Chapter Three: A Goal Made by Seven

Without controlling, Zhao passed diagonally right. Four. The right back found Qiu dropping deep. Five. Qiu held off a defender and laid the ball to Luo. Six. They still needed one. Two defenders blocked Luo's path. Gu shouted from the touchline, “Look first!” Luo raised his head. Left winger Han Xiaobei had entered from the blind side. Luo did not dribble. He stabbed the ball between the defenders. Han, the seventh man. He swept a low cross toward the near post. Qiu arrived, drawing the goalkeeper and both center backs, then let the ball run between his feet. At the far post, Luo had continued running. He had crossed half the field to arrive unmarked. He side-footed the ball in.