Under-15 World Cup 9 | Everything Thread

[Walkany]

The Wandelaar Times
International Football: U-15 World Cup Nine

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In Julius Van Andringa's first official game in charge of the U-15 Gators, they came away with a three-nil win. The fast paced attacks were surely a copy of his high school team's play style that has earned them numerous trophies in recent years. The highly decorated coach will be proud of how hard his team worked for the win, especially after being denied an obvious penalty decision in the first half. Luis Mettal, the first and seemingly least likely goal scorer, showed how they do it in the Cosmos as he was able to harass the Quebec defense with his speed all night long. The center forward was crucial to the win, but not the only piece played by Van Andringa. Alexandro Pedro was another unique key to unlocking the first three points of the tournament. He displayed excellent touch and control allowing him to dribble and pass his way through the opposing team's defense to several goal scoring chances. Although he did not score one of the three goals, the psychological effect he had on the Quebec defense was obvious. The Lorentz twins made for one of the most interesting partners seen in Walkany history. At times it almost seemed as if they had one mind. Their positioning was perfect, creating a strong presence in the midfield that not only stopped dangerous Quebec attacks, but also allowed one of the twins, Hector Lorentz, to score the second goal of the night. As everyone thought the game was coming to a close a free kick was awarded to the Gators from forty yards out from the goal. Patya Van Daalen, the center back that has seemed to hit his growth spurt early, muscled his way through the crowded box to head home the final goal of the night, completing a superb showing from the impressive yet young team. Here is Van Andringa's post match interview.

Reporter: This is a fantastic start to what will surely be a strong tournament for your team. What were your thoughts coming into the game and how have they changed now?

"My staff and I all agreed coming into the game that we would go as far as possible. Youth have always done exceptionally well in our country and it was no different here. Personally, I would have been satisfied with a one goal win or even a goalless draw, but this is such a confidence booster for them. Because they are kids, they're attitudes change quickly and it is very difficult to keep confidence high, so when a game like this comes along we really want to encourage them. I think now we will be expected to win again, but the staff and I don't think it so necessary to pressure the players so much right now."

Reporter: Luis Mettal is only a semi-professional footballer. Why pick him over Misa Rodriguez who has been a part of the National Walkany Youth Academy all his life?

"Because of performances like today. He was simply incredible! When you have a player this determined to succeed, you know they will do whatever it takes. Luis gave everything he had which is what every coach looks for in their best players. Misa is very skilled, but lacks the same drive to win. They both surely have long careers ahead of them, though Misa could learn a thing or two from Luis."

Reporter: Some have suggested that you could become a replacement for the vacant senior team position. Would you take it if it was offered?

"If they make a contract offer, my newly acquired agent and I will take a look. For now, I will continue doing this job as best I can and then return to my high school team."

Stay tuned for the next installment of U-15 World Cup Nine!

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[Kirisaki]

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U15WC - Kirisaki 5-2 Farfadillis
A trio of thoughts on today's game

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The first matchday of the U15WC in Schottia went according to plan for rookie manager Kagami Ikeda and her players, as the juniors slipped into cruise mode en route to an empathic 5-2 victory against a Farfadillis side that never really managed to get to grips with their opponents. Here are three thoughts on the game from our expert panel.

Ikeda follows the Shirakiin blueprint

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Kagami Ikeda might not have been in the job for too long, but she has clearly been astute enough to realise that the adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' holds true with the Kirisaki U15s. Speculation had been rife regarding the style of play the young manager would set out to implement, especially given that Shirazaka's U21s had weaned themselves off the fluid attacking style of Shirakiin's days with great success, but Ikeda's teamsheet for the opening matchday showed, very clearly, her intent to replicate Shirakiin's winning formula.

Dispensing with a defensive midfielder, Ikeda set her team out to attack right from the very start. The inclusion of the midfield axis of Karuizawa and Amami, both attacking minded central midfielders who often push high up the field in support of the attack, was Ikeda's answer to the senior team's Ishibashi and Saten. Against a relatively pedestrian Farfadillis side at Ashley Road, the pair were able to indulge their attacking instincts; playing just behind Saki Funabashi to great effect. As a result of their presence deep within the opposition half, Kirisakian players regularly outnumbered their Farf counterparts and outplayed them in the manner of their more accomplished seniors, while managing to avoid overcrowding the opposition third with some good positional play. One fluid passing move early on in the first half was particularly reminiscent of the passing interchanges we've come to expect from Shirakiin's well drilled senior team. Latching onto a loose ball from a rare Farf attack, Karuizawa quickly slid a through ball down the flank to Habane, who in turn dipped a shoulder to evade a covering defender and cut the ball back to the supporting Funabashi. From her starting position in the left hand channel, Funabashi flighted in a through ball to Ayano Shiranami, creating a clear cut chance from which Shiranami hit the post with a well struck effort.

Although this crop of players are, obviously, nowhere near the level of the senior team, Ikeda's style should set them up well for a future crack at Shirakiin's roster in the future. Midfielders Karuizawa and Funabashi, as well as the sleek attacking fullback Natsumi, look to be natural fits for Shirakiin's system, while Tama Mitsumine could well offer a different option up front in the future. An impressive attacking performance in the next match against California Alma, followed by further consistent showings against their U15 counterparts, should make Shirakiin sit up and take notice.

Defensive porosity rears its head once again

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Emulating Shirakiin's style of play is all well and good, but it does come with a certain tradeoff - you sacrifice defensive solidity for exuberant attacking play. Shirakiin's teams have always been able to overcome this particular deficiency by being tactically and positionally aware of their opponents, and consequently they have rarely suffered from defensive meltdowns. Not so the case for the U15s against Farfadillis; up against attacking minded opponents, the Kirisakian defensive line were on a couple of occasions found wanting.

The most eye-catching example of this was a Farfadillis attack from which they could have easily scored in the fifth minute. Kirisaki, who had by then already taken the lead with an excellent team move finished off by Karuizawa, were looking to attack down the left flank. With Natsumi on the overlap and Habane cutting infield with the ball, the duo left acres of space free between them. When the ball broke free from a Farf tackle, both players were so far out of position that they had next to no hope of tracking down the Farf player in possession. On that occasion Tsukasa saved their bacon with a desperate sliding tackle to eliminate the danger, but the incident very much exemplified the tactical naivety of several Kirisaki players.

Later in the second half, as Farfadillis were searching for a way to claw themselves back into the game, Amami played a loose pass right to a Farf player, putting her teammates on the back foot. Tsukasa and Sasahara, seemingly unaware of each others' presence, both scrambled to close down the individual in possession, but both were taken out of the equation with a cute pass through to an onrushing Farf midfielder, who, sent clean through on goal, handily beat Midorii with a cracking effort. Ikeda should take note; in this particular match, her high-octane attack adequately compensated for her frail defence. But will that be the case when Kirisaki are pitted against more accomplished opponents in the latter stages of the tournament?

Ikeda's U15 forwards are a talented bunch

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Stop us if you've heard this one before, but Kirisaki's U15 team have just produced another set of forwards who have the potential to become world-class players in the future. Following in the footsteps of Mika Isshiki, Kaori Uryuu, Miki Kurugaya and Kirara Steiner, the attacking trio set out by Ikeda today played a fantastic game in earning their first U15 caps, fully justifying their call-ups to the team ahead of other players in the U15 programme.

Nagisa Habane, Ayano Shiranami and Tama Mitsumine all caught the eye with impressive individual performances against Farfadillis, all three players managing to register their first goals for the U15s with well taken efforts. Shiranami put Ikeda's team into a 2-0 lead on the stroke of the half hour, when a delightfully weighted pass from Kisaragi down the right put her one-on-one with the 'keeper, and she duly stroked the ball low into the bottom corner with the outside of her foot. Habane, who had been dangerous throughout the match, scored in the fifty-sixth minute - curling a twenty-yard free kick beyond the 'keeper's reach with outstanding technique. She also registered an assist for Natsumi's late goal with a delicate chipped pass into the path of the rampaging fullback, who smashed the ball past a motionless Farf 'keeper.

Mitsumine was lively throughout, always attempting to take control of proceedings and make things happen, and she could have had a hat trick were it not for some desperate, last ditch Farf defending. Playing slightly deeper than is customary for a Kirisakian forward, she served as the major outlet for Kirisaki's attacks, dropping deep to receive the ball and initiate attacking moves. Her effort was rewarded as the game wound down to its conclusion - picking up a clearance from Midorii, she played a quick one-two with Funabashi and swung the ball out wide to Kisaragi, whose powerfully drilled cross ricocheted off the shin of a defender and ended up at Mitsumine's feet right at the edge of the six yard box. Evading the attempted tackles of the Farf defenders, Mitsumine sorted her feet out and struck the ball cleanly, blasting her shot high into the net.

Kirisaki's youth programmes are well known for producing assembly lines of talented attackers, but Ikeda's attacking trio today showed a lot of promise. If they keep up their performance levels throughout this edition of the U15WC, they won't be playing for the U15s much longer.

[Chromatika]

0-0.

It may not be the most glorious thing to ever see on a scoreboard at the end of over and hour and a half of sweat, bruises, and exertion, but Whitney Kelly was not unhappy about that. Sure, Northern Sunrise Islands and Abanhfleft had won their matches and were second and first in the group after one game, but this match was not about winning for the Anomalies Juniors. Instead, it was opportunity for her to see how they would all play together.

Manager Van Piersce seemed to have drawn the same conclusion. She wasn't disappointed nor angry, instead she challenged the team to use the match as a stepping stone for bigger and better things ahead. The points made by Van Piersce were easy for Whitney to agree with, and she liked that.

Like the fact that Mia Ria played like the phenom hype that she was, stopping all shots put on her way. Or that Valence, playing like her much older cousin, guarded her man religiously, almost as if she was a robot. Nicole and Lina-Maria also contributed, while Pauline's skills with pushing the ball up field was very much needed. For coming from a family of the arguably best goalkeeper in the land, Molly really knew how to read the field, and Ga-yeong and Amelia appeared to have had a lot of time playing together in the past - which made sense since they both came from the heralded Triple C High School, Chromatik City Capitol High School in the heart of the nation.

Rowena and George had had their opportunities as well, and Whitney couldn't fault the fact that the opposing goalkeeper had made some great saves. She herself had run around like a madman, making a defense here, getting a pass forward there, so honestly she couldn't fault anyone or anything for the tie. What that meant, though, was that this game was the figuring-out-game, meaning that the next one would matter more. Could her teammates and she figure out how to incorporate what they learned this day and use it to propel themselves forward? That was what would matter. There being four more matches left, there were plenty of points left on the board, and she meant to take every last one of them that she possibly could.

There was a text on her phone after the match, which had been televised via the national website. It was from a certain M. Kelly, currently in Kionao, Turori. It read:

"Great game! Proud of you little sis. Keep on going, don't look back. M"

Whitney smiled. The sun was shining, there was a gentle breeze in the air, and there was a lot more ball left to be played. She couldn't be happier. This was the life of a football loving teenager.

[Abanhfleft]

Keeping Secrets, Part Three

Meskitah Central Stadium
Meskitah, Red Blackiland
Abanhfleft v Banija
Cup of Harmony 66 match

The sweat poured down the inside of the plastic mask that Alex Rousseau had been forced to wear following her collision of heads with Matthewsiania's Silvana Overmars. That had to have been one of the strangest matches which Alex had ever played in her footballing career. She was pretty sure that poor Silvana had only wanted to defend the corner, not deliberately smash the back of her head into the bridge of Alex's nose, but the ref saw it that way and gave her a booking. Alex couldn't even remember clearly why she had decided to keep playing after the trainers had told her that there might be the possibility of a concussion or a hairline fracture, but then again she was the kind of player to play through pain if she could still stand it.

Still, it sucked to have to play with a mask to protect her nose and cheek bones, especially since the "mask" was just a thin piece of stiff black plastic that looked like it could snap if she so much as looked at it the wrong way. Thankfully for her, so far Banija had played it safe, not getting too physical with the Fleftics, mostly because they were already eliminated at this stage of the tournament and were only playing Abanhfleft because it was on the schedule, and they didn't want to be picking up needless yellow cards.

So far things were going well for Abanhfleft, but things could honestly be going better. Fleftic players had failed to score in the last two games, and they won the game against Matthewsiania only because of a very fortuitous--for them anyway--own goal. Today, Sonny Torres had finally found the back of the net, but before that they had struck the posts and crossbar just about every time they steered an effort towards goal. The fans thought that bringing in new management in the form of Armeia's Holly Jonasson would finally get Abahfleft's star players back on track and shooting at the target once again, and for the last half of the World Cup 74 qualifiers, it seemed to be working. But then there was a break of about two, three months between the last qualifying game and the beginning of the Cup of Harmony, and it seemed as if the Jonasson magic had worn off. Every shot they flung at that makeshift Armeian side found only the woodwork, and then Karen Villegas managed to get the ball, only for an Armeian player to steal it back almost immediately. The Fleftic defense was caught unawares, and Alex could only watch from the bench as young Quinn Votto streaked past the defense, and Dana Valentine attempted a sliding tackle a little too early, and Votto just jumped over Dana and stroked the ball past Vicky Carter.

Fleftic fans were familiar with this kind of situation before. It had happened to them oh so many times that they could hardly be bothered to count them. At least they got the three points against Matthewsiania, but it was far from their best performance. They needed a win against Banija to progress even through just the second spot, and they almost couldn't care whether Armeia or Matthewsiania won.

1-0 was the most dangerous lead to have, second only probably to a 2-0 lead, as Alex was most painfully aware. Two seasons ago, Rosenpfelblatz had gone 2-0 up against their Mezaladbyi rivals, Ludogorets Markovsky, who were also chasing the Ladies' Premier League title. Going 2-0 up against their rivals before half-time wasn't the best thing for their mentality, mostly because it made them think that the game was now over and all they had do was defend. Sure, they could have played it like that, but Markovsky were tenacious, and eventually they pulled level and even got the lead. Of course, then it was Rosenpfelblatz who switched on and scored two in quick succession to get them back the lead, but then Isa Tangemen tripped Raisa Korovina in the box, and the ref decided that it was enough contact for a penalty. Korovina, already a club legend in Markovsky, cemented her place among the Foresters' greatest by slotting home the penalty and giving the title to Markovsky.

The ref's whistle brought Alex's mind back to the game as a foul was called on Banija's John Katumba, resulting in an indirect free kick for Abanhfleft. Alex used the opportunity to lift up her mask and wipe away the sweat. She couldn't feel any pain while wiping herself clean, so she thought that the mask was just some kind of precautionary measure from the medical staff. Then again, they were the doctors, not she, so obviously they knew a helluva lot more about the human body than she did.

The referee blew his whistle to signal that they could now take the indirect free kick. She heard the impact of the foot on the ball, and Alex ran up the pitch. Through her peripheral vision, she could see Addie Singh running up the left flank before making a short pass to Sonny Torres. Alex could feel the presence of one of the Banijan defenders trailing her, and she tried to find a spot inside the box where she could hopefully shoot the ball into the net.

Recently, Alex had transitioned from a striker who can make her own chances into a sort of poacher. She knew that it was due to Jonasson's new tactics for the team, but she wasn't sure if her condition was also a part of the reason why she had been put in this new role. As of now, the experiment was currently hit-and-miss: sometimes Alex would score at will from this kind of position, while other times she was as effective as a one-legged lumberjack inside the box. For Alex, it was just par for the course; she was still getting used to it, after all.

