World Cup LXXV - AK75 - The RP Thread

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Final Twenty-Three Set For Atlantian Oceania

With the conclusion of the Wanderers' Qualification campaign and their winning of their group, quite comfortably in the end, Jullian van Setten has narrowed down the national pool to his final twenty-three that will be traveling to the Northeast of Atlantian Oceania this summer. It is a well balanced squad, with roughly half plying their trade in the SuperLiga while the other half play abroad, with four of those twelve playing in Nephara, considered to be one of the best league in all the world. The starting eleven is rather old bu there is a fair amount of youth and promise in the reserves, with the like of Jessica Weiss and Roland Lebrun looking like they will be starters next cycle if not in the Copa Rushmori following the World Cup. These twenty-three will be tasked with the challenge of doing better than their last trip to the World Cup, where an early Round of Sixteen exit derailed possible title hopes. Even before the draw, this squad will know that it is Quarterfinals and beyond as the target and anything short of that will be considered a failure by the PFA and the supporters back home.

Starters
GK: Bognár Lukacs, age 32, Iskara Daii
LB: Gaál Renáta, age 28, Galatica (F)
CB: Viviano Milani, age 28, Fligsive FC
CB: Zdenek Moravec, age age 29, Sabrefell Athletic
RB: Jens Reiniger, age 29, Crawford City FC
RW: Jorit van Kruistum, age 30, Hastmead Diamante
MC: Málfríður Vigfúsdóttir, age 29, Hellinic Rouge (F)
MC: Szölôsi Oszlár, age 31, Club Stein-los
LW: Sviatoslav Pokrovski, age 28, Vermillion Rage
ST: Dominik Mauer, age 30, Brigham
ST: Romelio Ceballos, age 25, 1830 Cathair

Reserves
GK: Takácz Endre age 34, Directus
GK: Grubiša Jelić, age 31, Maximium City
LB: Jürgen Gottschalk, age 25, CA Paulinthal
CB: Héðinn Olgeirsson, age 32, Peynol-Lunas
CB: Jessica Weiss, age 25, Sabrefell Moths (F)
RB: Józef Grabowski, age 25, Tanrısal
RW: Madeleine Lacharité, age 28, Stein-los Turkish (F)
MC: Peppin Ruel, age 25, Hastmead Diamante
MC: Roland Lebrun, age 25, Tanrısal
LW: Marjan Vukelić, age 22, Fetherdron United
ST: Inèz van Stiphout, age 28, Stein-los Turkish (F)
ST: Curtis Théberge, age 27, Ramusok United

[West Angola]

NAMIBE CHRONICLE

IN HIS WORDS: CHRONICLE INTERVIEW WITH JAN PAWEL


Pawel has guided West Angola to the cusp of qualifying for World Cup 75

NAMIBE- All around the multiverse, various national teams are competing in their penultimate matches of World Cup qualifying, and clubs are pressing forward in pursuit of their league titles. Druori, Cabinda Loyalist, and Andulo are battling out for the top spot in the Pierwszy Liga, and Luanda West is fighting to avoid relegation to join its crosstown rival in the Druga Liga. Our national team, however, is getting some time to rest and prepare prior to their finale against Frenline Delpa, and the Chronicle sat down with manager Jan Pawel to learn how he is approaching the match and making use of the extra prep time. Pawel managed the Farreth Island team which recorded several disappointing performances during the exile, but the re-formed Sporting Ministry named him to the top post of the national team anyway, citing a lack of personnel and adequate facilities as reasons for the poor performance. Minister Christian Davis’ faith in the former midfielder did not go unrewarded, as West Angola has rocketed to the top of the group, taking twelve points from the first two seeds in the process, and are only one win away from qualifying for the World Cup outright.

Your team has exceeded nearly everyone’s expectations this cycle. Did you think you’d be in this position when the draw was announced?

“It’s going to sound cliché, but I told my players before the first match that I knew they could play with any team in the multiverse, so not to concern themselves with where they were in the standings. As long as we went out and played to our fullest potential, we’d fight our way to the top. I’ve been nothing but pleased with how this team has performed so far. Peter Simmons has absolutely exploded this cycle, and Paul Ramirez has had a phenomenal string of performances. Our defense has been a critical factor throughout this cycle, and Jeremy Thomas has been on hand to stop any shots they let through. Every player on this team has more than lived up to my expectations, and they’re a great group regardless of how this cycle wraps up.”

Speaking of this cycle, how much is your team worried about Frenline Delpa?

“I think ‘worried’ is the wrong word. If you’re ever worried about a team in international football, you’ve already lost. We take each and every opponent seriously, and the Anacondas are certainly one of the better teams in this tournament, but we’re not scared. We’ve showed throughout our matches that we can keep up with any team here, as long as we take the match seriously, don’t relax too much, and don’t underestimate our opponents. We are taking Frenline Delpha extremely seriously and affording them the same respect we show every opponent, but we know we can match them blow for blow and we’re certainly not afraid to face them.”

How would you describe the pressure for your players as they approach this must-win match?

“It’s no different than normal, I would say. We’ve been focused on just winning the next match every single time we’ve played so far, so in a way we’ve treated all of them as ‘must-win’ matches. The pressure has been the same throughout, especially since expectations among the media were so low coming in. We knew we were a world-class football team from the start, so there was no pressure to prove anyone right or wrong, but now that we’ve confirmed what we knew all along we can just keep going out and keep playing football. I don’t think there’s any extra pressure because of this match, and even if there is every one of these players is used to pressure in their club play. Win, lose, or draw against Frenline Delpa, we’ll know we gave our all and played our best.”

How disappointing is it going to be if you lose the finale by a large enough margin that Osarius wedges their way in and leaves you in third?

“We’re not even thinking about that. If we lose, then we lose, and whatever else happens happens. We’re aiming to win the match and win the group, and if we do that nothing else matters.”

What sorts of special drills are you having the team run in practice to get ready for the match?

“There’s a lot of different things we do to prepare for each match depending on our opponent’s style of play and different strengths and weaknesses. We’ve already seen Frenline Delpa once this cycle, and we’ve got eleven matches worth of film to analyze. I can’t go into specifics, you understand, but we’ve put together a strategy that will put us in position to win based on their formation and style. We’ve had our substitutes and several of our U-21 All-Stars coming out to run against us the way Frenline Delpha will, so I think our side will go into the match with a lot of valuable experience against their opponent even though we’ve only played them once before. Having a little extra time to prepare is also invaluable, because we’re going to be a little more rested, and a little more prepared, then they will be just because we’ve had more time, so I think the schedule has been very important in putting us in a strong position to win.”

We asked Peter Simmons this when we interviewed him six months ago, so it only seems fair to put it to you as well. Who will you be supporting in the Royal Election tomorrow?

(Laughs) “I’ll say the same thing he did. I don’t make any endorsements; I just do the same thing any other citizen does: go vote. Unless someone’s running on a promise to fire me and dismantle the Sporting Ministry, I keep my political opinions to myself.”

Is there anything you’d like to say to the fans?

“Just to say thank you so much for all of your support throughout this cycle, this team feeds off of your energy, and a large part of our success is because you’ve been turning out day after day to let us know you’re with us. It’s a long trip to Bloodbenderopolis, but if you can make the trip please come out. We need every fan we can get to be in that stadium cheering on the players. I can promise that everyone who comes will not be disappointed. Win, lose, or draw we’re going to go out and fight for ninety minutes and stoppage time for you and try to punch our ticket to the World Cup.”

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This interview was conducted by Chronicle writer Christopher Lauren. Some elements have been removed in the name of brevity, none of the answers have been changed. West Angola takes on Frenline Delpha in Bloodbenderopolis next week. A small number of tickets will be available through the Sporting Ministry Ticket Office, which can be reached by phone at 22-81-1995 or online at http://www.football.wa/national/tickets.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview was conducted prior to yesterday’s slate of matches. With Frenline Delpha’s draw against Legalese, West Angola now wins the group on goal differential should they draw in their final match. Osarius now cannot advance on points, and must beat the loser of the West Angola-Frenline Delpha on goal differential in order to claim a playoff spot. Should West Angola and Frenline Delpha draw, Osarius would be eliminated.

Group 13                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
1 West Angola                             11    7   3   1    25   14  +11    24
2 Frenline Delpha                         11    7   3   1    18    9   +9    24
3 Osarius                                 11    7   0   4    23   18   +5    21
4 Falatulu                                12    6   1   5    31   34   −3    19
5 Legalese                                11    1   5   5    21   26   −5     8
6 Herendon                                11    1   3   7    14   21   −7     6
7 Tobiasia                                11    1   3   7    20   30  −10     6

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Part One|Part Two|Part Three|Part Four|Part Five|Part Six|Part Seven|Part Eight|Part Nine|Part Ten|Part Eleven

Part Twelve: Election Day, Part I
The three months between the presentation ceremony and election day had been a flurry of political activity. While Robert Silva had started out as the frontrunner, two strong debate performances and the withdrawal of Adam del Rossario had helped Karol Preszek vault into first place by a slim margin. The left-wing charity worker had attacked Silva mercilessly for his role in the brutal fifteen-year civil war, forcing his opponent to tack increasingly to the right on foreign policy, leaving Preszek to become the default candidate for the majority of West Angola’s liberals. The final poll conducted by WANN and the Chronicle had put Preszek ahead of Silva 27%-25%, with parliamentary warhawk Cesia Millian coming in third at 17% and moderate candidate Theresa Correia polling at 15%. Michael Eriksson kept up a dogged campaign on behalf of the Augustine regime, but his numbers had held static at or below 5% and the only attention his supporters received was to try and determine who they would flip to after their candidate was eliminated on the first ballot.

Emily, her cabinet, and their families had gathered in the home of Robert Morris just outside Namibe to watch the returns come in. Most of the people in the room were hoping Millian could pull off the shock result, she was a longtime political ally of Emily and the Freedom Party Chief Whip. She’d been offered a cabinet post several times, but had turned it down in favor of her current position, saying she was better at convincing than implementing. Her skills as a whip had been put to the test during the contentious campaign, as she’d faced the dual challenge of expanding her name recognition outside of the former exiles and avoiding the fallout from Preszek’s rise. While Silva had been his primary target, the anti-war sentiment her fomented had driven down her poll numbers alongside the general. Indeed, at least some of the cabinet’s support for Millian was born out of a fear that a poor finish for their MP might signal an imminent defeat for the party in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

Emily had begun the election supporting her friend, although publicly she had remained the neutral overseer she was expected to be, but now her attitude was more conflicted than she wanted to admit. Preszek’s words at their meeting about war had struck a nerve in her, and she’d spent several days touring the Benguela Reclamation Site as a result. Emily had been there before not long after the invasion, but at that time her attention had been largely focused on the tactical situation rather than the damage to the infrastructure. Even fifteen years later much of the damage had not been repaired, and even True Way was fighting an uphill battle to put the province’s economy back together. Emily knew her cause had been just, but for the first time she was questioning her methods. The crusade had brought down a brutal dictator and returned freedom to West Angola, but with so much of the country in ruins even after fifteen years perhaps there was a better way.

The familiar three bars of WANN’s election theme brought her back to the present, and Emily joined the others in gathering around the television. On screen were David Foster and Grace Ball, two pundits who made a living out of staking out opposite political positions and then arguing for the viewing audience’s entertainment. Foster spoke first, “Good evening. Welcome to WANN’s continuing coverage of this once-in-a-generation event. People all around the nation have spent the last three days casting their votes, and tonight as the polls close and results come in we will bring you all of them in real time. The big story tonight is the contest between Karol Preszek and Robert Silva, the two frontrunners. As we eliminate candidates throughout the night which of the two the voters marked as their second choice will likely decide this election. Michael Eriksson will most likely go first, but Preszek needs to grab the majority of voters from Cesia Millian, who will probably go out second-” Foster was briefly drowned out by a chorus of good-natured boos from the crowd in Morris’ house, “-orreia, who I think will hang around into the third ballot. How her backers split will likely be it, and Preszek has been doing all he can to court the former political prisoner’s voters on subsequent ballots. Grace, what’s your take on tonight?”

“Well, David, I think you have Millian and Correia flipped. Millian’s taken more support from Silva than Correia has from Preszek, and I think the boost from far-right voters after Eriksson drops out are going to benefit the more conservative of the two. Millian’s third in the polls by two points, and I think that lead will hold through the second ballot and see her come in third-” More booing at the pundit’s estimate filled the room, “-but I don’t see Silva picking up enough votes from the others to secure victory. Eriksson’s voters may be far-right, but the most important issue to many of them is how the government is going to handle reconciliation with the Augustine reigme. I think if it comes down to a choice between Silva and Preszek they’re going to shy away from the hard-liner even if the alternative is on the other end of the political spectrum.”

Foster turned to someone off-screen, “Poignant as always, Grace. Let’s now turn to Andrew Blakely, who was the Reform Party’s chief political advisor for several years prior to the Augustine coup…” The endless parade of prognosticators and analysts had begun, and would fill the next hour until the polls closed in Cuando Cubango. In the meantime, Emily went into the kitchen to avail herself of the spread Morris and his wife had prepared. As she sliced off a few bits of chicken to go with her cheese and crackers, Morris walked in behind her. “You know, Preszek can’t eat this stuff,” he said, gesturing to the chicken.

Emily hadn’t heard that one, and she rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me the man’s a vegetarian.”

Morris nodded, “Yep. His family says he swore off meat when he was thirteen and hasn’t touched it since.”

Emily shook her head, “Is there a bleeding heart cause he isn’t part of? Give me a break.”

The Minister of State laughed, “Careful, he might be your next King.”

“Dear god, I hope not. He’d disarm the military to fund some conservative project and we’d have an invasion from one power or another on our hands within a year. I voted for Cesia, but Silva was my second choice and the only reason Preszek wasn’t at the bottom of the list was that I reserved that spot for Eriksson months ago.” Food in hand, the two went back into the living room and killed time socializing until seven-thirty, when the results would begin coming in. At last, the words “MAJOR UPDATE” flashed across the screen, cutting off a former Old Guard MP as the screen returned to Foster and Ball. Behind them was projected a large map of West Angola, with the large western province of Cuando Cubango colored red, the assigned hue of Robert Silva. Ball addressed the audience, “The first results of the night have just come in. With just a handful of polling places reporting their totals, Robert Silva leads as expected in the largely rural province with 54 percent. Cuando Cubango saw virtually no fighting during the civil war, but polls of voters in that area saw many respondents nervous about the fighting in Malanje spilling over into their homes. Silva’s been very strong on defense, he and Cesia Millian both, but she sits a distant second with just 32 percent. Karol Preszek and Theresa Correia each have a small share of votes, with Michael Eriksson bringing up the rear. David, what do these early results mean for our candidates?”

“Well Grace, this province wasn’t really contested by Preszek or Correia, but Cesia Millian invested heavily there. She knew if she was going to pull off the shock result tonight she would need to perform well among pro-military voters, but unfortunately she’s not seeing that play out as those voters break heavily for Silva. What’s especially telling is that most of the totals we have are coming from rural areas, which are supposed to be Silva’s weakness. The fact that he’s already ahead indicates his share of the province will go up rather than down as the night goes on. Let’s get some input from our candidates, we have Calvin Holfield, Theresa Correia’s chief scheduler, on from Luanda to weigh in. Calvin, how is Ms. Correia’s campaign taking these early results?”

The screen zoomed out to reveal a dark-haired man with wire frame glasses, “Thank you David. We knew Cuando Cubango wasn’t going to turn out well for us, which is why we didn’t invest much time or money there. Right now I believe we’re polling at ten percent, which is higher than any poll of the province had us at, and ahead of Karol Preszek, I might add. It’s far too early to write us off, and if our results keep coming up higher than was projected I’m confident we can emerge as the victor. Once Michael Eriksson goes out, our aim is to be ahead of Preszek, and we’ll pick up a good fraction of his voters on the next ballot, which will put us in excellent position.”

The two lead pundits filled the entire screen once again as Holfield signed off. Ball took the lead, “Just a reminder for you watching at home: the voters’ second choices will not be revealed until the first ballot is completed, which is expected to be at about ten o’clock tonight, one hour after the polls close on the west coast. Once that happens, we will move through subsequent ballots, eliminating the candidate with the smallest vote share each time until one receives a majority.”

“Thank you Grace. Those second and third choices will be very important as we move further into the night, especially with no candidate expected to receive a majority on the first or second ballot. It’s expected that our final two will be Silva and Preszek, but we just heard from the Correia campaign, who are confident they can come from behind to vault into contention. We’ll go back to Mr. Grayson with his analysis after a short word from our sponsors, but we’ll break back in if anything develops.” The WANN logo faded in, then dissolved into an ad for a History Network documentary about the 1974 Gregon Riots, and the buzz of conversation soon drowned it out.

Emily and Morris, standing behind the couch, were soon joined by Mark Whalen, the Minister of Agriculture, “Not a great start for your candidate, I see.”

Emily was surprised at his choice of words, “Our candidate? Did you not vote for Cesia?”

Whalen chuckled, “Don’t tell her I said this, but honestly I didn’t see the point. I made her my second choice, but the top of my ballot went to Robert Silva. Cesia should win, but if we’re being honest she’s not going to. I prefer my vote to go to the winner from the outset.”

Morris frowned, “That kind of thinking may be why Cesia is underperforming.”

“Perhaps, but if the voters don’t see you as their first choice, you don’t deserve to win.”

Whalen and Morris continued their debate, but Emily didn’t join in. Instead, she was busy thinking about her own voting decision. In truth, she hadn’t been entirely honest with Morris about her ballot order…

The WANN theme interrupted her thoughts, and she looked back at the television to see “ELECTION ALERT” splashed across the screen. Foster was speaking even before he came into view, “The polls haven’t closed in the central provinces yet, but we’re breaking back in to bring you this major announcement from Theresa Correia.” The feed cut to a large crowd of cheering supporters waving signs and banners with Correia’s name on them all gathered around a small stage with a podium on it. Mounting the stairs along with her campaign manager and a small group of aides was the candidate, dressed in a dark pantsuit. Emily heard gasps from around the room, joined by her own, was Correia dropping out already?

The dark-haired woman took a moment to clear her throat, then began to speak, “Thank you all so much for all of your support. I have a brief statement to read.” The candidate spoke in Portuguese, one of West Angola’s two official languages, and network-provided subtitles at the bottom translated her words into Polish, the other. Emily spoke both, owing to her mixed ancestry, and the majority of West Angola’s government officials did the same, but many spoke only the language of their parents and held no small measure of distrust for the other segment. Correia continued, “There has been some question over the past week over which candidate my supporters will list as their second choice. While I have long maintained that I will leave that choice up to you, the voters,” she paused as the crowd applauded, “recent events have impressed on me the need to do my best to secure West Angola’s future should the unthinkable occur. Therefore, I respectfully urge all of those who have yet to vote for me to place Karol Preszek’s name below mine on their ballots. Thank you.”

