CHAPTER 155: IMPACT

"BRANDTTTTT!!!!! OH MY WORD! OH MY WORD! JUST WHAT HAVE WE WITNESSED?!" Derek Rae screamed as Lukas sprinted to the corner flag, where the away fans were gathered and going crazy, his arms spread wide open.

He had timed his run perfectly after the cross, ghosting in behind Calafiori’s blindside. He sprang upward, neck taut, and powered a header back across Donnarumma, who was still recovering from his missed attempt to punch the ball to safety. The ball bounced inside the far post and rippled the net.

The German bench exploded. Nagelsmann punched the air once, then quickly composed himself, but the smile betrayed him. The players swarmed Lukas near the corner flag, Musiala the first to wrap him in a hug, followed by Sané, who yelled something right into his ear with a laugh.

The San Siro fell to a stunned murmur. The home fans had barely returned to their seats.

"He’s 16 years old, and look at the composure, the timing of that run. This young man has ice in his veins!" the analyst said, almost laughing in disbelief. "His first ever touch in a Germany shirt — and he scores a header at the San Siro!"

Kimmich made his way over, placed one hand on the back of Lukas’s head, and said just loud enough for Lukas alone:

"Welcome to International Football."

The scoreboard changed, and a new story had begun.

Italy 1–1 Germany.

Germany had grown into the second half with a confidence that hadn’t been there before the break. The ball was moving quicker, the combinations slicker, and Italy suddenly looked less comfortable playing out from the back. The equaliser had changed more than the scoreline — it shifted the energy.

Goretzka received the ball from Groß just inside the centre circle and scanned. Musiala dropped into a pocket of space between Rovella and Tonali, hand raised subtly, already reading the angle. Goretzka fed the pass into him with pace.

Musiala let the ball run across his body. Rovella stepped in, expecting the usual twist or roll. Instead, Musiala improvised — a quick toe-poke through Rovella’s legs, the ball sliding perfectly into space as he accelerated away.

"Ohhh Musiala! That’s outrageous! Nutmegging Rovella right under his nose!"

With Italy momentarily split, Musiala threaded a diagonal pass into the right channel for Lukas, who had made the run the moment he saw Musiala break free.

Lukas met the ball striding toward the flank, head lifting to take in the scene — but Tonali was already flying toward him, sliding in aggressively to cut out any attempt to drive down the line. Lukas reacted in an instant. He scooped the ball up with the inside of his left foot, lifting it over Tonali’s challenge, then hopped over the sliding midfielder to avoid the collision. Tonali skidded across the wet turf, clutching at nothing.

"Wonderful feet from the teenager again! He just danced over Tonali!"

Lukas regained balance without losing speed and squared up Udogie, who now stood between him and the box. A couple of quick touches set the defender up, then Lukas pushed the ball toward the byline, shaping his body as if ready to whip a cross.

Udogie bit hard, sliding to block what he assumed was coming. Lukas stopped dead and executed a Cruyff turn, cutting the ball back inside with his trailing foot, sending Udogie sliding past and down to the turf.

"Ooooh, he’s sent him! Sent him completely! Brilliant feint from Brandt!"

The space opened for Lukas to drive toward the edge of the penalty area. Calafiori rushed out to block, preparing for the curling effort everyone in the stadium expected. Lukas leaned his body, shaping for the trademark left-foot curler toward the far post.

Calafiori launched to block — only to find there was no shot.

With the calm of someone in a park kick-about, Lukas rolled the ball square into the gathered space at the top of the box. Musiala arrived in stride and struck first-time with his right, aiming low for the bottom-left corner.

"Musialaaa!"

Donnarumma exploded into action, throwing himself full-stretch to his right. Fingertips pushed the ball wide of the post and out for a corner.

"What a save! Donnarumma with a huge stop to deny Musiala!"

The German players clapped the effort — both the move and the finish. Lukas pointed at Musiala, mouthing, ’next one goes in.’ Musiala nodded, a grin tugging at his lips.

And the next one, sure did go in.

