World Cup 58 RP Thread

[Polar Islandstates]

(In response to this.)

Magnus Ragnorak wasn't getting any better. Rocking forwards and backwards on his bed with his legs tucked up into his body, he giggled slightly to himself as he gazed upon the basked of muffins in front of him.

His. All his.

He reached out for a particularly moist looking one on the top, when he noticed the note attached to the basket.

"With compliments - Emperor Boston"

That face.

That grin.

Those eyebrows...

He withdrew his hand. He couldn't. He started to shake slightly. That face.

But, those muffins.

But, that face...

But, those muffins...

Face.

Muffins.

Face.

Muffins.

Poor Magnus. This was quite a stressful situation for him.

After about five minutes of nervous jibbering, he made a decision.

He closed his eyes, and took a bit.

"Mmmm... facemuffin..."

[Thatius]

FBC Turnisse Stadium
Dannenberg, Thatius

Fans of the Thatius National Soccer team collectively breathed a sigh of relief as the final whistle blew for the match against Vettrera. The final score read 1-2, in Thatius' favor. Players walked off the field, relieved that they acquired another win. Slowly but steadily, the Thatian soccer team was climbing up the group. Previously the day before, they extracted revenge against The Weegies, who stole away a win in their last game against Thatius by tying them 0-0. Now three wins, the team ranks sixth in the whole group, much better after sitting last (ninth place) for a while.

Kicking off to start the game against Vettrera, Alex O'Brien passed the ball back to a now healed Roy Seeler. The pair played some antics to the dismay of the Vettrerans, while other forwards including Fabjian Tsurenko found themselves in an open position to receive the ball. At the sixth minute mark, Tsurenko was fouled, giving the Firebirds a favorable position in their opponent's half. Most of the midfielders and all forwards lined up to take advantage of the opportunity. Marko Voloski headed the ball in the air after Tsurenko aimed for him. In turn, the ball landed near the feet of O'Brien, who dribbled for a shot on the goal. He scored in only the seventh minute of the game. A 1-0 lead for Thatius, at home. Fans sighed as they were happy to see that the Firebirds were finally able to take a lead on the formidable Vettreran team.

Halftime arrived later without another goal scored, as there were few opportunities for either team. The only time that the Vettrerans came close to scoring in the first half was when forward Nicholas Spearmen slipped past the Thatian defenders and took a shot on goal. Thankfully, he missed it wide left, and the game still remained 1-0, Thatius. Halftime ended shortly, and fans were rejuvenated to face another forty-five minutes of some great soccer play. A crowd of about 53,000 fans from cities located in south-west Thatius roared in appreciation as the Firebirds marched back on the field. Even president Marko Irosković showed up for the game, escorted by many of government representatives. He and his wife Ana sat in the presidential box, specifically designed for dignitaries.

The Vettreran team kicked off to start the second half, and at once they felt the impact of the Thatian defense. Will Szrolzek anticipated Nicholas Spearmen's moves, and stole the ball almost immediately as he tried passing it to one of his teammates. Szrolzek passed it up the middle, eventually reaching Seeler. He took the ball and kicked it, albeit he was a long distance from the goal. The ball flew over the top, and became a goal kick. Vettreran goalie Michael Harris took the ball and passed it to his defender, Alexandra Young, however the Thatian forward Voloski saw this coming and stole the ball immediately. The crowd roared and Voloski scored for a 2-0 Thatius lead.

Again, the Vettrerans kicked off, this time hoping for a comeback. The midfielders were kept most busy, as most of the action was left for the middle of the field, and the ball rarely came near the goal. However, at around the eightieth minute mark, Vettreran forward Nickola Harper scored after the team earned a corner kick. The Firebirds were not too upset about this goal, seeing as only ten minutes remained in the game. They held the defense and eventually, the whistle blew. Game over. Thatius wins, 2-1. All the players walked over to the bench, then shook hands with their opponents, and headed for the locker rooms. The game had its exciting moments, but nothing too spectacular. The Firebirds will need to keep up this level of play when they compete soon against Kernansqillec and Polar Islandstates. But today, it was a good win to keep them afloat and World Cup Qualifying dreams alive.

[Queer Poco el Mono Ara]

It's Saturday right? Right?

RP Cut Off.

http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=8365060#p8365060

Apparently Jeru FC have just kicked it into hyper-drive

[Taeshan]

X Island Inquirer

Purple Knights tie Stockton-on-Tees

Overall last nights game for the Purple Knights was a below average performance that led a tie on a night where the Knights should have easily gotten all 3 points from. Stockton on Tees isn't exactly the most fantastic of teams and last nights performance has brought out many questions on the minds of the fans, the manager and even some of the players. How could they not get a win? The team is currently only two points out of a playoff spot they should be competing for the group lead not barely holding on too a chance at the playoffs. The fans are angered at this piss poor performance, and A.F. Falcon looked outraged pacing the sidelines. The subs looked on in shock as only one goal was scored by the better team, even more disbelief when the goal against went in. The better team had no real spirit going in and now has even less after not attaining the victory.

The game was not all bad though. Jeremi St. James' goal in the 35th minute was a nice piece of work, but St. James was really the only bright spot on the team. Since his return last week he has proven to be the most in form player on the team with 3 goals in the past two games. The tying goal late in the game was more due to bad communication between Goalkeeper Filip Samuel, and defender Theodore Vanswoi has Vanswoi blocked the wrong part of the net on a free kick letting the player swoosh it no chalantly into the back of the net. The games subs were Van Zant for Vanswoi in the 81st, Cameron for Catamount 70th, and Hale for Patton in the 60th. The Knights have some work to do in the last 6 games and really need to start scoring to win games and playing better defense.

[Antoletia]

X Island Inquirer

Fire Ants Lose Close One to Jeruselem

It was as expected. The Fire Ants really put a nice effort forth in trying to get the victory or even a tie, after the first game the Ants spirits were up, but in reality a loss was all that could be expected. The Ants went to Jeruselem looking for nothing and came back with what they thought they were going to get. The loss puts the team still nicely on top of the group but with only two points of a lead. They need to get back out the next week and try harder for another win. Three points is what they need to strive for in every single game for the rest of the season if they want to use their early group lead to their advantage in the final games. The team would greatly disappoint the nation, themselves and all of their fans if they failed so late on in their attempt to qualify. They have looked quite good early on in the season, if only they could continue this as the days go on.

The game was overall just a lets try to get off the field with a close game and a small differential attack by the loss. The Fire Ants kept up with the Princesses throughout the game, but they could not continue to attack throughout due to a red card given to Harvey Wyatt early in the game. The red card led to a more defensive minded game for the rest of the game and a more hectic amount of defensive playing. The game wasn't in any way a overall bad game, but it wasn't a game to be proud of either. It will mean work is coming up, and the Fire Ants should look to work to get better. But keep their current levels up as they look to qualify.

[Jeruselem]

Jeruselem Government News

Kiss and Tell book dishes the dirt out on Sofia

Jeruselem world cup player Russell Fox launched his new book today. Titled "Sex with a dragon", the ex-boyfriend of Princess Sofia Michelle Dallas spilled the beans over their brief 3 month relationship. Sofia now has a boyfriend and a daughter Princess Melody Song Dallas and moved on the broken relationship.

It's a saucy read about how the current world Cup 58 Jeruselem captain operates. Strangely, covering the event for Naked News Jerusele was Sofia herself. Probably to keep on eye on her ex and what he had to say about his book. The same day, they both ran out on Dazza Dallas Stadium to play a game against the Fire Ants from Antoletia and Jeruselem won hard game 1-0.

The winning goal came from a pass from Russell Fox to the Princess who put away the only goal of the game to make for an interesting day to finish for ex-couple. When asked about the book, Sofia refered us to a song "UR so gay and you don't even like boys" about her ex.

[Ossidiacqua]

"Back from rounds, Carlo?"

"Aye, don't think they expected me, either."

"Well of course they didn't, mate; nobody expects the Acquan Inquisition."

"Hm, yeah, you say that Miguel, but I'm starting to think it might not actually be the case."

"What are you talking about? Nobody does expect the Acquan Inquisition."

"Yeah but, I do my round at half eleven every morning, and most cells have a sundial marked on the vent the sun comes through. So, I'm fairly sure they could work out when to expect me."

"No, no but, wait. Hang on a minute, that doesn't make sense. How can then expect when to see you, if nobody expects the Acquan Inquisition?"

"Well, you know time?"

"Time?"

"Yeah, big thing, friends with space. Always progressing, changed once the wall came down. 24 hours in a day, every day."

"Oh yeah, yeah."

"Right, well, you know how you always know when to set off with the lunches round to all the cells?"

"Yeah, cos its lunchtime."

"Well exactly. So people expect their lunch, and if you're bringing in, then you are expected to be taking it to them."

"Yeah but, that's different!"

"How?"

"Well, that's lunch, innit! People expect lunch, but they don't expect the Acquan Inquisition!"

"Yes, but, what i-"

"And anyway what if we're starving them?"

"Well, even so, they'd still hear us serving to other prisoners."

"Yeah but, no lunch and no expectation, yes?"

"Okay, right, I see your point, and its nice to see you remember your training, but what if the person carrying the lunch is a member of the Acquan Inquisition? Surely then they'd be expected?

"Nah, not allowed."

"Not allowed?"

"S'right. Not allowed. You can expect lunch, but when the Inquisition come around it don't matter how frequent it is, cos you've already been told to, haven't you?"

"Told to what?"

"Told to not expect it!"

"Right, no I think you're missing the point here. Its not an order to be followed, it was a description that was interpreted badly, I think."

"Right, right."

"You don't get me do you?"

