> "Romeo has vision, man! That through ball was wild!"
"No cap — delete the period — this kid's got it!"
"Did you not see that? Romeo just torched Isila — the guy who locked down Messi!"
"I'm telling you, Romeo is different!"
"Who the hell let Riley Tate and his old man exile this kid?! They killed our future!"
What began as fan chatter on the livestream had erupted into full-blown outrage.
The better Romeo played, the angrier the fans became — not at him, but at the system that had tried to bury him.
---
In a posh villa near Washington D.C., a loud crash! echoed through the living room.
Zachary Tate —, a senior U.S. Soccer executive — had hurled a glass tumbler at the wall.
On screen, the chat was out of control.
He yanked out his phone and called his secretary.
"Where's the PR team?!" he barked. "Why is my name trending? Where's the spin we paid for?!"
"We tried, sir," his secretary stammered. "But no one wants to take the job. Everyone who tried to smear Romeo… got sued. No one's touching it."
"Then tell them — I was never involved! You hear me? Never!"
His voice trembled with panic.
---
Back at Reeves Stadium, the match between Argentina and Chile continued — but the crowd was focused on one player.
Romeo Teixeira.
Chile's coach, Jorge Sampaoli, paced furiously along the touchline.
"Mark that boy!" he shouted at his defenders.
Five minutes earlier, he had dismissed Romeo's assist as a fluke.
Now, he was screaming like a man on fire.
Romeo picked up a pass just outside the final third.
Immediately, Marcelo, Mena, and Charles swarmed.
Pastore, who passed it, tried to dart in for support — but was cut off by Vidal, who used his body like a wall.
Mascherano was tangled up with Beausejour.
Up front, Messi and Di María were being tracked. Aguero was too far off to matter.
Three defenders. No space. No time.
> "Romeo's boxed in," the Argentine announcer muttered.
"He's done for."
But Romeo didn't hesitate.
With a sudden flick of his left foot, he touched the ball across to his right — slipping past Charles' lunging tackle.
Marcelo lunged — but Romeo faked, slotted it under his foot, and glided past like water.
Mena charged forward. Romeo shielded the ball with his back, pivoted, rolled it behind.
Charles tried to recover — tripped — fell.
The defenders clumped too close. The gap widened.
Romeo dropped his heel on the ball, used his left foot as a pivot, and twisted through the seam like a blade of light.
From the crowd: gasps.
On the field: silence.
No one could stop him.
The ball zipped between Mena's legs.
Romeo reappeared behind him — calm, composed — the ball under his feet.
Mena spun to grab him — slipped — and dropped flat on the turf.
> "¡Dios mío!" screamed a fan in disbelief.
Reeves Stadium erupted.
---
In the stands, fans holding ROMEO OUT signs froze.
Then tore them to shreds.
Some nearly lit them on fire — if not for nearby security stopping them.
> "Who lied to me?" a man shouted. "They said he'd ruin the team — that he was trash!"
"If Romeo's out, those fossils in U.S. Soccer better resign!"
"Who called him useless? Come out here and say it again!"
In one row, a burly fan screamed and nearly jumped the barrier.
His friend pulled him back. "Bro, you're the one who brought the damn sign…"
> "Yeah well I lied to myself! Let me be dramatic!"
On social media, it was no better.
> "Romeo is HIM."
"Cut Riley Tate's funding. His father too."
"We were robbed. Romeo should've been our future."
---
Meanwhile, the women in the stands had fallen for more than just his footwork.
> "He's like an artist out there…"
"That hair, that control, that look — I'm in love."
"He's 19? I'm 19. Say less."
Romeo Teixeira wasn't just winning the game.
He was rewriting the narrative — one touch at a time.
---