A lot of things were going on right now. Alex could see Sonny up against another Banijan player, and she had begun working her fancy footwork skills on the guy. The defender, Dombo, was rooted to the spot, unsure about which way Sonny was planning to go. Dombo finally made his choice and went to his right, which turned out to be a very big mistake for him as Torres went to her right, which was Dombo's left, which meant that she now had a clear path towards the center of the box. Sonny took another small step, and then she chipped the ball right towards Alex.

Showtime, she thought, and her legs moved, almost by reflex. Alex's eyes were focused solely on the ball, and as her vision began to tunnel, she barely paid heed to the Banijan that lifted up his leg in an attempt to block the ball's path towards her. The ball cleared the defender's leg by just about a centimeter, and now all Alex had to do was to wait patiently for the ball to fall just right for her. Her left leg lifted up from the ground in an attempt to strike the ball on the volley. She felt her foot make contact with the ball, and she aimed the ball as much as possible at the goalie's right post. The ball finally left her foot, and she watched as it flew right where she had aimed it. The goalie stretched himself out and tried to get a hand on the ball, but the touch that he got wasn't enough to push the ball away from the goal, and it hide the inside of the net before bouncing towards the back.

The roar from the Fleftic section of the crowd was loud. There was a sense of relief attached to all of it too: finally, the team could score more than one goal again. Alex couldn't even remember how she celebrated her goal, just that she ran towards the corner and then found herself mobbed by her teammates. It was just like any ordinary goal celebration. Little did she know that it was just the beginning of the return of the free-scoring Abanhfleft side of old.

Some minutes had passed by, and now Alex was beginning to feel the first signs of her "condition-related tiredness", as she preferred to call it. She trotted over to the side of the pitch where the dugouts and bench were located as soon as there was a break in the play and said so. "Don't go pushing yourself too hard," Ranulph Bustamante, the national team's assistant manager who became the head manager for a brief couple of months after the resignation of Kasper Molak and before the announcement of the signing of Holly Jonasson, told Alex. "You did well with your goal. Don't worry about it, the team will win this game, whatever it takes."

Once play restarted, Alex found herself loitering around the outside of the box once again. Banijan players had crowded the inside of the box, and Alex wasn't in the mood to get jostled around like a seed in a fruit shake. Suddenly, there was a big scramble inside the box, and it appeared that someone had made a cross into the box, hoping to find the head of a Fleftic player. If Alex was a betting girl then she would have put her money on either Addie Singh or Lilly Prescott making the cross.

Somehow the ball found its way out of the box and into the feet of Chelsea Stuart. She kept the ball at her feet, faked a run against the defender, who bit the bait before recovering quickly to his original position, but that moment of hesitation from the defender was enough for Chelsea to kick the ball forward, and Alex was there in the space that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the box. Three Banijan players tried to close in upon her, but Alex was in her groove; there was no stopping her now. With a sweeping motion, her right foot struck the ball, and the ball flew up against the goalkeeper's hands and towards the roof of the net.

If it was possible, the Fleftic fans' cheers for this second goal was even louder than when they cheered for the first goal. This time, Alex was well aware of the celebration that she was going to do: she spread her arms out, ran to the corner flag where some of the ultras and the loudest fans were making noise and then took off her mask. She could already feel an odd heat rising up on her cheeks and nose, and she knew that the rash was beginning to appear and that she would really need to get subbed off soon or else she could collapse on the pitch once again, but she didn't care. The butterfly rash that she knew was on her face might as well be a badge of honor for her. She was a lupus survivor, dammit, and she was still playing like the best in the multiverse.

Of course, the image of Alex Rousseau showing off her butterfly rash would make the news, but otherwise, it was just a side item in the news that Abanhfleft won against Banija. Poor Banija.

Just before play restarted, Sofie Dolan, the only player on the team that Holly Jonasson was very familiar with because she played for Jonasson's team in Armeia, came on for Alex. The team doctor gave Alex her current course of meds in the locker room, and then she went back into the dugout just in time to see a Banijan player accidentally steer the ball into the back of his own goal while trying to defend one of Lilly Prescott's crosses.

"He's one of our own, he's one of our ooooooown, Zack Georgiadis, he's one of our own," some of the fans chanted. Alex looked and saw that most of them were Riuwiee United fans. She distantly remembered that some Banijan had been signed by United, and he had helped turn their season around. Isaac Georgiadis was his name, she remembered. She didn't know if his nickname was Zack, or if Georgiadis did indeed have a nickname, for himself or amongst the fans, but sometimes fans had to fit players' names into their chants...

The game ended 5-0 to the Lady Revolutionaries, Sofie Dolan scoring the game's final goal just six minutes from time because of course she would. Banija had already been eliminated before they came to play Abanhfleft, but they played like their qualification still depended on the result. At least for the first forty minutes of the game or so. After that, they just fell apart. As the players from both nations exchanged handshakes and slapped a few backs, Ranulph Bustamante walked into the crowd of players and said, "Armeia got beaten by Matthewsiania. We got top spot. We're through to the round of 16!"

This got a lot of cheers from the Fleftics, and the Banijans once again repeated their congratulations to the ladies. Holly Jonasson was happy, but she had reservations, which were understandable. The team that she was managing had qualified to the round of 16, but the team that she had wanted to manage, and the team of the country of her birth, had not made it through despite being on top of the group coming into this matchday. Nevertheless, Jonasson joined the team as they went on a victory lap around the stadium, clapping along with the Fleftic fans who were still in the stadium once news of their qualification had filtered down to them.

Things then got a little out of hand, and Alex found herself being lifted up by her teammates on her shoulders. God knows what she'd done to deserve this kind of treatment; she'd only scored two goals that won them qualification. If they wanted to be celebrating her, then they should wait until they made it as far as the semifinals.

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The team was now back in the bus, which was taking them back to the hotel where they were staying. Alex was seated in a window seat, beside her teammate from Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies, Karen Villegas. Karen was one of those players who looked too short to even be playing football, either for a club or the national team. But despite her being height-challenged, she managed to get past that to become one of the best young prospects in the sport today.

Right now, Karen was doing what any other regular 22-year-old girl would be doing while riding a bus: browsing Facebook, Twitter and occasionally, YouTube. Sometimes, Karen would giggle at something that she found funny, or else hold back a laugh and almost failing to do so. Then Karen finally laughed out loud, without any attempt to be lady-like anymore. Alex sighed, shook her head, and turned to Karen and asked her, "All right, what is it now that you find absolutely gutbustingly funny?"

"I'm sorry, Alex," Karen said between laughs. "I'm just watching cats get scared by cucumbers. It's the shit! It's just so funny and hilarious..."

"I'm sure it is," Alex said, trying very hard not to succumb to the temptation of rubbing the rash on her face.

"Yeah, it's just like the time Raisa got drunk enough that we got her to sing "Let It Go", or that time when Bella went all Pitch Perfect and acapella'd her way through an entire playlist. Oh, wait, hang on. I've got something saved just for you."

"Oh, I wonder what it is," Alex muttered out loud, remembering that Karen had a tendency to share all the videos she found that she thought were very funny.

The video appeared to be serious, at least at the start. It was in some kind of bar, and a lone microphone standing in the middle of the stage. A tattooed girl stepped up to the mike, and it took Alex a moment to realize that it was Isa Tangemen. Isa started to speak into the microphone, but Alex couldn't hear anything. "Where's the audio?" she asked.

"Oh, shit, I forgot," Karen said, and she took one of her earphone buds out of her ear and handed it to Alex, who reluctantly took it, wiped it down with her fingers and then put it into her own ear. From what she could understand from the scratchy audio, Isa was letting out about her feelings, her relationships, and how she thought that all these women in her life were The One. Isa mentioned in her monologue at least three women into her life which she thought was The One, including someone whom she met when she was playing abroad, meaning Abanhfleft. Obviously, it had to be someone in Rosenpfelblatz, but who? Alex found herself wanting to find out who exactly was Isa talking about.

"Who do you think she likes in Rosen?" Alex said to Karen. "Ten penenks says it's you. You're the one who's always chatting her up."

"Ssh!" Karen said. "Just wait for the end!"

"I just want to say, I miss you, Katarina, and I almost miss you just as much... Alex."

"No," Alex said.

"Yeah," Karen said back.

"No way. Isa has a crush on me? Nah, that's crazy! She's making it all up!" But even as Alex said it, it was like puzzle pieces that she didn't know she had were falling into place. The way Isa had looked at her when she was suiting up for the Community Shield had been... weird, like the Armeian keeper was admiring every curve and dip in Alex's body. The only other person Alex could remember looking at her like that was her boyfriend, Leo Baxter. And then there was the time that Isa had stayed at the hospital where Alex had been confined after her lupus flare-up and the concern that was practically oozing out of her pores as she was reminded once again of a great tragedy in her life. And to think that it was happening to the woman that Isa had begun thinking of as The One...

"We all have secrets to hide," Alex found herself muttering.

---

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

UNDER-15 WORLD CUP 9: SAN JOSE GUAYABAL VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Elbert Judd and Sonny William celebrate Judd's goal against San Jose Guayabal. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

SOESSCH, SCHOTTIA - Abanhfleft scored two goals on both sides of half-time to give the under-15 team their first ever victory in international football against a lacklustre San Jose Guayabal side.

Elbert Judd's powerful header from Claudia Roos's corner gave Abanhfleft the lead just a minute before half-time, and swift counterattacking play allowed the provider to turn goalscorer as Roos did well to chase the ball after fellow winger Vanessa Massingale had lost the ball in transit, rifling her shot into the bottom left corner.

Rashad Dammam's side looked lively throughout the game, and could have won the game more convincingly were it not for a combination of poor finishing and great goalkeeping from the opponents.

But the Guayabalenses actually had the first chance to open the scoring in the game, as one of their forwards let loose a curling shot that took all of Elene Liner's dexterity, and then some, to tip over the bar.

Yet after this initial display of dominance, it was Abanhfleft who settled into the game and began dictating its rhythm and tempo as the Fleftic youngsters, who were playing together in an internationally recognized competition for the first time, began to gel into one cohesive unit.

Abanhfleft bombarded the goal with shots, and Judd almost had the first goal of the game were it not for the left post denying him in the 13th minute.

The pressure finally paid off for the young Fleftics as a Guayabalense clearance gifted them a corner, and Roos angled the corner perfectly for Judd to nod it into the middle of the net after getting away from his marker.

Abanhfleft did not let up on the pressure after half-time, and they were once again rewarded with another goal, this time from some impressive counter-attacking play that involved a series of one-touch passes between the midfield, the wings, and the attack, and while the move was almost interrupted by Massingale tripping over the ball and losing it, Roos was quicker than the Guayabalense defenders to react to the situation, and the winger from Dinamo Bender's academy made a dash before rifling the ball into the bottom corner.

This is Rashad Dammam's first victory, both as a manager and as manager of the under-15s. The Oontaznik manager had played for a number of clubs within Abanhfleft's sphere of influence such as Duhblakk Rovers, Imperial Markovsky, Rosenpfelblatz City, Arsenal de Releinthi, Dinamo Bender, and Gryphons Nubalochi, ending his career at his hometown club before making the move to management. He will be very happy to have seen this performance from his youngsters.


Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: Win great confidence booster for young team

Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: "This win is a very great confidence booster for the youngsters and the team. It means that they can go up against the young players of one of the best nations in the world and defeat them fair and square.

"The confidence is good, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and not let our heads get to the clouds. This is just one game. Let us take it one game at a time. Victory is not always assured. We must play every game like we are on the verge of qualifying, and not treat any opponent lightly."

SAN JOSE GUAYABAL 0 - 2 ABANHFLEFT
                        JUDD (44')
                        ROOS (48')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Liner
RB: 02 Augustyn
RCB: 03 William
LCB: 04 Baum
LB: 05 Riddles (Tatum - 75')
RCM: 07 Kleist █ (Vaquera - 61')
LCM: 06 Segovia
RW: 08 Massingale
CAM: 11 Pratt
LW: 10 Roos
ST: 09 Judd

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
San Jose Guayabal: 48%
Abanhfleft: 52%
Shots
San Jose Guayabal: 11 (2 on target)
Abanhfleft: 9 (5 on target)
Corners
San Jose Guayabal: 5
Abanhfleft: 3
Fouls
San Jose Guayabal: 4
Abanhfleft: 10

[Schottia]

'I was just like: Fuck you bitch. Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?' Claire Hanson closed her eyes in despair, regretting with every fibre of her being, that she had asked Corinne Martel-Burns why she had been booted out Handon United.

'I told him.' The foul-mouthed teenager continued. 'You know Jansberg only got good once you left.' She looked round at Claire for agreement, but the 27-year-old physio was pretending to busy herself with her charts. 'I mean, god! He's from freakin' Semarland; what have those losers ever done? Huh? Name one thing they have won in football that anyone actually gives a shit about.'

'Okay young lady, looks like you are in tip-top shape.' Claire hadn't quite finished the examination, but she really didn't what to here any more about Corinne's old manager, Carl Sorensen. The rest of the details on the sheet she could fill in later, when she didn't have to listen Corinne's irrational and disparaging remarks. 'What are you doing to keep fit these days?' She added, as the young player remained sitting on the table, fiddling disinterestedly with a lock of her short raven hair. 'What kind of facilities do they have at Kirk Preston United?'

Corinne raised an eyebrow and glanced at Claire out the corner of her eye; it was a look that could almost be read as condescending. 'You're like, kidding, aren't you Claire?' The physio wasn't sure if she liked, Claire, but she didn't rise to it. 'Their idea of a changing room is like this cube of cracked and broken tiles which reeks of piss - where only two out of ten showers work. We train behind the local high school. And one day last winter a match was delayed by twenty minutes because a seagull flew into one of the kiosk. Do I need to go on..?'

Claire made a face to indicate that she accepted Corinne's point. She guessed that the young player had probably only ever trained on the best pitches, using the top equipment money could buy. Handon United had the best facilities in the country, and Sorensen, whom she was so quick to belittle, had an extremely qualified back room staff, which Corinne had no doubt benefited from. It must have been some culture shock for her, heading down the B7 to Kirk Preston, playing on the potato-fields in the Schottic second tier.

'Anyhoo.' Corinne nonchalantly slid from the physio's table. 'As my agent said, it's just for a season or so until a big offer comes in from overseas, and I can get out of this hellhole!' She rolled her eyes. 'The Schottic League is like a freakin' retirement home for players who were never good to start with.'

This comment kind of annoyed Claire, but her main concern right now was getting the player out of her office. She somehow had this air of superiority about her, and a confidence Claire would have never had at fifteen. Everything, from her stupid lopsided haircut, to her annoying Scots-Korean accent made Claire want to slap her.

It was easy to see where the confidence had come from. Corinne had been the stand out player in the first match with Abaja. (Although, to be fair, it didn't look like much of an Abajan side had turned up.) It was just really obvious, form where Claire was sat in the dugout, that there was one player on the pitch who moved like a senior professional. Hamish Muir, Corinne's strike partner, was a good young player - and a gentleman too for that mater - but Corinne was just slightly better in every department, and it showed. She was half a metre quicker, her reactions were half a second sharper, she was bit more completive, and way more aggressive. No one of these factors would have made a big difference on its own, but when taking them all into account, the difference between the two players was like night and day.