"Not even close."

"Okay, nevermind. We'll try again later. Anyway, you listen to the match last night?"

"Yeah I did, yeah! Luziyca, right?"

"Aye, aye. Eh, didn't we stick four past them at Il Colosseo in the first half of qualifiers?"

"Er, yeah, yeah we did as a matter of fact. That nation with the pny up front or something like that."

"Yeah that's ringing a bell, wall anyway, sounds like we stuffed them again last night."

"Aye, right. Four goals. That Guajardo fella, he sounds like a bit of a decent player to me he does."

"Reckon you're right there, mate. Anyway, look sharp. Reckon its time for you to hand around the lunches."

"It is? How can you tell?"

"Well, you just need to- oh you know what, nevermind. It was you that gave me the idea, you know when you spring up from around the corner with the novelty mask on and people thought it was funny to see a small old man fall on 'is arse. I decided that it was really funny how you showed me that I wasn't expecting the Acquan Inquisition, and so I think you should go and do the lunches now so they won't suspect a thing."

"Oh, alright then. Cool."

"Oh, and hey, listen, I heard that Grand High Cardinal Re is going to be coming in regularly to check on the progress made so far. You know that guy in cell five? Yeah, that's Juan Vaccari, the OFA chairman. Or was, anyway."

"The one banging on about stadiums all day and night?"

"Yeah. Well, apparently Re wasn't us to pay special attention to that one, so just be careful, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about me. I'm headed out around now then."

"Good stuff. When should I expect you back?"

"You shouldn't."

"Oh, nevermind."

[Chetkosk]

Huffin' and Puffin
The somewhat bearable musings of a moderately tubby man
- it's Yuri Stempov's Football Blog

Boom. That's how you play football.

Quite the tally of goals, there, I think you'll agree. Hattricks for both Torbinskiy and Puzin, as well as a timely header from Kurzhakov and a glorious 90th minute penalty from Voronin to seal the deal. Scherbak still didn't get his clean sheet though. Pity, he looked livid.

The goals started rolling in at only the 7th minute when Torbinskiy flicked the cross from Puzin on the left, and that was by no means the end of the trouble for the Wyverns. The lead was increased 18 minutes later by Torbinskiy again as he powered the ball into the far corner of the net after the first shot rebounded conveniently from the post. Some might consider this more luck than skill, so young Tomislav Puzin proved to them that the Puffins deserved the solid lead that they had by slotting in a third in the 40th minute.

3-0 up at half time, you would perhaps excuse a little complacency in Chetkosk as they walked out for the second half in Stavropol-Pahrk Stadiom... well I don't excuse it. Complacency is the reason we're sitting slap bang in the middle of the table and not sitting pretty up there at the top with Kulverint, Wight, ABK and these jedi type people (though we've provided a bit of a speed bump for them this time round). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, complacency. Jedi8246 came out for the second half and managed to get one past Scherbak just a few minutes from the restart. My heart was saved, however, from my rising blood pressure when Kurzhakov scored soon after and shut the door on the Wyverns.

Torbinskiy got his hattrick in the 54th minute, and that was the end of the goals until near the end of the game. Puzin decided to go on something of a rampage from the 75th minute onwards. He managed to rack up a massive 12 shots in 10 minutes, nearly all on target, and resulted in two more goals. I think Jedi8246 were giving up at this point, poor guys. I'm torn really. I feel sorry for them in some ways - conceeding eight can't be easy on you - but then I think of that delicious rise in goald scored for Chetkosk and I can't help but smile.

As mentioned earlier, a penalty in the last minute of proper time allowed Voronin to put an end to it all. It was the final word on the matter, with barely any injury time to play. The aptly named Ben Dover slid into a tackle that missed completely as Kurzhakov offloaded the ball to Voronin, and Dover's legs were definitely raised maliciously as the latter 'koskie stepped around the fallen Wyvern.

This victory hits a new high in Chetkoski football as it becomes the largest goal lead the Puffins have ever won by. Don't you just love stats? I'm off to update my copy of the roster now...

Yuri

---

---

Chapter VII : The Myth of Spring; Zimokan and the Umetyr


Back in time when there were no seasons, when the lands of the Chetislavi people were covered in snow and ice all year round and life was hard, a warrior was hiking a long and lonely path back to civilisation. He had fought valiantly in a vicious battle against the savages of the southern wastes and had lost. Being one of the only survivors, he had fled and got lost in the wilderness and no struggled to trek north to any settlement of Chetislavs.

He was an Umetyr, a type of Chetislav warrior who fought on horseback mainly. His steed, however, died in the battle, so he walked on foot. On his back were stowed his spear and shield, and upon his person he still wore his hardened leather pads of armour, which provided some small modicum of protection from the elements.

On one particular night, when the wind blew snow into the wandering soldier's face, the Umetyr came across something odd indeed. From a distance it had looked like any other rock, but up close it was fluttering in the wind. It was a cloak, an old, grey, battered cloak, and underneath the cloak was a frail-looking man. The Umetyr attempted communicating with the old man, but got no reply, though he was clearly awake. Thinking he was suffering from the cold, the soldier picked up the man and carried him to a rocky outcrop to shelter in a shallow cave. There he made a small camp, lighting a fire and giving the old man some of his food and water.

The old man simply nodded his thanks, still too weak to speak, and turned to sleep by the fire. The Umetyr, thinking he should stay to make sure the man lasted the night, also settled down for the night. The morning provided no new developments, the old man was still weak, took a little water and food, and then slept again. The Umetyr felt bad at the thought of leaving the man when he himself was clearly the man's only source of food or water, and remained with him for a few more days.

Eventually, the man spoke, saying his thanks to the soldier and revealing that he was in fact Zimokan, the God of Snow and Ice. He had been wandering the mortal world all his life, but an undesirable run-in with an escaped demon from Holheim left the deity weak and about to perish on the middle earth. However the timely arrival of the soldier had allowed the god to live, and had reminded him of the compassion in mankind. For this, Zimokan decided to use his powers to relieve the mortal world of his cold elements for half of the year. Thus the seasons were born.

Every year from that moment onwards, on the anniversary of Zimokan's encounter with the compassionate Umetyr, the snow and ice would retreat north and allow the lands of the Chetislavs to breathe life and warmth, and Zimokan became known as the God of Winter and Snow.

---

---

-------------- Deity Spotlight --------------

Skuld is a wily god. He is the son of Second Echelon deities Orgelmir and Mordeya, and commands the element of fire. He is a dastardly and intelligent god, revelling in the mixed blessing that is fire to mankind. He takes care to kindle the flames of those who respect his power, but allows the blaze to rage uncontrollably should people underestimate the strength of the element they are dealing with.

Skuld is rarely a god that is prayed to in general, and is only really spoken of at specific occasions relating to his area of expertise and, as time passes and mankind become more developed, he takes a more laid back approach to his duty as humans bestow more respect upon fire and learn more about how to control and manipulate it. Despite preconceptions, Skuld is a quiet individual and rarely quick to anger - he simply takes his job seriously.

---

---

BYE
Jedi8246 3-1 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 1-1 Branta Island
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 0-2 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 4-1 Wight
Vergenskia 2-0 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 2-0 Soviet Canuckistan
Puerto Candelaria 1-1 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 2-2 Kulverint

BREAK

BYE
Chetkosk 8-1 Jedi8246
Branta Island v Chetkosk
Chetkosk v Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
Wight v Chetkosk
Chetkosk v Vergenskia
Soviet Canuckistan v Chetkosk
Chetkosk v Puerto Candelaria
Kulverint v Chetkosk

[Astograth]

Zernin Aira lay face up on the grass, the crossbar over him. Beyond it, floodlights and dark night sky. Boos and jeers rained down on the Cotdelapomais, Jackson Diawara celebrating his second of the night with the tiny band of supporters.

Aira just gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment, wishing he could drown out the noise. Everything happened so far, it didn't quite register he'd just conceded a goal. That they'd let slip the lead and earned a knockout blow in stoppage time for their troubles. 3-1 against the leader, who now had two points over them. Tough.

It was always tough for the goalkeeper. Generally going unnoticed when the job is done well, but directly under the spotlight when a mistake - any mistake - is made. No margin for error. Ninety minutes pumping adrenaline to stay concentrated was taxing on the mind if not the body. Sometimes, like against Ossidiacqua, he'd go forty minutes without touching the ball until Guajardo suddenly broke the onside trap and bore down on goal. Almost half the game gone and one chance to get everything right or concede a goal, simple as that. He'd rushed out, not too fast but not too slow, with his arms at the correct angle, his body at the correct angle, his eyes fixed on the ball and not the deceptive feet. Shot and a parry above his face, to then turn around and smother the ball. Hold it tight against his chest, the only place he could trust the ball would not end up in the goal.

And there were matches like the ones against Cotdelapoms, when he couldn't catch a break. He'd make a save and another and punch out the corner and run out to clear it because the defender's under pressure... not nearly enough time to take a deep breath and collect his thoughts. An exhausting sequence of reflex and reaction, acting on an impulse born of experience and muscle memory. Over and over, until they inevitably broke through and made him look bad. One goal after the other, like a breached dam, till the scoreline read 7-3.

It was less like that this time. They knew the ground better. They had more fans. They had wounded pride. They had Pieran's disapproving glare boring holes between their shoulder blades. They had the lead, Ormache putting them in front with a placed shot.

Then Galard dived too soon, exposed the flank, Adin couldn't cover the space, low cross and tap-in. Then a corner and Belarte let his man slip through for the header.

Crushed morale didn't even begin to cover it, and much as they pressed the equaliser didn't come. Until stoppage time, when the defenders couldn't get it out of the box and Diawara connected a rebound to make it 3-1.

