Rise of a Football God

(Euro 2024:)

(Spain – Germany)

(Date: 5th July, 2024)

…

(Portugal – France)

(Date: 5th July, 2024)

It was dubbed the clash of the heavyweights.

Portugal vs France was going to be legendary as it would be a battle between mentor and disciple, the duo being the Portuguese legend, Cristiano Ronaldo and France's talisman, Kylian Mbappe.

Read exclusive adventures at empire

That game was going to be legendary but definitely not as legendary as Spain vs Germany. Afterall, it was a clash of the 2 clearest favorites.

Most people thought it was unfair to pit them against each other this early in the tournament, but this was the brutal nature of tournaments.

Spain and Germany would have to man up and prove their credentials, and oh boy, did both teams turn up.

To Sam, watching Spain vs Germany live felt like Godzilla vs Kong all over again; it was just legendary!

Throughout this game, Sam was on edge, feeling goosebumps.

It was raw display of elite football.

After 90 minutes of incredible football, both teams were tied 1-1, leading to extra time. And in the 118th minute of extra time, Mikel Merino, the Spanish substitute became the decider between the 2 teams, scoring the winner with a towering header past Manuel Neuer to send Spain to the semifinal of the Euros.

The hosts were knocked out in agonizing fashion but they bowed out with their heads held high, they played amazing football.

Portugal vs France was surprisingly bland as both teams played well below their standards, but simply due to the superstars lining the pitch that day, people watched still till the game was decided.

France won after another Portugal penalty shoot-out. Ronaldo scored his penalty this time, but their goalkeeper could not bail them out a second time.

France progressed.

The next day, the last 2 games of the quarterfinals went as people expected. Surprisingly, again, England were pushed to the limits just as Sam predicted but they didn't lose, narrowly winning through penalties.

"Damn! They're just progressing through luck at this point!" Sam complained after the game. "They're not playing as a team at all".

As for the very last game, Netherlands won 2-1 over Turkey.

And then came the semifinals.

(Euro 2024 semifinal:)

(Spain – France)

(Date: 9th July, 2024)

…

(Netherlands – England)

(Date: 10th July, 2024)

Again, it was a clash of heavyweights but it generally progressed just as most people expected.

Due to his nose injury, Kylian Mbappe was not performing close to his best throughout the tournament and finally after crashing against the towering wall called Spain, they crashed out of the tournament, losing 2-1 to Spain.

This game got more publicity after comments from the French players, most notable from Adrien Rabbiot who talked down Lamine Yamal's threat.

Well, Yamal took those comments personal.

On 9th of July, the whole football world was forced to acknowledge the name Lamine Yamal as after dazzling all game, the boy wonder scored a goal of the tournament contender, turning the same Adrien Rabbiot inside out before scoring an incredible curler past Mike Maignan, the French goalkeeper.

It was the perfect statement performance from the young FC Barcelona winger. And well, in Nigeria, you had to see the reaction to this game on twitter.

With the perfect timing of Portugal having crashed out in the last round of the tournament, now France crashing out, Lionel Messi fans had all the leverage in the world to taunt their Ronaldo counterparts.

The memes on social media were creative and crazily devious.

Lionel Messi fans were having a field day, buoyed by a Lionel Messi-led Argentina side's progress through the 2024 Copa America tournament having made it to the final already.

The England game ended against Sam's predictions again as somehow, England managed to grind out a result against Netherlands, winning 2-1.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"What the heck!" Sam was absolutely flabbergasted. "How on earth do they keep doing this every single time?!"

"Damn! They actually made it to the final". He was stunned.

Euro 2024 final was decided.

(Euro 2024:)

(Spain – England)

(14th July, 2024)

Before the final game of Euro 2024, the Copa America final was played first and trust Sam, despite it being very late in Nigeria time, he stayed awake, watching this pivotal game.

Tragedy struck in this final as Lionel Messi was forced out of the tense game against Colombia with an ankle injury, yet, without their skipper, Argentina did not fumble as they showed their mettle against James Rodriguez's Colombia.

The ex-Real Madrid player seemed to have regained his spark in this year's Copa America, having dazzled with his performances leading to the final.

Without Messi, Argentina struggled but their famous defense held, keeping Colombia's rampant attack at bay till the second half of extra time when Argentina was saved by a Lautaro Martinez strike.

On that night, to Sam, the world stopped.

It was like reliving the 2022 FIFA World Cup final all over again.

"YESSSSS!!!" Sam screamed at the top of his lungs, jumping excitedly as he woke Kayla up with a startle.

She looked at him groggily.

Sam ran up to her, shaking her excitedly. "It's a goal!" He screamed. "We're leading, Messi is about to win another Copa America!"

Well, his words came to pass.

Colombia tried but they could not find the breakthrough, Argentina won 1-0, effectively laying down their argument as one of the best international sides of all time as they matched the glamor of Spain's golden era of the early 2010s with 3 back to back major international trophies won.

After that game, in a jolly mood, Sam approached the Euro 2024 final.

This time, he couldn't predict. 'Who knows? Those undying cockroaches may go and shock the whole world'.

England did threaten, equalizing through a stunning Cole Palmer strike after Spain took the lead earlier but Spain held their nerves through this final, showing that their credentials as favorites were not unfounded.

In this final, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled again, and it was the later who nailed the dagger to English fans all over the world.

Nico Williams scored the winning goal, winning the Euros for Spain.

Sam celebrated excitedly. To him, football won.

All in all, to him, it was an exciting closure to an unforgettable holiday and break from football.

This chapter upload first at NovelBin.Com