Episode 7: Rush

Trailing 3-4, down a player, and stripped of every secret by Kuon, Team Z has fifteen minutes to rescue a draw. Isagi is swarmed by the Wanima twins, and Kuon urges him to quit, while Iemon rallies the side by pointing out that a tie still keeps their hopes alive if they win the next match. The twins' fresh jabs at Chigiri trigger a flashback to Rakosute High, where his explosive pace turned him into a star until an ACL tear and the terror of a second injury drove him to search for a way to walk away from football.

As the clock bleeds out, Isagi keeps chasing lost causes, wins the ball back, and shoves the frozen Chigiri aside to keep the move alive. Watching Isagi pour everything into a game he refuses to concede lights a fire in Chigiri, who resolves that he no longer cares whether this is his final play. Isagi then catches the scent of a goal near the far touchline and lofts a long ball out to empty space, right as Chigiri decides to run.

Chigiri detonates past Kuon at full speed, feeds himself, shreds the defense, and reaches the ball before the keeper to level the match at 4-4. He thanks Isagi and vows to keep running until his legs give out and his fire dies. Afterward Team W beats on Kuon, the results come in with Team V having downed Team X, and Team Z turns to its unbeaten final opponent. Spotting Kuon peddling his same deal to Tsurugi, Nagi, and Mikage of Team V, Isagi steps in to warn Nagi never to underestimate football and declares he will beat them all.

Chigiri's Rakosute flashback lays bare the origin of his sealed speed and his fear of re-injury. Isagi's refusal to give up, capped by physically pushing Chigiri to spark him, breaks Chigiri's paralysis. Reading a goal at the far touchline, Isagi sends the long ball that Chigiri chases down for the tying strike, a 4-4 finish that saves Team Z. Chigiri commits to playing without holding back. Kuon is beaten by Team W and is rebuffed when he offers his deal to Team V, where Tsurugi declines and Nagi and Mikage find it boring, and Isagi's confrontation with Nagi sets up the coming showdown with the undefeated Team V.

The episode aired on November 20, 2022 in the First Selection Arc, adapting chapters 19 through 22. It opens with Chaos ga Kiwamaru and closes on WINNER, following Episode 6 and leading into Episode 8. It marks the first appearances of Nagi, Mikage, and Tsurugi. Its Additional Time short, Girly Hairstyle, has Chigiri tying his hair into a bun and disliking it, Kunigami offering a hair band and citing his two sisters, and Chigiri musing that fashion is about motivation before tossing the band aside as the meeting waits.