Aira opened his eyes. The crossbar was still over him, and beyond it dark night sky. The celebrations were dying down and Adin was holding his hand out to him. He took it, and the keeper rose to his feet. Because all his life he'd been taught that falling down is permitted, but getting back up is mandatory.

[Mapletish]

Transmission Problems Have Affected 10 World Cup 58 Qualifying matches...

Sports@Mapletia Apologize for the problems caused...

Your Football Kaki : John PRESENTS !!!

So after a cutoff from the world's most popular tournament,many of the Maplish football fans have been moaning about the transmission problems which have
affected 10 matches so far,causing a widespread unhappiness on the media and the television station of course.With the transmission problems solved,Sports@Mapletia
will be slotting in the World Cup Qualifying matches into the television schedule.Even without the luxury of watching it on the TV,the Mapletish Times have been trying
very hard to bring the World Cup closer to the people by posting the commentary on its website,Facebook and Twitter.With the connection back onto the Mapletish
screens,football fans will be enjoying the World Cup 58 like never before.

Even talk about all this random transmission problems and freaking issues,so right now we represent,all the one stop crap talk right from Matchday 1 - 12. So readers,sit back,relax and enjoy.So Mapletish have the first matchday off and the look of the results goes like this :
Group 1
Erathore 6-1 Yesopalitha
West Angola 3-6 Mangolana
Cheergirls 0-1 Baleyaroh
Bostopia 4-0 Sativaville

Erathore have shown that they are superior in the group right from day one.Mangolana also claimed victory on the first matchday with a 3-6 away win against
West Angola.Baleyaroh brings home three points with a close match against Cheergirls.Bostopia claims 4 past Sativaville and three points achieved.So did you notice
that there are no one point in the first matchday,well that's 12 points from 4 matches.

MATCHDAY 2

Group 1
Yesopalitha 1-2 Mapletish
Baleyaroh 0-1 Erathore
Sativaville 0-1 West Angola
Bostopia 3-0 Cheergirls

Mapletish brings in three points in an away victory over Yesopalitha,the Maplish young guns lost out to Yespoalitha with scores further away than this in the Di Brandi Cup.
Erathore keeps the starting gun rolling with a second victory over Baleyaroh,looks like Baleyaroh has unfinished business to settle in Erathore.Sativaville survive a second
defeat twice in a row now against West Angola.Bostopia bangs in three past Cheergirls.So the current trend would be focused straight on the two front runners,Erathore and
Bostopia.

Team             P  W D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         2  2 0  0  7  0  +7  6
 2 Erathore         2  2 0  0  7  1  +6  6
 3 Mangolana        1  1 0  0  6  3  +3  3
 4 Mapletish        1  1 0  0  2  1  +1  3
 5 Baleyaroh        2  1 0  1  1  1  +0  3
 6 West Angola      2  1 0  1  4  6  -2  3
 7 Cheergirls       2  0 0  2  0  4  -4  0
 8 Sativaville      2  0 0  2  0  5  -5  0
 9 Yesopalitha      2  0 0  2  2  8  -6  0

MATCHDAY 3
Group 1
Mapletish 0-2 Mangolana
Yesopalitha 1-1 Baleyaroh
Erathore 0-3 Bostopia
West Angola 0-1 Cheergirls

Mapletish was destroyed by Mangolana 2-0 at home and it was quite embarrassing though,but this shows that Mangolana is clearly superior against the helpless Mapletians
but not at least many fans went on *LIVE* at the National Stadium to watch the match.Erathore was destroyed by a wonderful 3-0 lose at home against Bostopia giving
themselves a full 3 wins in 3 matches showing up 9 points which happens to be maximum points after 3 matches.West Angola was edged out 1-0 at home to Cheergirls.
Yesopalitha held Baleyaroh to an exciting 1-1 draw that prevents Baleyaroh from slipping to the top 3.

Team             P  W D  L For Ag +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         3  3 0  0 10  0 +10  9
 2 Mangolana        2  2 0  0  8  3  +5  6
 3 Erathore         3  2 0  1  7  4  +3  6
 4 Baleyaroh        3  1 1  1  2  2  +0  4
 5 Mapletish        2  1 0  1  2  3  -1  3
 6 Cheergirls       3  1 0  2  1  4  -3  3
 7 West Angola      3  1 0  2  4  7  -3  3
 8 Yesopalitha      3  0 1  2  3  9  -6  1
 9 Sativaville      2  0 0  2  0  5  -5  0

MATCHDAY 4

Group 1
Baleyaroh 0-1 Mapletish
Sativaville 0-0 Mangolana
Bostopia 5-1 Yesopalitha
West Angola 1-2 Erathore

Mapletish gave Baleyaroh a slap on the face with a close 1-0 away win.Mangolana held by Sativaville and miss the chance to go to second.Bostopia continue their
dominating run against Yesopalitha with a 5-1 win at home.Erathore is losing a bit of steam as they kiss a happy trip home with a goal difference in the match
against West Angola.

Team             P  W D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         4  4 0  0  15   1  +14  12
 2 Erathore         4  3 0  1   9   5   +4   9
 3 Mangolana        3  2 1  0   8   3   +5   7
 4 Mapletish        3  2 0  1   3   3   +0   6
 5 Baleyaroh        4  1 1  2   2   3   -1   4
 6 Cheergirls       3  1 0  2   1   4   -3   3
 7 West Angola      4  1 0  3   5   9   -4   3
 8 Sativaville      3  0 1  2   0   5   -5   1
 9 Yesopalitha      4  0 1  3   4  14  -10   1

MATCHDAY 5
Group 1
Mapletish 2-1 Sativaville
Baleyaroh 1-5 Bostopia
Mangolana 1-0 Cheergirls
Yesopalitha 1-1 West Angola

Mangolana made use of their home advantage and a single goal difference and flies up to the second place 5 points short for the top spot.Mapletish beats Sativaville on
a single goal difference to get to forth.Bostopia continue their dominating run against Baleyaroh 5-1 away giving them 20 goals in five matches with an average
of four from every match and 15 points.Yespoalitha held 1-1 by West Angola and they stay a spot above the bottom with a goal difference.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         5  5  0  0  20   2  +18  15
 2 Mangolana        4  3  1  0   9   3   +6  10
 3 Erathore         4  3  0  1   9   5   +4   9
 4 Mapletish        4  3  0  1   5   4   +1   9
 5 West Angola      5  1  1  3   6  10   -4   4
 6 Baleyaroh        5  1  1  3   3   8   -5   4
 7 Cheergirls       4  1  0  3   1   5   -4   3
 8 Yesopalitha      5  0  2  3   5  15  -10   2
 9 Sativaville      4  0  1  3   1   7   -6   1

MATCHDAY 6
Group 1
Bostopia 7-1 Mapletish
Cheergirls 1-0 Sativaville
West Angola 1-0 Baleyaroh
Erathore 2-0 Mangolana

Mapletish loses steam after a 7-1 defeat away to Bostopia and Bostopia continues to dominate the group now with 27 goals and 18 points while Mapletish hang loosely at
the forth spot 2 points above West Angola,a point below Mangolana after their 2-0 away defeat to Erathore.Cheergirls edge the bottom team out with a-nil win.


Group 1 Standings

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         6  6  0  0  27   3  +24  18
 2 Erathore         5  4  0  1  11   5   +6  12
 3 Mangolana        5  3  1  1   9   5   +4  10
 4 Mapletish        5  3  0  2   6  11   -5   9
 5 West Angola      6  2  1  3   7  10   -3   7
 6 Cheergirls       5  2  0  3   2   5   -3   6
 7 Baleyaroh        6  1  1  4   3   9   -6   4
 8 Yesopalitha      5  0  2  3   5  15  -10   2
 9 Sativaville      5  0  1  4   1   8   -7   1

MATCHDAY 7
Group 1
Mapletish 2-0 Cheergirls
Bostopia 4-0 West Angola
Sativaville 1-2 Erathore
Mangolana 0-1 Yesopalitha

Mapletish finishes Cheergirls 2-0 at home and rides to the 3rd spot as Mangolana slip at home after a 1-0 lose to Yesopalitha,which cause them a second defeat.Erathore stays second with 3 points clear from the 3rd spot and while Mapletishh hang on to the 3rd spot,Bostopia sit happily at the top with a 6 point gap.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         7  7  0  0  31   3  +28  21
 2 Erathore         6  5  0  1  13   6   +7  15
 3 Mapletish        6  4  0  2   8  11   -3  12
 4 Mangolana        6  3  1  2   9   6   +3  10
 5 West Angola      7  2  1  4   7  14   -7   7
 6 Cheergirls       6  2  0  4   2   7   -5   6
 7 Yesopalitha      6  1  2  3   6  15   -9   5
 8 Baleyaroh        6  1  1  4   3   9   -6   4
 9 Sativaville      6  0  1  5   2  10   -8   1

MATCHDAY 8
Group 1
West Angola 0-0 Mapletish
Erathore 3-1 Cheergirls
Yesopalitha 1-0 Sativaville
Mangolana 0-0 Baleyaroh

West Angola held Mapletish with a goalless draw while Erathore finishes Cheergirls with a 3-1 win leaving the gap between 1st and 2nd closed up with 3 points
while the 2nd and 3rd gap widen up by two more points.Mangolana continues to close up the gap to the top 3 spots.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         7  7  0  0  31   3  +28  21
 2 Erathore         7  6  0  1  16   7   +9  18
 3 Mapletish        7  4  1  2   8  11   -3  13
 4 Mangolana        7  3  2  2   9   6   +3  11
 5 West Angola      8  2  2  4   7  14   -7   8
 6 Yesopalitha      7  2  2  3   7  15   -8   8
 7 Cheergirls       7  2  0  5   3  10   -7   6
 8 Baleyaroh        7  1  2  4   3   9   -6   5
 9 Sativaville      7  0  1  6   2  11   -9   1

