Copa Rushmori XLI — Everything Thread

[Ceni]

The Football Associations of Ceni and the Isles of Avon welcome the 32 nations participating in the 41st Copa Rushmori to their small corner of eastern Terranea. After a successful 40th anniversary Copa held in Pasarga, the region once again comes together to determine a new regional champion. Will Cassadaigua defend their title, or will the reigning World Cup champions Græntfjall claim further glory? Will Terranea reawaken as the dominant subregion, will Pavola continue its ascendancy, or will an unknown nation rise to the top? Let the games begin!

SCHEDULE
All times and dates are given in UTC for consistency. Ceni's cutoffs will occur within the window 0100-0300 UTC, while Avon's cutoffs will occur within the window 0300-0500 UTC.

July 14: Draw (completed)
July 19: MD1 (1v4, 2v3)
July 21: MD2 (1v2, 3v4)
July 23: MD3 (1v3, 2v4)
July 25: Round of 16
July 27: Quarterfinals
July 29: Semifinals
July 31: 3PPO/Finals

POTS
Based on CR rankings available here. For transparency's sake, all nations without a CR rank but with a KPB rank will be given a rank equivalent to 20% of their KPB rank. Ceni and Avon will be placed in Pot 4.

Pot 1: Cassadaigua, Eura, Nephara, Sargossa, Pridnestrovia, Pasarga, Savojarna, Græntfjall
Pot 2: Astograth, Mytanija, Yuezhou, Cabo Azure, Tikariot, Valladares, Nyowani Kitara, Southwest Eastnorth
Pot 3: Oberour Ar Moro, Darmen, Xinhua, Gatchingerrak Union, Bollonich, Brookstation, República Guanacasteca, San Isidro Labrador
Pot 4: Eastfield Lodge, Isle Noire, Soldera, Gnejs, Captina Island, Ceni, Sanford, The Isles of Avon

GROUPS
Groups will be randomized so that the Pot 1 team is not necessarily the first listed team in each group. Groups A-D will be hosted ICly in Avon and scorinated by Ceni; groups E-H will be ICly hosted in Ceni and scorinated by Avon.

Group A: Sargossa, Mytanija, The Isles of Avon, Brookstation
Group B: República Guanacasteca, Soldera, Græntfjall, Valladares
Group C: Cabo Azure, Nephara, Xinhua, Sanford
Group D: Pasarga, Yuezhou, Eastfield Lodge, Bollonich
Group E: San Isidro Labrador, Nyowani Kitara, Pridnestrovia, Ceni
Group F: Darmen, Astograth, Captina Island, Eura
Group H: Oberour Ar Moro, Cassadaigua, Tikariot, Gnejs
Group G: Isle Noire, Gatchingerrak Union, Southwest Eastnorth, Savojarna

[The Isles of Avon]

ABOUT THE ISLES OF AVON
The Isles of Avon are a small archipelago of 5 islands off the coast of Eastern Rushmore, the Terranean region. Being a series of islands in the South Endemian Ocean, it has no land borders. However, it is nearby the mainland Electrum and New Gelderland to the west, and island of Ceni to the direct north. In fact, Avon's most populous town, Stratosphere City, is almost exactly due south of Ceni's capital, Cenial. Originally the Isles were a satellite territory of Ceni, having been claimed later in Ceni's history, but mostly operating as a sovereign government. When Drawkland entered the multiversal sporting stage, Ceni gifted the Isles to Drawkland so they could possess a satellite territory in a sporting region.

The Isles are home to a few million, with over half of them living in the highly urbanized Lancaster and Stratosphere City. The rest of the population is spread out among smaller port towns across the archipelago, with a few smaller villages scattered about. All put together, the Isles are about half the size of Ceni, but the environment is pretty similar, with temperate ocean climate causing mild seasons and decent rainfall. The pretty forests and small mountains of the Isles are highlighted in the environment and tourism-minded islands of Columbia, New Avon, and William's Isle. The islands of Vericonium and Snowdonia, on the other hand, are more urban centers, with almost two thirds of the nation's population residing on their shores.

The Isles were settled a little later than Ceni in early Rushmori history. Their smaller size and lack of many natural resources meant they were mostly ignored and settled by few through the ages. With modernization and the claim by Ceni, Avon became a popular tourist destination thanks to its agreeable climate, mostly-untouched wilderness, ease of exploration, and proximity to major Terranean nations. The small government, a republic with representatives from each island, mostly prioritizes economic stimulus, infrastructure, and education. Eco-friendliness, sustainability, and self-sufficiency are high on the governmental priorities.

When ownership of the Isles passed from Ceni to Drawkland, the Sonnelian superpowers established a new settlement on the isle of Snowdonia: Stratosphere City. The city is the most urban of any town on the Isles, serving as a sort of taste of Drawkian towns mixed with the eastern Rushmore cultural norms. Strat City, as it is usually called, is also the home to Stratosphere Interplanetary Airport. This airport features an interdimensional portal which sends flights from Rushmore directly to Iarokannet Bay in Drawkland in only a few hours, and famously only Really Screwed Up one time! Since then, Avon's role as a tourist trap nation was solidified, while also turning it into a major trade hub.

Map of Avon

TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER CONCERNS
The Isles of Avon are a small archipelago, so travel is pretty easy. All the major cities have some sort of public transport, mostly light rail or subway systems. Snowdonia, Vericonium, and New Avon also feature high-speed rail lines between their major population centers. Cars are rare, and most developed areas are highly walkable. For transport between islands, Avon's government has put a lot of work in developing a robust ferry system, almost as efficient as the intercity rail lines. Exact accommodations depend on the specific host city, but hospitality is top notch anywhere in Avon.

Air Terranea is the major carrier for most Terranean nations, and the Isles are no exception. Stratosphere Interplanetary is the biggest airport in the country, being an Air Terranea focus city as well as the busiest link between Sonnel and the sporting regions. Most air traffic routes through this airport. Air Terranea also services Lancaster International and Westport International, for direct travel to other Avonian islands. Columbia, William's Isle, Northampton, and the eastern shore of New Avon also have smaller regional airports, but those are mostly for smaller flights. Most citizens and visitors use the ferry system for transport between islands.

SNOWDONIA
Prior to Avon's transfer of ownership between Ceni and Drawkland, Snowdonia was relatively irrelevant among the isles. Their only claim to fame was the urban center of Ashbourne, which paled in comparison to Lancaster right across the water. The name refers to the tall mountain that comprises the island, much taller than the other peaks across Avon's isles, which allows it to occasionally experience snow at the peak. Unfortunately, the steeper slopes and rocky terrain made most of Snowdonia difficult to travel or settle, besides the northern coast where Ashbourne was founded. With the lack of natural beauty to care for, Ashbourne was able to flourish into a more urbanized city once modernization swept over the Isles.

When Drawkland took ownership of the Isles, they figured it would be best to establish a new city on the Isles rather than step on the toes of a historic local town. With technology well exceeding that of nearby Rushmori nations, the Drawkians were able to successfully terraform the southern end of Snowdonia. This new southern shoreline was appropriate for a new port, as well as a large urban town around it. With other high-tech advancements (that weren't TOO out of place for more modern locals), the Drawkian coalition developed the new town, which they named Stratosphere City. Called "Strat City" colloquially, the city quickly blossomed into the most populous on the Isles.

The most important feature of Stratosphere City was the newly-built Stratosphere Interplanetary Airport. As noted above, the portal built on the grounds of the airport enabled standard airline flights to travel between Sonnel and Rushmore, which opened a lot of trade and tourism between the regions and others. Strat City became the new seat of economic power in Avon, and its population and influence grew as such. Ashbourne did benefit some from their new neighbors on the island generating traffic to the isle, but now they're sandwiched between two more interesting urban centers and really as irrelevant as ever.

Gateway Stadium, Stratosphere City

The founding of Stratosphere City really accentuated a period of modernization and growth in the Isles. When the previously semi-pro league was set to transform into a full-fledged professional league, the new government of Stratosphere City was excited to put their newfound riches to use by building a shiny new stadium and founding a new club. Gateway Stadium was the result, a hyper-modernized, energy-efficient marvel that has the eponymous interdimensional portal gateway glowing a mile or so away from the pitch.

Fueled by the big money of Drawkian and Avonian benefactors, the newly-minted club "Strat City" was formed and quickly blossomed into a major power in the I-League and later, the Terranean League. Although the capacity was perhaps a little too big, even considering Strat City's status as the most populous city on the isles, it was built with hosting bigger things in mind. The subway and light rail systems have several major lines stop at the stadium, and the uptown neighborhood around the stadium is chock-full of accommodations and flashy nightlife options.

The stadium itself is mostly made of metal and glass, featuring LED lighting throughout. Unlike many Avonian soccer grounds, the lower bowl is contiguous, and it features an upper deck which almost wraps around the entire stadium. One of the short ends of the upper deck was intentionally cut out to keep the view of the airport portal visible for fans. The deep purple coloring on the seats matches that of the portal itself. In a nation known mostly for more intimate and modest stadiums, this is the one shining exception.
Hosting: All Group A matches featuring Avon


NEW AVON
New Avon was never the most populous island in the archipelago, but it was perhaps the most popular among visitors. While Vericonium and later Snowdonia were the major urban centers, New Avon was the most iconic of the isles when it came to natural beauty and more rustic tourist charm. Chances are, when somebody is thinking about the Isles of Avon, they're probably picturing scenes of New Avon in their head.

This isn't to say that New Avon doesn't have some nice cities as well. The city of Westport was always a major trading hub due to its location in the center of the archipelago. It was a major hub between sending land-based goods through New Avon and sending sea-based goods everywhere else. This is also why Westport International was the biggest air cargo hub in Avon prior to Stratosphere City's founding. Even though they lost the distinction of being the most important trading city on the Isles, they received some recuperation by the fact that they were a convenient halfway point between Lancaster and Strat City by sea, as well as being the most convenient hub to shuttle goods between Strat City's airport and the rest of the Isles.

Outside of the western coast known as Westportshire, the rest of New Avon is much quieter and picturesque. The northern Lakeshire is the least dense area of the Isles, with the only major settlement being the sleepy fishing town of Hawkshead, perfect for a scenic getaway (especially around the mountainous lake area). Avonshire, the southeast third of the island, is perhaps the quintessential Avonian region. Beautiful mountains to the north, forested inland, classy beaches on the coast, and quaint-but-not-antiquated towns for travelers.

The cities of New Stratford and Sellen Cove (also called Sennen Cove) are the two notable coastal towns in Avonshire. The former was previously a newer town primarily established by rich Cenians when Ceni laid claim to Avon's territory. It developed into a reasonably modern but respectfully sparse city that became a popular vacation destination. When Drawkland claimed the Isles, they moved the capital from Lancaster to New Stratford to ensure the locality was neutral between the staunch Avonian culture of Lancaster and the new-look Drawkian culture in Stratosphere City. Sellen Cove's big draw is their beaches, which are widely regarded to be the best in Avon if not all of Terranea.

Westport Park, Westport

When Strat City built their fancy new park, the trading company executives who owned Westport United anticipated an arms race across the Isles to build cool new stadiums to compete. A couple years later, it was clear that such an arms race wasn't actually going to happen. Still, the United owners had already pulled the trigger on a new modern stadium, and they'd needed to replace their old grounds anyway. Built on a recently decommissioned dock, the new Westport Park (also known as Westport Park II by locals) was an admirable new ground for United, seating 51,601.

The stadium itself features a contiguous bowl at the ground level, with two upper deck grandstands on opposing sides of the pitch. The outside features metal beams and some concrete to give a definite industrial look. To some it gives an ugly brutalist impression, but others consider it right at home among the industrial harbor surroundings. The surrounding blocks of what were about to become abandoned warehouses were torn down and converted to a hip neighborhood complete with standard stadium-adjacent amenities and businesses. The ferry and rail lines to the docks added the stadium district to their routes, so travel is simple.

To many, Westport Park II just seemed like an inferior replication of Gateway Stadium, but to the fans in Westport, it's known as home. For better or for worse, it's still the second-biggest stadium in Avon and a good spectacle. Plus, you get nice views of the sea or downtown Westport on the short ends of the stadium.
Hosting: All Group A matches without Avon

East Bay Stadium, New Stratford

New Stratford was founded by Cenians, and most citizens of the town are dual-nationals, Cenian expats, or have some sort of Cenian ancestry. Some snarkily refer to New Stratford as a Cenian diaspora town. When the Eastern Stars club was founded, it followed tactics vogue in the Cenileague at the time, and featured the most Cenians on their roster compared to all other Avonian sides. Since then, that level of Cenian influence has faded, but it only makes sense that their home ground would evoke visions of the northern neighbors.

The Eastern Stars converted a largely undeveloped neighborhood in New Stratford into a huge park district, the center of which featured East Bay Stadium (a nod to the geographic feature New Stratford was built in). East Bay was built to match the look of most Cenian footy stadiums at the time, though at a much smaller scale. Built to house 16,650 fans, East Bay features an enclosed bowl and upper deck, though both are shallow and the deck pulled closer for a more intimate feel. The outside is mostly sleek metal, and features an overhang over the seating.

Visitors can access East Bay Stadium pretty easily via subway or on foot. The park around East Bay is deceptively large, so unless you're willing to walk a couple miles round-trip, it's better to ride in.
Hosting: First-listed Group C matches

The Pier Park, Sellen Cove

Sellen Cove didn't have a huge presence in the Avonian league until the Terranean League era, where the Quayside Rangers earned promotion to TLE and SBCC berth. The Quayside Rangers played in what used to be a public park right at the end of a famous touristy pier on Sellen Cove's main wharf. The Pier Park slowly developed from a bleacher-based stadium to one with a proper grandstand and upper decks.

The stadium arrangement itself is a little unorthodox. One of the long ends of the pitch has no grandstand, as that end of the park runs into the edge of the actual quay and entrance to the pier. The seats are therefore arranged in a 3/4 bowl shaped like a wide U. Once the promotion to the top league came, Sellen Cove invested in an upper deck and overhang tracing the shape of the lower bowl and nearly doubling capacity to its current state of 22,000.
Hosting: Second-listed Group C matches


VERICONIUM
Before Stratosphere City stole the mantle of Avon's biggest urban center for Snowdonia, Vericonium held that crown. It would make sense that the island closest to Ceni would outwardly appear the most Cenian in nature, featuring two huge modern cities that almost take up the entire island's surface. To the north is the aptly-named Northampton, and to the south is the previous capital city of Lancaster. Both have a lot to offer, especially since modernization revolutionized their infrastructure and tourist trap ideals.

If you're looking for natural beauty, there's still plenty of parks smattered about, and all Avonian islands take their environmental friendliness very seriously. Still, the grass is greener elsewhere, so Vericonium is your best bet if you're looking for more of a city-based getaway. In both cities, the amenities around the stadiums are great for visitors, though the more organic development of the cities means that the stadium districts aren't as flawless as some like Strat City's.

Stadium-of-Northampton, Northampton

Northampton were perhaps the most successful in Avon's early league history before the merger with Ceni and even little afterwards. The success gave Northampton an excuse to build a larger stadium, as interest was high in the densely-populated city and the money was coming in. Prior to Strat City's founding and the expansion of FAS, Stadium-of-Northampton was the largest venue in the country, seating 25,000.

Visually, the stadium isn't very impressive, featuring two large double-decked grandstands on either end of the pitch. Smaller single-story grandstands were built on the short ends of the stadium to connect the opposing stands and give a completed bowl feel to the venue. Still, the angular construction and piecemeal history of construction gives a lovable quirky feel to the venue. Transportation to the stadium is best serviced by el-train, though Northampton does have a decent subway system as well.
Hosting: First-listed Group B matches

"Old" Capital Field, Lancaster

Lancaster City is a peculiar club. They were one of the first founded on the Isles, and have reasonably wealthy and committed ownership. The results, however, have not shown it. Not since the UICA era have Lancaster City ever cracked the top flight of Avonian football, often finishing midtable in the second tier. This streak of bad luck has gone on so long that it's almost endearing for neutrals, and inspiring apathy in the fanbase.

Lancaster was previously the biggest city in Avon and the capital, but even with those honors stripped away, it's still a bustling town with a dedicated sports fanbase. The ownership had the necessary money and interest to build a larger stadium, one that was the largest in the Isles before Northampton (some same intentionally) stole the crown by less than a thousand seats. Capital Field was built adjacent to what used to be the Capital District, where Avon's government offices and monuments were built.

In a similar fashion to its surroundings, Capital Field was built with white stone, columns, and arches that resemble the old government buildings surrounding it. It's a full bowl, arranged with upper and lower decks, and the stadium footprint is rectangular to further resemble its inspiration. In total, it seats 24,190 people with a solid atmosphere for a perpetually second-tier stadium in a backwater league. The title "Old" Capital Field was coined by ownership, specifically with the quotation marks included. This was done at the behest of fans who were angry at the capital being moved from Lancaster to New Stratford.
Hosting: Second-listed Group B matches


WILLIAM'S ISLE
The Isles of Avon were originally "discovered" by Rushmori explorer William Roy, who made landfall on this westernmost isle first. He modestly named the island after himself and established fortifications on the island. The newly-constructed Fort Roy was used as a base of operations for William Roy to explore the rest of the archipelago. When real colonization and settlement came, Fort Roy was kept as a minor military fortification and a small town grew around it. Although Avon spends very little of its tax money on defense, the navy and coast guard contingents are still headquartered in Fort Roy.

William's Isle is less touristy, being mostly used for the benefit of Avonians. While the environment on the island has been well-maintained and the infrastructure decently developed, there simply isn't a lot of touristy things to do around. Fort Roy is mostly a military town with not much else going on, though it's still a beautiful place to be. Also on the island is Gold Villa, the most recently founded city in Avon.

Gold Villa is filled mostly with the second/third houses of wealthy Cenians, Avonians, and Avon-based Drawkians. The dining, shopping, and entertainment are very bougie and high class. It's got reasonable accommodations for tourism and sightseeing, but you have to pay through the nose to enjoy it. For this reason, it's a popular cruise stop, and upper-class citizens of Terranea consider it one of the best places to vacation.

Military Field, Fort Roy

Originally Fort Roy SC was founded as a military-only club, with the best sailors and infantry members of Avon's armed forced comprising of the roster. Military Field was built inside of Fort Roy's modern base originally, but when the club modernized and accepted civilian players and operation, a pitch was erected right outside the base to accommodate the new fans. FRSC's fanbase isn't huge, as Fort Roy and William's Isle aren't big markets, so the stadium has room for 11,500 fans.

The stadium consists of four disconnected bleacher grandstands on each end of the stadium. The home grandstand features a small upper deck with an overhang, and several sections with padded seats for active Avonian military members during Fort Roy SC home games. One of these sections will remain reserved for service members of any participating Rushmori nation, while the others will simply be sold at an upcharge.
Hosting: First-listed Group D matches

Field of Gold, Gold Villa

With so many wealthy people living in Gold Villa, it was only a matter of time before a couple moguls put their assets together to found a team in Avon's budding league. The Golden Eagles were the result, hallmarked by a big payroll, the best available training facilities, and an absolutely insufferable fanbase. It was only right that the stadium housing the Golden Eagles would be equally sickening.

The exterior of the stadium is comprised of large rings of brushed metal tinted gold, giving it the appearance of a pile of bracelets. Despite the big money origins, Gold Villa is still a small town with few visitors, so the Golden Eagles ownership had no reason to make the stadium large. It seats a cozy 11,450 with all seats being padded and spacious. The roughly circular lower bowl is remarkably shallow, seating only a third of all fans, meant for the very wealthy that frequent Gold Villa. The upper deck is much larger, a little less fancy, and entirely separated from the lower bowl (controlled gate entry ensures upper deck patrons cannot access lower bowl amenities). Classism aside, the Field of Gold is still a high-class and intimate place to watch a game.

Also, the name of the stadium is literal. The field is comprised entirely of a high-tech synthetic turf that resembles grass ... if you ignore the fact that every blade is a pale gold color, contrasting with black field markings.
Hosting: Second-listed Group D matches

[Ceni]

ABOUT CENI
Ceni is a small island country of around 5500 km2 located in the eastern parts of the Rushmori region of Terranea. Although it has no land borders, the nearest countries are Electrum, from which it is separated in the west by a narrow strait, and the Isles of Avon, a small republic located to the east in the same island chain. With a population of just over 13 million, this makes Ceni one of the densest countries in Rushmore, at around 2360 people per sq km. Ceni is also one of the most urbanized countries in Rushmore, with the three major cities, Cenial, the capital, City Centre, and New Oxford, forming one large urban agglomeration, with the city petering out around the edges of the metropolis. Climate-wise, Ceni has a temperate oceanic climate, with the influence of the ocean helping to moderate both the summers and the winters - temperatures are almost never extreme either way, cold or hot.

Historically, Ceni was first settled by a group of people, ancestors of the Fereldan, who spoke a language, Ancient Cenian, that survives in many Cenian names and which is related to modern day Avaerilonian (the prevailing theory suggests that these people migrated from an area in New Gelderland, across a land bridge to Ceni, and then across to Avaerilon, where they settled later in time). The name Ceni itself comes from a corruption of an Ancient Cenian word for 'White Cliffs', which described the cliffs near the present day Dover. These people stayed in the area around Cenial for a while until a group of settlers from Eura arrived and settled in the southern half of Ceni, displacing some of these populations. A Spanish population from Valladares arrived and set up a colony in the north of Ceni, hoping to set up a port for the growing nation, but when the city of Junin was settled, these settlers were disappointed, nonetheless deciding to stay and send seafood to the Valladar communities as well as lobbying the government to set up a port in the north. These communities formed the backbone of a thriving Hispanic population in Ceni.