Corinne had scored two and had a hand in another, during the side's 6-2 win. It was a good start for the hosts, but they knew there would be far harder tests ahead of them. Claire couldn't be happier for the team, even if she begrudged Corinne the success. It appeared to be a pretty good performance from what she could see. Camila Luna had been another youngster who looked like they could play football, and when the little Christopheran born played had time on the ball, she could certainly pick out a pass. She hadn't preformed so well under pressure, but she was fourteen, these things would come in time. It had to be said though, that Abaja hadn't really been at the races, and at points it was a little embarrassing to watch. There was no doubt that a more organised side would not have conceded six goals.

'Well you seem to be managing to stay out of trouble down at Kirk Preston anyway.' Claire added, in way of a parting remark. 'Because you're in pretty good shape given that they don't have much in the way of a fitness programme.'

'And if you think the Schottic PL is bad.' Corinne slung her head back, blatantly ignoring her, and going back to insulting the country which had invested thousands in her training. 'When I'm sitting on the bench watching the games, I sometimes don't know whether to laugh or cry. Watching a bunch of overweight men chase a football aimlessly around the pitch of ninety minutes? No thank you!'

'Right well thanks Corinne...' Claire frowned hard as she showed the teenager to the door. 'If it's not too much trouble could you tell Hamish he is next?'

[Furellum]

Fyodor had to admit, he was quite proud of the 18 players sitting in front of him. There was a lot of distrust amongst the various factions in Furellum still, but these players had come together as a smooth, cohesive whole. The team rivalries, gang rivalries really, had been put aside to compete for Furellum. Of course, the street gangs of Furellum had never been particularly violent. Mostly it was just kids fooling about and beating up anyone who came on to their patch uninvited. Fyodor had seen it all before; he'd been a watchman for many years. The gangs had always been around, although never in this quantity, or this well organised. He'd only seen it really bad once, but then the whole country had been in anarchy. Things were more settled now, thanks to the Collegium Obscura, both the worst and best kept secret in Furellum. Everyone knew there was a shadowy organisation running the country, but no-one knew who they were. As long as they kept things just as they were, few Furelese cared to know either.

There was the flag of course. A double-headed black bird on a red banner. It was not a flag Fyodor liked, having played in the blue, white and green his entire life, but it did give him some ideas. In his time as a watchman he'd come across the black bird symbol a few times, associated with an unknown criminal syndicate. There were rumours and investigations, but nothing ever solid came to light.

Fyodor sighed. He should stop thinking like a cop. He was a football coach now. The team were playing Razari, and while they were completely unknown to everyone he spoke too, that only meant they were an unknown force. Perhaps he should try a few things, test out some of the new players. Debrovescu was one player he was keen to see play, but should he stick with Kuznetsov in goal, or Wolanski. He pulled out his parchment and quill and began to write.

[Savalen]

The Late, Late Sports Show

"Good Evening, and welcome to the Late, Late Sports Show. I am your host, Jeff Morgensson and we have some great highlights from the Kieling Gaelic Football League to show you later, but for now we're going to send you over to Jorvik, who is in Schottia reporting on the U-15's World Cup 9."

"Thanks Jeff. The team looked prepared for their first ever competitive match, and if the score line looks boring at 0-0, you didn't watch the match. Both sides hit the bar three times, including a shot from Razari's star striker which hit both posts before being hacked off the line by Herbertsson on the half-time whistle."

"But I'm not just randomly standing on a football pitch with the famous vineyards of the area surrounding Port James to the left and the steep, ragged cliffs behind me. This is the pitch that the youth team has been drawn to practice on and I'm here with Marvin, the head coach, to ask a few questions. So Marvin, how do you think that went?"

"First of all, I'd like to congratulate the players. Never during my 28 years have I ever seen a 0-0 draw like this. I feel that both sides can count themselves as unlucky. Secondly, whilst their star striker got Man of the Match, I have to congratulate Nongrot. He was absolutely fantastic at both his defensive and offensive duties and was unlucky to hit the bar with a wonderful shot from just outside the box."

"How do you feel after that point, especially since the other matches ended in wins for Cosumar and Furellum?"

"I feel strangely confident, it was a good draw and I think that with a little luck, we could end up second or third, but will have a better understanding after matchday 3. There is still a long way to go."

"On a completely different note, are you happy to have pulled through without any major injuries so far?"

"Of course, there was a point at half-time where I walked down the tunnel with one of their coaches, and during the conversations he said to me: I'm surprised nobody got injured in that last 20 minutes. There were a few dangerous tackles in that game, I'm amazed that nobody got carded, but maybe that's just me."

"Looking forward, what would you say about our next match, against Ethane?"

"I think we're ready. We shall see, I think we will surprise them by going more attacking this time round."

"Thanks Marv. I think that sums up the match perfectly, so back to the studio."

"Cheers Jorvik, I'm here with footballing legend David. You watched the match. How to you feel about the team?"

"I'm usually quite negative, but for once I think they showed what they are capable of. They didn't score - no, but I feel that hitting the bar three times and the post a few more and having a goal disallowed for offside is very unlucky. I have to agree with the manager too, Nongrot played with his heart on his sleeve. This game should insipire the team to play even better in the next match."

"Question from the audience here. Have you ever trained in such beautiful surroundings?"

"Maybe. I have once trained on the top of Mount Tronfjell. That was beautiful, but it was just fitness training, not actual football training. I think the team really have hit the jackpot. It's out of the way of fans, just outside the city on the other side of Port James. It has excellently kept facilities, even if they are a little basic. But do you need anything more for a tournament? No, I don't think so."

"Well good luck to the team, and we have to pause for a break there. When we get back, we will show you all the highlights from yesterday's Gaelic Football action."

The Savalen training facitities at Port James

---

OOC: Style Modifier changed to +1 (if I can do that)

[Semarland]

Semarland 3-2 Greater Vakolicci Haven

Michael Agyemang's side kicked off their U15 Wold Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Greater Vakolicci Haven last night, with goals from Montell Labonne, Kamal Barnes and Djair Cole. Agyemang employed a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, with Jamal Gray between the sticks and a back four of Rees Southgate, Cyril Ansah, Solomso Bhukhwana and Kwame Sakye, protected by FC Jansberg's Mark Sundstrom. Axel Jacobsen and Kamal Barnes were on the wings, whilst Etienne Marshall played behind Montell Labonne and Par Brand - the former playing off the latter just slightly with Brand's tall height used as a target man role. Their opponents employed a basic 4-4-2 formation and they kicked off the match, with both teams at quite a high tempo. Etienne Marshall had the first chance of the game with a rising effort that cracked the bar just three minutes in after the FC Nuholm youngster did well to wiggle past two Vakoliccian players and get a good attempt on goal.

Marshall has already made several domestic U16 appearances this season with his clever passing effective in their vibrant, dynamic style of play. With Kadell Stevens often utilising youngsters such as Admiral Muskwe, Thorsten Luune, Soren Sinde and Marcel Thorbourne in the first team, Marshall and his fellow Nuholm colleague Javan Parfitt-Hendricks, who started on the bench, will hope in the next few years they will get a look in too. It's definitely not impossible, with both players having lots of talent but it is the same for all 23 players in the squad - they must keep working hard. Krsthaven stopper Gray was called into action for the first time five minutes in, diving low to palm away a hard-driven effort by the Vakoliccian left winger, who managed to get the better of Kwame Sakye before cutting into the penalty area.

Defensive midfielder Mark Sundstrom was yellow carded eight minutes in for a typical crunching tackle from the FC Jansberg youngster. Sundstrom's tenacity has certainly gained plenty of praise and has been likened to FC Jansberg academy graduate Karl Nobsen - who is currently one of the first team coaches at the club. It didn't deter him from going in strong though, although his tackles were less risky. Semarland caught their opponents on the back foot fifteen minutes in, when Kangemark Sport winger Kamal Barnes made a searing run down the right hand side before cutting it into the penalty area for FC Jansberg striker Montell Labonne to fire home first time. Labonne had a remarkable 37 goals for their U14 side last season, plus a further 12 for the U15s, which is a statistic that clearly highlights his potential.

But the Vakoliccians were able to catch Semarland by surprise too. Seven minutes after Labonne's striker one of their strikers latched onto a splitting through ball and rounded Jamal Gray to tap home into the empty net, levelling the score. It was end-to-end stuff - Cyril Ansah came close for Semarland moments leader heading over the bar, and just before the break a Vakoliccian central midfielder volleyed over Gray's crossbar. Djair Cole replaced Par Brand for Semarland at half time, with Jonathan Mulumbu also coming on for Kwame Sakye. Eight minutes after the restart Semarland were back in front, this time through Kamal Barnes. Fellow winger Axel Jacobsen of Molsbik Arkjet played a delightful, first-time cross over to Barnes who looped it sweetly over the head of the advancing Vakolicci goalkeeper as it dropped into the back of the net sumptuously.

The game was fairly quiet from that point onwards, with both teams not having as much chances. Vakolicci used all their three changes on 57 minutes whilst three minutes later Semarland made their final one, bringing on Andreas Pedersen for Rees Southgate who may have picked up a slight knock. 83 minutes in Vakolicci equalised once more - this time under more dramatic circumstances. Solomso Bhukhwana was alleged to have shoved one of their strikers in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation, despite protests from the Semar players. Up stepped one of their central midfielders who neatly placed the penalty past the outstretched glove of Jamal Gray. Just as they thought they'd secure a point Djair Cole wiggled through their defence and hit a curling effort into the far corner, sealing the three points for Semarland who will face Oisinistan in the next matchday.

Semarland U15s: Jamal Gray, Rees Southgate (Andreas Pedersen 60), Cyril Ansah (c), Solomso Bhukhwana, Kwame Sakye (Jonathan Mulumbu HT), Mark Sundstrom, Axel Jacobsen, Kamal Barnes, Etienne Marshall, Montell Labonne, Par Brand (Djair Cole HT)

[Anglatia]

Rags to Riches - Part Two

6-2. 6-2 was not a good enough scoreline for Blaze Chrzanowska, who was a perfectionist in everything she did. Right now, she was taking that out on her back four, who had been especially accident prone despite the front two's domination of this match. "Hold! Hold! Hold!" she shouted to John Fidalgo, who had just recovered the ball after a three on two attack by the opposition, in the fourth minute of added time. Unfortunately, he didn't listen and attempted to clear the ball deep, resulting in Jake Pollock intercepting the ball and firing a rocket shot towards Blaze that bounced off of the far post and in.

"God damn it!" Blaze shouted, running out from goal and spinning John around, getting in his face. "I told you to hold the fucking ball, what part of that did you not fucking understand?" she snapped. "Follow the damn instructions!"

The referee blew for full time and Blaze threw up her arms in frustration, walking away before John could reply. She was about to head to the locker room, but she was stopped first by a reporter from GASN who wanted a postmatch interview. "I don't have a lot to say," she started, leaning against the tunnel wall. "I had a decent game, I shouldn't have conceded the third goal. But there is one thing I do want to say, and that's that we're coming for Semarland soon. They're Superman, we're their kryptonite. If I can't get us a win in that match, I don't deserve to start in the next one."

The reporter thanked her and Blaze ran off to follow her teammates, catching up with Marco Saint Paul. He had scored a hat trick in this match, including an impressive finish from thirty yards out, but he wasn't interested in talking to the media yet. "What were you thinking, calling out the top team in the group and guaranteeing a win? You're giving them more motivation to beat us..."

"Oh you of little faith... You don't think we can beat them?" chuckled Blaze, pulling the larger boy closer to her and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get another hat trick if you keep playing like today. Also, how about we skip the press conference and go out to eat at that restaurant that I found when we flew in?"

"It's just not a good idea to call out other teams, at least not the teams that are better than us," Marco sighed. "And sorry Blaze, I have business to handle. Sponsorship stuff. I'm supposed to meet someone at the hotel and there's no time to go out and eat first."

"Can't you reschedule or something? I'm sure they'll understand," Blaze said, following Marco into the locker room as he started to change into casual clothes.

"Nope, can't you go out with Ajay or Cam or someone else? This meeting is important."

"Yeah. Fine," Blaze sighed eventually, moving to her own locker and changing from her jersey to a black sweatshirt. She also pocketed the small pocket knife that had been at the back of her locker, hidden behind the spare pair of boots that she used when she was playing in the outfield.

"Wait, why was that knife in your locker?"

Blaze grinned, shrugging in an exaggerated way. "Well, Marco... I don't intend on dying today," was all she said, before running off to get on the team bus.

"I'm not even gonna ask..."

---

"You must be Marco Saint Paul," said the man in the black shirt and suit, who was sitting on a patio outside of the team hotel. "My name is Carson Volk, and I'm here representing Monarch Sports. You already know that of course. Take a seat."

Marco nodded and sat down, surprised by the contrast between his attire and what Carson was wearing. He felt out of his depth, and that wasn't helped by the age gap between them. But he didn't expect anything less from Monarch Sports, the Ross based kit supplier and sports equipment company that was known for its quality throughout the country. They sponsored many of the top players in Anglatia, including Andros Diasakos, Hector Grier, and Eli Shan. If his agent was right, Marco could be joining the ranks of those players as one of the next big players in the Empire. "It's a pleasure to meet you," Marco said politely, meeting Carson's gaze. "I was told that Monarch has a sponsorship offer for me?"

Carson nodded, leaning back in his seat and taking a sip of coffee. "Yes. We're interested in you joining our family of athletes and promoting the new Hunter line of boots. The Hunter One is coming out next month and we need to build hype for it by bringing in new players to promote it. You're a very familiar face to Bathgate fans, and that makes us want to sign you to our roster over another Ross player or another Valerian. We actually want you to film a commercial for us this week, along with Andros, Carlito, and Kal Leroux. We're willing to sign you for a deal that lasts the rest of the tournament, and if the team wins, you'll get an extension."

"I guess we'll have to make sure we win," grinned Marco, surprised at the chance to film a commercial. "What kind of commercial is this?"

"It's about a minute long, and it's cinematic. It's set to air on TV for the first time during the next big wrestling event. I don't have all the details, you'll have to speak to the director."

"Great, where do I sign?"

"Right here. The deal also pays one hundred thousand Marks for every game your team wins during this tournament, and you get a pair of unreleased silver Hunter Ones. Sounds good?"

"Of course," nodded Marco, signing the set of papers one by one and sliding them to Carson. "Done."

"Perfect... Welcome to the big leagues, kid. You're officially part of Monarch Sports now."

---

Blaze walked into her hotel room to find her roommate, Ajay Oyekan, lying in bed and sleeping as a crime movie played on the TV. It was strange to see Ajay so obviously tired, considering the energy she played with, but it was for the better. Blaze didn't want her to be awake to see what she was doing.

She opened the drawer next to her bed and took out what she was looking for, a silenced pistol, and she tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans before reaching for something else, a pack of bullets. She put those in her other pocket, shutting the drawer and looking to see if Ajay had woken up to see what she was doing. She did. "What the hell, Blaze? Are you trying to murder someone?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm trying to stay alive," Blaze replied, shaking her head and moving towards the door. "Don't tell anyone about this."

"You're going to need to give me more info than that. Why do you need a gun to stay alive?"

"Can't explain now. You'll see why when I have to use it," Blaze sighed, leaving the room.