By the hour mark, the pattern of the match had shifted. Lukas was no longer glued to the right touchline. He began drifting inside with intent, finding pockets of space between Italy’s midfield and defence. It wasn’t chaos — it was calculated, something he had cleared with Nagelsmann moments earlier with a simple nod. And Germany instantly looked more dangerous for it.

Nagelsmann noticed the subtle change immediately. A slight smirk curved at the corner of his mouth as he watched Lukas abandon the touchline and operate between the lines. Glück leaned toward him, whispering, "He’s coming inside more."

Nagelsmann replied without looking away from the pitch, "Let him. That’s where he hurts them."

It was a calculated freedom, and Italy were too slow to realise the danger.

The move started deep, with Rudiger receiving the ball near the corner of his own box after a spell of Italian pressure. Instead of clearing long, he held off Raspadori and laid it calmly to Groß, who had dropped between the centre-backs to orchestrate.

"Germany showing real composure playing out from the back," the commentator observed.

Groß turned and threaded a vertical pass through Italy’s first line into Goretzka, who cushioned it out wide to Raum. Lukas, spotting space in the midfield, drifted off Udogie’s shoulder into the left half-space. Raum recognised it and fired the pass inside.

Lukas let the ball roll across him with a subtle step, taking Barella out of the equation with a single touch. Tonali stepped in to close him down, but instead of trying to beat him off the dribble, Lukas popped the ball off to Musiala, who had arrived just outside the D.

Musiala took it with his back to goal, flicked it first time back to Lukas with a soft back-heel, and spun into space.

"Oh, that is gorgeous interplay between the two youngsters!"

Lukas received the return, shifted it out of his feet, and played a disguised reverse pass back into Musiala’s path, slicing open the Italian defence. Musiala burst into the box, but instead of shooting through a crowd of blue shirts, he slowed, held off Calafiori, and squared it back to Lukas at the edge of the area.

The San Siro buzzed nervously — the two were toying with Italy.

"Brandt and Musiala are dancing through the Azzurri here!"

With Tonali and Rovella converging, Lukas feather-touched the ball between them towards the right side of the box, where Groß had drifted. Groß could have struck it, but instead played a clever wall pass back to Lukas, who had continued his run.

The Italian defence scrambled. Bastoni stepped out, Udogie tucked inside, Calafiori shifted across — but it was all reactive. Germany was dictating.

Lukas now had a split-second opening. He didn’t force the shot. Instead, he slid a perfectly weighted pass between Bastoni and Calafiori, threading the needle into the feet of Kleindienst, who had ghosted into the right channel.

"Kleindienst is through! This is the moment!"

Kleindienst took one touch to steady and, with Donnarumma rushing out to narrow the angle, fired low across the keeper into the far corner.

"GOALLLLL! Germany leads in Milan! And what a move that is!"

The German players sprinted to Kleindienst, who pointed straight at Lukas and then at Musiala, acknowledging the brilliance of the buildup. Musiala wrapped an arm around Lukas’ shoulder as they jogged back to the centre circle, both smiling — not cocky, but knowing.

"It’s a stunning team goal," the analyst said. "But the understanding between Brandt and Musiala has completely changed this game. Italy cannot live with their movement. Sixteen years old, and Brandt is controlling a Nations League quarterfinal at the San Siro."

Nagelsmann clapped twice on the touchline, expression controlled — but his eyes gave him away. This wasn’t luck. This was precisely why he brought Lukas on.

As the German players jogged back for the restart, the cameras focused on Lukas for a prolonged moment. Sixteen years old, at the San Siro, scoring on his debut, and assisting to take the lead. It wasn’t supposed to look this easy. Rae lowered his voice, almost reverent: "Remember this night. We may be watching the birth of Germany’s next superstar."On the touchline, a few Italian fans stared at the scoreboard in disbelief. Even though they agreed the national team hadn’t been outstanding lately, they still expected a win. And for the first 45 minutes, they were on the road to that win.

But in just 15 minutes, a boy who was still in high school had dismantled them piece by piece.

Germany 2–1 Italy.