Morris’ living room erupted into boos, and Anne Harper, the Minister of Justice, called out, “Lot of good that’ll do, with the polls closing in two hours!”

Emily raised her voice to be heard above the din, “There’s still a lot of people in line in the cities, and every one of them gets to vote. The news tickers are going to be splashing this all over the place, this is bigger than you think.” Next to her, Whalen wondered, “What did Preszek promise her to get that present?”

“I don’t know,” Morris replied, “but I’d bet it’s a little better than two loaves of bread and a blanket.” The three laughed briefly at his joke, then were shushed by Morris’ wife, who pointed back at the television, “It’s almost 8:00, they’re about to close the polls in the central provinces!” Sure enough, “MAJOR UPDATE” appeared on the screen a few moments later. Ball and Foster seemed to be taking turns, as this time she spoke first, “The polls are officially closed in the five central provinces of Cuanze Norte, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, and Uige. We’ll be bringing you early results from that region in a few minutes, but first we’re going to update you on the Cuando Cubango results. David?”

“Thanks Grace. Robert Silva continues to lead in the southeastern province, and his vote share has grown to 57 percent, up three points from earlier and confirming what we thought earlier that Cesia Millian was going to fall back as the night went on. Also noteworthy is that Karol Preszek has overtaken Theresa Correia for third, and now has eight percent to her seven. Michael Eriksson continues to be a non-factor, as expected, so nothing out of the ordinary yet. The numbers from the central provinces are now coming in, let’s get those up on the board so that you can see where we stand nationally:

8:00 PM:

Silva........43% (25,551)
Preszek......31% (18,421)
Millian......16%  (9,508)
Correia.......7%  (4,160)
Eriksson......3%  (1,783)

“As you can see, Silva has an early lead, but Preszek’s strength is on the west coast, which we won’t have any results from until later tonight. The charity worker’s strong showing in Cuanza Norte and Uige is certainly welcome news in the Preszek camp, as he invested heavily in that area in the hope of rallying support from the manufacturing workers up there. If they come through in big numbers for Preszek it could be a long night for Robert Silva.”

“That’s true David, but we can’t understate the strength of his support in the eastern provinces, and the fact that almost all of Cesia Millian’s supporters listed him as their second choice means he’s only going to get stronger as we trim down the ballot. This election is going to be razor-thin, and both Silva and Preszek need every vote they can get…”

Morris had nodded at Emily when Grace Ball had mentioned the Millian voters who had listed Silva second, and Emily had managed to nod back, but inwardly she was conflicted. Emily had voted for Millian first, as she’d decided she would months previous when her friend had announced, but Silva hadn’t been her second choice. Emily Parrish, with self-doubt raging inside her about the road she’d led her country down, had cast her second-choice ballot for Karol Preszek.

[Red Blackiland]

Red Blackiland Sports and Off-topic Chronicles

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The last supporter

RB Ultras - Red Blackiland vs. Eastfield Lodge

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Author : Mathias Gërdorffen

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The flag was a rag only.
As his team.
The worst of the worst.
A punching bag.
Of vexation in vexation, rout on rout, remaining seven players three fans, and a thin, ugly dog ​​that wagged his tail when the referee whistled foul, penalty kick, corner kick, goal kick, goaall.
Nor was coach.
The uniform shirts were full of holes, the indefinite color between pale yellow and grayish white.
No one had boot.
When the game began to defeat appeared inevitable and immense in every corner, in all the faces in all grotesques bid that shattered team.
The three fans turned two - Shmeihel despaired and changed neighborhood to stay away from humiliation -; Benedikt exchanged the passion of football in the body of Hertha.
She left him, the stubborn, the last fan.
- Man is man does not change of time - say whom it strange his obsession with defeat.
But time passed quickly, the bumpy field where so much anger and shame were planted turned into a luxury condominium high five towers of buildings indifferent to dribbling and feints that countless anonymous aces gave the vicissitudes of life.
The team is gone, every man for himself, each to the side that felt better.
And he, the self-sacrificing, felt betrayed, felt robbed.
- My team left me, but I will never abandon my team - spoke aloud, the same voice that swore at the referee, the linesmen, the goalkeeper of the opponent, to anyone who would listen.

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Montreal Noire Walktrough #11 - Final of Ko-han in the Homicide Department

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Montreal Noire Box - Buy your game now!

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Case/Mission #14 - The Railway Murder (Homicide Department)

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The captain briefs Ko-han and Subaru about that would appear that someone has hocked a dark rose wedding ring and a matching engagement ring, that sounds familiar to Shensunai's case, and sends them to press the pawnbroker , giving the adress (108º, Eoh Yong Street), then talks to them about other murder in a railroad depot on Mun Seong Su Avenue. Head to the pawnbroker and speak to the man at the counter. He will hand you two rings to examine. The wedding ring on the right has a hallmark whilst the engagement ring on the left has a makers mark from Nam Min's jewelry. You will automatically talk to the man again, and he will give you a false name and address left by the Jang Fyung killer, which Ko-han instantly identifies as false due to its relevance to Lord Byron, the author of the previously discovered poem excerpts by him. Now head to the crime scene, where you'll meet Officer Ro Young Ho.
The officer will introduce Ryuk Jun Yeong, the railway switchman, and Ch'oe Woo Jin, who is sitting on some planks near Officer Ro Young Ho. Talk with them later, speak to the coroner, he'll tell you the victim's details, Quebecois female, approximately fifth years of age, lipsticks smudges on the face but no writing, at least, nothing legible, blunt force trauma to the temple, nose and eye regions and ligature marks point to the probable cause of death being strangulation, that the probably time of the death was around midnight and no later than 2:20 AM. Search around the body and the scene for clues.
Turn the head to the right to discover that she's a vagrant and there is a strong smell of alcohol. Check her left hand, to discover another missing ring. Check the blue purse for handbag clues, an upper half of a torn letter trying to bring back her home and name tag linking her to a movie lot job in the Chegal Kwan Film Studios, but Subaru says that the studio closed back in the past years. Examine the matchbox for Ryuk Jun's Bar location. Examine the piece of paper next to the matchbook, and you will discover that it's a list of the victim's belongings on stationary from a liquor store called In Chong. Talk with Ryuk Jun, he'll say that saw Ch'oe Woo Jin lying on the top of the woman in the scene, that woman wasn't moving and seemed to be in a bad way. Ko-han asks what time was it, then Ryuk says that it was around eighty ten. The identified dead woman by the documents found in the crime scene was Chwa Yi Jin.

The head of the body

Interview Ch'oe Woo Jin now. Ko-han asks what did he do to the woman body, Ch'oe Woo Jin asks if Ko-han won't be upset about it, then Ko-han says to try him, then Ch'oe Woo Jin says that was kissing her dead, Subaru hits him in the face, Ko-han order to Ch'oe Woo Jin turn out his pockets, then Woo Jin shows him a lipstick saying that she could use some lipstick, Subaru gets angry almost hitting him again if wasn't Ko-han. Ko-han asks if he went through her purse, Woo Jin says that wasn't like she needed it and took a look, then Ko-han asks if he did take any money, Woo Jin says that wasn't any to take, that found her lipstick and matchbook over the mat, not much else. Ko-han asks if he did found the body, Woo Jin confirms it explaining that he work in the place, that was coming off shift and headed home, then Ko-han asks why didn't he reported the body, and how this is going to be look to a jury, then Woo Jin that he could tell that she was dead, that came about midnight in the past night of the crime to the place, but she wasn't there. Woo Jin will get hit in the face by Subaru again.
After he is arrested, use the nearby gamewell to get the address for the nearest In Chong liquor store. Visit it before you go anywhere else, otherwise you will miss out on a small clue that is useful later on in the case. Once you arrive, you will walk in and talk to the owner, Om Tae Young. He explains that was a friend of Chwa Yi Jin ex husband and will lead you to the victim's bedroom, when she kept some of her stuff in Om Tae's store. Next to the bed is a Book talking about Aristotle belonging to Pong Sang Hun. Turn around to the right, and you'll find a bowling pin revealing Wang Sun Bowling Hall, meaning that she did something other than drink in her spare time, Subaru knows the place and you'll give you an address a statue from Chegal Kwan Film Studios where she worked in legal copyrights for musics. Return to the front of the store to talk to Mr. Om Tae Young.
Interview Om Tae. Ko-han will tell Om Tae that they're trying to account for Chwa Yi Jin's movements yesterday, Om Tae said that she came up by in the morning, Ko-han asks if it was a social visit to pick up some of her things, Om Tae says that she had a couple of bucks and bought a quart of rye, then Ko-han ask if he have any idea where the money came from, Om Tae says that she didn't mention it but she did say that the booze was a present for a boy, said that they have been fighting and had to make it up to him. Ko-han asks if he and Chwa were close, then he says that no many people will be sad she's gone and he's one of the few, Ko-han and Subaru got the impression that Chwa had been sleeping very late, then Om Tae explains that became difficult for him to have her staying in there, her mother was trying to get her back on the straight and narrow, but she's old now, and tells that to be honest, people needs a good reason to want to get back on. Ko-han asks if Om Tae knows a friend of Chwa by the name of Pong Sang Hun, then Om Tae says that don't know him personally, Ko-han with a more tough voice explains that they're struggling for leads and ask if did she know Pong Sang, then Om Tae explains that she idolized him, that from what he gather the feeling was far from mutual, that he seems to peddle a revolutionary stance - fixing the ills of the society and how it would appeal to down and outs like Chwa.
Head to Ryuk Jun's Bar and talk to the bartender, who will tell you to talk to the patrons. Turn around to the left and talk to Pong Sang Hun in the booth with the waistcoat and red shirt. Make sure you go to the bar BEFORE the bowling. Ko-han ask if he did know Chwa, then Pong Sang says that its more to he aware of her and not know. Ko-han ask if Pong Sang have a criminal record, then he says that it was nothing serious just a few skirmishes, Ko-han doubts it telling that if Pong Sang want to save his time or will need to look up into Pong's file, then he admits that was industrial disputes and strikers, worker's rights, then Subaru tells that he's a regular fifth communist and call him a 'comrade'. Ko-han asks if he said that barely knew Chwa, Ko-han says that he's lying, that look down his nose at Chwa but he knew her and he have some idea of what happened, then he says again that barely knew the woman, Ko-han asks so why would he lend her his book on metaphysics if he only knew her in passing and certainly was more than that, doubting that a renaissance man like him will lend his books to acolytes, then Pong Sang tells that she hounded him about that goddamn book, then she lifts it from his apartment and lies to his face that she didn't take it as if she could even comprehend any of it, that saw her go to a hotel with Min Sun last night, they had booze in a paper bag.
Back at the station, head downstairs and talk to the Captain - he'll tell you that there are some concerns about the previous arrests for the murders, and give you a bit of new information. He tells that Su Young (guy from Technical Services) and Pak Young (the Coroner) have some concerns over the Shensunai and Rutsugi cases, which he don't want aired outside of the room, Subaru tells that the evidence is solid, the captain agrees but it's just that corpses keep piling up, Subaru thinks that they are copycats, the captain tells that he's been banging the same drum but the notes and the lipstick messages... then the coroner speaks about Chwa, and make a relation with Shensunai and Rutsugi, each woman, same brand (Kang Woo), same color. Subaru tells that Mangjol Myong Suk didn't have a lipstick message. The coroner says that technically Subaru is right, that she didn't have any lipstick, but she did have a message. We found it beneath her dress, scraped with a sharp stick, Ko-han asks what message was it, the coroner says that as far as they can be sure it was 'Cunt JF', Subaru tells that it's one way to look for it, then Ko-han asks about it, Subaru explains that cunt is about access, that Ko-han are married, and his one is mortgaged, that some of them like to pay by installments but this guy doesn't like to pay at all. The captain tells you to keep the info under your hat for now. You will also learn that the coroner has had to fire one of his men for being associated with Ch'oe Woo Jin and it's angry with that. Before leaving the station, use a phone to call in for Pong Sang Hun address if you haven't done so already. Go to Wang Sun Bowling Hall.
Once reaching Wang Sun Bowling Hall, talk with the old woman behind the counter inside, Son Jung Hwa will tell you to that ''Min'' is resetting pins in the back. Ko-han will ask about the ''Min'' name, then she explains that is Ryu Min Sun that introduced a old lady to Son Jung. Go through the door in the left wall of the building, once Ryu sees Ko-han he'll try to escape. There will be a Magnus AV 220 waiting for you at the end of the foot chase; get in and chase him. Once caught, there is another cut scene of Ryu Min Sun being loaded into a paddywagon for a trip to Surete's station. Now, you may proceed to the police station.
Now, time go to Pong Sang Hun's apartment. Check the mailboxes for the apartment number. He is on the third floor in apartment number 2. Kick the door in, nobody is at home. On the table to the left of where you enter find the second half of the torn piece of paper found in the crime scene. Next to table where you found the note, find a bloody tire iron with a bloody white shirt on the side. A short cutscene will trigger when one of Pong Sang's neighbors, Pan Myong Suk, walks in. She notifies you of his location - a pigeon coop above the apartment. Take the stairs to the roof. Once on the roof, Pong Sang starts to run. Chase him down. You should be able to tackle him, but if he manages to evade you, he will eventually hide behind a wall and attack you, leading to a fistfight. He'll be taken to Surete's station, time to interview both Pong Sang and Ryu Min.

Bloody Iron Tire

You must start with Ryu Min, head on over to Interview Room 1. Ko-han asks why did Ryu run, then he explains that was the last one to see Chwa that night, he knew Ko-han would think it was me. Ko-han will tell for Ryu describe his relationship with Chwa, Ryu Min says that barely knew Chwa, Ko-han says that he's lying, speaking that if he keep lying to him will charge him and in front of a Grand Jury before his feet touch the ground, he'll show the Pong Sang testimony, that he says he saw Pong go into your hotel with Chwa, and then he explains that met Chwa at the Public Library. That they would read for a while and then go for a drink. That they went back to his hotel, in the last night, and had some more to drink. He thinks that must passed out. Then he woke up and she was gone. Ko-han ask what time was this, Ryu says that it was around or after midnight, maybe later, Ko-han says that there's no one who can confirm this, Ryu says that there isn't and knew they wouldn't believe me. Then, Ko-han asks about the aristotle book that belonged to Pong Sang, then Ryu says that Pong Sang saw Chwa Yi looking at it once and laughed in her face, Ko-han asks if he are saying that Chwa stole it and then he explains that she wanted something of his and complete speaking that Pong Sang's been in trouble with the law before. He always makes out it was some kind of labor dispute, but he's not so sure. Ko-han tells that Ryu and Chwa were drinking together last night, and she had no other place to stay, then he says that don't know what happened last night and can't remember, Ko-han says that he's lying, he's been fighting with her, then Ryu gets angry and loud, saying that he's not lying, she got up and left and that was it. Ko-han says that she left but she came back to Ryu, she bought him a quart of whiskey to make it up to him and that she told the liquor store owner, then Ryu explains that she said she loved him, that she wanted to care for him but she would never stop talking about Pong Sang that he was a writer, was a hero, that he cared for the little guy, Ko-han asks if he did kill her, and then he responds that might as well have, that kicked her out and she had nowhere to go. Ko-han asks if Ryu owns a car, then he says that don't own it, Ko-han ask if he have access to a lug wrench, then he explains that he use a lot of them to clear jams in the pin setting machines, then Ko-han says that the coroner's report says that Chwa was killed with a wrench, that he think Ryu fid it and then planted the evidence at Pong Sang's apartment for them to find, he says that they went to his apartment, Pong Sang was up on the roof and Chwa stole the book, Pong Sang went crazy when he found out, he said that he said he would put her out of her misery and Pong Sang can be very cruel, then Ko-han tells about a missing ring from her right hand, then Ryu says that's strange, she always wore it, that is a big black circular disc with a white C in the middle. It was made from an old typewriter key. A present from the prop department at her old movie studio.
Time to interview Pong Sang. Ko-han ask if he's ready to answer some questions, then Pong Sang ask if Ko-han thinks that he have all the answers, then Ko-han says that people who run from the police usually have something to hide, then Pong Sang says touché and let's see where this takes us. Ko-han tells that Chwa died sometime around midnight and for Pong remember where were he, Pong says that he was at home, writing, working on a manuscript, then Ko-han says that he's lying and was out at the railway, Pong ask what do Ko-han have that proves he was there, then Ko-han tells about half of Mae Yi Jin last correspondence with her daughter, Pong asks what Ko-han are talking about, then Ko-han says that after he were done beating Chwa, that he searched her and found her mother's letter, that old lady's anguish amused him, he keeps telling that don't know nothing about a letter or Chwa goddamn mother, then Ko-han asks what was it doing on his writing desk, then Pong says he don't know, but if he didn't put it there, somebody else did, that's for Ko-han try exercising his powers of deduction on that. Ko-han now tells that he found the lug wrench that Chwa was battered with in your apartment. And the note from her mother, and his bloodstained clothing, Pong Sang asks if Ko-han think if he could be bothered to murder Chwa, he would be stupid enough to leave the evidence in his apartment, then Ko-han says that don't believe in Pong Sang, and the evidence says that he killed her, then Ko-han uses the Ryu's accusation saying that he's prepared to testify that Pong threatened Chwa's life in his presence, then Pong says that it's self preservation and it's understandable, says that he'll level with Ko-han, explaining that Ryu killed Chwa and he came to him for help, then Pong listened to him and he explained why he did it, Ko-han asks if he expect him to buy that, and Pong says that's how it went down, Pong told him he made a terrible mistake, but he would be throwing his life away if he went to the cops, then Pong took his things and told him he would dispose of them, then Subaru says that he didn't make it, then Pong says that is for Ko-han go to Ryu and that he'll give it up. Return to Ryu Min.
When you return, Ko-han tells that Chwa passed out and Ryu walked out, and ask what happened next, then he says that woke up in the morning, very hung over, he thougt that Chwa would have come back, Ko-han says that he's lying and he went looking out for her and order to Ryu to tell him what really happened, then he says that don't know what Ko-han are talking about, and ask Ko-han how could he wasn't in that hotel room. Ko-han uses the Pong Sang's accusation that he wound up at Pong Sang's, he were still incredibly drunk, passed out on his floor and that's the time to tell Ko-han what really happened, then he explains that Pong Sang woke he up the next morning, he showed him the lug wrench, and the letter and the box, Pong said that he came in with them last night. Pong said that he killed Chwa, and that it was all over the radio, and that he would protect him, that he don't know, and for the life of him, he can't remember a goddamn thing. That he was angry with her, really angry, that he could have done it. Leave the interrogation. Use the telephone to receive a clue about Pong Sang's criminal record about petty theft and assault on a local woman, almost beating the woman to death.
Returning to Pong Sang, Ko-han asks if he was in the war, he confirms it saying that seeing the things he saw, it changes a man, that he came back to determinate to change things, all he wanted was a pen and an opportunity to speak out, then Ko-han tells him that he told them before that he had only minor run-ins with the police but he didn't mention petty theft, then Pong denies that saying never been in trouble for violence, and this is the salient point in there, Ko-han says that he's lying because he have a history of violence towards women, Pong denies that, Ko-han proves the opposite telling that them now all about him and his dishonorable discharge - beating some poor women near to death in Centralis, that he's never been in combat and his whole life is a fraud, then Pong says that Chwa was a goddamn peasant whore, she tried to steal from his wallet, that he could have fought for tis country, Subaru interrupts him saying that he beat her because she stole from him and she tried to outsmart him, Pong keeps talking about her ignorant audacity and ask what is a man supposed to do, sit there and take it? How is a man supposed to call himself a man... Ko-han interrupts him, and says that Chwa a poor drunken nobody, stole his book, and Pongs completes saying that she got what was coming to her. He'll be charged by Ko-han by the murder of Chwa Yi Jin. Case closed.