MATCHDAY 9
Group 1
Mapletish 0-2 Erathore
Cheergirls 1-0 Yesopalitha
Bostopia 3-3 Mangolana
Sativaville 1-1 Baleyaroh

A defeat against Erathore might have caused the 3rd place for Mapletish but Mangolana held onto a point against Bostopia unable to capitalise on their chances to go 3rd.
Bostopia's gap against Erathore closed up with a point.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Bostopia         8  7  1  0  34   6  +28  22
 2 Erathore         8  7  0  1  18   7  +11  21
 3 Mapletish        8  4  1  3   8  13   -5  13
 4 Mangolana        8  3  3  2  12   9   +3  12
 5 Cheergirls       8  3  0  5   4  10   -6   9
 6 West Angola      8  2  2  4   7  14   -7   8
 7 Yesopalitha      8  2  2  4   7  16   -9   8
 8 Baleyaroh        8  1  3  4   4  10   -6   6
 9 Sativaville      8  0  2  6   3  12   -9   2

MATCHDAY 10
Group 1
Yesopalitha 0-1 Erathore
Mangolana 1-1 West Angola
Baleyaroh 0-0 Cheergirls
Sativaville 1-1 Bostopia

Mapletish goes for a bye-day and Mangolana catches up and close in on the 3rd placve after a draw against West Angola and sit above Mapletish on goal-difference.Bostopia
waste their chances to hold on to the lead and the new face at the top,Erathore,after successfully closing up the wide gap and took the lead with 24 points one above
Bostopia's 23.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Erathore         9  8  0  1  19   7  +12  24
 2 Bostopia         9  7  2  0  35   7  +28  23
 3 Mangolana        9  3  4  2  13  10   +3  13
 4 Mapletish        8  4  1  3   8  13   -5  13
 5 Cheergirls       9  3  1  5   4  10   -6  10
 6 West Angola      9  2  3  4   8  15   -7   9
 7 Yesopalitha      9  2  2  5   7  17  -10   8
 8 Baleyaroh        9  1  4  4   4  10   -6   7
 9 Sativaville      9  0  3  6   4  13   -9   3

MATCHDAY 11
Group 1
Mapletish 2-1 Yesopalitha
Erathore 2-0 Baleyaroh
West Angola 0-0 Sativaville
Cheergirls 0-3 Bostopia

Mapletish came back from the bye-day fresh and gave Yesopalitha a slap on the face after a 2-1 win at home and Mangolana's gap was widen up to three points
and Mapletish and Bostopia's gap widen up by 10 points and 11 points from the top of the table.Mapletish's comfortable location was 12 points off the bottom of the table,
with one less game than the bottom team Sativaville.

Team             P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Erathore        10  9  0  1  21   7  +14  27
 2 Bostopia        10  8  2  0  38   7  +31  26
 3 Mapletish        9  5  1  3  10  14   -4  16
 4 Mangolana        9  3  4  2  13  10   +3  13
 5 West Angola     10  2  4  4   8  15   -7  10
 6 Cheergirls      10  3  1  6   4  13   -9  10
 7 Yesopalitha     10  2  2  6   8  19  -11   8
 8 Baleyaroh       10  1  4  5   4  12   -8   7
 9 Sativaville     10  0  4  6   4  13   -9   4

MATCHDAY 12
Group 1
Mangolana 1-1 Mapletish
Baleyaroh 1-1 Yesopalitha
Bostopia 2-4 Erathore
Cheergirls 3-1 West Angola

Mangolana held Mapletish to a 1-1 draw at home and the gap between Bostopia and Mapletish widen up by 11 points and Mapletish is 13 points from the top of the table.
Bostopia's 4-2 lose to Erathore at home was something that isn't surprising and Erathore have successfully clinched onto the most exciting group match in the group.
Bostopia still leads the group on the most number of goals scored,a great margin of 29 goals difference and 40 goals scored.Mapletish's old problem on the defence have
given themselves a big headache as they have a massive goal difference of 4 and they have scored the least as compared to the top 4 teams on the table.

Group 1 Standings

Team              P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Erathore         11 10  0  1  25   9  +16  30
 2 Bostopia         11  8  2  1  40  11  +29  26
 3 Mapletish        10  5  2  3  11  15   -4  17
 4 Mangolana        10  3  5  2  14  11   +3  14
 5 Cheergirls       11  4  1  6   7  14   -7  13
 6 West Angola      11  2  4  5   9  18   -9  10
 7 Yesopalitha      11  2  3  6   9  20  -11   9
 8 Baleyaroh        11  1  5  5   5  13   -8   8
 9 Sativaville      10  0  4  6   4  13   -9   4

---

[Civil Citizenry]

 CIVIL CITIZENRY 1,  HUTT RIVER 1

BAKERS SCORERS:
Parker Pollock ('47)
BAKERS STARTERS:
B. Storm, G. Royce, R. Montgomery, L. Garroway
P. Pollock, L. Sutton, T. Renton, O. Hastings, T. Freeman
P. Kingston, I. Ackleigh
HUTT RIVER SCORERS:
Max Döring ('9)
HUTT RIVER STARTERS:
H. Faraday, W. Hoffmann, E. Lyecht, A. Sachtleben, L. Jank
Q. Quaagar, R. Konstantin, E. Ande
M. Döring, A. Kurowski, M. Feichtner
Venue: Mossley Rowes, Hutt River
Attendance: 12,496
Managers: Wladyslaw Bashirskaya (Bakers), Ernst Horney (Hutt River)
Player of the Match: Raymond Montgomery
Team Records (since start of World Cup qualification): Bakers 6-4-4, Hutt River 3-2-4

When it comes to football, there are quite a few oft-made associations to Civil Citizenry. The most consistent one is that the Bakers are the "worst good team in Rushmore." What does that even mean? Basically, it's the fact that we've been able to hang around the top fifty in the multiversal rankings for half a decade without improving more than a few spots at a time, and without having vaulted into the top forty. That's not quite the general trend of Rushmori football squads, which have improved greatly in comparison with the rest of the multiverse, coinciding with the region's rise as one of two major sporting regions in the multiverse. So while three of the top ten nations in the KPB rankings are Rushmori (with the recent addition of Krytenia), Civil Citizenry is mired in forty-fourth.

If you're a Paripanan pedant (or any pedant, for that matter), you might make a connection to the sport that is known as American football, gridiron, or just amfootball for short in Civil Citizenry. But we're a while aways from the World Cup of amfootball, so let's ignore those pedants.

Recently, however, the Citiz have become a sort of hotbed for managers. Any domestic finds this unsurprising, considering the nation's reputation for bureaucracy and management. But the best Citiz footballers, from the pitch and from the front office, have started taking their talents overseas, developing a national reputation for managerial success.

Emblematic of this is Manning Pelham. He was the low-key manager of Athens Town, even during its glory days when it won the first three King's League championships. It's not often that a prestigious team gets that way without a man who can manage the media as well as the team, but such was the unorthodox leadership style of Pelham. Now he's taken that style to a squad that is also well-known for unusual success: the Babbagian national team, the Bumblebees. A 4-6-0 formation doesn't seem to suggest winning ways, but it's catapulted the team to number one in the world in recent years. Pelham has started his tenure very well, debuting with a 2-0 victory over rival Baltskandio and a five-goal thrashing of Lizland.

OOC: Will try to finish this tomorrow, but that's all I could get done.

[Andossa Se Mitrin Vega]

And now for the much anticipated MD12 Scores

[Erathore]

Camthalio Ringëril raced towards the north end of the stadium with his arms spread out. He heard his teammates racing after him but he didn't turn around to look at them. He kept on running towards the fans. Sweat pouring down his head. Tears down his face. Blood from his legs. Sweat, blood, and tears of victory. Sweet, sweet victory.

He reached the stands and pushed the stewards out of the way. Safety came second on a night like this. He heard his name being chanted. Ringëril! Ringëril! He heard that of his teammates. Del Nieran! DiSantos! Lanziano! Bennedetto! But the one that made him smile the most was the cries of Hatrick Hero! Hatrick Hero! He deserved the accolade. He had earned it. Three goals from him had effectively assured that Erathore would advance to the World Cup proper.

He turned around and let the fans see the back of his jersey, to reach around and hug him and laugh and cry. He saw his teammates hugging fans and each other. Bennedetto sung some sort of fan made song about the team as he tossed water bottles into the stands. Ringëril could see the Bostopian players walking into the tunnel. They looked sad but not completely out of the game. They were, after all, still in second place in the group. However they had just been pushed to four points behind. Erathore had some breathing room for the first time during this world cup.

The fans chants and songs faded to a drone in the background as he remembered the three goals he had scored. Erathore had gone behind first, when one of the Bostopian players had netted in the 11th minute. That was bad for the players, the fans, the nations. Ringëril wouldn't stand for that. He had the ability to change the game. He knew that, they knew it, everyone knew it. So he made use of that ability. Del Nieran was sprinting with the ball down on the right flank. He was nearly at the corner flag before he sent the ball into the middle. It was the perfect cross, the right balance of distance, curve, and height. It hit the ground about 3 yards in front of Ringëril. The ball, due to its spin, bounced right towards him. Rather it bounced right to his outstretched boot as he finished his textbook half-volley and smashed the ball into the net from 12 yards out to level the score in the 28th minute. 1-1 all.

