World Cup 69 RP Thread

by **Electrum** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:08 am

OOC: This is intended to serve as a setup for an RP line that I’m about to commence – sorry for the dryness and all.

Electrum Law Information Institute – Press Release – exciting era for Electrum law

The High Courts of Electrum will be graced tomorrow with the first inquiry by the Match Integrity Unit. The statutory body, which was established by the Minister for Sports, Rosalind Corby after her wide sweeping changes to her portfolio, will be allowed to prosecute cases in the High Court of Electrum. The trial has been set to tomorrow with Azai Kanon to take the stand.

Rosalind Corby MP was the first to announce the prosecution of Azai Kanon after the fallout of the controversy surrounding the most recent Cup of Harmony. The Cup of Harmony, which was staged in Kazamatsuri and Kinitaria saw a big scandal envelop the Electrum team after it was revealed that the former Sports Minister, Jack Hughes was accused of bribing the Kazamatsurian authorities (through the proxy of Azai Kanon) to give Electrum a favourable draw.

After the leaks of the secret IRC data logs were released to the public by the Centralis Herald, the world went into a frenzy and Kazamatsuri was left in damage control. It has been said that there were third party forces who wanted the Cup of Harmony to fail spectacularly. With the revolution in Kinitaria and typhoon action and controversy of corruption in the Kazamatsuri side, the Cup of Harmony was tainted.

Nonetheless, under the new legislation, Rosalind Corby will be able to ask the Match Integrity Unit to prosecute against those who have undermined the confidence of sport internationally and nationally. In a world first, Azai Kanon of Mizuyuki will be defending herself against the claims that have been brought about against her, claims that have been leaked by the Centralis Herald.

Jack Hughes is the first witness to testify tomorrow, and it is said that he has damning and decisive evidence which proves the extent of the corruption. Of course, Azai Kanon is put to trial as a result of the chat logs which were leaked, which showed Azai Kanon allegedly accepting money from Jack Hughes in exchange for a favourable draw. Although Electrum’s draw to some seemed favourable, there have been assurances from the WCC that the draw was conducted fairly and in a random fashion.

The inquiry is expected to last two weeks and will include arguments from both the defence and the prosecution. The prosecution, the MIU, made the surprising choice in choosing Jack Hughes as their first witness, meaning that this trial could see a speedy end. The penalties as a result of this inquiry are severe. Under Electrum law, any person who is found guilty at the end of the inquiry will be barred from conducting sports within Electrum and international tournaments that contain Electrum (else Electrum will withdraw). If this outcome is achieved, there will be serious ramifications in the sporting community.

In other news, the Greater Centralis Provincial Courts, which mainly decide criminal cases of a violent/extreme nature, will be trialling a new inquisitorial system. This new system will be test-run with a randomly selected trial. In a departure from Electrum traditions, this new experimentation of the Inquisitorial system will see both the prosecution and defence be allowed to investigate jointly at the scene of the crime, and the judge will play an active role in handing down the verdict, instead of the jury.

This test run over the adversarial system will examine the benefits and cons of conducting a trial in this way. The details of yet are unknown, but it is said that a murder case is most likely to be chosen as a guinea pig for this system. There are many benefits to the Inquisitorial system, where the pursuit of the truth is the highest priority and the trial becomes a heavily expedited process, giving quick easy justice to those who deserve it.

Meanwhile, there are some cons about the system as well. The presumption of innocence is most definitely not automatic in this system, and the police are delegated to more of an oversight role, they aren’t allowed to interpret the evidence – only the prosecution can. Whatever the outcome, we are keen to see what will happen.

by **Furellum** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:17 am

OOC: This RP refers to events that occurred during the most recent U-15 World Cup, and involved Furellum players from that team.
Prelude's Prelude: Damjan
Prelude: Borys

East Farling, Furellum
The fire tore through the grain fields, consuming the ripe wheat and leaving nothing but blackened earth as it charged towards the farmhouse. No sound or movement came from the building; inside, the farmer lay dead, his head broken. In the kitchen his wife was slumped over the midday meal, her white fur stained red. Beside her lay a knife, covered in blood, slowly spinning on the counter where the killer had dropped it. Outside the kitchen window, the fire slowed as it reached the bare earth of the path between field and garden; then the afternoon breeze blew the embers across, where they landed in the honeysuckle covering the house.

Within an hour, there was nothing left of the farm, it's occupants, or any evidence of murder. The fire was put down to a stray lantern, dropped during the riots that had spread across the entire country. Even here, in the furthest western reaches of Furellum, rebellion and civil unrest was sweeping through the Farlings. Amidst this chaos, no-one noticed two more deaths. But they would have far reaching consequences - ones that would change Furellum forever.

Altsby, Furellum
The local crowd that had turned up to see Furellum play Bonticello were all part of the Furellum Faithful, one of the many gangs now roaming the streets of Furellum. Most of these gangs were formed around a political persuasion, species group, or religious belief. The Faithful's religion was football. Since the crisis, Duke's Field had become their turf, and they were careful who they let in.

Out on the perimeter of the field, one of the Faithful had just stopped a man in a suit. He was impeccably dressed, which was a shame as the Faithful, a large muscle-set horse, had just thrown him into the mud. "What do you want?" growled the horse.

The man sat up, looked miserably down at his suit, then reached into the breast pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Frederik Montalban, member of the Maalvian Commonwealth Sports Association Committee for Chaps in Sport. I've been assigned to the national team as MCSA liaison for the "Cup for Chaps"."
The horse eyed the letter dubiously. "Fancy words, Mr. suit." He growled. Grabbing Frederik by the collar, he dragged him over towards the Duke's Palace, where the team had set up a dressing room in one of the downstairs ballrooms. Another Faithful was standing guard on the door, and the horse explained what was going on.

Inside the dressing room, Claudiu Frey was congratulating his team on their 4-0 win, when their was a knock on the door. The horse entered, and said, "Sorry to bother you, but we caught this weed snooping around and he reckon's he's some sort of special committee." He thrust Frederik into the room, saying "Here he is" as he did so.
Frederik stood in the centre of the room, mud drying on his best suit, 25 pairs of eyes on him as he desperately scanned the room, finally settling on Sorin Vladimirescu, who matched his gaze with a pair of eyes exactly the same colour as his own. Eyes that now opened wide in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Sorin, staring in disbelief at his younger brother.

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:42 am

ISSUES (3)

What's this? Clayton, what have you done to my computer? What? You've 'streamlined the legislative process'? Fine, I'll click it...

Rüntenbach Bites Bach [unaddressed]
Felix Is A Scaredy Cat [unaddressed]
For Hate, For Lies, For Lollygagging [unaddressed]

This looks terrible. Did you write the stupid names? We have a war on, this is serious. Just show me the issues in a format that isn't stupid, please...

Undisclosed Location
"I'm a fan of the new bunker, Bellephoron - I guess we've not really had a chance to use it yet, have we?" Crowley smiled as he took his seat at the head of the long table. Around him were the usual faces, His Syndicatian Corvidae members who were loyal and trustworthy. These would be the men who would inherit the earth after Crowley was finished taking it.

"Right, our first issue isn't really an issue. Rüntenbach, and by extension, the Anti-Corvidae alliance, have declared war on the Corvidae Collective. We knew that was going to happen. No big deal. Kurt's a sod, and we all know that we'll be crushing his forces and rolling into Muenchenwald by Winterval." Oliver Bellephoron sighed, and slid the dossier over to Crowley, who picked it up and had a glance at it.

"Splendid. Oho, they have a ration in place? And a conscription army, just like ours! Except theirs is probably full of lazy teenagers or old men!" The room laughed at Crowley's joke. "So, that was probably the easiest 'Issue' I've ever had to solve in my life. Next?"

Nathan Flynn raised his hand. "Felix, sir. They've been... less than loyal, recently. They don't want to go to war, as the Collective Sunrise Islands and Rüntenbach used to be their allies 'Back in the day'." Nathan slid his dossier over to Crowley, who begrudgingly picked it up with just two fingers. Opening it, he read Lazzaro Passerini's message.

"... I'll craft the response myself. Don't worry." Lex dropped the dossier, and it fell to the ground. "Next?"

Clayton responded this time. "Paper. Bad. Spreading lies. Wordy."

"Ah, I see. You never were one for words, were you? And it's a newspaper, you say? What's it called?"

"Anchor Press."

"Well, if it's a newspaper, that means it's being printed somewhere. Dispatch the SIA, I'm sure they'll find it and shut the operation down. Now, with that all done-"

A flustered man wearing a black suit and black sunglasses burst into the room. His earpiece was dangling from his neck, and, wiping the sweat off of his brow, he began to shout. "Blimey, it's dark in here, isn't it?"

"Sunglasses." Bellephoron said, pointing at the man's face.

"Oh yeah." The agent took his sunglasses off. "Much better. Anyway, breaking news! Turns out Passerini didn't just message you... He messaged The CSI and Rüntenbach as well, discussing how reluctant he is to go to war!"

"He. Did. WHAT?!" Crowley stood up, and grabbed the man by the jaw. "He did what? Get away from me, I need to tell this no good flippant Corvid-lite sod whose side he's really on!"

Lex walked out of the room, muttering under his breath.

To: Lazzaro Passerini Generalissimo of the Nationalist Republic of Felix
From: Lex Crowley Supreme Administrator of The Inevitable Syndicate
Subject: You know full well what this is about.
Encryption: HIGH

Passerini,

We may not have always seen eye to eye on most issues, but I think we can agree that, on the whole, we both work to serve the greater goal of the Corvidae Collective. The roots of your Nationalist party stem from similar ones to my own, however our main difference is that I managed to succeed on my own, whereas you needed a small leg up - from me - in order to ascend to your spot of power.

