Rise of a Football God

FWEEE!

The game started and immediately, Nigeria tried to leave their imprint on the game with a dominant and imperious presence.

From the start, Sam played like a man possessed.

He started the game with his endless stamina at the fore, leading the press alongside Victor Osimhen as they chased down every loose ball, not giving Canada time on the ball as they asserted their authority over the game.

For the first few minutes, it was hard, chaotic, but due to their relentless and aggressive pressing, Nigeria managed to stifle Canada's game.

They stifled Canada's game, and a few minutes later, they finally settled.

Nigeria finally started playing their football.

And it didn't take long after they took control of the game that the first goal of the game appeared as early as the 11th minute, and it came from the name that media platforms around the world wanted… it was Samuel Moses.

Receiving the ball near the left half-space, Sam turned on a dime, ghosted past two Canadian midfielders with a burst of acceleration, before unleashing a venomous strike from 25 yards that curled into the top right corner.

Dayne St. Clair never moved.

"WHO IS THIS KID?!" The commentators screamed.

"Remember the name… SAMUEL MOSES!"

"MONSTER! THE BOY'S A MONSTER!"

With that goal, Sam singlehandedly turned the game on its head, sending the message to Canada that this was not going to be a work in the park.

And he didn't stop there.

Rather, it was just the beginning.

Sam scored the first goal as early as the 11th minute of the game, and then 11 minutes later in the 22nd minute, he didn't score, but he dazzled the millions of football fans watching around the world with a moment of magic.

Sam had dazzled all season as a striker for FC Barcelona that football fans and pundits around the world already forgot his short stint with Fulham FC, where he stunned the English premier league as a maverick attacking midfielder.

People have literally forgotten that he singlehandedly led Fulham FC to a Carabao Cup title, an FA Cup win, and also winning the English Premier League!

Tonight, Sam reminded the world of exactly what he could do as an attacking midfielder in a team.

It was a run that froze time. From deep, he danced through traffic, nutmegging Eustaquio, spinning past Hutchinson, shrugging off Cornelius, and delivering a cutback that should've been buried by Victor Osimhen.

Sam dribbled past 4 Canadian players!

It was artistry in motion.

When Osimhen missed the chance, frustrated groans from Nigerians erupted round the stadium even as Sam placed his palms on his head in shock.

But then he patted Osimhen, cheering him on to continue playing his game.

After that dribble, the Canadian coach realized something.

Tonight, Sam was in the flow state already!

He realized what that meant, the threat posed by Sam just flew through the roof, and so he made certain tactical changes, tasking one of his midfielders with the unenviable job of man-marking Sam.

It didn't matter though because in the 32nd minute, Sam cut the Canadian defense open again like a hot knife through butter.

This time, it came from a short corner routine.

Sam collected the ball, played a give and go with the right back, and rifled a left-footed shot through traffic into the far post.

Clinical. Confident. Cold.

2-0 to Nigeria.

BOOM!

The stadium exploded, fans of the Nigerian persuasion turning the stadium into a cauldron of noise in their celebrations.

And then…

"Sam!" "Sam!" "Sam!"

The Sam chants started at the Estadio BBVA in Mexico.

Sam celebrated by sliding on his knees, causing even more fans to sing his name even as the commentators waxed lyrical about how unplayable he was on the night.

The first half came to an end 2-0 in Nigeria's favor.

But then, in the second half, Canada came out swinging. And for a brief moment, they struck back.

In the 54th minute of the game, Jonathan David stung a shot through the heart of millions of Nigerian fans around the world.

A well-worked move down the flank saw Ahmed cross into the six-yard box, where David headed home to make it 1-2.

Game on, so Canada thought.

But Sam, ice in his veins, wasn't done writing his legend on the night.

Just 13 minutes after Jonathan David's goal in the 54th minute of the game, in the 67th minute, Sam scored again to make it a hattrick!

It began with a crunching tackle by Ndidi to win the ball in midfield. A quick transition followed.

Sam received the pass at the edge of the 6-yard box having made a late run deep. One look, one fake, and he slotted the ball past the goalkeeper like a veteran striker. Well, he was a lethal striker after all.

This time, no celebration. Just calm defiance from the Nigerian maverick.

Hattrick complete. World awakened.

BOOM!

The Estadio BBVA in Mexico exploded for the umpteenth time this game, paying homage to an all-time great performance at the FIFA World Cup as Sam completely stole the show with his country.

"SAMUEL MOSES!!!"

"SAMUEL MOSES!!!"

"SAMUEL MOSES!!!" The commentators screamed.

"Devil boy, that's what he is!"

"A nightmare for defenders!"

"He's been scoring goals like this for FC Barcelona all season! But tonight, he was supposed to be an attacking midfielder!"

"It's just unfair to opposition defenders to be marking this guy!"

"Heck, he's been man-marked and even that is not enough!"

"Can he even be stopped?!"

"What a boy!"

"What a monster!"

"Remember the name… SAMUEL MOSES!"

"It's been a long time since we last confidently claimed that this player will win the ballon d'Or award at the end of the season".

"But this season, it's not even a debate".

"The ballon d'Or award belongs to Sam!"

And just like that, Sam left his mark in the FIFA World Cup against Canada, singlehandedly winning the game for his country.

The game ended 3-1 in Nigeria's favor.

Samuel Moses, 20 years old.

3 goals, 0 mistakes, 93% pass accuracy, 4 key passes, 4 successful dribbles.

A literal 10/10 performance.