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21 June 2016 - 6:00 PM-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ducher11-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone just plant evidence without them them ever realising

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21 June 2016 - 6:35 PM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Otto Ludenvock-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not true, as I'm sure you remember, in Rings and Butterflies case Mr. Tsukigito Shensunai is seen burning evidence after you talk to the neighbor. After you catch him and ask him what he was doing, all he tells you (or all he told me, at least) was "you wouldn't believe me if I told you." He found the evidence after it had been planted, unlike the other suspects, and tried to destroy it because he knew the police would not believe him if he claimed that he was being framed.

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21 June 2016 - 7:20 PM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretorius--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The guy probably wanted to kill the lady but i was kinda doubtful about it.

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Case/Mission #15 - The Power of Interpretation (Homicide Department)

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The mission starts with Ko-han meeting in tech services with the technician and the coroner. After going through a few 'gifts' from the Jang Fyung (J.F) killer. So Ko-han realizes that the J.F Killer is actually taunting them. He figures out that the poem they have been given translates to landmarks around Montreal. One message with the script 'Cunt JF Find me here i hide myself', a first Extract from a Shelley poem 'To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite; To forgive wrongs darker than death or night...', the technician says all the letters both been rinsed in gasoline like the previous letters, so he can't lift a print. Ko-han says if this other letters is from the Jang Fyung (J.F) killer he also definitely killed Mangjol, the technician and coroner agrees. Ko-han thinks that the killer are obviously taunting them, and he believes he is far more intelligent than them are. Ko-han reads other passage, "I hid myself Within a fountain in the public square...", them he thinks that they needs to forget what it's supposed to, and translates it literally eliminating the allegory (story with two meanings) side, and tells that the letter are indicating to the fountain in Montreal Ran Young Square. Then Ko-han and Subaru go towards the direction to this place.
Once you reach and climb to the top of the fountain, you'll find Jang Fyung's social security card. You'll find the first letter from the poem, 'There is a cave, All overgrown with trailing odorous plants Which curtain out the day...', you need to decipher and find the next location, that is Hause of Records of Montreal, that reunites records from building houses, properties and the Surete ones. The exterior is made of inrticate stonework and the interior features gleaming floors and beautiful walls.

First letter

Reaching in the place, go to the reception and talk with the guard, then proceed to the top. Ko-han makes his way to the top of the chandelier by carefully balancing on the chain and walking across. In the center he discovers Shensunai's missing watch, and the third excerpt from the poem with the passage ''From the temples high Of Man's ear and eye Roofed over Sculptures and Poesy...''. Suddenly, the chains break causing Ko-han to panic, he is forced to swing the chandelier in order to get it close enough to the balcony to jump to safety. Time to decipher the third letter from the poem. The next place to go is Montreal Public Library as Ko-han says that it has to be the tower at the public library.

Third letter

Ko-han after reaching in the library, scales the outside of the building via a series of pipes, ladders, scaffolds and boards in order to reach the roof, where he finds María Albertini's missing religious pendant, and the fourth part of the poem with the passage 'Round which death laughed, sepulchred emblems of dead destructions, ruin within ruin...' and Ko-han says so that this is a treasure hunt. When Ko-han returns to the ground, and reveals that he found María's religious necklace, Subaru voices his disbelief at the fact the Jang Fyung has eluded capture for so long, he also urges Ko-han to discover the next location. Then Ko-han tells other part of the citation, 'Of dead destruction, ruin within ruin!' 'Ruined skeletons... jammed in the hard, black deep...', then finds that it is East Montreal Ro Seung tar pits. Go towards to the place.
East Montreal Ro Seung tar pits where the prehistoric "monsters" have been preserved in the ancient Quebecois/Montreal landscape, Ko-han makes his way to the island in the center of the pit, using the wooden walkways laid out under the tar. On the center Island, Ko-han finds Mangjol's shoe and the fifth passage of the poem with 'A sphere, which is as many thousand spheres...' and ''A sphere, which is many thousand spheres, Solid as crystal, yet... empty', then Ko-han decipher that the next location is the Montreal Art Museum.
Ko-han realises the "Spheres" mentioned in the last stanza is the armillary sphere in the center of the Maze at the Montreal Art Museum. Subaru tells Ko-han he has no intention of going in as he has heard the maze is tricky. Ko-han travels to the center of the maze, where he finds Juni Rutsugi's Ring as well as the sixth part of the poem. Seemingly a while later (as it is now dark), Ko-han tells Subaru he found Juni's ring and another part. Ko-han tells Subaru that he are testing them, physically and mentally, to see whether them are worthy of him and wants to see if there is anyone out there smart enough to catch him. The passage speaks about thrones, altars, judgement-seats and prisons that indicates The Bigotry Studio.
Ko-han figures out that the previous stanza is leading them to the dilapidated The Bigotry Studio. Ko-han and Subaru make their way up to the throne in the set but Ko-han gets trapped on a platform which he must keep balanced until Subaru an kick a piece of wood into jumping distance for Ko-han to get to safety. Ko-han gets to the throne where he discovers Chwa Yi Jin's ring along with the seventh and final piece of the letter. The entire set suddenly begins to collapse and Ko-han runs to safety via the scaffolding at the back of the set. He manages to get away safely. Back on the ground he tells Subaru that he has found the final piece of the poem with the citation 'The place he calls home', then Ko-han thinks that's the end of the line.
Ko-han tell Subaru that he could might see this as a cry for help. Subaru tells Ko-han that aren't for he trying to justify this. Ko-han tells that this guy has been successfully slaughtering women in the town for half a year, maybe longer. He researches who he kills and then plants evidence so that always have someone to go after. If he hadn't sent the letters and the poem he could have gone on forever. We would've been none the wiser. We would have four executed men on our conscience and have been happy about it, and asks why else is he doing this. Then, Subaru tells Ko-han that he's the new face of the department, the modern cop who tries to understand why the perp does what he does. And then he (Subaru) just drop the hammer down on the lowlifes. And if you crunch a roach under your heel, you don't worry about what it's feeling, you just grind it into the pavement. Ko-han decipher that the next location its the religious imagery in the letter but asks which one is it, Subaru tells that probably it's place there's no one to bother him and talks about an abandoned church, then Ko-han and Subaru make their way to the place.
The last place is the abandonated church of the Montreal's Christ Cross. After Subaru mentions the whole thing seemed "religious", Ko-han realises that the final location is a church, the decide to investigate the abandoned Montreal's Christ Cross church which is located several blocks away. Ko-han and Subaru enter the church armed, and find themselves face to face with the Jang Fyung killer, Shotigoto Hunigaka. As a fire fight is about to break out, the detectives jump for cover, which gives Hunigaka the chance to escape down a secret passage. They then pursue Hunigaka into the vicarage nearby. Go left through the kitchen of the house and through another door. This leads the detectives directly into the killing den of the murderer, with a bloody bathtub, killing tools (including a bloody tire iron on the floor), and statue nearby. At the back of the room is a hole leading into the catacombs. Go down the ladder on the left side of the room into the church's catacombs. Ko-han tells Subaru to call for backup and see where the tunnel leads. Chase Hunigaka through the catacombs, being wary of cover and his hit and run tactics. After a lengthy chase through the tunnels, Ko-han chases Hunigaka up a ladder into a shed that leads into the graveyard. After a quick shootout, Ko-han shoots Hunigaka and kills him.During the cut scene, the captain of the department, lets Ko-han and Subaru know that they must never speak of who the killer was, as he is the half-brother of one of the highest ranking elected government officials in Royal Kingdom of Quebec, and the country was in election in the year. This ends the murder cases, and Ko-han will be promoted to the Vice/Narcotics department.

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22 June 2016 - 6:00 PM-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ducher11-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I completely disagree that there's any reasonable doubt simply because the murders can be linked to one another. The only way that could be the case is if one man had committed all of them, and the only man who had the means and opportunity was Shotigoto Hunigaka. His motive isn't something that's readily explainable beyond mental illness. I agree about further lines of investigation, though. That's one thing that would have made the game a lot better in my opinion. I would certainly have chased up the agency Hunigaka was employed by during the third case, if not before, as he was a prime suspect for me at that point. I'm sure a more thorough look at him would show he owned, or had access to, a brown Magnus AG 500, and was working at the bars the victims were at on the night of their respective murders, but alas that wasn't an option.

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22 June 2016 - 6:35 PM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walter Mensch------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I agree. Every case has reports of a unknow guy with the victims, the brown Magnus, the temporary bartender from an agency working at the bars, all links to him, and i really think that he's the Jang Fyung killer.

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21 June 2016 - 7:20 PM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretorius--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So he's a half-brother of the most influential Montreal and Quebecois politicians? Wow

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[New Gazi]

"The most bizarre thing about our record is that one team has even more draws than we do", said Coach Oliver Hausta. "I think Tumbra has 7. Honestly it hasn't been a terrible season. Only one team has beat us by a huge margin. And even then, we fought back and scored 5 goals against them in the series. I think it says something about our spirit."

Amare Contee also talked to reporters about his team. "Our style is unique. It's not as flashy as some nations, but we compete. We get in and fight. At the end of the day, that's what I want people to think about our first run. We tried, right up until the end."

The program at Ethane is considered more advanced than New Gazi's with their team ranked in the top 90. New Gazi is near the bottom of the standings, only being evaluated by the Baptism of Fire. Like Vangaziland, New Gazi is more of a freestyle or futsal country.

New Gazi came into the game against Ethane after a 0-1 loss against Matthewsiania.

"We didn't let the loss keep us down", said defender Jac Biobaku. "We played tight games against Matthewsiania and Ethane. We only let one goal through between those games. The keep played some good minutes for us and made a lot of saves."

There are rumors that a rift is starting to form between the defense and the offense, including the midfield. Some words had been exchanged in the loccer room, away from cameras. Some say a defender got in a striker's face and told him they needed to step it up on offense. That player brought up the Holy Empire games and all we know is that there was a 'ruckus'.

The event didn't seem to effect New Gazi in the game against Ethane.

"I think we played well on both sides of the ball", said midfielder Ayotunde Ibori. "People had to get some stuff off their chest. I think both sides showed up to play. We've moved on. Too bad we didn't win."

New Gazi has been eliminated from World Cup LXXV contention. There is still one game left that they want to win. The West African Gazilians are set to play Afrikaners and Boers. The teams tied with a score of 2-2 earlier in the season.

"There is definitely a rivalry between the West and the South. It's going to be a physical game", said Thao Yeboah, the man some call New Gazi's enforcer. Yeboah avoids that nickname and has been trying to clean up his image.

"Disqualified or not, we will show up for this last game." said Uffe Diya. The left winger scored the lone goal against Ethane off of a garbage goal rebound. "And we will be shooting for the win."

It is clear that the Gazilians are still in the hunt for 3 more points.

[Jeruselem]

In Quakmybush, Jeruselem coach James Troisi and assisant Princess Laura

Laura: We made the playoffs and we don't need to win the last game!
James: That's good we don't need last game dramas
Laura: You don't seem very excited
James: We haven't won our playoffs, we haven't qualified yet
Laura: We haven't made a playoff for ages
James: I know but we have win those now

Laura: I was shocked Turori lost to such lowly opponents
James: Yes, I was but shocked at that loss
Laura: I think they just gave up
James: Our opponent certainly put up more fight
Laura: Considering they were relegated and out anyway
James: We can rest a few players now

Laura: Yes, we need a few players to have a rest
James: We're not planning any parties either
Laura: Aw, I love a good party
James: Only we qualify
Laura: What about private parties?
James: Well I guess it's your party

Laura: You're party pooper
James: I don't want everyone to get carried away, we only made the playoffs
Laura: Well, I'm gonna have my own party.
James: You don't need much of an excuse to party
Laura: I play hard and work hard
James: Yes you like drinking too much

Laura: You go have a rest next game, you don't need to work
James: Turori have the bye next so it doesn't matter what we do next game
Laura: Yeah, so we didn't need to win today
James: Actually you're right, but they lost today and well it didn't matter
Laura: Good thing we won anyway in case they won today
James: Yes

Laura: Now you go have a rest and don't stress
James: I need some rest
Laura: We don't know who our playoff opponent is so we have to wait until next game
James: A lot of groups are still quite undecided
Laura: Hopefully someone we don't totally dislike
James: Yes

[Chromatika]

Prelude, Book I Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Interlude Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X

The Rainbow Revolution
Book I: The Sparks
Part XI: The Captain

"When you are captain, you are never speaking for yourself." - Brian O'Driscoll

It had been a rough first half for the Anomalies. The scoreboard read Shystyle 3:0 Chromatika, and it totally deserved to be read that way. Daellya Duedoo had barely been grazed the entire half; instead, the Shystyslysh attack had overwhelmed the Chromatik defense time and time again, with the ever-so-dynamic Jym scoring the hat trick throughout the entirety of the half. That wasn't the only cause for trouble - Zlastica Ellen, Luuk Aart, Lucjusz Stef, and Erika Morningstar were jawing at each other, and Nikolai seemed too dazed by the happenings to care. Rebecca gave Meagan the look, and she could see Gabriella staring at her as well. Ah, the joys of being Captain of a squad - you get to have everyone respect you from day one, but you also get to put out all the fires in the world, especially when it was in a game as important as this. If they lost this game, the Anomalies had no chance of moving onto the Playoffs to reach the World Cup Proper; win here, and they would have one last chance.

This qualification was more than just football for Meagan Kelly. Ever since Luuk's exile, and now Franscesca's arrest, this was Meagan's private war against the Chromatik government. She wanted the government to know that no matter how much they impacted the players, the Chromatik National Team would not flinch; instead, they'd practice on, they'd turn in the results, and they'd show the government that the government could not control them. She was quite pleased with the way that the team had performed so far - their losses had all been close, hard-fought matches, and they had generated enough upsets to keep things interesting; if it wasn't for the loss to Abaja at the end of qualifying, she could have said that they hadn't dropped a point that they didn't need to drop.

There was so much going through her mind that she actually gathered herself before she raised her voice to stop the bickering between the back four. Lisa had actually told her that she wanted her to take care of it before she addressed the team for second-half tactics; Lisa actually relied on Meagan for interpersonal issues in the team more than Franscesca had, perhaps because she had been put into the Managing position halfway through and didn't know the team as well as Franscesca had. Lisa was smart like that - she knew when she should butt in and when she shouldn't; and in this case, she had made the correct decision by letting Meagan take care of it.

She thought back to her little sister, who had asked her so many questions about how to run a team better during the U-15 World Cup. Whitney had made her think back on her answers and make sure that they were ones that she believed in, not just answers that she said out of the blue. It had served her well; now, whenever time came to make sure that the squad was focused, or that tensions would be alleviated, it was as easy as breathing. The reasons were always within reach, and she knew how to compose herself to be the best that she could be.

"During the third goal," Erika was saying, "It would have been much easier for me to box out Jym if you had been there to keep Scabb off of me." Lucjusz was shaking his head vehemently, and about to reply, when Meagan cut him short.

"Enough, you two. And you guys as well, Luuk and Zlastica. Let me tell you what's going on."

The tone in her voice suggested that she wasn't going to be denied, and the team gathered around her. Erika actually beckoned for Meagan to continue. There wasn't anyone on the team that could speak the way that Meagan Kelly could. Even Kéirâ Andìsorì in all her genius character couldn't hold one's attention the way Meagan could, or light such a fire in their souls that they believed that they could do anything that they put their mind to.

"What's happened this half is that the Shystylysh have had much better chemistry," Meagan stated. "Their whole strategy is to play around Jym, and that makes them both predictable but yet deadly. They are so good at what they do that it's second nature to them. It is fairly hard to defeat a team that clicks the way that they do when they are allowed to do what they plan to do. Do you see what I am saying? We weren't playing as a team, we were too disjointed. It's not that they are better than us, nor any one person's fault. We were all trying to play our own game of football, and they were playing as a unit. We have to remember that this is a team sport, that in order to win, all eleven members must act as one. Do you read me?"

The team nodded. The defenders that had been arguing among themselves seemed a bit embarrassed. But it wasn't time for that; perhaps after the game, they could talk those things out. Right now, Meagan had to make sure that the team knew what was at stake, and also what they needed to do to make sure that the second half would be an improvement.

"If we can't get our game together and start playing as a single Anomaly, not multiple Anomalies, do you know what that means? It means that we'll lose to this Shystyslysh squad, and drop out of the World Cup Qualifying. But as you all well know, this is about more than just football. This is our little rebellion against the government, us showing them that they can't control everything in the world. That's the reason that the CFF is going against the government and taking such a financial hit; they believe that that's their call to rebel against the government, by supporting us. That's why Franscesca is in jail right now, because she believes that that's her role to play in her last days, instead of managing us. I believe with all my heart that it's our call to go out there and play the best ball that we can. If we lose, I don't want the government to have any excuse to blame any of us for not trying hard enough, like the way that they twisted that Abaja loss. If we lose, I want them to have no reason to say that we are disgraceful mutts who don't deserve to be considered representatives of Chromatika. I want us to be the best we can be, and if that's not enough, so be it! But none of you go out there this second half if you're not willing to be the best that you can be. This game is more than just you. This campaign is more than just you. It's about our nation, it's about what we believe in, and it's about Chromatika's future!" Meagan stomped her foot emphatically.

"If we play as a unit, if we play as if we are doing our part, our calling in this rebellion, there is a chance that we can come back from this deficit. That we can force that pivotal final matchday, that we can put enough pressure on the Kitsunes to make them fear possibly losing their Playoff berth. Win as a unit, lose as a unit. Let us not play as individuals, but as a team!" She paused, and waited for an answer.

There was a resounding roar from the rest of the squad. Heads were nodding, the glint of a competitor was back in their eyes. And that was when Lisa came in, stated, "Couldn't have said it better myself. Better coming from one of you, though. Now, to start off with in the second half, I'm going to keep everyone the same. Then, I'm thinking I'll switch all three strikers about halfway through, to give new legs and new perspectives and throw a wrench in their defensive patterns. What do you say?"