Allies in this world, before Corvidae, were fleeting and few - while you may have assumed that the nations of Rüntenbach and the Sunrise Islands were friends to Felix, I can assure you that times have changed. Just as much as we have moved forward in the world, these nations have moved backward, retreating to their primal and uncivilised ways. This is an issue. An issue that, unfortunately, can only be resolved with conflict. You might not like it, I might not like it, our people might not like it, but Rüntenbach? The Sunrise Islands? They LOVE IT. The chaos that a war brings is the sort of things these uncivilised nations revel in,as it gives their leaders to puff out their chest, beat it a few times, and claim that their forces are the strongest. We are here to prove them wrong, to show them their place, and to prove to the world that Corvidae is a force for good.

So, like the Syndicate, I'm afraid war with Rüntenbach is inevitable. If you have issues with your Felixian Germans, simply remind them just who they are - they are Felixians FIRST, and therefore they are Corvidae FIRST.

And now, for my second point. I don't like it when you lie to me, Passerini. You claim that you haven't contacted this Anti-Corvidae Alliance, but you see, we're more pervasive than you know. I have intercepted messages to the nations of the Anti-Corvidae alliance that see you crying, begging, in fact, for forgiveness and mercy for my actions. The fact that you hang on to a vision of the past that is unfortunately no more frankly makes me sick. You know that Corvidae, like every party of the Syndicate before it, is about abandoning the troubles of the past, and looking forward to a bright future. This future does not involve Rüntenbach. It does not involve the Sunrise Islands. It involves Corvidae.

And so I ask you this, Mr. Passerini. Exactly whose side are you on? The side of the past, which is where you will condemned to stay should you choose it, or the side of the future, where you will hailed forever more as one of the most influential characters of Corvidae? The choice is, unfortunately, not yours to make, as you have already made it. It is here, it is now and in the future. It is Corvidae.

You will declare war on Rüntenbach and the Collective Sunrise Islands, however, to ease your worries, you needn't worry about them. They are not our first target. A contact in Yttribia has told me something concerning... I'm not going to tell you what it is, however, until you can prove to me that you are truly a member of the Corvidae Collective, by doing as I ask.

That is all.

by **Jeckland** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 4:17 am

"Thatius thwarted" is what the papers screamed this morning as Jeckland came away from their first home game of the qualifiers with a goaless draw against their higher ranked opposition. Although fans were undoubtedly pleased with the result, the game itself was a rather dull one, with both sides adopting a defensive strategy. It took 25 minutes for the first shot on target, a Thatius effort straight at the keeper. Jeckland had the only good chance of the first half, a delicious through ball and first time shot forcing abut sm,art save. Both sides would have felt at half time that this game was there to be won but that didnt seem to cause the game to open up. For the next 30 minutes both sides were limited,to long shots, which either flew over or wide or were routine saves. Thatius started to take control as the last 20 minutes dawned and Jeckland were pushed back,and forced to defend as the visitors created chances, however two goo saves and,two heroic blocks kept them at bay. Jecklanngd themselves lycaught the keeper off his line,in,a counterattack, but the chip sailed agonizingly over, skimming the bar as it went. The Spuds had still managed a draw, but it could so easily have been more.
Manager Eric Jones once again praised his team "Great performance. The whole team worked and fought ha"rd out there today and the result shows that. The defence was exemplary and I noticed a real improvement from the Mizuyuki game.

by **Torisakia** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 5:30 am

Raiden: The Thunder

Chapter 6: Logan

A drop for the team, not in the least surprising. The team still needed work and here people are saying that the team has a chance to qualify. Logan Brantley, a rising star in Torisakia, was fathoming the loss at home against the Blouman Empire, which most everyone received blame for. Moreover, the loss was caused by Tommy's absence, apparently because he was ill. He hoped that Tommy would be able to be back for the next game, however he found out that it isn't likely.

Logan was returning to his hotel room, going to gather his things to get back on the plane, when he overheard a conversation between two guys a few feet down the hall. They were talking about the recent disappearance of another Torisakian sports player, Kristen White. She was the second of the players on the Torisakia National Ice Hockey Team who had turned up missing, next to Jessica Holbrook. He had heard many conspiracies and theories about how and why they both went missing, with the most popular one regarding Kiraism. While he did believe that a religious power was possible, it was highly unlikely that it was involved in all of this.

Logan did find the disappearances of two well-known Torisakian sports player very strange. How exactly could they both go missing within a week of each other? According to reports, they both went missing on a Friday, and both went missing at the exact same hour. It was apparent that this was an organized kidnapping, otherwise it would be totally coincidental, which was very unlikely. It looked as though it had been committed by the same person or group, since the timing couldn't have been more on-spot. In his room, Logan began putting his basic necessities in his equipment bag when another teammate, Esa Vähälä, ran up to his door. It was obvious he was in a hurry and frantic.

"LOGAN!," Esa yelled, hyperventilating and trying to catch his breat.

"What? What's wrong?" Logan asked, still putting things in his equip bag.

"Tommy's gone missing!" Esa screamed. Logan paused for a moment.

"What do you mean? I mean, he didn't show up today for the game, but I think it's a little over-reactive to say he's gone completely missing, you think?" Logan snickered.

"I'm serious, Logan! Me and Liam went to check on him and he wasn't in his room!"

"So...don't you think he might've gone somewhere? Given his current state, I'd figure he went to the drugstore to buy more Whylenol,"

"No, he wasn't in his room and his car was still parked outside,"

"There's a drugstore just up the street. Maybe he wanted to save money on gas and just walked,"

"Not only that, but I found this in his room," Esa said, walking towards Logan and pulling out something from his equip bag. It was a notebook that had the words "DEATH NOTE" written on it. he handed the notebook to Logan.

"Death note? I've heard about this thing, you can apparently kill people with it, right?" Logan responded, sounding intrigued.

"I don't know! But if you can, maybe it has something to do with Tommy disappearing?" Esa stammered, sounding more frantic than before.

"Eh, but how do we know that this thing even works? I mean, we could test it, but that'd make us murderers."

"But look at the first page of the notebook, and read the eighth number!" Esa commanded, Logan paused momentarily while reading the statement.

"The human who uses the notebook can neither go to Heaven nor Hell..." Logan said aloud, with curiousity.

"Yeah, and that sounds very similar to what the Pisamiku's believe, that they can't go to Heaven nor Hell!"

"Sooo...you're saying that Tommy's a Kiraist?"

"No, I'm saying that...Tommy might have something to do with the disappearances of Jessica Holbrook and Kristen White."

"Why do you think that? Those two were all the way in some other country. How would he have something to do with it?" Logan chuckled, Esa sighed.

"Look at the first ruled page in the notebook and read the first two names..." Esa said morbidly, Logan stared at the names.

"Jessica Holbrook, Kristen White..."

"So...does this mean that Tommy killed them?"

Just before Esa could reply, there was a knock at the door. Logan was just about to get up to open it when the door opened by itself. There stood a figure of a person, about the average height of a female. Behind it stood another figure, this one was about the size of a normal male. Both figures stood there frozen, as Esa and Logan continued to stare at them. The silence stuck for a while until someone spoke, it was one of the figures.

"Hello, Logan, Esa. I've been awaiting your arrival," A voice said, in a monotone and spooky voice.

"What do you mean 'awaiting our arrival'? you're at my hotel room." Logan responded snarly. Upon closer inspection of the figures, Esa and Logan could make out who they were.

"Cassidy...Johnny...what are you doing here? What do you want?" Esa replied in a shaky voice.

"We're here...to serve Kira's wishes for a new world. You two have been labeled as threats sent by Lawliet to disturb Kira's wishes. Therefore, you both must die," One of the figures said, again in a monotone and spooky voice.

"What do you mean 'threats'? We're not associated with Kiraism in any way!" Logan snapped, getting irritated.

"And you're out of your minds if you even believe in-..." Esa said, then suddenly stopped.

Both Logan and Esa went silent. A faint groaning sound was made by the both of them, as pressure built on their chests. They both looked over at the figures, who had walked inside and were both visible. They could see that it was in fact Cassidy McKenzie and Johnny Kelso. Johnny had a notebook in his hand, along with a pen, and had just written something down in it. Just legible, on the front cover of the notebook, were the words "DEATH NOTE". Just before Logan collapsed, he made one last mental note to himself. He confirmed to himself that Jessica and Kristen had both been killed, however, their killers were teammates and fellow friends of their own. He also confirmed, that Kiraism does exist, and that the power to pass righteous judgment on other who do not follow in the wishes of Kira are killed. As he and Esa both collapsed to the ground, his last sight was that of Cassidy and Johnny standing over him, smiling evilly with glowing red eyes.

To be continued...

by **Blouman Empire** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 5:49 am

THE EMPIRE TIMES

One Goal Win For Eagles

It was down to Blaine Cooperson again to make the difference as the Empire faced off against Torisakia in the second round of World Cup qualifiers. Despite a strong attack from the Eagles, Torisakia managed to hold them off and it took until the 75th minute before they could take the lead. The goal is the second for Cooperson this qualifiers and will no doubt be looking at increasing his tally as the campaign continues.

While the Eagles looked strong in front of a home crowd it was a frustrating evening for Torisakia and their supporters whom traveled to see their team play. Throughout the game Torisakia failed to push Blouman keeper Milton Tuneson to his limits and he was not needed to make any spectacular saves. Their best chance came in the 20th minute when midfielder Michal Mechura found an unmarked Johnny Kelso in front of goal whose shot narrowly went over the bar. Mechura had his own chance on goal ten minutes later but a bad first touch meant the ball curled around the wrong side of the post. Lucas van Zandvoort was also let down by his touch losing the ball after a pinpoint pass from Andres Scherer. van Zandvoort let the loss get under his skin as he studded Nathan Lasoo in a clumsy attempt to regain the ball and was lucky to be let off with a warning.

