April 26, 2016
Minakbir, Livancia
North Qianrong-South Qianrong group match
As broadcast by Qianrong Sporting Television (QSTV)
Shortly before startWang Yan-Kong: Hello and good afternoon to all of those watching the match that we've all been waiting for- the Firebirds of North Qianrong play the Thunderbirds of South Qianrong. I'm Wang Yan-Kong and this is my co-host Liu Fan-Shi.
Liu Fan-Shi: Good afternoon.
W: This is certainly going to be an exciting match, isn't it?
L: Indeed it is. Now, we already know that the advancement of both Qianrongs to the round of 16 is guaranteed, regardless of who wins or loses, because neither Ainin nor East Nautarya can make up the point deficit. But that doesn't mean that the tension is gone. Far from it, actually. With Qianrong now divided between North and South, these teams- these teams are, in a sense, representing their halves of the archipelago. Both Prime Minister Qi and Long Jiao-Dan have done a lot to make the Firebirds and Thunderbirds into symbols for their governments, so the outcome of this match will mean a lot for the governments in the Qianrongese archipelago, and for the supporters on each side.
W: Some are worried it might mean a bit too much, of course, after the riots that followed the losses of the fifth Coupe d'Esquarium. Both Qi and Long have announced that soccer riots will not be tolerated, and that any attempt to provoke violence will be met with a strong police presence.
L: Well, after the fiasco that was the CdEV riots, I don't think you can blame either of them.
W: Agreed. Anyways, what are the predictions for this match?
L: Well, of course, everyone is projecting their favorite to win, but it's much harder to make an unbiased prediction. The North Qianrongese are on top of the group, of course, and they've progressed farther than the South Qianrongese in previous Coupes; they also got a lot of the more skilled players from the old unified Qianrongese team. And, of course, they've gotten more balls into the goal in their previous games this Coupe.
W: Yeah, but the South Qianrongese haven't yet let a single ball past their goalkeeper, and they've got a lot of young, energetic, and very determined players.
L: True indeed.
W: But it's almost time for the national anthems, and then for the match. Let's go down to the pitch.
---
Twenty-six minutesW: ...the ball back in Firebird possession, Liu Qing-Shan has gotten the ball- he passes it Tsai Wen-Gao, who's rushing up the side of the field for the Thunderbird goal.
[Firebird forward Tsai heads for the Thunderbird goal, with other Firebird forwards moving up as well.]
L: Ton Duc Luong attempts to steal the ball from Liu, try to get the ball back in Thunderbird hands, but can't get his foot into position. Tsai's continuing up the field, past the Thunderbird defense-
W: Lung Bai-Xi has the ball- he took the ball from Liu-
L: [Jasnoran] Omejecov has gotten it back for the Firebirds, he passes it back to Tsai, he-
[Tsai dodges an attempted slide tackle by Thunderbird defender Tsung Kai-Peng.]
L: He's got a clear shot, only Tagumpay between him and the-
W: GOAL! Tsai Wen-Gao scores the first goal of the inter-Qianrong match, giving North Qianrong a 1-0 lead and breaking the spotless record of the South Qianrongese Thunderbirds!
[Thunderbird goalkeeper Dahilsa Tagumpay puts his head in his hands as Tsai high-fives fellow Firebird forwards Jasnoran Omejecov and Jiang Fen-Zhi]
L: Tsai was almost burning a path through the Thunderbird defense, wouldn't you say?
W: That was a beautiful goal.
---
Thirty-one minutes[Tsai has the ball, and is running past the Thunderbird midfielders.]
L: The Firebirds- Tsai's making another run for it! He's going to try to get a second goal for the Firebirds in the first half!
W: He's got the other forwards with him- Jiang and Omejecov are with him, the Firebirds out in force in the Thunderbird half of the pitch- the Thunderbird defense seems to be collapsing under the pressure!
L: Tsai passes to Omejecov- and it never reaches him! Rong Jin-Xing has the ball, the Thunderbirds have gotten the ball back in their possession!
[Rong passes the ball to Thunderbirds forward Deng Chao-Zi.]
L: Deng has the ball, he's heading up the pitch- he's being challenged by both Dobrosyl Elasinov and Sviatoslav Kalamiets- there's a scuffle for the ball- Kalamiets has it-
W: Deng takes it back! He's going for the goal- he's- HE'S EQUALIZED! Deng shocks the Firebirds by getting rid of their lead- and just as Tsai was trying to make it more comfortable, too.
L: A goal for South Qianrong, and the score is one to one.
[Firebird goalkeeper Ma Yi-Ping sighs heavily as Deng takes a victory lap.]
---
Eighty-nine minutesW: The tension is through the roof right now. Two minutes left plus stoppage time, and the score is
still only 1-1. Neither team has been able to get a goal past the other.
L: Could we see this heading into overtime?
W: There's nothing ruling it out, that's for sure.
[Firebird midfielder Wen Zhu-Fu throws the ball in from the sidelines to Tsai Wen-Gao.]
W: Wen throws the ball to Tsai Wen-Gao, who begins moving towards the Thunderbird goal like a freight train-
L: He dodges Rong, he's- he's passed Shui Teng-Ban, once again it's Tsai and Tagumpay, one-on-one-
[Tsai shoots at the goal, but Tagumpay dives and blocks the ball.]
W: Tsai shoots- Tagumpay blocks, but he can't keep his hands on the ball-
L: Tsai has it, he shoots again, HE SCORES!
W: North Qianrong has a 2-1 lead with only stoppage time remaining!
L: Only a minute of stoppage time for the second half. Unless South Qianrong pulls off a miracle, this is North Qianrong's game.
W: South Qianrong starts with the ball at center field- Ling passes to Deng, wasting no time at all.
L: Deng begins charging down the field, the other Thunderbirds are following him, all of them going out in force- they have to go all-out offensively or they lose this game.
[South Qianrong's forwards and midfields, as well as defender Tsung Kai-Peng are all actively attacking; only the goalkeeper and defender Shui Teng-Ban are staying behind to defend.]
W: Deng is challenged by Zhou Ping-Yuan, but gets the ball back to Ling- Liu Qing-Shan is trying to get the ball- Ling passes to Zvietomor Mladenov, a midfielder, who's gotten in front of the forwards-
L: The Thunderbirds are desperate, they are holding nothing back, throwing everything out the window. Anyone who can contribute will, it seems.
W: Duan Trong Chinh challenges Mladenov, but Mladenov makes it past him- Mladenov shoots- Ma kicks it away!
L: Ma kicks it, but-
W: Ling takes the ball, he shoots again- Ma kicks it away again- Deng Chao-Zi has the ball, he shoots-
L: Ma kicks it away for a third time!
W: Ton Duc Luong has the ball, he's setting up for a fourth shot-
[The referee blows his whistle, ending the match.]
L: AND IT'S OVER! North Qianrong's Firebirds have defeated South Qianrong's Thunderbirds in a nail-biting match, decided in the eighty-ninth minute!
W: Kudos to Ma Yi-Ping. Heaven, that was- there were four shots on target by South Qianrong in stoppage time, this final desperate push, four shots that could have pushed the game into overtime, and he managed to block everyone.
L: That's... wow. There's no denying, that's some serious skill.
W: That- that must have been a heart-pounding match for everyone involved.
L: It was a heart-pounding match for me, and I wasn't even on the pitch.