Not to be outdone, another one of their players scored in the 44th minute with a brilliant shot from just outside the 18 that even Ringëril had to admit was a beauty. The score going into halftime was 2-1 and Marcello Dizarino had a lot to say during the 15 minutes of halftime.

We're better then this…More effort…Lazy…PASS…POSSESSION…perfectly capable of this…show them what we've got…Non camminerete mai da solo…We can do this…let's do it. Motivation. It was what they needed. And it showed.

Ringëril tacked on another one and the equalizer in the 48th minute when he received a cross from Nao on the left side and neatly passed the ball into an empty net. Two all. He wasn't done yet though. A tie wasn't good enough. His next, and last goal, came in the 69th minute when a superb ball from Rafa DiSantos found him on the 18. All that stood between him and a hattrick was a defender and the goalkeeper. He knew he could beat the defender. So he did. A neat Rivelino was all that it took to send the defender left whilst he went right. Ringëril made to shoot at the right corner of the goal but did a superb job at wrapping his boot around the ball to send it towards the left corner. The ruse worked as the keeper went right but the ball went left into the goal to send Erathore ahead. Ringëril ran towards the corner flag and swept his arm out in his trademark goal celebration. He was done, but the team wasn't. The sixth and final goal of the night came from a cracking effort from Julio Lanziano. Del Nieran's corner kick had been headed away by a Bostopian defender. It went bouncing away from the goal and rolled along the ground. Lanziano wasted no time in running up to the ball and hitting a 25 yard stunner into the upper right corner to make it 4-2 for Erathore.

Ringëril was brought to the present. The screaming fans, the cheering teammates, the glory of it all. As Ringëril launched himself back into the crowd, he saw Marcello Dizarino. The national team manger gave him a smile and a quick wave before disappearing into the tunnel.

Ringëril smiled to himself. The next match was against West Angola. With the teams confidence through the roof, the Angolanan's would have their hands full with La Furia Azule.

[The Archregimancy]

OOC - fair RP attribution: the quote from Elder Paisos is indeed a RL quote.


The Diary of Fr. David of the Woods

It is a Sunday, and I am lacking time today - I use my quill to inscribe these few words between liturgy and breakfast - but still I must share some of my thoughts about the Cyborg Holland match.

What an unmitigated disaster. Truly, God is testing me for my recent display of hubris.

Not so long ago, we were top of the group, and moving forward prayerfully

But two matches later, and a shock loss to Newland-America and a rather frustrating draw with Cyborg Holland - matches in which were denied a perfectly good penalty in the first, and saw an appalling penalty awarded against us in the closing moments of the second - have transformed the group. The unknowns from Whirl Island are now a point ahead of us, and Cafundeu have a match in hand and are only a point behind us.

Our destiny is no longer in our hands.

But is this not a common experience for the Orthodox monk?

Often we feel a conflict between being told to trust in God and own efforts to advance our cause. It seems to some that if we do not take responsibility for ourselves we become dependent on the generosity of others and we lose our independence and dignity. Yet should we not recognise that our destiny is never in our own hands, that we trust in God for all things?

Elder Paisios has written the following:
When we believe in God and have trust in His fatherly providence and concern, then we do not think of ourselves; instead we know that God is aware of our needs and looks after our problems, from the simplest to the most serious one. The only things we must want is to allow God’s love and providence to function for us. When we have this kind of faith and inner disposition, we are able to see God’s miracles––God himself––who is always close to us under all circumstances. I order to experience this we must reject any form of worldly assistance or human hope, and with a pure heart, unhesitatingly and trustfully devote our mind to God. Then the grace of Christ will fill our souls at once.
Some people have the wrong impression, however; they think they can be involved in worldly matters and be attached to material possessions, and at the same time, expect the help of God’s providence. God’s help to people who think this way can be destructive, for it prolongs their attachment to worldly things. God helps them by letting them be exposed to temptations and difficulties; this will eventually make them loath worldly matters and totally devote their hearts to God.

Truly, I should stop worrying about qualification, and put my trust in God that whatever the conclusion to this campaign - whether qualification or non-qualification - He has chosen the path that is best for us.

Still, I cannot help but wonder whether the emphasis on style in modern World Cups might not hamper us. Is our orthodox 4-4-2, which is neither attacking nor defensive, holding us back? Should we perhaps attempt a more aggressive approach, akin to that taken by more successful sides such as the Holy Empire? Statistical analysis would tend to suggest that the more attacking sides are more successful at the upper ranking levels.

Yet I fear for acting on my conclusions lest my enemies in the MFC are given further ammunition for accusing me of unorthodoxy.

[Homelands our]

And Another Bites The Dust   
The Doors move up to 5th after beating Sjovenia 3-0

Long titles seem to be all their age now, as here is one. Sjovenia are who we are playing, we lost to them in matchday three in a shock result. The two teams battle once more at the national in a crucial match. A couple more wins for us and we could be up there challenging for the playoff place come matchday 18. On the other hand a lose for them and they fall down the standings further.

Sjovenia at first glance are a team that we should and could beat easily but we can't underrate teams. Complacency were one of the main reasons that we lost the match in Sjovenia and we cannot afford to do that again at Harloop National Stadium. Sjovenia is a FA (or FF) that does not give away much information, as you can tell we don't even know if it's FA or FF! 

Some of the players were looking forward to this match 
"this is when we will correct a incorrect. Make histroy, probably not but every match has importance in this world cup. What I mean is that you can afford to lose matches, as it is a group stage but no match has no benefit of winning." Karl Gadi's words
"Sjovenia is a very tricky team. We should have won the other match comfortably but Sjovenia winning proves that they have international quality in the squad." James  Dact
"well the FA don't give too much away. This does mean that the other team has no idea of what they are facing but it also brings international disappointment as no one knows what goes in behind those doors. The manager can thank them however, it makes his team talk shorter!" the captain Jamie Long.

All the players saying Sjovenia could be successful in a few years but should be beaten when we play them at the national. Jamie Long also spoke controversial words about the Sjovenia FA but that was largely overshadowed by his hat-trick in the last match. 

As usual the manager also spoke to the press on the day before the match.

"Do I remember Sjovenia, how can I not. That was some match a shocker to all in the nation, if not rushmore, if not the world!" As you probably think that was when he was asked if he remembered Sjovenia from the last match.
"plans? I would tell you but Sjovenia won't so I will not say." SFA comes up once more.
"Jamie Long was great scoring that hat-trick. The comeback was great aswell!" looking back at last match
"hopefully at least 5th maybe 4th higher than that then margaret thank you" were do you think the team will be after matchday 18
"well I will get the players to push for as high as possible, playoff place, unlucky 3rd" were are you going to try and get. On walking out of the room his shouted 
"GOD SAVE MARGARET!"

This story will really get you, it's funny but true!
A few matchdays ago the government and HOFA saw that we were losing a lot of matches to lower ranked team, like Sjovenia beating us in matchday 3. After days of going online and looking up on how to please margaret they came across rubber ducks! Margaret likes rubber ducks. Wanting to get a few wins HOFA came up with an idea. Every person currently living in Homelands Our should be made to buy 30 rubber ducks and 30 balloons and let go of one each matchday for it to be sent up to margaret. This would be a law so it would have to be put through parliament. It would have to be fast tracked as well as the next match was only days away. Luckily President Grieves party, TyRi has over half the seats and can vote through anything they want. Later that day the law was passed and rubber ducks and balloons were sold out in most shops.

More on that tomorrow when before the next match this will have it's first try.

Other Football News

Islamic footballers strike
Nearly every islamic footballer with strike at the start of next season as it falls in the holy month of Ramadan. Choup bears have the most Muslim players in their team. Choup bears captain Amizl Amada spoke to our reporter "HOFA has to right in interfere with Ramadan. Ramadan is holy, has always been holy and always will be holy."

Not long now
It is just a week or so until the draw for the TQCC,GB and SBCC. Who our teams will face is still unknown.

No More Other Football News

Right the betting odds for the Sjovenia match.
7-1 for Sjovenia to win, 34-1 for a nil-nil draw, 12-1 for a score draw, 3-1 for a Homelands Our win.
Specials were offered as well:
Jamie Long to score first and Homelands Our to win by more than two 4-1
Andrew Herkison to keep a clean sheet 8-1
Sjovenia to score first but go onto lose 2-1
Sjovenia to score an own goal as the first goal 4-1

Thanks to BlueBet for providing us with them.

The national was packed with expectant fans. Everyone was ready here we go.

First kick of the game went to Long as he takes kick off. Homelands Our took the ball forward first as the whole teams likes to put early pressure on other teams. Long was running with the ball almost got it in to the box but had to knock it out wide to Gadi or would have lost the ball to a Sjovenia defender. Gadi was doing fine. The ball raced to the next. Back of it! In other words Karl Gadi put Homelands Our 1-0 up. Kicking off Sjovenia were in shock more than anything, they did not expect to go 1-0 down this early. Sjovenia could not find they're feet at all in the first half after going one nil down. Homelands Our kept on pushing into the Sjovenia box but the keeper seem to be the only Sjovenia player who knew what was going on. He and he alone kept us out a good few times before the whistle went for half time. The half time scoreline was Homelands Our 1-0 Sjovenia.

Sjovenia were the ones to kick off the second half under pressure from fans to get up the other end and score. Homelands Our however soon slid in to start the first second half push. A mix up in the Sjovenia defence ment that Long's cross was bounced about a few time before going in for an own goal. It may have looked like and own goal but Long will claim it, that is one thing we do know! Sjovenia at last looked like coming forward so we let them come forward. The distance we let them come forward was 2mm! As you can tell we wanted one more. Long did get this one to make it 3-0. What a goal it was coming from some 30 yards out! The match was soon over however. In the end we are happy with Homelands Our 3-0 Sjovenia.