In the face of a rising Euran threat, these various colonies - the Fereldic population, the Spanish in the North, and Euran/Cenian mix in the South - decided to unify their solitary island in order to coordinate their defenses and reduce infighting. As the Euran threat died down, the Cenian government retooled its economy to provide services and goods to the growing Euran industrial economy while still remaining a bit on edge. As the economy bloomed, a group of Avaerilonian refugees settled in Ceni after escaping one of that country's long wars, establishing a Cenian tradition. These refugees contributed to Ceni's rising high-tech and service economy as the country moved into the 21st century.

Ceni's government is a parliamentary system with a one-chambered parliament, the Cenian Assembly, which has 235 representatives in it; the Prime Minister is the head of government, while a ceremonial President is the head of state. More locally, Ceni is divided into 14 districts, which serve to administer most of the government's services to the people and giving them local control, with a Chief Minister heading the government in each district; most districts have a District Council of either 7 or 9 councilpersons, headed by the Chief Minister. The Cenian people love their elections, with more than 80% turnout most times. Economically, Ceni has a large financial sector along with large pharmaceutical, high-tech, education, real estate sectors, and renewable energy sector. Ceni has a large GDP due to its proximity to Eura and the Euran economy and also a large GDP per capita, one of the largest in the region. Cenians enjoy a high standard of living as well as a large social welfare net and free education, courtesy of a Scandinavian-style liberal government.

Map of Ceni

TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER PRACTICAL CONCERNS
Being a relatively small island nation, it is very easy to get around in Ceni. Most major hotels are close to and within walking distance of subway stations. In turn, the seven stadiums are very close to subway stations as well. City Centre and Cenial, where three of the four venues are located, are both located around Lake Cenial. Ferries transport passengers across the lake, and the same subway system connects City Centre and Cenial. A high-speed rail system connects Cenial with New Oxford and Whitehaven, which means that transport time out of Cenial (where most teams will choose to lodge) is very minimal. There aren't many cars in Ceni, and, with the subway system and the closeness of many major attractions, most of Ceni is very walkable, and pedestrians can get almost anywhere.

To get to Ceni, there are several options. Air Terranea, Ceni's major carrier, is based out of Cenial, and has links to many of the sporting world's premier nations, making it very easy to fly to Ceni. Cenial International Airport, located north of Lake Cenial, is the main gateway to Ceni, serving general aviation and most commercial flights. New Oxford also hosts a low-cost airport, but mostly the carriers operating out of New Oxford stick to Rushmori routes. Airports in Southpoint and Santiago mostly serve small private planes and general aviation, but they are less traveled and less conspicuous if your team wants a less... obvious entrance into Ceni. There are numerous ferry and commuter flight services linking Ceni with many Electrumite and Euran destinations.

CENIAL
Cenial is Ceni’s capital city; as such, the Cenian executive, legislative, and judicial branches are all located in Cenial. The Prime Minister has his home and offices here; office buildings for executive departments are also located in Cenial. The capitol building of Ceni, the meeting place for the Cenian Assembly, was recently redesigned and sits at the head of a park stretching to the President’s home. Judicially, the highest court in Ceni, the Supreme Court, meets here, as well as one of Ceni’s eight appellate courts. In elections, Cenial’s citizens are very active, with more than 85% turnout in national elections and 75% turnout in local elections.

Cenial attracts people from all over the region and the world with its world-class universities—the University of Ceni and the University of Cenial its two most prominent. The University of Ceni is renowned for its instruction in architecture, business, the humanities and history, politics, and law, while the University of Cenial focuses its academic investments in the science section. In fact, the University of Cenial is a leading research university in the fields of biotechnology and engineering.

A large part of Cenial consists of parks and greenery. One of the largest parks in the nation, Lake Cenial Park, stretches along the coast of Lake Cenial and provides opportunities for hiking, biking, canoeing and kayaking, Frisbee golf, and just plain old fun with friends and family. In the spring, when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, Lake Cenial Park is a very pretty sight, and its beautiful fountains are available year-round for all to enjoy. Another major park in Cenial is the Capitol Mall, a park stretching from the Capitol to the President’s House, with its memorial reflecting pool. Other green attractions in Cenial include the Japanese garden, in that section of the city, with its beautiful ponds, pagoda, and rock garden section for peaceful meditation, and the National Botanical Garden, with specimens from all over the world and exhibits of most major climates in the region. Not only is Cenial renowned for its green spaces, it is also renowned for its green attitude. Cenial is among the world’s leading cities in the proliferation of green technology, with a large number of buildings with energy saving measures. Many homes have solar panels, and the government has invested money into increasing the amount of renewable energy in the city; around 35% of the city’s electricity comes from renewable sources.

Cenial has a tolerant attitude and welcomes people from all over the world. As a result, Cenial has an incredibly diverse population. People from all over the world—from Asia, Africa, the Social Liberal Union, and all other regions of the world—have chosen to make Cenial their home. Because Cenial is very welcoming to all people, including refugees, Cenial supports a large population from Ciqi and Coconutstan, two countries ravaged by war. Because of its ethnic diversity, Cenial also has religious and language diversity. Hundreds of languages are spoken in different parts of Cenial, although English is mainly used in day-to-day communication. Religiously, no single religion makes up a majority of the population of Cenial. Atheism is the major religion in Cenial, with around 30% of people, although Christianity (almost equally split between Catholics and Protestants) (25%) and Islam (15%) both make up significant fractions of the population. Cenial has one of the world’s largest and most significant Chinatowns, while Little Saigon and Little Lyndainium are also significant ethnic enclaves. Ethnically, Cenians, Avaerilonians, Eurans, Electrumites, and Spanish make up a total of 75% of Cenial’s population, and there is a large diversity in the remaining 25%.

Cenial, as the cultural center of Ceni, is Ceni’s hub for performing arts. Cenial has the largest number of theatres, concert halls, and exhibition centers in all of Ceni. Cenial’s Royal Shakespearian Theatre Company is well renowned for its performances of Shakespeare’s plays, as well as other plays of Victorian English authors. Because of its diversity, Cenial has a large variety of ethnic restaurants of all kinds—from Westerheimian and Avaerilonian to Persian and Vietnamese, which are found mostly in ethnic sections of the city. Homemade Chinese noodles can be found in Chinatown, while Vietnamese culture is prevalent in Little Saigon. There are a number of excellent Avaerilonian restaurants in Little Lyndainium. Popular street foods in Cenial include Middle Eastern and Indian dishes. In the city centre, there are a large number of upscale restaurants catering to legislators, lobbyists, and richer tourists, while small cafes serving Cenian cuisine dot corner sides. Because of Ceni’s proximity to, and reliance on, the sea, Cenian cuisine places a large emphasis on fish and seafood. Popular Cenian dishes include Cenial Clam Chowder, widely regarded as one of the world’s best, various fish stews, and fish & chips. Other significant Cenian dishes contain crab, lobster, sea scallop, and cod. Alcoholic beverages are fairly common in Ceni, and there are a fair number of pubs, including some chain and local pubs. Cavalier Brewpubs and Machu Picchu Pubs, two famous chains, both originated out of Cenial. At night, a fair number of nightclubs serve alcoholic drinks and provide the citizen or tourist with the opportunity to party.

Map of Cenial's Neighborhoods
The Lonely Multiverse - Ceni contains some additional information on tourist attractions and restaurants in Cenial.

Cenial Halcyon National Stadium

The Cenial Halcyon National Stadium hosts most of the Cenian national team's home matches and has acquired a reputation as a bastion of the side, which has only lost one match in the stadium over 4 cycles. With a capacity of 85,000, the stadium has an unique roof which is retractable in case of inclement weather, preserving the optimal climate for spectators inside the stadium. The stadium also has won plaudits from national team players who say the stadium is one of the best grass pitches they have played on. Cenial United also hosts its home matches in this stadium. The stadium is currently the biggest in all of Ceni at this point and is fairly close to both of the major airports in Ceni, easily accessible by subway to those areas as well as most other areas of Cenial. It was built by the renowned Sky High Architecture (now Cityscapes Architecture) in a southern area of Cenial, near the sea.

When elected as the host of Baptism of Fire 63, the Cenian FA decided to upgrade some of the facilities at the stadium, including the press box and VIP box, as well as installing WiFi access for all seats, following the example of the Alexander I National Stadium. Notably in the history of the Cenial Halcyon Stadium, Ceni qualified for its first World Cup on the grounds of this pitch, defeating Gregoryisgodistan (now South Covello) on penalty kicks to qualify for its first ever World Cup. The Halcyon National Stadium counts itself as one of the greenest buildings in Ceni, making use of solar panels wherever possible, recycling water and heat through its system (so that water used to water the pitch can be used in the toilets, etc.), making use of recycled materials in constructions, and other eco-friendly measures to reduce its energy footprint.

Hosting: All Group E matches involving Ceni

Shadow B'Betsy Stadium

Shadow B'betsy Stadium served for a long time as Ceni's home stadium for World Cup matches, including the team's first ever World Cup match. The stadium also served admirably in the Cup of Harmony 63, where Ceni reached the semifinals. With the advent of the Cenian Premier League, the stadium grew ever more in demand, and 1860 Azoth and Cenial United both called this stadium home for their home matches. However as both team's fan bases grew, the stadium was no longer big enough for the teams' demands, and Cenial United began clamoring for a new stadium. The travails faced by Ceni's national team (a draw with Octinstine most notably) at this stadium also led to the construction of the Cenial Halcyon National Stadium. Nonetheless, this stadium still is Ceni's third largest stadium, a capacity of 63,126 people. Shadow B'betsy is closer to the city center of Cenial than the Halcyon Stadium, and is very accessible by subway, public transportation, bicycle, and walking.

Hosting: All Group E matches not involving Ceni

Lake Cenial Stadium

Lake Cenial Stadium is the home of Sporting Cenial, one of the many Cenial teams vying for spots in the increasingly competitive Terranean League East. This stadium also hosted matches during the 63rd Cup of Harmony. Located along the shores of its namesake, Lake Cenial, the Stadium is part of a larger sports complex, with tennis courts, which hosts the Cenial Masters every year, as well as facilities for badminton, squash, and other sports. In turn, the sports complex is located within a big park that surrounds Lake Cenial. In the spring its cherry trees delight visitors, but in all other times, there are still plenty of things to entertain visitors at the park, including gardens and an exquisite Japanese Garden. The stadium is also known for its green-friendly architecture, with solar panels covering a good portion of the exterior and, of course, the park surrounding it. It is also very friendly for bikers and pedestrians. Overall, the stadium seats 53,241 at full capacity.

Hosting: First listed Group F matches

Bicentennial Stadium

Designed especially for World Cup 76, the Bicentennial Stadium also was designed to celebrate Ceni's 200 years as a unified country, which managed to coincide with the World Cup. The stadium, which seats 75,000 people, is the epitome of modern stadium standards, with modern amenities and television screens along every corner. The stadium was designed with a modernist view in mind, with curving lines as well as interesting use of 3-D texture, and the seats inside being ergonomic and comfortable for viewers. The home of Phalanx AF, Bicentennial Stadium is located in the heart of the bustling city of Cenial, near the University Green and the location of several major Cenian universities, so the stadium is the favorite of many a college kid coming in to watch a game. The fact that this stadium could fit in the city center is a testament to Cenian urban engineers' prowess in getting the maximum out of every square meter of space.

Hosting: Second listed Group F matches

CITY CENTRE
City Centre is Ceni's second city and home to 3.6 million people. The city does tend to vote extremely liberal in elections due to its economy, which used to be heavily dependent on chemical manufacturing; however, the city has now mostly switched to becoming a high-tech, green manufacturing center, and labs in City Centre have produced some of the most modern innovations in renewable power and energy efficiency technologies. Unions, unlike in other countries, are very strong here in City Centre. Besides its historic manufacturing, City Centre is notable for its libraries and literature, hosting some of Ceni's most famous authors. City Centre also boasts a thriving gay community. However City Centre is less culturally refined than many other cities in Ceni, such as New Oxford and Cenial. Nonetheless, it does boast its fair share of tourists, who come to visit the playhouses and aforementioned libraries. Like Cenial, it is located along Lake Cenial, and the two cities merge to form one big megalopolis; the city of New Oxford also abuts it to the south, forming a good portion of Ceni's urban population.

Volatus Millennium Stadium

The Volatus Millenium Stadium is home to Ceni's (former) best club, Tir Snake Strike, and routinely draws its full capacity of just under 60,000. The stadium is known for its modern curves and structure designed with lots of glass and its 'high tech' appearance, earning the stadium its name of 'Millennium' - the stadium's design reminds people of a new era in stadium construction. The Millenium Stadium is very open to sunlight and has a great temperature when the conditions are just right. Nearby are the indoor tennis courts that host the Volatus Open, in the run-up to the Cenian Open. Again, the stadium is well-connected to public transport, but visitors coming from Cenial might have to spend a little bit of time getting to the stadium, perhaps half an hour away from the center of Cenial by subway.

Hosting: First listed Group H matches

NEW OXFORD
While it does have a population of around one million, which sounds small by international standards, it is concentrated in a small area, making it a very dense city. New Oxford is very ethnically diverse, even more so than Cenial, with large Asian, Electrumite, and Euran populations. New Oxford is most notable for hosting the third of Ceni's major universities, the University of New Oxford, which boasts a high quality educational program. In addition to its University, with its excellent sporting facilities, New Oxford hosts a number of museums and other educational institutions, as well as science and technology based industries within its soaring, modern skyline. Besides these attractions, New Oxford has a very active nightlife, with a large number of bars and nightclubs serving the student population, and the city is a hub of cocktails and experimentation with alcohol. As such, there are quite a few drunken ramblers out at night, although many students do stay sober.

New Oxford Coliseum

New Oxford's major team, Myrmidon, gained a new stadium recently with the construction of the New Oxford Coliseum, a stadium that seats 55,000 people. Previously, the club had made use of a stadium at the University of New Oxford, which was much smaller and not adequate as the club's fan base expanded. The stadium perhaps deserves the name of 'Millenium' more so than the actual Millenium Stadium, as it is very modern and has almost a space-age feel to it. The stadium is also totally covered with translucent panels, giving it the look of a gemstone, and also protecting the pitch from inclement weather. The Coliseum is also notable for its VIP boxes, of which it has more than your usual stadium. While fans can get a bit rowdy (New Oxford is a University town after all) and the pitch can get a pit dark, the atmosphere totally makes up for this, and teams like playing here because of that unique atmosphere.

Hosting: First listed Group G matches

OTHER VENUES
Estádio International de Santiago, Santiago de Ceni

This stadium is the home of the CPL club Viento Oeste and can seat 47,800 at full capacity. Santiago de Ceni is in the north of Ceni and boasts a vibrant Hispanic culture with street food and restaurants galore to delight the palate. This stadium has a modern feel to it and is designed with the colors of the Cenian national flag in mind. Santiago de Ceni itself is the northernmost of the venue cities although it is well connected to Cenial via the high-speed train link.

Hosting: Second listed Group H matches

Southeastern Ceni Stadium, Whitehaven

Whitehaven is the home of the club Polaris and this newly-built stadium, which seats 49,500, for the increasingly popular club. Arguably the most beautiful spot in Ceni, Whitehaven is known for its beaches and its spas. Originally, the town sold itself as a center for sea bathing, which, 200 years ago, was said to have medicinal properties. A nice sea breeze blows along the beaches here, and the tradition of sunset walks along the beach has attracted lovers for a while now. The Southeastern Ceni Stadium was built near the shoreline and designed with the sea in mind, with its bluish color and wavy pattern. Whitehaven is the southernmost Copa Rushmori venue, but it can be easily reached via high speed rail from Cenial and via light rail from New Oxford.

Hosting: Second listed Group G matches

[Ceni]

Goalkeepers
Juan Pablo MORALES - 29 - GK
Ryan NAVIR - 32 - GK
Joshua KOSOKHAN - 25 - GK
Leo GLASVYRN - 18 - GK

Defenders
Liam LORECHIAN - 30 - CB
Ariana GURI-MONTAGUE - 25 - CB
Miri WINDTIDE - 28 - CB
Evan TURICH-ALBERTSON - 33 - LB
Justin MORROGHANY - 33 - RB
Zarel SONTEBREN - 21 - CB
Felix FARTHEN - 21 - CB

Midfielders
Allison SWAN - 31 - CM
Jasper VALARAN - 30 - CM
Avi RENNING - 21 - CM
Nova KYMERI - 25 - DM
Sofia FALCÓN - 27 - CM
Zane KIRCHNER - 17 - CM
Petro VALLES - 31 - DM

Attacking Midfielders
Adrián del TORO - 29 - (R)AM
Marc-André ONASI - 27 - (L)AM
Asher KOROMIN - 23 - (L)AM
Marco SANTA ORIA - 23 - (R)AM

Strikers
Andrew ARROWSWORD - 40 - ST
Ben LORENNION - 28 - ST
Iain CYN-PENZAG - 23 - ST
Sascha FALKENRATH - 23 - ST
Cesár CORVALÁN - 26 - ST

Coaching Staff
Head Manager - Luke Longstar
Assistant Manager - Aran Xibalma
Defensive Coach - Coben Jerfel
Offensive Coach - Megara Keler
Goalkeeping Coach - Sam Koresjor

Style & RP Permissions
Style: +3
RP Permissions: I'm usually OK with anything, except NO KILLING (of players or fans or Cenian citizens in my country) or career-ending injuries. I decide severity of injuries.

Starting Lineup

[Pasarga]

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod Scoring Events Y
RP injuries to my players N
Godmod injuries to my players N
Hand out Yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out Red cards to my players Y
Godmod Other Events Y

Pasarga Roster
Nickname: Wanderers
Ranking: 13th
Most Caps: Mór Császár (196)
Most Goals: Ingþór Auðbjörnsson (124)

Kits

Home Away Third
Modifier: +1

Manager: Kurtis Rakeruth, age 51
Assistant: Jürgen Eisenhower, age 42

Goalkeepers
GK: Szescõ Mezei, age 31, Hellinic Rouge
GK: Lukáš Hanzelka, age 22, Duke of the North
GK: Tomáš Přibyl, age 25, Royal Jam FC

Right when it seemed Mezei was going to be stuck with the second shirt, he had a phenomenal season with Hellinic to lead the Spartans to the SuperLiga crown two seasons ago and performed most admirably for the Wanderers at the last Copa Rushmori, leading them to a quarterfinal appearance with a few clean sheets along the way. However the newest keeper from Duke of the North at at the tender age of twenty-one, Hanzelka has transitioned from the Young Wanderers to the senior team with that domestic performance, although does look to be on the outside looking in, as Přibyl had another remarkable season at Royal Jam even if the club was not up to the same standard as the keeper was throughout the season, battling hard for the third spot on the plane.

Defenders
LW/LB: Rudy Yáñez, age 26, CA Paulinthal
LB: Lõrinc Vass, age 31, Hellinic Rouge
CB: Michel Sarrazin, age 27, Hellinic Rouge
CB: Ompoly Erôss, age 27, Club Stein-los
CB: Vidor Kovách, age 25, Duke of the North
CB: René Petrie, age 26, Duke of the North
RB: Viktor Szôcs, age 25, Hellenic Rouge
RB: Andrija Hrvatin, age 27, Serrapince FC

There is a huge question mark at leftback for the Wanderers, not because there is no options but there is three options who all have legitimate claims to be the starting fullback. This tournament, Vass has the inside edge, if only just, despite his age as he helped man the defense of Hellinic that rode them all the way to the SuperLiga title two seasons ago, while Yáñez' CAP had to settle for second in the pecking order. Sarrazin keeps a starting spot in the middle of the defense with great after great domestic campaigns and will be joined by Erôss, who helped crown Club Stein-los as SuperLiga champions. At the rightback spot, there really is only one choice and that is worrying, as if Viktor Szôcs ever gets injured or hits a bad run of form, it will definitely spell trouble for the Wanderers, although Hrvatin is allegedly doing quite well in Tumbra but the domestic league there is not quite up to the same level of competitiveness and talent as the SuperLiga and other top leagues that Pasargan players typically who make the national team typically ply their trade at.