Kéirâ, Nioli, Trenn, Ki, Gabriella, and Jazmin all nodded. "Do not care about who scores the goal, and who assists. Individual glory? Leave it at the door. Let's go out there and show the Shystyslysh how we Anomalies play football!" said Lisa Amos.

"Zlastica and Erika? Feel free to press further up. Let's create a zone at the middle of the field where they can't cross. You too, Luuk and Lucjusz. Play smart, play fast, play together. Now get out there and get in the right mindset. Go!" concluded Lisa Amos.

And that was how the Anomalies exited the locker room at halftime. Ready to play as a team. Ready to play their part not just on the field but in the Revolution. The Rainbow Revolution that was already in its infant stages.

---

Perhaps the most perfect half of Chromatik football ever resulted in the Anomalies coming back from a 0-3 deficit from halftime to claim a very important 6-3 victory over Shystyle that will make the final Matchday one to remember for the Anomalies and their fans this World Cup Qualifying Cycle.

After falling behind in the first half to a hat trick from the Shystyslysh midfielder Jym, six different Chromatiks scored in the second half to bring home the win. All six Chromatik forwards - Kéirâ Andìsorì, Ki Niro, Nioli Quren, Trenn Rien, Gabriella Antonio, and Jazmin Dragana - scored, especially after the starting three were substituted for the other three halfway through the second half. Carrol Liam and Rachel Hellion had two assists apiece, while Meagan Kelly had one and Erika Morningstar provided the last in a display of offensive firepower never before seen from a Chromatik side.

Gabriella Antonio opened up the comeback for the Anomalies just two minutes into the half when a long ball from Morningstar found her lurking. She was able to flick it with the back heel of her left foot. Three minutes after that, Nioli Quren found a cross from Carrol Liam to get the Anomalies within one, and then just three minutes after that, Trenn Rien's overhead kick assisted by Meagan Kelly tied the score; a three-goal burst in eight minutes. The crowd couldn't believe their eyes.

Lisa Amos played her rather ambitious card around the sixty eighth minute of the game, substituting all three goalscorers in a span of three minutes. The fresh legs of Andìsorì, Niro, and Dragana allowed the Anomalies to keep up the pressure, and it was Jazmin Dragana who put the Anomalies into the lead with a neat header off of a Liam corner. Rachel Hellion's free kick in the eightieth minute was punched away by Duedoo, only to fall onto the foot of Ki, who had no problem slotting it past the keeper, who was still on the ground. Five minutes after that, Andìsorì, with a brilliant fake-out move, dribbled past Duedoo after receiving the ball from Hellion; and the rout was complete.

The Anomalies don't have long to celebrate, however; the ultimate matchday awaits. They must hope that Anglatia draws against or defeats Flardania while defeating Abaja. The Lions, while an unranked squad that didn't even get to participate in the Baptism of Fire, have been a thorny side, taking points from many sides in the Group. They even defeated the Anomalies 2-1 in the first meeting. Chromatka will be keen on revenge, and also in doing all it can in its own power to propel it toward that elusive Playoff spot. Even if the Anglatians are not able to pull off the upset, Chromatika will be far better off knowing that it did all that it could, and also finishing in a respectable third place than the fourth place that a loss to the Lions of Abaja would cause. It will all come down to the last match. Flardania vs. Anglatia, Chromatika vs. Abaja. Will the Anomalies finish second, third, or fourth? Will their campaign end in bitter defeat at the hands of Abaja, calm confidence in knowing it had done all it could in the happenstance of defeating Abaja but having the Kitsunes win, or utter elation if the Kitsunes trip and the Anomalies prevail? This is the stuff that World Cup Qualifying is meant for; the stuff that the players play for; the stuff that us fans live for to watch and to partake in.

What a story for this Anomalies team. What will the next chapter entail?

[Abaja]

World Cup LXXV

Abaja eliminated after 1-2 loss

- By Iman al-Farouq

ABAJA

Oyenusi 26'
Atsi 38'
Abdullah 77'

KO-OREN

Volkov 26'
Leroux 74'
Chou 84'

Abaja 1 - 2 Ko-oren

---

GROUP 20

Nordeana 1–1 Anglatia
Abaja 1–2 Ko-oren
Shytysle 3–6 Chromatika

Group 20                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                                 11    9   1   1    19    6  +13    28
2 Flardania                               11    5   4   2    21   18   +3    19
3 Chromatika                              11    5   2   4    19   14   +5    17
4 Abaja                                   11    4   3   4    16   15   +1    15
5 Anglatia                                11    3   4   4     9   11   −2    13
6 Nordeana                                11    0   7   4    10   18   −8     7
7 Shytysle                                12    1   3   8    19   31  −12     6

With their qualifying chances at risk, the Abaja Lions were looking to make their fans proud and shock Ko-oren with a win. Unfortunately for the Lions and Lions fans, the Abaja Lions have lost against Ko-oren again, which means that they are eliminated. Ko-oren, the top team in group 20 and being a very defensive team, caused much troubles for the Abajan offense and only let up one goal. The city of Kingston was of course upset, just like the Anglatians last game. The loss slumps their record back down to 4-3-4 and their qualifying hopes are crushed. Though they are already eliminated, the Lions want to show their fans all that they've got next game against Chromatika. They want to finish off the schedule strong, though it wouldn't matter in the end. Also, if Abaja manages to defeat Chromatika again, they will be their second victim of elimination. Alan Atsi was the one to score for Abaja, and here is what he had to say during the press conference. "Well, it was a good run. We came very close to qualifying, but came up short in the end. When Leroux scored that goal in the seventy-fourth minute, we knew that we were in BIG trouble. Our chances of qualifying were on the line, so in those last twenty minutes or so, we tried playing the most aggressive that we ever could. Ko-oren did a pretty good job on shutting off our passes, so in my opinion, I think Ko-oren deserved this victory. We did good this time around. Let's see if we can do better next time during World Cup seventy-six!" Head Coach John Ndami also said "If we know for sure that we tried our best, then there is really nothing to be ashamed about. Sure, it was disappointing to lose in front of our home crowd, but you've gotta admit, we did a hell of a job for an unranked team. Our performance was terrific for most of the games. Most people that see unranked teams around here would just assume that they would do very poorly. We were almost the opposite. It was our first experience here. We made mistakes, and we learned from them. Now we know what it takes to advance. Let's make that happen next time!"

Alulawe Ju said that "Okay. We lost against Ko-oren, but what would have happened if we drew to them? Or even BEAT them? If we drew with Ko-oren, we would have still been alive here, but since we lost, it'll be impossible to catch up to second place, because we are now four points behind Flardania. That's why I said that the game against Nordeana was so very impotant, and now we know why. We had the opportunity to win, but we could not score, though we had many chances to. If we won against Nordeana instead of a draw, we would be tied with Chromatika right now, even if we did lose this game. Oh well.It's all said and done now. Nothing that I say will change anything right now. Ko-oren beat us fair a square and you can't argue with that. We'll just have to wait for the next one." Dedéna Esé also had to say this. "Yeah. Ko-oren has yet again disappointed us and our people, but we can't keep looking back at this game. We have one more game left. Our last game is against Chromatika, a team who we surprised last week. Chromatika and Flardania are fighting for that number two spot. If Chromatika beats us next game and Flardania loses against Anglatia, Chromatika will steal the spot from Flardania and cause an upset to the Kitsunes. If we can beat or draw against Chromatika, they will be the next team eliminated, whether Flardania loses or not, so the only way Chromatika can advance is if Flardania loses and they beat us.

A warm, sunny day in the city of Kingston. The Kensi Stadium, filled with 78,000 spectators, is where the Abaja Lions will be facing off against the Ko-oren Dragonflies. They Lions hope to stay alive here, while the Dragonflies are looking to add another win to their record. When the match started, the Lions were already looking to score. In the 2nd minute, Ervin Jon-Mikel (ABJ) got a pass from Eze Mbanefo (ABJ). Jon-Mikel then passed up to Alan Atsi (ABJ), who passed to Alulawe Ju (ABJ). The pass was taken away by Tingzhe Chou (KOR). He then ran up and passed to Vitomir Volkov (KOR), who couldn't really do much with the ball, as he later got the ball taken away from him by Fabrosu Nyema (ABJ). Nyema passes to Dedéna Esé (ABJ), who passed back to Ahmad Abdullah (ABJ). Abdullah passed back to Nyema. Nyema to Alulawe Ju. The pass was denied by Bahsen Bahvahnin (KOR). He passed to Tingzhe Chou. Chou passes it up to Nalaikh Bagaurunir (KOR), who heads it to Emeline Millet (KOR). Millet to Timo Arevalo (KOR). The pass was almost taken away by Ahmad Abdullah. Arevalo marches his way up field, before passing to Audrey Leroux. Leroux was quickly tackled by Merrakwü Odena (ABJ) before being able to take a shot. Odena passes to Stephen Oyenusi (ABJ). Oyenusi passes it up to Ahmad Abdullah. It is headed away by Timo Arevalo, but the ball comes back to Oyenusi. He then passes to Fabrosu Nyema this time, who powers his way past Emeline Millet and eventually gets past Vitomir Volkov. He passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi moves up, then stops. He passes back to Alulawe Ju. He shoots it. and the shot is pounded away by Cláudia Macedo (KOR), a goalkeeper who the Dragonflies really needed during the game. In the 9th minute, Ko-oren tried putting the game to 1-0. Nalaikh Bagaurunir zooms up field, then he finds the quickster Emeline Millet, who gets past Fabrosu Nyema. She passes to Audrey Leroux. Leroux stops to take a shot. She shoots! The shot is knocked away by Joseph Amé and into the possession of Emmanuel Udoh (ABJ). Udoh, with no one around, moves it up himself. He then sees Nalaikh Bagaurunir coming after him. He passes to Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema tries to pass up to Dedéna Esé, but his pass comes right toward Celine de Jong (KOR). Celine de Jong boots it all the way up field to Timo Arevalo, who passes to Audrey Leroux once again, and once again Leroux is tackled, this time by Eze Mbanefo. Mbanefo passes to Ervin Jon-Mikel, who quickly passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi crosses to Alulawe Ju. Ju's header... A bit to the left. In the 19th minute, Ko-oren was at it again, sharp crisp passes helped the team get past the Abajan defense, and it led to a wide open Audrey Leroux. This time Audrey was able to get off a shot, but her shot was high above the crossbar. Good aim, but too much power. Here came the 24th minute. Timo Arevalo passes to Emeline Millet, who finds Vitomir Volkov. Volkov runs up. He decides to shoot it. It bounced off the foot of Merrakwü Odena. The ball bounces to Audrey Leroux. She shots it - off the crossbar. Emmanuel Udoh gets it a kicks it up field to Ervin Jon-Mikel. The 25th minute soon came. Alan Atsi gets a pass from Jon-Mikel, but he is tackled. Jon-Mikel gets it. He is tackled as well. Nalaikh Bagaurunir passes to Vitomir Volkov, who is running up field. Volkov to Emeline Millet and Millet back to Volkov. Volkov again shoots, but his shot is easily caught by Joseph Amé. Amé throws to Stephen Oyenusi, he ties running it up, but ball is taken away by Vitomir Volkov! Volkov runs past Oyenusi, and has tons of room, but not for long. He sees Merrakwü Odena coming after him. He runs in the box. Oyenusi slides for the ball. He gets a small touch of it, but mainly gets Volkov's legs. The ref reacted and Stephen Oyenusi gets a yellow card, but Vitomir Volkov is also awarded a penalty kick! Two huge mistakes by Stephen Oyenusi and now Ko-oren has a chance of putting themselves ahead 1-0. Abaja fans weren't too fond of what Oyenusi had just done. Here's a penalty kick for Volkov. He runs up, hesitates, shoots, ITS IN! Joseph Amé seemed as if he knew where the ball was going, but he couldn't get there in time as the ball zooms right past him. 1-0 lead now for Ko-oren in the 26th minute. In the 35th minute, here was Abaja. Fabrosu Nyema to Alulawe Ju. Ju to Dedéna Esé. Dedéna Esé runs right past two defenders, then shoots. The shot is snatched in mid air by Cláudia Macedo. In the 38th minute, Abaja tried again, this time Ervin Jon-Mikel passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi puts the moves on Peter Morrow (KOR), slithering past him. Atsi then passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju has the ball poked away by Tingzhe Chou. He gets it back. He passes to Atsi. Atsi is now inside the box, and Abaja has a really good opportunity here to score. Atsi shoots, and the ball rolls right between Cláudia Macedo's legs. Before she could react in time, it was too late. Alan Atsi tied the game 1-1, and suddenly the crowd was re-energized. Abaja has finally managed to score a goal against Ko-oren, after they had failed to score one in their first match-up. In the 44th minute, Ko-oren tried to respond with a goal of their own, to silence the crowd once more. Emeline Millet sees Vitomir Volkov. She passes to him. Volkov passes up to Audrey Leroux. Leroux almost has the ball taken away by Eze Mbanefo. Leroux shoots it. It is caught by Joseph Amé. The halftime whistle blew, and we have a tie game here in Kingston.

Being tied 1-1 at the half, Abaja wanted to either keep the game this way, or score again to take the lead for the first time in the game. But, they knew that in order for that to be done, they would have to player harder in the second half. In the 47th minute, Ahmad Abdullah tried taking advantage of the space that was given to him. He moved up and shot a long distance shot. Cláudia Macedo dove for it and caught it. Alulawe Ju told Abdullah to move closer and get a better shot next time. Katherine Davenport then had the ball, turning on the jets. She passed up to Nalaikh Bagaurunir. The passed was headed out by Ervin Jon-Mikel. Nalaikh Bagaurunir. Throws it in. Vitomir Volkov get it. He passes to Emeline Millet, who passes back to Volkov. Volkov moves up field, along with Timo Arevalo. The Abajan defense looking a little exposed now. Arevalo passes toward Audrey Leroux, but ends up in the possession of Eze Mbanefo. Mbanefo to Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema passes up to Alulawe Ju. Here's the header from Ju. Smacked away by Cláudia Macedo and again Ko-oren manages to stop a goal. In the 53rd minute, a perfect pass from Nalaikh Bagaurunir allowed the wide open Vitomir Volkov to attack. As he does, he sees Fabrosu Nyema. He tries to run his way past, but he cannot. Nyema takes it away ad passes to Alulawe Ju, who passes back to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah to Dedéna EséI, and Esé passes back to Ju, The pass is taken away by Bahsen Bahvahnin. Bahvahnin cannot do much with the ball, and gets it taken Away by Fabrosu Nyema, who has been very active in the game. Nyema passes Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah gets tackled by Nalaikh Bagaurunir, and Bagaurunir passes back up to Vitomir Volkov. Volkov to Emeline Millet. Millet to Timo Arevalo. Arevalo finds Audrey Leroux, but his pass is deflected off the leg of Fabrosu Nyema. It ends up in Ervin Jon-Mikel's possession. Jon-Mikel passes to Alan Atsi. Alan Atsi crosses to Alulawe Ju. Here'e the header from Ju. His header is blocked by Cláudia Macedo as she manages to react just in time. In the 60th minute, it was pretty much the same for both teams, except Ko-oren was able to find open players and their passes were more accurate. Here was Tingzhe Chou, running against Alulawe Ju. He passes up to Timo Arevalo, who passes to Audrey Leroux. The pass makes it there, but she gets trapped. Luckily, Vitomir Volkov is there. Leroux passes to Volkov, and Volkov takes another shot. The curve caused it to go far left. He got another chance in the 68th minute. This time his shot was caught by Joseph Amé. Amé punts it up to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah passes to Dedéna Esé. Esé runs up to the box, avoiding Celine de Jong. He sees Abdullah running up. He squeezes in a pass to Abdullah, and Abdullah finds Alulawe Ju wide open, but Ju was just barely offsides. In the 74th minute, Timo Arevalo passes to Audrey Leroux, who runs up to the box and shoots. Shot caught again by Joseph Amé. Ame throws to Eze Mbanefo, but Mbanefo makes a terrible pass intended to Fabrosu Nyema and is now in Vitomir Volkov. Volkov passes to Audrey Leroux, and Leroux passes back to Volkov, while avoiding a tackle. Volkov passes back Leroux and sh'es wide open near the box! Leroux takes another shot, and it's in! 2-1 lead for Ko-oren after another big mistake by the Abajan defense! Could that be the game winning goal? Or will Abaja step up? In the 77th minute, they started to step up, but they could not score as Dedéna Esé's shot was deflected by Cláudia Macedo. The ball went to Katherine Davenport, who passes to Timo Arevalo, who gets tackled by Ahmad Abdullah, but Abdullah gets a yellow for that. The whole stadium booed loudly. Everyone thought it was a clean tackle. We don't know what the ref saw, but in his eyes, he didn't think it was a clean tackle. In the 84th minute, with time running low, Abaja was desperatly trying to score here. Alan Atsi passes to Alulawe Ju, and Ju tripped up by Tingzhe Chou. Ju falls down hard, and lands on his left arm. He was a little shaken up, but he is able to walk it off. Big relief there for Abaja. The last thing they would want to lose is their star striker. Chou gets a yellow. Ju takes the shot, and the shot is blocked again by Cláudia Macedo! That was probably their last chance of scoring now. They couldn't score before the whistle, and Abaja is now eliminated from qualification. Their next match up is a rematch against Chromatika. The last time these two met, Abaja won 2-1. Will they win again?

---

COMMENTS • 12,372
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Zamir Tekusa -Joined December 14, 2013
- June 22, 11:07 PM - Anglatian fans poppin bottles somewhere
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Dave Fuji - Joined April 30, 2010
- June 22, 9:13 PM - you can thank Abaja's defense for losing this one.
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Lionel10Messi - Joined August 8, 2012
- June 22, 10:30 PM - Eze Mbanefo - Throwing games away since 2009
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[Hasznia]

Saintland 3-0 Hasznia

GK-Scott
RB-McAdams
CB-Johnson
CB-Iverson
LB-Young
DM-Diaz
DM-Rogers W.
CM-Strain (out 45')
CM-Pearson
FW-Miller
FW-Hawkins
Bench: Clark, Villa, Burns, Sanders, Howard (in 45'), Clayton, Wright

Hasznia's in Esportiva now. I like this better than the "suddenly appears out of the mist" IC explanation.

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS LIFTED; HASZAIR ANNOUNCES FLIGHTS TO MARDI, AURORA

After several days of deliberation, Hasznia's legislature, the Assembly, has announced that the first of its "laundry list" of reforms has been enacted. Hasznian citizens, previously restricted in their movement by strict emigration quotas and arcane passport laws, will be able to leave the country of their own free will. Starting 1 June 2015, citizens will be able to apply for tourist passports at local Ministry of State offices, and the passports will be "expedited" to get them into citizens' hands starting 1 August.