---

AnglatiaArising.an: The top blog for Anglatian football

YOUNG EXPLORERS CONFIDENT IN WINNING WORLD CUP

Wes Rener's coaching led the Explorers to a hot start in the U-15 World Cup

Many were unsure of what to expect from Anglatia's first outing in an international competition, but the fans that traveled will be satisfied. The U-15s opened with a 6-3 win where Marco Saint Paul had a hat trick(11, 19, 55), and Andrya Novkovic(60), Caldinho(72), and Ajay Oyekan(80) scored also, despite some defensive blunders from the back four, including a goal where Caldinho butchered a basic clearance and allowed a shot inside the box because of it. The Explorers controlled the tempo of the match and Ajay Oyekan and Stella Gunderson provided pressure up front all game long, with Gunderson's hold up skills becoming very apparent as she set up Oyekan for her goal in the eightieth minute.

The postmatch press conference was possibly as interesting as the match itself, because of Wes Rener's response to questions about how deep his team could go in the tournament. "We don't think that there's many teams who can beat us when we play our best game, when we cut down on the defensive mistakes that happened in today's game. We can play with the best and win against them, and we just showed that we can beat more experienced teams," he said. "I come into every game believing that we can win, and I think that we'll win the whole tournament if we cut down on mistakes at the back. It's a goal that's not that crazy when you look at how many future stars we have on this squad."

Goalkeeper Blaze Chrzanowska was asked to elaborate on her comments about Semarland and she provided this response: "I stand by what I said. I agree with Coach Rener in that we can beat anybody, and I think we're going to get a win against Semarland. Even if the mistakes by the back four don't stop, I'm going to push myself harder in that game and get the win for us. I think that a win will show that we mean business, they call themselves the Home of Youth Development, and, no offense to them, I want to knock them off of that perch and show the world that we're underrated as a youth development country."

When asked about foreign teams being interested in her, she shrugged and replied this way: "If I'm alive by the time this tournament is over, I'll consider the offers I have. I'm focused on this tournament for now."

[Schottia]

Under 15 World Cup Results -- Matchday Two

---

Group A
Mapletish 1–0 Flardania
Abaja 1–5 Youhavenorightsistan
Schottia 2–0 Banija

.                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Schottia                2    2   0   0     8    2   +6     6
2 Youhavenorightsistan    2    2   0   0     6    1   +5     6
3 Mapletish               2    2   0   0     5    2   +3     6
4 Flardania               2    0   0   2     0    2   −2     0
5 Banija                  2    0   0   2     2    6   −4     0
6 Abaja                   2    0   0   2     3   11   −8     0

Group B
Abanhfleft 3–2 The Republic Of Arkan
Ryukyu Japan 0–5 Chromatika
Northern Sunrise Islands 3–0 San Jose Guayabal

.                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands    2    2   0   0     4    0   +4     6
2 Abanhfleft                  2    2   0   0     5    2   +3     6
3 Chromatika                  2    1   1   0     5    0   +5     4
4 The Republic Of Arkan       2    0   1   1     2    3   −1     1
5 San Jose Guayabal           2    0   0   2     0    5   −5     0
6 Ryukyu Japan                2    0   0   2     0    6   −6     0

Group C
Cosumar 3–2 The Sword Bloke
Razari 0–1 Furellum
Savalen 3–1 Ethane

.                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cosumar                 2    2   0   0     5    3   +2     6
2 Furellum                2    2   0   0     2    0   +2     6
3 Savalen                 2    1   1   0     3    1   +2     4
4 Razari                  2    0   1   1     0    1   −1     1
5 The Sword Bloke         2    0   0   2     2    4   −2     0
6 Ethane                  2    0   0   2     2    5   −3     0

Group D
Semarland 3–0 Oisinistan
United States Of Devonta 0–2 Anglatia
Kaboomlandia 6–1 Greater Vakolicci Haven

.                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kaboomlandia                2    2   0   0     7    1   +6     6
2 Anglatia                    2    2   0   0     8    3   +5     6
3 Semarland                   2    2   0   0     6    2   +4     6
4 United States Of Devonta    2    0   0   2     0    3   −3     0
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven     2    0   0   2     3    9   −6     0
  Oisinistan                  2    0   0   2     3    9   −6     0

Group E
Walkany 3–2 Mattijana
South Shellfort 1–1 Croatian Socialist Federation
Hamnia 1–1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec

.                                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Walkany                          2    2   0   0     6    2   +4     6
2 Hamnia                           2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
3 Mattijana                        2    1   0   1     7    5   +2     3
4 South Shellfort                  2    0   1   1     1    2   −1     1
5 Croatian Socialist Federation    2    0   1   1     3    6   −3     1
6 Royal Kingdom of Quebec          2    0   1   1     1    4   −3     1

Group F
Farfadillis 0–0 Holy Philippine Empire
Eshan 0–1 Lymantatia
California Alma 0–2 Kirisaki

.                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kirisaki                  2    2   0   0     7    2   +5     6
2 Lymantatia                2    1   1   0     2    1   +1     4
3 California Alma           2    1   0   1     2    3   −1     3
4 Holy Philippine Empire    2    0   2   0     1    1    0     2
5 Farfadillis               2    0   1   1     2    5   −3     1
6 Eshan                     2    0   0   2     1    3   −2     0

[Ethane]

Ethane Red Kites



Ethane's Kits and logo have been kindly produced by JMC Football Kit Store of Krytenia.



Nation: Ethane
Team Nickname: Red Kites
Style Mod: -5
Trigramme: ETN
Formation: 5-3-2


Management Team

Jake Neville - 58 - Manager
Jake Neville, the new manager of the Ethanian under-15's team, has brought along a policy similar in outlook to that of the adult team. He has done this to achieve unity in amongst all the Ethanian national teams, in order to foster a national playing structure, which will help with bringing up the next generation of football players for the national team, so that they may achieve greater results. Even with his age, he is an extremely energetic manager, and does push his players to their max, training them to their full potential. While he does exert them fully, he is very sociable amongst the players, and does foster a successful team spirit which is unmatched by many managers.

Kevin Devons - 42 - Assistant Manager
Alexander Filmore - 36 - Offensive Coach
Curtis Ederson - 29 - Defensive Coach
Oscar Garcy - 34 - Goalkeeper Coach
Lambert Steward - 41 - Physio
Anderson Walker - 35 - Medic

Starting Eleven:

Alex Baker - 14 - GK
The best of all Ethanian goalkeepers at this level, he is an extremely fast and agile goalkeeper, with a hidden skill for one-on-ones. Touted as a potential future Ethanian goalkeeper in the adult team, Alex will be looking to build up his reputation as a young player through tournaments such as these, to boost his chances for signing for a professional team at a later age.

James Seymour - 13 - LB
A strong, pacey presence on the left-wing in defence, James provides a menace to any winger who tries to whip in a cross from his side of the field. His pace puts him as a very fast individual for his age, outrunning many of his opponents, and his tactical know-how allow him to position himself in the best position for defence. Also able to play a supporting role on attacks, his crossing ability helps the forwards assault the opponents goal full-out.

Benjamin Isgard - 14 - CB
Good in the air, Benjamin provides a useful defensive master when it comes to set pieces and corners due to his ability to head the ball with so much power. With a good amount of stamina to him as well, he is one of those players who can run pretty much non-stop all match without getting too tired out.

Samuel Harris - 14 - CB
A strong tackler, Samuel is an intimidating presence in defence for any striker that has to face up to him. Tall for his age, he looms over oncoming players, providing a strong threat with his long legs. However, he can sometimes be slightly clumsy, which can lead to some fouls and cards to his name, which occasionally can cost the team a penalty or a set piece just outside the box. Without the speed to chase players down quite like his teammates, he provides more of a brick wall type of defence, such as that of a last man in defence.

Malachi Stephens - 14 - CB
The third centre-back of the team, Malachi provides more of a filler role to help cover the gaps left behind by his teammates. With his decent pace, he can often cut off players who are attacking on the Ethanian goal, providing a gap filler to fill in the gaps that his teammates cannot cover themselves. Often moving his position around the defence, his speed can often result in him wearing down his stamina fairly quickly, meaning that rarely does he last a whole match.

Daniel Bellinger - 13 - RB
One of a kind when it comes to the right-back position, he is the best you can find at this age in Ethane. Learning from the mistakes he makes far more than that of his teammates, it is very rare that you can get past him twice in the same match using the same trick, as he will suss out the move you intend to make and block you off. Also invariably helping out on some of the attacks from the Ethanian team, he can provide a threat on the defence, running in from the right side.

Adam Strecham - 14 - LM
A threat on the wing, Adam has pace to challenge that of the defence of the opposition team. He has a strong kick which helps out on crosses and such, but his pace also helps him provide attacks of his own by running in from the side and providing another dimension of attack from the left wing, opening up more gaps for a possessive style of play to rip apart the opposition defence.

Keith Hannerson - 13 - CM
Providing a spine for the team, he provides the centre of any attack or defence that the team do through their possessive style of play. With his tactical ability and position in the pitch to oversee the whole field, he has been granted the role of captain, based upon the merit he has shown in previous matches. With a strong passing ability, he is a good player to base the whole Ethanian under-15 team's system off.

Steven Edgarson - 13 - RM
More of a butch player than a pacey player, Steven tends to play more to the possessive style, pushing his way through the field, and passing to his other teammates, rather than taking the ball up the pitch himself. Good with his long passes - which helps with his crossing ability - helps him to change the ball to the other side of the pitch, which can sometimes confuse the opposition defence.

Harry Javid - 14 - LF
The more pacey of the strikers, Harry provides a threat to the defence of the opposition team through being able to weave in and out of them. Also good under pressure, he is the teams designated penalty taker, and often converts them, and one-on-ones, into goals for his team. Knowledgeable with his tactics, he often works well with his teammates to form a coherent possessive attack on the oppositions goal.

Edward Karter - 13 - RF
The slower of the strikers, he prefers to use the possessive style of play to attack the goal. Good with his long shots, he often takes them, which gives him plenty of room to take said shots. Edward is also relatively tall for his age, which means he is a potential aerial threat for the goalkeeper, being able to jump slightly above the other players, giving him an edge on getting off a header on goal.

Substitutes:

Bradley Garder - 14 - GK

Harrison Farley - 13 - LB/RB

Jordan Terrison - 13 - LB/RB

Jamie Blackheath - 13 - CB

Lewis Groats - 14 - CB

William Gayle - 14 - LM/RM

Thomas Perciville - 13 - LM/RM

Peter Frendher - 14 - CM

Isaiah Torlet - 13 - LF/RF

[South Shellfort]

South Shellfort U-15 Team News!

After a shameful loss to Hamnia, the young and healthy U-15 team of South Shellfort has draw the match against the Croatian Socialist Federation U-15 team with a goal scored by Mark Richards. The goal has scored 10 minutes after the first goal of the match (logically scored by the Croatian Socialist Federation) in a counter-attack. Bingham has passed the ball to Richards in the mid-field, this last one has dribbled three players of the opposite team defense and kicked into the left side of the goal, facing the Croatian goalkeeper; the first goal of South Shellfort in the Under-15 World Cup 9 has been scored at the Danu Parc!

First-Half: Balanced game; Vance has lost three chances of scoring; two of his shoots the Croatian goalkeeper has saved. Near the end of the first-half Tanner Brown prevented a Croatian Midfielder of scoring a long-shot goal.

Second-half: More ball possession to Croatian Socialist Federation; few minutes after the begin of the second-half, a Croatian player has stole the ball from Lucas Alencar and scored for the Croatian Socialist Federation. Two minutes have passed and Pollack has received a yellow card. Later, Bingham passed the ball to Richards and this last one scored for South Shellfort. Lawrence Malone has lost a chance to score a goal in the last few minutes of the match.

Also, the South Shellfort U-15 team manager Carson Bell said during a rapid interview that "Pollack and Ortmeier aren't going to play in the next match. Shawn Silverberg and Stephen Osmond will respectively replace them for an undetermined time." The motives for replacing Christopher Ortmeier are unknown, but everybody knows what lead Carson Bell to put James Pollack in the bench.

[Holy Philippine Empire]

[redacted]

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

The Northern Sunrisian number 10 shirt laid on a chair. On front of that chair was a young, Half-Vaporeon girl, Lassie Alcouin, thinking heavily about her route the past days. She couldn't help but remember how weird it was to be the second one to do that. Her older sister, Hannah, was a living legend as far as Sunrisian football was concerned, having made a fully, stable leap from the Under-15 of Ajéan to the international scene with no trouble at all. The only other player Lassie could remember from Hannah's early days was another girl by the name of Brittany Cleese, whom was somewhat fair on the Mabel Wigglytuffs squad but was eventually outclassed by her old friend and rival Hannah. Still, there was an awful level of power on that shirt with that very surname. For one, it was the very first youth title the Sunrisians ever won, with an Alcouin playing a major part at that. Then there was the actual Alcouin on the national team being a major beast. She didn't consider herself mature enough to understand most things, but the whole idea of a superb number 10 with the Alcouin surname was something the Sunrisians cherished. So much so that she was now on the national team after barely saving Ajéan from major embarassment.

Alas, her time alone, staring at her shirt, ended quickly as she was approached by Mimi, the team's manager. "Madam Koshiki!?"
She nodded. "You know you can always call me Mimi."
She looked down for a couple of seconds before looking at the manager. "What's your wish, Madam Koshiki?"
Mimi sighed, shaking her head negatively. "Well, I thought I would call you up to enjoy the rest of the night or something." Mimi patted her on the head. "You're on the International Stage now, give yourself some peace."
The Half-Vaporeon sighed. "I don't feel like I deserve this."
"Look." the cyborg said, sitting by her side. "I know how lame it can be when people think of your relatives when looking at you."

Her right eye started to blink orange, catching Lassie by surprise. "Like my sister. She was this great Pokémon Trainer a while ago. She got to be a part of the Great Four for a season or two."
"Then?" Lassie looked at her, interested.
Mimi looked down, sighing briefly. "She married a tech millionaire. Before you ask, my eye is like this because of the guy. He's a nice person and all."
Lassie nodded, silently looking around her.
"Still, they assumed we all had great commander skills because of her." Mimi pouted.
"But you're our manager, right?" the younger one asked. Mimi's eyes got wider.
"Uh... Yeah." the cyborg answered. "Just relax, OK? Nobody's expecting you to be your sister. Just keep doing what you already did, two goals this morning were nice."

The cyborg left, thinking to herself on how she slided clean out of the issue. Lassie, on the other hand, wasn't exactly positive of this. Something was wrong. Something needed investigation.

[Walkany]

The Wandelaar Times
International Football: U-15 World Cup Nine

---

Politics---News---Finance---Health---Sports---Tech---Travel---Food

In only the second game of the ninth edition of the U-15 World Cup, The Gators shock again! In a stunning battle for supremacy against highly rated Mattijana, Julius Van Andringa's side has come out with a win. The game had gone back and forth between the warring teams with some of the most entertaining football produced by the young Walkany team. Alexandro Pedro and Luis Mettal both shined again for the second game in a row. Mettal proved his goal scoring prowess with a double to tie the game up twice before giving Misa Rodriguez his first twenty minutes of the tournament. Fritz Ramsey marked his name on the tournament with a fantastic build up with Pedro, Rodriguez, and Hector Lorentz before the wide midfielder slotted the game winning goal home just six minutes before the final whistle blew. Robby Sinclair looked disappointed not to have kept another clean sheet, but it is without a doubt that his six heart stopping saves shut down a Mattijana win. Van Andringa had this to say about the win...

