A Heart of Steel

From the center circle to the penalty spot was about forty meters.

To Chen Anno, the walk felt endless.

He took the ball Brych handed him, wiped it against the front of his shirt, then lowered his head and kissed it. Bending down, he positioned the valve just right.

Thump... thump... thump...

His heartbeat seemed to be speeding up.

He drew a deep breath and looked up at the stadium roof, as though his gaze could pierce the dome and reach the night sky.

He could almost see his parents' faces there, reflected against the darkness.

They were watching him with those familiar, loving smiles.

Chen Anno couldn't help smiling back.

Then he looked toward Navas in goal.

Navas was staring nervously into his eyes.

In that moment, Chen Anno's racing heart seemed to settle.

He smiled at Navas.

And without looking away, he held his gaze.

Tweet!

The whistle blew. The stadium fell so quiet a pin could have dropped.

Chen Anno ran up and swung his right leg...

The instant Chen Anno touched the ball, Navas threw himself to one side.

He had dived to his right!

But Chen Anno, who had looked ready to blast the ball, checked his power at the moment of contact and gently scooped his right foot beneath it...

A Panenka!

The ball traced an arc toward the center of the goal, floated over the diving Navas, and dropped slowly into the net.

"A Panenka!"

He Wei's voice shot up into a shriek.

"Chen Anno!"

"What a nerve!"

"With more than eighty thousand people in the stadium watching, with hundreds of millions watching around the world, he actually took a Panenka penalty!"

"The match is over!"

"The shootout is over!"

"Liverpool are champions!"

Cardiff Millennium Stadium erupted.

Red confetti drifted down from the