The announcement comes four years to the day after the Classicist-Reform Coalition took power in the first free election in Hasznian history. Both parties were elected on the promise of substantial change, and in her speech upon being named Prime Minister, Candace Reid famously said the parties had agreed on a "laundry list" of reforms that would be passed to bring Hasznia out of the Kingsley Republic and into the modern era. After a few reforms passed with flying colors, the coalition soured, and neither party was able to martial enough support from the outside to get their proposals through. The legislature has been in gridlock ever since, with most bills either killed in committee or fillibustered into nonexistence.

In her speech announcing the lifting of the travel ban, Reid called for Hasznians to use their newfound freedom to build closer ties to Hasznia's neighbors in Esportiva, echoing a major plank of the Reform Party platform, regional integration.

"Hasznia lies within Esportiva," said Reid. "It is a disgrace that most Hasznians don't know even know what Esportiva is. I encourage, no, I implore our great people to spread their wings, travel within the region and without, spread the good word of Hasznia and bring back your experiences. Let's bring Hasznia into the twenty-first century."

Among the first bodies to react to the news was the Hasznian Football Association, whose board of trustees released a statement welcoming the decision, and strongly hinting at the increased potential for international competition by Hasznian football teams.

"With the newfound freedom to travel, especially within Esportiva, we look forward to greater competitive opportunities for our national and club teams in the future," read the statement. "In particular, by having to expend fewer resources to get our players to their games overseas, the Association will be able to send more clubs to more competitions next year, both Esportivan and multiverse-wide."

Last year, Hasznian clubs participated in the UICA Champions' Cup and Globe Cup. Possible Esportivan competitions include the Campionato Esportiva, the regional competition; the Campionato Esportiva de Campeones, a regional club competition; while multiverse-wide competitions may included the Cygnus Cup, UICA Series B Champions' Cup, and UICA Youth Cup.

Announced concurrently with the lift on travel restrictions, HaszAir has reached an agreement to fly between Barracha International and both Mardi, Northern Sunrise Islands, and Aurora, Southern Sunrise Islands. The flights represent an attempt by the national airline to capitalize on Hasznia's newfound ability to travel by increasing access to destinations within Esportiva.

The following is a reckless, completely unfounded shitpost of the variety normally posted to soccer forums in the summer. Take it with the entire contents of a salt mine.

REPORT: ALEX HAWKINS BEING SCOUTED BY STARLING
Starling are scouting Rolster striker Alex Hawkins per published media reports. The Hasznia International was scouted by Starling at the White Suns' 1-0 victory in World Cup qualifying over Chernordad. The 27 year-old has played every minute of the tournament thus far for Hasznia.

Hawkins has been one of the players of the tournament, following an outstanding season for Rolster in the White League. The pace and field awareness Hawkins demonstrated from October onward in league play and World Cup qualifiers, where Hasznia is one game away from advancing to the playoffs, speak volumes as to his development and maturity as a footballer.

The World Cup is the largest sporting event in the multiverse, and games are broadcast in many nations, to include Nephara, the most recent World Cup champion. In industrialized countries with strong footballing infrastructure, coaches typically have access to television, whether through cable, Internet, or satellite feed, and it is well-known that coaches will watch games on their laptops or televisions at home in order to see the best players and decide whether to offer them.

It is therefore likely that coach Amethyst Fegelein has been watching the World Cup qualifiers, and since Hasznia has been doing well, and Hawkins has been doing well for Hasznia, it seems a foregone conclusion that she has been impressed with what she's seen and will probably offer Hawkins a deal.

[Bonesea]

.

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Brenecia 1-0 Yttribia: Faulkner does a Faulkner to save Brenecia's day
Laura Mulholland
BRENECIA M Woodgate; C Szukala, O Faulkner (c), R Bradden (A Scrivener 80'), O Lovelock; A Skorupska, C Gryphon (L Paterson 86'), C Purrington; S Trevelyan (R Bowditch 68'), U Rankin, R Carroll
Goal: Faulkner 76'
YTTRIBIA W Vaughn; V de Klerk, P Vellderfenstermacher (M Saller 69'), U Bonaventura, Y Nye, A Kavanaugh; S Mondragon (B O'Doyle 85'), D Turverro, R Abbing (M aus Ostfall 78'); N Cingolani; V McNamara

It had to be Orson Faulkner, on what was already the day of two heroic defensive efforts from two heroic defenders. Faulkner had already done enough to preserve Brenecia's third clean sheet in Cullen's six games, with Revolutionaries defender Bonaventura a bulwark at the other end. But just as it seemed as though Brenecia would fail to convert their dominance onto the scoreboard, with Trevelyan profligate, Carroll missing the final touch and Rankin heavily marked down and unable to make an impact, who else would it be to rise above everyone else at a corner and put the Patriots ahead? Of course it had to be Orson Faulkner.

The game started at a breathtaking pace, chopped up by intermittent Yttribian fouls. Yttribia's defence has been strong throughout qualifying, and their attack less so. Brenecia, meanwhile, have been able to bury teams when they can get their act together, only failing to score in one game. However, solid, disciplined defending (no doubt learned from the master, manager Xavi Vilhjalmsson) kept the Patriots out of the box, reduced to pot-shots that Wardell Vaughn had no trouble saving. Ursula Rankin, drowning in a sea of Yttribian defenders, cut a particularly frustrated figure - Vellderfenstermacher and Nye were dedicated to marking her down while the excellent Bonaventura was free to sweep behind them for cutting wingers. It was a remarkably effective tactic that worked to frustrate the Patriots.

It was, on the whole, an exceptionally boring first half but there was a touch of nerves late in the half as Brenecia began to dangerously overextend. Wingback Kavanaugh floated a diagonal cross over the top of the Brenecian defence that McNamara, with a lighter first touch, might well have converted from and a poor pass from Gryphon was set upon by Cingolani, whose powerful shot was well saved by Mathis Woodgate. Still, the Patriots remained in the ascendancy and as soon as the board went up for three minutes of injury time, the onslaught began. Rankin, finally in the game, evaded her markers to find Purrington's throughball but had been dragged too far wide of the goal to seriously threaten Vaughn at his near post, while Skorupska narrowly missed from just outside the box and Carroll hit a post.

The ascendancy had firmly worn out by the second half, however. Yttribia had effectively ground the battle into a midfield brawl. It has to be said that this Brenecia team is a little lightweight, and it started to cost them ground and chances in a frankly excruciatingly boring half an hour - and the best chances came from Dionysus Turverro's set piece delivery and expert long balls over the top. A blooper reel chance fell to McNamara when Turverro's long ball across the ground was stepped on by Bradden, who overextended and slipped, but McNamara's attempt to take it away from the stricken defender only brought it into Lovelock, who hoofed the ball away. And then, from nothing. Bowditch, on for the quiet and disappointing Trevelyan, hit a hard, powerful shot deflected out for a corner by Nye. Purrington came up to take it, floated it at the far post and there, of course, was Orson Faulkner. 1-0.

The game was mercifully straightforward from there. Yttribia had mercilessly unravelled the naive Patriots on the counter time and time again in Sasha Bale's last match in charge so it was prudent of Cullen to order her side back as the two sides rather negated one another in the closing stages of the game. Vilhjalmsson threw on another striker late on but Faulkner, as ever, proved dominant in defence alongside the fresh legs of Scrivener and the best last chances fell to Bowditch and Skorupska, who both, it has to be said, failed to make the best of their chances. But it didn't matter - when the final whistle blew, it was the hosts who had, however narrowly, triumphed.

And now, Brenecia are second... hanging by the thread of goal difference, three above Yttribia and six above Lymantatia. Even knowing that Lymantatia are to visit the Sunrise Islands on the last day and will probably be thumped somewhere in the double digits, Brenecia will head to Aji no Moto as Yttribia host Mercedini knowing they need to match Yttribia's result while ideally ratcheting up the scoreline to a healthy three or four in their favour. Either way, Brenecia finally have it in their own hands... here's hoping they manage to see it through.

[Banguela]

I had not even uttered a word as I didn’t feel any need to do so. All that was left for me in store was to pick up my gear and walk out, the penetrating silence bringing shivers over my spine. It was only when I was already in my car, speeding across the highway that it started to trickle down that no one had stopped me. Why had no one stopped me?

Joao Ferreira never had made a secret of it that he considered the last home game before the play-offs as an exhibition match, resting the vast core of his regulars to keep them fresh for what would be a defining pair of confrontations. No wonder that the tactical preparation ahead of the Cre Drago game was rather relaxed, with those who had assembled enough credit points along the road allowed to goof around a bit. With the target already met, no one felt the need to bother and even the manager, who always made a great deal about warning for the quirks of the minnows, could smile at the boyish taunting from his recruits.

There was even a hearty applause, despite the bittersweet sentiment behind it, when Chingala was announced as captain for the upcoming match. Although he certainly wasn’t to be ruled out to appear in any further games, it could be presumed that this was the last home game for the 36-year old, now generally contented as back-up solution for Fabricio Santos. It pressed on the fact that, even if he still performed at top-level with Llara Llera and continued to grow additional lungs with age, Joao Ferreira saw his story nearly written after a very respectable 41 caps and a decade of service. That Djalma Yaba went down on one knee and offered his ribbon certainly added to the spectacle.

All around there were smiling faces, although some giggled a bit too nervous. Lua Banga, Carlos Nzanza, Pironga and Raul Paché were all very aware that their starting position in this semi-friendly indicated how they balanced at the edge of the final selection – and that making it would be a matter of displaying their added value tonight. Others, such as Ignacio Carbela, Wilson Zuela and Kubunga got a chance to prove how close they were to the starting formation and wouldn’t want to miss out on such an opportunity. Last but not least, Joaquim Lebo and Rui Vunguidica got another nod that the responsibility was weighing on them to guide Banguela in the next cycle, Joao Ferreira always taking a step ahead on others.

Oh, and a goalie, that would be needed as well. Not really needed, some grinned, but without an eleventh member the squad would look a bit too skinny. Finally, finally, … After thirteen games as unused stand-in, I had started to feel like the number two of a beauty pageant. Technically, you were on that podium as well, but practically, no one could care less. At my age, in my prime, I had grown tired of the back-up position. And yes, I had accepted the importance Joao Ferreira gave to holding on to the same keeper between the post as Landa Landa did give them stability and other such nonsense. But now it’s time for m-

”And on goal, Guilhermo Marques.”

A dry announcement which hit the joyful group like a bowling ball going for a strike. Awkward coughing. Teammates trying to look to the ceiling or the floor or just any space not plastered by… Me. Me and my growing anger.

But I didn’t utter a word and left.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

Censorina Polus had accepted Lord Almighty Gregory’s proposal, so now it was time for the spies to do their thing. First, they were flown to the Overseas Slave Islands and made to look like slaves. Then, they were given control of a Gregoryisgodistan Military Plane to fly to Taxachussetts, supposedly one they had hijacked from their captors. They were to claim to have found Iesus and try to enter Taxachussetts to hunt down and kill the Anti-Patriarch.

Lord Almighty Gregory then gave a speech reporting of a slave revolt on the Slave Islands, claiming it had been put down, 10,00 slaves had been killed, but some had escaped in a hijacked airplane and were heading to Taxachussetts. Of course, none of this was true, but 10,000 of the slaves were killed anyway to make things realistic. He even added a few threats against the Taxachuttans for good measure, which he knew they would ignore. He even added them to the Enemy List, for added realism. Nobody knew the truth, except the spies.

The spies then radioed to Taxachuttan authorities reporting what they already knew (or thought they knew) and seeking asylum. Naturally, they were given permission to land in the main airport and given a hero’s welcome for standing up to the enemy.

Then, they began their mission. They were given appropriate Church attire, which they were unable to wear on the Slave Islands. They then requested a meeting with the Anti-Patriarch, who they claimed was their hero, and hoped he would be willing to meet other heroes. They were told he was conducting mass in Lambridge, and set out to travel there.

While on their way, they learned of the connection between Taxachussetts and Free Republics, and reported that to Lord Almighty Gregory, who passed it on to Abelino Greece. Then, they arrived on a Saturday night, stayed overnight at a hotel, and prepared for services the next morning.

They then arrived at the cathedral, armed with weapons to assassinate the Anti-Patriarch. The moment arrived when he was handing out communion. Three of the spies simultaneously drew their weapons as he passed by them and shot him three times each. He died immediately, much to the delight of the spies. Mission accomplished! All the spies then fled. Some escaped, while others were captured and executed. But they reported their success to Lord Almighty Gregory and Censorina.

A few hours later, the two of them arrived in neutral Gregory Llama Land to sign a treaty and give a joint speech.

Lord Almighty Gregory’s Speech to the People

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, watching in Saintland, Gregoryisgodistan, and around the world. I speak to you today of a vastly significant matter. In joint operations, a task force of Gregoryisgodistani and Sanctii agents infiltrated Taxachussetts and assassinated the Anti-Patriarch who has terrorized both our nations. This could not be possible without the help of Censorina Polus, leader of Feministvs Sanctvsterra and Deputy Prime Minister of Saintland. By falsely staging a Slave Revolt on the Overseas Slave Islands, and then claiming the slaves were escaped convicts who found Iesus, they managed to enter that nation and kill that wicked man. Joy to the world, the Anti-Patriarch is dead!

“Now, it is time to do something which is long overdue. Effective immediately, we are extending full diplomatic recognition to Saintland and removing them from the Enemy List. Saintland has reformed from the sexist theocracy it once was, thanks in large part to Censorina and her allies. For that, we thank her, and it is my pleasure to sign this historic treaty. Censorina, please sign as well. And smile for the cameras.

Lord Almighty Gregory and Censorina Polus then signed the historic treaty and shook hands in front of numerous photographers. It was a historic day for Gregoryisgodistan and for the Multiverse as a whole. In related news, all threats to Saintland in the Gregoryisgodistani national anthem were removed. "St. Petrus town" was changed to "San Pedro town", threatening the town in San Jose Guayabal, and claims that Lord Almighty Gregory "killed the Sanctii in a duel" were changed to refer to Queen Margaret, the queen of San Jose Guayabal. Other changes were happening as well. Gregoryisgodistanis no longer considered Sanctii their mortal enemies, and were free to focus on the Free Republics and San Jose Guayabal.

Lord Almighty Gregory then concluded his address.

"Thank you to Censorina Polus for working with us on this mission. Thank you to our spies for carrying it out. We have put aside our differences and worked together to take out the man who terrorized both our nations. He is now dead, may his memory be a curse. And Saintland is reforming after ousting that terrorist, Feministvs Sanctvsterra is in the government, and we have future diplomatic relations. Now, let us focus on the remaining scum. Dumpy O'Rumpy, you will be next!"

Little did anybody know Gregoryisgodistan was amassing plans to nuke yet another nation into oblivion, and it wasn't who anybody thought it was....

[Abanhfleft]

Living With the Loggers, Part Two

Hunsen, Valeria, Anglatia

Bisera Haralampieva had never seen anything like it before in her 24 years alive in this world. There was simply no way that this kind of thing would have happened if a club like Hunsen was playing in the Fleftic league pyramid, although she doubted that things would ever get this far if Hunsen played in Abanhfleft.

Hunsen's performance against Rastaka had been a complete shitshow. Bisera had gotten the Loggers' only goal after she tapped in the cross from Alysha Hakala, but that wasn't even consolation enough in a game where Hunsen had been thoroughly outplayed by their opponents. But Bisera knew that it could be worse. They could very well have gone down 9-0 or another crazy scoreline like it.

And it was all because the locker room had mutinied. There were currently two sides in the locker room right now, the socialists and the monarchists. Bisera hadn't been in Anglatia long enough to understand the conflict between the two sides, but she knew enough not to get involved. At least, that was what she thought before this limp performance against Rastaka.

The split in the locker room happened because of some players hanging up flags and banners representing their respective sides. Bisera had also heard something about some of the monarchist players thinking that their manager, Erik Hanokssen, was turning their club into a socialist one, and that signing Bisera from Union Rheinburg had been the first step to doing that. Bisera wanted to finally speak up, to say that she hated socialism as much as the Anglatian monarchists did because her parents and family had fled Pridnestrovia because they had spoken out against Stepan Stepanenko, and Bisera had only agreed to represent the Democratic People's Republic in international football because she knew that she had no chance of breaking through the Fleftic national team's ranks, not with Lilly Prescott, Addie Singh, Rachel Azul, and CeCe Jones still in the prime of their careers. But while she wasn't a socialist, Bisera was no monarchist either, because Pridnestrovia had been a colony of the Russian Empire and had been one of the first areas to openly support the Bolsheviks, and Bisera knew enough Russian history to know that a monarchy could stagnate a nation and that democracy was a vital process in the constant renewal of nations. But Bisera kept her mouth shut because it wasn't in her nature to meddle in the problems of other people.

But this time, things had gone too far. None of the players in Hunsen were playing for the club anymore, and if there was one thing that Bisera hated, it was when people did not do things for the team. Her years as a Rosenpfelblatz City academy player under Matthew Cave had taught her that much.

The players in Hunsen knew Bisera only as that shy new player from the socialist country who could understand their language but not speak it. It had been a stumbling block in their communications in the early days of the season, but as the season had gone on, Bisera had appeared to learn to understand the Hunsen players' body signals, but what they didn't know was that she could understand them all right. Now she wondered whether it was time to finally speak up and speak out.

It seemed as good a time as any. The locker room was quiet, and the two sides were keeping to themselves. Bisera, being a foreigner, had been allowed to take whatever side she wanted, but because it wasn't in her nature to choose sides which she didn't agree with. she hadn't chosen a side and was now right in the middle of the divide. The quiet was all right with her, and she didn't know if she had the courage to finally speak up, but she wondered if she could do this. She had never known such a big divide within the locker room because in Abanhfleft, people talked over any disagreements they had with each other, most of the time. The only time that she had seen discord like this was during the days when the people of Rosenpfelblatz were absolutely hating on Mia Rojo and Isa Tangemen, but this just wasn't the same. Those cases were of the team and the fans against just one player. The trouble in Hunsen was between one set of players and another.

She could also drop a word or two to the players who wanted to leave that Abanhfleft and the other nations within its sphere of influence were always on the lookout for players to constantly improve upon their position from the last season, although it was only Abanhfleft that had a women's league that was even worth mentioning.

Then Bisera overheard a conversation between two of the club's players, Erin the drug addict and Britt the manager's daughter. She heard that Erin wanted Britt to stay away from her because she was danger walking, and then Britt told Erin to leave her alone and that she now understood why Valerians didn't want to get too close to other people. What a strange, strange country, Bisera thought. And she had signed to this team because she wanted to experience life outside the Fleftic sphere of influence, when things just didn't get this far.

Maybe now wasn't the time to speak up. But Bisera knew that it had to be soon. And there were clubs in Abanhfleft who were looking for a young striker to serve as both understudy and the future of their attacking unit...