"We played fantastically. I loved the way that Alex moved the ball and how Fritz was able to involve himself so heavily this time around as he seemed to disappear last time. The whole team was exciting. We never gave up despite going down a goal twice in a row. This is what being a professional is all about. Never giving up. The best example was Luis as he always ran his hardest. Every loose ball he chased after, even when it seemed futile. This is what I want from all of my players."

Reporter: How did Misa Rodriguez measure up to Luis Mettal now that both of them have had some serious playing time?

"I don't think we can judge Misa fully just yet, but he did his job. His experience in the National Academy gave him some advantage over Luis in the beginning and I think he still has plenty more skill than Luis. They both are some of the best youngsters in Walkany though. Luis is the one who outworks his opponents while Misa is the one who can out think and out skill every one else. These are all factors that I strive to instill in any player under my tutelage."

Reporter: Will your run continue into the next game? Will the team be preparing any differently?

"I do not wish to go too far into tactics right now, but I can assure you that we will go with the game winning plan. I will continue to encourage the players and force them to grow while also nurturing their development as young adults."

Reporter: Do you see any of these players joining the senior team in five years time?

"Five years? That's hardly anytime at all! I can see most, if not all, of them playing for the national side eventually but I highly doubt that any of them could play in five years when the oldest of them would only be nineteen. Of course, we had a very young team this past cycle, but I think we can count on using more experienced players in the future if we wish to win more games."

That is it for now, folks! Stay updated on the latest in international football only in the Wandelaar Times!

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Best Of: Walkany U-17 Goals

[Chromatika]

Whitney Kelly was all smiles coming off of the pitch, giving high-fives to Mia Ria, Valence Ilya, and Molly Thorben. Now that was a hell of a match and performance running on all cylinders. The first goal came five minutes into their second game of the group stage, when Pauline grabbed the ball, pushed it up to Whitney, and Whitney played it to Ga-yeong. She gave it to her friend and usual teammate Amelia, who crossed it in front of the goal just in front of Rowena to head in.

That was just the beginning of a flurry of goals, as her team was able to score three more times before the half. She hadn't got to score herself, but seeing Molly's free kick go in, a deflection score by Amelia, and Ga-yeong putting a beautiful volley in was something else. Even more importantly, the other team looked demoralized, looked shaken. It was time for a knockout punch, and she knew it.

At the start of the second half, she told the midfield to be extra aggressive for one more goal. They nodded, acknowledging her leadership. Within thirty seconds of the second-half whistle, the ball was in the Ryukan third. Amelia flicked the ball across to Whitney, and she saw the glimmer of an opportunity, and decided to trap it with her left foot before hitting it hard with her right foot. The ball went straight, and then started curving - just past the outstretched fingertips of the opposing keeper. 5-0. Pretty much game over.

After that, Manager Van Piersce's plan of switching to a possession-based style started to come into play. Her reasoning behind this plan was that there was no reason to show more of the plays the Anomalies had built up when the game was already out of hand. So, the Anomalies played back, held the ball, and allowed Mia, Valence, Nicole, Lina-Maria, and Pauline to take over the game, with occasional support from the midfield. It worked, and the Anomalies - just like their older compatriots - still hadn't conceded a goal in two matches.

The next two matches would be much more of a challenge, and she knew it. Abanhfleft was a major player, and had scored two wins to be in the top two along with Northern Sunrise Islands, whom the Juniors would play after Abanhfleft. Those matches would leave no room for error, and they would perhaps be tested more than they had been throughout the tournament so far. She wasn't nervous, though. In fact, the prospect of playing better players and proving her worth and skill excited her to no end.

"You're too competitive, don't know how to take things easy in life," many people had told her in the past. That was true. She was such a competitor, wanting to excel in everything, getting straight A's while doing so well in football.

"Proud of how you played today! Don't let it go to your head, move onto the next opponent, get those three points! M"

Now that was the way the Kellys thought.

[Abanhfleft]

Keeping Secrets, Part Four

Academy Road
Rosenpfelblatz, Mezaladbyi, Abanhfleft

"The prodigal daughter returns!"

A cheer rose up out of the players of Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies Football Club, at least, the ones who were sitting around the locker rooms of Academy Road, the training ground of Rosenpfelblatz City F.C., both men's and women's teams. There weren't many players in the locker room; just about five or so girls in various stages of undress, changing from whatever street clothes that they were wearing when they got to the training ground to their training clothes. The woman who had spoken up earlier was Yanana "Yannie" Redborne, a blonde 33-year-old who was also the starting goalkeeper of Rosen Ladies. Her words were directed at the tattooed young girl who had just entered the locker room, Isa Tangemen. Isa had gone on loan to her old club in Armeia, Southeastern, for the duration of last season, a move which had caused a lot of controversy and distress among Rosen fans. Distress, because Isa had filled in for Yannie when the latter had gone down with a hamstring injury in the run-up to the last ten games of their most recent title-winning season. Controversy, because Isa had always been harping on and on about being homesick and wanting to go back to Armeia. To facilitate the deal, Rosenpfelblatz had brought in Southeastern's starting keeper, Mia Rojo, for a twelve-million-dollar transfer, plus Isa's season-long loan to the club.

"Hello, Yannie," Isa said with a short, curt wave of the hand. "How is the club?"

"Fantastic, given that we were unable to defend the title and only got second place behind Arsenal Ladies because Alex and Karen and Elena finally produced lots of goals," Yannie replied. "Just about par for the course for the Lady Sky Blues. How 'bout you, Isa? How was your season with Southeastern?"

"I think it went about as well as I'd expect," Isa replied as she set her bag down in the locker that had her name on it, which was just beside Yannie's and another woman whom she didn't recognize.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Yannie said, shaking her head after facepalming herself lightly. "This is Marfa Isayevna Kirilenko," she said, pointing to the woman whom Isa didn't recognize. "She's the goalkeeper for the Pridnestrovian women's national football team, and she is one of our team's latest signings." Isa and Marfa shook hands, although there was a certain stiffness that came over Isa since she remembered distantly that Pridnestrovia was a crackpot Communist dictatorship that Abanhfleft was basically propping up due to the natural resources in the country.

"Oh, and before you say anything, Isa, Marfa here is as much of a believer in communism as I am, which means she doesn't believe in communism at all," Yannie added. "Her grandparents are exiles living over in Markovsky--shiver--and she was born here in Abanhfleft, and she considers herself Fleftic first and foremost, but since we've got a helluva lot of good keepers in the national team, she's accepted--reluctantly--to represent Pridnestrovia in international football."

"Yes, right," Isa muttered, still keeping her distance from Marfa.

"So, you were talking about Southeastern's season," Yannie said in an effort to change the topic.

"What is there to talk about?" Isa replied. "Southeastern came third in the league. We shot ourselves in the foot and took ourselves out of the title race before it had even heated up. But you know what the strangest part of the season was, Yannie? Lionesses started the season on the wrong foot, and then they won consecutive games to take them to the top of the WD1 (Women's Division 1, the highest tier of women's football in Armeia) for some time, and then they ended up giving away the title to Hawks! Strange, is it not?"

"Yeah, sounds just about like our season last season," Yannie said. "It's exactly the same down to the leading the table for a few weeks before letting our rivals, in our case Arsenal, to run away with the title without us putting up much of a fight. About the only consolation that we have is that we finished over Markovsky. Yeah, that got Wally Partridge fired, didn't it?" Yannie asked Marfa.

"Da," Marfa replied. "Although I heard that they were in talks to bring back Kasper Molak as their manager."

"Well, that's no good for us," Yannie said. "Kasper always liked Markovsky. He's sure as hell gonna vamp them back up to title contenders this season."

"Sometimes, working hard makes victory that much sweeter," Marfa said.

"You're right, you're right," Yannie muttered as she slipped into her training jacket. "So, Isa, about you... We here in the club have heard of a lot of interesting things about you while you were back in your home country." Isa was silent, unsure of how to proceed.

"Is it true that you proposed to your teammate right after you lost a game?" Yannie asked.

Isa slowly nodded her head. "I am willing to admit to doing such a thing," she said.

"My God, what were you thinking!" There was no hint of disapproval or disappointment in Yannie's voice, to Isa's surprise; instead, she thought she could hear astonishment, happy astonishment, in the older keeper's voice.

"I wasn't," Isa replied weakly. "I wasn't thinking when I made my decision to propose."

"Still, you have to admit that it was pretty sad, the way she just ran away like that," Yannie said. "Reminds me of a runaway bride, strangely enough."

"Are you lesbian, Isa?" Marfa asked. And there it was, Isa thought. There was the crux of the conversation. Anything she said after that would now be colored by her answer to that one question.

"I have a preference for women," Isa said after a long sigh.

"I'll say you have a preference," Yannie said. "You even like Alex, don't you?"

"What--how did you know about that?!" Isa asked nervously.

"It's all over YouTube and Facebook, sis," Yannie said. "You've got quite the online presence, don't you? Heh, I can't even blame you. If I was a lesbian, I'd be attracted to Alex too. I mean, she's got a great body, you know? And nice legs too! Oh, sometimes I wish I had her legs. Sadly, she's taken, Isa. And even if you told her about your, ahem, attraction to her, I don't know if she'll take it well. She's still a traditional Fleftic girl deep down."

"So, where's Mia?" Isa asked to change the topic once again. These foreigners talking about her relationships and personal desires were turning her ears red, if not her whole face. "She went here as part of my loan deal, yes?"

"Yeah, she did," Yannie said. "And the fans think that she just cost us the Women's Community Shield, the league title, and the Women's SFA Cup. You remember that I crocked my hammy in the last few weeks of last last season, the season when we won the title? Yeah, well, I still wasn't available for the start of the next season, which is last season, and so Mia Rojo started between the sticks for us. We managed to keep it scoreless up until full-time, but when it came to penalty kicks, she had an absolute shocker. The fact that Vicky Carter stepped up to take the winning kick for Xemlice was just them taking the piss on us and Mia. That she slotted home the penalty like a striker was the icing on the cake. The fans never really trusted Mia after that, and she knows it, so she saw out her contract and tried to get back to Illara; I think you know about it? And then you Armeians up and went all total war, and now she's settled for another one-year deal at Ceneisis and Artemio Peres. Hopefully Nikita Bellich pays for her contract out of his own pocket. Sultan Kudarat may be a rich oil sheikh, but he's no oligarch like Bellich is."

"Speaking of war, I'm surprised that you went back to Abanhfleft at all," Marfa said to Isa. "From what other rumors I've heard about you, you're not the type to run away from war."

Isa went silent once again. She had almost forgotten how intrusive her Fleftic teammates were. It was the one thing about Rosenpfelblatz that she certainly had not missed. "At the risk of repeating myself, how did you know about that?" she said.

"It was on the news," Marfa replied. "At least it was on the PTsNA." PTsNA was the Pridnestrovian Central News Agency's Russian acronym. "I am ashamed to say that my 'country' is sending 'advisors' and weapons to the Republika Kroatien due to our expanded arms industry, in direct violation of numerous treaties between the Democratic Republic and the United Socialist States, and I happened to recognize you from one of the anti-Armeian propaganda pieces that the normally neutral national news agency had been putting up lately."

"Wait a minute, when was this, Marfa?" Yannie asked, turning to the Pridnestrovian keeper.

"During the second Emperor's Cup, I think," Marfa said. "It was pretty big news in Pridnestrovia, but I'm sure it wasn't even a footnote here."

"Who else knows?" Isa asked.

"The only guy who really needs to know," Marfa replied. And, as if on cue, someone knocked on the door. It was Carlos Cuvimi, the gray-haired manager of Rosenpfelblatz City F.C. and Rosenpfelblatz City Ladies F.C.

"Ah, Isa," he said without any preamble. "Good, you're here. Come with me. We need to talk about something." It was more in the nature of an order than a suggestion, something that was out of character for the normally soft-spoken manager.

"It's time to face the fire, Isa," Marfa said, shrugging her shoulders. Isa slowly and reluctantly got up and walked over to the door.

"Come on! We don't have all day!" Cuvimi added as he walked ahead of Isa towards his office in the middle of the facility. As Cuvimi went into his office, two women came in on the opposite direction. Isa had just enough time to recognize them as Alexandra Rousseau and Karen Villegas before Cuvimi poked his head out of his office and said, "Isa, in here," in a curt tone. Isa finally followed Cuvimi into his office.

"Hey, I didn't know Isa was already back," Karen said as she watched the Armeian enter Carlos Cuvimi's office. "I wonder what Carlos wants to talk to her."

"Oh, come on, Karen," Alex said, shaking her head. "We all know why Isa just got called to the principal's office. It's because Isa, Warrior Princess, went off to war."

"Ten bucks says that Carlos is gonna tear her a new one," Karen said.

"Ours or NS?" Alex asked.

"NS."

"Make it twenty and I'll bite. You're on."

"Someone's gonna get ripped!" Karen giggled before she and Alex leaned on the door to Cuvimi's office to eavesdrop.

As it was, Carlos Cuvimi was not the type of person who got angry quickly. It took a lot of things happening at just the right times to really grind his gears. Even now, his head was spinning, trying to find a way to deal with the matter as diplomatically and as sensibly as possible. But finally his normally nonexistent temper got the better of him, and he found himself reaching into his desk, taking out a broadsheet newspaper, and tossing it onto his desk. "Look at this, Isa," he said.

Isa looked at the newspaper. The title was in Cyrillic, with an English translation somehow molded over the name of the paper. It was the Bender Gazette, or at least the English version of it. "Am I supposed to read it?" she asked.

"Don't bother reading it," Cuvimi snapped. "Just look at the headline."

Isa picked up the paper and read the headline. It proclaimed, "NEW ZAGREB FALLS TO ARMEIAN ARMY; LOOTING AND REPRISALS FEARED AND LIKELY". There was a photo underneath the big bold screaming letters, showing what appeared to be members of an Armeian Army artillery crew holding up a captured and defaced flag of the Republika Kroatien. It took only a moment for Isa to recognize herself as one of the soldiers holding up the captured flag.

"This came to my attention only after the end of the Emperor's Cup," Cuvimi said, controlling his voice. "I will ask you one question, Isa, and I will ask you that one question just once. Are you the girl in that picture, holding up that flag?"

Isa was unsure of what to say, but she could feel that there was a definite tension in the room. Cuvimi looked like he was having an internal struggle of some kind, and Isa had been around too many of her friends and associates to know that this was the time when someone was trying so hard to be not mad at somebody else, and yet, they were just waiting for the other person to say something that will finally let them express their anger. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I am that girl in the picture."

Not even her experience dealing with her teammates could have prepared Isa for what happened next. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE JUST DONE!?" Cuvimi thundered. "What in the world were you thinking, Isa!? Running off to fight a war at the first opportunity you get as soon as you return home!?

"You have nearly killed this old man with worry and regret!" Cuvimi continued. "I sent you on loan to Armeia so you could return to your friends and family for at least a whole year and hopefully get rid of your homesickness, not to fight some bullshit war that you have no business fighting in!"

"But it's not a bullshit war!" Isa said, trying to explain herself. "The security of Armeia was at stake! The Croats were rebelling--"

"I don't care if this war is so important and vital to your country's security," Cuvimi said. "I did not send you home to fight in a war and get yourself injured, or worse, dead. Your duty as an athlete is to keep yourself fit at all times, and that does not mean running around rocky hillsides and narrow valleys with a hundred-pound pack and a rifle!"

Cuvimi ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the chair behind his desk. As soon as his temper had run its course, he was always back to his usual reserved self. "Oh, God, Isa, I am so sorry for what I just said," he said once he had calmed down. "Please, have a seat."