Group 7 Standings

   Team                P  W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Qazox              10  7  2  1  22   9  +13  23
 2 Virabia            11  6  1  4  17  13   +4  19
 3 Chenkorya          10  4  4  2   9   7   +2  16
 4 Switzida           11  4  3  4  13  15   -2  15
 5 Homelands Our      11  4  2  5  11  11   +0  14
 6 Kalumba            11  3  4  4  11  15   -4  13
 7 Sjovenia           11  3  3  5   8  13   -5  12
 8 Wolfmanne          11  3  2  6  13  19   -6  11
 9 Turori             10  3  1  6  13  15   -2  10

[New Montreal States]

TRYOUTS HELD

As offense stagnates, bureaucrats try to retool for stretch run

NEW MONTREAL - The Paladins limped into their bye week, with injuries costing them two of their starters in midfield. Meanwhile, the wheels have fallen off their offense, with 1 goal to show in a pair of second-half draws that cost the team four easily attainable points. As the Babbage Islands ride off into the sunset at the top of Group 9 after making it look easy against Lizland, the Paladins began to lose control of their own destinies as Kagdazka and Pazhujebu recovered from a turbulent few matches to pull ahead of the 'States with a 1-0 win over West Guiana. The contrasts are as obvious as they are dire. With Christian Ponder and Fabrice Archer each slated to miss at least the next two matches, replenishing the side was the obvious move during the bye week. With club play suspended on national match-days, a considerable talent pool was flown into Valdemont. The team booked the Stade d'Aeundelle, home of third-string Inland Suburban Conference side CS Aeundelle, for extensive workouts which lasted until 9 in the evening. The Ministry of Morale released the following list of players auditioned and their clubs or schools (our annotations follow):

GK - None.

Say what you will about the Paladins, but Édgar Thibault is definitely the least of their worries. Despite folding like an origami master on amphetamines at points in the first match against the Babbage Islands, Thibault has been rock solid in net for most of the tournament. Keeping a clean slate on a day where there was no midfield passing and consequently no chances for the offense to go bother the opposing keeper for a minute and giving the defense a breather is the latest and consequently most valid proof that Thibault is a World Cup-class keeper.

DB - None.

Antoine Long continues to linger on the bench like a Jarlsburg fart in a confined space, but time is short and the William St. John de la Ware/Cory Taylor combo is certainly not to blame for the lack of scoring.

CMF Réjean Lagacé, City of New Montreal
CMF Joe Webb, Mutual of Bloomington

With Christian Ponder out for the next little while, the Paladins need a second backup center midfielder. Although Lagacé starts at center midfield for City, he can play all six midfield positions. Webb, meanwhile, is possibly the fastest man in the NMSFL, and although he's never played professional anywhere else aside from center midfield, his speed makes him a very difficult matchup for most central midfielders in the multiverse. His ability to outpace opposing backs could open new passing lanes for the strikers, or alternately give him open chances on goal.

WMF Noël Latendresse, CF Ville-Marie
WMF Brad Pépin, NM Patriotes
WMF Georges Jones-Cloutier, St. James Seagulls
WMF Maurice Meilleur, The Admiralty
WMF John Bragg, CF Valdemont
WMF Ed Gregg, FC Sherbrooke

Nobody knows how many flanking midfield spots are open. André Vaillancourt-Bosquet was last seen gracing a milk carton at your local grocery; various scouts we consulted said that the faceless bureaucrats might replace both wingers and their reserves. This idea is substantiated by the fact that the Ministry also brought in:

AMF Guillaume Ouillemet, Philemon Mariners
AMF Rodney Guy, Newman City Raiders
AMF Denis Landry-Wilkerson, St-Catherine

The 2-6-2 does not feature any attacking midfielders. A Ministry spokeswoman, when asked, said that the ministry list reflected the position each player started at for their clubs, not their final destination should they be selected for the team. This opens four possibilities:

1) The faceless bureaucrats intend to ditch the 2-6-2 in favor of a 3-5-2 or similar form that features an attacking midfielder. On top of all the injuries in the midfield, this would just tip the Paladins even further into chaos. It would also put the job of all eight bureaucrats at risk if the shift backfired and the Paladins failed to at least make the playoff game.
2) The bureaucrats intend to replace Vaillancourt-Bosquet with one of the attacking midfielders to goose-start the offense, or put an attacking midfielder in for Archer, sacrificing a little defense in favor of offensive production. However, neither Ouillemet nor Landry-Wilkerson has ever played a game at either wing midfield spot, opening a third possibility:
3) Ed and Denny Roy might be headed for the bench.

Granted, the tryouts included only one striker:

CF Vincent Xavier, Moncton Sands Coyotes

Xavier can play center midfielder and can moonlight on the right wing midfield in a pinch. The idea of benching Ed or Roy is laughable; between the two of them they account for about two-thirds of the NMS goals since their return to international play. But that total is a fairly low one. Although they can hardly be blamed for the passing trouble in the midfield, they haven't really done too well with the scoring opportunities. And Ouillement and Landry-Wilkerson can only play forward, along with the attacking midfield. New blood up front might help spark a wave of Paladin goal-scoring. Of course, we haven't even considered the fourth possibility:

4) The Ministry is just messing with everyone and will trot out the same old team in the next match.

Regardless, the whole side appears to be in a state of flux right now, not a good place to be with five matches standing between the World Cup and utter failure.

[Ko-oren]

Ko-oren Sports Network

Roster updated and Ko-oren keeps winning!

In an effort by Team manager Alizarin Lelantos to keep the opponents of group 19 in the dark for as long as possible, only players names have been released so far. After repeated notifications by the organizing body of the World Cup, Lelantos agreed to update the Ko-oren team roster. It can now be found here: http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=8207011#p8207011. It now includes kits, manager and assistant names, starting 11 line up, players names, ages and kit numbers. A stadium is yet to be built in the capital of Ko-oren.

In last night's match, Ko-oren beat Luziyca at home with 2-1. Where Carasatoga did not manage to win in Melbergia (1-1), and Ossidiacqua lost against Cotdelapoms, Ko-oren maximized their win in this match round. Ko-oren is now fourth with 15 points, Carasatoga 5th with 15 points but a worse goal difference than the greenblues (+4 vs. -6), and Ossidiacqua is sixth with 13 points and a goal difference of -12. This hopefully points in the direction that Ko-oren might finish fourth overall, and doing much better than anticipated. As the team spirit and the team's quality improves every day, this may not have to be a bridge too far.

Becoming third is probably impossible: number three is Allamunnic States with 20 points. Their goal difference is not better than ours (+2), but a five point gap might be a bit too large. In second place is Astograth with 27 points and a fantastic goal difference of +35(!), and group 19 leaders are Cotdelapoms with 29 points. Cotdelapoms is also the only team who have not lost yet.

The last three of the group are Melbergia (10 points, 7th), Luziyca (8th, 6 points) and in last place Actaris, with 10 games played, 10 games lost and a goal difference of 2 scored and 24 conceded: -22.

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

The sound of gunfire is either worryingly unfamiliar or horribly familiar to Kytlerians, depending upon where they have come from. Worryingly unfamiliar because, in a nation that has otherwise been a hotbed of libertarian politics in recent years, there are still tight restrictions on gun ownership. Horribly familiar because of the country's background of civil war which explains such restrictions on guns in the first place

Most of the near-capacity crowd of 55,933 at Zube National Stadium had already left, many of them early after Akbarabad took a 2-0 lead at half-time in a key World Cup qualification match and never looked like losing it. The result all but seals the visitors' qualification, but that was not the story. The story was the gunshots ringing around. And they were from Kytlerian police officers, in the general direction of the team coach. And not Akbarabad's, despite their nation's reputation.

Panic spread in the streets to the west of the stadium, and thousands fled to the east into Donaldson Park, hiding under trees and bushes. But no police came to chase them. No gunshots were heard there.

Thirty awful minutes later, a press conference was called.

"We can confirm that the Kytlerian national soccer team have been infiltrated by a group of secret agents whose covers have been blown with the support of international intelligence officers. The head of SO-KP has spoken to us and admitted that this had been a deliberate and concerted attempt to provide a secret team that opponents would be unable to prepare against, citing, and I quote, "the lack of benefits from RPD supplies, and the inspiration from what we suspected to be similar practices by the Sarzoclava national team in recent years". He has been arrested on Tk109,300 bail..."

And at that point, a lampshade fell down on the police officer's head.

[Seunem]

“Silence! SILENCE!”

The old man rattled over the old stone, rapping his thick pine staff against thicker oak doors as he passed down the coridoor.

“SILENCE! Matten it to dampnacio… I will have SILENCE!”

And after a short while, he came to a door much like the rest and paused, and sniffed thoughtfully, and pushed it open. It creaked.

Actually, more to the point, it creak’d. It was that kind of door. That kind of place.

“Silence…”

“Come in, Ben.”

“Alone?”

“Mine one? Indeed, ar. There being a chair, if you need it, ah… eight steps to your left, perhaps? And one forward.”

The man hmmphed an acknowledgement and clumped the nine short strides, and then another because the girl always overestimated him, just a little, and reached out for the head rest.

“It is cold here.”

“It be midwinter. It being cold whereall. And this room has an excellent view of the city, I do think.”

“I think it not. From here one can see only the gardens. The Fenny Towers obscure any further vista, and the House of Peace the rest. I cannot believe it that you can see any of the city true.”

“Precisely! And may’st us commend you on your knowing of the Biskling’s design, dearest runky?”

“I make it my business, my lady.”

