MAGICALITY CITY — Late drama- the Blue Cocos can't get enough of it. Mind you, Il Grigi was a difficult opponent. They put up a strong fight in the match, but inevitably were lucky to get this far and Alexís put Disperi belief to sleep with a finish past Ivarov deep into extra time. The blue half of the stadium erupted while the other half sighed. It had been an excellent ball from Jordaan Brown which traveled a remarkable 80 yards before reaching the feet of Alexís who only took one touch to beat the Nessuno central defensive partnership of Jaric and Vandebuurd and slotted home with his second. Wehr named the expected lineup– a central defensive trio of Adam Guard, Mario Küpfer, and Thomas Männ, with Francis Júnior and Jordaan Brown at wingback positions. Samy Chase and Franz Müller were both deployed in holding midfield roles, with Fernando Rossi in a more advanced midfield role. Iago Cornes was a surprise starter over Joseph Vard in the advanced forward position, who didn't have the best of times in the previous two matches, and of course, Alexís played alongside him in a trequartista role. Highton was forced to make its first switch before half-time when Adam Guard was forced off after a collision with Irjescu of Nessuno, and he was replaced by Emil Galeta. Francis Júnior was booked in the 28th minute and looked like he might be sent off, so Wehr made the decision to substitute him for Jacob Schußer before his side would be forced to play with ten men. Much credit should go to Nessuno's keeper Ivarov whose saves kept his side in the match. John Checker made a few stops of his own, including a great aerial diving save in the 73rd minute. In the 87th minute of regulation, Nessuno thought they had won the game when Heauderbaix headed past Checker, but the goal was disallowed after VAR when it was found that he had tripped Küpfer before winning the header. Joseph Vard came on for Iago Cornes at the beginning of extra time, as well as Otto Berger for the exhausted Männ. Highton's best chance in the first half of extra time came from a Müller shot from the edge of the box which went inches wide. In the 110th minute, Alexís had a great chance to score when Joseph Vard headed the ball across the area for a difficult volley, which was caught by Ivarov. It was in the 118th minute when the moment of magic happened.
Eric Wehr understands that, although his side have been crowned champions, sweeping changes need to be made to the national team setup. "We can celebrate now, but in a few days the work starts again. We have many aging players and I think we need to rebuild most of the squad. There are some impressive young players coming up in the Premier League, and a few members of the squad I will need to reevaluate and perhaps have that difficult conversation with". The Crown Prince dropped his traditional attire in favor of a national team jersey for the match, and after handing the trophy to Alexís he celebrated as a member of the team. "His Highness is an honorary member of this team. We all know him well and appreciate his interest in our successes," said Alexís, the captain of the Blue Cocos side since Martin Schultz retired earlier this year. With trophy in hand, Alexís was handed a small box by a member of the coaching staff. He ran over to the sideline and proposed to his longtime girlfriend, footballer Natalie Pontcy. She said yes. HH Diego II has already declared a national holiday to celebrate the victory. Fans across the land celebrate with joyous cheers of "Áfram Highton" which will be certain to continue non-stop for days, and when the squad returns home tomorrow.
