Status: In Progress
A World Alone
Chapter Eleven: Argentina vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lionel jumped up and down in the tunnel. He was trying to make himself less nervous. This was his first game in the World Cup and everyone had their eyes on the captain. They were expecting him to lead Argentina to victory, and he was going to do everything he could. The first game was against Bosnia and Herzegovina and he was so nervous his legs were shaking. He's played in lots of huge competitions before with his country, but he could never get rid of the pre-game jitters that he always had. "Come on, Leo. We can do this." Gonzalo Higuaín said from behind him, clapping his back with his hand.
Lionel nodded and looked out the tunnel. The opponents were lined up next to his team, and they looked pretty nervous as well but ready. Finally, after the thumbs up, Lionel led his team out of the tunnel. The teams made an organised single file on the pitch and Lionel took a few deep breaths to calm his nerve. The presenter said something about the Argentinian National Anthem, but Lionel wasn't listening. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth and singing the anthem proudly. A camera was pointed at him and his teammates as they sang the anthem. After the anthem finished, the other team sang their anthem and the captains moved in front to shake hands. Lionel smiled at Emir Spahić, the captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two shook hands and exchanged their game pennants and stood by the referees to get their pictures taken. Lionel and Emir stood together for the referee to flip the coin. Lionel called heads and Emir called tails. The referee threw the coin up, caught it in his hands and smacked the coin back down on the back of his hand. "Heads." The referee declared, nodding at Lionel.
Leo nodded and shook hands with Emir once again before shaking hands with the referees. He set the pennants down before heading to the centre of the pitch where Gonzalo Higuaín was waiting so that the two could get the match starting. "Let's win this." Gonzalo grinned optimistically. Lionel nodded and smiled at his teammate before taking a few deep breaths. The match whistle was blown and Lionel passed the ball over to Gonzalo who kicked the ball back to his captain. The game went on for a few minutes and Argentina saw a chance for a goal.
Kun Agüero stood and delivered his kick beautifully and there was a fumble for the ball before the ball finally flew into the net. It was an own goal from Sead Kolaśinac. Argentina fans stood up, yelling and screaming for the unexpected goal while Bosnia and Herzegovina fans cried in frustration. There were no more goals in the first half. Argentina was leading 1-0 with an own goal. Alejandro Sabella gave everyone a small pep talk in the locker room before stepping over so Lionel could give his own talk. Javier Mascherano added some stuff to encourage the team and they went over a few more tactics and before they knew it, they were back out on the field.
Lionel tried so many times to make a goal, but he just couldn't seem to get it together. Finally, on the 65th minute, Leo netted a goal. The fans went crazy again, chanting 'Messi' over and over again. Lionel grinned and ran into the arms of Angel di Maria. He soon got tackled by his teammates, all attacking him with hugs. They all returned to their positions after a minute and the game went on. Argentina was still leading 2-0 and Lionel hoped that Bosnia and Herzegovina would lose with no more goals. On the 85th minute, the stadium saw the ball flying through Sergio Romero's hands and into the net. It was a goal from Vedad Ibišević that sent the Bosnia and Herzegovina fans to their feet.
Sergio Romero cussed and stood back up, muttering something to himself frustratedly. After five minutes and three minutes of added time, the match ended and Argentina was named the winner of their first match. Lionel smiled and gave his teammates a high-five and hugs before saying "good game" and shaking all the opponents' hands. After the game, Lionel hit the showers and got dressed, hoping he could just rush back to the hotel, take a long nap and call Thalia. He knew she watched the match back home after a text from her that said 'gorgeous goal! congratulations x'. Lionel smiled and slipped his Argentina shirt over his head, along with his track pants and got his gym bag before walking out of the stadium and into the team bus.
He took his seat next to Javier Mascherano who was texting his family back home in Argentina. His wife and their daughters were also going to be coming after the next game, and he couldn't wait. It seemed so far away, but the whole team was excited that their families could come anyway. Lionel smiled and pulled out his phone before texting Thalia who was elated with the win. Lionel promised her that he'd call her tonight, but for the meantime he wanted to get some rest. They had a whole day of training the next day.