The woman yawned and stretched, in a rustle of fabrics. “What is’t, then? I did hear you a-rowting some minutes ago. Who has thieved your destray?”

“Look.”

Ben leant forward with a rustling of his own, and pushed the thick bundle of papers into the woman’s hands.

“Hm… The Al… Albrecht? Albrecht Mercury? A foreign journal, yes?”

“Indeed.”

“I have seen others of its kind.” She turned the front page and puffed out her cheeks. “Great… Great God of mine.”

“That was my boy’s reaction also.”

“María, nineteen, from Concepcíon del Lo Tártaro, indeed. What strange worlds they are we live in that as fine a specimin as she cannot afford a jerkin… Such violence,” she continued, leafing uneasily through the pages, “Such hatred… Sex Beast Jailed Over… my word. Not so unlike our dear old Occie, is’t? What is a Snooki?”

Ben coughed politely. “The concerning matters relate to the journal’s later pages.”

“Mm. Tell I, dear runky, you are old… Will I e’er rech the understandingness of our Rushilandish neighbours’ affections for child’s games?”

“I would put nothing beyond you, my lady. I, however, cannot claim to have done so. Four pages in. You may have to goggle a penny. Third portion of letters, I do think’t. The little ones.”

“International football shorts?”

“Indeed.”

“Let me see, now… Heavy victories, mm, Bostopia, the Holy Empire, Rushmori interest, hm, mm, Nethertopia, Mytannion, such exotic names, be they not? Cafundéu ‘back on track’, an anology to the railways, I assume? Chur…”

“You have’t?”

“Oh, yes. I have’t. Seunem.”

“Indeed.”

“Who? Who noticed this? Who brought’t to your knowing?”

“A contact, a sailor. I was brought this, also. It is from some weeks ago, the paper torn, but…”

The woman pored over the new offering. “Football Comes Home, but Seunem fall… fall to Jeruselem, how…? We have a national foot-ball… what? Club? Team? How?”

“I know not. All their games, they play in the outenstrange.”

“And in our name?”

“Yes. With Seunemis of foreign birth, it would appear.”

“There is no such thing, as well you know,” his neice snapped. “Who is responsible for this? And why – tell me why – I have been not informed earlier!”

“My lady… Silence, dear child, I have many ears of many men, and this be as new to me as it is to you. And others, it would appear. I have spoken to the Bohans, this morn, the Bonefaces and Edmonds also. They would appear to know nothing. It may be nothing, and yet…”

“I be not blind, uncle, no disrespect intended. I know the worlds. If someone be playing games in the name of Seunem, then Seunem is being noticed. And it can only be a matter of time before empty sailors’ talk becomes common knowing, first in the ports, then in the alleys, then amongst the great dinners, and thense to the Down. This, oh… This is a very bad thing indeed, Benedict.”

“You have my thoughts in your hands, your ladyship.”

“Dear God… These fools could destroy our very land. Who, indeed… This word, ‘manager’? Some form of leader, yes?”

“Potentially their organiser.”

“Thomas Merrytent and Paschal, hm… You have spoken to the Paschals?”

“This very morn also. They did promise to consult their records.”

“Have the Army do the same, the Paschals may be less than forthcoming if they risk being associated with such a man… Tutain Germain and Bohan, Amy Goscard and Magdalen… Some of these are noble names indeed. Hah! Samson Patris and Bavent, Ben…”

“My boy did bring that to my attention also.”

“Well. Well indeed. This must be ended, you agree? With as much hush as possible, we must find the root of this and bring it to its end before the weeds spread accros the Cove… and beyond. I only hope that we are not too late…”

“And when I find those responsible…?”

“I do think it does need saying not, hm? Do speak your acts in the name of Lady Silence, Bavent and Weylan, Misstress of the Statesman’s Privy. Do what must be done, with the full authority of the councils and state. End this.”

“So you wish’t,” Benedict replied, with a curt nod. He rose. “Good evening, my lady.”

“Good evening, uncle.”

Eight strides, then another, then another smaller step, and the great door closed, or possibly clos’d, although probably not, behind him.

Silence yawned once more.

“Well. That did take its time to happen.”

“Bit slow on the uptake, your people. He won’t… hurt anyone, will he?”

“No. No-one who does not deserve it so. He may even conspire with them.”

“You think so?”

“I know my uncle, even if he has forgotten much since his zenith. He may yet prove undesirably… helpful.”

“Eh. It’ll be fine. One rogue factor isn’t going to mess this all up.”

Lady Silence sighed. “You would know it best, James, I am sure. What is’t they do say? In the land of the blind…”

[Kernansquillec]

ST MARCUS LEAGUE SET FOR KICK OFF

The teams have been annonced and the St Marcus Division is getting ready to kick off it's first ever season. All eight teams have annonced their starting XIs so we're taking a quike look at their pospects, as well as who could make the difference.

Belle-Isle-En-Terre will be the underdogs at the start of this season. Captain Isabelle Peacock will have to try to push her team forward as they will look to avoid that bottom spot. Hannibal Costa from Tamarindia will also be pulling a few strings in midfield. Forward Riley May is their biggest prospect. The 19 year old is expected to start pushing for a place on the Di Bradini Cup squad.

Louargat's lack off funds may start to show this season as quite a few bookies are expecting them to struggle. Quite surprising as they do have Kernansquillecan star Kai Holmes who will find the net for them. Edward Campbell and 15 year old captain Charles Norman team up in central defence and should prove to be a solid partnership. However they do lack a bit of class in goal and in midfield.

Rennes's mainly female team may also have difficulties. The main problem for them is will their strike force get goals for them. Players such as Erin Iqbal, Noelle Bourgeau, and Xarles Cressac will give them quite a bit of quality needed, as will hot prospect Elise Stanley.

Guingamp will be aiming for a mid-table finish. Captain Sean Iqbal is one of many decent players that form a solid backbone to the team. Brunella Talon is also a quality player and the 16 year old will be, like many, pushing for a place on the Di Bradini Cup squad.

The Libherr Youth Academy have a solid team but a lack of experiance may be their downfall. With only 3 players of 18 or over they have the youngest squad of the league. Captain and goalkeeper Patience Caron will be a valuable asset to the side this season. Alejandro Canó of Tamarind will be their strongest player this season, while Southern Cynocephali duo Issac Loisel and Gaétan Prevost provide some extra talent to the young side.

St Marie have star forward Nicole Sharp who will get loads of goals. 17 year old Kernansquillec full back Fleur Despins will give the side some extra talent. 15 year old Melina Petersson could also give the side a few moments of brilliance as the talented youngester looks to impress. The side could well chalange for the title if they get off to a good start.

The Southampton Youth Academy will be challanging for the top spot with their trademark 4-1-3-2 formation. Yasmin Pearce and Rory Roseby will give them stability in midfield starting off attacking moves. 15 year old striker Mathilde Bernier is also one to look for as she could well be the player to make her breakthough this season.

The Capital Young Guns have the strongest side on paper with stars like Zacharie Larivière, Adam Lilac, Mangolana's starlet Billy Shogun, and Tamarindia's Andrés Durán. They should be the side to beat as the season kicks off. Melinda Bengtsson is also an other one of their starlets that will need to be watched.

The season is looking set for a brilliant start as it looks to build some international reputation. The top team will of course qualify for the Champions’ Cup, while 2nd to 4th will get into the Globe Cup.

KERNANSQUILLEC AT THE WORLD CUP

Since that 1-0 over Polar Islandstates it hasn't been great. A first defeat against Sarrbia just after opening up a gap on PIS. The win against minnows Bruyn looked to have got the Green and Whites back on tract but again The Weepies fustrated the Green Stalions and earning a 0-0 draw. Again it was a scorless draw at home against Thatius.

The big problem is that Polar Islandstates haven't dropped a single point since their defeat against the Kers and now they are just a point behind Kernansquillec, with a better goal difference, and a game in hand. Kernansquillec must now realy win their remaining games, and then beat PIS in Kernansquillec City to grap the top spot. If not, unless Bruyn or Sarrbia catch up a big amount of points which is quite unlikely, it'll be the play-offs again.

Just win your last 5 games Kernansquillec... It would make it much simpler for us fans that want a second World Cup to go to.

W 2-0 at. Bruyn (240th)
D 2-2 vs. The Weegies (128th)
W 2-1 at. Thatius (104th)
W 2-0 vs. Vettrera (250th)
W 1-0 vs. Landpolis (329th)
W 4-1 at. New Holy Roman Empire (368th)
W 1-0 at. Polar Islandstates (3rd)
L 2-3 at. Sarrbia (54th)
W 2-1 vs. Bruyn (240th)
D 0-0 at. The Weegies (128th)
D 0-0 vs. Thatius (104th)
MD13: at. Vettrera (250th)
------
MD14: at. Landpolis (329th)
MD15: vs. New Holy Roman Empire (368th)
MD16: Day Off
MD17: vs. Polar Islandstates (3rd)
MD18: vs. Sarrbia (54th)

-------------# Team                       P  W  D  L  GF  GA   GD  PTS
             1 Kernansquillec            11  7  3  1  18   8  +10   24
             2 Polar Islandstates        10  7  2  1  24   7  +17   23

[Socialist States Owen]

Emplor Sport - World Cup 58 Qualifying Report

Is time up for Randall?

Consecutive wins against Myanmar and Rouge Pioneers cannot hide the cracks appearing in Ben Randall's FSSO team, after a shameful 2-1 defeat to Megadia.