The start of the second half saw the Eagles focus on the attack as they strung more passes together and created more chances than they had done so in the first. With Torisakian left flank weak with defending star Logan Brantly not playing, it allowed Percy Baser to find space out wide on four occasions and put in crosses for the forwards in the box. Kane Harrison made the best of these turning Liam Hally and forcing Torisakian keeper Eric Klossowski to stretch in order to save the goal. Harrison also got his head to a cross but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out. Despite a number of chances it took till the 75th minute before they could capitalise . A shot from 12 yards out by Harrison forced Klossowski to push the ball away and into the path of Cooperson. Cooperson struck the ball clean and sailed past Klossowski as he stumbled to recover. While both sides continued to search for goals neither side was able to pose any real threat and the game ended with the Eagles securing the win.

After the game manager Henry Emergaton praised his opponents "Torisakia are not a team to take lightly, they have a lot of potential and will be a formidable opponent throughout these qualifiers". On his own team he mentioned that he was pleased with the way the performance of the team while pointing out room for opportunity "There were times our defense was stretched and our luck won't always hold out certainly an area I will be working on for future games". The Eagles next play Nassau-Hessen a team that has also managed to defeat their first two opponents and with both sides looking to continue their good run it will be a tight competition.

by **Zenic** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:49 am

“Damn it! We almost had it. If we had converted one more goal, we would have walked away with at least a draw.”

Sanders sat down in one of the chairs in his hotel room, resting his head against the wall. He then proceeded to do some breathing exercises that Dr. Wakahisa had taught him to control his anxiety. The last thing he needed was a mental breakdown at the beginning of the qualifiers. Another thing that helped was thinking about the positive, even in a loss. So he started to think about what the team did well in the match against Ko-oren.

Thinking of the positives, Yasif had a good game since none of the goals came from his side and he did a decent job of defending. Also, Augustine scored a goal and continues to do well and alleviate some of the pressure of scoring that Ayaode has on him. Kun-woo also scored a goal so Sanders may have finally found the right trifecta of goal scorers in Ayaode, Augustine and Kun-woo, which bodes very well for the future. Sure, a brace for Terathu and a long strike for Fenner got Ko-oren the win but they only won by a single goal meaning the defense is starting to gel.

Now that Sanders had calmed down and eased his mind, he started to plan for the game against Vanersholm, their next opponent. They would be playing in the Empire meaning home pitch advantage. He felt confident that the team was starting to find its way with the two new additions of Augustine and Yasif so he knew he could win.

Now, they just had to actually win on the pitch.

by **HopNation** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 6:57 am

HopNation Hops
National Fußball Team News
Game Two
World Cup 69 – the Cup for Chaps

Group 1
Plc Nation	Pts  +/-
1   Mizuyuki	6    +5
2   NSI		4    +1
3   Thatius	4    +1
4   Jecatria	3    -2
5   HopNation	2     0
6   Evraim	0    -1
7   Jeckland	0    -1
8   Tryienne	0    -3

Matches
MD1:  vs NSI
MD2:  @ Evraim
MD3:  vs Jeckland
MD4:  @ Jecatria
MD5:  vs Mizuyuki
MD6:  @ Thatius
MD7:  vs Tryienne
Break
MD8:  @ NSI
MD9:  vs Evraim
MD10: @ Jeckland
MD11: vs Jecatria
MD12: @ Mizuyuki
MD13: vs Thatius
MD14: @ Tryienne
Win | Draw | Loss

Have I mentioned that I really really hate away games? I mean what the hell is up with the Hops and their travel; they must either be surprised at the whole ordeal or just can’t cope with the home fans when they are not in the comforts of Rhizome Arena. What ever it is we need to do something or we’ll be in worse shape than last cycle when we head into the second half. I’ll give credit to Evraim too as they prepared well for this game, even making some personel changes in hopes of containing our “feisty line-up”. I sure as hell hope they turn this tie fest around and get a couple wins along the way.

As for the game, well it was a decent one, decent not great mind you. Things got started with little delay as the Hops came out on the offensive and played a high pressure style for the first ten minutes. They then lulled into a methodical passing routine. During that high pressure play the team notched it’s first of three at the seven minute mark and things were looking good for the away side. However, things wouldn’t stay that way as once they took the foot off the gas and shifted to the keep-a-way game the Ha Izarayim seemed to gain some life and possession seemed split at that point. In the waning minutes of the first half the Hops once again shifted to a more high pressure style and in stoppage time of the first half struck again giving them a 2-0 advantage going into the half time break. Things in deed were looking well for our boys at that point, but something changed in the locker room as they did not go to the high pressure game at all in the second half. They rather sat back and tried to just pass the ball around. In the sixty third minute Evraim struck and gave life to the home side. The crowed really got into it at this point as well. The Ha Izarayim would score again just moments later on a free kick from just outside the box, a silly foul for sure by our defender to allow such a close kick. Evraim seemed to have our Hops on the ropes as then just before the seventieth minute mark Evraim scored their third and went into the lead for the first time. What had we been doing out there? As it didn’t look good at this point, but lots of time allowed us to collect our thoughts and move forward. After that third goal the Evraim side only touched the ball a handful of times, mostly for goal kicks and throw-ins, as HopNation took control of the game. They just couldn’t manage to create enough space for good chances in front of the Ha Izarayim goal. Then just as the fourth official signaled that there would only be one minute of stoppage time we did it, we scored off of a corner kick to lock the game up at 3s and that’s were it would end.

As for the score line and who did what:
For the Hops:
Schytaing from Droimpol – 7’
Droimpol from Loostin – 45’+2’
Droimpol from Loostin – 90’

For Ha Izarayim:
Ulan from Nikoloz – 63’
Silva – 64’(free kick)
Ben-Ami from Ulan – 69’

So there you have it, not a great game but not a bad game either. Lots of goals for the fans as well, so that was exciting. The Hops return home to take on the side from Jeckland next. Hopefully the brew pots will be ready for this one and will be louder than normal.

Until next time Brew On! Brew Well Hoptonians!

Ringwald Griffinsmith
HopNation Sports Writter

by **Free Republics** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:10 am

Estadio Nacional Augusto Amador, Vladivostok-Alianza, San Jose Guayabal

The Republican National Team arrived in San Jose Guayabal coming off of 2 more victories at home. Before leaving the FFR, he had sent some message from the Gregoryisgodistani asking to inspect stadiums for their upcoming match against Saintland, in the Free Republics, on to the relevant stadium's owners, allowing them to make the decision (they granted the request, without giving it much thought). While beating New South Aqmuland and Hutt River had been expected, a sharp contrast from virtually all of their victories a year prior, they still needed to get the job done on the pitch. Rule Theriault had been especially clear regarding his expectations for qualifying. He wanted a spotless 14-0-0 record, to send a message that his team was the favorite to win the World Cup Finals this time, just as he claimed. Although they would never admit it publicly, all involved knew that the visit to an extremely hostile environment in San Jose Guayabal was the single biggest threat to their hopes of a perfect qualification run.

With the government of San Jose Guayabal threatening to arrest him, many would not have expected Rule Theriault to travel with the team. However, they would be mistaken. Theriault traveled with the team, with even more security than usual. Rather than stay in San Jose Guayabal, they decided to reside on a Navy aircraft carrier that was stationed in international waters to the south of San Jose Guayabal and their neighbors Gregoryisgodistan. Given the hostile relations between the Free Republics and both of those nations, it was no surprise that they maintained a sizable military contingent in the area, ready to strike at a moment's notice, in addition to all of the troops stationed in Taiyou, which wasn't particularly far north of this God-forsaken section of Esportiva.

The big question, at the moment, was how the Free Republics were going to make their entrance before what would, undoubtedly, be the most hostile crowd that they would face during this qualifying campaign. Truth be told, Rule Theriault didn't expect much fanfare to accompany his team's visit to the Sarian and he certainly did not see hostility as likely from Hutt River or Czarch or Ekoz or New South Aqmuland. He already knew that Miley World would not be a particularly hostile crowd, either. The one match that concerned him was this visit to San Jose Guayabal, even as he publicly made light of them at every opportunity and even convinced Sporting World's statistical analysis division to publish an article alleging that their World Cup qualification had been a fluke. He knew better, but to publicly declare that San Jose Guayabal was actually a formidable opponent would be to publicly declare that he had been completely wrong all those years about the region of Esportiva. That was just something that he could not countenance.

When the time finally came and the Republican National Team walked out to a chorus of boos from 150 thousand Guayabalen fans, they had decided exactly how they would make their entrance. Carrying megaphones and wearing ear plugs, they came out singing "The Republican's Burden", knowing that it would put the crowd on the verge of rioting. That was exactly what Rule Theriault wanted. Armed as they were and with a substantial military contingent stationed just inside of international waters south of San Jose Guayabal and ready to strike at a moment's notice, they did not particularly have to be concerned about safety.