-
Thalia smiled as she watched Theo grinning from ear to ear after the game. "Messi is amazing. I love him so much." Theo chuckled, turning off the TV and leaning back on the couch with his sister after they had watched the game. He couldn't believe that the Argentine football hero was dating his elder sister. It was unreal to him, but he knew that his sister wouldn't change and she'd always be the same person inside. Thalia chuckled and took a sip of her tea. Theo's gaze flickered to the jersey his sister was wearing. It was a bit big for her, and he didn't even have to ask to know that it was Lionel's. It had the match details on the rib area of the shirt, just like a footballer's jersey would have.
She prepared to go to the kitchen with her empty mug when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Thalia told her brother, setting the mug down on the table before running to the door and opening it. She expected Olivia or one of Theo's friends but instead she saw Matthew standing there. He was wearing an Argentina jersey. Number 10. Leo's jersey. She looked up at him weirdly, wondering what he was doing at her house. "Matthew? What are you doing here?" Thalia asked. Thalia too was wearing an Argentina jersey. She was planning on going out with Theo tonight to get some dinner and since everyone was probably going to be wearing the national team jersey, Thalia put hers on too. Matthew grinned at Thalia, "I was in the area."
Thalia looked at her coworker confusedly. They had just officially met two weeks ago and the two hadn't talked since Matthew walked her home. She didn't expect this to be a regular thing since she knew Lionel wouldn't be too happy when he heard that another man who was working with Thalia knew where she lived and visited her frequently. "Um…okay?" Thalia murmured, her sentence coming off more like a question. Matthew smiled at her, "Do you want to grab some dinner with me?" Matthew asked. "I can see you're wearing Argentina colours too." Matthew smiled. Thalia insecurely hid behind the door, only her head peaking out to look at Matthew. She felt a little bit uncomfortable and she would do anything in the world to make him go away. "Um, I can't. I'm going to dinner with my brother." Thalia mumbled. Matthew nodded, "That's fine. What about tomorrow?" he asked.
Thalia bit her lip and shook her head, "I…I can't." she mumbled. Matthew looked at her confused, "When are you free, then?" he asked her. "We can do anything you want. I don't care, we can watch the game together. I don't mind." Matthew smiled sincerely. Thalia mentally face palmed herself. "Matthew, I don't mean to be rude…but I'm not really interested right now." she told him, biting her lip nervously. Matthew looked at her sadly, his smile dropping into a tight line. "Oh…I see. Okay then. Sorry for bothering you." he said before turning away and walking away from the house. Thalia sighed and closed the door, sitting down on the sofa and rubbing her eyes stressfully. It would be so awkward coming into work tomorrow.
Lionel nodded and looked out the tunnel. The opponents were lined up next to his team, and they looked pretty nervous as well but ready. Finally, after the thumbs up, Lionel led his team out of the tunnel. The teams made an organised single file on the pitch and Lionel took a few deep breaths to calm his nerve. The presenter said something about the Argentinian National Anthem, but Lionel wasn't listening. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth and singing the anthem proudly. A camera was pointed at him and his teammates as they sang the anthem. After the anthem finished, the other team sang their anthem and the captains moved in front to shake hands. Lionel smiled at Emir Spahić, the captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The two shook hands and exchanged their game pennants and stood by the referees to get their pictures taken. Lionel and Emir stood together for the referee to flip the coin. Lionel called heads and Emir called tails. The referee threw the coin up, caught it in his hands and smacked the coin back down on the back of his hand. "Heads." The referee declared, nodding at Lionel.
Leo nodded and shook hands with Emir once again before shaking hands with the referees. He set the pennants down before heading to the centre of the pitch where Gonzalo Higuaín was waiting so that the two could get the match starting. "Let's win this." Gonzalo grinned optimistically. Lionel nodded and smiled at his teammate before taking a few deep breaths. The match whistle was blown and Lionel passed the ball over to Gonzalo who kicked the ball back to his captain. The game went on for a few minutes and Argentina saw a chance for a goal.
Kun Agüero stood and delivered his kick beautifully and there was a fumble for the ball before the ball finally flew into the net. It was an own goal from Sead Kolaśinac. Argentina fans stood up, yelling and screaming for the unexpected goal while Bosnia and Herzegovina fans cried in frustration. There were no more goals in the first half. Argentina was leading 1-0 with an own goal. Alejandro Sabella gave everyone a small pep talk in the locker room before stepping over so Lionel could give his own talk. Javier Mascherano added some stuff to encourage the team and they went over a few more tactics and before they knew it, they were back out on the field.