Midfielders
RW: Katinka Pálffy, age 25, Tanrısal (F)
RW: Nándor Slots, age 30, Hellinic Rouge
AMC: Ilona Kárpáty, age 24, CA Paulinthal (F)
MC: Michael Baer, age 25, 1896 Ebor
D/MC: Csongor Sebeôk, age 25, Hellinic Rouge
MC: Ugor Gyôrffy, age 30, Damogran FC
LW: Vojmil Topić, age 27, CA Paulinthal
LW: Asztrik Biró, age 20, Mâ Âlâmëómë

It feels much the same for the midfield as it was last roster, with not a lot of change, but a little that will hopefully help with the depth and dealing with the sort of squad rotation that will be needed for the Wanderers to adequately deal with the rigors of the Copa Rushmori, which they failed to do last cycle. Let's start with Asztrik Biró, who at the tender age of twenty has started the last three seasons for Mâ Âlâmëómë, you know the club that just happened to steamroll two seasons in a row in the alleged best league in the sport. His problem is that he plays left wing, a position that is stacked full of talent, including the generational talent that is Vojmil Topić at CAP. Michael Baer comes in as a rotational option, having played well in Mytanija, but still likely to be third choice for either of the center mid positions. Katinka Pálffy has the difficult position of trying to come in to replace a legend but a club rival, though she earns her way into the backup spot on the right, with Slots earning the starting position with having good campaigns with Metropola Borograd before returning to Pasarga for the upcoming season. While there has not been a lot of changes, it feels like the changes made have definitely made the squad better, at least in terms of quality in depth.

Strikers
LW/ST: Elek Salai, age 25, AC Izotz Zubia
AML/ST: Boriska Nagy, age 29, Spartangrad (F)
ST: Najiyah Lubanah Mifsud, age 30, Stein-los Turkish (F)
ST: Mihály Bernát, age 30, Revolutionaires

The four strikers all have had bad bouts of inconsistency at times but they are all immensely talented and have not done enough to have been dropped from the pool. Salai has been the most consistent and in the best of form when called upon and that is perhaps why he was part of a big money bid from Izotz Zubia in Audioslavia and made the jump from Valanora to the northeast. Nagy and Bernát are competing not only at club level but also for the second starting spot, which Nagy retains for the time being with having helped Spartangrad to a Challengers Cup Final appearance. Mifsud earns the last spot on the roster over other domestic based strikers by being the key to getting Turkish to qualify for the Champions League, a feat which has been quite the achievement for both player and club.

Tactics

There are situations that people find themselves in that should be wonderful but turn out to be quite the horror story waiting to happen, which is what the PFA believes to have been the case with Rakeruth and their time in Sanford. Rakeruth's own biases as a manager bed in well with the traditional strong points of the Wanderers' tactical style, a strong core with good wing play that stretches out the defense, allowing talented strikers to finish off the maneuvers. It should be defensively sound and make use of the wealth of good to great talent that Pasarga has in the midfield and attack.

Captain: Márió Szölösi
Corner Taker: Vojmil Topić
Set Pieces: Márió Szölösi
Penalties: Elek Salai

[Yue Zhou]

THE UNITED REPUBLICS OF YUEZHOU - NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
月州联合共和国 - 国际足球队

Badge and kits designed by Txakhaxi's Tahuatxi Storefront.

Stylistically, Ken Hayabusa, the first Kandorese manager of the Dragons, seriously disrupted Yue football with his high-flying possession play and media savvy, and many expected disaster or jubilation to follow. Instead, Hayabusa was around for four tournaments (two WCQs, a CoH, and a Copa Rushmori), either slightly underachieved or slightly overachieved at all four of them, and was let go after a disappointing playoff defeat to Squidroidia. In fairness, Hayabusa did well just to make those playoffs, and his tinkering yielded some highly impactful tactical shifts, such as the usage of Liu Huiying as a false-nine. But Yuezhou never seriously looked like World Cup Qualifiers during his three years with the club, and it's clear that the YFA wants to swing for the fences. Now, Chen Huikang, a former star Dragons striker and assistant manager, takes the reins at Yübao. Chen has a very strong resumé, with stints as assistant manager of Yuezhou, manager of CSKA Quebec, and the manager who turned Glenmount Town around and won the final season of the Licentian Premier League. But can he take his national team to the next level? If the CoH is any indication, no, he cannot. But the Copa Rushmori, where the Dragons have had marginally more success historically, might tell a different story.


Home, Away, and GK kits designed by Tahautxi. See the video reveal here.

Manager: Chen Huikang, 53

Chen Huikang is an excellent tactician with a propensity for fast-paced, attacking football. His attacking strengths were apparent in both seasons with CSKA Quebec, who come close to winning the Q-League and Coupe de la Reine his first season. However, still somewhat inexperienced at the time, he struggled to bring together a dressing room full of massive egos and character issues. After being let go, he seriously matured over a three-season stint at Glenmount Town, where he turned an underachieving team into Premier League champions. While the temptation to stay at a club that has almost unconditionally supported him from Day One was strong, the fiercely patriotic Nanhai native couldn't resist the temptation to manage the Dragons.

Assistant Manager: None [left vacant since the Alba and Cymru Incident]
Nickname: The Red Dragons
Formation: 4-3-3
Style Modifier: +1.5
RP Permissions:

Preferred Goalscorers: None preferred, feel free to consult the below guide for help
Godmod scoring events: TG/DM before doing so
RP injuries to my players: Yes (I determine severity)
Godmod injuries to my players: TG/DM before doing so
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes, TG/DM if more than one
Godmod other events: TG/DM before doing so
Other: If you plan to RP the match extensively, please mention by players by name (as opposed to “the Yue striker…” or similar). Please consult me before using images meant to represent my players. All permissions are set to "N" if you explicitly send a sub-age team.

Tactics:

With the ball, the team will play quickly and creatively, focusing on controlling the ball and dynamically exploiting weaknesses in the opponent's defense. Jiawei maintains some defensive coverage on the left flank, but if the game is under control Reeve will float forwards to provide width in the attack, forming a sort of 3-2-5 (Wen will also join the attackers) shape. Liu Huiying plays as a creative false-nine type, who will serve as a sort of offensive hub while dropping into midfield. The tricky Luo Nanwei will play as a right inside-forward, using his speed to make runs in behind the shoulder of the defense and his technique to create and convert chances once in the box, while Jiang provides width and support from the left-hand side. Wen Xiaohui and Li Jing, the two non-holding midfielders, will both be aggressively moving forward to join the attack and set up chances, with Wen often interchanging with Liu. Jiawei and Yuan are relatively uninvolved in the attack, although Li's ball-carrying and long-range passes often helps progress the ball in Yuezhou's third of the pitch, serving a key bridge between the defense and midfield.

Without the ball, the team defends from the front, relying on the pace and industry of the front three to harry opposing defenses and force mistakes. There sometimes is a sense of there being "attacking" and "defensive" blocks, the latter being comprised of the defense, Wan, and sometimes the versatile Li, and the former being everyone else. While this may feel somewhat disjointed in the early days, the idea is that successive lines can react quickly to the press being broken and move up to compensate and close off space. The fullbacks also tend to play very conservatively without the ball and in transitions, although Reeve will sometimes push up to counterattack, giving the team a solid defensive base without the ball to work from.

Score a Goal - Liu Huiying, Jiang Jieren, Luo Nanwei
Score from Distance - Li Jing, Wan Sheping, Liu Huiying
Assist a Goal - Wen Xiaohui, Liu Huiying, Luo Nanwei
Score off a Header - Wan Sheping, Yuan Mingrong, Zhu Aiguo
Win a Free Kick/Penalty - Liu Huiying, Luo Nanwei, Jiang Jieren
Get Sent Off - Wan Sheping, Wen Xiaohui, Guo Xiawei
Get a Yellow Card - Wan Sheping, Zhu Aiguo, Guo Xiawei
Come Through in the Clutch - Li Jing, Liu Huiying, Yuan Mingrong

STARTERS

#01 - GK - ZHAO Deliang (赵德亮) - 23 - Atletik Thessia (MYT)
A goalkeeping phenom who won a historic Golden Ball (both in terms of position and age) en route to Jiangdong's first league title in years. A cool, confident, and physically imposing general on the pitch, albeit a bit traditionalist in playstyle.
#14 - LB - JIAWEI Chuan (f) (佳薇川) - 31 - Tihon (CMT)
A quick, crafty full-back (or wing-back, or even winger if Yuezhou is really parking the bus) whose biggest weakness is a propensity to get forced off the ball. Will likely play more defensively than Reeve on the right-hand side.
#27 - CB - LI Jianguo (李建国) - 26 - Tihon (CMT)
Despite his young age, Li is incredible on the ball, at his best in a three-man defense where he can make surging runs and spray accurate long-range passes with either foot. The physicality isn't quite there for a grueling qualifying campaign, although he’s working on it, but his vision and composure on the ball are just too good for Hayabusa to pass up in this system. Could this be his breakout?
#05 - CB - YUAN Mingrong (袁明荣) - 29 - Ararat (MYT)
An intelligent, cultured young center-back who's solid but still a bit raw with the ball. Showed enough promise in Mytanija as the best defender in an admittedly underwhelming Ararat defense to earn a shot, and has rapidly developed to a strong all-around center back who was the Top League's player of the season.
#13 - RB - Diadora REEVE (f) (利朵拉) - 31 - Coret Hawks (NPH)
Diadora Reeve is an athletic, relatively attack-minded fullback who provides an interesting tactical option for Yuezhou in place of Zhu Aiguo. We think she had a Yue grandfather or something, which is why she's turned up on the Yue national team despite everyone previously thinking she was Nepharim.
#08 (C) - CM/CAM - LI Jing (李精) - 34 - Steinaux (GRÆ)
Li Jing is very quick and excels on the counterattack as a creative or goalscoring threat. Has enjoyed increased praise lately for his exploits in Græntfjall due to the beginning of normalization in relations between the two countries.
#19 - CDM/CM - WAN Sheping (万射平) - 27 - Wirr Tsi (CMT)
An old-school, defensive-minded midfielder who's surprisingly good in the air despite being 5'8". Earned a move to countryman Zhaxi Nanlei’s Wirr Tsi squad a few seasons ago, and is rapidly becoming one of the best young players in Chromatika and a key figure in the newly-minted Red League juggernauts.
#18 - CAM - WEN Xiaohui (f) (文小辉) - 31 - Libertas Bergheim (SVJ)
Wen Xiaohui, the niece of controversial star midfielder Wen Xiaoli, has rapidly developed from Yuezhou’s next big thing to a star in her own right. She wasn't a great tactical fit for Yuan Zilai's or Lu Jialan’s style, but her pace and playmaking more than merit her inclusion in the first-choice starting eleven, and her breakout WCQ87 was a rare bright spot in an otherwise miserable qualifying campaign. Has stagnated a bit lately, even becoming a substitute under Kang Guilin, but has been rejuvenated creatively in Hayabusa's system.
#77 - LAM/RAM - JIANG Jieren (江杰任) - 27 - Osarese Marcadia (AUD)
An incredibly quick winger, albeit one slightly out of place on the left, Jiang’s ball-retention skills need to work and he tends to play with too much ambition. Still, he’s absolutely electric when on, with a combination of scoring and playmaking on the counterattack that could really make an impact.
#10 - AM/SS - LIU Huiying (f) (刘辉映) - 31 - Sabrefell Moths (NPH)
Liu’s speed and devastating passing ability make her one to watch with every counterattack. Her high workrate, even on the defensive end, should theoretically make her a good candidate to slot into a false nine-esque offensive hub position, as she's now an attacking midfielder at the club level as well in the Zenith.
#30 - RW - LUO Nanwei (罗南伟) - 24 - Leichhardt (NPH)
An extraordinarily athletic player who worked his way onto Guodui's senior team as a teenager; despite some injuries during his youth career, his pace and dynamic creativity make him a terror with the ball, although he can be erratic and inconsistent. Has impressed in the Zenith despite suffering relegation with Gaelic Club - enough to make him the starting right-winger after Huang Shedong's ACL tear.

RESERVES
#12 - GK - ZHAO Yong - 34 - East Railway (ASG)
Not the most athletic of shot-stoppers, but a cool, commanding leader of defenses who can grab anything out of the air.
#23 - GK - GUO Yanhong - 32 - Dhun Lagarr FC (TKT)
A modern sweeper-keeper and competent shot-stopper who is aggressive to a fault, but who had a strong enough season in Tikariot to earn a call-up.
#24 - LB - LU Lanying (f) - 25 - Rutland Dockside (CDG)
A quick, athletic left-back, Lu is strong when driving forwards and tracking back but could work on her crossing.
#16 - CB - ZHU Mingxia - 29 - Parrhesia United (NPH)
A strong, aerially imposing center-back who generally struggles to get rid of the ball without hoofing it clear. However, some time in Tequilo has helped round his game out better, and he surprisingly held his own in the Zenith.
#06 - CB/CDM - GUO Xiawei - 33 - Urrheddiao (CMT)
Formerly a makeshift libero in a back three, Guo Xiawei has often been redeployed as a defensive midfielder. One of the first of his generation of Yue players to sign abroad, for since-relegated Tanques AOE of the Ko-orenite Top League, Guo has flashes of brilliance with the ball and is very good at reading and intercepting passes, but tends to make unforced errors on defense worryingly often. Thrown into the fire by Hayabusa, who hoped that his much-improved passing and dribbling touch will allow him to flourish in a back four, but is still a shade too error-prone compared to Yuan, Zhu, and Li.
#15 - CB/RB - ZHU Aiguo - 33 - Iturributa United (ASG)
An aggressive, versatile defender who likes to win balls and push forward with them. A center-back by trade, Zhu unexpectedly became Yuezhou's starting right-back under Lu Jialan - his emergence at the position earned him a transfer to Astograth as well as his starting spot, but he's now back to his natural position.
#25 - RB - DONG Xiaowang - 25 - Megabrantid (SRS)
A pacy, strong fullback well-suited to the modern game, although his rawness on the defensive end will make him more of a long-term project for new club Megabrantid. Could be creatively deployed as a winger in a pinch.
#07 - CDM - YANG Tao - 34 - Ephesian FC (ZWZ)
Energetic but not particularly skilled, Yang will be tasked with pressing aggressively, winning balls back before passing them to someone more creative, and kicking opponents to stop attacks.
#26 - CM - HAN Dewen - 26 - Nangang Royals
A charismatic fan favorite for Royals whose greatest on-field attributes are his progressive passing and his athleticism.
#15 - CM - FANG Yuhui (f) - 27 - North Granby (CDG)
Not the most physically imposing, but seemingly endless stamina and excellent positioning mean she shows up almost everywhere on the pitch when needed to make a tackle. Not great offensively, but improving.
#11 - AM - TAO Beiliang - 32 - Korsbach (GRÆ)
A relentless source of energy, aggression, and creativity, Tao is still pretty inconsistent at times, but is a great student of the game. Originally outshone even Li Jing when the pair went abroad together, but his career has stalled a bit with Korsbach.
#33 - SS/CAM - LUO Chuan (f) - 26 - Spenson Suburbia (ZWZ)
An agile, technically adept attacking midfielder at her best when distributing to others. Tends to get bullied off the ball, though.
#22 - LW/RW - LUO Dan - 31 - Coquitlam United (KSK)
A more mobile forward who can deputize capably on either wing or as an attacking midfielder, Luo is a dangerous scorer known for his quick-burst runs behind the defense, although he can be a little selfish at times. Will be playing as more traditional winger for the national team, but is also capable of playing as an inside-forward on the right or dropping back into a wide midfield position.
#36 - AM/ST - ZHENG Yuanjun (f) - 27 - Fiskadaha (PFA)
An intelligent, versatile attacker, Zheng is much more skilled as a playmaker than as a scorer, although her ability to find space with her runs has still gotten her a decent scoring record. Has become one of the Apex's premier attackers, but has yet to surpass the generation before her.
#21 - ST - JI Weibo - 27 - Brantisvogan (SRS)
While selfish to a fault and not the easiest personality to work with, Ji Weibo has laid waste to South Newlandia to the tune of 17 goals in 22 matches. A pure poacher who’s posed an increased long-range threat as of lately, Ji isn’t much of a team player but can arguably lead a line by himself better than the less physical Huang can, and could be a real option off the bench.

[/i]

[Isle Noire]

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out Red cards to my players: No
Godmod Other Events: No

Isle Noire National Football Team

The Sentinels

Manager: Lars Merrington (53)
Formation: 4-4-2
Style Mod: +0.5

Starters
GK Kenzi Issington (26), FC Masaka
RB Lyra Penn (30), Masaka City
CB Rea Gomm (27), Pennington Gyora
CB Atwater Lynne (25), Masaka City
LB Typhon Gadsby (33), Cyda Mountain
RM Ysba Magari (26), FC Masaka
CM Banjai Ansott (29), Pennington Gyora CAPTAIN
CM Kerri Piloscyk (32), Century Boita
LM Mynt Toscek (24), Cyda Mountain
ST Doyru Larsta (27), Parrington Casta
ST Jett Dotsara (31), Century Boita

Bench
GK Ellara Boheim (25), Masaka City
GK Rhia Lott (24), Century Boita
RB Pyntha Gresharian (29), Rhada Gyora
CB Yanta Plott (22), Cyda Mountain
CB Jara King (35), Ankara Boita
LB Taria Moss (21), Pennington Gyora
RM Arla Pixel (27), Cyda Mountain
CM Annette Goer (25), FC Masaka
CM Baia Kane (24), Katahari
LM Imogen Kilimanjaro (26), Masaka Dyta
ST Lumoski Penthaven (30), FC Masaka
ST Malda Jusovin (25), Katahari

[Cabo Azure]

Cabo Azure National Football Team "Las Maçaricas"

"The eight-third Cup of Harmony was an unusual stumble for a team that has been on an up, up, up trajectory since its inception. Based on the team sheet, coach Paulinho has elected to cut dead weight and go for a full-blown youth movement, eliminating some of the last starters from the Baptism of Fire team in favor of players who started their careers when Azurean international football was already established (for the record, the youngest starter on that team was Amilcar Branco, who's got a fair-few cycles left in him before he retires). Whether these players constitute a golden generation or a ""new normal"" remains to be seen.

On defense, Paulinho has a strong back four with de Lima and Branco on the wings and Moniz and Medeiro playing centrally. The centerbacks are staunch, and Branco is a consistent scoring threat going forward, while de Lima is more apt to stay at home. Beyond those four, the pickings become slimmer; the brothers Brandao are decent backups, but both are a significant drop from the starting centerbacks. Soares has great potential as a backup, especially since he plays in the excellent Licentian All-Parish Championship, but his fit with the national team is untested.

The midfield is likely to be the thinnest area, talent-wise. Narciso Maciel is a veteran of the Vilitan Stellar Division despite his relative youth and commands the field whenever he's on; Ferreira and Rathbone, by contrast, are Azurean-style, brute-force wingers with little finesse in their game. The depth here is no better than on defense; Lobo is a strong defensive mid, but he and Maciel cancel each other out. Paulinho has historically been forced to rely on domestically-sourced journeyman to fill out the last spots on the roster for midfielders; now he's looking to the younger players in hopes of finding something he likes.

Forward is really the only position where Cabo has any depth, and there's a lot of it: six foreign-based players, mostly starters or impact subs for their respective teams. Cleto Silveira retains the captain's armband, although his offensive relevance is quickly being eclipsed by ""Os Dos Vascos"" and Nicodemo Corte-Real. Of interest is Pio Mendonca, who was recently the subject of a blockbuster sale with Swangard Athletic of Quebec, who apparently want a Gouveia or a Corte-Real of their own."
Starting XI

Chicken		Corte					
	Gouveia		Silveira				
			Ferreira				
	Rathbone						
		Maciel					
de Lima				Branco			
	Medeiro		Moniz				
		Gomez

The Gaffer
An amiable, always smiling man well into his seventies, Paulinho has coached every iteration of the Azurean national team that has played. While he isn't getting any younger, he also hasn't shown his age too much, not in his selections to the national team and not in his tactics. He favors an attacking style, with wingbacks joining the attack and a holding mid that provides cover for the centerbacks while pulling strings from deep. A brief flirtation with a 5-3-2 style succeeded only in exposing the national team's lack of depth at centerback (the brothers Brandao aren't bad, per se, but it's a steep dropoff from Moniz and Medeiro, both of whom play in first-rate foreign leagues).
Goalkeepers
GK Ambrosio Gomez 22 y/o Olympic Thessia (MYT)
A good all-round keeper, seasoned by his time in Mytanija. Earned the starting role during World Cup qualifying and is expected to keep it until he retires or falls out of favor.

GK Gilberto Valente 28 y/o Portelo
Lithe and quick, but prone to overcommitting. Rose to prominence when Portelo did the double a season ago, winning the Liga Hidalgo Primer and the Copa Maçarica.

GK Zezé Sapateiro 19 y/o Miruan City FC (TKT)
Recently signed to a Tikariotian side as a backup, will likely be a backup for hte national team for the foreseaable future

Defenders
RB Amilcar Branco 26 y/o Dhun Lagarr FC (TKT)
The Maçaricas’ undisputed starting right back, and one of its best players. A pacy fullback with the speed and skill to contribute on offense, he has evolved into an every-game starter not only for the .Maçaricas, but his club team as well, making him one of the few Azureans to have such an impact overseas.

CB Adão Moniz 25 y/o Reschensreppur (GRF)
An agile, harrying centerback making his way in a league dominated by “Big F*cking Grantfjallers”, Moniz was a fixture for the Azureans in qualifying and continues to improve.

CB Deodato Medeiro 26 y/o Marine Coast United (VIL)
Despite not having the size or bruising physique that Azureans generally prefer in their centerbacks, Medeiro has exceeded all expectations playing in the top flight of Villita, finding himself in conversation for end-of-season awards. A locked-in starter.

CB Kevin Brandão 28 y/o Villa Arboles
The proverbial last domestic centerback standing, Kevin is a consistent presence in front of goal, though he is notably weak in set pieces on both sides of the ball. Will likely see some minutes in relief, particularly in defensive situations.

