especially Aguilar!

If you're allowed to lose the ball in the front court, why can't I lose it in the midfield?

There was no logic in that.

As for the defense, Lam was still trying, pushing his position up to act as a defensive midfielder.

But this also left Soguer unchecked.

Moric had barely passed to Lu Yang since then; Lam seemed to have successfully defended Lu Yang, effectively ending Team B's offensive tactic.

But in reality, this was just one of Team B's tactics.

Team B's true tactical core was never Lu Yang, but Moric.

Lu Yang was just one of the offensive methods Moric had chosen earlier.

If Lu Yang was contained, Moric could still attempt other offensive methods, because Lu Yang had also drawn away the opposition's defensive core.

This is the so-called dual-core style of play, one primary and one secondary. The secondary car sometimes looks more prominent, but the disadvantage is that the secondary car risks being shut down, while the primary car can organize the attack and find new breakthroughs under various difficulties.

Neither is superior, as they belong to different domains.

The primary car is the commander; a hundred soldiers are easy to find, but a commander is hard to come by.

The secondary car is the general; an army is easy to find, but a general is equally hard to come by.

Moric and Lu Yang shone brightly in their respective fields.

Just like that, after Lu Yang was tightly marked by Lam, Moric immediately launched a long pass to the right side of the team.

Baizami relied on his speed to complete a solo breakthrough, leaving his opponents completely unable to keep up.

He charged all the way to the byline, ignoring everything else, and whipped in a cross.

In terms of timing, it wasn't exactly ideal; he took a couple of extra touches and the pass was slightly late.

But Soguer used his 1.88-meter frame to hold off the Team A center-back, standing his ground with sheer force.

With Lam out of position, Soguer reigned supreme in the penalty area.

After controlling the ball with his chest, he unleashed a direct volley.

From such close range, the goalkeeper could only watch the ball in despair.

Five to one!

Team B had gone berserk!

They had absolutely dismantled the opposition!

It's over!

This training match ended with a result no one had expected.

Team B won convincingly five to one, leaving Team A in total shambles.

Lu Yang recorded two goals and two assists, earning the title of Man of the Match.

Moric provided one assist, yet he was the team's undisputed attacking initiator—a perfect playmaker whose passes always found their mark whenever an opportunity arose.

He was involved in orchestrating the team's final four goals, displaying a sense of commanding the situation from afar to secure victory.

Baizami fully utilized his strengths, contributing a goal and an assist with dazzling statistics.

Although he remained detached from the team's collective play throughout the match, failing to produce the exquisite attacking sequences seen from Soguer, Versace, Lu Yang, or Moric.

Yet, his unwavering, repeated sprints turned Team A's left flank into a sieve. He couldn't integrate into the team, but he never slacked off; he sprinted when he had to and cut inside when necessary, never giving up halfway.

While it seemed like a lot of wasted effort, players like Lu Yang and even Soguer were able to use his standard runs to create threats.

Baizami was like a fixed program—unable to adapt to changing circumstances, yet capable of being utilized by the team's attackers.

And this was exactly what Team A lacked most.

Team A had three "supercars" in the front court, but after Aguilar's "personal instruction" of never passing the ball, the other two also barely passed to Aguilar when they had the ball. The three supercars performed with the efficiency of only one, so it was no surprise they failed to break through Team B's defense.

Versace scored a goal; he could attack and defend, possessed great stamina, and was willing to cover positions, making him the best lubricant in the team's midfield.

Although he couldn't completely shut down Canyes and Aguilar, he relieved the defensive pressure on Lu Yang. Otherwise, Lu Yang could defend against two players once, but he couldn't do it every time.

Similarly, on the attacking end, while Versace couldn't dominate Canyes, he still managed to create some threats occasionally.

He and Lu Yang stirred up the midfield, becoming the biggest reason for the team's comeback.

Soguer played the perfect game for a target-man striker, netting a goal and participating in two dangerous attacks. Although he wasn't involved in two other scoring plays, it was precisely because of his movement to the flanks that gaps opened up in the middle.

