Saintland 2, Free Republics 1(SP) The Kingdom of Saintland defeated the Free Republics today by a score of 2 goals to 1 in a pre-World Cup friendly involving both entrants from the
World Changers region. The victory gives the Sanctii much-needed momentum going into the World Cup and solidifies their claim to be the best nation in the region. The Sanctii picked up the victory on an 88th-minute goal from Prince Andreas. "Although the Republicans got out to an early lead, we came from behind and, in the end, we prevailed and can now call ourselves the champions of the World Changers region. I am satisfied with our play today. I felt that we were in much better form than we were last week against New Sideburn. Everybody on our team played well today and I am confident that we will only continue to improve during World Cup 65 qualifying. Qualifying will start soon and, to a man, all 18 of us will tell you that we have unfinished business from last time. Audioslavia knocked us out of the World Cup in added time and retained their title. This time around, our goal is to take Audioslavia's place as the World Cup champions. We aren't just trying to qualify this time. Instead, we want to win the World Cup and we believe that our time has arrived. While we cannot know what God Wills, we need to trust in God because when God is with you, there is nobody that can beat you. If we turn to God, I am as certain as I can be that God will be with us." - Prince Andreas
Today's friendly for the unofficial World Changers regional championship was held at Royal Stadium. It was lacking in the usual festivities that accompany a Sanctii home match, so the match actually started on time today. The FFR side came out strong, as they challenged early. In the 4th minute, Kieran Hancock intercepted a pass from Petrus Mamilius that was intended for Prince Andreas. Hancock passed to Durante Trevisano. Trevisano ran down the left side and crossed perfectly to Koby Theodore. Theodore took a shot and put it right past Antonius Avidius, who was making the start to get some in-game experience in case he is needed during the World Cup. The shot went into the back of the net for a Republican goal. The FFR led 1 goal to nil and the match had just started.
Fortunately for the Sanctii, they had plenty of time to bounce back. Avidius had around 40 minutes plus added time still to go. For the sake of the National Soccer Team, he had to get into form and quickly. They couldn't afford a repeat of what happened in the first Soviet Canuckistan match last time around. Alessandro Seius hurt his leg just before halftime of that match. Antonius Avidius was brought in as a substitute to play the second half. Avidius allowed 5 goals in the second half and the Sanctii lost a critical point against Soviet Canuckistan. If Seius had not gotten hurt against Soviet Canuckistan and had not conceded a late equalizer in the second match against Zwangzug, the Sanctii would have had 40 points and would have been guaranteed at least a spot in the playoffs and a chance to go to the World Cup. During the past few months, they've had plenty of opportunities to think about what might have been if things had only gone slightly differently in a few matches last time around.
However, at this moment, the Sanctii were still trying to withstand a relentless Republican assault. Arnou Labrecque passed long in the 8th off a Paulus Flaccus mistake, finding Republican captain Kyle Bolton. Bolton was through on goal. He took a shot and miraculously Antonius Avidius was able to put it out for a corner. Ayub Sandstrom took the corner for the Republicans, hitting it into the box. Kieran Hancock leaped to head the ball into the net, but the ball went off the head of Georgius Catiotus instead and was cleared to safety. The Sanctii had maintained their lead. In the 12th minute, Jens Koch attempted a long shot and put it just inches wide to the left of the goal for a goal kick. Finally, a shot by Porvaldur Hinriksson in the 15th minute was caught by Avidius. The FFR just could not score a second goal.
For the middle third of the first half, the match was mostly bogged down in midfield. It was only in the 31st minute Silvester Flaccus broke the deadlock by crossing to Stephanus Vagionius inside the Sanctii box. Vagionius took a shot. It hit the post. Prince Andreas ran as fast as he could toward the ball and booted it past Ausilio Mancini and into the back of the net. The entire crowd at Royal Stadium thought that had been the equalizer, but the referee signalled for offside. The crowd was infuriated at the decision and the chorus of boos was deafening.
Suddenly, the Republicans had started to tire somewhat and the Sanctii were still going strong. Just a few minutes later in the 34th minute, Nicolaus Poenius ran forward and into the box, as the Poenius brothers decided to play a wing position. Petrus Mamilius passed the ball forward to Prince Andreas, who crossed to Nicolaus Poenius. Poenius took a shot and hit it just slightly too high as it ricocheted off the bar. Patrick Werfel booted it away and the Republicans made a counter-attack. The clearance found its way to Jens Koch. Koch ran forward and crossed to Koby Theodore. Theodore took a shot and Antonius Avidius dove for it and came up with the ball in his hands. Avidius punted it away like a gridiron player as the Republican attack had come up short.
