Chapter 136: Chapter 135: Deng Kai’s good physical condition makes Hathaway happy
But it wasn’t just that.
The next moment, Deng Kai ran and leaped, breaking free from the crowd.
He beat three players!
Deng Kai, on the edge of the large penalty area, touched the football twice with his left foot.
The Netherlands’ central defender thought Deng Kai was going to shoot and was directly faked out by him.
Bang!
Left-footed curling shot!
A big arc on the shot took it right into the top corner of the goal.
"GOAL!"
"What a world-class goal!"
"Beat three players! Fooled the central defender! A last-minute goal from the top corner!"
"Deng Kai! Deng Kai is invincible!"
"That shot was so similar to Robben’s before he left the field. But the only difference is the outcome, Robben hit the post, while Deng Kai scored directly!"
"This is definitely the most spectacular goal of the match!"
"If Quaresma had scored that goal, I wouldn’t be so surprised and delighted."
"Even Ronaldo might pull off such a heroic goal."
"But I never expected that it would be Deng Kai who emerged from the Portugal team! At one hundred and three minutes, Deng Kai scored a brilliant goal with his not-so-strong skill of dribbling past opponents."
"Is this the Football Caesar? This is simply a god on the pitch!"
In the middle of the field.
After scoring, Deng Kai immediately rushed to the corner flag area.
He leaped high, spinning 180 degrees in the air.
His arms hung down as he descended like a deity!
The entire stadium of fans chanted the exhilarating slogan with him:
"siuuuuu!"
Matarazzo, wide-eyed in the stands, said, "Anne, your boyfriend... wow, he’s so cool."
Hathaway nodded for the first time without any retort, "Really... so cool!"
Portugal led 4-3, taking the lead right before the extra time half-time break.
They had taken control of the game.
During the extra time halftime, the Netherlands coach spewed saliva, but his players were already looking somewhat disheartened.
Extra time was indeed a heavy burden for the young players.
This shows how influential the Power Bank skill was for Deng Kai.
This skill wouldn’t be of much use in the future where every football player is a physical beast.
But in the youth team’s extra time, it was an absolute killer.
Returning from the halftime break.
The one hundred and eighth minute.
Bosingwa and Quaresma worked together on the right flank.
Deng Kai moved forward on the ribs, receiving Bosingwa’s diagonal pass before reaching the baseline.
It wasn’t a run filled with technical finesse.
But the reason Deng Kai could get the ball "easily" was that others truly couldn’t keep up with him any longer.
Bang!
Near the baseline inside the large penalty area, Deng Kai sent a reverse triangle pass.
Ronaldo easily pushed a shot from the penalty spot, and the football flew into the net.
Five to three!
The match lost its suspense.
The one hundred and eighteenth minute.
The Portuguese fans all stood up, ready to celebrate this hard-earned victory.
But Deng Kai, who was getting more and more excited, didn’t stop. Outside the large penalty area, he took a long shot that led to a corner.
Meireles took the corner, which was headed back.
Meireles received the ball again and made another crossing motion, but actually sent a ground ball.
Ronaldo had prepared to fend off Heitinga.
Heitinga was particularly tricky in his defense, and when Viana got injured, if it hadn’t been for the goal, the referee would surely have held Heitinga responsible, likely with a yellow and a penalty.
In that sense, Heitinga had been lucky.
But this time, Ronaldo won the tussle.
However, his skirmish with Heitinga meant he missed the chance to shoot, and the football slipped beneath him.
Bang!
Deng Kai rushed in from the back row to hit the ball.
Sneijder, who was marking him, got completely lost in his feint.
In the 118th minute, to still have the energy for a feint before making a move, that was truly terrifying.
The football easily found the net.
Deng Kai scored his second goal, making the score six to three!
At this moment, at least half of the Dutch players were on their knees on the ground.
Despair.
Reluctance.
Helplessness.
Respect.
So many complex emotions were intertwined.
Deng Kai circumvented his teammates’ arms and once again raced towards the corner flag area.
His teammates were all out of energy, even Ronaldo couldn’t keep up to celebrate with him.
Deng Kai reached the corner flag area, found the microphone, turned around and pointed in the direction of Hathaway: "Thank you for coming to watch the game. Without your support, it would have been difficult for us to win."
"Wishing ’The Princess Diaries’ a huge box office success! Remember to go to the cinemas to watch it, everyone!"
The fans at the scene shouted out sensibly:
"The Princess Diaries!"
"The Princess Diaries!"
"The Princess Diaries!"
Director Marshall’s face was nearly splitting with laughter.
He was bombarded with many flashes.
This marketing effect... was probably somewhat beyond expectations.
If at first Marshall had a neutral stance on the "marriage" between Deng Kai and Hathaway, by now he wanted to be the officiant for the two kids.
Who wouldn’t love a Deng Kai like this?
Matarazzo, while clapping, whispered into Hathaway’s ear: "Oh my cake! You are so lucky! Not only does he love you a lot, but his stamina is so impressive!"
Hathaway was stunned.
Stamina?
Luck?
Was there a connection?
Then Hathaway blushed and looked down.
She felt impure.
...
Ultimately, the score of the game was frozen at six to three.
The Netherlands played a good game.
But the Portuguese dominated the pitch in extra time.
Sneijder candidly admitted in a post-match interview, "It’s hard to imagine a player exploding with such great energy in extra time, especially when he’s been playing since the first minute."
"But when he scored, it looked as if he had just come onto the field."
Robben also expressed helplessness: "Asians have a natural advantage when it comes to endurance. Deng Kai’s talent has been underestimated by many, including ourselves. Viana’s departure made us let our guard down, but we didn’t realize it actually unlocked the seal on Deng Kai."
Van der Vaart: "I don’t know what went wrong; maybe if I had stayed on the field, I could have done something. But my stamina has indeed become an issue that I urgently need to address."
Fan Peixi: "Deng Kai’s girlfriend gave him tremendous support. No one wants to lose in front of their beloved girl. After discovering Hathaway’s arrival, Deng Kai obviously played as if he was on drugs, completely unstoppable. Don’t ask me what kind of drugs; I don’t know anything about blue pills or whatever."
Heitinga: "Honestly, I absolutely will not watch ’The Princess Diaries’. I’m totally fed up with Deng Kai now, I don’t want anything to do with him. He’s no good, he and Ronaldo make me sick, they are dishonest, they always have too many tricks."
Deng Kai happened to walk by Heitinga, who was being interviewed, and immediately asked, "Not watching what movie was it?"
Heitinga: "The Princess Diaries."
Deng Kai: "What diary?"
Heitinga: "The Princess Diaries!"
Deng Kai: "Princess what?"
Heitinga: "The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries, The Princess Diaries!!!"
Deng Kai: "Thank you."
Heitinga: ???
He felt like he had been steamrolled, but couldn’t pinpoint where exactly.
The journalists at first didn’t catch on, but were soon stunned by Deng Kai’s brilliant marketing tactic.
Awesome!
Marketing genius or what?
They all abandoned Heitinga and began to interview Deng Kai instead.
Deng Kai, with great grace, gestured for everyone not to crowd and stated he was very willing to accept their interviews.
Journalist: "Does Viana’s withdrawal truly liberate you?"
Deng Kai shook his head solemnly: "Of course not. Viana is the core of our midfield, his role is irreplaceable. Losing him was a heavy blow to us."
