Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 120

120: 2022 Qatar World Cup

On the opposite side of the Earth.

Even in winter, the weather in Qatar rises to the mid to late 20s during the day, but it cools down as the sun sets.

Karim Adeyemi, accustomed to the cold of Burnley, felt the slightly warmer weather as he stood on the sidelines, listening intently to the manager’s hurried instructions.

“…You’ve memorized all the tactics, right? Focus on linking up with Thomas in the center, and rotate positions with Leroy on the right and Serge on the left like gears turning.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Germany’s national team coach, Hansi Flick, looked at the young prospect, unable to hide his anxious expression.

He’s only 20 years old.

He moved from RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga [Austrian professional league] to Burnley in the English Premier League last season and settled in. He showed good performance in the first half of this season, but at the national team level, he’s more of a promising player than an immediate asset.

He’s fast, has good instincts, and his crosses are a bit rough, but his technique with the ball is excellent.

And at Burnley, under Kim’s guidance, his tactical abilities and movements have improved a lot.

Flick had been keeping an eye on him, summoning him for friendly matches after the World Cup qualifiers ended last summer, gradually giving him experience with the senior national team.

Rather than expecting him to be a key player, he brought him to the Qatar World Cup to gain experience from a long-term perspective. But now, he’s suddenly making his debut in a national competition at the World Cup as a substitute.

To make matters worse, he’s being brought in because the starting center forward was carried off the field with an injury after only 15 minutes in the first half.

He is well aware that the domestic media is already putting his dismissal on the front page after a lackluster performance in the first match against Japan, which ended in a draw.
The second match is against Spain, a traditional powerhouse and one of the leading contenders for the title.

If they don’t win here, they’ll be on the verge of being eliminated from the group stage, and this World Cup will be a failure.

He is more concerned about his home country’s national team, which has been in a slump since the 2014 Brazil World Cup, than about himself, but at the same time, he is also worried that this young and promising player might make a mistake in such a big game and ruin his future.

As the fourth official held up the substitution board, Karim Adeyemi smiled at the coach, who was looking at him with concern.

“Don’t worry, coach.”

“Huh?”

“It’s just a game.”

The young prospect’s confident words made the legendary coach, who had won the Bundesliga [German professional league] as a player and achieved a treble [winning three major trophies in a single season] with Bayern Munich, leading them to the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal [German cup competition], and the European Champions League, chuckle.

“Alright. Go out there and have fun.”

“Hehehe.”

“You can go in now.”

With the fourth official’s permission, the young attacker crossed the white sideline and stepped onto the green turf of the stadium.

The moment the cheers of the crowd and the gazes of teammates and opponents focused on him.

Karim Adeyemi grinned.

“Then, shall we have some fun?”

That’s how Hansi Flick, the coach of the German national team, hit the jackpot with a lottery ticket he scratched without any expectations.

***

[…Ugh! Goal! It’s a goal! Karim Adeyemi! He scores his second goal against Argentina and Lionel Messi in the semi-finals, taking the lead in the race for the Golden Boot!]

[…That goal was a perfect example of the German national team’s attacking tactics being executed without any hindrance.]

Following the commentator’s exclamation, Karolina Stefan’s calm voice analyzed the situation.

[…Thomas Müller, playing as a shadow striker, drew down Argentina’s central defenders, and Karim Adeyemi, receiving a pass from the midfield, broke through and scored.]

[…Karolina, you directly coach Karim Adeyemi at Burnley. Before this World Cup started, did you think Karim Adeyemi would be able to perform at this level?]

[…No. Karim has a lot of potential and is very talented, so I expected him to become a key player for the German national team someday, but I thought he would end up just participating in this World Cup for the experience.]

Karolina smiled on the screen.

[…To be honest, considering his skills, this great performance isn’t surprising, but in this World Cup, you have to say that he’s had some luck.]

[…That’s right. He wasn’t a starter, but he got his chance due to Timo Werner’s injury, and he seized it.]

Karolina nodded at the commentator’s words.

At the World Cup, a young player always announces the birth of a star.

Just like Kylian Mbappé led France to victory in the 2018 Russia World Cup, making himself known to the world, Karim Adeyemi was solidifying his position in this Qatar World Cup.

Timo Werner’s sudden injury in the first half of the second group stage match, who had been chosen as the starting center forward, was a turning point.
Hansi Flick, the coach of the German national team, who had no alternative despite Werner’s poor performance at Chelsea, started Timo Werner from the first group stage match against Japan, but the young striker, who had once dominated the Bundesliga, showed a lackluster performance in the first group stage match against Japan, contributing to a shocking draw.

Still, he expected him to perform better in the second group stage match against Spain and forced him to start again, but he suffered a minor injury, and the 20-year-old promising player Karim Adeyemi was forced to be substituted as the center forward.

And that’s how a star announced his birth on the world stage.

Karim Adeyemi, who was substituted in the 15th minute of the first half, scored two goals and one assist against Spain, one of the leading contenders for the title, devastating the Spanish defense.

Spain’s new central defense, consisting of Pau Torres and Eric Garcia, was humiliated by Karim Adeyemi’s fast feet, and they could only watch blankly as their team conceded three goals.