Isa sat down and braced herself. But she needn't have bothered, as the worst had already passed. "What I just wanted to say, Isa, is that you shouldn't have gone and played soldier while we were thinking that you were coming to terms with your homesickness," Cuvimi said. "I don't know. Maybe fighting in a war is your way of curing yourself, your therapy. It takes all kinds, I've heard. What I really wanted to say is that I've been in this sport for the past thirty or forty years already. I was a player and a beginner manager when Abanhfleft's last spate of expansionist wars came about. I saw my teammates, my players, run off to join the armed forces, thinking that they were heroes and the saving grace of the world and the country. And when they came back... sometimes, they were lucky if they ever came back. Many of them lost legs, limbs, arms. One even had the top of his skull shot off, and he was in a coma for a few weeks before he finally passed. And those were the lucky ones, so to speak. A lot of those boys who went off to wage war for Abanhfleft never came back. Every day and every night, I think about all of the potential superstars that we could've produced had these damned wars and rebellions and colonizations never taken place... I've seen what war does to people, Isa. I don't know what it's done to you right now, but I'm telling you, it will affect you, mark you, in ways you wouldn't expect. Those friends and players of mine who returned from the wars intact were affected with mental problems in their later years. Post-traumatic stress disorder, they call it now. Back then, people just said that the war stayed with them.

"Look, Isa, you're young," Cuvimi continued. "What are you now, twenty years old? And you're a goalkeeper at that! You're just beginning to climb the peak of your career! So please, don't waste it by getting your arm or your leg or, heaven forbid, your head shot off."

Cuvimi stood up. "This isn't over, Isa. We still have a lot more to discuss. But for now, that should be enough. We will talk again sometime in the next week. You can go train with the team now."

Isa stood up silently and headed for the door. As she opened it, she heard two voices, both female, talking in hushed whispers. She went out into the corridor and saw Alex handing over a twenty-dollar bill to Karen, but Karen refused the note, saying, "He didn't last as long as I'd thought he would, so keep it."

"Fine by me," Alex muttered as she pocketed the twenty. Isa didn't mind them and continued walking back to the locker rooms, her mind already on the training ahead. She couldn't help but think, though. She had gone to Rosenpfelblatz, at the recommendation of her old coach, so that she could grow up. That didn't work out, or at least that was what she thought, so she went back to Southeastern on loan in the hopes that she could fit back in. But before playing for Southeastern once again, she had gone back to the military to wage war for Armeia. Carlos Cuvimi had never said anything about not going back to the military, but now she knew that he did not take that decision of hers lightly, so she would be more wary in the future.

But what was the future? Armeia had gone total war, and Rosenpfelblatz's head scout had located Isa and forced her onto a plane to Abanhfleft before she could even think about signing back up. A lot of her friends, in Southeastern and the Armeian national team, had fled to Anglatia. She didn't know if she wanted to register for the Anglatian team or just stew in her own juices here in Abanhfleft, this strange country that may just be her new home.

And did I ever really grow up? Isa asked herself as she pulled her goalkeeping gloves on. She certainly didn't feel like she grew up here in her first year at Rosenpfelblatz. She may have felt that she had grown up when she had participated in the war against Republika Kroatien, but the tone of Cuvimi's voice once he had found out about her recent military exploits had given her the impression that he still saw her as a child with a tendency to be wayward and to do what she wanted, not what she was supposed to do. And with all the things happening around her, will she ever grow up at all? Or will she be forever destined to be seen as a immature girl who always misses her home country?

She was sure of one thing, though: Abanhfleft was, is, and always will be weird to me.

---

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
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ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

UNDER-15 WORLD CUP 9: ABANHFLEFT VS REPUBLIC OF ARKAN
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Trinidad Kleist goes after the ball. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

SOESSCH, SCHOTTIA - Abanhfleft battled back from being a goal down at half-time to secure victory over the Republic of Arkan.

Cecily Segovia scored within ten minutes of the match to give Abanhfleft the early lead, but Arkan pulled level thanks to a Nikoli Silvat penalty, and then went ahead after Carlet Spaneit side-footed the ball into the netting.

Elbert Judd equalized just before he was brought off the pitch, and Kassandra Pratt gave Abanhfleft victory at the death with a marvelous headed effort into the top left corner.

Both sides had been equally cautious in the first minutes of the match, but Segovia's goal in the seventh minute following a nice passing movement with Pratt and Claudia Roos was definitely against the run of play, though the lead was well-deserved.

Despite the one-goal disadvantage, it was Arkan who settled into the rest of the half, and they got their just reward when Trinidad Kleist tripped Silvat within the box, resulting in the Xemlice Rovers Ladies midfielder getting her name on the referee's notebook once again.

Silvat, noted for being Arkan's best under-15 striker, scored from the spot after a beautifully executed Panenka.

Spaneit gave his side the advantage just three minutes from half-time with a fast and incisive run behind the back of the Fleftic defense before side-footing home.

Judd, after three attempts at goal finding the woodwork and nothing else, finally got his goal just seconds before Rashad Dammam had planned to substitute him, giving Abanhfleft a lifeline back into the game.

And it was Pratt who gave Abanhfleft the three points with her header coming off of Roos's free kick.


Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: Team attack great, team defense needs work

Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: "It's a good thing that the team's attacking is very great, since that allowed us to get the win. If we were not so good at the attack, we could have drawn or lost this match.

"We need to work on our defending as well. There have been times that the opponents caught the defense asleep. We need to work on that. The victory feels good, but it's just one game. There are more to go."

  ABANHFLEFT 3 - 2 REPUBLIC OF ARKAN
SEGOVIA (7')       SILVAT (33' pen)
  JUDD (77')       SPANEIT (42')
 PRATT (90')

REPUBLIC OF ARKAN
GK: 06 Orokel
RB: 03 Ivilchanko
RCB: 09 Hokele
LCB: 05 Gehant
LB: 08 Gologel
RDM: 02 Eliktivot
LDM: 07 Golokov
CM: 36 Helitorn (Britlez - 60')
RW: 04 Spaneit
LW: 02 Clotentu (Gernativ - 66')
ST: 17 Silvat (Hazartentcolo - 75')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Liner
RB: 02 Augustyn
RCB: 03 William
LCB: 04 Baum
LB: 05 Riddles (Tatum - 60')
RCM: 07 Kleist █ (Vaquera - 54')
LCM: 06 Segovia
RW: 08 Massingale
CAM: 11 Pratt
LW: 10 Roos
ST: 09 Judd (Rozier - 78')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 50%
Republic of Arkan: 50%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 12 (6 on target)
Republic of Arkan: 10 (5 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 5
Republic of Arkan: 4
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 9
Republic of Arkan: 6

[Kirisaki]

Yuuhi wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

Stopping for the briefest of moments to catch her breath, the fourteen year old jogged over to the spot marked with a fine, white line of vanishing spray by the referee. Her midfield partner Sumireko had been caught by a painful looking challenge, one which the referee thought merited a foul and a yellow card for the offending player, and now they had this free kick in an enticing position. Just close enough to goal to make a serious attempt at a set piece routine.

"Hey, Yuuhi, you want to take a crack at this one?"

Sumireko had dusted herself off, looking no worse off for the tumble she had taken only a minute earlier, and was standing over the ball, gesturing animatedly in Yuuhi's direction. Clearly she wanted Yuuhi to take the set piece. Yuuhi shook her head, trying to remain nonchalant.

"Nah, I'm fine. You take it, Sumire; you're our set piece taker after all. We'd cop some flak from Kagami for sure if we disobeyed her instructions."

As the words left her lips, Yuuhi felt a little nugget of regret form deep within her heart.

---

As a football player, Yuuhi would be the first to recognise the fact that she possessed no outstanding talent. She was an average player who had gotten where she was through grit and hard work. In many ways, her position suited her very much in that it embodied all her best qualities as a footballer; determination and sheer bloody-mindedness. Yuuhi knew where her limitations were, and she acknowledged that she would never be as good as, say, the captain of the senior team, or her idol, Tomoe Ishibashi - the premier holding midfielder, one of the best footballers Kirisaki had ever produced.

Yuuhi knew that. She did not aspire to scale such heights, knew she could not, because she did not have talent in her. Sometimes, when the U15s practiced together with the senior team during free sessions, she would look on as her far more accomplished seniors showed off their skills. Passing, shooting, dribbling; the less spectacular tackling and positioning. Just looking at them, seeing the way they played as though football came naturally to them, made Yuuhi realise that she was no special talent, that she was merely another player amongst the thousands and thousands who one day aspired to represent their country as a full international.

They made football look so easy. Child's play, even.

Playing as a defensive midfielder, Yuuhi strayed from the stereotypical image of a Kirisakian midfielder. She possessed no repertoire of flashy skills, no hidden arsenal of attacking talents. Instead, she focused on performing the job asked of her in a steady, unspectacular manner. And despite that, she worked harder than even the most prodigious of talents in the Kirisakian youth programme. All her effort, Yuuhi knew, went towards improving herself as a footballer; so she could, one day in the distant future, contribute meaningfully to her teammates, her coaches, her manager, and her country.

Day after day, Yuuhi could be found staying late after training, working either with one of her teammates or with a coach. Her timing in the tackle wasn't good enough; she asked Ayano for help practicing, and felled her skillful teammate countless times in a day. Her passes often went astray under pressure; she begged Sumire and Ageha to coach her. Her defensive positioning was lacking; she sought help from Minatsu, who had played in the same position as she did for the Kirisaki youth teams, and spent a whole evening poring over positional heatmaps with her coach.

By virtue of her sheer hard work, Yuuhi rose quickly in the estimation of her coaches and manager. She surpassed more established contemporaries in a matter of time, players who were more talented than her but lacked the necessary application and drive, and put herself into serious contention for a first team spot in Kagami's plans. She continued working with her head down even as the U15WC crept closer, the pages torn off the old calendar hanging in her room; and circled in bright pink Sharpie, with a pink trophy sketched right next to it, was the date of the first matchday.

"Yuuhi, you're going to play a part in the last practice game. I'll pin the teamsheets up on the office noticeboard a day before the match. Take a look at it then; you might want to check in with your teammates and your coach for the game."

Yuuhi almost couldn't believe her ears when Chisato gave her the news one evening. She had stayed back after training with the coach to discuss tactics; she had never expected to be told that she would be playing in the last practice game. She was well aware, as were the rest of the players in Kirisaki's U15 team, that the U15 manager, Kagami, would be selecting the final squad for the U15WC from those who were involved in the game.

Seeing a look of disbelief cross Yuuhi's face, Chisato smiled affectionately and patted her on the head.

"Yeah, I'm not having you on, Yuuhi. You'll be playing for me against Minatsu's team, and what's more, you're gonna start the game as well." The coach paused for a while, as though collecting her thoughts. "Out of all the youth team players I've met and coached over the years, Yuuhi, you probably deserve this the most. Enjoy the moment, kid, and play your socks off and your heart out."

In the days leading up to the practice match, Yuuhi put her nose to the grindstone, staying back after training almost every day in order to do individual work. She caught herself pinching her cheeks several times a day, as though even her body had trouble accepting the fact that she was slated to play, that she had a chance of making a major international tournament, that all her hard work through the years had paid off. And when the day of the practice match dawned, bright and clear, Yuuhi could confidently say that she had done all she could to put herself into contention for a plane ticket to Schottia.

The match went about as well as Yuuhi could have expected. Early on, she was a buzzing presence inside her own half, regularly getting to loose balls and stretching to make interceptions, recycling possession in her usual quick, simple manner. She even found opportunities to push up in support of the attack, winning possession high up the field and quickly laying the ball off to one of her more technically talented teammates. But as the minutes ticked by, Yuuhi's team began to lose their advantage. She had cheered and clapped as her team put one, two, three goals past the opposition 'keeper; but now, all of a sudden, they were on the back foot. Chisato's high-energy pressing tactics had been effective in harrying the opposition, but the toll such high-intensity tactics were taking on her players began to show as the game wore on. The opposition team, slowly but surely, rose into the ascendancy; before they knew it, Yuuhi's team had been hit with three painful sucker punches, three well worked goals that took all the wind out of their sails.

The remaining minutes crept by painfully; Minatsu's team had, by then, established themselves as the dominant force, and they were probing, chipping away at Team Chisato's resistance. Their legs had gone; whereas early on in the game they had exerted all the pressure, Team Chisato were now firmly on the back foot and struggling to string even a few simple passes together. Team Minatsu began to force the issue, turning the screw ever so slowly, knowing that their opponent's resolve would have to crack at some point, and Team Chisato resisted to the best of their ability, hoping to hit back with a sucker punch, unlikely though it seemed to be.

And then, Team Chisato won a corner, a sliced clearance fortuitously deflecting off a Team Minatsu defender and behind, giving them a chance to regroup and alleviate the increasing pressure. Standing by the corner flag, Yuuhi grabbed the ball and placed it down. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. This was one of the best chances they would ever get to snatch a victory from the jaws of impending defeat. As the whistle cut through the calm air of spring, Yuuhi ran up, struck the ball with the instep of her foot -

- and smashed it directly at the first defender.

"Shit."

Cursing silently, Yuuhi ran. As the ball was quickly moved upfield, Yuuhi dashed - right from the corner - trying desperately to close the distance. Most of her teammates had pushed too far upfield, trying to grab that essential goal that would win them the match, and they were now hopelessly out of position. They watched on, in seeming desperation, as though they had already given up, as Team Minatsu surged forward with the ball; they were three against two, and a delicate flicked pass sent the striker clean through on goal.

Yuuhi grit her teeth. The air burned in her lungs, the lactic acid seared her muscles as she ran; trying to atone for her mistake, trying to salvage something from this desperate situation. And as she closed the distance, time seemed to slow to a crawl; Yuuhi saw herself lunge forward, sweat streaming down her face in rivulets - she saw her leg make contact with the striker's shin, and the ball sprung loose, gratefully gathered by her 'keeper, as Yuuhi collapsed in a heap together with the opposition striker. For a moment, Yuuhi lay motionless on the turf from sheer exhaustion, her head swimming as the blood thundered through her veins.

The referee's whistle jolted Yuuhi back to reality. She looked up at the official, who was approaching her with a stern face, and she realised that all her effort, all her exertions up until this point, stretching from three years ago, would count for nothing. The bright red of the referee's card flashed before her eyes as she picked herself off the ground in a daze; she had conceded a penalty, and worse; got herself sent off. Her heart heavy with despondence, Yuuhi slowly trudged off the pitch, her footsteps slowed by a medley of guilt, frustration and self-blame.

"You'll be on the team. Get yourself ready for the real deal, Asuhara." As she passed Kagami on her way to the changing rooms, Yuuhi heard the manager utter a sentence that she never thought she would hear.

"I want players with desire, with passion. Half of the team out there won't cut it, no matter how talented they are, because they don't have that. I want players like you, who selflessly give their all, who lay their bodies on the line for the team, who are ready to fight to death for the cause. I'm looking forward to seeing great things from you in Schottia, Asuhara."

And Yuuhi's heart leaped in joy.

---

"Go on and take it, Yuuhi - look, even Kagami's telling you to get on with it." Stifling a small laugh, Sumireko pointed in the direction of the Kirisaki technical area, where Kagami was doing one of her Shirakiin imitations, gesturing animatedly on the touchline.

"Well, if you're sure ... I guess I can have a go. Let's go with routine C, okay?"