Indeed, when some deranged fans looked like they were about to jump over the rail and attack the Republican National Team, Karina Saito, a half-Taiyouese, half-Republican cheerleader, took a sub machine gun out of her pocket and made it especially clear that the Republican National Team was not to be messed with. Even the cheerleaders were packing heat and knew how to use it. As the moments counted down until it was time for the match to begin, the crowd's hatred of the Free Republics had been cemented, but there was simply nothing that they could do to harm the Republican National Team. Rule Theriault had made every precaution to ensure that the off-the-pitch shenanigans that cost his team a spot in World Cup 67 would never happen again. He was simply not going to tolerate any effort to put his team at an unfair competitive disadvantage and should any foreigners even attempt to arrest anybody affiliated with his National Team, every player, coach, security guard and cheerleader on the Team had orders to use lethal force against the foreign police, knowing that support would be forthcoming almost immediately from Theriault's friends in the Republican military, who would be monitoring the events, as they happened, via drones. While they might have been caught off-guard at times 2 years prior, Rule Theriault was now wiser than he was then and he no longer maintained any illusions that his team would be treated fairly in certain nations. Therefore, they had no choice but to make it clear that any illegal arrests or other nonsense designed to put his team at a competitive disadvantage would not be tolerated.

Republica, Free Republics

Consul Venicio Piazza had, unexpectedly, received a message from Gregoryisgodistan that contained threats against the Free Republics. A threat to kill numerous Republican citizens, which was contained within this message, was exactly what the Consul had been looking for. Now, he had that smoking gun that he needed to justify an operation that he had already planned.

Consul Piazza had, repeatedly, come in for criticism over the past several years since his election due to his reluctance to authorize the use of military force. On a number of occasions, the military had simply waged wars entirely on its own, without approval from the civilian authorities, which angered the peace activists as well. This left Consul Piazza's foreign policy extremely unpopular, to the extent that it became a liability for his party, which went from a remarkably successful downticket result, on his coattails, to being wiped out in the midterm elections. The Consul knew that this had to change or he'd end up powerless, likely with a Nat-Gre Junior Consul and a Nat-Gre legislature.

While he could not erase the memories of his disastrous Koby Theodore deal with Saintland, he could at least do something that would prove his toughness on foreign policy and silence some of his critics, even if just temporarily. Gregoryisgodistan was not a particularly dangerous nation, but Lord Almighty Gregory was certainly guilty of numerous crimes against humanity, in addition to regular threats against nations that were much more powerful than his impoverished backwater of a nation. Consul Piazza had only needed a smoking gun to justify this action and now he had it. He ordered an excerpt from this communication leaked to News Magazine, which could be trusted to sway public opinion against Gregoryisgodistan:

Gregoryisgodistan wrote:The nation of Gregoryisgodistan tentatively agrees to your offer to move the Gregoryisgodistan-Saintland match that was scheduled for Saintland to the Free Republics. I should point out that the Free Republics are on our Enemy List, meaning it is legal under Gregoryisgodistani law to kill any Republian citizen and the killer will receive a reward of 1 million greggygodbucks. We may or may not kill numerous Republican citizens during the away match there. It may or may not be very bloody for them. Our players may or may not come armed with assault weapons and flamethrowers like the soldiers in Hicana and kill everyone then set them on fire.

While he relied upon News Magazine to fan the flames, Consul Piazza began making plans for an upcoming bombing raid on Gregoryisgodistan. He had no desire to do anything more than that. He believed that a little bombing would teach Gregoryisgodistan to respect nations stronger than they while avoiding a large-scale war between the nations. Besides, it would probably help his poll numbers and those of his party, which was something that was very important to him. Anything that would help him defend himself and his party from Izmailov's accusations of weakness was fine with him, at this point.

by **Valladares** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:22 am

To: All Westlanders Brigades: Edmonton, Adelaide, Victoria, Hamilton, Northport, Townsville, Coulombes, Bretford, Isla Nueva
From: Westlanders Central Command
Subject: Upcoming D-Day
Encryption: HIGH

THE WESTLANDERS
Ex oriente luxus. Ex occidente lux.

Dear comrades,

As you all may know, we have got to face Darmen in our qualifying group for World Cup 69. As you may know as well, the Valladar Football Association have had the gall not to schedule any qualifying matches in the Westlands state and instead chose to play everyone at that hellhole called Canalave and that pigsty of a stadium called "Dragon Stadium" arguing and justifying their decision on the "we'd rather a fried rival than an alive rival" argument when we already know they chose not to rotate venues (let alone hosting a single match at any stadium in the Westlands) because they are scared of an eventual Darmeni invasion which is never happening in fact, and also because the mainland and all their institutions have always looked down on us. Life is truly so sad, is it?

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, and the Darmenis themselves are responsible for making it shine brighter: in preparation of the Tricolor's trip to Darmen to MD4 of the qualifiers, not only did they schedule the match to be played at Rogerton, a tow...err, village (yes, that's more accurate) located 35 kilometres away from the border to "ease the amount of travel needed for Valladar fans to watch the match" (silly them), but also their so-called Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration "has decided to end the practice of completely dismantling all vehicles crossing the border, as well as easing many of its other regulations on travellers in anticipation of the match" (even sillier).

How considerate, isn't it? Well, since we are not having a match in the Westlands, then why do not we make an away match being played near the Westlands look like a home one instead? Yes, we, the Westlanders, the biggest supporting group for the Valladar national football team in the whole Westlands state, from Edmonton to Hamilton, are going to take advantage of this valuable chance and will make ourselves be felt outside Valladar territory like no other supporting group has done abroad ever before. And, to fulfill this goal we have just set, we are going to flock into Darmen by every available means: by car, plane, boat, even on foot! The idea is to have over 100,000 people at Rogerton for the match and to get as much tickets as possible for the match. That's how we will be doing our D-Day, a move which will be remembered by everyone in Valladares and all over the multiverse for ages to come. The mainland boys would even be totally grateful to us for making a statement regarding a future annexation of some Darmeni parts as they so desire, even though we shouldn't be doing them any favours.

So the instruction to all Westlanders brigades is to abide, adhere, and follow this move with all its steps as dictated by the Central Command. The "invasion" is scheduled to begin in the previous three days to the match, with all people being in Rogerton by the day the match is slated to be played. No way we're letting pass the chance to show them that we're more and better.

Signed,

The Westlanders Central Command

by **Barunia** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:32 am

BaruniainSports.com.bu
The Number One website for Barunian Sports Fans

World Cup 69 Qualifiers: Suns Slow to Rise after two games
Article by Scott Watson, football correspondent ScottW@baruniainsports.com.bu
Barunia have faced some early tests in the opening games of the qualifiers, with a 3-5 win over Dawnhaven and a surprising 1-1 draw against Estope. The results have not thrilled Suns coach Joric Ruskin, who was looking for some more comprehensive results. "We haven't been able to move the ball around as well as we'd like, and we'll need to work on that as we go forward in this competition." Joric told reporters at a press conference after the game against Estope.
Joric attributed the Sun's low passing percentages to a lack of practice with the new 4-2-4 formation. He said that the team would be doing extra work ahead of the game against Star United States, in order to familiarise the team with the strategy. Ruskin said that the formation was solid and the team knew what to do, they just needed to switch on to the game plan.
"The big problem (in the game against Estope) was that we couldn't get the ball out to our guys at the other end. Partly that's because their formation had us swamped, but when we had the ball we could not get it out of our half." Joric was full of praise for the defence, who faced a tough assignment against Estope's nine forwards, but let in only one goal.
It was praise the defence needed to hear after a disastrous start against Dawnhaven, in which they let in three goals and were only saved by the free-scoring forwards, with Van Der Venne and Marris both getting two each and Hardy contributing with his third international goal. Singled out for special comment was veteran Carl SIlva, who received his fiftieth cap from former Suns defender Julian Millet just before the Estope game. Silva seemed to be buoyed by the honour (The milestone has been passed by only eleven other Barunian players), and played a fantastic game, helping to restore the Suns some dignity and keep the game to a draw after an early goal rattled the home side. They were rescued by Eli Estrella, who teamed up with Jaylen North to evade the lone defender and buried it past the goalkeeper.
Ruskin has confirmed that the first eleven will line up against Star United States, with Ruskin taking no chances after the SUS put four away against Vunishia. With Zwangzug unbeaten and Estope sitting above Barunia on goal difference, the Suns will want to get a run going here to build up some confidence. Ruskin stated that he was not concerned by the team's current position in third place, as with only two games played it was still likely to change. "I won't be worried until I've seen the team perform against everyone. At about the halfway mark, then we'll know who's in form and what teams we need to beat to go through."

by **The Icemark** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 7:44 am

History: Part I
Before the Kingdom had even been established the land that the Icemark inhabits had already had a long and chequered history. The Icemark slowly emerged out of the sea after the glaciers melted in the last Ice Age. As the Ice receded animals and human tribes emigrated from the southern lands northwards. During this period there were no forests in the land and only flat plains of tundra. The tribes would live a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, camping in teepees and hunting the reindeer of the plains. Gradually lush forests and wetlands would slowly but surely establish themselves throughout the land and the tribes would settle along the coast venturing into the forests to hunt deer and elk. They began to use the forest to their advantage as well, making boats from hollowed out trees so they could fish in the seas.

Early Tribal Cave Art

Once the stone age concluded the culture of the tribes developed significantly. They would learn to cultivate the land, keep animals and make pottery from neighbouring tribes in the south. These tribes though would eventually be overrun by invading tribes though that were patriarchal in design and used the battle axe as their status symbol.


