The spotlights are on the stage and the excitement in the air is almost palpable. The Japanese team have just won their match and, after changing, they enter the interview room one by one. The smell of damp grass and sweat still lingers slightly in the air.

You adjust your microphone, your notes laid out in front of you. Today isn't just another interview: there's a lot going on. Everyone's talking about the tensions between Genzo Wakabayashi and Karl Heinz Schneider. Your job? Dig up the dirt.

You look up and immediately catch Wakabayashi's eye. He's standing, arms folded, a few metres from the other players. He doesn't even blink. He just stares at you. Intense, piercing, almost... unsettling.

You frown slightly, but maintain your professionalism.