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

SUNRISIAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Who's in? 20 of the 64 Sunrisian Championship teams still to be determined

Lower league side FADA: Division D's runner ups on the fold of the list of possible promoted teams

Speculation rises as the USIFC still works on who gets a spot up top. Currently, the association established a filter of sorts, where the teams promoted to the top have to be good enough on their own merits to play the top tier, with addition of a good enough fan-base, money to keep a solid squad, have not been relegated from the Division A last season and, in what might be the most polemical point of the bunch, be from a separate part of the Sunrise Islands that isn't covered by the league's current teams. With this in mind, DE PLACA decided to go after some of the most possible choices of teams that will play the Sunrisian Championship A next season.

ALMOST-LOCKS
Some of last season's almost promoted teams are almost certain locks to the Sunrisian Championship A's inaugural 64-team season. Some of these would be actually returning from brief stints up top, such as Hadá Ash Shām SC, Vice City and Aurora Sylveons. The Northeastern Sunrisian team barely missed out on a spot, the same guaranteeing Davencreek's return to Division A, fits near perfectly the criteria established by the USIFC. The other two sides, Vice City from Eastern Sunrise and Aurora Sylveons from Southern Sunrise might make even more of a case, with Southern Sunrise almost missing on having any teams on the top with Danielson City out. Other teams with less quality runs last season such as Ellicottville Wanderers, Kyoko Artemians and Central City should also be considered via home nation power.

GOOD CHANCE
Colonial teams up top and C/D division teams follow. Former champion Son Vasco CF, while still stuck on the Division B, remains as one surprisingly good quality colonial team, justifying presence. Same with Edenian Sunrise, though to a lesser extent. Meanwhile, some Non-Northern Sunrise teams on the lower leagues might justify a good shot as well. A major case of this would be North by Northwestern Sunrise Islands main team FADA, who spent their entire run on the Sunrisian Championship being touted as a future powerhouse with a surprisingly large fanbase thanks to their home country's low football quality.

MEDIUM CHANCE
Ex-pats, lesser non-Northern teams and colonial teams qualify as being of medium interest. These are more political cases than actual football skill, with teams such as Pezcemá Golden Magikarps, Hollywood Acres Stars, Blessigne Harmonia and Magdalaria Dolania, all consisting of teams from foreign-cultures that now reside inside the Sunrise; others like Ginástica e Esgrima and Horseshoe Lake who do have their own weight at their homes but are far from the top and some colonial squads such as B52s and Black Houndoom.

QUESTIONABLE TO NONE
Everyone else. Even if some were suggested to join based out of historical relevance such as the Three Originals (Mardi Gras, Mardi Wanderers and Red Star Mardi) or could make a case to play again on top such as Joinville City.

A list of the sixty-four teams participating shall be released during the upcoming World Cup.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

NEWSLETTER OF THE IMPERIAL WOMEN'S INSTITUTE
Palace Branch

Ask Harriet & Elsie
The Advice Column for Ladies


Dear Harriet & Elsie,

With footy-ball fever sweeping the IWI, I wonder if you can help clarify something for me?

I was under the impression that yesterday's 1-0 loss to Matthewsiania was a crushing blow to our qualification chances - a disappointment greater than the time that Mrs Bombazine forgot to put the baking powder in her chocolate biscuits - yet Mr Tzimisces assures me that our 'destiny is in our hands', and that a win against Ethane would still guarantee us top spot in the group. This seems most unlikely to me given that last night's loss leaves us second in the group.

One was considering breaking out the sherry to assuage one's disappointment, but is Mr Tzimisces perhaps right? He does know more about these things than I do after all; I am but a substitute midfielder with limited playing time this campaign, and whose main contribution has been making the half-time tea.

Yours,

Gertrude Zibeline (Mrs)

Dear Mrs Zibeline,

Mr Tzimisces is indeed correct. This is due to a phenomenon known as 'games in hand', whereby one team has played fewer matches than the other due to something called 'by-days', which help to accommodate an odd number of teams in each group. As Matthewsiania have played all of their matches, they cannot improve their points total. A win will therefore send the Holy Empire through as group winners regardless of other results.

A draw would be more complicated, and would depend on other results, and such tricky concepts as 'head to head results' and 'goal difference'. Perhaps Mr Tzimisces can explain these to you better than we can.

But the important point is this: a victory will send the Palace Branch ladies through to the World Cup - good luck from all of us here at the Newsletter.

Sincerely Yours,

Harriet & Elsie


Dear Harriet & Elsie,

I am struggling with a point of modern etiquette, and I wonder if you can help me.

In our last match against Matthewsiania, I committed what was later referred to as a 'vicious foul', and yet escaped any sanction as the referee was temporarily distracted by Mrs Yarn hitting one of the opposing players over the head with her handbag (for which she duly - and rightly in my opinion - received one of those yellow card thingies; why yellow incidentally? Why not a more pleasing pastel colour that one might choose to decorate the parlour. But I perhaps digress). While I assure you that I had no intent to harm, subsequent viewing of the foul certainly looks worse than I realised.

My question is this: is it my duty to report myself to the referee? Should I have perhaps sent myself off? Should I write a full letter of confession to the people at CUCOONIFFY?

Yours,

Martha Corduroy (Mrs)

Dear Mrs Corduroy,

We can understand your distress over this matter, but we should take a moment to assure you that no further action is expected on your part here.

If you are suffused with a feeling of guilt, you should limit yourself to writing a letter of apology to the opposing player, perhaps including some biscuits and/or flowers.

Sincerely Yours,

Harriet & Elsie


Dear Harriet & Elsie

With a crunch match against Ethane deciding whether we'll qualify for the World Cup or perhaps miss out for the second consecutive tournament, I find myself uncharacteristically undecided about my tactics. After so many tournaments, has an attacking 5-3-2 system with overlapping wingbacks become too stale? Will opposing manager Curtis Steeling be able to adjust the Red Kites' tactics accordingly?

I mean, it was all well and good when my squads were multiverse-conquering teams that could brush aside the Vanorians and Audioslavians with considered ease, but these days we seem to be losing to unranked mystery teams that haven't even entered the Baptism of Fire. Not that the squads that HEFA have landed me with have helped mind, but if I can win the tournament coaching the imbeciles from the Imperial Club, surely I can manage to qualify with archaeologists or a bunch of crumpet-baking pensioners. It's enough to even make an immortal embodiment of a deliberately unspecified but likely important principle doubt himself.

So what should I do? Stick with my tried and true principles or try something new?

Yours,

Not At All Juan Tzimisces (Mr), Honest.

Dear Mystery Figure Who Is Not At All Juan Tzimisces,

You must follow your heart on this one. What do you think would work best? Have you hypothetically won four World Cups by chopping and changing, or by sticking to that 5-3-2 formation? Are there situations where flexibility and adaptability work best, or is rigid adherence to principle vital?

These are, we venture to suggest, not issues that we can decide for you, but something that only you can decide.

We would wish you luck against Ethane if you were Juan Tzimisces, but since you so clearly aren't (wink, wink), we shall simply sign ourselves...

Sincerely Yours,

Harriet & Elsie

[Ko-oren]

Union of Ko-oren Games

Nation - G S B

Ko-oren - 12 14 8
Thaulandi - 11 22 14
Nine Sisters - 10 11 15
Wolf Islands - 10 1 2
Protea - 8 0 6
Polaris - 7 8 4
Zakhozan - 5 2 4
Waratah - 4 2 7
Dragonfly Isl- 4 1 6
Kang Rao - 3 5 3
Santa Teresa - 3 4 6
Milyu - 2 3 3
Taloren - 2 2 2
Irisia - 2 0 1
Seiranesia - 1 4 2
Dendronesia - 1 3 0
Fern - 1 2 0
Skyvinduren - 1 2 0
Six Saints - 1 1 4
Arhoria - 0 1 1

Baseball: Ko-oren, Nine Sisters, Polaris, Kang Rao, Thaulandi, Six Saints, Protea, Milyu
Basketball: Ko-oren, Kang Rao, Nine Sisters, Santa Teresa, Six Saints, Thaulandi, Wolf Islands, Waratah
Ko-orenite Football: Ko-oren North, Ko-oren West, Ko-oren East and Nine Sisters
Ice hockey: Thaulandi, Nine Sisters, Ko-oren, Zakhozan
Handball: Ko-oren, Polaris, Thaulandi, Nine Sisters
Gridiron: Ko-oren, Thaulandi, Nine Sisters, Six Saints, Zakhozan, Waratah, Kang Rao and the Wolf Islands.
Rugby Union: Ko-oren, Milyu, Waratah and Protea
Rugby League: Ko-oren, Waratah, Milyu and Fern
Soccer: Ko-oren, Thaulandi, Nine Sisters, Kang Rao, Santa Teresa, Protea, Polaris and the Six Saints
Lacrosse: Thaulandi will play the Nine Sisters in the semis while Polaris faces Ko-oren
Field Hockey: Ko-oren, Dragonfly Islands, Nine Sisters, Thaulandi, Santa Teresa, Waratah, Milyu and the Western Islands (Irisia, Arhoria, Taloren, Seiranesia and Dendronesia together)
Waratah Rules: Waratah and Fern
Bandy: Thaulandi playing Polaris
Volleyball: Waratah, Santa Teresa, Six Saints and Protea.

The Games are almost over, and apart from some minor incidents it was a resounding success. All that's left now is the finals in all the big team, field and ball sports. There are 14 of these, and then the final weekend is kicked off by the tennis finals (four of them as well). This is a weekend that many have looked forward to for over a decade. There is finally pride in rooting for your own nation over others. It's finally not time for cheering for whatever someone from the Union does, it's about your national history as a member nation of the Union of Ko-oren. It's about rivalries, from the small to the big. It's about showing that while the Union looks like a big scary monster on the outside, its insides are made of smaller entities that deserve just as much attention.

Here's the situation going into the final 18 events.

The big four
The big four have the largest economies, populations and the largest number of sports teams within their borders. It's Ko-oren, Thaulandi, the Nine Sisters and Polaris. Stereotypically, Ko-oren is the political centre, the Nine Sisters are the financial centre, Polaris is the historical/cultural centre while Thaulandi has all the people, resources and money. The Ko-orenites are going into the final weekend in the lead. Thaulandi follows close behind, the Nine Sisters are just behind them and Polaris has to conjure a miracle to find a spot among the top 4.

The next 10
The next ten have populations between 2 and 10 million. They don't have the track record of the big four, but are far from small and meaningless. It's, in order of population, Santa Teresa, Zakhozan, Waratah, Kang Rao, Protea, Six Saints, Milyu, Wolf Islands, Dragonfly Islands, and Fern. Another way of grouping is the following:

The Crux Island Nations
This group consists of fairly large nations with small populations relatively, located on the biggest landmass of the Union: Crux Island. It's south of the big four nations, and consists of the following nations:
Waratah - a poor record in the Games so far, but big on the team sports.
Fern - Just happy to be here. They too have a focus on team sports, so who knows what happens?
Protea - Did better than anyone hoped, as they are usually overshadowed by Waratah and Milyu, and sometimes Fern and Kang Rao as well. Their focus on individual sports means they're probably not going to get much more.
Milyu - truly average at anything. That's not a bad thing, that's not a good thing... it's an average thing.
Kang Rao - the nation that still relies on manufacturing could get a basketball gold, but that's about it. Still not a bad haul for a nation with a small budget for sports!

The Southeast
Santa Teresa - The colourful island has had brilliant days and lackluster days. They could pull some upsets from somewhere in the last three days.
Six Saints - Well, that's not what they hoped for. Better luck next time.

The Ko-orenite Isles
Wolf Islands - An insane haul puts the distant northeastern country on the map! The Wolf Islands are surpassing everyone's expectations - where could this end?
Dragonfly Islands - a very solid showing from the islands that are sandwiched in between the big four. Yup, all of the big four. The Dragonfly Islands show that they're a force to be reckoned with, to some extent.

Zakhozan
Zakhozan - the Union's favourite (and only) paranoid dictatorship puts the budget to good use to impress the foreign nations with their sporting prowess. Maybe next year they make sure it goes towards a reliable electricity net, or education. But hey, you can't argue against 5 golds.

The finals
Baseball: Ko-oren v Nine Sisters
Basketball: Kang Rao v Santa Teresa
Ko-orenite Football: Ko-oren North v Ko-oren West
Ice hockey: Thaulandi v Nine Sisters
Handball: Polaris v Thaulandi
Gridiron: Ko-oren v Thaulandi
Rugby Union: Waratah v Protea
Rugby League: Ko-oren v Waratah
Soccer: Ko-oren v Nine Sisters
Lacrosse: Thaulandi v Polaris
Field Hockey: Ko-oren v Santa Teresa
Waratah Rules: Waratah v Fern
Bandy: Thaulandi v Polaris
Volleyball: Six Saints v Protea

[Super-Llamaland]

After a rocky start, losing four of their first five matches to start qualifiers in the group's basement, the Llamanean national team had somehow recovered. Since that start, the Tigers had proceeded to go unbeaten for six straight games, winning five of them against relative minnows and securing an away draw against Acronius. Coupled with a horrific Acronian collapse, it'd been enough to send the Tigers back into second place - and to the relative safety of the playoffs - with a one-game advantage over Acronius, now in third place for the first time.

Of course, when that one game was against group leaders Cosumar, it didn't help as much as one thought it would. But still, if the team could steal a point against Cosumar and win against Lons, they would go through to the next round. And that was what Trevor Duncan planned to do - park the bus at home and come out with a point. He'd created a new 5-3-2 lineup: Costa in goal, Tyler Zhou in sweeper, a midfield of Adrian, Candelario, and Vesely, and the versatile Chamberlain alongside Ansel Penbrooke up top. For forty-five minutes, to the dismay of visiting fans, it'd worked. Cosumar came out after the half determined to break through, but the Tigers held firm despite Cosumar being on decent form. Fans started to think that if the Tigers made the World Cup (which, it had to be said, was looking increasingly likely), parking the bus might be a viable strategy.

Both sides had used up a substitution - the Tigers had removed Emily Ynoa for Kurt Reichart to give the defense some fresh legs by the sixty-fifth minute, when Cosumar made their second - Ace Newman, the legendary striker, coming in for Belarmin Worsaw.

Newman instantly began to wreak havoc on the Llamanean defenders. Within three minutes, he'd had his first real chance - Ohman managing to pull off a beautiful through-ball between Immanuel Kane, who'd been stellar all night but was beginning to tire, and Kurt Reichart. Newman beat Tyler Zhou to the ball and spun by the veteran sweeper, but his dribble was a touch too heavy and Sorenson managed to come in from the right wing to make the clearance while Newman berated himself for his profligacy.

He'd have a second chance soon enough. Aziz Senturk came running into the center circle. After evading Reid Adrian, he turned, saw Newman drifting towards the left (where Michael Sorenson was still coming back from a previous attack) and sent a long pass his way. Newman trapped the ball, spun, and inexplicably rifled the ball off the post and into the right corner. James Costa, brilliant all night, didn't even get remotely close to the cannon. The veteran striker wheeled away, Cosumar led one-nil, and the Tigers had just fifteen minutes left to equalize.

Vorobyov was thrown on for Zhou and Felix Rasmussen for Candelario as the Tigers reverted to their 4-2-3-1 and as Cosumar began to bunker down for the rest of the game. Cosumar was a world-class, disciplined team, and breaking them in such a short time frame would be tough for the Tigers, even considering their recent change of form. But the Tigers had the perfect weapon for the job - the attacking trifecta of Chamberlain, Vorobyov, and Penbrooke had already developed a unique chemistry together, and all three were blazing-fast and decent passers.

Still, Cosumar proved hard to break. When the Tigers finally managed to punch through, Chamberlain sending a through-ball between two defenders and Penbrooke cutting effortlessly past the third to give him a shot at goal, the star striker's attempt sailed over the crossbar and out for a goalkick.

Winterfell sent the kick soaring into the air, and Newman managed to trap the ball and nearly break free of the defense to score his second of the night. It was again up to Michael Sorenson to stop the striker - and, while he did so, clipping Newman's heels and sending the striker sprawling likely wasn't what he had in mind - Sorenson's second yellow in as many games meant that he'd have to sit out during the final match against Lons. Cosumar received a free-kick, which Costa managed to save. The Tigers went on the attack again.

This time, they'd be more successful. Jessica Chamberlain received the ball on the right wing, began to sprint forwards, and then passed through what was now empty space to Felix Rasmussen, who sent a long pass to the left corner, where Vorobyov caught up to it. The winger trapped the ball and curled a cross into the box, and it was Ethan Candelario who used his head to bury it into the net.

One-all, a result that would hold through five minutes of nervy play. The Tigers were on the verge of completing their greatest comeback in history.
---
LINEUP TO PLAY LONS: Costa; Lindberg, Kane, Reichart, Karnstedt; Candelario, Karjalainen; Vorobyov, Rasmussen, Chamberlain; Penbrooke
---
Osiris
Aaron swallowed and stared at the phone in his hand. Was he really going to do it? "I'll finish the email first," he said aloud, and then sat down at his desk, unmoving.

Please vote FOR the LNLN so we can restore...

The phone rang. He turned it off.

So we can restore football in our nation to its original state - by OURSELVES, the only way we can do so. I hope...

He was beginning to sweat profusely. Was he actually going to do it? An email popped up. It was from Kevin Schwann. He closed it.

I hope that our nation can be restored...

He couldn't keep writing this. He turned his phone back on and made the call.

"Kevin? It's me."

Brookport

So much had happened in the past week. None of it was his fault, but he couldn't help feeling some degree of culpability.

There had been reports of military rebellion along the front a week ago, which was fairly normal - even before Schwann took over, it'd begun, and not even the pacifist president could do much to stop it short of calling home valuable troops. The next day, though, they'd defected - some to Super-Llamaland, some to the other side of the war to be captured. And the day after, he'd received a strongly-worded letter from thirteen major generals asking that he cease his "disaster of a foreign policy" and give them more autonomy.

All this had happened before, so Schwann ignored his inner queasiness and brushed the generals off. And now? Now he was trapped in the capitol building, with military about to knock down the door. He needed more funding - he'd need so much to restore things to their original state, to keep power. A nagging voice was telling him it wasn't worth it, that he should just run - but he still had a bit of time. Enough to ask his sponsors. The phone rang again. He picked up.

"Aaron, it's me. The government's under direct fire from a radical wing of the military - I trust you knew that already. I need more-"

"Why?"

"I don't-I don't know," Kevin whispered.
---
Aaron heard, in the distance, gunfire. "They've laid siege to the capitol building," Kevin said. "You can steal more, right?"

You can steal more, right? all he'd done. All the money he'd taken, the entire Plan to reorganize the LFA, everything. It still hadn't been enough to prop up Schwann's government. He'd completely rearranged the face of the LFA for a president that just thought he was a common swindler.

"What-?"

"Aaron. You know that if Eirelia is divided, they'll take control."

And that was the other side. He'd done all of this for his country. Even if the response wasn't great, he needed to keep doing it. How else would he get his revenge on Eyre?