And finally, in the third group stage match against Costa Rica, where he got the chance to start, Karim Adeyemi succeeded in scoring the only goal of the match despite the Costa Rican defense’s intensive marking, proving that he is not the next generation’s hope for the German national team, but the current hope.

Germany, who passed the group stage as the leader of Group E, defeated Croatia, the runner-up of Group F, 2-1 in the round of 16, with Karim Adeyemi and Serge Gnabry scoring in turn, while Mateo Kovacic’s consolation goal from a set-piece situation was not enough.

Karim Adeyemi, while Burnley teammate Luka Sukic, who had been on the bench, watched with a mixture of envy and admiration, scored in every game he played, leading his team to the quarter-finals.

The opponent in the quarter-finals was Brazil, the winner of Group G, who had come up after a fierce battle with Uruguay, the runner-up of Group H.

However, Brazil, led by Neymar, Roberto Firmino, and Richarlison, could not stop Germany, led by Karim Adeyemi, whose potential exploded as Hansi Flick’s tactics were fully established.

A slugfest ensued, and with the score tied at 3-3 until the end of the second half, Karim Adeyemi succeeded in scoring a dramatic goal by breaking through the Brazilian defense with a solo dribble.

In a fierce battle, Germany won 4-3, and Karim Adeyemi scored his fourth goal in the World Cup, joining the ranks of the top contenders for the Golden Boot [award for the top scorer in a competition].

And then, in the semi-finals, they met Argentina.

While Lionel Messi was burning the last embers of his career, Argentina, who had passed Group C as the leader and then defeated Denmark and the Netherlands in turn to advance to the semi-finals, knelt before the formidable Germany, with Karim Adeyemi scoring two goals, and eventually ended his career without giving Lionel Messi a World Cup winning medal.

Finally, in the final, they faced France, the winner of the 2018 World Cup.

France was challenging the feat of winning two consecutive World Cups, which only Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962, led by Pelé, had achieved.

A star-studded lineup including Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, and N’Golo Kanté, who were recalled to the national team.

However, as the saying goes, football is a sport where 22 people chase the ball for 90 minutes, and then Germany wins.

Germany, who had been pushed back by France’s relentless attacks from the beginning, sought an escape route using Karim Adeyemi’s fast feet, and eventually Karim Adeyemi, who penetrated behind France’s final defensive line, which had been pulled up high, succeeded in scoring the only goal of the final, leading Germany to the World Cup victory.

The 20-year-old attacker, who was not even classified as a starter before the tournament, scored 7 goals, winning the Golden Boot and the World Cup.

He ushered in a new era for the German national team, which had been in a slump since winning the 2014 Brazil World Cup.

Apart from Karim Adeyemi’s meteoric rise, if there was an upset in the World Cup where the traditional powerhouses showed their skills, it was the performance of the Korean national team.

Expectations were low for Korea, who were placed in Group H with Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana.

Although there were players playing in the English Premier League, the French Ligue 1 [French professional league], and the German Bundesliga, including Son Heung-min, who was evaluated by critics and the media as having joined the ranks of the world class, the objective strength was considered to be one step behind the other three countries.

However, in the group stage of the tournament, objective strength is important, but relative win rate is also important.

Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana, who were all evaluated as having enough strength to advance to the round of 16, engaged in all-out battles in their matches, resulting in a series of back-and-forth results.

On the first day of the group stage, Portugal won against Ghana, while Korea succeeded in drawing dramatically with Uruguay through tenacious defense and counterattacks led by Son Heung-min.

And then, on the second day of the group stage, Korea won against Ghana, who were exhausted from their bloody battle against Portugal, while Uruguay completely defeated Portugal as if to vent their anger at the draw they had drawn against Korea.

But on the last day of the group stage, Uruguay was caught off guard and defeated by Ghana, who came out with an all-out battle that did not look back as if they could not go home with three losses.

On the other hand, Portugal, who had won 1 game against Ghana and lost 1 game against Uruguay, played defensively against Korea with their stamina tattered, and eventually ended in a draw.

As a result, Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana each gave and took 1 win and 1 loss, while Korea recorded 1 win and 2 draws, taking first place in Group H with 5 points.

Of course, tactically, the hammer and anvil tactics worked properly, with veteran striker Jung Tae-jin, who announced his retirement from his playing career after the World Cup, playing the role of the anvil with fierce physical fights against the opposing team’s defense, while side attackers such as Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan or Hwang Ui-jo penetrated from both sides.

Korea, who advanced to the round of 16 as the leader of Group H, faced Cameroon, who barely took second place in Group G after a bloody battle against Brazil, Serbia, and Switzerland.
The two teams, who met for the first time in an official match, spent all 90 minutes without scoring and entered a penalty shootout.

However, unlike Korea, where all four players who stepped up for the penalty shootout succeeded in scoring, Cameroon’s fourth kicker missed.

With tension rising, Son Heung-min, who stepped up as Korea’s fifth kicker, succeeded in scoring, achieving a dramatic advance to the quarter-finals.

Although they struggled and lost against Belgium, the winner of Group F, who easily defeated Spain, the runner-up of Group E, in the round of 16, Korea’s best performance since the 2002 World Cup was highly praised by everyone.