LB Ademar de Lima 24 y/o Sao Vicente
Originally a carbon copy of Branco, the left back de jure has evolved into more of a stay-at-home fullback than his counterpart, though he is no slouch going forward.

CB Emilio Couto 21 y/o Regiis Dreamland (BRO)
A big, scary centerback starting on a defensive team in Brookstation, Couto will look to earn his first cap giving relief to Medeiro and Moniz.

FB Heitor Soares 24 y/o Blackheath (TLI)
A pacey, athletic wingback not at all in the Azurean vein, Soares has nevertheless found great success in the All Parish Championship and earned his first senior team callup

FB Marcelinho Costa 25 y/o Regium Immortum (OAM)
Though he lacks the panache of his peers, years of fierce competition in Oberour Ar Moro has sculpted Costa into a tough-tackling, canny fullback who makes smart passes up field and terrorizes attackers in his own third.

Midfielders
CM Narciso Maciel 24 y/o Colonial Sile (VIL)
Along with Medeiro, one of two young Azurean players to take root in the Vilitan top tier. A composed, intelligent player with great distribution and off-ball movement. A true general to anchor the midfield.

MF Marciano Ferreira 29 y/o Sao Cristobal
Still among the fastest players on the pitch, Ferreira’s ball control and distribution have not developed the way many hoped, possibly because of his situation at Sao Cristobal, where he is expected to be the one to get the ball into the box on almost every possession.

MF Seth Rathbone 21 y/o Portelo
After playing a number of season with a chip on his shoulder, Rathbone appears to have settled into his role at Portelo, where he is an every game starter widely viewed as a future captain. In the same time, he has cemented his role as a starting winger for the national team through his consistent, creative play.

DM Marco Lobo 23 y/o Villa Silva
Like Rathbone, a young Azurean who failed to move overseas and has instead established himself at a top domestic club. A strong holding mid, and one of Paulinho's go-to defensive substitutes.

DM Vitor Rego 21 y/o Sao Vicente
A defensive-minded midfielder like Lobo, who plays as almost a third centerback for Os Pastorinhos

AM Bento Cunha 24 y/o Natal
A fast, aggressive attacker who has yet to develop beyond his physical gift but lacks the finishing to be a target forward, or really any kind of forward.\

Forwards
FW Cleto Silveira 26 y/o Vantanoch FC (TKT) (C)
Despite not establishing himself in Tikariot, Silveira remains a mainstay of the Azurean national team, scoring many of its crucial goals and assists. Despite this, if he has truly peaked, he may see himself moved aside in favor of the younger guns in the chute behind him.

FW Vasco Gouveia 24 y/o Tikariot City FC (TKT)
After multiple cycles being accused of glory-hunting in meaningless games, Gouveia showed up big for his country in the WC91 cycle and was rewarded with a regular starting spot.

FW Vasco Cardoso 21 y/o Mountainside (EUR)
Playing close to home and close to the ground in Eura, Cardoso has been a crucial but understated part of Whitepill's recent success in the Euran Silver League, which saw them finish just shy of promotion and the IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy in the Eura League's season 50. His hard-nosed play has earned him a transfer to Mountainside, a Gold League team which narrowly avoided relegation while winning last season's cup.

FW Nicodemo Corte-Real 22 y/o Corn Palace (SFD)
A highly unexpected success story, Corte-Real has evolved into one of the best strikers in the Sanford league as well as an every-match starter for the Macaricas. Tall, athletic, and with excellent holdup play, his future with both club and country is bright.

FW Pio Mendonça 20 y/o Swangard Athletic (QUE)
After several promising appearances in WCQ and the Cup of Harmony, Pio was the subject of the largest transfer fee in Azurean history as he moved to the top tier of the Quebecois league

FW Estavao Fonseca 22 y/o Carathyr Emeralds (TKT)
A fan favorite among the Azurean diaspora in Tikariot, Fonseca proved his worth in his first caps with the national team in WC 91 qualifying

[Gnejs]

The Prosaic Union Squad for the Copa Rushmori XLI

---

Bjørnstjerne Eriksen’s team is back for another Copa Rushmori run, after gaining valuable and humbling experience in the WCQ91 and the 83rd Cup of Harmony. Their ultra-defensive style of play is seldom the most exciting, but not without a certain sense of beauty.

Formation:
5-4-1
Style Modifier:
-5
Nickname:
The Dandelions

Uniforms - Supplied by Siru
(OOC: Thank you, Tikariot):
Home

Away


Home venue:
Kejm Park («The Dock»), Port Kejm. Capacity: 28 000.

Team Roster (domestic team and age):

GK: #1 Kjetil Årung (Kejm BK, 35)
RD: #2 Stefan Grålum (Briskeby BK, 28)
RCD: #9 Simon Naess (Lokomotiv Esaias, 26)
CD: #4 David Knardal (Kejm BK, 28)
LCD: #8 August Bjørneboe (IFK Nordstiernan, 20)
LD: #11 Sven-Erik Bråvalla (Storängen IF, 30)
RM: #16 Nicolai Enger (BK Rösunda, 22)
RCM: #7 Theages Nilsson (IFK Hagen, 27)
LCM: #5 Jack Wijk (Finntorp IK, 35)
LM: #12 Didrik Nes (Kejm BK, 22)
F: #3 Phaedo Svensson (Briskeby BK, 24)
GK: #13 Samuel Wijk (Briskeby BK, 25)
GK: #19 Henrik Ceder (IFK Nordstiernan, 28)
RD: #10 Daniel Jones (Allmänna Gränd IF, 21)
RD: #6 Lennart Svensson-Andersson (IFK Segeltorp, 22)
CD: #14 Mikael Fauster (Lokomotiv Esaias, 33)
LD: #15 Karl Forsberg (IFK Hagen, 32)
LD: #17 Carl Benedictsen (Storängen IF, 17)
RM: #18 Cratylus Hansen (Kejm BK, 21)
CM: #19 Menexenus Nilsen (Welmia IF, 28)
LM: #20 Edward Drange (Briskeby BK, 22)
M: #21 Göran Drake (Lokomotiv Esaias, 26)
F: #22 Vasco Clavell (Kejm BK, 20)
F: #23 Cornelis Ceder (IFK Nordstiernan, 24)

Coach:

Bjørnstjerne Eriksen.

Standard starting line-up if you don’t feel like deciding for yourself:

GK: #1 Kjetil Årung (Kejm BK, 35)
RD: #2 Stefan Grålum (Briskeby BK, 28)
RCD: #9 Simon Naess (Lokomotiv Esaias, 26)
CD: #4 David Knardal (Kejm BK, 28)
LCD: #8 August Bjørneboe (IFK Nordstiernan, 20)
LD: #11 Sven-Erik Bråvalla (Storängen IF, 30)
RM: #16 Nicolai Enger (BK Rösunda, 22)
RCM: #7 Theages Nilsson (IFK Hagen, 27)
LCM: #5 Jack Wijk (Finntorp IK, 35)
LM: #12 Didrik Nes (Kejm BK, 22)
F: #3 Phaedo Svensson (Briskeby BK, 24)

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my scorers: Y
Give yellow cards to my players: Y
Give red cards to my players: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
Godmod injuries to my players: Y
Godmod other events: Y.

[Trans-Dniesters]

THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED SOCIALIST STATES OF PRIDNESTROVIA
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL TEAM

The Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia is familiar with both failure and humiliation. First it was A 5-3 loss to Sargossa that brought an entire nation to its knees, and then that was followed up by an even more humiliating 4-0 defeat to the women of Cassadaigua. Time to avenge the loss and humiliation once again, but yet again the Pridnestrovian national football team must make it through the group stage first before they can even think about winning the Copa Rushmori.

BASIC INFORMATION
Name of nation: The Democratic People's Republic of the United Socialist States of Pridnestrovia
Demonym: Pridnestrovian
Team colors: Green and red
Style modifier: +3.00 (still focused on attacking football but hopefully not to the extent of sacrificing defensive solidity this time around)
Formation: 3-5-2
Head coach: Basil Santa Cruz (41 y/o, Abanhfleft)

STARTERS
GK: Karl Vitaliyevich FENENKO 36 y/o, Paulsen FC (Abanhfleft)

RCB: Daniil Lvovich POLYAKOV 32 y/o, Lokomotiv Novosverdlovsk

CB: Osip Petrovich KOVALENKO 26 y/o, FK Spartak Rybolovlev (Estorvipa and Estorpiva)

LCB: Zakhar Grigoriyevich BELOMESTIN 31 y/o, CSKA Tiraspol

RWB: Aleksandr Georgiyevich FEDOROV 31 y/o, Atletico San Sebastian (Abanhfleft)

RCM: Timofey Yanovich MARININ 33 y/o, Chernomorets Bratsk

CM: Ivan Yakovlevich TERESHCHENKO 35 y/o, Etazig Petroleum SC (Sultanate of Oontaz)

LCM: Miron Alekseyevich POLIVANOV 32 y/o, Admiral Novorossiysk

LWB: Vladislav Timofeyevich KUZNETSOV 24 y/o, Rotor Dnistrosh

CF: Vladislav Vladislavovich FOKIN 27 y/o, Masyafspor

CF: Maksim Nikitovich GURKIN 27 y/o, Chernomorets Bratsk

RESERVES
GK: Ivan Kazimirovich KOSTIN 37 y/o, Gryphons Nubalochi (Sultanate of Oontaz)

GK: Valeriy Igorovich FALIN 29 y/o, Ufa Verkhovyansk

DEF: Tikhon Vladimirovich KOZAKOV 28 y/o, Sheriff Tiraspol

DEF: Merlin Christoph ADELHARDT 27 y/o, Pilken Kickers (Abanhfleft)

DEF: Jason Edgar REUSS 35 y/o, Paulsen FC (Abanhfleft)

DEF: Anatoly Yakovlevich SAMARIN 28 y/o, Dnistro Dnistrolvovsk

MID: Vasiliy Akhmetovich OGORODNIKOV 24 y/o, Lokomotiv Novosverdlovsk

MID: Temirlan Timurovich ZHOLDASOV 23 y/o, Derinkuyuspor

MID: Levon Mehmet PEKKOR 25 y/o, 1895 Lekhwiya Pepuza

MID: Ruslan Aleksandrovich KAPRIYANOV 34 y/o, Pilken Kickers (Abanhfleft)

FW: Miron Fomich BEREZIN 32 y/o, Gryphons Nubalochi (Sultanate of Oontaz)

FW: Osip Vsevolodovich ANGELOV 33 y/o, Atletico Bed Deg (Copper Cuprum)

STARTING LINEUP (Outdated)


KITS (by Adidulas)


IMPORTANT STATISTICS
Win-loss record: 57-20-57 (penalty shootouts are counted as draws regardless of final result)
First international match: VS Aynard (W 6-0)
First win: VS Aynard (6-0)
First loss: VS Fratton (0-1)
Biggest win: VS Nurkama (9-0)
Biggest loss: VS Pasarga (2-6)

BOF 58: 6-1-2 (lost to The Hakifao Isles in the final)
WC 71: 6-2-6 (fifth in Group 12 of qualifying)
COH 63: 1-1-2 (knocked out by Zenic in round of 16)
CR 22: 1-0-2 (third in Group A)
CR 23: 3-0-3 (knocked out by Saintland in round of 16)
CR 24: 1-0-3 (knocked out by Valladares in round of 16)
WC 75: 6-4-7 (fourth in Group A of finals group stage)
CR 25: 1-0-3 (knocked out by Pasarga in round of 16)
CR 26: 2-0-3 (knocked out by Eastern Sunrise Islands in quarterfinals)
GCoS 2: 4-2-1 (lost to The Redvale in the final)
CR 27: 3-2-3 (lost to Nephara in third place playoff on penalties)
GCoS 3: 6-2-0 (champions, defeated Rhineland Sued in the final)
CR 28: 1-2-1 (lost to Sameba in the Round of 16)
WC 79: 5-0-13 (8th out of 10 teams in Group 1 of qualifiers)
CoH 71: 1-1-2 (4th out of 5 teams in Group F)
CR 29: 5-0-2 (runners-up, lost to Valladares in final)
CMC 1: 2-2-0 (lost to Terre des Gaules in Round of 16 on penalties)
CR 30: 3-0-2 (lost to Valladares in quarterfinals)
WC 82: 1-8-9 (10th out of 10 teams in Group 9 of qualifiers)
CR 31: 1-0-2 (3rd out of 4 teams in Group C)
CR 32: 0-1-2 (4th out of 4 teams in Group A)

SCHEDULE
WIP

HOME STADIUM (NEW ARMY STADIUM, TIRASPOL)

New Army Stadium in Tiraspol is the home stadium of CSKA Tiraspol and can comfortably seat over 80,000 spectators following a three-year capacity expansion project.

RP PERMISSIONS
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes (but I decide the severity and length)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (maximum of 3 per game)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (only 1 per 2 games)
Godmod other events: Yes (TG me first before posting anything)

[Tikariot]

Since arriving on he multiverse scene of football, Tikariot has qualified for the World Cup three times, including one Ro16 appearance, establishing itself as one of the multiverse's top footballing nations, even though of late success has been eluding them, including most recently a very unlucky elimination in the Cup of Harmony. Now for the Copa Rushmori 41, a group of players from the TPL has approached the Tikariot Football Federation and proposed a "theme" that the TFF ended up agreeing with: Ride of the Valkyries, the ladies of Tikariotian football showing the boys how it's done!

The same the fans of the senior team, the fans of the Owlets also deserve particular mentioning. Not only are they renowned for their chants, but they are also bringing the Thunder Clap (Click here for example) to the stadium, something that the players join in as a pre-game ritual that has left an impression on the opponents and opposing fans more than once (OOC: similar to the Haka of the New Zealand All Blacks). The players will form a triangle near the kick off circle and lift their arms, which the fans do as well. Then a lone drum will start to signal the rhythm and both players and fans alike will move in unison, each clap accompanied with a loud cry, the claps (and cries) speeding up, creating an overwhelming sense of impending doom.


Brian McAllister - 48
After having been assistant to now former coach Stuart Ekstrom, Brian McAllister made the move to Sargossa and enjoyed a lot more success than his former mentor, having two Copa Rushmori victories under his belt, so with the expiration of his contract in Sargossa and Ekstrom's dismissal after the disappointing string of results aligning, the timing was perfect for McAllister to return to his native country in the driver's seat. While generally a proponent of the same flexible 4-3-3 setup that Ekstrom had almost perfected to a point and that has not changed during his Sargossan employment, the Copa Rushmori will see a one-off experiment with a 4-4-2 line-up.

Home Jersey:


Away Jersey:

+4

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes-ish (TG me and I can give you the names for scorers, assists and more, but we'll figure this out one way or another)
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes (just please be reasonable)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes (again please be reasonable)
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes (same deal)
Godmod other events: Likely not? (Please TG in this case)

[San Isidro Labrador]

San Isidro Labrador Copa Rushmori Roster

Nickname: Jornaleros
Formation: 3-5-2
Style: -2
Manager: Eliseo Alguacil

Goalkeepers
GK #1 Kalikrates Sorriqueta, 32
GK #12 Andrés Palacios, 27
GK #23 Ernesto Avelino, 26

Defenders
CB #2 Severino Cadenas, 28
CB #3 Armando Sousa, 31
CB #4 Luca Galán, 31
FB/WB #13 Juan David Zorita, 23
FB/WB #14 Romeu Núñez, 29
CB #15 Caio Hierruano, 26
CB #16 Eleazar Feijóo, 32

Midfielders
LWB #5 Masimiliano Moret, 31
CM #6 Camilo Novoa, 29
CM #8 Dámaso Lombardi, 32
CM #10 Mauricio Fonseca, 31
RWB #7 Oriol Godoy, 28
WB #17 Diego Berrocal, 24
MF #18 Abelardo Fermin, 25
MF #19 Clotaire Guignol, 27

Forwards
ST #11 Juan Francisco Ferrero, 32
ST #9 Xavi Hidalgo, 30
FW #20 Bernat Carmona, 26
FW #21 Nacho Ballester, 27
FW #22 César Coronil, 24

Formation diagram

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
    =================================
    Choose My Goalscorers: Yes
    Godmod Goalscoring Events: No
    Injure Players: Small things, every two of my players you injure, one of yours must be injured
    Godmod Injury Events: No
    Red Card Players: Yes, one for one on each team
    Yellow Card Players: Yes, two on my team for one on your team
    Godmod Other Events: No
    =================================

[Nephara]

NEPHARA
World Ranking: 10th, or so
Preferred Formation: 4-2-3-1
Secondary Formation: 4-4-2 / 4-3-3
Style Modifier: -1
Home Stadium: The Farham Arena in Sabrefell is reserved for the biggest games, but Nephara is a large enough country that it spreads its matches across the nation.
Kit Supplier: Kirola
Nickname: The Cormorants

Nephara have won the World Cup--

oh, hold up

A Nephar has won the World Cup! But the Cormorants still aren't back yet. An uptick in form, to be fair, but it's inching closer to a decade since Nephara's been at a quarterfinal. But there's a serious degree of belief in Elaine Koeller, and an emerging group of gifted youth that are leading to hope of a re-resurgence in the future. Realistically, Nephara have nothing to prove to anyone but themselves... but they always have something to prove to themselves.

Overall Record
643 wins - 124 draws - 146 losses
2144 scored - 1082 conceded

Trophies
Baptism of Fire 51
Cup of Harmony 61
World Cups 74 and 87
Eagle's Cup 5
4 Cope Rushmori - 30, 35, 36, 37
5 Campionati Esportiva - 6, 8, 10, 15 and 18
Only the second nation in history to achieve the 'Triple Crown' of WCC titles - represented by three stars on the crest.
The most major silverware of any nation in history.
Second in footballing ability only to 6PupperFunnerRunnies.

Most Caps
172 - Hadrian Belfast
162 - Rowena Strongbow
155 - Elaine Ashdown
153 - Chimera Moxham
150 - Estrella Hawke
149 - Roxelana Thorn
143 - Dieter Konoval
141 - Tosca Marlowe
137 - Cathy Stokes
136 - Tanith Rainsford
134 - Michael Brandon
129 - Adnan Szalai
128 - Tawny Shone
126 - Anna Shrike, Malachite Scharner, Rovena Stride
120 - Kurtis Bastable
116 - Penumbra Amokachi, Dale Brightley, Diandra Ballard, Sasha Christener
114 - Monako Saroszi
112 - Konrad Gosforth
111 - Calliope Katskalidis
108 - Gerhard Thunder
107 - Marcin Close
106 - Hesterine Mercator
104 - Rook Cathar, Lothaire Cromwell
103 - Keith Rowland, Sieglinde Lohengrin, Ilyana Brosch
101 - Konrad Lovelace
100 - Leona Rafford

Most Goals
91 - Estrella Hawke
68 - Kurtis Bastable
65 - Penumbra Amokachi
63 - Chimera Moxham
57 - Gerhard Thunder
55 - Rook Cathar, Rowena Strongbow
51 - Konrad Lovelace
50 - Elaine Ashdown

Most Clean Sheets
44 - Diandra Ballard
33 - Hesterine Mercator
30 - Apostolos Tsattalios
28 - Portia Thrift, Kieron Riordan
24 - Reece Coleman, Andreas Swoboda

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
=================================
Choose My Goalscorers:        Y*
Godmod Goalscoring Events:    N
Injure Players:               Y**
Godmod Injury Events:         N
Red Card Players:             Y***
Yellow Card Players:          Y
Godmod Other Events:          N
=================================

* Kvasina takes set pieces and penalties.
** I'll have the final say on how long the player will be out, but feel free to make them look severe as you want.
*** One per match.

Tactics

Nepharan football is based around playing hard, pressing aggressively, playing for keeps. Occasionally this leaves gaps behind the high defensive line, though most Nepharan goalkeepers are in the sweeping mould these days to compensate. Marchers are, by and large, a physically imposing folk, and eager to throw their size around. The footballing culture is intensely competitive, and those that survive to make their way to the top are hellbent on winning at any cost. Elbows to the face. Subtle digs in the ribs. Diving is dishonest when opponents do it but streetwise when Nepharim do it. In short, Nephara are the bully from two years above who picked you, specifically, out as a natural target.

That is often the foreign perspective, but it overlooks a key fact; Nepharan football can honestly be beautiful to watch. Generations of players brought up on dry plains or asphalt play the ball quickly and fearlessly along the ground, never sideways when there's a forward option open, always looking to stretch and probe and stay one really good pass away from a goal. Nepharim are undoubtedly physical, even cynical, but their success has been built off the backs of ruthless, fast-paced passing football.

With the flexibility of a 26-man roster, Koeller will opt for a 4-2-3-1 when she looks to dominate midfield and a 4-4-2 when she looks to gain an advantage through physicality. Kvasina is the team's primary creative outlet, Vetiver the lethal wild-card.

The Godhead
For home matches, and during international tournaments, Nephara wheels out the 'Godhead', a giant boulder with an eerie resemblance to Gethin Ramsey, first manager of the Cormorants in the modern era and by now long dead. Nepharim have a superstitious streak, and while nobody's saying it is, in fact, the mystic reincarnation of their most iconic leader, nobody's quite not saying it, either. The Godhead is traditionally 'walked' to the stadium by Nepharan ultras using an intricate series of ropes, and often a flare is wedged into its 'mouth' to simulate a smoking cigar.