"Aaron, please." Schwann's voice was cracking. But what was he doing this for? Some twisted sense of revenge...but more than that, maybe. He closed his eyes, and saw everything that they'd done to him when he was serving for Eirelia. He'd have to continue to exploit the western members of the LFA council in the name of patriotism to another country. How had his plan, formulated in those horrific prisons, become so convoluted? So aimlessly bureaucratic?

Aaron opened his eyes. "There's none left," he said. He hung up. He then turned to his computer, with the drafted email ready to send, and deleted it.
---
Kristopher leapt into the first taxi he could find. "New Llama Daily, please," he said, and sat down. There were elements of his plan that he hadn't thought of yet. If Brandt was forced to resign, how would he maneuver past the inevitable suspicion thrown his way, even when he was going to frame Brandt for this? He wasn't sure, but it was his best shot to take command of the LFA away from Brandt's horrifically backwards views.

He looked down, thinking. Maybe he could fake a little extra to add in? The Daily wouldn't be able to tell if he came in for a second visit...

Thirty seconds later, the taxi collided into the side of the highway. It skidded forwards for a bit, the passenger and driver screaming, and then managed to flip over the edge of the railing, leaving only a broken voice recorder - it'd shattered on impact - and a few bits of debris behind.

[Savalen]

Sagra looked nervously at Sviták. They had been chosen to play in a new formation against Fluvique - four four two. Savalen as a team had never played it, but Marv had found enough players that had played like it at some point in their careers so that he could create a decent team. Savalen needed a win - Abahnfleft and Nova Anglicana couldn't be trusted to slip up just for their sake (Nova Anglicana already had in a way). Savalen themselves had maybe slipped up - draws against Port Christopher and Greater Cascadia could prove fatal.

But then again, Savalen was a relative unknown (to quote some questionable Nova Anglicana sources: "who the fuck are those maggots?") and it was an incredible achievement just to come into the final match with a chance, a decent one at that, to qualify for the World Cup. They were trying to do something that seemed impossible, let alone improbable, at the start of the campaign. But now they were a win away from keeping their hopes alive. And those hopes rested on two teenagers, currently a few thousand feet in the sky.

Sagra looked back at the chessboard. There were so many possible moves and results, that it was hard to see what the outcome would be. In Sagra's mind, it reminded him of the next match. Every touch, every move, every wink or thumbs up altered the course of history forever. All was in his hands.

"Checkmate" came the triumphant cry of Sagra, people sitting near them being startled by his sudden outburst. The two teammates were late to the team meet and so got a budget airline to their next match.

Sviták looked up at Sagra. "You got lucky. I really hope I get a little luck next match. I don't know how to put this."I really wish that Maggie... Ah He paused, obviously with a pun on the edge of his tongue. "Savs me."

Sagra groaned, as is the usual reaction to a pun. But the longer he thought about it, the more it made sense. As they landed, he whispered to his neighbour, with all honesty, #SavMeMaggie

[Flardania]

Opening Theme

---

Bonjour et Ohayōgozaimasu Kirishima. Welcome ladies and gentleman back to another edition of the Kitsune Report, brought to you by Seongwoo Motors and the Nagatomo Sports Network (NSN). Here at the Kitsune Report it's all about our cherished national team and other football news that may vaguely relate to the team because I can. We will continue coverage of this historic World Cup 75 qualification where 140 nations fight continue to fight for 30 measly spots, where only 20 will be able to relax via instant qualification and the remaining 20 fight for the ten remaining spots in a cruel playoff round. With the last matchday remaining the drama is off the charts. So with out any further delay it's time to get grooving for some cup football once again.

Qualification for the World Cup this cycle has possibly been one of if not the most difficult ones yet. Part of it has been scheduling and part of it may be bad officiating. While other teams near the top could frankly careless and insist things are same old same old or that it's consistent level of upset, I say go enjoy your fortune but kindly zip it. This cycle has been felt from pot 2's down. To see enmasse the type of results some matches have, you can only watch stunned in disbelief. For the first half it was easy to chalk up the uncertainty as just an aspect of a historic cup. Also I'm pretty sure depending on how tonight results go, I can imagine a lot of hate directed towards Anglatia and more predominately Nordeana. One can only imagine how frustrating it can be to see a team mathematically out draw against you not once but twice with dubious conditions on the latter.

Frankly, I am not doing a match report as the game was essentially Izumi goal and faulty referees screwed us in the end. Players and coaches can't bad mouth terrible calls but I'm neither so I can't be hushed. To have a player clearly offside and nothing be called is shameful. The way the sounds and feelings at the Dreamscape Arena turned was unbelievable. Now in a bid I can assure you the KFA did not vote for. The fact that goal difference is the main tiebreaker after points is crazy. When you look at group 20 Kirishima sits ahead Chromatika by two points but behind by goal difference. This means if Kirishima draws against Anglatia and Chromatika win their game, they will advance despite drawing and losing to us in head to head matches. Goal difference in an overall tournament should only come after H2H doesn't work. Why should a a team that played better see the other squad advance solely because of who they lucked out in facing during the final match day. Unfortunately it seems many were distracted by how awesome it would be to have many nations host the event, that the minor details were ignored. With that said a Kitsunes win would be enough so we are still in the driver seat but we messed up a better opportunity at home. Uggh it shouldn't have come down to this. Come on Abaja, we need you to come though.

In other news Bianka Schraeder is reportedly returning to AC Kawajiri for a season. The first thing I'm thinking is way to leave Rakel Teixiera hanging. I mean Matsuoka practically gave you the green light to sign and your not going there!? Nevertheless it will be interesting to see fan reaction and where the team will end up. The team that could've been contending for champions cup spots has largely fractured due to Bianka. Perhaps she will have an interview soon so we can all know more.

Kirishima 1-1Nordeana Match Review:


Anglatia v Flardania(Kirishima)Preview:
Well it shouldn't have come to this but here we are with no momentum indicating that even if we squeeze though we may just simply get knocked out the playoffs. It's easy to have faith but when you see some of the insanity we witness this cup well. Kirishima needs to deliver on the road and defeat a team that they were able to defeat before. Everything rides on that. Kirishima will survive with a win but should they not win and they draw or lose then Chromatika must lose or draw at home against Abaja. Oh Boi I'm going to need a lot of Sake to survive the night. Lets Go Kitsunes!

Post by: Keita Woo

[Ethane]

---

An Angel Unto Death - Part Two

---

It was a dark, dark morning. Grey clouds were rolling in over the hills, like a stampeding herd of bulls, blocking off the light, imprisoning the earth from the glory coming down from the skies. The sleeping streets of Lowes lay still, free from the onslaught of people, cars, and noise for just a few minutes more, before they come to life. The sun was rising, but beyond the odd faint glimmer of light that peeped out from behind the rolling banks of dark, sinister clouds, could not be seen.

Save for a few early risers patrolling the street, some who were going on an early morning jog, and some who had to genuinely be up earlier to commute to work, everyone had failed to emerge from their homes - some remaining in bed, not yet having woken up, and some either having breakfast, or watching the Breakfast show on TV, among various other things.

Those who were out and about already had not read the newspaper yet. They had not switched on the radio, the television, to find out the latest news. They had not watched the traditional morning news broadcast, for if they had, they would have heard about the tragedy which went down just the last night, in their own neighbourhood, while they soundly slept, safe in their warm and comfortable homes. They would not have heard about the new, barbaric low hit in politics - a culmination of the rise of racist, divisive politics, and the rise of anti-establishment sentiments which had toxified the nation.

In Lowes Hospital Emergency centre, the atmosphere was solemn. Sarah Brighten lay still on a bed, connected to a life support machine, fighting for her life, after the devastating attack the night previous. The three bullet wounds had since been cleaned and stitched up, to prevent further loss of blood, but it was feared she had already lost too much of that precious liquid that coursed through people's veins, vital for life. The blip on the cardiogram rose and fell - a lot lower than should be, and steadily decreasing. The constant beeping, noticeably getting slower, was upsetting for some - a signal of her fading away. Nurses and doctors buzzed around the patient, tying with all their hearts to save this precious life, but it all seemed to be to no avail. No noticeable increase in her breathing, or her heart rate occurred, no matter what chemical, or antibiotic they used, no matter the techniques they employed. They were putting their greatest effort in - as they always did when trying to save a life. Nothing was happening.

[Anglatia]

The Mighty Jacks - Part Nine

Shae sat by the goal and watched the others wrap up practice. Erin was chatting with her former understudy, Stefanie. Danielle and Jesse were running laps around the track by the training field. Lily was back to her old self, smiling and laughing again. She was with Ryoto, who was showing off the massive scar on her side. It was the first time that she had seen the winger happy, but in a way, it made sense that she’d be happy with Lily. Both of them had grown up being asked about their ethnicity, and both had felt out of place because of it. Ryoto was half Nordic and half Japanese. Lily… Lily was something else entirely. Doctors had no idea what ethnicity she was, and Cedric didn’t know who her birth parents were. According to Lily, Cedric had found her as a small child in Piranha during a scouting trip when he was a scout for Underfell FC. Not knowing what to do with her, he took her back to Underfell with him and eventually adopted her when her parents couldn’t be identified.

So it made sense for the two of them to be drawn to each other. It was kind of cute, actually. Ryoto didn’t speak much Upper Valerian, and Lily was trying to show her how similar the language was to the Dutch dialects spoken by Ryoto’s old teammates in Strathaven. It might have been cute, but it still made Shae furious.

“What’s wrong?” asked a voice next to her, making her jump. Indah had sat down next to her and she hadn’t noticed.

“I’m being replaced,” Shae muttered, folding her arms and staring at the ground. “I… I know I shouldn’t feel like this, but I can’t help it.”

“Replaced?” laughed Indah, like Shae was making a joke. “By who? You took the starting center back role and made it your own. There’s definitely no players on this team right now who can take that job from you if you decide to play again.”

“No, not on the pitch. I’m talking about Lily and Ryo. Me and Lily went through everything together. I know I’m four years older than her, but we played together at AC Piranha as teenagers and we came over to Valeria together. She’s the closest friend I’ve ever had but… It feels like Ryoto is replacing me.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean to do that,” Indah said in a reassuring tone, reaching out and rustling Shae’s hair. “You sound like you’re jealous about more than their friendship, though.”

Shae took a long pause, still staring at the ground. Her body language indicated that she didn’t want to talk anymore, but Indah still waited for a reply. “I don’t know, maybe? I don’t know what I’m feeling. I’m actually the one who introduced her to Ryoto, because I wanted her to be happy, but… I didn’t know it would hurt so much to see them acting like this. I didn’t know it would hurt at all, but it does. It hurts badly.”

Indah just gave her a sympathetic look and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll deal. I always deal when things are going wrong, this time won’t be any difference,” Shae said quietly, getting up and storming off. She passed Lily and Ryoto on the way to the locker room, but they were too busy with each other to notice that Shae was upset. Typical.

=====

Bisera knew that she needed to speak up, and this was the right time. When everyone was returning to the locker room after training. She hoped that someone else would say something, but Erik was trying to avoid making things worse than they already were, and Indah was doing the same. Cedric was naturally quiet, and there was no chance that he would be the one to say something. “Guys, we need to talk,” she said, causing her to get strange looks from her teammates. It wasn’t surprising, since they all knew her as the shy girl who didn’t speak English.

“Talk about what?” asked Britt, who was leaning against the wall with her arms folded. “And since when have you spoken English?”

“The not speaking English thing was just an act… I’ll explain another time. We need to talk about the team chemistry. It’s going to ruin our season if we don’t do something about it. We still have a shot at the title, do you all really want to throw that away over off the pitch problems?” asked Bisera, drawing the attention of everyone else who was gathered in the locker room. “Yesterday was terrible, but Rastaka only leads us by five points with four matches left. We can still come back if we stop letting team chemistry get in the way.”

“Some things are more important than wins,” Britt stated. “What’s happening in South Valeria is one of those things.”

“I know you’re upset with your teammates, but can’t you stay and fight for the title for four more weeks? Don’t you want to make history for your hometown?”

Britt sighed, looking down. “We’ll never be able to do it without Lily and Shae, even if everyone else that left decides to play next week. We had our chance yesterday, and we fucked it up.”

All eyes were on Lily now, and she just put her hands in the air. “What? Why are you all staring at me? I still stand by my choices earlier. I’m not the one who needs to win a trophy here, it’s not my hometown. I’d rather not be the reason why Comrade Erik finally gets a trophy.”

“What about the rest of us?” Bisera replied. “How can you walk out on us when we need you the most?”

Lily frowned, meeting Bisera’s gaze. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve been frustrated for the past couple of weeks and what happened with Alysha and the others really struck a nerve with me. I… I didn’t know that we would be so much worse off against Rastaka. I’m sorry…”

“So are we going to play next week, or nah?” asked Ryoto, as if Lily was the leader of the players who were protesting. “I’m up for it if you are.”

“Yeah, we’ll play,” she replied, putting a hand on Ryo’s shoulder. Shae exchanged a look with Indah, before silently leaving the room. She felt like she was about to throw up, but nobody noticed.

“I suppose I am in if everyone else is,” Stefanie said. “And Shae? Wait, where is she?”

Indah didn’t have the heart to tell the others why Shae had left, and why she was upset.

=====

Erik Hanokssen was in his office, not working but reflecting. Reflecting on if the revolting players were right. Maybe he wasn’t a good coach. His own daughter had tried to open his eyes to the reality of what he was doing, but he hadn’t listened in time. Was he too attached to Alysha Hakala? No, that was impossible. Favoritism couldn’t possibly be the reason why she was still on the team. She was a valued midfielder. She started every game when she was healthy.

But maybe he was too close to her. He had done his best to protect her off the pitch, after all, when the others were criticizing her and Lily had been in her face. But he didn’t see it as playing favorites, he saw it as being fair. Alysha was one of the nicest players on the team, and he didn’t know why the others disliked her so much. They said that she kissed up to him, but how could anyone not like her, with her wavy dark brown hair and her deep green eyes that looked like they could hypnotize a man with one stare? And yet, despite her beautiful looks, she was always so innocent looking. From that shy smile of hers to her nervous giggle, she had mastered the art of innocence.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t know how to impress. Erik caught himself staring more than he would like to admit, at her outfits when she arrived at the stadium before games. She was always fashionable, and she loved to show off her athletic figure with cropped shirts or very short jeans. As Erik thought about her, he caught his mind drifting to one of her more revealing outfits, and he stopped, glancing at the picture of his wife that was on his desk. But just thinking about Alysha wouldn’t hurt his wife, would it? And despite the fact that he was thinking about her in ways that he never thought of his other players in, he was sure that he had handled the situation with her and the others fairly. If Britt wanted to start instead of her, she would just have to spend more time in the gym and be more dedicated.

Erik Hanokssen would keep Alysha Hakala on the team by any means necessary. Even if that meant he would have to step on a few toes to do it.

[Chiata]

Chiata Times
The Impossible

After a despicable home loss to unranked Mapletish, and then followed up with a draw to Eshan, Chiata fell to third in the group. With only three matchdays remaining, and two points behind Hasznia, it was crunch time. It was going to be a wild ride. First, Chiata would play Saintland at home. Next, Chiata would have to sit through a BYE day and gain zero points. Lastly, Chiata would play away in a suddenly decisive game against Hasznia to close out the Qualifying group stage. First up in the impossible order was trying to defeat Saintland.

Last leg around, the Suns had fallen to Saintland by the 1-0. Given how close the game was, Chiata hoped to draw with the weight of the home crowd to back them. A win would be almost too much to wish for, given that Saintland is a top ten nation in football. Just before the match started, word got in that Hasznia had lost to Eshan. Chiata now had the chance to gain points on the rookie nation. This would be another defensive match between Saintland and Chiata. Whoever could get a goal or two would likely win.

The match started with both sides probing the defenses. There wasn't much the exploratory attacks found, since both nations displayed impressive defenses. However, Saintland began to gain the upper hand, simply because their team was far better than Chiata's. Saintland pressed forward and was soon knocking on the door for a goal. Striker Florius would lay down the first shot, a long ranger from the corner of the box. Truex was able to handle it, but Saintland continued to overwhelm the Chiata defense. Soon, it was altogether dismantled. Epidius took a corner and put a good cross into the box. Menke beat her attacker and aimed the ball away. Sadly, she flubbed the clearance and Nasennius found herself in the box with the ball. Nasennius spun around Perez and poked the ball to Fadius in the six yard box. Copeland missed her tackle while Fadius took the shot. The ball went to the far right sight and went straight into the net. Truex was on the other side of the goal and had no way to stop the shot. Early on, Saintland was showing why they were going to the World Cup.

Chiata needed to get something together. The only way they could overtake Hasznia is if they garnered more points. A loss, even to the group leader, was not an option. The Chiatan attack rallied behind their veteran players, Douglas Prince and Brian Stewart, and set to work. First, Chiata pulled back and let Saintland spread themselves thin. However, this led to the Sanctii almost scoring, but Truex tipped the ball over the crossbar. Saintland, sure of victory after the first twenty minutes of play, gave a sloppy corner kick that let Chiata counter attack. Menke cleared the corner with a header that sent the ball flying up field. Curtis beat Flaccus to the ball and sent the blitz attack in motion. Prince timed his run very well as Curtis released a pass just before offsides would be called. Prince raced past the defenders and collected the ball in the Sanctii third of the pitch. Prince charged forward, sent Junius to ground in her attempt to challenge, and was in the box. In something that looked more like a penalty kick than a break away play, Prince equalized and knotted up the game, 1-1. That score would remain up to the half time break.

Chiata had the wind in their sails going into the second half of play. On the other hand, Saintland had their lead snatched away and were getting quite annoyed with the rambunctious crowd. Chiata continued to feed off the energy from the home fans as the stadium grew in loudness. Chiata set about to attack right away. There would be no more sitting around. Chiata needed points, and three points was better than one. Chiata would take that to heart in the form of a scoreline.

The Suns charged forward, set on doing whatever possible to ensure the playoff position, and ultimately on the long forgotten qualification. Adleson turned daydream into possibility as she caught Saintland's defense napping. Adleson had snuck up as Chiata continued their attack. She found herself with the ball and let off a powerful long range shot. Seius kept his eye in the ball and dove to punch it away. However, the ball slapped forward, straight into Plinius' back and tumble back into the goal. With an important own goal, Chiata took the lead against the group lead.

The stadium exploded with applause and cheer as the second goal went in. Plinius was left rolling about the ground in disappointment and disbelief. Chiata wasn't finished yet, and the night was still young. Saintland lost a lot of cohesion as the Chiatan attack and the weight of the crow bore on them. A third a final goal would seal the deal when Toler put in a fast moving mid-range shot. Chiata was up 3-1, and the score would remain. The impossible three points meant Chiata was now ahead of Hasznia. Now Chiata just had to to wait nervously during their BYE before the decisive final match in Hasznia. However, now was the time to celebrate the impossible victory, and never at such a better time.

