As Lucas and his classmates from Wushia High School entered the pre-match warm-up area, he glanced at coach Yamamoto, who was standing on the edge of the pitch and adjusting his cap while talking to someone from the tournament committee. Next, Lucas looked at Nishida, who was lightly kicking the ball with the tip of his foot to warm up goalkeeper Toshinori.
Lucas stretched his arms up and his gaze wandered to the stands, and his stomach knotted up. It wasn't just the number of spectators present - although the crowd was significant throughout the stadium - but the press. Huge cameras were positioned on the sides of the pitch, the photographers, with intimidatingly large lenses, were also preparing for the game. All this was normal, considering that the Japanese school championships were gaining more and more attention because soccer fans liked to keep an eye on the new national promises.
"Breathe, Tanaka..." muttered Lucas to himself as he looked around.