An Icemarkan Longship

The Bronze age would see the tribes advance culturally in leaps and bounds despite them not developing a written language during this period. The tribes began to trade with other lands for the first time importing wool, gold and bronze. Shipping played an important role in society even then and the bronze age tribes were known for their boat design. Towards the end of the bronze age the weather deteriorated and a mighty winter began in the Icemark, which resulted in many tribes leaving the land for a milder southern climate.
For much of the early history of the land the tribes had been feuding with each other on and off over land and resources. Tribal leaders were little more than warlords. The country was divided into a number of petty kingdoms whose borders were changing constantly as one tribe prevailed over another. During the early years of the Iron Age the legendary hero Horsa put an end to the tribal wars when he unified all the tribes and founded the Kingdom of the Icemark, in doing so becoming it's first monarch. Where King Horsa had founded the kingdom, his successor King Hengist established it. The Icemarkans began exploring the world in their longships and importing many more goods including glass, coins, weapons and even vessels. Hengist created the first ever Icemarkan army and they began to raid and pillage parts of the southern continent, and on one occasion launched an unsuccessful invasion of it.
During these years the people of the Icemark began worshipping norse gods. This probably evolved gradually from bronze age and stone age beliefs. A written runic language was also created during Hengist's reign. They also began the practice of burying the dead in burial mounds, though the more powerful members of society would occasionally have ship burials. Shipping was an integral part of Icemarkan culture during these times used for everything from funerals, to exploring, trading and warfare.

by **Timbermunich** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:14 am

Parts 1-7 here* | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

The air was completely still the next morning and the village were coming to life in its usual fashion. Families were going about their daily routines, yard word, house chores, and heading out to their village duties. The normal things one would do on any day, but something was different. The villagers seemed to have the same calm that Great Battle and Great One-Arm Willy had the day before. It was apparent that their news sunk in and it looked as if they all accepted what would come in the future was.

As for the Greats, they too were waking to calmness once again. They both felt very good about their plan and what they each had been going over in their heads. Their wives had gotten up early today, well before the sun made its way over the horizon. They wanted to get a jump on the day as they knew that they would soon be left with just the children. It wasn’t anything new for them but it was something they wanted to be ready for. They knew the house would be a wreck after their husbands and children said there goodbyes, so anything they could do to help their latter work load was a great benefit. The two women finished up some cleaning and met each other outside before anyone else in their homes was awake.

With the mixture of moonlight and the glow of the sun coming up the two started out on their ritualistic walk around their properties. They were all to comfortable with this walking as it was almost a weekly routine at this point. This walk started like most others as both truly loved living right next to the other and being able to share any detail of their own life with the other. They felt free and in harmony when in the others company, and being able to talk openly about whatever was on their mind was a great relief. Today the conversation started with a focus on their homes and how they both wished their husbands were around a bit more so that they could get some items fixed or added as they needed. But with both being home alone so much with just the children, little often got done in regards to repairs or additions to the homes. But the conversation didn’t stay there long, especially since both were thinking about the object, the TimberHeart. They new more than all the other villagers but had yet to learn what plan their husbands had or how this find would effect all of Timbermunich. They did know that the husbands would tell them before their meeting with the villagers and well before setting out to the other villages to inform them. They were however very curious as to what the plan was and both speculated on what would happen. They did agree on one thing and that was that they both would like to see the TimberHeart.

The women arrived back at the houses just as the youngest children were getting up. They fixed them breakfast and by the time they set the youngest’s food on the outside table, the table in which most meals were eaten by both families, the rest of the house was wake and they too headed out to the table for breakfast. Joined last by Great Battle and Great One-Arm Willy they all sat and enjoyed the relaxing morning sunrise and each others company.

What will the next village meeting reveal about the Greats plan? Will we finally learn what will become of the Heart of the Grove and the TimberHeart? How long will the two be gone to inform the other parts of Timbermunich? Hopefully we will find out soon.

Hardwood’s Matches
MD1: vs Sargossa (0-1)
MD2: @ Yids (3-2)
MD3: vs United Commonweath of Ayrshire
MD4: @ Electrum
MD5: vs Lymantatia
MD6: @ Mangolana
MD7: vs Farfadillis
Day of Rest
MD8: @ Sargossa
MD9: vs Yids
MD10: @ United Commonweath of Ayrshire
MD11: vs Electrum
MD12: @ Lymantatia
MD13: vs Mangolana
MD14: @ Farfadillis
Win | Draw | Loss

Group 2 Table
1 – Lymantatia
2 – Farfadillis
3 – Mangolana
4 – Sargossa
5 – Timbermunich
6 – United Commonweath of Ayrshire
7 – Electrum
8 – Yids
Eliminated|Advanced

Match 3
United Commonwealth of Ayrshire Lineup  | Timbermunich Lineup
?			   		|GK  Great Hatchet Hank	01
??			   		|RB  Great Norman		04
???	   		   		|CB  Great Battle		05*
????	   		  		|CB  Great Battle Axe	03
Was not provided	  		|LB  Great Tomahawk Tommy	06
to us prior	   	  		|RM  Great Dead-Eye Darrin	07
to the game 	   	  		|LM  Great Dirty Doug	08
????	   		   		|RW  Great Dagger Dan	09
???	   		   		|CM  Great Wicked Warren	10
??	   		   		|CF  Great One-Arm Willy	21
?	   		   		|LW  Great Kyle Slater	17

by **Alexanderburn** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:26 am

1-0 win over Alundas yields cheers throughout Portsmouth
Frederiksen (77')

Seemingly, Mathiassen's strategies have worked yet once again in a World Cup qualifying bid. Domination and forward pressing were the key ideas of this match earlier tonight against Alundas, and they produced a spectacular goal by Frederiksen, his eighteenth in any qualification game to be exact, that led his team to victory. Krönenberger, who made his debut last night, put in an excellent performance in helping to quickly bring the ball to the midfield and attack along the left flank, while a strong and experienced defense was able to put a stop to almost any attack that the already powerful midfield could not. Balls rarely found themselves in the Alexanderburnese third, and the core midfield trio of Holierhoek, Schroeder, and the newer van der Rafael circulated the ball around, creating space to be able to pass to their more offensive teammates to help convert balls into goals, although this only succeed once.

"Well I must say, Alundas, has done a spectacular job of preventing any goals from the Blue and White today, and despite the fact that their midfield has opened up heavily and there seems to be a major wound there, they are committing towards their defense in order to strive for the scoreless draw that would be so convenient for them. They've let lots of shots near their goal but all of them have been blocked or saved, both by the defenders and the miraculous and lucky bouts of the goalie, wait, not so fast, Krönenberger is coming in fast and furious with this ball down the left, he makes an excellent pass to Frederiksen who is in plenty of open space in front of the goal, and there it is! Folks all over this stadium waving their flags in excitement and happiness as Alexanderburn takes a 1-0 lead here in Portsmouth against Alundas!"
-Television commentator James Cantorini

ALEXANDERBURN vs. ALUNDAS

Tonight's match in Olastor is expected to be another victorious game in the favor of the Blue and White. Mathiassen left the lineup untouched from yesterday, believing that despite the fact that the ANFT was only able to score one goal against their unranked opponents last night, the key and vital ideas of the game that he wanted to see played were executed, with high possession rates, organized and efficient attacks, and a mid-range tempo that combined with other elements to seal a Frederiksen-led victory. The defense is yet to be heavily tested in this new tactic, as Alundas was only able to take a grand total of four shots thanks to a strong midfield effort from Alexanderburn as well as a weak opponent offense. However, Olastor's forwards may prove to be at a higher caliber than the team from last night and could pose a big threat to the Mountain Lions, especially if they take advantage of the inexperienced Krönenberger's left side where the centre-backs would be all but helpless to stop a fast incoming attack.

@ Olastor

by **Gregoryisgodistan** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:53 am

OOC: It goes without saying that I have Free Republics' permission for this storyline. In fact, it was his idea.

When Gregoryisgodistan had put in the request for "pitch inspectors" to inspect the soccer field in the Free Republics prior to that nation's match against Miley World, both Lord Almighty Gregory and the Gregoryisgodistani Soccer Federation knew that they weren't real pitch inspectors. Instead, Assassin Jake Farley, disguised as the lowly commoner Pitch Inspector KJ81929A, and his partner, Assassin Matthew Lewis, disguised as Pitch Inspector UP129XZAAA, were being sent to Free Republics to assassinate Venicio Piazza, the Consul of that wicked nation. Once one consul died of a heart attack, Lord Almighty Gregory sensed an opportunity to instill panic in that nation by killing the other Consul. He just needed a spark, and by deliberately provoking Piazza, he had received it. Gregoryisgodistani intelligence had revealed that Consul Piazza was planning a bombing raid on Gregoryisgodistan. Therefore, he had to die before he could commence with it.

Farley and Lewis would travel to Free Republics with forged passports claiming they were the pitch inspectors sent to inspect the field and make sure it was suitable for Gregoryisgodistan to take on Saintland in the latter's "home" game. The plan called for them to fly in the day before the game and stay at a hotel. They would arrive before the match and head down to field level. Farley would show his credentials to security and ask to inspect the field. Lewis would say he was going to check out the rest of the stadium on his own and wander off. To make it seem more realistic, he would probably also talk to Miley World and Republican players and coaches, nominally to get a feel for how the field was. This was all a diversion however, as it would distract security and everyone else while Lewis ran up to the box where Piazza was staying and assassinated him. With Piazza dead, the Republican nation would be thrown into chaos, much to the delight of Lord Almighty Gregory. Lewis would then come back down to the field, having seemingly completed his part of the pitch inspection, while Farley would say he was finished. They would both flee the stadium and return to Gregoryisgodistan before anyone was the wiser. Once they returned to Gregoryisgodistan, Lord Almighty Gregory would acknowledge that Gregoryisgodistani agents were responsible for the assassination, but not state any further details. He would then declare a day of celebration with double prune juice and gruel rations. It would be a glorious victory for Gregoryisgodistan over a wicked and heathen nation.