To Chiata, the crowd was an energy source. To Saintland, the crowd was a vampire. To both, the crowd was the decider. There is no other way to explain how Chiata could defeat a team such as Saintland.

Chiata 3 - 1 Saintland

[COCANEFA]

CUT OFF

[Anglatia]

OOC: I meant to post this before the cutoff but oh well. I added a bit about the last game, too.

TheInsiders.an
An inside view of sports in the Empire of Greater Anglatia

Hull out, new manager coming before the Cup of Harmony
Article by James Inchausti

After Anglatia failed to score at home against Abaja, manager Thane Hull has resigned from his job due to his failure to meet his promise to qualify for the World Cup. The Nordeana match was coached by Brandon Tjaeder, who has taken over as a temporary caretaker manager until the Anglatian Imperial Football Federation appoints Hull's successor. The favorites are Fabrico Holguin, currently already on the staff, and Rakel Teixiera, who achieved a surprising second place finish with limited funds during the Superleague season. However, outsiders have tipped us with info that the AIFF if considering a candidate that most of us won't know. According to the sources, his name is Wilson Tahiri, and he's an exec from the former staff of Bathgate City, before the Muerig takeover. These sources say that he has managed in Nordskania for various clubs to varying degrees of success, before leaving management at only age twenty eight to spend three years as an executive. We don't know yet what exactly about this man is making the AIFF consider him, but we'll provide more updates when there's more info available on him. Because of the state of Nordskania and the censorship imposed by the communist party, it's hard to find accurate records about their sports, and nobody knows exactly what teams Tahiri managed and for how long he managed them.

The two draws under the caretaker manager haven't been awful performances. Against Flardania, the team played at the University of Escane because of the security problems in Ferraria, where the match was scheduled originally. UE Field is the smallest stadium that the national team has played in, at only 8,000 seats, but it was used because the team had a hard time getting last minute arrangements to play elsewhere, and they were already in town for training. It was quite the rowdy atmosphere, as a coalition of hooligans from Ross United, Sporting Otavice, and the Hunsen Loggers showed up, hosted by the locals from Escane. The locals helped them to smuggle in flares and smoke devices, and the atmosphere was maybe too rowdy. The AIFF is under fire for not fining Sporting Escane for their fans chanting "Get back in the kitchen" at Miyoko Hojo as the match started. The bad blood between the teams in the second match is believed to be because of the former rivalry between Flardania and Armeia, and the fact that three former Armeian national team starters now play for the national team. The match was slightly delayed, because the pitch was smoked out, but things got off to a quick start once the smoke cleared. Zahara Santana went for a long shot right off of the kick off, which was only barely tipped over the bar.

It wasn't an exciting match if you use offense as a standard to measure matches, but it was exciting in that there was an edge and both teams played physically. Ryoto Taguchi picked up a yellow card in the tenth minute for upending Sayo Matsuoka with a studs up tackle from behind. It probably should have been a red card, but it set the tone for the match. The referee seemed to lose his whistle for this match, not issuing a card at all when Yabuta elbowed Amy Abramsen in the head while jumping to bring down a cross. The most outrageous challenge of the match came in the seventy fifth minute when Zahara Santana kicked Miyoko Hojo hard in the chest while trying to deflect a punt from outside the box. Santana did deflect the ball, but it only rolled just past the goal for a harmless goal kick. For the challenge, Santana was shown her second yellow of the match and sent off, and the Explorers took no chances and finished the match playing defensively. When everything was all said and done, it wasn't a bad performance against a better team. The fans were quite pissed off at not getting a goal, however, and there was crowd trouble afterwards as they blocked the tunnel and threw flares at the few traveling fans who had made the trip. Riot police were outnumbered and failed to control the crowd, which also tore up and threw seats onto the pitch as soon as the final whistle was blown. Only Joanna Danicic and Zahara Santana speaking to the crowd and asking them to calm down was able to get them to unblock the tunnel and allow the visiting team to leave.

The AIFF has issued a statement, which can be summed up by denial. The Federation claims that no crowd trouble occurred and that any videos and pictures are faked. No statement has been made beyond that, despite it being obviously a massive lie.


Back in the Superleague, a surprising transfer has happened. Ross United released Bianka Schraeder with one year left on her contract after failing to find a team that could provide a good offer for her, and while everyone expected her to sign with Calovice to join Zoran Michel, she decided to go back to her first club, AC Kawajiri. Schraeder signed for Kawajiri out of Loftus College and then controversially ran off to Lionesses when her contract expired. Kawajiri's signing of Schraeder came completely out of left field, and we still don't know how it will affect her in getting citizenship to Anglatia. Whatever the case, Schraeder went on Anglanet soon after signing and attacked certain members of her former club:

Bianka Schraeder - 5k likes - 1k reblogs

Fuck you, Draga, and fuck you, Isa. Fuck you, Thane.

I'm going to prove that I can win without any of you. I can carry a team by myself.

Bianka Schraeder - 3k likes - 576 reblogs

I'm tired of Draga overshadowing all my accomplishments

And Isa being OCD isn't an excuse for her to treat me badly

Thane Hull has no idea what he is doing and he's going to destroy our locker room by signing her

Isa Tangemen replied back with her own comments, which Bianka immediately discredited.

Isa Tangemen - 10k likes - 3k reblogs

Treat you badly?! You're the one who hit me. Just saying.

Bianka Schraeder - 7k likes - 2k reblogs

Don't believe her lies. I didn't touch her.

This could be the start of quite the interesting rivalry. As usual, we'll have the updates on it as they happen.

[Abaja]

World Cup LXXV

Chromatika steals spot from Flardania after 4-0 victory

- By Amina Ogwu

CHROMATIKA

Rien 8'
Quren 38'
Aart 50'
Quren 62'
Dragana 82'

ABAJA

Nyema 13'
Mensah 71'

Chromatika 4 - 0 Abaja

---

GROUP 20

Chromatika 4–0 Abaja
Ko-oren 3–0 Nordeana
Anglatia 0–0 Flardania

Group 20                                 Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                                 12   10   1   1    22    6  +16    31
2 Chromatika                              12    6   2   4    23   14   +9    20
3 Flardania                               12    5   5   2    21   18   +3    20
4 Abaja                                   12    4   3   5    16   19   −3    15
5 Anglatia                                12    3   5   4     9   11   −2    14
6 Nordeana                                12    0   7   5    10   21  −11     7
7 Shytysle                                12    1   3   8    19   31  −12     6

In their last game, the already eliminated Abaja Lions traveled to Chromatika for a rematch against the Anomalies. This game decided the fate for Chromatika. It was definitely a must-win for them. Flardania told the Abajans to win this game so that they could be safe from a possible heartbreaker. The Lions agreed on the plan, even though Flardania had beaten them twice. They wanted to beat Chromatika again, this time on their home field, so that the Lions could piss off the fans and make Chromatika their second victim of elimination. Well, I guess you can say that plan didn't go so well. Chromatika delivered an ass whooping and now they steal the playoff spot from Flardania. Before halftime even arrived, Chromatika already had a 2-0 lead over the Abaja Lions. Emmanuel Udoh also got injured at around the 57th minute after trying to block a shot from Jazmin Dragana. When the game ended, there were bunches of Chromatik fans shouting "Thanks for giving us the playoff spot, Abaja!" Right winger Alan Atsi played poorly this game, missing all of his 6 shots. Alulawe Ju missed 5. Dedéna Esé missed 5. There where some Lions fans at the game. When the game ended, they shrugged and said. "Eh,it didn't matter anyway. We were already eliminated." This was the worst defeat that the Lions have received. During the press conference, here is what Head Coach John Ndami had to say. "Well, shit. That's was uncalled for. Not only did we upset our fans, we also made the Flardanians upset. Ah well. It's all said and done now. Even if we did win the game, we wouldn't advance from here anyway. We did do a good job for the majority of the games, but we did slip and fall from time to time. This game had to be our worst. Not many thought that we would lose, and our offense and defense really struggled throughout the game. We'll have to start watching the tapes and review our mistakes so that we won't make those same mistakes next time. This was our first time losing back-to-back games, and you can tell Chromatika wasn't playing around this time. They were really eager to win this one." Alulawe Ju also stated, "All of us played bad this game, but like coach said, we were already eliminated. However, that doesn't exactly mean we shouldn't try hard. We wanted to leave here on a positive note. We couldn't. Now we have to go a long time before being able to compete here again. We can improve withing that time, though."

Eze Mbanefo said "The offense was looking very slumpy this game. I can't even keep track of how many shots were missed. So many shots... So many misses.... So many saves by the goalkeeper. Atsi was definitely not on his game tonight, and that only added up to our poor performance in general." Alan Atsi replied, saying "It wasn't just our offense, Ezekiel. The defense couldn't stop anyone from the opposite team from scoring goals or moving to the box. You let up four goals? Really? It's not just the offense that was bad, it was also the defense. We lost as a TEAM. I'm not trying to argue, but don't single people out.

Here's Abaja, walking onto the field in Chromatika. This will be their first time ever to step on Chromatik soil. Before the game even began, the Lions were receiving a lot of heat from the fans. Apparently they wanted to throw the Abajans off their game so that they could lose their focus and lose this one. The game started. Chromatika was already looking to score a goal here. Meagan Kelly (CMT) got a pass from Rachel Hellion (CMT). Kelly now moves up field and passes to Trenn Rien (CMT). Now Rien passes to Gabriella Antonio (CMT), Emmanuel Udoh (ABJ) fails to pick off the pass, and Antonio runs up. The crowd gets loud. Here's Gabriella Antonio with the shot! The shot is caught by Joseph Amé (ABJ). Amé throws it to Eze Mbanefo (ABJ) and says "Don't screw up this time". Mbanefo passes up to Fabrosu Nyema (ABJ). Nyema gets past Rachel Hellion and passes to Dedéna Esé (ABJ). Esé tries a cross to Alulawe Ju (ABJ), but the cross is blocked by Erika Morningstar (CMT), and the ball goes out. Esé throws it in, it goes to Ahmad Abdullah (ABJ). Abdullah passes to Fabrosu Nyema, and Nyema has the ball taken away by Rachel Hellion. Hellion passes all the up to Trenn Rien. He tries a header. His header is way too high and goes well above the crossbar. In the 7th minute, Chromatika attacks yet again. This time Zlastica Ellen (CMT) passes to Carrol Liam (CMT), after she had tackled Alan Atsi (ABJ). Carrol Liam Makes a beautiful pass to Gabriella Antonio. Antonio sees Emmanuel Udoh coming her way, so she switches direction. As she does, she sees Trenn Rien running up. She squeezes in a pass and suddenly Rien is in the box, ahead of the Abajan defenders he sees Joseph Amé come up. He takes a shot, and it's a goal! GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLAH! Antonio with the beautiful assist to Rien and Rien pumps up the crowd, giving Chromatika a 1-0 over the Lions within the first ten minute of the game. In the 11th minute, Abaja tried to respond. Ervin Jon-Mikel (ABJ) passes to Alan Atsi. Atsi passes to Alulawe Ju. Ju passes back to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah passes to Dedéna Esé. His pass was cut off by Erika Morningstar and she passes to Meagan Kelly. Abdullah sprints toward the ball and gets it back. He passes to Alulawe Ju. He stops to take the shot, and shoots. Ju's shot is off the mark, as it goes far left. In the 13th minute, Meagan Kelly passes to Rachel Hellion, who manages to run past Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema rushes back and catches up, trying to tackle her. As he slide to make the tackle, Hellion turns her back from him, and Nyema, instead of getting the ball, gets her legs, and she falls. Yellow card for Nyema. Already a yellow card, and we aren't even one-third into the half yet. Hellion is awarded a free kick, and she passes to Trenn Rien. He tries a bicycle kick. His shot is blocked by Joseph Amé. He then jumps on the ball to secure it. In the 25th minute, Fabrosu Nyema passes up to Alulawe Ju. Ju gets it, but he is off sides. Easy call there. Back to Chromatika. In the 28th minute, Ahmad Abdullah runs up to shoot. He does. The ball is batted away by goalkeeper Nikolai Thorben (CMT). The ball comes right to Alan Atsi. Abaja can score here! The shot is.... Oh my. It soars into the stands. In the 31st minute, Nioli Quren (CMT) tried scoring after he got a pass from Gabriella Antonio. Quren shot it, and it was batted away by Joseph Amé, and Stephen Oyenusi (ABJ) kicks it up field to Ahmad Abdullah, who passes to Fabrosu Nyema. Nyema passes up to Dedéna Esé. The pass was denied by Erika Morningstar. Morningstar then passes to Meagan Kelly, and Kelly passes to Rachel Hellion. Fabrosu Nyema, already having a yellow, didn't try to tackle Hellion this time. Hellion finds Gabriella Antonio, and Antonio passes to Nioli Quren. Her ass is a little too strong and Quren chases for the ball, but Joseph Amé gets there in time to pick it up. He punts the ball to Ervin Jon-Mikel. Jon-Mikel makes a pass to Alan Atsi, as the ball goes right past his opponent, Carrol Liam. Atsi runs up to shoot. His shot is caught by Nikolai Thorben. In the 38th minute,Trenn Rien finds the Abajan defense sleeping, making a pass to Nioli Quren, and the pass goes right past Merrakwü Odena (ABJ) and Eze Mbanefo. Now all Quren has to do is get it pas the goalkeeper. As he gets closer, the crowd gets louder, and Joseph Amé runs up to contest him. Ame dives for it, and Quren chips it over Joseph Amé for the score! GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLAH! 2-nil for Chromatika! Abaja could not make anything happen before the halftime whistle blew, with two misses from Alulawe Ju in the 40th and 45+2 minutes along with another miss from Dedéna Esé in the 43rd minute. Here's halftime, and a party is going on here in Chromatika.

INJURY REPORT

Emmanuel Udoh
Bruised Thigh
Out for 4-6 days

At halftime, the Anomalies were able to build a 2-0 lead over the Lions. More of the same came throughout the second half of play. Also in the second half, Jazmin Dragana (CMT) came in for Gabriella Antonio. When the second half started, Fabrosu Nyema passed to Ervin-Jon Mikel. Jon-Mikel passed back to Fabrosu Nyema, but the pass was quickly taken away by Rachel Hellion. Hellion runs it up field before being tackled by Merrakwü Odena. Odena passes back to Fabrosu Nyema, who passes to Ahmad Abdullah. Abdullah runs past Meagan Kelly and then he sees Alulawe Ju near the box, but he thinks that his pass will be picked off by Luuk Aart, so instead of passing to Ju, he keeps running up, then passes to Dedéna Esé. Esé puts the moves on Erika Morningstar, the he passes to Alulawe Ju. Lucjusz Stef (CMT) sees that Ju is about to shoot, so he runs up and tries to block his shot, and he does. Ju's shot is deflected off the foot of Stef and the ball comes towards Nikolai Thorben. He punts it up field Meagan Kelly gets possession. Kelly passes to Trenn Rien. Then Rien passes to Jazmin Dragana. Then she sees Nioli Quren. She gets it there. Quren finds an open spot, then shoots. His shot, a little high. In the 50th minute, Fabrosu Nyema passed to Ahmad Abdullah, who found Ju. Ju ran up, and got tackled by Luuk Aart, just outside the box. Aart got the ball and ran up field, until he saw the ref come up to him and gave him a yellow card. Aart looked confused and his hands were up. The fans booed loudly. One of the fans even threw a bottle . That fan was caught and was taken out of the stadium. Now Abaja had a chance to stay in the game before it was too late. He took the shot. The shot was again caught by Nikolai Thorben, and the Lions' struggles continue. In the 55th minute, Chromatika was looking to expand the game to 3-0, just so that their lead can be safe. Jazmin Dragana got a pass from Carrol Liam. She avoids Merrakwü Odena and takes a shot at it. Joseph Amé dived for it and secures the ball with his chest. When the 57th minute arrived, Jazmin Dragana was running up again. She went right. Emmanuel Udoh saw her and tried to contest. He sees that she is about to shoot, so he sticks his leg out. Dragana shoots it, and the shot goes past Udoh, but her foot hits him right in his lower thigh. Ouch. Udoh falls, grabbing his lower thigh. He is later carried off the field, and Henry Mensah (ABJ) replaces him. As for the shot by Dragana, it is caught by Joseph Amé. In the 62nd minute, Abaja was still trying to fight back into the game, though time was running out. Ahmad Abdullah has his pass to Dedéna Esé taken away by Erika Morningstar, and she passes up to Rachel Hellion passes up to Jazmin Dragana. Dragana passes to Trenn Rien. Rien stops. Then he asses back to Dragana. Dragana finds Nioli Quren. Quren avoids a tackle from Odena. The crowd gets loud again. Quren shoots, and it's in! It's now 3-nil and Abaja's chances of coming back now are slim-to-none! The crowd cheers. The players celebrate. Chromatika is about 30 minute away from winning a very crucial game, but the job isn't finished yet. In the 71st minute, Chromatika attacking. Trenn Rien passes to Dragana. She runs left, and Henry Mensah slides to tackle her. He gets part of her foot. She almost falls as she is tripped. Now there is a yellow card for Mensah. Only playing for 14 minutes, and he gets his first yellow. Dragana got a free kick. She passed it up to Nioli Quren. Quren tries a header. The header was tapped by Joseph Ame and into the possession of Stephen Oyenusi. In the 82nd minute, Chromatika was at it again, trying to put up their 4th goal of the match. Trenn Rien gets a pass from Meagan Kelly and he passes to Jazmin Dragana. Dragana passes back to Rien. Rien runs up, along with Dragana. Here's a shot from Rien. Joseph Amé bats it away! The ball comes to Dragana. Dragana bombs it into the back of the net! Joseph Amé could not get back up in time and it is now 4-nil and this game is wrapped up. In the 90+4 minute, Abaja tried one more time to score. Dedéna Esé got a pass from Nyema. Esé passes to Ahmad Abdullah, and Abdullah takes a shot. Off target. The Chromatiks celebrate in joy, while the Abajans pack their bags. Abaja hasn't let up more than three goals since the World Cup Qualifiers began, but today Chromatika managed to score four goals, and now they are on their way to the playoffs, stealing the #2 spot from Flardania.

---

COMMENTS • 8,718
Top Comments • New Comments

Henry Housa - Joined January 19, 2012
- June 23, 9:10 PM - The Lions are so bad that they even let other teams down rofl
Reply • Like (1003) • Dislike (721)

Dangerson - Joined April 7, 2014
- June 23, 10:01 PM - At least we have basketball coming up! #IBC21
Reply • Like (894) • Dislike (26)

Jakob Nusai - Joined September 20, 2011
- June 23, 9:37 PM - But what's the point of trying when you're already eliminated? Makes no sense putting key players at risk of injury for a pointless game. Now they've lost Udoh
Reply • Like (813) • Dislike (24)

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