Chapter 108: Top 11

Five hours remain before Jinpachi Ego reveals the Blue Lock Eleven. While stuffing himself in the dining hall, Aoshi Tokimitsu checks on Rin Itoshi's nose, and Rin brushes it off, more curious about where Ryusei Shido has gone. Word is that Shido got hauled to the Punishment Room, out cold the whole way. Nearby, Gurimu Igarashi jitters over whether his name will be called, and Jingo Raichi mocks him as trash with no shot. Igarashi fires back that Raichi never scored either, so they sink or swim together. Yoichi Isagi overhears the spat and reasons that if scoring is the yardstick, only he, Meguru Bachira, Reo Mikage, and Shoei Baro managed goals outside the Top 6. Position means nothing to him; he just wants to be picked and face the Japan U-20, the stage where his future can turn.

Alone in his viewing room, Ego tweaks the roster and settles his choices. When Anri Teieri asks whether he has decided, he answers that crowding the kitchen ruins the meal, some talent has to be trimmed for the sake of winning. Her phone then rings: JFA President Hirotoshi Buratsuta is calling.

Ten minutes out, the survivors file into the Third Selection Central Room. Nijiro Nanase clutches his chest in panic, and Yo Hiori warns him to keep his heart inside his body. The door swings open and, to everyone's shock, Ego himself strides in rather than a screen. He greets them, notes this is only the second time he has addressed them face to face, and reminds them that a striker exists to score, which is why the whole squad will be built around the highest scorer. Then he names the eleven. Rin takes center forward as the star, his 2.5-goal average anchoring a brutally aggressive shape designed to concede five and win by six. Gin Gagamaru takes goal for his reflexes, Jyubei Aryu and Ikki Niko form the center-back pairing, Bachira and Hyoma Chigiri patrol the wings, and Tabito Karasu links defense to attack as the beating heart of the formation. Up front, Eita Otoya and Kenyu Yukimiya work the flanks while Seishiro Nagi supports Rin. The final slot goes to Isagi, the one player who kept pace with Rin, pushed him, and even outscored him. Ego declares this the official Blue Lock Eleven that will meet the Japan U-20.

The Blue Lock Eleven roster is unveiled at last, though Shido never shows. Anri fields a call from the JFA president just as Ego locks in his picks. Breaking routine, Ego delivers the announcement in person. The named starters are Rin, Gagamaru, Aryu, Niko, Bachira, Chigiri, Karasu, Otoya, Yukimiya, Nagi, and Isagi. Isagi earns the last spot as the only player who not only matched Rin but grew his own game alongside him.

This is the 108th chapter overall, titled Top 11, and the fifth entry in Volume 13. It falls within the Third Selection Arc, and its events are dramatized in Episode 29 of the anime. The chapter runs twenty pages and first appeared in Japan on November 18, 2020, with the English release following on May 17, 2022.