Sumireko showed a thumbs up as she ran to get into position, signalling to their teammates the specific set piece routine that they were going to execute.

"You gotcha, boss. It's all yours now!"

Yuuhi took a deep breath and gazed at the ball, losing herself in intense concentration. She heard the referee's shrill whistle sound, echoing around Ashley Road. She took a step, two steps forward, preparing to strike the ball -

- and laid it off to Ageha, who promptly smashed the ball past the surprised wall into the bottom corner.

Yes, that was Yuuhi Asuhara's style; simple, efficient, and above all - selfless.

[The Republic Of Arkan]

The team was on their bus, heading back to the hotel, post a tragic 3-2 loss. The dagger came in the ending minute of play, the hope gone of making the comeback. No music, no cheers, no celebration, just silence and the sound of the bus. Hans Grubnez, now sitting in 4th place in Group B with 1 point, slowly stood up. Announcement time, as it were.

"Okay, a few notes I got from the game, so listen up,"he said, taking his notebook from his seat."First off, Man of the Match on our side. Carlit, you were involved in both goals, mainly setting them up, so congrats on getting our Man of the Match award.

"Secondly, Gerot, nothing hard on you for this match, you couldn't stop most of those shots. Helinz and Grebiz, try and work the defense on the field a bit more. The D needs to be solid next match. Limit yourself, try to keep them from pressuring Gerot.

"Third, Nikoli and Carlet, good job on those goals. Carlet, congrats on your first international goal, there's more of them in the future, I'm sure. Also, congrats are in order to Aden, who got his first international cap today, a bit from the bench in a losing fashion.

"Fourth and finally, a few changes for the next game. Grenze, you're gonna be benched in for Smeti, since you haven't been decently showing. Hevilit, you're out this upcoming game, Hanzel, you get a start. That's all."

And so, the bus once again had a bit of life, either congratulating Carlit, Carlet, or Aden, communication between Gerot, Helinz, and Grebiz, trying to plot out what to try the Defense for, or trying to cheer up Grenze or Helivit for being benched.

[Anglatia]

Rags to Riches - Part Three

Blaze was having another panic attack now, but she couldn't let the others in the car see it. Andrya was driving, and Ilya was in the back seat next to her with John on her other side and Marco in the passenger seat. Stay calm... Stay calm... For now. Don't let the others know what you're thinking.

Her breathing was short and sharp, and her hands were trembling as she tried not to let the others notice. Her face felt hot, as if all the blood in her body was suddenly rushing there, and when she touched it with her hand, she realized that her hands were sweating. "You alright, Blaze?" asked Ilya, staring at her. "You look sick..."

"I think I just need air... Where are we going, anyway?" she asked, trying to change the subject to deflect the attention off of her.

"A lake I found when I was looking at the maps after we flew in," Andrya said. "You're going to love it, it's away from any of the cities and it's big enough for all of us to swim in."

"Oh," Blaze said, before spending the rest of the ride sitting in silence and trying to hide her panicking from the others in the car. When Andrya parked along the road and everyone got out to head to the lake, she was the last one out. Eventually she followed the others, sitting down by the lakeside and watching Andrya and Marco jump into the water, not bothering to change into swimming clothes. Ilya, however, hung back and sat down next to her.

"I want to talk to you about something, and Andrya told me that this would be a good place to do it," he said nervously, staring into the water.

"Really?" asked Blaze, tensing up. "Of course you do..."

And when Ilya tried to slide his arm around her, Blaze ducked and put him into a choke hold, pulling both of them into the water. When they both went under, Blaze let go and centered herself, feeling herself spinning towards the bottom. She stabilized herself before touching the lake floor and standing there for a moment. She was calm in that moment, and she wished she could stay there forever, but she knew she needed air soon. Pushing off from the ground, Blaze started towards the surface, reaching the top and taking a big gulp of air.

"What was that about?" asked Ilya, who was also swimming on the surface. "Did I do something wrong?"

Blaze's face went red, and she wished that she could dive back under the water again. "I thought... I thought you were trying to stab me in the back," she admitted quietly, frowning.

"Is that why you were so sick looking? Because you thought we were driving you out here to kill you or something? I don't know why you would think that, but I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go on a date afterwards..."

"You don't understand, Andrya has it in for me," Blaze muttered, keeping her voice low. "I guess you two spend so much time together that I thought you were helping her."

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about. She's just trying to help me get a date, since Francis and Ajay already turned me down... Nobody wants to date someone younger than them," Ilya sighed. "What is it that she has against you?"

"I'll explain later. Don't tell anyone why I pushed you into the lake, alright?"

"Yeah, fine," shrugged Ilya. "I take it that you don't want that date?"

Blaze grinned, replying with a shrug of her own. "Wait until I'm sixteen next month... I might be in the mood to take you out for drinks," she said, diving underwater again.

---

"In our Kisotan fields, the smoke and ashes blow. The land is the casualty of a war started long ago, one that pitted brothers and sisters against each other in combat and sent them marching to their deaths, row by row. The fields are burnt, but the businesses behind them had already collapsed not long ago. While the fields are torched, the the buildings are crushed, shelled until the stone that made them turned back into dust. 'Dust to dust, ashes to ashes,' they say, and I know now why they say that. All of us were born in the dust, all of us live in the dust, and most of us die in the dust, in our Kisotan fields. We-"

"I didn't know you were into poetry," said a voice from behind Ajay, making her jump. She was certainly startled, and she stopped reading and spun around to find Marco Saint Paul standing in the doorway. "Did you write that?"

"Um... Yeah. It's about my hometown back in Kisote. Jkerte. It used to be a thriving city, but it's a shithole now after it got burned by the separatists and Muslims four years ago in the war with East Kisote," Ajay stated. "Sometimes I post poetry online when I have time and I thought it seemed fitting to write something about where I'm from."

"Oh, I never knew you were actually from Kisote," Marco said awkwardly, not knowing what to say in this situation. "I always thought you were one of the refugees from there, who move to Ross all the time."

"I fucking wish. Nah, my family stayed in Jkerte even after everything went to shit. They mostly managed to stay safe... I lost most of my Christian friends and all of my animist friends from high school when the Easterners retook the city and started executing all the dissenters. I got away because I was playing in Mjasa at the time, my family made me play there instead of at my local club."

"I'm sorry," Marco muttered. "You made a good poem about it, for what it's worth."

"Don't be sorry. You being sorry won't bring them back. I don't really want pity... I just want the rest of the world to know what's happening to my homeland."

Marco nodded, leaning against the doorway. "Well, I stopped by to ask if you want to come watch me film a commercial for Monarch. Carlito Traoe is going to be there, so is Andros Diasakos. But if you were busy-"

"No, I'll come. I could use something to take my mind off of home. Thanks for asking me, Marco. Most people just get put off and walk away when they hear where I'm from."

[Schottia]

Under 15 World Cup Results -- Matchday Three

---

Group A
Banija 2–0 Abaja
Flardania 2–5 Schottia
Youhavenorightsistan 0–1 Mapletish

.                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Schottia                3    3   0   0    13    4   +9     9
2 Mapletish               3    3   0   0     6    2   +4     9
3 Youhavenorightsistan    3    2   0   1     6    2   +4     6
4 Banija                  3    1   0   2     4    6   −2     3
5 Flardania               3    0   0   3     2    7   −5     0
6 Abaja                   3    0   0   3     3   13  −10     0

Group B
San Jose Guayabal 4–3 Ryukyu Japan
The Republic Of Arkan 0–3 Northern Sunrise Islands
Chromatika 0–1 Abanhfleft

.                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands    3    3   0   0     7    0   +7     9
2 Abanhfleft                  3    3   0   0     6    2   +4     9
3 Chromatika                  3    1   1   1     5    1   +4     4
4 San Jose Guayabal           3    1   0   2     4    8   −4     3
5 The Republic Of Arkan       3    0   1   2     2    6   −4     1
6 Ryukyu Japan                3    0   0   3     3   10   −7     0

Group C
Ethane 0–0 Razari
The Sword Bloke 2–5 Savalen
Furellum 1–1 Cosumar

.                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Cosumar                 3    2   1   0     6    4   +2     7
2 Furellum                3    2   1   0     3    1   +2     7
3 Savalen                 3    2   1   0     8    3   +5     7
4 Razari                  3    0   2   1     0    1   −1     2
5 Ethane                  3    0   1   2     2    5   −3     1
6 The Sword Bloke         3    0   0   3     4    9   −5     0

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven 1–3 United States Of Devonta
Oisinistan 4–2 Kaboomlandia
Anglatia 0–2 Semarland

.                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Semarland                   3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
2 Kaboomlandia                3    2   0   1     9    5   +4     6
3 Anglatia                    3    2   0   1     8    5   +3     6
4 United States Of Devonta    3    1   0   2     3    4   −1     3
5 Oisinistan                  3    1   0   2     7   11   −4     3
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven     3    0   0   3     4   12   −8     0

Group E
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 2–3 South Shellfort
Mattijana 1–0 Hamnia
Walkany 2–0 Croatian Socialist Federation

.                                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Walkany                          3    3   0   0     8    2   +6     9
2 Mattijana                        3    2   0   1     8    5   +3     6
3 Hamnia                           3    1   1   1     2    2    0     4
4 South Shellfort                  3    1   1   1     4    4    0     4
5 Royal Kingdom of Quebec          3    0   1   2     3    7   −4     1
6 Croatian Socialist Federation    3    0   1   2     3    8   −5     1

Group F
Kirisaki 0–0 Eshan
Holy Philippine Empire 4–1 California Alma
Lymantatia 1–0 Farfadillis

.                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Kirisaki                  3    2   1   0     7    2   +5     7
2 Lymantatia                3    2   1   0     3    1   +2     7
3 Holy Philippine Empire    3    1   2   0     5    2   +3     5
4 California Alma           3    1   0   2     3    7   −4     3
5 Eshan                     3    0   1   2     1    3   −2     1
6 Farfadillis               3    0   1   2     2    6   −4     1

[Mattijana]

Mattijanan's future stars make bright start.

Mattijana 5-2 Croation Socialist Federation

A confident looking side took victory in Mattijana's first U-15 group stage match as a Hat-trick from Mattias Tadič followed by goals from Kara Pelle and Andreas Jamara rounded off a fairly comfortable victory.

The team almost took the lead from the kick off as smart play from Pelle sent Lara Mišak through on goal, but her low shot was denied by a good save by the Croatian keeper.

It was similar play that led to the opener just 6 minutes later however, as another Pelle knock-down sent Mišak through. She raced down the left before squaring accurately for Tadič to sweep home from 12 yards.

They added a second after 25 minutes with a totally different style of goal, rounded off by a similar source as a recycled ball following a corner was hit low across the box by Ameli Julenič and was turned in at the back post by the unmarked Tadič.
The team went close again with a 25 yard blast from Jamara deflected just wide and a diving Pelle header from the resulting corner poked agonisingly close to the sliding Danilo Illicič.

Mattijana then added a third 5 minutes before the break as Tadič completed his hat-trick with a cool finish after being played in behind once more by Jamara. But their celebration was short lived as the Croatian Federation gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a fine strike from the edge of the box deceiving Handanovič in the Mattijanan goal.

Mattijana made a more steady start to the second period, bringing on Sophia Hinterreger for Lara Mišak as the team moved to a 4-4-2 diamond, but they built pressure again and eventually added a fourth having squandered a good chance when Pelle drove an angled strike straight down the throat of the goalkeeper. She found the net a couple of minutes later as a cross from Illicič was deflected behind and the corner was powered into the bottom corner.

Controlling possesion, for the majority of the half, the Mattijanans moved the majority of the attacking play to the wings with Julenič and Illicič testing the reinforced Croatian defence with both high and low crosses and once again making the pressure tell as a cross to the back post was flicked away as far as the edge of the box where Jamara hammered into the bottom corner.

Their opponents added a consolation goal as a defensive lapse let a Croatian striker wriggle through and curl in to make it 5-2 with the final kick of the game.

Mattijana will be happy with their attacking flair, but will want to tighten up their defense before a tougher tie in their next game,

Lineup:

Handanovič
Fontič-C
Benedicič
Klamarič
Junozovič (Dimitrova-72 mins)
Illicič
Julenič
Jamara
Pelle
Mišak (Hinterreger-45 mins)
Tadič (Karamov-78 mins)

Stats:

Posession:
MTJ 55-45 CSF

Shots:
MTJ 24-4 CSF

On target:
MTJ 9-3 CSF

Corners:
MTJ 11-3 CSF

[Savalen]

As Vetlesen opened the gates to the training ground for the chatty teenagers standing outside, he was still on cloud nine after the match against The Sword Bloke. As he walked over to Fabio to tell him to take the warm-up today, he starting humming a joyful tune. "That was one excellent match," he thought to himself. "The lads played brilliantly over the last few."

Afterwards, he walked over slowly to the small, cosy room, where two chairs and a wide desk barely fit, which was being used as his office.

Savalen 3-1 Ethane
Kazarezov
Paulsen
Osterberg
Gudmundson
Falla
Kuusik
Narinogoril (Tatar - 65")
Nongrot (Gur - 70")
Axelsen
Kalberg
Kombarov (Dahl - 85")

Savalen Goals: Nongrot - 25"; Axelsen - 45"; Kombarov - 59;
Ethane Goal: Javid - 35";

Savalen 5-2 The Sword Bloke
Kazarezov (Schmidt - 90")
Paulsen
Osterberg (Yellow)
Gudmundson
Falla
Kuusik (Gur - 73")
Narinogoril
Nongrot (Sviták - 73")
Axelsen
Kalberg
Kombarov

Savalen Goals: Kombarov - 8"; Kalberg - 27" (pen), 42"; Kuusik - 35"; Sviták - 89"
TSB Goals: 15"; 75" (pen);
Savalen Cards: Osterberg - 75"

Vetlesen, or Marv as everybody called him, looked out the window just in time to hear Fabio, the assistant, shout that it was the end of the warm up for their 5 minute break. Marv made a quick exit to set up for the morning's session and rehearsed his speech that he had made in bed last night.

As soon as he had finished, he walked over the basic subs benches and blew his whistle, which called the youngsters over. "Now, before I begin, who kicked the ball over? Ah, Santino. No, no, come back, get it later. Sooooo, I start off whith a question for you: what did you think of the last match against Sword Bloke? Yes, Zay?"

"Quite good, but I felt that we tailed off in the second half."

"Yes," replied Marv, "I agree with you, but I think it's understandable, no? And there the negatives end, you'll be happy to know. I feel that we have come a long way from the first match. End-to End football that somehow ended 0-0. The second - a solid match, where we played well defensively and finished off chances. And then there's last match, where I think we didn't deserve to let in two."

"But now, we can't let that go to waste - we just need one win from our last two matches. We might be third, but we actually have the best position going forward. Now Furellum..."

---

The Late, Late Sports Show

"Good Evening, and welcome to the Late, Late Sports Show with your host, Jeff Morgensson. We have some great news for you - Savalen has a great chance of going through to the next round! They just need to win one of their last remaining matches, against Furellum and Cosumar."

"We're here with footballing legend David, once again. So, David, do you think that they have proved themselves? Do you think that the team can go far, especially since Marv said that we should rate them after three matches?"

"Yes, of course they've proved themselves - even if they come third and lose their last two matches. This, remember, is the first tournament Savalen has ever participted in, and it's certainly looking bright.
As for whether they can go far? A win would take them through and a win in the knockouts and I would say we have made our mark. This might open a few eyes before our entry to the Senior World Cup within the next few years."