Staff
Manager - Elaine Koeller - Age 57
Assistant Manager - Scylla Vyntra - Age 49
Ambitious, tempestuous and self-assured, Elaine Koeller is the kind of person who thinks benevolent dictatorship would be perfectly viable if it was only her in charge. A goalkeeper in her playing days, she favours a high-tempo, aggressive pressing style that has achieved results at every club she's been at, and is convinced that she can drill it into the national team, given enough overtime on the training grounds. She has no time for disseidence and aims to create a tight-knit, resilient team culture. Remaining in situ from Ramsey's tenure, Scylla Vyntra is a former World Champion, and an experienced assistant manager with designs on a top job, somewhere. Why not here?

Goalkeepers
Core
1 - GK - Aranea Provost ( Spartangrad) - Age 33 - 128 caps, 59 clean sheets
WC87 Champion
Many are tipped for the top, but Provost made it. A brilliant, spry goalkeeper, excelling in all aspects of the game but especially capable of magnificent, balletic saves, flicking balls around the post with iron wrists when they seemed impossible to reach. It's a good thing she's as skilled as she is, because her abrasive, fey personality stopped being cute in the Cormorants camp long ago.

12 - GK - Medusa Strand ( Chromatik) - Age 25 - 10 caps, 3 clean sheets
A steady, focused personality, or perhaps no personality at all. Strand is a superb shot-stopper who did not let a few errors early in her career get her down, and the dividends have paid off. She's in the driving seat to become Nephara's next #1.

20 - GK - Tanith Arrowsmith ( Dynamo Sjoedrhavn) - Age 29 - 16 caps, 6 clean sheets
An excellent shot-stopper whose skillset lends itself to high-pressing sides who need pacy sweeping and good distribution - just like the Cormorants. Her sole issue is that she tends to argue a lot with everyone around her. It's quickly forgiven and forgotten... on her end, at least. Nevertheless, Arrowsmith has done excellently in the Eagles Cup and has more than earned her place in the team. Probably no longer Nephara's third-best goalkeeper, but here for the #vibes.

Defenders
2 - RB - Ophelia Schrader ( AFC Treason) - Age 28 - 40 caps, 2 goals
Schrader's standing on the shoulders of a giant, replacing Rovena Stride for both club and country. She was fairly evidently a top-class attacking fullback from early on, but has improved her ability to defend dramatically of late, and her limitless stamina allows her to seamlessly transition from one to the other.

3 - LB - Radeka Lind ( Jinja City FC) - Age 28 - 79 caps, 9 goals
WC87 Champion
Captain
Lind still looks somewhat coltish, but it belies her unerring eye for a challenge. It's Lind's unabashed love of taking the ball away from people that's her standout in a country that tends to like its fullbacks forward at every opportunity; Lind swings in a vicious cross, but her inherent caution is well-suited to the international game. By now, firmly established as one of the greatest defenders of the generation, and a universally respected captain.

5 - CB - Reniira Clevinger ( Herzegovina City FC) - Age 31 - 112 caps, 20 goals
WC87 Champion
The first half-satyr - indeed, the first non-fullblooded human - to represent the national team, Clevinger essentially looks like a hulking 6'8" woman with blue skin and stubby, vestigial horns poking out of her scalp. Unsurprisingly, she's also the tallest person in Cormorants history. That's handy as a centre-half, and she's scored goals at the big tournaments. She's one of the first names on the teamsheet, but who gets to partner her?

6 - CB - Anaximander Scales ( Brinemouth) - Age 24 - 31 caps, 1 goal
An absolutely massive, bruising defender, Scales' ability to bulldoze and bully forwards without ever quite fouling them is genuinely remarkable. He's not going to set any records for pace - most likely, he'd struggle to catch up to your average pitch invader - but with his effortless calm, maturity and gift for correct anticipation, there's hope that he might be the worthy central defensive partner Clevinger has been crying out for for years.

17 - RB - Tosca Meadows ( Brinemouth) - Age 24 - 16 caps
A sharp and canny fullback. If anything, a little too smug and confident, but a loan spell in Quebec early in her career helped bring her back to earth. Nobody's ever questioned her professionalism or her ability, though, and she's worked tirelessly to improve all sides of her game.

18 - CB - Sven Copperhead ( Crisisbless) - Age 25 - 15 caps, 1 goal
An earnest bruiser, Copperhead's massive but deceptively fast. He loves defending, getting stuck in and smashing people; a little impetuous for international level, perhaps, but if you need a man to stick his head in front of a shot, he's there.

22 - LB - Kyri Levering ( Aries Chariots) - Age 24 - 19 caps, 3 goals
An absolutely electric fullback who loves racing forward with the wind in her sails. Is she quite at the highest level defensively? No, and she wouldn't pretend she is. But she's right up there with the best at opening up defences, intelligent overlapping runs and low, sweeping crosses that leave her fellow defenders no easy answers.

24 - CB - Ida Sevet-Stokes ( AFC Corvistone) - Age 26 - 13 caps
Tall and sour-faced, the half-Qusmi Sevet-Stokes is lean for a centre-half and slow for a leftback. She plugs her gaps through a mixture of technique, intelligence and cynicism. Extremely coachable, she's mostly a centre-half but is comfortable at fullback and in defensive midfield.

Midfielders
4 - HM - Demeter Constantine ( Crisisbless) - Age 25 - 24 caps
Cool, composed, and with a resting bitch face the envy of a monitor lizard; Constantine's precisely the kind of measured, precise holding midfielder that any elite-level side wanting to retain the ball willl dream of. She isn't a dynamic player, and surface-level watchers will often overlook her. Any deeper look, though, spots that she's integral to the way the Cormorants want to play.

7 - RW - Kestrel Anharbour ( Crisisbless) - Age 23 - 21 caps, 4 goals
Lightning-quick, two-footed and direct, Anharbour's not the most orthodox winger; she wants to use her physical and technical gifts to get inside fullbacks and cause damage. A cheerful sort who doesn't let much get her down, Anharbour just obviously really loves to play the game, and it shows and enriches her play.

8 - CM - Renate March ( Herzegovina City FC) - Age 26 - 27 caps, 6 goals
March has risen up the ranks from the lower leagues. Any purely technical player at that level will get the legs hacked under them, so March had to learn not just to be better than those around her, but quicker, harder and nastier, too. She's taken these lessons to heart even as her career has blossomed.

11 - LW - Lili Marinca ( Chromatik) - Age 28 - 32 caps, 10 goals
Tiny and boxy, Marinca's deft and two-footed and loves to make unpredictable jinking runs and long stints in possession. She's a natural fit for a dominant side, and Nephara want to dominate. What makes it worse for opposing defences is she won't stop bloody smiling. Her performances reliably put smiles on Nepharan faces, too.

13 - RW - Severine Reed ( Raynor City United) - Age 30 - 85 caps, 29 goals
Elegant and refined, despite coming from Stahlburg, Reed's instantly recognisable from the intricate and connected vine tattoos linking both arms. She's also instantly recognisable from the absolutely vicious right-footed deliveries of crosses and shots. Her absence through injury sorely missed at World Cup 90, she's taken on a talismanic importance to the side.

14 - AM - Thalassa Fletcher ( La Nueva Avenida) - Age 30 - 58 caps, 19 goals
No, not that Fletcher, the other Fletcher. Exene is the rags-to-riches story; Thalassa's got pedigree and is living up to it. Not as likable a person, not seen as a natural scrapper, but living in Farfadillis at times like these proves she's harder than given credit for. Statuesque, arrogant, and crisp on the ball. Fletcher never puts a foot wrong. It almost feels like she plays the game in stiletti.

15 - CM - Tamara Ulmer ( Algolia SC) - Age 28 - 23 caps, 2 goals
Ulmer's everything but dynamic. Somewhat slow, even, but she more than makes up for it with her ability to read the game and drill pinpoint passes crossfield. A sensible player who sometimes produces moments of magic, but for the most part she just helps the side function that little bit better at everything.

16 - LW - Ana Crowcombe ( Rülândéá Kôstä) - Age 24 - 18 caps, 5 goals
Originally trained as a striker, Crowcombe's stubborn refusal to grow above 5'2" made it inevitable she'd be shunted out to the wing. It proved inspired. Crowcombe is near impossible to peg down on the pitch through her quick wits, quicker feet and obscenely slippery movement. The only question marks concern her finishing and her mercurial state of mind, with reports from Farfadillis suggesting she goes through multiple mental breaks a year. It's probably fine.

19 - HM / CM - Cassander Southsea ( Brinemouth) - Age 23 - 9 caps, 1 goal
An intelligent, metronomic midfielder with a dazzling passing range, but also an assertive tackler who can firmly wrest the ball off opponents while reliably not drawing the foul. Southsea can be pretty much anything you'd want out of either midfielder in a double pivot, far more than the water carrier his name seems to imply.

23 - AM - Lindse Kvasina ( Istria City FC) - Age 26 - 35 caps, 10 goals
Kvasina's arrogant even by Nepharan standards, a diva reputation backed up by an ample supply of talent, guts and graft. She's hard work off the pitch, but at least she'll work hard on it. Even if she didn't, though, her natural poise on the ball and talent for improvisation would make up for it all. Poses far more of a risk off the pitch than on it.

25 - DM / CM - Feo Tapper ( Aleiusia Capital) - Age 26 - 28 caps
Tapper has excelled as a box-to-box midfielder for a struggling Leichhardt, diligent and determined, but in a more dominant side his talents lend himself as a destroyer. He's able and willing to run forward, but his leading instinct is to win the ball high and get it moving fast. Always laughing.

Forwards
9 - ST - Davor Kurtishi ( AFC Corvistone) - Age 28 - 15 caps, 6 goals
Kurtishi's always been an all-around athletic powerhouse, freakishly strong, fast and resilient, but it's only in recent years he's married it to a half-decent first touch and a reliable finishing eye. He's nowhere near world-class still, and isn't as good at hold-up play as some see his physical gifts and imagine, but has regardless become an effective goalscorer and supporting player.

10 - ST - Bravura Harper ( Ulsa) - Age 25 - 40 caps, 22 goals
A brash, swaggering striker, Harper loves taking on first-time shots, and her hammer of a left boot ensures that isn't a waste of a chance. Backs herself to get on the scoresheet, sets herself high expectations, and reliably meets them. She's relentlessly single-minded in pursuit of perfection, and doesn't really have any interests outside football. But evaluated as a footballer, not a dinner companion, you won't find fault.

21 - ST - Felixe Vetiver ( 1830 Cathair) - Age 20 - 7 caps, 8 goals
Vetiver is lightning-fast, entirely two-footed, ruthless in front of goal and absolutely fearless. She's got a fine first touch and links up play well, with intelligent, mature movement. She's stronger than she looks, though no powerhouse. Strong mentality, no serious issues off the pitch apart from a generally taciturn, cynical nature. And after scoring six goals in four World Cup games, at nineteen... it's safe to say Vetiver's a generational talent. Nepharim look at her and lick their lips, thinking of World Cups. Teenagers don't tend to break through in Nephara, getting eased into the team picture. Vetiver disagreed, and with an injury ruling Latona Basilisk out of the World Cup, fate's on her side.

26 - ST - Tryphon Archer ( Admiral Storevik) - Age 29 - 6 caps, 4 goals
Another all-round spearhead. Pace and power, baby! But it's effective. Don't expect Archer to play with his back to goal, but as a high-speed battering ram there's few more effective.

[Southwest Eastnorth]

SWEN PIONEERS/FRONTIERSMEN ROSTER

FORMATION 3-3-4-1 (F-M-D-G)
Style Modifier +4
COACH: Chris Houton (Age 43)
ASSITANTS: Dennetter DiMore (Age 51), B.J Rotheborune (age 49),

FORWARDS

#7 Keon Crust (19)- Hartlespool University
#11 Chris Houton (43) - Oasis Blur FC
#4 Hoyer Harbors - Bearden (XANNERIA)
#17 Ulysses Barnett III (27) - Auberlein Originals
#35 Phillip Di Grassi (34) - Hartlespool Hurricanes
#40 Ian Gordon (27) - Montreaux Jazz
#99 Austin Navarro (20) - Auberlein Originals

MIDFIELDERS

#2 Mark Sternes (28) - Oasis Blur FC
#7 Jimmy Jefferson (32) - Oasis Blur FC
#19 Tyler Aguilar (31) - Chester Cheetahs
#20 Roberto Fillipe (26)- Hartlespool Hurricanes
#25 Lisa Davidson (35) - New Baltimore City
#75 Sean Bravaro (32) - Auberlein Originals

DEFENDERS

#4 Mike Donaldson (22) - Virginia United
#6 Shaquelle Harnett (32)- Virginia United
#13 Mary Gill (26) - Chester Militia FC
#24 Davin Warnbush (33)- Auberlein Originals
#38 Jacque Labrado (26) - Galaxy SC (XANNERIA)
#50 Jace Arnold (26) - Rutland FC (CASSADAIGUA)
#59 Linda Fogg (32) - Montreaux Jazz
#92 Dino Andretti (32) - Capital FC (XANNERIA)

GK
#1 Orenthal Onassis (22) - Virginia United
#0 Jessica LaRioux (26) Galaxy SC

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes But keep it infrequent
RP injuries to my players: Yes Typical injuries, that will not result in heavy losses
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes Keep it infrequent
Godmod other events: Yes

[Darmen]

National Football Team of Darmen
presented by the
Darmeni Football Association

Record (Modern-era only, since Copa Rushmori 24): 453 matches, 213 wins, 86 draws, 154 losses, 935 GF, 785 GA, .533 Win %

Caps
 1 Hyman Campo          279
 2 Silver Abbey         267
 3 Craig Blackwood      255
 4 Riley Mac Pharlain   212
 5 Alberich Goldschmidt 204
 6 Víedharr Svendsen    183
 7 Aurelio Di Stefano   167
   Juanito Stafford     165
 9 Feliciano Espinosa   162
10 Cyrus Spalding       151

Goals
 1 Craig Blackwood      168
 2 Felix Lucanus         80
 3 Skylar Hurst          49
 4 Víedharr Svendsen     47
 5 Daniel Norton         38
 6 Darnell Halle         37
 7 Riley Mac Pharlain    33
 8 Brian Firmin          30
 9 Juanito Stafford      27
10 Abraham Cardoso       23

Coaching Staff

Position          Name                   Age
Manager           Salvador Duchamp       59
Assistant Manager Godfrey Ó Tíghearnaigh 61
Offensive Coach   Joel Kavanagh          53
Defensive Coach   Adrian Antúnez         39
Goalkeeping Coach Wilburn Joyce          44
Psychologist      Livia Spooner          52

26 Player Roster

#  Pos Name                   Age Club                      Caps Goals
 1 GK  Hyman Campo            35  Scott City FC             279   0
 2 LB  Philip O'Hara          24  Olympique Chuckio          11   0
 3 LCB Sadiq Lucas            28  Atlético Augusta           28   0
 4 RCB Ferdinand Kruse        25  MTK Kingsville             39   1
 5 RB  Vinnie Ó Madaidhín     28  Sterling City United        5   0
 6 LM  Inigo Hernandez        28  Olympique Chuckio          14   4
 7 LCM Parthalán Wolfe        29  Scott City FC              53  11
 8 RCM Lennart van der Vennen 28  MTK Kingsville             30   3
 9 RM  Kayden Aleshire        24  Olympique Chuckio           4   0
10 LF  Darnell Halle          31  Atlético Augusta           74  37
11 RF  Kennard Hale           28  Scott City FC              38  15

12 GK  Simon Toro             29  MTK Kingsville             15   0
13 LB  Feliciano Espinosa     33  Romanopolis United        162   3
14 LCB Aurelio Di Stefano     34  Sterling City United      167   9
15 RCB Fulke Eriksen          24  Johnho United               3   0
16 RB  Erskine Tittensor      29  Chippewa Valley United FC  32   0
17 LM  Fabricio Tobias        24  Scott City FC               1   0
18 LCM Diederik Lloyd         26  IFK Liverpool United        3   0
19 RCM Ian Wilkinson          29  Scott City FC               3   0
20 RM  Caleb MacGowan         29  Chuckio FC                 20   2
21 LF  James January          22  Scott City FC               8   4
22 RF  Truman Ryley           22  Eau Claire United           0   0

23 GK  Ori Poirier            28  Sterling City United        2   0
24 LB  Pablo Candelaria       28  Brham United               14   0
25 LCM Víedharr Svendsen      32  Tempala United Saints     183  47
26 LF  Dorian Kinnaird        25  MTK Kingsville             25  12

Tactics
Formation: 4-4-2
Style Mod: +1.6

Team Roles
Captain: Hyman Campo
Vice-Captain: Parthalán Wolfe
Left Corner: Parthalán Wolfe
Right Corner: Ferdinand Kruse
Penalties: Kennard Hale
Free-kicks: Parthalán Wolfe

Team Personality
The Darmeni team will never argue with the referee. Indeed, if anything needs to be brought to the attention of the referee it will be done by either the Captain or Vice-Captain in a respectful manner (or to the fourth-official by the Manager). With regards to foul/dirty play, the Darmeni team will not provoke, or retaliate against any opposition player. Darmeni's expect each team to keep to itself and deal with its own trouble makers; any opposition player who attempts to prevent a conflict by pushing or pulling a Darmeni away from the scene will be promptly told off, as that is the duty of the Darmeni Captain.

Nonetheless, Darmen will play in a relatively aggressive manner. Tackles will be conducted in a way which ensures the opponent ends up on the ground, but causing injury will be avoided as much as possible. On set pieces, Darmenis will stand their ground and will not be easily pushed around, they will not however engage in hugging. In fact, if any opposing player tries to push past them, it is not uncommon for the Darmeni player to feign resistance before simply stepping aside and watching as the opposing player stumbles past on their way to ground. This occasionally backfires however, as the referee may mistake the incidence as having been a foul in the box.

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: YES PLEASE! If you name your goal scorers, please also name mine.
Choose my scoring events: YES
Godmod scoring events: YES. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
RP injuries to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod Injuries to my players: NO
Give Yellow Cards to my players: YES, no more than two per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Give Red Cards to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod other events: MAYBE. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Style Modifier: +1.6

If you need to contact me, TG's are preferred over Discord DM's.

[Sargossa]

Copa Rushmori XLI


Sargossa - 'The Corsairs'


Head Coach

Slavko Jelic (Mytanija)

After a dismal second half of the World Cup qualification campaign and an early exit from the Cup of Harmony, coach Alejandro Echeverría decided enough was enough and called it quits. His replacement may be something of a left field choice but he certainly ticks a lot of boxes. A coach with vast experience who has spent more than a decade at CDSA in his homeland, creating teams that have consistently punched above their weight. Most recently he led the Decraa based side to Challenger’s Cup qualification. Recommended for the role by Mytanar legend Lev Repin.

Backroom Staff

Assistant Head Coach: Momchil Klemetic (Mytanija)
Assistant Head Coach: Eduardo Larrea
Defensive Coach: Luis Sánchez
Attacking Coach: Joaquín Gutiérrez
Set Pieces Coach: Manuel Semprún
Goalkeeping Coach: Dario Almirón
Fitness Coach: Luis Miguel Sacristán
Team Doctor: Dr Carla Segura

Talent

GK: 1. Alejandro Martínez (31) – Sportivo Soluca
GK: 13. José Manual Acosta (23) – Dínamo Maturín
GK: 25. Jacobo Robles (26) – El Nacional

As a teenager Martínez was touted as a future star by no less a luminary as former Corsairs’ keeper and coach Martín Tejera. He’s now spent more than a decade proving that praise to be justified. Still undeniably the nation’s top keeper. Acosta is a local lad from Maturín who has come through the ranks to star in the SuperLiga. Robles too earns a first call-up and is reliable pair of hands if called upon.

DR: 2. Tobías Figueroa (26) – El Nacional
DC: 5. Iván Franco (26) – Sportivo Soluca
DC: 6. Nicolás Riesgo (20) – 1923 Esca (Mytanija)
DL: 3. Alfonso Barrueco (27) – Ciudad Soluca
DRC: 12. Adrian Soriano (24) – Ciudad Soluca
DC: 14. Juan Miguel (25) – Dínamo Maturín
DL: 19. Milagros Fernán (22) – Lok. Cassia (Mytanija)
DC: 21: Joaquín Sanz (22) – El Nacional

He may not have been in post long but the new coach hasn’t been afraid to ring the changes. Andrés Obregón, Juan Manuel Martí and former captain Máximo Moya seem to have paid the price for the last campaign’s woes. In have come Dínamo’s Juan Miguel, after being named in the SuperLiga team of the season, and Ciudad’s Adrian Soriano, who can operate as a centreback or on the right of a back four or back five. Milagros Fernán offers similar versatility down the left, having often been deployed in both defence and midfield in the past. But the most interesting addition is Nicolás Riesgo. The Sargossan-Mytanar defender is earning rave reviews in the Mytanar Top League and the FFS are hoping to steal a march on the FSM in claiming the youngster’s international future. Having a Mytanar in charge can’t exactly hurt either.