That wouldn't be the last attack of the first half. In the 41st minute, Lucas Aufidius booted a long pass to Stephanus Vagionius. Vagionius was through on goal and missed the target, putting the shot just inches to the right of the goal. In added time, the Sanctii made their move, as they patiently and methodically moved the ball down the field with an endless array of short passes. Eventually, it found its way to Ioannes Poenius and Poenius crossed to Stephanus Vagionius. Vagionius took a shot and Ausilio Mancini knocked it out for a corner. Prince Andreas took a corner and booted it in the direction of Petrus Mamilius. Mamilius got into the right position and headed it past Mancini and into the net. The Kingdom of Saintland had equalized just before halftime. The score would remain tied at 1 to 1 when the referee blew his whistle for halftime just seconds later. "I was surprised when the corner made its way toward me, but I knew to put my head on it and I did just that. It was great to score a goal just before halftime. It deflated them and it gave us an emotional boost that we needed in the second half. I'm just happy to have helped the National Team win. Even if it was just a friendly, we were playing our closest neighbor and we beat them. We beat the FFR. A nation of around 500 thousand souls beat a nation of over a billion. All the credit goes to God. We do this for Him and I'm proud to honor God by my play on the pitch." - Petrus Mamilius
During halftime, Antonius Avidius was replaced by Alessandro Seius, the normal Sanctii keeper. In the second half, the match was mostly uneventful for the majority of the half. Kyle Bolton got through on goal off a long pass from Arnou Labrecque in the 53rd minute. Seius easily saved Bolton's shot. Faredin Pozenel was denied by the post in the 59th minute. Jens Koch's shot in the 66th minute went over the top of the net. Stephanus Vagionius got into the act, getting through on goal in the 74th minute and hitting his shot right into the arms of Ausilio Mancini. Bolton would get another chance to take a shot at goal in the 79th minute, but his shot was once again saved by Seius. It seemed like nobody would score.
In the 88th minute, that all changed. Lucas Aufidius intercepted a pass intended for Kyle Bolton. Aufidius passed to Ioannes Poenius. Poenius ran down the sideline with the ball with little trouble. Meanwhile, the Sanctii offense moved forward with him. Soon, he saw Prince Andreas in the box and saw that he had a lane that he could fit the ball through. Poenius crossed to Prince Andreas and Prince Andreas quickly put a shot on target. He hit it hard and the shot bounced off the keeper's hands and into the goal. The crowd erupted as they realized that Prince Andreas had put the Kingdom of Saintland up 2 goals to 1. A last ditch Republican effort ended when Alessandro Seius saved a Faredin Pozenel shot. The referee soon blew his whistle and the Sanctii had defeated the Republicans by a score of 2 goals to 1. The Kingdom of Saintland had won on 2 unanswered goals.
With the World Cup draw imminent, this victory gives the Sanctii needed momentum as they prepare for their 2nd attempt at qualifying for the World Cup. The Sanctii are determined to earn a spot in either Saugeais or Pasarga for the World Cup finals. Although the Sanctii did not qualify last time, they came so close and they hope that things will be different this time around. Meanwhile, the FFR finished 2nd at the Di Bradini Cup and then failed to advance to the knockout rounds of the Baptism of Fire. Things are looking up right now for the Kingdom of Saintland. The same really can't be said about the Federation of Free Republics. It will be interested to see which nation performs better in qualifying.
Royal Square Garden, St. Petrus, SaintlandSaber Du Trieux walked out onto the stage.
Saber Du Trieux - How would you like to be able to explore the rest of the world without leaving the Kingdom? With the power of the Saint, now you can do exactly that. In Prince of Saintland, you control a Prince of Saintland. When a precious relic is stolen from the St. Petrus Cathedral, you will travel the world to get it back. This live demonstration is set in the city of Albertope in the Free Republics.
Saber Du Trieux picked up the Saint and selected the Prince of Saintland icon. After showing a series of logos, a title screen that read "Prince of Saintland" and said to touch the screen came up. Du Trieux touched the screen and he found himself immediately in the city of Albertope.
Saber Du Trieux - In Prince of Saintland, there is no right or wrong way to complete any of your objectives. At this point, the Prince needs to track down a
Feministvs Sanctvsterra collaborator. There are plenty of things to do. You can either set out on foot, purchase a ride on a taxi, bus or train or borrow a car. In this case, I'm going to borrow a car.
On the screen, the Prince walked into a parking lot and broke into a car and began driving it.
Saber Du Trieux - The local police are unaware of your identity or reason for being in this area. They will attempt to arrest you if they see you borrowing a car or bringing some criminal to justice. Fortunately, the police did not see the Prince borrow that car.
