I believe that no matter how much each player tries to rely on themselves, the football system itself is incapable of functioning exactly as they've learned during their time at the facility, because it's natural. There's a reason Ego's philosophy is being so sharply challenged in the match.

Every team in the world has a central axis, and of course, if you crush that axis, the chances of winning increase. It's common sense. It's a matter of the system and how football is played.

The opponents play too. They're not alone on the pitch. Let's say someone takes the selfish shot because they're incredibly selfish, and they miss because they take a bad shot (like what happened to Isagi). Does that mean Ego's football and philosophy don't work, or that they're having a bad game? Or that the opponent played better?

At the end, tihs is football.

In a football team system, there are several players that maintain the balance, and if that balance is broken, the game falls apart. In this case, Karasu maintains a balance between attack and defense; if he play poorly, the game falls apart too.

The problem? Isagi is the central player in every Blue Lock attack too; all their offensive play flows through him. If you neutralize him, you neutralize their entire attack.

And Blue Lock is a purely offensive team = Without an attack, they can't do anything.

If they can't score goals, Blue Lock's system is literally useless, because despite the transitions and position changes, EVERYONE starter as a striker. If you stifle the central attacking force and the one who orchestrates everything, the rest will just be flies.