There were just a few short days to get the plan in order. Lewis and Farley needed to be ready. They were trained by actual pitch inspectors from the Gregoryisgodistan Soccer League who had been briefed on the situation. This way they could look like more realistic pitch inspectors. They were already trained assassins, so they didn't need any help there. The passports were in the process of being made, as were appropriate fake IDs for the two of them. In a few short days, Consul Piazza would be dead, and Gregoryisgodistan would rejoice.

by **The Royal Barangay** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:00 am

Sangti International Airport
Sangti, The Royal Barangay

It was a normal day at the airport, with a packed schedule of flights to and from the capital of the nation. There were no problems in general, except for some usual problems that passengers are used to, such as long queuing time when waiting for their baggage to arrive. Aside from the passengers anxiously waiting for their flights, airport employees and staff are also busy attending to their jobs, food stalls are almost filled with people wanting to eat Barangayan food, and airline companies are busy attending to their daily routines.

There were also passengers who arrived late and missed their flight - they were forced to book another flight to their destination, and if they are unlucky that there are no scheduled flights for that day, book a flight for a different day. It is not an issue for Pan-Esportivan destinations, as there are at least two scheduled flights for a certain destination a day. Some destinations outside Esportiva however, including Luzvimindia, only fly once a day.

Federico Manansala, 32, an OBW (Overseas Barangayan Worker), is working in San Salvador in San Jose Guayabal and is returning to the country after a well spent vacation in Mogya. Traffic in the streets of Sangti has caused him to miss Aeroquebec Flight 69 that already departed. Luckily for him, an Aerolineas Sangti flight going to San Salvador scheduled for the night has not been fully booked yet, and he has spare money to book it. However he would have to wait for hours before boarding his flight.
'
Along with his wife and sister, he decided to eat first in one of the food stalls in the airport. Janibee (OOC: google Jollibee) is one of the most visited fastfood chain in The Royal Barangay, known for their delicious but affordable food such as burgers and the country's own Leonde fries. As usual, the queue lines were long and they had to wait for at least an hour before they could be served. They ordered three Nomnomburgers (OOC: pun for Yum-burger, Jollibee's signature burger), one barkada serving of Leonde fries (OOC: Think of McDonald's BFF fries) and drinks. The setup at Janibee is good - while there are many sets of tables and chairs in the dining area, a monitor where flights and their status are displayed, and a relaxing radio that can be interrupted by a PA system.

While Federico and his companions are eating, they overheard a conversation by a group of middle-aged women sitting at a table beside them. "Sis, a flight to San Salvador's gone missing." "Really?" "I saw it on Tiwiter.You should browse the news now." Fed did not hesitate to grab his tab and surf the net. A breaking news was reported in a news website: "Flight 69 missing!" Minutes later, the PA system interrupted the music and made an announcement:

"To the relatives of passengers of Aeroquebec Flight 69 that departed from Sangti to San Salvador, please proceed to the SIA Conference Room at the third floor of this airport. Please bring ID for verification. Thank you."

Federico was stunned. He was emotionless. He cannot believe what he just heard.

by **Patistan** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:06 am

Patistan National News:We Bring it to you first ~~Or second~~

"Hello i am Khalid Malik with Patistan Sports. Yesterday the Patistani team played against Rutenbach A.K.A German American States. After a sweaty 90 minutes of play Rutenbach prevailed with the score of 3-2. The scoreline has been applauded by critics and the match has been dubbed "Green boots give Rutenbach a run for their money". The suspenseful match for going towards a tie until a late free kick by the Rutenbach captain "Gunnar" was to much for Shaheer to handle. The coach of the team Nassear murad looked satisfied with the Patistani team performance in the after match press conference.

"The type of game our team played is acknowledgable. This loss has put a dent in our already tough qualifying campaign and i have found some holes in the teams defense that i will work on for the match against Notsofreeland. The strikers in my view have done a extremely good performace,the broke the Rutenbach defense countless times and even managed to score against the team. While Shaheer has been going through some family problems with his grandmother and mother in the hospital but dont worry he will be their for the next match,but i will be stripping him of captaincy for his own good Zesh shall be captain of the squad until further notice. I will also make some substitutions for the defense against Notsofreeland. I congratulate Rutenbach on their win. Thank you that is all."

As you can see that the coach is making some changes in the squad,the biggest one being that of stripping the captaincy of goalkeeper Shaheer Shazib and giving it to already criticized Zesh Rehman. For the ones who have missed Zesh Rehman is the a Patistani player who was born in Super-Llamaland and played for their U-21 team and numerous clubs,he was criticized by conservative Patistanis who thought he would harm the nations image for some reason. Their have been football analysts that have criticized this motion by displaying their "expressions" on the Pwitter the social website. Yasir hussein a former footballer wrote on his account.

Yasir Hussein:Ugh our coach is a idiot,cant believe he gave Zesh captaincy. That idiotic bozoo that calls himself a coach,dumbass
#Ugh #idiot #Patistanfootyteam #Zesh

As you can see he is clearly upset ~~someone has anger temperament problems~~ well they were other numerous pweets like this but i am not allowed to show them. Also i have just got reports that the Patistan team has landed in Notsofreeland and our going to a unknown location to play the match against a team whichs names are unknown. Their have also been reports of Notsofreeland citizens supporting the Patistani team instead of their own "okay-ish" national team. The Notsofreeland team reached the round of 16 of the Baptism of fire which was hosted by Schavonia and San Jose Guyabayul.

That is all for this days show,hopefullly ill come back telling you good news.

This is Khalid Malik signing of with

Patistan sports

by **Bears Armed** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:18 am

Bears Armed wrote:The room is suddenly filed by a flash of white light, temporarily blinding everybody there. They hear a thud, as though something moderately heavy had just dropped from a height, and then muttered cursing. As their eyes clear again they see a stranger standing in the middle of the room, using his left hand to feel his right leg in a way that suggested he was checking to discover how seriously it was hurt: He is a male Ursine, gingery-furred, and at the sort of age where he might be counted either as an adolescent or as a young adult. Three separate cameras of different types are hanging from straps around his neck, with a white bow-tie just visible behind those, and he is wearing a checked green jacket.

“Urrgah! he exclaims. “This definitely isn’t back home at the ‘Daily Urrth’. Hwhere have I been dropped this time?”

“I don’t know anything about a ‘Daily Urrth’ — another newspaper, from somehwhere or other, would that be? — but these are the offices of the ‘Bear Necessities’ in Council Groves,” Marrath Gray responded. “And you are?”

“Jamms Beartholomew Urrsen, photographer and cub rreporter,” replied the youth “of the Metroboris* ‘Daily Urrth’. You hrreally haven’t heard or it? Even so, maybeso, you’ve heard of me? I’m sometimes referred to by the press, and other media, as “SuperBear’s pal, Jammy Urrsen” …
“No? Oh…
“Then maybeso that glowing cloud has dropped me into some other version of Reality… again.
“URRGAH!”

The assorted reporters, editors and other staff whom his arrival had surprised looked at him with varying degrees of confusion.

“But… but ‘SuperBear’ is just a comic-books character…” one of them remarked.

“Urrsen, Urrsen… Jammy Urrsen…
“Hr’rmmm.
“Didn’t you turn up out of nowhere explained and try to interview some of the Bear-Belles during the last-but-one Cup of Harmony**, six years ago?” asked reporter Florise Fane.

“I have met a team of footballers called the 'Bear-Belles', but even if that was six years ago for them it was only two weeks ago for me” Jammy replied, “so the light must have transported me through Time as well as between worlds, and…
“Wait a moment. Florise, is that hrreally you?*** Surely you rrecognise me, and know that SuperBear is a real person, for true!”

“Sorry, but no. Evidently your home Reality is similar enough to this one that it has its own version of me — at least, unless you’re just a madbear from this Urrth who’s somehow found his way into the building, anyhows — but she isn’t hrreally me… I’m not hrreally her… both... hwhichever.”

“Oh.” Jammy looked rather dejected for a moment, but then visibly and very quickly cheered up again.
“Still,. Being dropped into an alternative version of Reality is better than getting turned into a gigantic turtle or an ‘ursine porcupine’, or being given the head of a bear-sized red ant, or some of the other things that have happened to me through the years…”
He noticed some members of his inadvertent audience staring in disbelief.
“Yes, hrreally, for true!”

There was silence for a few moments while people digested what they’d just heard, and then Jammy spoke again… directly addressing Marrath Gray, this time, because he was obviously the bear in charge there.

“Say, hwhile we’re waiting for SuperBear and the rest of his ‘Justice Force’ allies to fix everything and for him to come and collect me, maybeso I could do some work for you, chief?” he enquired.
“I’m a hrreally good camera-bear, just ask… Well, hokay, they aren’t here for you to ask, but anyhows just give me a chance. You won’t rregret it, chief, I guarantee!”

Marrath took only a couple more moments to consider this. Owing to a major mix-up about holiday arrangements the Sports department was surprisingly short of photographers whom it could send to cover the Belles’ away games…. and if this Urrsen had managed to cope with such strange occurrences as he suggested then foreign travel, even amongst non-Ursines, should be a breeze for him.

“I’ll want to see some examples of your work before making any promises, and we’d to speak with administration about pat and so on,” he replied, “but if you’re as good as you claim then it’s a deal.”.

“Thanks, chief!”

“But don’t call me ‘chief’…”

“Here, too?” ****

_____________________________________________________________

OOC

* In the version of reality from which I’m taking most of my comics-inspired characters for this storyline, that featuring the nation of Amberrica, ‘Metroboris’ is basically equivalent to DC’s ‘Metropolis’ — the home city of Superman, as I’m sure you all know already — although I’m placing it in part of what in RL would be the New York area (forming a “tri-city” complex with ‘Gorram City’, which is home to that darkness-loving detective the Owlbear, and ‘New Boarrkh’ itself.) rather than in Delaware which is the location that DC is now favouring instead for their version of the concept.