DMC: 4. Marcos Águila (28) – El Nacional
AMR: 7. Édgar Elvira (29) – Dínamo Maturín
MC: 8. Enrique González (29) – Ciudad Soluca
AML: 11. Jorge Sarmiento (24) – Sportivo Cordova
AMRC: 15. Agustín Soria (27) – Sportivo Soluca
MC: 16. Juan Esteban Collazo (21) – CDSA (Mytanija)
DMC: 18. Alejandro Gaich (23) – Ciudad Soluca
MC: 22. Juan Sebastián Varela (29) – Alianza Jucaro
AMLC: 24. Martín de la Cavallería (22) – Dínamo Maturín

Jelic has favoured a 3-5-2 system in the past but the suggestion is that the new coach wants to build a solid base and may instead deploy a 3-4-2-1 formation instead. This would see the wingbacks used further forward, at the expense of the more offensive minded wide players in the squad. González will likely keep his place in the centre, but who partners him is the big question. Varela is his regular neighbour in the system, Águila provides a more defensive option and newcomer Collazo is an ever-willing all-rounder who the coach knows and trusts from their days together in the Mytanar Top League.

FC: 9. Mateo Manzanares (26) – Dínamo Maturín
FRLC: 10. Pablo Alarcón (26) – El Nacional
FRC: 17. Jeremías Saavedra (24) – Ciudad Soluca
FLC: 20. Juanma Varela (26) – Piratas De Ariaco (Costa Izula)
FC: 23. Gustavo Alcocer (19) – Atletik Thessia (Mytanija)

Manzanares remains the nation’s principal goal threat and whether the coach uses a single striker or a front two you can bet that the Dínamo will be there. His squad mates though are an interesting batch. Saavedra is a class act but injuries limited his action last season. Pablo Alarcón is a true phoenix rising from the ashes tale. An enfant terrible who looked to be wasting a prodigious talent through a series of disciplinary and off-the-field issues. Thankfully those issues now seem to be behind him. Certainly El Nacional have benefitted from the newly focused Alarcón. Varela is an even stranger pick, plying his trade out in the colonies. But the Izulan player of the season has buckets of class and will be featuring in a newly reformatted Sargossa top flight next season. And Alcocer is another of the talented batch of Sargossan-Mytanars. Most of his appearances for the Mytanar title holders have come from the bunch but the lad has serious potential.


Style

In Sargossa the three at the back is king so, for a coach who is no stranger to three centrebacks, Jelic should have little impediment in implementing his favoured tactical plans. Although the word is that he may be parking his favoured approach for a 3-4-2-1 system, albeit with his preferred 3-5-2 in the back pocket if necessary and an alternative back four option if it's all going totally pear shaped. Traditionally Jelic’s sides have been strong defensively so expect the Corsairs to soak up the pressure before launching their own counter attacks. Set pieces will likely play a key role too. Specialised set piece coaches are much in vogue domestically and Manuel Semprún has been poached from champions Ciudad Soluca to fill the role for the national side.

The SuperLiga is quite a physical league so challenges can often be described as 'uncompromising' and cards are pretty common. Gamesmanship, while not encouraged, is not entirely uncommon. But diving is considered particularly stigmatic so Sargossan players are unlikely to be found doing it.

Style Modifier = (-1)



Kit
Courtesy of ediraf




Permissions
If my opponent RP's first they can:
Choose my goalscorers: Please do
Godmod Scoring Events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes (within reason)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out Yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out Red cards to my players: Yes
Godmod Other Events: Yes. Just no killing anyone.

[Bollonich]

The Bollonischian National Football Team

The Bollonischian Football Federation

Football is by far the most popular sport in Bollonich and it’s that sport which along with a die hard fanbase also has a good number of casual fans. The attention football on a whole gets in Bollonich is simply unreal as the TPL pulls some of the largest viewership for any TV programme on a whole. Football has not always had this status of high regard in Bollonich. During the medieval ages, the Empire in fact was very critical of football viewing it as an insult to bourgeoisie, pushing for more ‘civilised’ sports such as cricket and tennis. The Empirical rule managed to largely suppress football as a sport, by introducing bans on professional teams and disbanding local leagues. This led to the majority of the working class to partake in other time passes, and sportsmen and women moved onto to other well funded sports.
After the founding of the Republic and inevitable overthrowing of the ruling class, the sporting hierarchy was at its most polarising. Football was largely at the bottom with being a professional footballer being a pipe dream. This however was to change over the decades as foreign motivation in a largely football dominated area meant that Bollonischian slowly started integrating football back into their lives as an essential part. This process despite being slow has resulted in the current following for football which is the largest in the history of the sport in the country.

The Bollonischian National Football Team represents the nation of Bollonich at international footballing events such as the World Cup, Cup of Harmony and Copa Rushmori. The Bollonischian National Team made their official debut at World Cup Qualifying 88 against Al Qurija. The National Team had a very successful campaign in WCQ 88 finishing 5th in Group 6 ahead of teams like Sannyamathland, Rangers FC and North Japan. We also defeated the pot 1 seed in our group, Zwangzug 1-0 away and held them to a 0-0 draw at home. After a very successful World Cup Qualifying our side travelled to Græntfjall to participate in the Even Frostier Cup where we were paired into Group P with Baggieland, Barunia and hosts Græntfjall. In our first game we defeated Baggieland 2-1 however two consecutive defeats in the next matches sent us straight out of the Even Frostier Cup. After taking part in the 80th Cup of Harmony the Bollonischian footballers made their way to Mytanija to participate in the Copa Rushmori. Starting the tournament in style with a 4-4 draw against Darmen the rest of the tournament went downhill we suffered defeats to both San Ortelio and Sargossa failing to qualify for the Round of 16. The National Football Team returned to international foray with the 89th World Cup Qualifiers aiming to repeat our heroics from the 88th edition. And repeat our heroics we did, as we had a fabulous World Cup Qualifying campaign which was of a very crazy nature. We not only improved on our performance two year ago, we also caused major upsets defeating group winners on the last matchday. The team showed its metal in our meteoric rise in international football finishing fourth in our qualification group making important improvements. Heading into the end of the WC cycle, we travelled to Sylestone to take part in the 81st Cup of Harmony. Having been drawn into a rather difficult group with WC88 participants Jeruselem, WC22 winners Sarzonia, Trolleborg who would go on to win this Cup of Harmony and Hapilopper. We had our work very much cut out in this group, however we failed to deliver on the expectations of the fans and board. It was a catastrophic display for a nation eager to be battling at the front. Losses to Jeruselem, Sarzonia and Trolleborg weren’t exactly the best results too. The impact of this set of bad results and very slow progress would be very deep in the team. Bollonischians are an impatient bunch and this is clearly visible in the Football Federation, which embodies a very pragmatic approach to the managerial staff of the National Team. Opting to replace the entire the managerial staff would’ve come as a surprise for most fans however the appointment of a more experienced manager could definitely massively benefit the team. Or those were the expectations going into Moteudi’s very first tournament the Copa Rushmori to be held in Hispinas. Expectations were fairly high for the national team going into this Copa Rushmori, we knew we had the quality to reach deep into the tournament and with the guidance of new manager Moteudi fan’s were excited to see what was to come. The bad luck for us, possibly begun at the point we were drawn with heavyweights in the form of the hosts Hispinas and also Astograth. The group was rounded up by Isle Noire a team many fans considered to be a punching bag for the rest of us. These cocky Bollonischian fans however were soon to be proven wrong. We suffered from an absolutely humiliating group stage losing all of our matches. The most embarrassing game was our 6-3 defeat against Isle Noire, which once again raised eyebrows over the managerial choice. The Football Federation however were quick to dismiss any rumours regarding the future of Moteudi claiming that the Copa Rushmori is only a start to the journey of the national team and that the players will require time to get settled into this new unit. Moteudi's efforts to rejuvenate the team mainly failed in the Qualifying campaign despite some bright sparks and therefore will be important to see whether the team can bounce back in the Copa Rushmori. That however was not to be the case as the team's lack of regional success continued with all eyes once again turning to the upcoming World Cup cycle. The WCQ on this occasion was a momentous success for the side having been competitive for the entirety of Qualifying, just missing out on playing in the playoffs finishing fourth in the group. Regardless it was a promising show by the Tigers who will be looking to built on this very form in the CoH.

General Facts

Rank : 73
Best Rank : 73
Longest Unbeaten Streak : 6 (3 wins, 3 draws)
Debut : vs Al Qurija @ Petro Mohammed Stadium, WCQ 88
Biggest win: 5 - 0 vs Ardelark; WCQ 89
Biggest Loss : 7 - 2 vs Vdara; Friendly

Squad

Goalkeepers
#1 Sean Halliday (35) SC Lagos
Halliday is the outright starter for the national team, receiving tough competition from the younger keepers however the coaching and technical staff is always ready to back him with his hunger for victory and impressive skill. Halliday’s debut competition for Bollonich in the Copa Rushmori didn’t go as he would’ve hoped, however still being new to the outfit with a completely new technical staff, time needed to settled down is well earned.

#33 Sirigu (25) Vreton United
Sirigu is a talented young goalkeeper who’s often referred to as the future great keeper from the nation, this used to be a present however with Halliday’s decision to represent Bollonich this situation quickly turned around. With a top tier keeper like Halliday still very much in his prime, game time has gotten difficult to get for Sirigu. However such a natural beast between the poles combined with his will to win and succeed there’s no doubt that he’ll be getting a good chunk of game time.

#41 Frederico Valvi (23) Pythora Mariners FC
Valvi is a young prospect for the future for the Bollonischian national team who’s been closely matched with Sirigu in terms of qualitative skill, however the earlier technical staff seemed to prefer Sirigu. That has not appeared to be the case with Moteudi’s team however he will need to consistently put up top notch performances when given the opportunity. He’s also made headlines with his move from Avondale to Pythora Mariners FC in Tikariot a nation very closely situated to Bollonich, where he could maybe get more support.

#99 Tamni Aubrey Earl (24) Vreton City FC
Dawning the famous 99 shirt will be Vreton City’s Tamni Aubrey Earl who’s position in the national team remains one of question, however he’ll be eager to assert himself. Earl is a successful young goalkeeper with his childhood club Vreton City having lead them to a TPL title. Aubrey however has tough competition on the national level having to contend with quality young keepers such as Sirigu and Valvi.

Defenders
#18 Bobby Burns LB (27) SC Lagos
Burns is a rather aggressive minded fullback ready to put his skills towards the front of the field to test as well. He might not be the most solid defensively however that’s easily balanced with his capabilities and contributions to attacking play. Bobby has been an important part of SC Lagos’s outfit who’ll be as focused as ever to have the best qualifying season possible.

#24 Hadden Goodman LB (25) Vreton United
Goodman is the more reliable player than Bobby by some distance, he’s solid defensively and does what he needs to going forward. This variety of styles between the two players allows the management to switch them around based on the opposition to see what works. Goodman has always been a reliable member of the national team squad despite not possessing that sharpness in his game that Burns possesses.

#17 Winnifred Dallas LB (23) Blich
Dallas is a young, promising player who’s already shown glimpses of his talent at Blich. Despite his promise, his inclusion in the shortlist for Qualifying is quite risky given he didn’t make the cut for any youth tournaments in his time. Moteudi’s technical staff along with Bollonischian scouts however trust him and this young prospect shall be very eager to prove his skill in whatever opportunity is given to him.

#2 Gerard Ingit (C) CB (35) Vreton City FC
The 33 year old captain Ingit is a solid centre back who despite his lack of pace makes it up with his experience due to which he knows exactly where to be when. The current management not only believes in Ingit and also trusts him to lead this team of more young players than experienced one. Ingit still has the desire to win which will definitely keep him going to do his best for the national team.

#3 Mitchell Stevenson CB (27) Fermont United
Stevenson despite being a relatively new member of the national team has managed to find a home in Bollonich. He’s a tall, capable defender who’s very solid at the back and rarely makes mistakes. His transfer to Fermont United could be seen as a move building up a very wrong and capable Fermont side to compete in the TPL. Despite a disastrous Copa Rushmori, he and his teammates will be hoping for a better Qualifying season.

#19 Jeremy Ploy CB (31) Vreton United
Ploy is a driven, stoic character often described as a man of few words who does his talking on the pitch. Being a player at his peak, he will not be enjoying the place outside the usual starting XI. He’ll be even more determined to regain that top spot to make the most of his time at the top of his game. The coaching staff will be looking to switch around the defensive structure to not only keep players fit but also give others and more importantly some of the younger players some opportunities where we could see Ploy shine.

#37 Pierce Patrick CB (24) Vreton City FC
Patrick was first introduced to the national team setup with his surprising inclusion in the Copa Rushmori squad as a backup centre back. He is young, and good with the ball at his feet however lacking in physicality and game awareness which should be something he makes up over the years. Being a player straight from Bollonich’s youth teams as well, it’s no surprise that he’s made such quick progress and could be competing for major game time.

#55 Stephen Powell CB (23) Maihar United
Powell is one year younger than Patrick with both of them being very good friends. Powell has not had the spotlight on his that Patrick has however he’s managed to create a name for himself with his performance in the TPL which seems to be especially noteworthy. Powell is a solid centre back, who unlike Patrick excels most in difficult situations as he can bring out his inner defensive mindset to do whatever to prevent the opposition from scoring a goal.

#63 Klingto CB (32) Fermont United
The inclusion of Klingto could be seen as a step backwards by the management however it could be rightfully argued that this is in fact a good step backwards. Klingto doesn’t only bring a calm and experienced head to the table but also provides necessary depth in the situation a leader or experienced defender is required. Klingto is a very capable centre back who’s experience and physical style of play is by far his biggest assets.

#4 Sylvester Lindsey RB (32) East Akusha CF
Lindsey serves a crucial role in the team, he doesn’t shy away from opportunities to go forward however he’ll also rarely overextend the defense or make an error. He’s a very reliable player in most positions and his experience makes him one of the most important players in the team. He has also displayed this skill in the TPL with East Akusha bringing them lots of success.

#22 Lexie Rimmer RB (23) Real Pablo FC
Rimmer is a player produced by Real Pablo FC’s competitive academy, which is trying to maintain footing with some of the better funded academies such as City’s. Rimmer has shown good promise in the Di Bradini Cup and the Copa Rushmori. She’ll be given a much more important role for the Qualifying season and she’ll be hoping to make full use of it.

#47 Wade Moreno RB (34) Fermont United
Similarly to the decision made in terms of bringing back Klingto, the same has taken place for Wade Moreno who has found a place once again in the national team shortlist. He is past his peak however is still a very capable right back who can have a very good impact on the side. He’s an experienced right back who’s defensively very solid.

Midfielders
#5 Domenic Law CDM (24) FC Maihar
Law is a young, agile midfielder who likes to focus on his defensive duties and provides the side with a much needed anchor in midfield to hold it together. His presence in the team is often seen as a breath of fresh air as he is very capable in making things happen. Despite his position in the team not under much competition, players like Fleming and Burns will be looking to get some game time too.

#12 Alexis Fleming CDM (24) Fermont United
Fleming retains her position in the national team following her call up to the squad for the Copa Rushmori. She is a talented, defensive midfielder who is capable of bringing some very new, interesting ideas to the table. She however needs to improve on her solidity in defense, if she is to challenge Law’s position in the team. Her position in Fermont United does not necessarily assist in her development as in a challenging squad as Fermont she lacks in game time.

#29 Ted Burns CDM (21) West Akusha CF
Burns is a youth prospect straight out of the squad for Bollonich’s U18 team, who’s shown great promise in his displays for West Akusha CF and the national team. Being a player cultivated by West Akusha’s academy he follows a fixed style of play being very solid defensively and focusing on possession and accurate passing. He’s a very disciplined player who could be the next top tier player in the position for the Bollonischian national team.

#37 Naoki Kondo CM (30) Haligonian
Kondo’s rise to the level of a national team level player seems to have solely taken place after he left Bollonich for Haligonian. Having travelled to Quebec and Shingoryeo the previous management basically forgot about him. With the current management in place, his success in Quebec and Shingoryeo was quickly picked up and his inclusion in the national team was basically a no brainer. Despite having not been involved with the national team for as long as the others, he hopes to have a good impact on the team.

#8 Ed Douglas CM (23) SC Lagos
Douglas’s position in the side has quickly risen in stature, from being a young prospect he’s gone to a confirmed starter and shown great growth. He’s a dominant midfielder who can absolutely control the game on a good day. He also possesses a very agile stature making him a very important piece in Moteudi’s puzzle. His contributions with Lagos also makes him particularly noteworthy as a player.

#6 Miles Hum CM (25) Vreton City FC
Hum can be best described as resourceful having a brilliant understanding of the game who can make the best of the place at which the game stands. His position in the team however seems to be under threat with the introduction of a much experienced player in Hondo. Hum will need to fight hard to show the management that he deserves to have Hondo’s place and he’ll be determined to put up his best performances when given the opportunity.

#20 Archer Wheelock CM (21) Alnio
Wheelock has been a member developing under the reins of East Akusha and the national team for some time having been with the team for one cycle now. Wheelock however recently made an important career decision deciding to head to Chromatik club Alnio to continue his journey in football and only time will tell if he will have the success he desires. He’s a young midfielder who can at times be slightly overeager in terms of shooting.

#36 Luana Derricks CM (21) West Akusha CF
Luana Derricks is another talented 19 year old in this team filled with talented youth players. She’s a more defensive player than Wheelock however manages to make a good impact on the team when brought on. Being of the West Akushan style she too has been brought up in a very possession focused system and tries to find the perfect passes instead of going for outlandish ones.

#29 Kelly Johnson CM (22) Maihar United
The 20 year old player from Maihar’s inclusion in the shortlist has come as a surprise to many. She’s a capable midfielder however the question of whether she would be national team quality has struck many critics and casual fans of the team. The management however has decided to take a gamble by taking her own and they’ll certainly be hoping that this gamble pays off.

#10 Bryant Marshall CAM (24) Hagejoki
The 22 year old star decided to make a surprising move from San Ortelio, moving to Hagejoki a Græntfjaller club closer to home. After announcing his decision to leave he was rendered without a contract for some time before finally signing for the Græntfjaller club. Marshall is a very skilled attacking midfielder who has very good contributions going forward having the capabilities to orchestrate entire attacking sequences. He is also very good and accurate in terms of shooting and is not shy of making long ranged efforts.

#26 Tad Rios CAM (31) Vreton City FC
Rios is an experienced midfielder crucial and known for his cameos and small displays of immense skill. Rios has been the backup for Marshall for some time now and he has always been able to fill the role very well. Rios is a more possession based and does not tend to shoot or attempt shots as much as Marshall.

#82 Lynda Botterill CAM (21) Vreton United
Lynda is an immensely talented attacking midfielder with good ball control and fair overall play. Her inclusion in the team is no surprise as it was clear from ever since she took part in the U18 World Cup proving her massive talent. The management will be looking keenly at her growth over this Qualifying campaign.

Forwards
#9 Dennis Perry (VC) ST (33) Fermont United
Perry is a skilful and ruthless striker in front of goal who barely lets an opportunity slip through his fingers. He has been a huge reason for the national team’s recent success in international competitions. Perry has successfully become one of the leaders of the side dawning the role of vice captain and with rising young forwards, he will surely have a huge hand in guiding them.

#21 Linden Hayes ST (23) Signal Danin
Hayes is a young Bollonischian striker who has the ability to make it big like his mentor Perry. Playing under the new setup and system he’s not only found himself getting more game time but his performances have also taken an uptick. He has grown to be more composed in front of goal and can handle the pressure of big matches. The management will have high hopes for this young promising player over the period of Qualifying.

#13 Gia Knott ST (30) FC Maihar
Former Grearish and FC Maihar striker, Gia Knott’s place in the team is once she’ll be happy to retain. Her performances with FC Maihar have not only kept her side in the TPL but also taken them to the mulitversal level by qualifying for the Challengers Cup. She’s a resourceful striker who can be used as a good backup in case of the absence of a player.

#41 Linnie Huxley ST (31) Macarthur City
Linnie Huxley as a player’s success on a club level is solely in the Tumbran League as her signing for Macarthur City from Fermonto allowed her to make a mark on the national team. With her very competitive and promising displays for Macarthur the management were absolutely sure that they wanted to call her up for the national team to serve as a super substitute of sorts. She is very versatile in relation to her role and can play the roles of the finisher as well as a provider.

#73 Hazel Andrews ST (23) Vreton United
Hazel is a fresh face to the national team having gotten called up like a lot of other Maihar United’s players. Hazel Andrews is a young, 21 year old, striker who has really good knowledge on where to be in which positions however needs some refinement in the shooting department. The management similarly to other young players will be closing monitoring her development over Qualifying.

#7 Stuart Schmit LW (25) Vreton City FC
Schmit is an experienced player of the squad despite having a number of years in front of him. He however has struggled somewhat under Moteudi’s new system which utilises two strikers instead of one and two wingers. Despite this alternative setup from the new management, Schmit is still a very capable player who is very skilled in terms of crossing and passing and can do fairly well in terms of shooting.

#32 Luvenia Brandon LW (28) Chenoworth Rovers
Luvenia Brandon is a player who has spent time overseas developing her game and the results are stunning. Her time in Chenoworth Rovers has not only helped her move further in her career but she’s also developed her game a lot. She will be required to adapt to a more aggressive position of Left wing at the national team level though which she should be able to achieve quite easily. She’s an agile, and skilled left winger very capable with the ball at her feet.