"As per usual, we've got the question from the audience before we go to the ad break. Do you think that Savalen can qualify for the World Cup within the next few years?"

"Is that a question, Jeff? Of course - it might even be this bunch of players that send us through! And with that, it's time for the break."

"Damn David, you stole my lines!!"

[Walkany]

The Wandelaar Times
International Football: U-15 World Cup Nine

---

Politics---News---Finance---Health---Sports---Tech---Travel---Food

The Walkany Gators have cranked out another top class performance in this tournament. Goals from Alexandro Pedro and Luis Mettal saw their team stay atop Group E with a three point lead. It was a breath taking display of attack combined with a stone wall defense. Julius Van Andringa's tactics fit the team's current top goal scorer, Luis Mettal, abilities perfectly. It allows them to take full advantage of what most others would label as inexperienced and unskilled. His better attributes were demonstrated flawlessly during the two-nil victory over the Croatian Socialist Federation in which Mettal was able to show the true extent of his capabilities despite the low score line. Pedro also excelled this game with a near impeccable pass percentage combined with numerous completed dribbles. His control of the ball not only saw him beat the keeper, but also earn the assist for Mettal's goal. Substitute Timmy Parsons earned his first appearance for the under fifteen team at halftime by coming on for Fritz Ramsey who had an off night. Jack Mane made his under fifteen debut in the sixty-fifth minute followed by Misa Rodriguez only minutes later. Walkany goal keeper Robby Sinclair was able to shake off last game's blunders and stop three shots from the Croatian's to collect his second clean sheet of the tournament. With all of this skill, some have begun to wonder if the Gators can win it all. You can find out here with the post match press conference below.

Reporter: Mr. Andringa, today Luis Mettal netted his fourth goal in only three games. This must surely be a sign of an up and coming star for the national side.

"I agree he performed well above expectations today and in the past two games. Luis' determination cannot be under stated. It is what has driven this team to our first three wins and I'm sure that he is hoping he can carry us on to even more. I would not put so much pressure on him now though. He is young and kids need time to be kids. This is not a time for them to become professional. This is a time for them to have fun and learn."

Reporter: The next two games could decide if your team moves on to the knock out stage or not, but most pundits are expecting wins. If you do move on to the next stage, how far can the team go?

"As I have said before, we will go as far as we can. There is no ultimate goal. There is no now or never. This is simply a time for these kids to experience international football. If they win a few more games and possibly even the final then that's just more experience under their belt. The coaching staff are instructed to put no pressure on them to perform within the tournament, only to learn. I for one would be delighted to win the cup, but once again there is no pressure on the players to win."

Reporter: Rumors of you taking over the national side have now turned into legitimate talk. Has N.A.W.F. contacted you about a possible contract?

"No, not yet. I would not rule it out. My agent tells me that perhaps I should look for top division club management before going straight to the national side though and I am inclined to agree with him. I have received a couple of calls about some of the amateur clubs in Dasmilchist KnoBweno, but for now I will finish this world cup and then return to my high school team to prepare for the next season."

Follow all the latest news about The Gators only in the Wandelaar Times!

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Best Of: World Cup LXXIV Goals

[Abanhfleft]

The Byquist Curse, Part One

Stadium of the Old Forester
Tsarskoye Selo, Markovsky, Mezaladbyi, Abanhfleft

Tess Byquist must think herself very, very unlucky.

And Tess was sure that she can trace her current bad luck on a series of decisions that she had made over the course of her football career.

The first decision had been to sign for Lionesses after a plane crash had decimated the team's roster. Tess had been one of the first signings made by the new Lionesses team's general manager, Vance LaFlame, who was also Tess' uncle. It was a one-year deal, just to get her used to playing top flight football once again and hopefully as a stepping stone to bigger things.

That hadn't worked out quite as Tess had thought it would. Who would have thought that one of Lionesses' depth signings, a young under-21 international from Abanhfleft named Zsofia Dolan would have her breakout season with Lionesses and turn into one of the team's regular attacking options? It was one thing to be part of the team rotation. It was another thing to be forced out of the rotation by another player, and a foreigner of all people! And it didn't help that the fans had gotten enamored with her.

It was like a physical blow to Tess; like she was being told that she wasn't even good enough to start over a foreigner. And in Armeia's crazy and slightly xenophobic milieu, it might as well be a death sentence, or a death wish.

And so that led to the second decision, a decision that Tess didn't think would screw her life but did. After finally coming to terms with the fact that she would only be a rotation player in a system with the likes of Dolan and two of Armeia's best forwards, Bianka Schraeder and Katarina Dana Bonner. There was simply no room for Tess in their rotation, and once she had accepted that, she had asked her uncle to terminate her contract so she could sign abroad. Well, either that or loan her out to Cruz Blanca so she could be close to her boyfriend Zoran Michel. But after Zoran dumped her--well, all Zoran had asked for was for them to not see each other for some time, but Tess had seen it as a real, legitimate break-up--Tess had no choice but to hope that a club from overseas would sign her.

There were only two countries that had decided to take a gamble on Armeian players, and those countries were Kirishima, otherwise known as Flardania, and Abanhfleft. Tess knew in her heart that she would never want to play in Kirishima even for a million-dollar contract and a guaranteed chance at winning some silverware, so there was only Abanhfleft left to choose from. Like Armeia, Abanhfleft had different leagues for men and women, and Tess fancied a shot at the Fleftic Ladies' Premier League. The LPL was small, made up of just ten teams, but these ten teams met each other four times each season to put the ladies' schedules on par with the men. Tess barely knew any of the teams playing in the LPL; only that some of those teams had signed Armeians. She knew Rosenpfelblatz had Isa Tangemen, and that she had helped her team to its most recent title two seasons ago. She also knew that Sporting Ceneisis had signed Svenja Volksson after the latter had left her old team, Vandals, because of disputes with Conor Svedsson along with some racist allegations. Arsenal de Releinthi were the current champions of the LPL, and Tess liked the look of their team, but looking at the Lady Gunners' forward options, which was fronted by the star of Abanhfleft's women's football team, Chelsea Stuart, Tess thought that she had more of a chance breaking through Lionesses' rotation than she had breaking through Arsenal Ladies' rotation.

And then there was Ludogorets Markovsky. She didn't know what it was that attracted her to the club located on the southern coast of Mezaladbyi Province, but Tess had taken a liking to the Lady Foresters almost immediately. Maybe it was because of their club colors, which were dark green, white, and black. Maybe it was because they were nicknamed the Foresters, and yet they were located in one of the driest deserts that Tess had ever seen. Maybe it was because most of the team's starting eleven were also members of Abanhfleft's national team, and therefore that was indicative of great footballing prowess. Tess didn't know. All she knew was that she wanted to go to Abanhfleft to play, and she wanted, and hoped, that it was Markovsky who would sign her.

And sign her they did. It took until after the Cup of Harmony, but Markovsky finally took note of her and, despite Armeia's decidedly lackluster last game in the CoH, Markovsky went ahead with the deal. Tess had boarded a plane to Markovsky for the medical and the contract signing as soon as she got permission from the national team staff, and that was it. She was a Lady Forester.

Tess had signed a five-year contract, and she would be paid ten thousand new penenks per week, roughly equivalent to just a little more than three thousand NS dollars. She would be wearing the number 20 shirt as apparently no player in the LPL could have a plain number 0 on her shirt, and number 10 had already been taken by Eriko Ogigayatsu, the team's Flardanian starting striker.

Her new manager, Kasper Molak, the former manager of Abanhfleft's national teams, had introduced her to her teammates. They had been welcoming to her, even open. At least it was a change from from her old team, when they had been suspicious of the latest foreigner to arrive to their shores. Raisa Korovina, the captain, had helped with the rest of the introductions after Molak had been called away for a press conference.

By the time that they had finished making the rounds, Tess felt like she now had a good idea why she had liked this team. Everyone in it seemed to have their roles within the team structure, but there was still enough room in the tactics to allow them to shift when and where needed. Raisa was the defensive midfielder covering the defense most of the time but available for an attacking run or two when the conditions allow. Bella Maynard, Raisa's midfield partner, was the free kick specialist, but she could still take a shot from long range during open play, and sometimes she could score from those long range efforts too. Jenna Koemann was from Schottia, and she was the rare ambidextrous defender who could fill in at both left back and right back, although her primary position for Markovsky was at the left. Eriko Ogigayatsu was the pacey striker, able to make runs through the defense and into the box and score from rebounds and deflections, but since she was the kind of player that was easily bullied off the ball, Eriko would be Tess' strike partner. Dawn Jackson, who turned out to be the daughter of one of Abanhfleft's most famous fullbacks, MacArthur Jackson, was apparently as great a defender as her father was, with the added bonus that Dawn was also useful to have in the box during set pieces. And finally, Adelaide Singh was the speedy winger who's always there to send a cross or a pass into the box and can also score a goal or two when needed.

Tess' teammates were all right. They all had their roles to play, and Tess hoped that she would be able to fit into their system as soon as possible.

And then came the third decision that was about to royally screw up Tess Byquist.

To be honest, it wasn't her decision at all. More like it was the decision of her country, Armeia, or at least the decision of the people who ran Armeia. That decision had been to go total war against their neighbors. Tess didn't understand the rationale behind the decision, but she did know that total war meant the suspension of all leagues in Armeia, including football, as athletes would be too busy either fleeing the country or serving it to play football. What she knew was that she was glad that she had gotten out before it was too late.

And then, a few weeks before the start of the season, a woman appeared at the front door of the Stadium of the Old Forester, the home ground of Ludogorets Markovsky, carrying only two heavy sports bags and the clothes on her back. She was the last person whom Tess had wanted to see in Markovsky: Sofie Dolan.

In a sense, their arrivals to the club were kind of the same: Tess had gone to Markovsky to escape being trapped in a stagnant career in Armeia, and Sofie had escaped from Armeia to Markovsky to avoid being trapped in a nation about to go to total war. The fact that Sofie had come from Markovsky before being acquired by Lionesses had escaped Tess' mind when she was contemplating which team from Abanhfleft to go to. She had wanted to go to Markovsky to get away from Sofie and her tight hold of her place in the rotation, but, like a serial killer in a cheap horror movie, Sofie had come back to Markovsky and was now looking to make Tess' dream into a living nightmare.

At least that was how Tess saw it.

Poor Sofie didn't even have an idea of the dark thoughts that her former and once-again teammate was thinking of her. All Sofie had wanted was to get away from Armeia while the going was good, and since Markovsky was the only place that she knew as home, she had gone back there, like the prodigal son, in the hopes of being taken back by her old club in any sort of capacity. But, unlike the prodigal son, Sofie at least wanted to be a player for the Lady Foresters once again.

And become a Lady Forester she did. Kasper Molak didn't waste any time giving Sofie a new contract, one that would pay her twice as much as Tess' contract. Tess could handle that. Sofie was a product of Markovsky's academy after all, and it was reasonable to believe that she would be given a bigger contract to keep her around the team for longer.

But then Tess saw how happy her teammates were when they learned of Sofie's return to Markovsky, and that was when she realized that she was going to have as tough a time breaking into this first team as she had back in Armeia. And to think that I chose Markovsky over the likes of Arsenal and Rosenpfelblatz, she thought before she left the club's training ground in a self-righteous huff.

What she didn't know was that she was about to become famous in Abanhfleft, but not in the way that she would have thought.

---

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
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ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

UNDER-15 WORLD CUP 9: ABANHFLEFT VS REPUBLIC OF ARKAN
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Arlie Rozier just before he scored the game-winning goal. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

SOESSCH, SCHOTTIA - Arkady "Arlie" Rozier opened up the gap between Abanhfleft and the rest of Group B when he scored a dramatic late goal in the dying minutes of the game to secure victory against Chromatika.

The match was lively, with both sides getting chances to open up the scoring, but the Anomalies Juniors looked set to hold on to a draw and make the Young Young Junior Revolutionaries drop their first points in the tournament.

This was until Rozier, who is eligible for both Abanhfleft and Pridnestrovia due to his ancestry and place of birth, glanced home Claudia Roos' free kick past the magnificent Mia Ria to spark wild celebrations among the traveling Fleftic fans.

Rampant Whitney Kelly almost gave Chromatika the lead in the first half before being denied by a stretching save from Elene Liner.

Ga-yeong Han and Molly Thorben had decent chances in the second half, and Rozier, Roos and Kassandra Pratt combined to set up a frantic final 20 minutes as the Fleftic trio peppered the Chromatikan box with shots.

Abanhfleft are still second in Group B behind Northern Sunrise Islands, but there are now five points clear of third place.

In those closing seconds, with Gannon Park awash with tension and anxiety, mostly from the visiting Fleftic spectators, it looked like Chromatika would secure a point that would feel like a victory to manager Lia Van Piersce and her players.

Instead, Rozier's intervention left Van Piersce and her youths despondent after an outstanding backs-to-the-wall performance, exemplified by the brilliance of keeper Ria as she kept Abanhfleft at bay, with one late save from Sonny William showing signs of a future world-class career.

Both teams could only fault themselves for producing a lackluster score that was not befitting of their matchup, or at least as how it was presented to the viewers.

Chromatika were part wasteful with their chances and part unlucky, with Thorben and George De Carnes both hitting the woodwork twice, Amelia Potts conspiring to hit the ball into the atmosphere, and Kelly's twenty-yard effort clipping William's buttock before going out for a corner.

But Ria will be solely credited for keeping Abanhfleft out of the game for the majority of the ninety minutes, and a series of great saves against a flurry of Fleftic rebounds would ensure her place on the radars of youth scouts.


Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: Team resilience a thing of beauty

Abanhfleft under-15 manager Rashad Dammam: "I watched this team as they struggled to break through the opponent's defense, and I must say that their resilience was beautiful. I have never seen a more spirited performance than I have just witnessed.

"Coming into half-time goalless was a new feeling for the youngsters. They have not yet experienced not scoring in the first half, and so this was a particularly valuable lesson for them. I wouldn't say that they were boosted by the scoreless draw at half-time, but we have to work with what we have.

"[Arlie] Rozier is a great player. He combines well with the rest of the attack, especially Claudia [Roos]. Abanhfleft must work hard to keep them in the national team, as they are the future stars. To let them go to Pridnestrovia would give Abanhfleft a lot of consequences. We must preserve this team."

CHROMATIKA 0 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
                 ROZIER (90+2')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 01 Liner
RB: 02 Augustyn
RCB: 03 William
LCB: 04 Baum (McAteer - 55')
LB: 05 Riddles
RCM: 07 Kleist (Chrysler - 85')
LCM: 06 Segovia
RW: 08 Massingale
CAM: 11 Pratt
LW: 10 Roos
ST: 09 Judd (Rozier - 69')

CHROMATIKA
GK: 02 Ria
RB: 10 Ilya (Lewis - 67')
RCB: 20 Friedman
LCB: 18 Andhoven
LB: 26 Eros
RW: 12 Kelly
RM: 14 Thorben (Nier - 87')
LM: 31 Han
LW: 29 Potts
RS: 41 Sierra
LS: 07 De Carnes (Nimwok - 59')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Chromatika: 50%
Abanhfleft: 50%
Shots
Chromatika: 11 (5 on target)
Abanhfleft: 14 (7 on target)
Corners
Chromatika: 2
Abanhfleft: 3
Fouls
Chromatika: 5
Abanhfleft: 12