Saber Du Trieux drove the car around the city of Albertope, obeying the traffic laws, until he reached his destination.
Saber Du Trieux - The police will react to your actions as police would react in that country. In the Free Republics, if you drive a few miles over the speed limit or do something minor, like running a stop sign or a red light, you should expect to pay a fine. I will show you the traffic law enforcement later. Now, I'm going to show you a mission. The objective is to capture Freja Eriksson, a
Feministvs Sanctvsterra collaborator and interrogate her for information. If you like making things more difficult for yourself, you can kill her, but that will likely delay your progress.
Suddenly, the Prince got out of the car and walked into a building. Once inside, a number of men were firing at the Prince.
Saber Du Trieux - You have to either kill or disarm all of these armed men in order to reach Freja. They know your identity and will shoot at you on sight.
Saber Du Trieux selected the machine gun and started firing large numbers of bullets in the direction of the bad guys. After he had killed all of them, he kept moving. The Prince character walked up a set of stairs and busted down the door to Freja's apartment. Freja Eriksson was an overweight woman who was unable to flee. Her protection was dead and she had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
Saber Du Trieux - Now, the user can decide how to interrogate her. Virtually any form of interrogation you might want to use, including enhanced interrogations. I am going to capture her and bring her back to the base to interrogate her there.
Suddenly, the Prince handcuffed Freja's hands behind her back and chained her legs together. He forced her out of the apartment building and into the back seat of the car, fastening a seat belt onto her. Then, he got into the car. A bystander, seeing a woman being kidnapped, had taken out his cell phone and called the police. They had shown up in the area.
Saber Du Trieux - Oops, looks like I didn't notice somebody calling the cops. When you get the police after you, in a situation like this, you must either lose or eliminate them. I'm going to try to lose them. I certainly can't take her to the base for interrogation and bring the police force to the base.
Suddenly, he hit the gas and floored it. He was somehow able to negotiate multiple corners without crashing and eventually outran the police.
Saber Du Trieux - Ideally, you would want to abandon your vehicle in this situation. Based on how long the police were chasing me, they have the license plate number on that car. Unfortunately, changing cars isn't practical when you have a captive in the back seat. Fortunately, there is a way to keep the police from spotting you for a while.
Saber pressed a button, bringing up a menu. He selected the option to create a diversion, picked a few of his allies and chose a spot on the map that wasn't part of his planned route.
Saber Du Trieux - Hopefully, the diversion feature works. If it does, there won't be any police cars on the road while we head for the base.
In fact, the police were diverted and the Prince of Saintland made it back to his hideout, without any more run-ins with the authorities. He unfastened Freja's seat belt and dragged her into the hideout.
Saber Du Trieux - Now, we have more time and more ways to interrogate her. Every character in the game reacts differently to different styles of interrogation. This will conclude our demonstration of Prince of Saintland. More will be shown at a later time.
The foreign journalists applauded, but the native Sanctii seemed to be mostly uninterested in Prince of Saintland. Many were wondering if Prince Andreas had lost his mind.
Saber Du Trieux - It is difficult to get this across while demonstrating Prince of Saintland, but there is no right or wrong way to play. Prince of Saintland is a non-linear interactive entertainment title, which is set in an open world.
The Sanctii in the audience were confused. These buzz words sounded incomprehensible to them.
Saber Du Trieux - If you don't want to do the main story missions, you don't have to. You can still go around the city and do whatever you like. This is a truly open experience set in living cities, but there's more...
Saber Du Trieux selected a trailer video off of the Saint. A trailer played, showing the Prince of Saintland fighting what appeared to be a giant demon.
Saber Du Trieux - Yes, Prince of Saintland also has action-RPG elements.
Saber Du Trieux had clearly stopped focusing on the Sanctii in the audience, since they were clearly not interested in his product. Instead, he was focusing on the foreigners in the audience and watching around the region.
Saber Du Trieux - For the first time ever, we are merging these 2 popular genres into a single experience. We hope you will be excited to get your hands on it when the Saint launches later this year.
Prince Andreas had come up to Saber Du Trieux and asked him to hurry it along. He had noticed that the crowd was getting bored. Saber Du Trieux left the stage.
Prince Andreas - A most interesting presentation from Saber Du Trieux. I think that probably would be rated "AH" by our classification department, so I hope no children were exposed to it. I apologize for not warning everybody in advance. I had no knowledge of just how violent this simulation really was. I'm sure you'll like my next guest better. Everybody, please welcome my brother, Prince Ioannes...