Lionel tried so many times to make a goal, but he just couldn't seem to get it together. Finally, on the 65th minute, Leo netted a goal. The fans went crazy again, chanting 'Messi' over and over again. Lionel grinned and ran into the arms of Angel di Maria. He soon got tackled by his teammates, all attacking him with hugs. They all returned to their positions after a minute and the game went on. Argentina was still leading 2-0 and Lionel hoped that Bosnia and Herzegovina would lose with no more goals. On the 85th minute, the stadium saw the ball flying through Sergio Romero's hands and into the net. It was a goal from Vedad Ibišević that sent the Bosnia and Herzegovina fans to their feet.
Sergio Romero cussed and stood back up, muttering something to himself frustratedly. After five minutes and three minutes of added time, the match ended and Argentina was named the winner of their first match. Lionel smiled and gave his teammates a high-five and hugs before saying "good game" and shaking all the opponents' hands. After the game, Lionel hit the showers and got dressed, hoping he could just rush back to the hotel, take a long nap and call Thalia. He knew she watched the match back home after a text from her that said 'gorgeous goal! congratulations x'. Lionel smiled and slipped his Argentina shirt over his head, along with his track pants and got his gym bag before walking out of the stadium and into the team bus.
He took his seat next to Javier Mascherano who was texting his family back home in Argentina. His wife and their daughters were also going to be coming after the next game, and he couldn't wait. It seemed so far away, but the whole team was excited that their families could come anyway. Lionel smiled and pulled out his phone before texting Thalia who was elated with the win. Lionel promised her that he'd call her tonight, but for the meantime he wanted to get some rest. They had a whole day of training the next day.
-
Thalia smiled as she watched Theo grinning from ear to ear after the game. "Messi is amazing. I love him so much." Theo chuckled, turning off the TV and leaning back on the couch with his sister after they had watched the game. He couldn't believe that the Argentine football hero was dating his elder sister. It was unreal to him, but he knew that his sister wouldn't change and she'd always be the same person inside. Thalia chuckled and took a sip of her tea. Theo's gaze flickered to the jersey his sister was wearing. It was a bit big for her, and he didn't even have to ask to know that it was Lionel's. It had the match details on the rib area of the shirt, just like a footballer's jersey would have.
She prepared to go to the kitchen with her empty mug when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Thalia told her brother, setting the mug down on the table before running to the door and opening it. She expected Olivia or one of Theo's friends but instead she saw Matthew standing there. He was wearing an Argentina jersey. Number 10. Leo's jersey. She looked up at him weirdly, wondering what he was doing at her house. "Matthew? What are you doing here?" Thalia asked. Thalia too was wearing an Argentina jersey. She was planning on going out with Theo tonight to get some dinner and since everyone was probably going to be wearing the national team jersey, Thalia put hers on too. Matthew grinned at Thalia, "I was in the area."
Thalia looked at her coworker confusedly. They had just officially met two weeks ago and the two hadn't talked since Matthew walked her home. She didn't expect this to be a regular thing since she knew Lionel wouldn't be too happy when he heard that another man who was working with Thalia knew where she lived and visited her frequently. "Um…okay?" Thalia murmured, her sentence coming off more like a question. Matthew smiled at her, "Do you want to grab some dinner with me?" Matthew asked. "I can see you're wearing Argentina colours too." Matthew smiled. Thalia insecurely hid behind the door, only her head peaking out to look at Matthew. She felt a little bit uncomfortable and she would do anything in the world to make him go away. "Um, I can't. I'm going to dinner with my brother." Thalia mumbled. Matthew nodded, "That's fine. What about tomorrow?" he asked.
Thalia bit her lip and shook her head, "I…I can't." she mumbled. Matthew looked at her confused, "When are you free, then?" he asked her. "We can do anything you want. I don't care, we can watch the game together. I don't mind." Matthew smiled sincerely. Thalia mentally face palmed herself. "Matthew, I don't mean to be rude…but I'm not really interested right now." she told him, biting her lip nervously. Matthew looked at her sadly, his smile dropping into a tight line. "Oh…I see. Okay then. Sorry for bothering you." he said before turning away and walking away from the house. Thalia sighed and closed the door, sitting down on the sofa and rubbing her eyes stressfully. It would be so awkward coming into work tomorrow.
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xx