CHAPTER 153: CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

For the first 7 minutes of the half, Italy never maintained more than 10 seconds of possession at a time as Germany controlled the game expertly and pressed hard whenever they lost possession.

But the home side was never really concerned about possession as they knew the Germans were likely to see more of the ball even before kick-off.

The noise in the San Siro built in crashing waves, a restless hum that pressed down on the pitch. Italy sat in a compact block, eyes fixed, patient. Germany stroked the ball across the back, Groß dropping to receive, Goretzka checking his shoulder, Kimmich scanning. It felt balanced, but not safe. One loose touch and the crowd would pounce.

And that opportunity for Italy came in the 8th minute.

It started with Barella stepping in. Adeyemi tried to roll him on the turn near the right touchline. Barella read it, nicked the ball clean, and burst into space.

"Trouble for Germany here," Derek Rae warned. "Barella wins it, and Italy are away."

A straight pass found Politano darting between Raum and Tah. Baumann rushed out, sliding low. Politano got there first and played it across the face. Tah threw a leg, made contact, but only diverted it to the edge. The diversion took the ball away from the path of Kean, who had his hand on his head as he thought the chance to get a tap-in into an empty net was gone.

But as he turned around, he saw Tonali sprinting towards the ball just at the edge of the penalty area and he jumped out of the way.

Tonali arrived in stride and wrapped his right foot around the ball, bending it through the bodies and inside the far post.

"GOALLLL! Italy takes the lead! Sandro Tonali! What a finish that is," came the call, the stadium erupting. "Italy strike first in Milan."

Rüdiger kicked the turf and barked at the line to squeeze. Baumann stood with hands on hips, staring at the net as if trying to will the ball back out. On the bench, the camera found Lukas by the dugout, sitting next to Stiller, jaw tight, eyes forward. He kept his expression flat, nodded once, and clapped toward the pitch.

On the pitch, after the restart, it seemed the goal had frustrated some of the German players as they tried to restore parity as soon as possible, leading to hurried passes and shots, which led to even more frustration.

The crowd was having a blast, cheering every misplaced pass by the Germans while Nagelsmann was screaming at the top of his lungs for his players to calm down.

Voices rose, then Kimmich cut through the noise. Palms down, he urged calm, then snapped his arm forward to drive the line higher. He moved into midfield on the next phase and took responsibility, demanding the ball from Groß, turning out of pressure and switching diagonally to Raum. The rhythm settled.

"Germany will not panic," Dixon said. "Kimmich is restoring order, asking for the ball, setting the tempo again. There is a reason he’s the one wearing the Captain’s armband."

Musiala drifted off the left shoulder and combined quickly with Goretzka. A one-two carried him into the inside channel, Sané peeled wide, and Burkardt darted near post. The pass went to Goretzka at the top of the box. He struck low through Bastoni’s legs.

"Goretzka— OH WHAT A SAVE!"

Donnarumma dropped and smothered, ball pinned to the turf. A collective groan from the travelling section. Donnarumma sprang up and roared at his line.

On the bench, Lukas adjusted his warm-up top and exchanged a word with a coach. He watched the replay on the big screen, then turned back to the touchline, still.

The game was back and forth, as open as it came, although Germany retained more possession and created much more attacking chances then Italy.

But Italy was still a major threat in transition.

In the 21st minute, Italy had another site of Germany’s goal, nearly doubling the lead.

Rovella intercepted a back pass from Adeyemi to Groß inside the German half and immediately released Tonali down the right channel. Germany was caught off-guard as the space opened up. Rüdiger tracked across, while Tah held the middle, but the angle was there.

"Here come Italy again. It is the same pattern. Will they make something off this?"

Tonali drove into the gap and hit the ball across the goal. Baumann exploded left and beat it away with a strong wrist. The rebound fizzed past and incoming Kean and was thumped away to safety by Kimmich.

"Big save, Baumann," the analyst said. "Germany are controlling the ball but they are one pass from trouble whenever they lose it."