#11 Buck Moreno RW (21) Fermont United
Buck Moreno is a fast, rapid winger who’s dribbling skills are pretty much incomparable to anyone else in the team. He’s very often shown how rapidly he can make his way around defenders with little to no effort. His role on the right hand side of the field has been huge as he now finds himself in a tough spot with a requirement to adapt is he’s to stay relevant. He is more than capable of adapting given his still very young age to make it into the first team.

#38 Zeph Doctor RW (22) East Akusha CF
Doctor is a young, talented right winger who has a very similar game to that of Moreno. Being an East Akushan player he is a strict disciple of the playing style where he’s required to take every opportunity to put a ball into the box. Being a young player, Zeph will have major opportunity to grow into a better player which is certainly what the management is hoping for.

#	Names	            Age	  Pos.	  Club
1	Sean Halliday	    35	  GK	  SC Lagos
33	Sirigu	            25	  GK	  Vreton United
41	Frederico Valvi	    23	  GK	  Pythora Mariners FC
99	Tamni Aubrey Earl   24	  GK	  Vreton City FC
				
18	Bobby Burns	    27	  LB	  SC Lagos
24	Hadden Goodman	    25	  LB	  Vreton United
17	Winnifred Dallas    23	  LB	  Blich
2	Gerard Ingit	    35	  CB	  Vreton City FC
3	Mitchell Stevenson  27	  CB	  Fermont United
19	Jeremy Ploy	    31	  CB	  Vreton United
37	Pierce Patrick	    24	  CB	  Vreton City FC
55	Stephen Powell	    23	  CB	  Maihar United
63	Klingto	            32	  CB	  Fermont United
4	Sylvester Lindsey   32	  RB	  East Akusha CF
22	Lexie Rimmer	    23	  RB	  Real Pablo FC
47	Wade Moreno	    34	  RB	  Fermont United
				
5	Domenic Law	    24	  CDM	  FC Maihar
12	Alexis Fleming	    24	  CDM	  Fermont United
29	Ted Burns	    21	  CDM	  West Akusha CF
37	Naoki Hondo	    30	  CM	  Haligonian
8	Ed Douglas	    23	  CM	  SC Lagos
6	Miles Hum	    25	  CM	  Vreton City FC
20	Archer Wheelock	    21	  CM	  Alnio
36	Luana Derricks	    21	  CM	  West Akusha CF
29	Kelly Johnson	    22	  CM	  Maihar United
10	Bryant Marshall	    24	  CAM	  Hagejoki
26	Tad Rios	    31	  CAM	  Vreton City FC
82	Lynda Botterill	    21	  CAM	  Vreton United
				
9	Dennis Perry	    33	  ST	  Fermont Unites
21	Linden Hayes	    23	  ST	  Signal Danin
13	Gia Knott	    30	  ST	  FC Maihar
41	Linnie Huxley	    31	  ST	  Macarthur City
73	Hazel Andrews	    23   ST	  Vreton United
7	Stuart Schmit	    25	  LW	  Vreton City FC
32	Luvenia Brandon	    28	  LW	  Chenoworth Rovers
11	Buck Moreno	    21	  RW	  Fermont United
38	Zeph Doctor	    21	  RW	  East Akusha CF

Playing Style
The team has evolved massively from Likhijo’s balanced style of offensive play. With sweeping changes in the formation and the roles of individual players, strategy has taken a huge turn. Moteudi the new manager hasn’t hesitated in completely resetting the team’s ethos. He’s modified the formation into a suitable 4-1-2-1-2 narrow formation. This works on the idea and basis of greater midfield control which he prides in his team having. Moteudi has also made significant changes to the attack up front, shifting to two strikers replacing the wingers used by Likhijo. This lack of players up front on the wings brings the abilities of Burns and Lindsey to the forefront in moving the ball forward and putting in some crosses. This also is the main justification for picking Burns over Goodman as we’ve seen how both are very similarly matched in terms of performance. The defensive structure has also hence seen some change as Doenic Law the player in the defensive midfielder position will have to play a more important role at the back of the field to provide the solidity needed. In the midfield, Douglas and Kondo’s main and basically only task is to give us the strong hold in midfield so as to control possession and outplay our opponents. Marshall will act as the link between the midfield and attack looking to feed some balls into the strong forward line. Marshall will also see his roles changed as he will take upon the role of the provider than the second hand man of Perry in front. The role of this second hand man has now been taken up by Hayes who’ll be eager to have a good start in the team, cementing his position.

Coaching Staff

Name                  Age      Position
Joseph Moteudi        55       Manager
Maple Gibb            51       Head Coach
Goeffrey Parks        35       Fitness Coach
Bart Foster           63       Attacking Coach
Robert McLelland      53       Midfield Coach
Doreen Dexter         38       Defensive Coach
Zoe Green             56       Goalkeeping Coach

Medical Team

Name                     Age     Position             Speciality
Dr. Rajob Falser         36      Head Physio          Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) Physician
Dr. Hwang Jeong-Nam      32      Physio               Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) Physician
Dr. Nikogohi Machuni     51      Team Surgeon         Orthopaedic Surgeon and Consultant
Timothy Risuro           40      Assistant Physio     Sports Medicine Nurse

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Run it by me
RP injuries to my players: Yes, nothing career ending
Godmod Injuries to my players: No, if interesting TG me
Godmod injuries to my players: No, but if interesting contact me
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Maximum 3
Hand out red cards to my players: No more than yours
Godmod other events: No, if interesting run it by me

Style Modifier - +1.5

[Cabo Azure]

”A Calma”, pt 1
Tenente-coronel João Cabral strained against the two hundred kilos of weight on his shoulders, though he knew the effort would be futile. It had been more than a year since his last attempt at maximum load for his back squat, and in the intervening time he’d had less time to spend in the gym. Granted, he still worked out twice a day, and the Quebecois marines still left him a squat rack, but it was still disappointing to see the numbers he’d worked so hard to achieve stagnate or decrease. Some of it was age, he knew–in his late thirties, his joints could no longer take the strain they could in his twenties–but some of it was the job. Less sleep, more cortisol in his system, and less time to work out and prepare his meals all conspired to rob him of his gains.

Despite his disappointment, João couldn’t deny his career had taken an unexpected turn. There were only five or six tenente-coronels in the National Guard at any given time, and he was the only one not permanently assigned on Portelo. His company command on Dulce Muerte was a distant memory now; he’d spent most of the last six years in positions of increasing responsibility within the Quebecois garrison at Camp Canarinho, which had started as a battalion and was now a task force comprising a significant portion of the Quebecois naval infantry, commanded by Major General Starwalker. João returned to Portelo quarterly to make reports to the Azurean Ministry of Defense, but in his day-to-day he was a staff officer working to plan the next iteration of Canary Thunder.

The original Canary Thunder had been intended as a one-off exercise, to familiarize the 11th Infantry headquarters and its soldiers with the terrain and demonstrate Quebec’s force projection potential to its allies and adversaries in the region. Its scenario had been very simple, and the execution was no more than a scaled-up version of a movement drill that could be conducted by a team of two; one element to establish support by fire and the other to attack the objective. They had planned and rehearsed for months, and it had gone so well that the team had become a victim of its own success and created a requirement for two joint exercises per fiscal year.

Each subsequent exercise had been more involved in the last, to the point that it dominated the division’s training calendar, a green monolith covering four weeks in the summer, as well as weekly in-progress reviews, rehearsals, and an endless parade of briefings. João was involved in all of them. With the arrival of General Starwalker and her headquarters, the original plan had been for João to serve primarily as a liaison to the Azurean National Guard. Over time the 11th had become increasingly self-sufficient and discussions were held between cabinet-level officials. His next role had been as an assistant operations officer working for the G3, but then his boss had returned to Quebec and not been replaced, and suddenly João had found himself as the G3 actual, one of the most visible and taxing jobs in the headquarters. He’d taken the additional responsibility in stride, which had led the powers that be to make his assignment permanent. João was, once again, a victim of his own success.

Two things kept João in the fight on days when he would have loved to submit his retirement papers, or else take up a desk in Portelo and never set foot in Canarinho again. One was the knowledge of the good he was doing. As an officer in the Azurean National Guard, he had never properly appreciated how overmatched his force was until he’d seen a superpower’s military up close. Not only was the GNA a paltry force compared to literally every other country in Rushmore, but centuries of peace had made them into little more than glorified border guards and parade decorations. No more. The GNA was at the core of every Canary Thunder exercise, and the experience had turned them from a boys’ club into a well-trained, well-disciplined force that would turn any attempt at conquest into a bloodletting, Quebecois or no Quebecois.

The other thing was Colonel Song. His old boss had returned to the islands after a stint at the staff college in Quebec to be General Starwalker’s chief of staff, which made him once again João’s direct supervisor. Sometimes, late in the evening, they would sit in Colonel Song’s office and reminisce about how sleepy Camp Canarinho had been at the beginning, when their biggest concern was a Quebecois marine knocked up by a mouth-breathing Azurean sailor. Colonel Song had asked about the baby when he’d arrived back at Canarinho ahead of the previous Canary Thunder iteration; João had had to ask around, but he’d found out that mother and father were both honorably discharged from their respective militaries and living in the Twin Cities in Quebec with their daughter.

João scanned his badge to enter the 11th Division headquarters, a brand-new two-story building that the Quebecois military had paid a Silva-connected construction firm handsomely to complete in under a year. It was early, and neither the boss’s nor Colonel Song’s vehicles were parked out front yet, so João made his way immediately to the operations center in the basement. The room resembled nothing so much as a movie theater, except each seat was equipped with a computer workstation and manned by a tired-looking Quebecois officer. All perked up as João entered the room; this was the night shift, and João was their ticket back to their barracks.

“On your feet!” barked the officer-in-charge, a captain with a high fade whom João recognized from the gym. “Sir,” she said as he approached, loud enough for the others in the room to hear. “No significant actions occurred overnight. We are prepared to brief the shift change at any time. Will you be receiving the brief this morning?”

“I will,” João confirmed. If the general and Colonel Song weren’t present, it fell to him to receive the shift-change briefings and pass off any relevant information to the boss.

“Roger, sir,” said the captain dutifully, then, turning to the assembled officers at their work stations. “Shift change brief! Sixty seconds!”

There was a flurry of activity as individuals returned to their seats. Somebody got a slide deck up on the big screen, and one officer stood up to start the brief.

“Sir, Senior Lieutenant Ambrose, G1,” the young man began. The G1 was the human resources section; they rarely had much to contribute to this brief besides the total troop numbers. “As you can see, there are nine thousand, one hundred and forty-five soldiers aboard Camp Canarinho. No significant changes to this number overnight; we still anticipate an influx approximately four weeks out from Canary Thunder. No significant administrative actions; pending your questions, I will be followed by the G2.”

“No questions.”

The next officer in line, a tall captain with thick glasses, began to speak. “Sir, Captain Kang, G2. Overnight we completed our assessment on the new open-source reporting coming out of the Cooper River region, and we released a new intelligence summary on the classified network.”

The slide changed to reveal a grainy photo taken in the Cooper River region, showing a motley group of immigrants brandishing weapons of all kinds, as well as a picture of Princess Brianna of Cassadaigua. João was aware of the nature of the conflict in Cooper River, as were most of the officers in the room. The G2 section had done a credible job pushing analysis out to the members of the division staff, keeping them up to date, well enough that João had sought and received permission to forward their reports to the MInistry.

“Two big-ticket items, sir,” Kang went on. “First, as you may know, Queen Cassie has announced her intention to carve out the Cooper River area as a separate fief for Princess Brianna. This has significant ramifications for the security of the interior of the continent. We assess it may stir up republican sentiments in that part of Rushmore and bring more state actors into the fold; in particular, there are scattered reports of Euran PMCs being involved.”

“Is that the other picture?” João asked.

“Yes, sir,” Kang acknowledged. “That picture is claimed to be of the element which conducted the ambush in the vicinity of D42. An outfit calling themselves the River Republic has taken credit for the attack.”

“Euran proxy?” João asked, mostly for the benefit of the other officers in the room.

“Almost certainly, sir,” Kang agreed. “Sir, the remainder of the intelligence is in the INTSUM. Pending any questions, I’ll be followed by G3.”

João traced a circle in the air in front of him, a “keep it moving” gesture.

“Sir,” said the next voice, Major Johnson, one of João’s deputies. She was pretty, just a few years younger than he was, with bright red hair pulled back in a braid and a full sleeve tattoo. “First of all, the updated Canary Thunder exercise plan is in your inbox.”

“I saw that this morning when I woke up,” João confirmed, “Sent it to Colonel Song already for approval. Why don’t you take everyone through the changes, just so we’re all on the same page.”

[Mytanija]

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: MYTANAR SQUAD FOR COPA RUSHMORI 41

##  Pos.    Name                  Age  Caps/Goals  Club                         
01  GK      Semir Besak           25   64/0        Mipojoseon [QUE]
02  DL/R    Nemanja Ovcina        21   0/0         Pyathora Mariners FC [TKT]
03  DCL     Grigorij Savicevic    31   92/6        AC Izotz Zubia [AUD]
04  DC      Bigger Mbala-Ekakia   27   54/5        Wirr Tsi [CMT]
05  DCR     Adnan Sulejmanovic    24   19/1        Sabrefell Moths [NPH]
06  DR/L    Patrik Odonelec       28   88/2        CA Paulinthal [PAS]
07  MCL     Gavril Atsev          26   34/13       Myana [CMT]
08  MCR     Mersudin Smajic       29   61/3        Stahlburg City [NPH]
09  ST      Jezdimir Ocokoljic    32   151/96      Newrook City [NPH]
10  AMC     Omer Kuhar-Arh        27   33/16       Brinemouth [NPH]
11  ST      Damien Gannot         27   63/33       Sabrefell Athletic [NPH]
12  GK      Anton Puzin           25   0/0         Bastion [EUR]
13  DL      Vuk Bajalica          26   20/1        Kyethas Rivermen FC [TKT]
14  DCL     Mahir Kapetanovic     24   16/0        Coret Hawks [NPH]
15  DC/DMC  Svetoslav Radozevic   26   16/1        Bakartirla Buccaneers [ASG]
16  DCR     Bosko Pestotnik       20   5/0         Mipojoseon [QUE]
17  DR      Slobodan Vujovic      26   25/3        1896 Ebor
18  MCL     Edin Aganovic         25   19/5        Directus [EUR]
19  MCR     Dordo Urbanc          24   34/7        Spartangrad [EUR]
20  AMC     Maks Shishkin         27   37/9        Maethoru SC [KOR]
21  ST      Fran Prpic-Bosanac    24   22/12       Bastion [EUR]
22  ST      Drazen Skara          20   10/6        1923 Esca
23  GK      Visa Marinkovic       31   0/0         CDSA
24  MC      Bruno Ozmec           28   9/0         Liria Prizren
25  MC      Ismet Zmiric          22   0/0         CDSA

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PLAYER INFORMATION

GK: Semir Besak, 25, Mipojoseon (Quebec and Shingoryeo)
64 caps
It may not have been as dominant a season as Mipojoseon have become used to but they ended up Q-League champions yet again, winning the Ouverture section of the season and then defeating great rivals Montreal Koreana in the title game. Semir Besak was once again a key part of that, demonstrating his fantastic shot-stopping ability and ever-increasing level of capability with the ball at his feet. Besak’s experience at the tender age of 25 is invaluable and he is almost guaranteed to become a member of the 100 cap club at some point in his career.

GK: Anton Puzin, 25, Bastion (Eura)
Uncapped
A third place finish in the Euraleague is impressive, but winning the Goalkeeper of the Season award tops that and Anton Puzin has been rewarded by new Mytanija manager Dzvezdan Kitanchev as a result. Puzin is a Euran-born Mytanar who has travelled somewhat under the radar, benefiting from a loan at Euran Overseas Territory side Blades ex Magnaeus and then making the Bastion #1 shirt his own. He could really challenge Semir Besak in the coming years and it looks like the Hoops are blessed with two real top-class goalkeepers.

GK: Visa Marinkovic, 31, CDSA (Mytanija)
Uncapped
Marinkovic finished the season 2nd in the Mytanar Top League Golden Glove award behind Atletik’s Deliang Zhao. Whether CDSA’s excellent defensive record was down to him or the outstanding play of Pierre-Karl Cizeron, Ezib Salihovic and Jelena Jashev is a point for debate, but Dzvezdan Kitanchev has seen fit to reward Marinkovic with a spot in the Copa Rushmori squad whatever your view. That could be an attempt to give long-term third choice option Dragisa Lazarevic a bit of a kick up the backside, or it could be a genuine view of Marinkovic’s ability given Kitanchev’s experiences against him with FK Arsika. He’s more of an old-school goalkeeper, less comfortable with his feet than other options, but a fine shot-stopper.

DCL: Grigorij Savicevic, 31, AC Izotz Zubia (Audioslavia)
92 caps, 6 goals
Something of a rare trophyless season with Zozi for Savicevic last year, over time he has grown into one of the most feared centre-halves in the National League and his reputation precedes him a little. Always comfortable at doing the dirty work to keep the ball out of his team’s net, Savicevic is adept in the so-called ‘dark arts’ and can be enormously cynical if he deems it necessary. He’s also a fine defender, able to limit the amount of times he has to resort to illegal tactics due to his ability. A real ball-playing defender who has bags of experience to call upon.

DC: Bigger Mbala-Ekakia, 27, Wirr Tsi (Chromatika)
54 caps, 5 goals
Mbala-Ekakia’s move to Wirr Tsi couldn’t have gone much better, could it? He’s won the league and he’s now won an IFCF competition, leading the Chromatik side to Challengers’ Cup glory and then upsetting the apple cart with a Super Cup victory for good measure. Mbala-Ekakia is the first black player to play for Mytanija and a product of the Atletik Thessia academy, but he is defined more by being one of the best ball-playing defenders the country has produced than either of those things. A tough competitor who has won trophies everywhere he’s played, he’d like to add one with the national team to his impressive palmares. Likely to captain Mytanija in the near future.

DCR: Adnan Sulejmanovic, 24, Sabrefell Moths (Nephara)
19 caps, 1 goal
A product of the consistently excellent Atletik Thessia youth system, Sulejmanovic has finally waved goodbye to his boyhood club with an NSD 6 million move to Nepharan side Sabrefell Moths, where he will face off in the Sabrefell derby against national team colleague Damien Gannot. Sulejmanovic has had some tough acts to follow in Grigorij Savicevic, Bigger Mbala-Ekakia (also Atletik produced); and Andrija Ugljanin, but he has done that magnificently and most recently helped Atletik to their 14th Mytanar Top League title in the process. A tall and slim frame with a good turn of pace, as with pretty much all of the central defenders in this squad he’s exceedingly comfortable passing and dribbling the ball out of defence.

DCL: Mahir Kapetanovic, 26, Coret Hawks (Nephara)
16 caps
An up and down debut campaign in the Zenith for Mahir Kapetanovic, with Coret Hawks perhaps deserving a little more than their 9th place suggested, their +22 goal difference thanks to one of the better defences in the league demonstrated that his impact was positive at least. Another all-around central defender from youth system of a Mytanar club, Liria suffered without him last season and particularly when it came to trying to build-up from the back. Good anticipation and recovery pace allow Kapetanovic to recover if he ever does make a mistake on the ball, but that is something of a rarity given his technical ability.

DC/DMC: Svetoslav Radozevic, 26, Bakartirla Buccaneers (Astograth)
16 caps, 1 goal
Radozevic plays most of his football as a defensive midfielder, but Lev Repin saw the value in playing him in the centre of his back three due to his passing range and it’s something which Dzvezdan Kitanchev has indicated that he is willing to continue. Radozevic’s versatility is a real boon, but he’s also a real vocal leader out on the pitch and that’s something you can never have enough of. The Astograth-born Mytanar captains his boyhood club Bakartirla Buccaneers due to his on-pitch leadership. Perhaps not the quickest, but will always be flanked by more physically able teammates.

DCR: Bosko Pestotnik, 20, Mipojoseon (Quebec and Shingoryeo
5 caps
A tall, rangy defender who started his career with Ararat Severyan before moving to Quebec to play alongside countryman Semir Besak at Mipojoseon. Pestotnik impressed last season, finishing as one of the runners-up in the Emerald Rose award for the best Under-23 Player of the Season. Pestotnik has begun to add some muscle onto his long frame and it has really paid dividends when he is put under physical pressure. It appears that he is becoming more comfortable with the ball at his feet as he matures too, early on in his career he has occasionally appeared to be fighting to control his long limbs but his confidence is growing quickly.

DL/R: Nemanja Ovcina, 21, Pyathora Mariners (Tikariot)
Uncapped
An outstanding debut campaign as a starter with Pyathora Mariners led to a rather surprising title win and Ovcina being named in the division’s second line-up for Team of the Year. He’s able to play on both sides of the defence and his both-footedness means he can do this fairly naturally. He can also play as an inverted full/wing-back and being comfortable coming inside and adding another body in this area should free-up the central midfielder on his side to go forward, particularly useful for Gavril Atsev. A surprise call-up but one which demonstrates just how Kitanchev is going to try to differentiate himself from Lev Repin.