** I started a RP in which he appeared, but RL got in the way and I dropped that before actually mentioning his name.

*** She is, of course, an Ursine counterpart to Lois Lane.

**** His boss back home, editor Berry White (c.f. DC’s ‘Perry White’), also objects to that title.

by **Nassau-Hessen** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:20 am

Tworidge, Brambler Persevere,
Nassau Takes 2nd Place Slot

Red Blackiland 0–1 Nassau

The Eagles arrived at the steadily filling Red Glorious National Stadium with one main objective in mind. The objective was plain, simple, and straight to the point, win, the game doesn't have to be pretty or ugly, just do whatever one can to extend the Nassauite win column count to two. It would certainly not be easy against the recent Baptismal division champions, who were still full of positive morale after a slightly lopsided 3-0 loss against Torisakia. The Dark Lions were itching to regain their posture through a potential upset against Nassau. In addition to those, the Hessen had a momentary target on their backs as the division leaders. Things certainly did not look good for the Hessians, but they've been in this scenario one too many times to be unprepared for this. Tworidge, despite last games setback, made the starting eleven once again in hopes of a more productive game. #06 Ponto Barango replaced Center Forward Orgulas Sandybanks and #56 Gerundio Goldworthy came in for Right Defensemen Shem Bracegirdle prior to match time (no injuries reported from either of the replaced, most likely just a quick rest).

Barango gave an easy kick-off to #45 Blanco Chubbs soon after the go ahead signal, commencing what would become a great game. At the beginning, the most interesting (and occupied) area of play was the Eagles' defensive zone, where the offensive Blackilandians and conservative Hessen showed off their targeted style. Despite a few good early corners and crosses by the outer Red and Black clad midfielders like Franck Rodristander and Juliano Matheus, the stationed blue wall did not let anybody cause any major chances against Goalkeeper Falco Brambler whatsoever. Before anyone knew it, the twenty five minutes mark already passed by. The game turned into a see-saw battle, with both teams running up and down the field for scoring opportunities. Neither team succeeded, and both goalies were forced to become a little more bolder and aggressive, especially with all of the frequent corners and centering passes. A few quality chances were wasted on each side, such as when Ponto Barango hit the left post with a high velocity kick that went straight between Hargreaves arms, or when Felipinho completed a dangerous header headed towards the net (that was, until Brambler stuffed it). The first half finally came to a close as both of the deadlocked teams headed to their respective locker-rooms.

The second half came around the corner, and and was commenced by a kick-off from Felipinho to Gerard Behckstander. The Dark Lions took the upper hand in the first decade or so of the half, but despite their good positioning, they couldn't seem to find the goaltenders box. Eventually the vivacious onset was dispersed, then it was the Eagles' turn to try to do some damage. The Nassauite Football Association trains the national squad to be robust, especially in situations such as wasting time or enduring a long offensive run by the opposing side. This robustness aided the Hessen while they attacked, and consequently added on to their offensive zone time, that in turn gave them more opportunities. Finally, at minute '73, Blanco Chubbs shot a blazing kick towards the gut of Martin Hargreaves, this produced a quick rebound that went straight to Tworidge. Tworidge wasted no time, an utilized the open net by a short tap in. Red Glorious was shocked, a heavy burden was loaded onto the Dark Lions, all the Eagles could do now was retain possession as long as possible and merely hope that Brambler would come through. The situation got out of hand at times, and #21 Wilibald Similo retaliated at what he thought was a push from Nicolas Valbuena by shoving him back. Similo was promptly yellow carded and replaced by #19 Rufo Pott. Brambler and the so called Great Barrier Defense were under fire. Jones Petersborough (who subbed for Carlos Carmona) placed a soaring shot that hit the top crossbar, Nassauite Left Central Defensemen Hob Whitherfowl hastily cleared out the rebound. Eventually, the clearings from Nassau added up, and the lead was finalized in tact. The ultimate result was a narrow one to none victory.

The Eagles are about to face the other, larger Eagles. These Eagles (as we recently discovered) are from Bloumany in origin. That's right, the projected Group 9 winner is about to travel to the Pavilion. The Ice Birds almost forced a tie in what was yet again a very similar match to Nassau's previous game. The top of the standings currently reads:

1. The Royal Barangay
2. Nassau
3. Bloumany

Normally this would be all good and great, except for one of the bottom teams is most likely going down. If Nassau can somehow find a way to overcome this monumental challenge, the match just may be the largest Nassauite triumph as of yet, even more so if Brambler continues his shutout streak. Whatever the future holds for Nassau, they will be ready, millions of people will be affected. May the Battle Of The Eagles, Part 1, commence.

by **Saintland** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:01 am

Royal Palace, St. Petrus, Saintland

When news of Feministvs Sanctvsterra's 2 goals to nil victory against Gregoryisgodistan reached Saintland, few believed what had just happened. Instead of a forfeit, the National Soccer Team was now credited with a victory. Now, they had road victories against the teams that had been picked to finish second and third in this group and 7 of their remaining 12 matches on friendly soil. It seemed like the days of difficult qualifying campaigns were well and truly in the past. Sure, the SP had been completely wrong about Olastor, but nobody seemed to see Olastor as a threat to win the group, even after their start had mirrored that of the Sanctii.

Yes, there were some problems on the horizon. Both West Angola and Gregoryisgodistan, it seemed, were intent upon recognizing Feministvs Sanctvsterra as the legitimate Sanctii National Team. For now, Prince Andreas decided that it was best to ignore their attempts at obtaining an injunction in Apox. The government of Apox would, most likely, be granting no such thing. Besides, wasn't the King of Saintland the proper authority to determine who was the legitimate Saintland National Team, not a foreign court? For now, the Prince decided, he would let his brother handle this situation, once he returned from Estope.

As he was thinking about this situation, Veronica Artemieva, the king's betrothed, arrived at the palace. She wanted to speak with Prince Andreas. Once the palace guards realized who she was, she was let in and allowed to go to the prince's room to speak with him. Veronica Artemieva was a foreign resident of Saintland, born in the Free Republics. Traditionalists in the Kingdom, such as Sister Polus (now residing in Acedonia, after having been fired from her job at Progress High School by none other than the King), did not like this one bit. However, the new King and the new Patriarch in Saintland were not beholden to the traditionalists in their own nation, nor were they beholden to foreign progressives who sought to impose an aggressive form of secularism upon them. King Petrus's course was a middle course between these extremes, one that enraged the traditionalists while failing, so far, to appease the nation's foreign critics. Although they were not yet wed, Veronica Artemieva already held substantial influence on the King and the direction which he was taking the nation. If she wished to speak to Prince Andreas, he would speak with her:

Prince Andreas - Miss Artemieva, I did not expect to see you here.

Veronica Artemieva - I apologize, but there is an urgent matter that you need to address.

Prince Andreas - What might that be?

Veronica Artemieva - Somebody broke into the Royal Computer Entertainment of Saintland offices earlier today. My brother informs me that "Enslave Rule Theriault" is now available on the Internet store thingy. I would be surprised if they weren't also trying to release it in stores.

Prince Andreas was in disbelief. He was aware of this "Enslave Rule Theriault" title and the Republicans had given him clear orders not to release it.

Prince Andreas - Removing a digital copy of that only requires the push of a button and the push of a second button to remotely erase all digital copies, but if they manage to release that in stores, it would be a disaster. Our relations with the Free Republics would be severely damaged.

Veronica Artemieva - Take care of it.

Prince Andreas - Miss Artemieva, I would appreciate if you did not give me direct orders.

Veronica Artemieva - I'm sorry. May I speak, Your Royal Highness?

Prince Andreas could not believe the attitude that this woman was showing him. If she was any other woman in the Kingdom (excluding his mother), he would have had her sent to the whipping post for disrespect, but he couldn't really do anything to Veronica Artemieva without the risk of upsetting the King, who actually seemed to like her that way. She lacked class, as was to be expected from a foreign-born woman. Prince Andreas didn't like her, but he didn't have a choice. King Petrus held all of the power now, especially with one of his close personal friends installed as Patriarch. While Father would never have approved, there was nothing anybody could do now to stop this ill-mannered foreigner from becoming the Queen of Saintland.

Prince Andreas - Yes. Is that not the reason why you are here?

Veronica Artemieva - It is.

Prince Andreas - If you have something else to say to me, Miss Artemieva, please say it now. Otherwise, I will address the situation at RCES.

Veronica Artemieva - Actually, I do not.

Veronica left the palace. Prince Andreas would readily admit that she was a beauty, with a look that wasn't especially common in Saintland. Still, he considered her foreign attitude to be utterly repulsive. But, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she wasn't intentionally disrespecting him. She just wasn't taught how to be a proper lady. Prince Andreas hoped that his brother was not going to encourage that kind of behavior among the young ladies of the kingdom.

Upon his visit to the RCES offices, Prince Andreas quickly removed "Enslave Rule Theriault" from the Saintland region online store for the Saint and ordered all existing copies remotely deleted. He then stopped the presses producing new software for retail so that he could personally inspect them. Soon, he discovered that "Enslave Rule Theriault" was being packaged in boxes as Sister Polus's School Reformator, the infamously awful school management game starring Sister Polus.

When Prince Andreas opened one of the games and placed it into his SaintPhone for testing purposes, he discovered that it was the English version of "Enslave Rule Theriault," which made it clear exactly what the intent of the criminals was. It was now obvious what they were up to. Clearly, they were intending to do a run on the Sister Polus game, which nobody was buying any longer and then sell those copies in the Free Republics as an end around RepublicSoft's ban on that particular game. While Saints and SaintPhones from Saintland were not region-free, those released in other nations are, in fact, region-free. That meant that the release of "Enslave Rule Theriault" in any nation effectively makes it playable on Saints and SaintPhones anywhere other than Saintland. Only Saintland region releases are playable in Saintland.