He demonstrated the threat of a big striker—running, dribbling, and holding up the ball—perfectly interpreting the target-man style.

Team B performed exceptionally well.

Conversely, over on Team A...

Canyes was fast and passed well, picking up an assist.

But he was too eager to attack and lacked defensive discipline, planting a huge hidden danger for the team's defense. So much so that when Soguer pulled to the flank, the center-back had to step out to cover, which was one of the breakthrough points where they were dismantled.

Parrott scored a goal, but as a poacher, he had few opportunities to shine in this match, lacking ammunition from his teammates.

Ceballos's talent and ability were beyond doubt; he might have been Team A's strongest attacking player!

But after being infected by Aguilar's selfishness, he abandoned organizing attacks and passing, which cost Team A their last chance at a comeback. In fact, whether he played as an attacking midfielder or a left winger, he could have been the team's creative hub; European football has many such tactical setups where the core is placed on the wing.

But this time, he failed to shoulder the responsibility of being the team's core.

As for Aguilar... he was simply the root of the chaos for Team A in this match.

He was the turnover king of the entire game!

Possession always ended at his feet!

His success rate in one-on-one duels against Lu Yang was extremely low, yet he kept trying to prove something by dribbling past him.

Although he did succeed in breaking past Lu Yang on very rare occasions, the team had usually already lost their best attacking opportunity by then.

As captain, he didn't take on the responsibility of organizing the team's play or finding the opponent's tactical flaws during halftime; instead, he emphasized trivial matters.

He not only caused huge trouble for Team A's tactics but also destroyed the atmosphere of unity and cooperation, becoming a cancer to the team.

The five mentors unanimously agreed that Aguilar should bear the greatest responsibility for Team A's defeat.

Therefore...

Among the thirty-six players from Team A and B this time, the thirteen who would be selected to play against the nine previously eliminated players would definitely include Aguilar!

An S-tier player, entering the pending zone!

When the mentor group announced this decision, Aguilar's face flushed with shame.

If not for the fact that two of these five mentors were highly respected legends of Italy and three were current superstars of Serie A, he would have flipped out on the spot!

But with the Wolf King of Roma, Perotta, present, how could this little wolf dare to act out?

Two hours later, the matches for Group C and Group D began.

Aguilar did not become a captain and joined Group D instead.

The original intention of the Group D captain was to have Aguilar come on as a substitute in the second half, considering his stamina, as he had already played one match. It was also because they valued Aguilar's superior individual ability and hoped he could lead the team to victory in the second half.

However, Aguilar refused to be a substitute and insisted on starting, as he felt that being a substitute was an insult to him.

As a result, although he scored a goal in the first half relying on his dribbling ability, he was substituted in the sixty-third minute due to severe exhaustion in the second half. Group C then scored two goals in the second half, defeating Group D two-to-one in a last-minute comeback.

For a moment, across the entire stadium, some were laughing while others were in tears.

Because some knew they would stay, while others knew they would leave!

The next day, before the list was even announced, everyone had already received notice that Aguilar had voluntarily withdrawn from the training camp.

But no one was surprised, because based on his performance in the match, it was highly likely that Aguilar would not have made the final twenty-four-man roster.

This so-called voluntary withdrawal was merely a way to save face for this "star of tomorrow" from Roma!

After all, Aguilar was someone destined to play in Serie A; being outplayed by a group of youth players would sound rather unpleasant if it got out.

This could be considered a contribution made by the Wolf King, Perotta, to Roma.

If it weren't for the sake of Perotta, Maniero would certainly have announced the news of Aguilar's elimination first.

Not just anyone could pull the "I'm leaving first" stunt in front of Maniero.

But even so, when the program aired, it still sent shockwaves through the Italian football world.

Because Lu Yang's performance was simply too outstanding!

His previously mediocre individual training data did not match his performance in the match at all.

This caused the entire Italian football world to begin questioning their selection criteria for youth players.

Perhaps, there really are players who are "big-game players" with nerves of steel?