Become A Football Legend Chapter 389: FIFA Qualifiers

~5 minute read · 1,195 words

Previously on Become A Football Legend...

Germany is playing Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier. Lukas, in only his second senior appearance, starts the match. Slovakia presses aggressively, but Germany scores first with a brilliant assist from Lukas leading to a goal by Wirtz. Germany controls the game, but Slovakia looks to counterattack.

Lukas drove forward at full speed, carrying the ball into the final third with every touch perfectly measured. Wirtz and Gnabry sprinted either side of him, dragging the recovering defenders away, but Lukas never even looked up at them.

He already knew what he wanted.

Ahead of him, Martin Dúbravka edged nervously off his line.

One step.

Then another.

The goalkeeper kept delaying his commitment, trying to stay big for as long as possible while narrowing the angle.

Lukas kept running.

Thirty yards from goal.

Twenty-five.

Twenty.

Still he refused to shoot.

Dúbravka finally made his move, exploding forward in an attempt to smother the chance.

That was the moment Lukas had been waiting for.

With the lightest touch of his right boot, he lifted the ball delicately over the advancing goalkeeper.

Time seemed to stop.

The chip floated gracefully through the evening air.

Dúbravka could only turn and watch helplessly as it dropped beyond him...

...kissed the turf once...

...and rolled into the centre of the net.

GOAL!

Slovakia 0-2 Germany.

Lukas didn’t even slow down.

He hurdled cleanly over the sliding Dúbravka, landed on the other side and continued his run toward the corner flag before spreading his arms wide to the travelling German supporters.

The small section of away fans erupted.

Behind him, Wirtz reached him first, jumping onto his back before Gnabry, Kimmich and Woltemade arrived seconds later, surrounding the teenager in celebration.

On the German bench, Julian Nagelsmann punched both fists into the air before turning toward his assistants with a grin.

"That’s world class."

The commentator could barely contain himself.

Beside him, the co-commentator simply laughed in admiration.

*"You can coach positioning. You can coach movement. But you cannot coach imagination like that. He solved three problems in the space of two seconds, and then finished like a veteran striker. Germany have found something very, very special."

* * *

The final whistle echoed around Tehelné pole about an hour later.

Slovakia 1–4 Germany.

Germany had never truly looked back after Lukas’ opener. The visitors controlled possession for long spells in the second half, patiently wearing Slovakia down before striking twice more. Just after the hour mark, Lukas found himself at the heart of another flowing move, exchanging passes with Kimmich before drifting into space outside the penalty area. Woltemade occupied both centre-backs with a clever run across the defensive line, opening just enough room.

Lukas didn’t hesitate.

One touch to settle.

A sharp shift onto his left.

Then he curled a magnificent effort beyond Dúbravka’s fingertips and into the far top corner.

3-0.

The travelling German supporters bounced in celebration, chanting the teenager’s name as he simply raised a hand toward them before being embraced by Wirtz and Gnabry.

Nagelsmann applauded calmly from the touchline.

Exactly the response he had wanted.

Germany continued to dominate, and with fifteen minutes remaining Lukas added one final decisive contribution. Receiving possession between the lines once again, he turned away from Lobotka before threading a perfectly weighted through ball between Škriniar and Hancko.

Woltemade timed his run to perfection.

One touch followed by a low finish to make it 4-0.

The striker immediately pointed back toward Lukas before running over to celebrate with him.

It was the youngster’s second assist of the evening.

With the result beyond doubt, Nagelsmann finally decided his work was done.

In the eighty-second minute, the fourth official’s board went up.

Lukas Brandt off.

The German supporters rose to their feet.

As he jogged toward the bench, applause followed him from every corner occupied by the travelling fans. Nagelsmann met him near the touchline, offering a firm handshake before patting him twice on the shoulder.

"Excellent. Exactly what I wanted."

Lukas nodded, breathing heavily as he wrapped a towel around his neck before taking his seat beside the substitutes.

Slovakia managed a late consolation in the eighty-ninth minute when Strelec finally found the net after a scramble inside the German penalty area, denying Germany the clean sheet, but it did little to change the mood inside the stadium.

Moments later...

The referee blew for full time.

Slovakia 1–4 Germany.

The commentator summed it up as the German players gathered in front of their travelling supporters.

"A commanding start to Germany’s World Cup qualifying campaign. Lukas Brandt was unquestionably the star of the evening—two goals, two assists, and another performance that continues his remarkable rise. Florian Wirtz also found the scoresheet, while Nick Woltemade opened his qualifying account. Slovakia threatened in moments, but Germany’s quality ultimately proved overwhelming."

The players slowly made their way toward the away section.

Kimmich led the applause.

The rest of the squad followed.

Lukas clapped above his head toward the thousands of German supporters who had made the journey to Bratislava, smiling as they sang his name back to him.

A few minutes later, inside the tunnel, UEFA officials approached him.

"Congratulations, Lukas."

One of them handed him the blue plaque.

Player of the Match.

Lukas accepted it with a modest smile before posing briefly for the photographers.

Germany’s qualification campaign had begun exactly as Julian Nagelsmann had hoped.

And now the focus shifted immediately to their next qualifier, where Germany would return home to host Northern Ireland, looking to make it two wins from two before the players headed back to their clubs.

* * *

6th of September September 2025

DFB Campus, Frankfurt am Main

Germany had returned to the DFB Campus immediately after the victory in Bratislava.

With the next qualifier against Northern Ireland taking place in Cologne, there was little reason to establish a temporary camp elsewhere. The federation’s headquarters in Frankfurt remained the perfect base — state-of-the-art training facilities, recovery rooms, meeting theatres and accommodation all in one complex.

Saturday’s session had been intentionally light. A small group of fans, predominantly Eintracht Frankfurt fans had gathered near the entrance earlier that day and Lukas had waved to them from a distance as he could still feel the love the people of the city had for him.

The starting eleven from Slovakia spent most of the morning on recovery drills, stretching, rondos and tactical walkthroughs, while the substitutes worked at a slightly higher intensity before everybody gathered for lunch in the spacious dining hall overlooking the training pitches.

Players chatted in small groups.

Some watched highlights on their phones.

Others picked quietly at their meals.

Near one of the televisions mounted on the wall, Lukas sat beside Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade as Sky Sports DE continued its rolling football coverage.

The Bundesliga recap had just finished.

Now the broadcast switched to England.

A familiar graphic filled the screen.

Premier League New Arrivals

Lukas Brandt (Manchester City)

3 Matches

0 Goals

0 Assists

Florian Wirtz (Liverpool)

3 Matches

0 Goals

0 Assists