At first thought, Prince Andreas wanted to just stop production of the Sister Polus game, but he got a better idea. He decided to play along, sort of, to trap them. However, the games would be exactly as advertised, the Saintland version of the Sister Polus game. Inside the cases, the machine would place RFID tracking devices, designed to track the games. While RCES did not use RFID, Prince Andreas knew exactly who did. He immediately called up the Church of Saintland's education division. One thing that Prince Andreas had discovered, as an adult, was that the Church of Saintland schools (which were mandatory for all children who were citizens of Saintland) had a rather insidious way of tracking their students for the benefit of educators, parents and the police. That, of course, was the use of RFID tracking devices in their official uniforms, which were the only clothing that most minors in Saintland were allowed to wear, for rather obvious reasons if you're aware of the existence of the tracking devices. Now, Prince Andreas had decided to use the same method to track the games, which would be presumed to be copies of "Enslave Rule Theriault" by most of their purchasers, in order to catch the criminals trying to smuggle the games out of the country and, likely, into the Free Republics.

It did not take long for a shipment of RFID devices to be delivered to the RCES offices. Since it was an urgent delivery for a member of the Royal Family, the St. Petrus police did the transportation, using a police vehicle. Soon, Prince Andreas had adjusted the machine at the RCES offices that produced software cases to produce special cases for the Sister Polus game with RFIDs embedded inside. It was not that difficult of a task and Prince Andreas had been well-educated in that area at the elite Church of Saintland school that he had attended (believe it or not, the Church of Saintland's schools did not all have the same curriculum). After he had adjusted the machine appropriately, Prince Andreas returned to the palace to get some sleep. He would be captaining the National Team against West Carpathia on the following day. He hoped that his theory was right. If it was, then the smugglers would likely be caught on their way out of the Kingdom sometime during the following week. Prince Andreas decided that he would encourage his brother to come down especially hard on the smugglers responsible for this, if they were ever caught. They had just jeopardized the Kingdom's relations with the Free Republics and that was absolutely unacceptable.

by **Greater Watford** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:17 am

Unconvincing win for Greater Watford

Joey McMahon
Agaisnt Lolloh, the Hornets could only muster a 1 goal win, which leaves them near the bottom of the group. The Hornets fans will be hoping to see better things, as they face Taeshan in their next game. Without an improvement, a high scoring defeat looks likely.

In the opening minutes, Greater Watford faced a surprise attacking display from Lolloh. For the Hornets, the defence was more resilient, with Hannon making his debut in goal. Tilder did a good job backtracking to counter the threat in the centre, and Razdeski showed a sternness at the left-back position, with Gregor on the bench.

The first real opportunity came in the 26th minute. Mannetti had 1 defender to beat, but he squared the ball to Peréz. Peréz didn't set his foot right, and an ambitious shot flew way over the bar. The attacking link-up didn't work this time, and more opportunities would be needed to break the deadlock. It was broken in the 33rd minute, when Revson received the ball in the box, and was able to knock the ball down and shoot before Lolloh could close him down. 1-0 it was, and it remained that way at half time.

Unfortunately for the fans, the second half proved less entertaining. Lolloh struggled to create opportunities, and the Hornets had limited width. Playing down the centre, Harris tried to create opportunity, but he wasn't at his best. Ragen and Revson were proving useful, but the finishing was poor.

In the 83rd minute, Kevan Sproull was given the opportunity to make his debut, but it proved little more than a token appearance. In the end, the whistle sounded to end the game at 1-0, which was probably a relief to all the fans. Still, a win is a win, and maybe Greater Watford need to look at the positives.

Lucy Mayfold

Jonny Gregor, at just 21, is one of the new generation of footballers that Greater Watford will look to. With pace, a not so common trait in defenders, he can prove to be the effective wing back in de Rosso's new formation. Gregor was born in Bricket Wood, and became a footballer through their youth academy. He made his debut at 18, during Season 1 for the GW League. Depsite his youth, he worked his way into the first team, helping Bricket Wood in the Super League. Recently, he announced a transfer to Watford FC, starting from Season 4.

Jonny Gregor's main attirbutes are pace and positioning. With this, he can place himself in more advanced positions that other full bakcs can't do. He limits room down the right-flank for the opposing wing, and of course can kick-start attacks for the home team. Gregor is a left footed player, hence why he commonly plays on the left-wing. He could potentially be used further up the field as a left midfielder, however this option looks unlikely to be exercised by de Rosso, in the international setup. Gregor has less of a private life to speak of, given his relative youth, but the hustle and bustle of the capital should suit a young man like him.

by **The United Kingdoms of Zackalantis** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:36 am

THE CAIR PARAVEL SPORTS NEWS
MASCOTS GET INTO A SCUFFLE

The zach ministry of sports is out choosing a mascot for the football team. Citizens arrived at the stadium in various costumes from the infamous ‘green turtle' to a sunflower to an aged wizard in flowing robes.
They were given a seperate stand and drawing the most attention was Schezeen Fazulbhoy in a green turtle costume and Lillian Adrovski in a whale costume.
After the UKZ captain Keith Pereira shot a goal to equalise the score against Fnaticka, Schezeen did a high jump and kicked Lillian.
This started a battle between the two but a gingerbread man seemed unfazed by the chaos and commotion to his right he continued to do a jig.
Stadium authorities had to seperate them and bring calm. Both Lillian and Schezeen are banned for 1 month from the Cair Paravel Football Stadium.

About the selection of the mascot, the ministry of sports has not said a word.

Follow the UKZ for live Twitter updates. @Zackalantis (OOC:it's a real account on twitter, can't post a link cause I'm typing this from my cell)

by **McKleigh** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:37 am

McKleighvians petition to end WC69 today!

McKleighvians are excited as never before about soccer! After two days of qualifying matches the Gingers have scored 10 goals, more than any other nation participating in WC69. For the second day in a row we are also tied with only one other nation for largest goal differential. Yesterday we and Hutt River both showed a GD of +5, today we and the Archregimancy both have a GD of +7. While this can change easily in one match, being at the top in these catagories is a feat the nation is taking great pride in, especially considering McKleigh is a defensive focused squad.

One however must take into account who our opponants have been. Matchday one we travelled to play Fancilie, ranked 358, and won 5-0. Yesterday we travelled once again and defeated Atanatos 5-3. Today, however, we will have a tougher challenge as Neu Engollon comes to our house to play. They are ranked 43 and we are only ranked 103. However McKleigh has shown in WC68 and Runner Cup 2 that they are more than capable of pulling off the upset.

Some notes from last night. McKleigh got an early lead with a goal by Deron McSands at '18. But Atanatos was very focused on guarding stars MacGrough and McNeil and so by half McKleigh was down 3-1. Manager Bruce then did the unthinkable and made two huge halftime substitutions. MF Wallace O'Ryan and DF Isaac McGomery came in for the star forwards and McKleigh employed a 5-4-1 formation. Somehow it worked. Atanatos went 45 minutes without a score and McKleigh managed goals off corner kicks at '55, '67 by Fouiti Blangalamala and '77 by Taran McIntyre. At the '86 mark Charles O'Branche who many think would be better at FW scored off an amazing cross from Deron McSands. Fouiti Blangalamala also recieved a yellow at '70 after things started to become less than chap like after his second goal tied the game. The slightly larger Mafluiga Jiopuitipo came in for him and the unchappy behavior ceased.

by **Saugeais** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 10:49 am

GAME 2: Saddle Sore
2-1 LOSS to Shadowbourne

Clearly the 4-2-3-1 tactic didn't work.

With Amable Deniau out, I thought a single high striker would do the trick, with substitute Josué Herbert sitting in a attacking center mid (a position he's not too familiar with). That proved disastrous, as within the first 15 minutes of the match Shadowbourne were already up 2-0 and our offense barely had any time to get going, recording just one shot. Panicking, I set the sliders to a more counter-attacking style of play, dropping the back line deeper, asking the boys to hold on to the ball and work it into the box, hoping it would create some chances. It did to some degree, but not at the rate I had hoped; we were still getting out-shot 3 to 1

Only in the 79th minute did we manage to get one back against the Shadowbourne defense. With passing that Saugeais' early game wished it could have back, Alphonse Richelieu off the ball managed to cut inside and receive a pass from D'Aramitz. The first touch was to steady the ball, but his second was a strike right past the keeper to cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, the offense didn't muster up many more chances after that, and the Knights suffer their first defeat this campaign.

Ayscos is up next for us, and I think going back to the 4-2-4 would be ideal here. Maybe Herbert up in front as one of the main targets the midfield can pick out would be a blessing. And against such an unknown opponent, well, we can only hope that it goes well.

by **Camerania** » Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:15 am

Burgundy City Times

Camerania falls to Equestrian States, Falcus.

Camerania's first two World Cup qualifying matches ended in defeat, the first match against Equestrian States was lost by one goal, and the match against Falcus was lost by three. These first matches are a potentially bad omen for a team that hasn't competed for five cycles, showing that it may take a few more to find success and get back into a rhythm. The team is hoping to prove that they've got what it takes to make this a successful return to the World Cup, and many say they are willing to play harder than ever before to make it a good run. While it seems unlikely that the team will qualify, fans are still very glad to see Camerania playing football internationally once again.

World Cup 69 RP Thread

Lonely Multiverse: History I

MASCOT BEATDOWN

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