The Rising Star - Alexia Putellas

Part 52

"You're not cleared yet. " I heard her yell back at me right before I was out of the door.

"I will."

And I did. The next day, Dawn finally gave me the green light to train again. The last three days she had watched me like a hawk. Checking up on me every few hours till it was up to me to prove to Jill that I was okay to play, which I did.

So here I was, standing in the tunnel, waiting to walk out on the field. Unlike the last time, I was nervous. Something about a knockout game makes it more real, I guess.

When Spain walked out, Alexia passed me in the tunnel. She came to a brief stop next to me, she leaned in closer so I was the only one that could hear her.

"Prepare to sing for me hermosa." She whispered in my ear. I chuckled at her statement.

"In your wildest dreams, sweet cheeks" I smirked at the girl.

"You're definitely part of those." I swore I heard her mumble. "Good luck." And before I could even register what she said she was gone. "Yeah good luck." I mumbled.

Alex, who was standing behind me, laughed at my antics. "Smooth." She patted my shoulders.

I rolled my eyes at the forward behind me. She was about to say something else when the ref blew her whistle, indicating for us to go. Saved by the whistle.

The game against Spain wasn't going to be easy and we all knew it. That's why we called it a banana peel game, basically meaning that even though we were supposed to be the stronger ones on paper, this could be a game where we would slip.

The game itself started very intensely. We knew that Spain was a very technical team, a team that wants to deliver beautiful football but what we failed to notice from their previous games was that they were also very physical, giving us a run for our money.

In the seventh minute, we were able to take the lead. Tobin did her Tobin thing and dribbled into the box where Mapi Leon brought her down. The ref immediately blew her whistle and gave us a penalty. Was it a light foul? Yes. Was I going to be sad about it? No.

Our party however didn't last long because mere minutes later, Jenni took advantage of a mistake that was made in our defense, scoring a nice goal and equalizing the score.

I could see the faces of my teammates drop in seconds. This was something we weren't used to. It was the first goal we conceded in this tournament.

"Hey, come on! Let's get our heads back in the game! Nothing is lost! We still have eighty minutes to play, plenty of time to make it right! I didn't stick my neck out in the press conferences for all of you to just give up with the first challenge we face! We got this!" I clapped my hands and hyped up my teammates.

It seemed to work because right after I gave my little speech the sadness and disappointment was replaced by determination. It was a very tight game and when half time came it was still one one. It was only in the seventy eight minute that that would change.

Rose passed me the ball. I knew Virginia was in my back, we were a couple of meters outside of the edge of the box. I had to either pass the ball back or I could try and turn around her, I chose the latter. I received the ball and instantly twirled around the number fourteen.

Without a second thought I took the shot with my left foot. For a minute there, it felt like the whole stadium fell quiet or maybe I blocked it all out. I watched the ball soar through the sky. It felt like an eternity before the ball would land in the upper left corner.

A weight fell off my shoulders. I bent down, balled my fists and just screamed out in joy. Pinoe and Rose were the first to reach me.

"The kid strikes again!" She pulled me into a hug while Rose jumped on my back, kissing my head. Once everyone had congratulated me, we all walked back to our places. While doing so I kissed my wrist and pointed at the sky. Something I've been doing every time I scored.