Kimmich clapped hard, pointed to the zones, and called Groß closer. The message was simple. Secure the first pass. Protect the middle.

The game resumed and Germany reasserted possession.

In the 30th minute, Groß found Raum, making an overlapping run, early, and played a through pass down the right flank to him. He didn’t waste any time on the ball as he squared it to Musiala at the edge of the box.

A quick dance of feet and Musiala slipped through Calafiori and burst into the box. The cutback was on, but Di Lorenzo recovered and blocked the pass to Bukardt.

The ball ricochetted and landed at the opposite side of the pitch for Sané. He squared up Udogie, beat him, and hit a cross toward Burkardt. But Bastoni rose and cleared it out for a corner before the center forward could get there.

"Better from Germany," Rae said. "They are asking the right questions."

"They have to ask tougher questions if they want to get back into this match because if there’s one thing Italy is renowned for, it’s their ability to defend a lead."

Adeyemi took the resulting corner short to Kimmich, who clipped the ball to the back post. Tah climbed the highest, getting a powerful header on target, but Donnarumma, once again, wasn’t beaten. He got a strong arm to the ball, punching it out of the box but only as far as Sané.

"Oh Sané brings it down perfectly— HE CAN SHOOT! SANÉÉÉ— OH WHAT A SAVE FROM GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA! THAT WAS HEADING FOR THE TOP CORNER!"

Bastoni and Barella rushed to high-five their goalkeeper after he pulled a worldie to stop Germany from equalizing before immediately readying themselves for the next cornerkick.

The next corner was swung in by Kimmich, but Rudiger’s towering header missed the target by some distance.

On the bench, Lukas leaned forward, hands on the barrier. No show, just focus. He followed Kimmich’s movement like a metronome.

They were trailing at the moment, but he could clearly see the Captain’s effect on the team both defensively and going forward.

"It will be great to captain the team some day," he thought to himself as he watched Kimmich battle for the ball with Udogie near the halfway line right in front of him, and come out on top.

[*Yeah, but it’ll be nice to make your debut first, don’t you think?*] TT’s voice sounded in his head.

"Well yeah. Hopefully that debut will be today."

[*You think he will bring you on for your debut while the team is trailing?*]

Lukas averted his gaze from the pitch to the coach pacing patiently around the touchline, his eyes analyzing the match calmly, wheels already turning in his mind. "Well, I hope so. I know what I can bring."

[*Yes you do. But does he?*]

As Lukas and TT spoke, Nagelsmann watched his team almost conceded a second.

A German move broke down on the left after Adeyemi tried to take on both Barella and Di Lorenzo at the same time for the second time in quick succession. He pushed the ball too far ahead of himself, hoping to burst past on the outside, but Di Lorenzo read it early and stepped across to win the duel cleanly. The loose ball rolled into the feet of Barella, who didn’t hesitate for a second. He snapped into a first-time tackle to evade Adeyemi’s recovery lunge and poked the ball into Tonali’s path.

Tonali took one touch to set himself and immediately accelerated through the centre, gliding past the halfway line. Kean peeled out to the left, Politano drifted inside to create a diagonal lane, and suddenly the grass in front of the Italian trio opened up like a runway.

"Germany caught again on that side," Rae warned, tension creeping into his voice.

Tah stepped forward, unsure whether to engage Tonali or hold the line. Kean sensed the hesitation and darted infield, offering the wall pass. Tonali played it into Kean’s feet, kept running, and received the return ball in stride, slicing straight through the centre circle and bearing down on an exposed German back line.

"Tonali, free again. He is having a great game so far. Germany are stretched here!"

Rüdiger retreated quickly, angling his run to shepherd Tonali wide, while Raum sprinted across to cover Kean. Still, the Italian midfielder looked unbothered. He delayed just long enough to draw Rüdiger toward him, then slid a perfectly timed through ball into Kean’s path on the angle toward the penalty area.

"KEAN IS THROUGH... KEANN!!!!"