The entire film is built on the philosophy that a player's greatest match is the one they haven't played yet. Tsubasa doesn't chase trophies or titles; he chases the next impossible thing, the next goalkeeper who might actually stop him, the next reason to push harder. You watch decades of soccer unfold through muscle memory and obsession, all toward a single training game that matters only because the characters have decided it does.

The third Captain Tsubasa film centers on a practice game played by the All Japan youth soccer squad. Much of its running time goes to recollections of earlier contests, including the championship clash between Nankatsu and Toho and the episodes in which Wakabayashi takes on the captains of teams from other sports. Some countries released it as the fourth movie in the series.