Megadia may be the obvious over achievers in this group, but it is clear that the FSSO team have really let themselves down so far. Osarius have flopped to only 18 points meaning FSSO, as the 3rd best team in the group, surely were in a position of strength to take advantage of this? No. Two defeats to Megadia mean we lie in 4th on 18 points, and Megadia are comfortably 2nd with 22 points - and our goal difference is only +2.

Randall has done a lot for the FSSO, but it has become clear he can only take us so far. Ok, we were unlucky against Megadia - Lee Sharps early goal was cancelled out by a clearly offside Megadian equaliser and then Megadia won with a highly contestable penalty. Regardless, we didn't play well enough to overcome the bad decisions. Dennis Arnold has shown at this world cup that he is no longer good enough for the international team; he's been abysmal. Josh Stevenson has had an uncharacteristic drop in form and Carlos Aduna has been a disgrace with his off field debauchery involving prostitutes, beer and transexual seagulls.

The buck stops here. Either our international team improves, or the manager simply can't last long.

Neb Kcelffa

[Vilita]

VILITA DROP ANOTHER RESULT

0-1 loss to Sargossa puts Playoff Chances on the Rocks

The Vilita Jungle Cats continued their slide on Matchday 12, falling 0-1 to a Sargossa team that had previously been an afterthought in the battle for playoff progression. Now, after defeating Vilita 1-0 at the National View Stadium in Morata Valley, Sargossa find themselves hot on the heels of both Saugeais and Vilita in what now appears to have become a very tight playoff race with just 4 points separating the 2nd through 7th placed clubs. Neither Saugeais or Vilita has recorded points in the previous two matchdays falling 13 points behind Mytannion with just 21 to play for, all but securing Mytannion's place in the World Cup Final - A place which they themselves admit they won't fully appreciate.

Saugeais remain in the drivers seat in the playoff battle with a game in hand over the others. However, Saugeais' game in hand is against group leaders Mytannion. While they are expected to be able to beat Mytannion and get the three points - it is a feat the Jungle Cats were not able to do on Matchday 11 and the group leaders remain unbeaten, unlikely to relent despite the obvious surplus of desire and motivation in the Saugeais camp when compared with their own.

For the Jungle Cats, the defeat to Sargossa means they have lost control of their own destiny. Even should Vilita win each of their remaining group 10 matches, including the match over Saugeais, they will not be guaranteed even a playoff spot. Worse still, should the Jungle Cats fail to win their remaining 7 matches they risk finishing the qualifiers with a worse point total than even in their World Cup 57 performance, where they also remained locked in a tight playoff battle before falling one point short on the final matchday.

The Jungle Cats do have the schedule on their side, squaring off against the groups bottom two sides over the next two matches. However, the Jungle Cats did not manage victories over these teams in the first meeting between the sides, dropping 4 points in total against Tymason, Elmonia and Landereien. Those four points will likely prove crucial come the end of qualification, but will be even more crucial should the Jungle Cats fail to record maximum points against the trio this time around.

The Jungle Cats defense has been receiving praise throughout the tournament, with only group leaders Mytannion having conceded fewer goals in Group 10. However, just as their defense has been strong, the offense has been weak as the Jungle Cats are averaging just barely over a goal per match. In over half of the Vilitan contests, neither team has netted more than 1 goal, and in only one contest, the classic matchup between Vilita and Saugeais, did both teams net more than once, as the Jungle Cats ran out with the 3-2 victory.

Very little is known about the Tymason squad that the Jungle Cats will travel to, but they are in one of the most populous regions in the nationstural world, Europeia. The Jungle Cats may be encouraged to do some sight seeing while they are there - so long as they don't get distracted from the task at hand, beating Tymason.


Vilita Goalscorers::


Sargossa Goalscorers::
2' Alejandro Echeverría

Vilita

Best Player: Rexii Tzikas
Worst Player: Resaie Kentiak
Shots on Target: 2
Corner Kicks: 1

Sargossa

Best Player: Matías Montiel
Worst Player: Celso Esquivel
Shots on Target: 6
Corner Kicks: 12


Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Nycflala Kater, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Kadi Molali, [D] Miiara Makose, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Jomur Hulyer, [MC] Resaie Kentiak, [MC] Steffyn Siazzu, [MR] Rexii Tzikas, [FC] Kristofer Kilpter, [FC] Viji-mara Lawaai
BENCH::
[FC] Xcnaio Bansoa, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo, [M] Jian Lejsrma, [M] Aniara Jiurjai, [U] Uajiala Pulkki, [D] Niubo Deneli, [GK] Jungrii Canopii

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Kristofer Kilpter >>> Xcnaio Bansoa
(67) - Viji-mara Lawaai >>> Jian Lejsrma
(69) - Steffyn Siazzu >>> Sirkii Moliaudo

(For Future Statistical Reference)
GK :: Nycflala Kater 5

D :: Ritopa Simafela 6
D :: Kadi Molali 7
D :: Miiara Makose 7

DMC :: Retiso Buran 4

ML :: Jomur Hulyer 7
MC :: Resaie Kentiak 4
MC :: Steffyn Siazzu 5
MR :: Rexii Tzikas 7

FC :: Kristofer Kilpter 6
FC :: Viji-mara Lawaai 6

Vilitan Subs Bench:
FC :: Xcnaio Bansoa 6
FC :: Sirkii Moliaudo 5
M :: Jian Lejsrma 6
M :: Aniara Jiurjai DNP
U :: Uajiala Pulkki DNP
D :: Niubo Deneli DNP
GK :: Jungrii Canopii DNP

[Ipeland]

Please note that the Ipeland Daily Mail may be very nationalistic and is probably not to be taken seriously by anybody in the multiverse outside the circulation of this paper
Ipeland Daily Mail
International Edition

Team Ipeland? Are You Joking!: Preview
Fresting crisis proves lack of leadership within the squad
By Guest Columnist, Blauird Monery

When you look at the Ipeland team, you see a board who have gone against their manager, a now-deposed captain who will have lost faith in the people he plays for and a manager who cannot rely on the board to support his decisions.

It is about as far from Team Ipeland as I could imagine.

The decision to strip Kevin Texan of the captaincy - taken on Friday by the IFA board without consulting the manager, Deniel Stainag - was typical of the FA: inconsistent, bowing to media pressure and half-heartedly making a decision on anything. A recent example of this is the choice for the Ipeland manager. A much better choice for this would've been me, but no, they had to pick Stainag, who according to the left-wing media was a much better choice. The Reasons? Apart from the fact; he was a coach for a while, he was the vice-captain of the Ipeland WC57, and he's also been proven to be a much better leader, there was no reason at all.

Full Report next saturday

---

[Taeshan]

X Island Inquirer

Purple Knights Defend Turf Against Chruchma

For the second time in this season the Purple Knights defeated the Churchma National team by a score of 1 to nil. The win puts the Knights back on top of the play off field, with group leaders The Holy Empire easily walking through the rest of the season with an 8 point lead on second place. With six weeks and five games left the Knights from now on will be the hunted team in every game as they look to qualify for the playoffs. A playoff could mean the Knights get to the world cup, and it has been so long since the last time the Purple and Gold have graced the most hallowed world stage. Just under 25 years ago was the last time the Knights attempted a world cup stage, and as such this season could mean a lot to the team. Even a 3 and out in the world cup would be more of a achievement than this team has ever had. Its been a long time coming, but hopefully soon our wait will be ended.

Enough about history in the making, lets talk about some real history, last nights game. On a night where the stars were surely aligned the Knights came out a bit sluggish, but at least the Churchma attack did not take advantage of the Knights inability early on to do prey much anything with the ball or with their attack. The night signaled the return of Jeremi St James to the Docktown Memorial Park, and the fans were almost as excited as the ones that were at the Coliseum earlier in the month. The striker proved not to be as hot as in the weeks leading to the game only having one good shot on goal that was deflected out of play and led to a horrid corner which was so shameful in nature i prefer not to describe it. The Knights hero on the day was young star Gwyn Juniper with his long blond hair flowing nicely through the air who found the back of the net in the 67th minute to give the Knights the three points. It was an average game, but wins are wins.

[Antoletia]

Albastru City Gazette

Fire Ants Defeat Chuckio

Now there is only one. One team that the Fire Ants have failed to defeat in their qualifying campaign. After last nights defeat of the only team thus far to take three points away from them in the first half, and one of only two teams to defeat them, the Ants now only have to win against Ima and Eastern Mae on the final matchday to have beaten every single team in their group. A 2-1 victory last night not only kept the Ants in first place in their group, but it also pushed them far enough above third place Chuckio and fourth place Civil Citizenry that the Ants' fans are starting to get ready for playoffs, and some even believe that the Ants could outright qualify as they only need to win against all the teams to do that, and Jeruselem is bound to slip up at some point so maybe they will not need to be perfect from here out. The Ants have shown this season that they are much better than many believed them to be, and this season has shown the power of positive thinking in football.

The game started off good for the Ants, went rocky about the middle, and the end was a great moment of bliss for them. It started off with a brilliant Iosif Nicolescu goal in the 19th minute off a Sebastian assist, Sebasian was in for the suspended HHarvey Wyatt. Then just before halftime the Chuckio attack equalized sending the home fans into the half angry. The second half did little to appease that anger until late on when Filip Constantinescu came in for Beniamin Grigorescu in hopes to provide more attack, and better wingplay. He did just that, teaming up with Constantin and Dragos Antonescu the three pronged attack proved unstoppable to everyone but the Chuckio goalie for the rest of the game until the 90th minute plus 4. With the ref surely about to blow his whistle and the Ants sure to get out with only a point, Petr Antonescu sent in a corner that majestically fell to Filip Constantinescu's left foot and it pounced right into the ent giving them a 2-1 lead, and then the whistle blew, and the Ants had escaped with full points.