DR/L: Patrik Odonelec, 28, CA Paulinthal (Pasarga)
88 caps, 2 goals
An enormously experienced option who can also play on both sides of the defence, Patrik Odonelec appears to be the last man standing from the Odonelec clan who have made such an impact on the Mytanar national team down the years. Patrik perhaps has a reputation for being more comfortable defensively than he is going forwards, however in recent years he has proven himself as a real complete wing-back and his final ball has improved no end. He can have a real impact in attacking areas now and has the insurance of Mytanija’s back three behind him to cover. A real no-nonsense competitor who is respected massively in Mytanar football.

DL: Vuk Bajalica, 26, Kyethas Rivermen (Tikariot)
20 caps, 1 goal
A player who really came to prominence at the tail-end of Lev Repin’s reign as national team coach. Bajalica is a wing-back who can do everything to a decent standard without ever really standing out in one particular area. It is understood that Kitanchev believes Nemanja Ovcina is an improvement on Bajalica going forwards, which seems to have been the opinion which Repin held on the likes of Ermin Urankar over Bajalica. That said, the Kyethas Rivermen player is a solid defender, able to hold his own in aerial duels and a limpet-like marker – he won’t get much wrong when the other team have the ball.

DR: Slobodan Vujovic, 26, 1896 Ebor (Mytanija)
25 caps, 3 goals
A fine debut season with 1896 Ebor for the Astograth-born full-back underlined his ability and made his frustrations at not pinning down a starting role with Royal Rumiatzi a little more understandable. Vujovic is a full-back who likes to throw caution to the wind and move into attacking areas to hurt the opposition. He’s technically solid and has worked well as a wing-back with Mytanija, able to maraud up the flank and create chances. Likely to start against lesser opposition where a little less defensive responsibility is needed, there are still question marks about his work when his team are out of possession.

MCL: Gavril Atsev, 26, Myana (Chromatika)
34 caps, 13 goals
A creative midfielder who has impressed at Atletik Thessia and Myana; and who has now nailed down a starting position with the national team after Tahir Fejzuli’s retirement from international competition. What comes after Fejzuli was a long-standing question in Mytanar football but Atsev has resolutely answered it, having what is a better eye for goal than his predecessor and able to match him in terms of passing ability. He might not be able to slalom through the opposition defence like Fejzuli, but then there’s very few who can do that and Atsev can still more than hold his own when dribbling at an opponent. His set-piece ability makes him hugely important to this team.

MCR: Mersudin Smajic, 29, Stahlburg City (Nephara)
61 caps, 3 goals
A metronomic presence at the base of Mytanija’s midfield for such a long time, playing in a two at international level will be something of a novelty for Smajic, but it’s something he should be able to acquit himself well with pretty quickly. Smajic grew up as something of a box-to-box midfielder but over the years he has grown into being a real midfield controller, managing the flow of the game for his team and acting as something of a safety valve both in and out of possession – either recycling the ball or mopping up danger. His height makes him a factor in both boxes from set-pieces and he’s not bad at taking them either.

MCL: Edin Aganovic, 25, Directus (Eura)
19 caps, 5 goals
Six goals from midfield for the Directus playmaker last season, Aganovic is growing in stature at his club side and he will want to try to challenge Gavril Atsev for the starting position with the national team too. That could prove a challenge, but Aganovic is not short of confidence, always willing to try things when he has the ball at his feet – whether it be a tricky piece of skill or an audacious through ball to try to unlock the opposition defence. New gaffer Kitanchev is understood to be a fan.

MCR: Dordo Urbanc, 24, Spartangrad (Eura)
34 caps, 7 goals
Another who scored 6 goals last year in the Euraleague, Urbanc is much more of a box-to-box presence and has the energy to get between both boxes, lead his team’s press and smash into tackles – whilst always remaining a threat in the final third. He is a bit of a victim of Kitanchev’s change in approach to a 5-2-1-2 from Repin’s 5-3-2, there is one less central midfielder and unfortunately it appears Kitanchev prefers Atsev’s creativity and Smajic’s control. Urbanc is likely to be used in games against superior opposition, perhaps where Kuhar-Arh will be expected to shoulder the creative burden and a bit more bite is needed in the middle of the pitch.

MC: Bruno Ozmec, 28, Liria Prizren (Mytanija)
9 caps
The ‘other’ midfield conductor in the squad, Bruno Ozmec evidently isn’t at Mersudin Smajic’s level but he’s still a top talent and able to mimic the Stahlburg City midfielder’s style of play to a sufficient standard that he’s been selected by both Lev Repin and now Dzvezdan Kitanchev. Back home in Mytanija he’s very highly-regarded as a midfield who can control the pace of the game for his team, a capable passer of the ball and excellent mentally – particularly when it comes to those hard to pin down attributes like positioning and anticipation.

MC: Ismet Zmiric, 22, CDSA (Mytanija)
Uncapped
An inclusion which has the feel of Kitanchev wanting to put his stamp on things, Zmiric is the next off the CDSA production line and shares a name with CDSA and Mytanija legend Ismet van Huijgevoort (rest in peace). Zmiric plays differently to his namesake, in a deeper role and a lot more combative, but he is a good passer of the ball and is growing in stature domestically with his performances helping to drive CDSA onto new levels. He will be able to fulfil either of the two central midfield roles for Mytanija, but this tournament could be more about gaining experience around the squad than actually playing.

AMC: Omer Kuhar-Arh, 27, Brinemouth (Nephara)
33 caps, 16 goals
A Player of the Season award winning season helped to drive Atletik towards their 14th Top League title and Kuhar-Arh made sure that his team didn’t miss Gavril Atsev too much, which is perhaps the biggest compliment for the former Ararat star. A classic Mytanar number ten who wants to score goals as much as create them, Kuhar-Arh is a deadly finisher as well as being a fine passer of the ball. His quick feet allow him to draw opponents towards him which allows his team mates more room out on the pitch. He has a knack for finding space between the opposition’s midfield and defence and exploiting it ruthlessly. An NSD 8 million move to Brinemouth demonstrates Kuhar-Arh’s continued ambition to challenge himself at the highest level and nobody would be shocked to see him continue his scintillating rise at Nephara’s biggest club.

AMC: Maks Shishkin, 27, Maethoru SC (Ko-oren)
37 caps, 9 goals
The diminutive number ten is an extremely intelligent footballer, he’s played four or five different positions for club side Maethoru SC and has acquitted himself well across them all – ranging from a deep-lying playmaker role to wide on the right. His favourite position is in behind the strikers though and that’s where he grew up playing and he’s back there with the national team now. Excellent ball control makes Shishkin mesmerising to watch at times, it appears as if the ball is attached to his foot and he can make defenders look rather foolish. He is a bit lightweight though and can be nudged out of possession when put up against muscular opposition.

ST: Jezdimir Ocokoljic, 32, Newrook City (Nephara)
151 caps, 96 goals
Ocokoljic’s rather ridiculous goal scoring record probably explains just how good (and dangerous) a player he is, but his general level of play and performances in key matches over the course of his career provide further illustration if ever it were needed. A successful stint at Energija Chernovets is now over and he will return to his old stomping ground, Newrook City, for one last overseas sojourn before returning to the Mytanar Top League. A false nine who drops into attacking midfield positions, Ocokoljic should enjoy playing alongside Omer Kuhar-Arh more often as the number ten looks to make runs beyond him. A Copa Rushmori would cap off a scintillating career, perhaps CR41 is Jezdimir’s time.

ST: Damien Gannot, 27, Sabrefell Athletic (Nephara)
63 caps, 33 goals
Gannot emerged as a false nine when every Mytanar club was trying to produce the next Ocokoljic and he was able to perform that role remarkably well but he has become more of a complete forward as his career has progressed. Physically strong despite not being overly tall or stocky, Gannot can hold his own against most central defenders and he has a nippy acceleration to take him away from opponents. He’s always been a good finisher but he can have a tendency to get in his own head if things aren’t going his way, something which has perhaps prevented him from kicking on to that truly world class level. Still, his 33 goals in 63 international appearances and position in the Sabrefell Athletic starting line-up demonstrate that he’s a very good footballer.

ST: Fran Prpic-Bosanac, 24, Bastion (Eura)
22 caps, 12 goals
Prpic-Bosanac hit 14 goals in a Workers Union side who finished 15th in the Euraleague last year. An impressive return and one which has seen him complete a move to giants Bastion, leaving the club of his youth in the search of success. It is understood to have been a tough decision for Prpic-Bosanac, a creative forward who is able to drop deep as a false nine in a similar fashion to Jezdimir Ocokoljic (who he is expected to eventually replace in the Mytanija starting line-up), but it is a move which is likely to do his national team chances no harm as he can only improve further playing alongside better quality players.

ST: Drazen Skara, 20, 1923 Esca (Mytanija)
10 caps, 6 goals
Two seasons in a row Skara has finished in third in the Golden Boot running, in the first of those he also won the Under-23 Player of the Season award; and in both 1923 Esca have ended up being the third best team in Mytanija. Much of that is down to Sava Grgurovic’s astute squad-building, but a lot of it is down to Drazen Skara’s emergence as the most exciting young striker in the country. His 14 in 27 last season was an excellent return, only behind proven international quality forwards Anne-Linde van Oers and Nahia Legarra in the Top League. He scores all sorts of goals – left foot, right foot, head – and it appears as if he could grow into a real complete forward given time.

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PLAYER ROLES

Captaincy: 1. Jezdimir Ocokoljic; 2. Grigorij Savicevic; 3. Mersudin Smajic; 4. Bigger Mbala-Ekakia; 5. Patrik Odonelec
Penalties: 1. Jezdimir Ocokoljic; 2. Mersudin Smajic; 3. Bigger Mbala-Ekakia; 4. Omer Kuhar-Arh; 5. Damien Gannot
Corners: 1. Gavril Atsev; 2. Patrik Odonelec; 3. Omer Kuhar-Arh; 4. Nemanja Ovcina; 5. Edin Aganovic
Short free kicks: 1. Jezdimir Ocokoljic; 2. Gavril Atsev; 3. Mersudin Smajic; 4. Omer Kuhar-Arh; 5. Maks Shishkin
Long free kicks: Usually one of the wing-backs to put it into the penalty area and take advantage of Mytanija's relatively tall team

TACTICAL INFORMATION
What is nominally a 5-2-1-2 out of possession will morph into something of a 3-2-5 in possession, with either of the two wing-backs inverting to play alongside Mersudin Smajic whilst Gavril Atsev and the wing-back on the opposite side join up with Jezdimir Ocokoljic, Damien Gannot and Omer Kuhar-Arh in attacking areas. This will be the same with most personnel on the pitch, though Dordo Urbanc coming on will signal a more gung-ho approach, with less control in the centre of the pitch and more of an onus placed on the inverted wing-back to monitor these areas.

Whoever is on the pitch Mytanija will press high with both strikers occupying central defenders and Omer Kuhar-Arh either blocking the pass into the deepest midfielder or joining them to shut down an extra defender. Both wing-backs will be pushed high on either the opposition’s full/wing-backs or their wide midfielders. Mytanija’s wide defenders will be aggressive in trying to block passes into their opponent, with the central defender acting as more of a covering option when not called into play against their own opponent.

In possession Mytanija will try to play aggressively when they have first won the ball back, trying to progress the ball quickly with Ocokoljic dropping into midfield and Kuhar-Arh and Gannot running beyond him. If this doesn’t work in the first instance then they will play a more considered possession game, recycling the play if there are no opportunities to penetrate the opposition defence and looking to shift the opponent’s defence from side-to-side before getting one of the wing-backs to the by-line for a cut back into the centre of the penalty area.

If there are any questions on the Hoops’ tactical approach please TG me or DM me on Discord.

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Home - Away - Goalkeeper

Huge thanks to ediraf, the Official Sportswear Apparel Partner of the Mytanar national team.

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NOTES:
• Dzvezdan Kitanchev (aged 48) is the new manager of the Mytanar national team. It is his most high-profile appointment yet and it is an appointment which has been met with a degree of bemusement by the Mytanar public and sporting press. Kitanchev arrived on the scene as the talented young manager of NK Dyka, getting them promoted to the Mytanar Top League for the first time ever but failing to keep them up. His exploits got him the job at FK Arsika, fuelled by the moneyed and ambitious concrete and chemicals magnate Sacha Dobruzhanski.

Kitanchev’s reign at FK Arsika started well in the first couple of seasons, bringing the club into the top-half of the Top League, qualifying for IFCF competitions and reaching the latter stages of the National Cup; but when Dobruzhanski’s financial support slowed FK Arsika’s progress stalled. In recent years Kitanchev has bemoaned his lack of opportunities to improve the squad and FK Arsika have become something of a mid-table team, though he has continued to take the club deep in the National Cup.

There was a feeling that both Kitanchev and the club were ready for a change and when Repin decided to leave the Mytanija job he quickly emerged as a leading candidate due to the fact his teams have played the type of football which most closely resembled the tactically flexible style Repin embodied. More high-profile candidates like Misel Ravnjak and Sava Grgurovic play more defensive football; whilst Edis Znidarsic didn’t want to leave the Atletik job. That meant that the likes of Kitanchev, Litala ’93’s Luca Zagorc and CDSA’s Slavko Jelic ended up as the main contenders and the FSM eventually plumped for Kitanchev.

The pressure will be on Kitanchev after Repin has impressed and brought Mytanija back to the top table of international football and following could be a difficult task, but he could also make that next step which Repin couldn’t and that would quickly sate the desire for blood of the Mytanar sporting media. Interestingly Jelic has taken the vacant Sargossa job so we will get an instant comparison between the two at this tournament.

• Mytanija has qualified to 14 World Cups, most recently World Cup 91, the country's biggest achievement in that competition is reaching the quarter finals in World Cup 68. Mytanija has won the Copa Rushmori once (XVII), to go with two victories in the Cup of Harmony (56 and 59); and a Di Bradini Cup win (DBC40). Some of these achievements were made under the names Mytannion/the Mytanar Region, Mytanija is ICly the exact same place.

• Mytanars are renowned for being passionate and therefore will not be afraid of confrontation if they feel they're on the end of a particularly rough tackle. At the same time Mytanars are not afraid of gamesmanship and may perform some questionable tackles of their own, along with tactical fouls to prevent the opponent from gaining momentum. Furthermore, diving, crowding referees and even intentional handballs (OOC: so Maradona's Hand of God and Suarez for Uruguay versus Ghana, that sort of stuff), to influence the game are not beyond Mytanar players. They will argue that winning is the most important thing and will do anything they can to achieve victory. Some might call it dirty, Mytanars don't, that won't stop them complaining when things go against them naturally.

• Mytanar fans are well-known for being hooligans, causing problems wherever they go and being prone to violence. They also make outstanding choreographies for their domestic sides and occasionally the national team (if they aren't fighting each other), so pyrotechnics, flags and lots of noise and alcohol are common place. Corteos (organised marches from a specific place to the stadium), are also common, these can lead to areas being shutdown as the sheer numbers of fans walking along roads block traffic and can lead to issues as police attempt to marshal supporters too. Given the ongoing political situation in Mytanija, whether ultra groups are able to put aside differences regarding politics, ethnicity etc for the national side is a pertinent question and the answer to it may change even from game to game.

[Xin-hua]

THE XINHUA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
新华国际足球队
The Swallows • 燕子队

A Note On Yue (IC)/Chinese (OOC) Names

Chinese names, and therefore, Xinhuanese names, differ from the rest of the world (and are therefore similar to Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian and Hungarian names) in that the family name comes before the given name. Please note that while some nations may capitalise the family name, here they will not be. Please keep this in mind while roleplaying — a player called "Chen Yongrui" would be referred to as "Mr. Chen" in correspondence, or when being addressed, and not "Mr. Yongrui". When in doubt, simply use the whole name, or telegram this account for clarification.

The same Chinese surname may be romanised in different ways. The surname 黄 may be romanised as either Huang (standard Chinese/Yueyu), Wee, Ooi (both Hokkien), Ng (either Hokkien or Teochew) or even Wong (Cantonese). Similar to real life, a different romanisation mean that the person comes from a different language group. The character for the surname, however, will remain the same.

A new President marks a new foreign policy; and with it, a new era in sporting relations as Xinhua sends a team of twenty-three players to the Copa Rushmori (拉什莫尔足球杯) to build relations with other Rushmori countries. Expectations are not exactly high; though there is hope that the country will be able to make itself more known on the regional stage with its exploits in sporting competitions, given how sports-crazy this region is. Located to the south of Yuezhou (exact location TBD), the nation has quietly kept itself going over the past hundred or so years, slowly building itself to becoming a rapidly-industrialising power in the 1970s and becoming granted the status of a newly-industrialised economy in the 1990s.

The Xinhua Football Association (XFA) has given the task of assembling a side to aging manager Liang Wei (梁伟). He is expected to prioritise defence heavily, while breaking on counterattacks very quickly and the usage of overlapping wingbacks, citing the successful Yue manager Yuan Zilai as inspiration.

Home, away, alternate; home and away kits reflect the colours on the Xinhuanese national flag, while the alternate kit, adopting the colours of the flag of Rushmore, is an expression of hope of greater integration and commitment to and with the region.

Goalkeepers
No  Pos     Name                Yue Name      Sex     Age     Caps    CS      Club
1   GK      Sun Zeming          孙泽名         M       32      0       0       Jinyu City
12  GK      Lee Deyang          李德阳         M       23      0       0       Clark City [TMB]
13  GK      Shen Yahui          沈雅慧         F       24      0       0       Beiyang City

Defenders
No  Pos     Name                Yue Name      Sex     Age     Caps    Goals   Club
2   LWB     Wang Qishan         王岐山         M       25      0       0       Hongmiao United
18  LWB     Liu Yating          刘雅婷         F       29      0       0       Sanyue FC

4   CB      Soong Zi Jie        宋子杰         M       32      0       0       Jinyu City
5   CB      Tang Denghui        唐邓惠         M       30      0       0       Jinyu City
14  CB      Yang Shaoxuan       杨绍轩         M       27      0       0       Sendong Lions
20  CB      He Junwei           何俊伟         M       24      0       0       Gaolong City
23  CB      Wei Peng            伟鹏           M       28      0       0       Sanyue FC

3   RWB     Kwek Siew Pang      郭秀芳         F       26      0       0       Gaolong City
19  RWB     Koh Kai Jun         许凯骏         M       29      0       0       Nanshan United

Midfielders
No  Pos     Name                Yue Name      Sex     Age     Caps    Goals   Club
6   CDM     Zhang Wenlong       张文龙         M       29      0       0       Hongmiao United
8   CM      Lee Yingyue         李映月         F       23      0       0       Jinyu City
10  CM      Tao Yijun           陶怡君         F       27      0       0       Sendong Lions
15  CM      Zhang Yanting       张艳婷         F       22      0       0       Jialeng FC
16  CAM     Jiang Guosheng      江国陞         M       30      0       0       Sendong Lions
17  CAM     Wong Jiayi          王佳怡         F       32      0       0       Jinyu City
21  CDM     Toh Ruisheng        杜瑞胜         M       26      0       0       Wuluo City
26  CM      Li Sheng            李胜           M       28      0       0       Jinmao City

Wingers/Strikers
No  Pos     Name                Yue Name      Sex     Age     Caps    Goals   Club
7   ST      Ng Xinyi            黄欣怡         M       30      0       0       Wuluo City
9   ST/LW   Chen Yongrui        陈勇锐         M       27      0       0       Jinyu City
11  ST/RW   Lim Tingyu          林婷玉         F       25      0       0       Jinyu City
22  ST      Xie Liling          谢丽玲         F       26      0       0       Jinmao City
24  LW      Chew Shi Han        周诗涵         F       23      0       0       Sendong Lions
25  RW      John Fan            范伟风         M       18      0       0       AFC Gillman [TMB]

Bolded players can safely be assumed to be starters, but pre-match XIs will be posted before every cutoff. Please check my RPs for pre-match lineups. If none are posted, feel free to pick and choose from this side.

Xinhua will name eleven starters and fifteen names on the bench, with up to five substitutes. In the unlikely event that they make it to extra time, a sixth substitute will be taken. Xinhua will not play for penalties and will try as often as possible to finish a match in ninety or a hundred and twenty minutes.

RP Permissions

Style Mod: -3.88

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No.
RP injuries to my players: Yes. Maximum of 2 per match. I will decide length.
Godmod injuries to my players: No.
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes. Maximum of 3. Any more must be matched.
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes*. Maximum of 1. Any more must be matched.
Godmod other events: No.

Do not use pictures of RL players and claim they are my players.

COVID-19 does not exist in Xinhua.

*As a general rule, just let me know before doing something egregious. Don't know what egregious means, or unsure that what you want to do breaks 
this line? Telegram me or message me on Discord. I'm on the NSS server.

[Brookstation]

BROOKSTATION NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM

TEAM INFORMATION
Nickname: Dreamers  
Demonym: Brook
Style Modifier: +4
Association: Football Brookstation
Most caps: Leon Michael Robes (56)
Top scorer: Leon Michael Robes(55)
Trigrame: BRO 
First International 
Brookstation  3-2 Qzvarkian Qaz 

Biggest win 
Eraman  0-5 Brookstation 

Biggest defeat 
Nephara  7-2 Brookstation 

JERSEYS

MANAGEMENT STAFF
Manager: Billy Browne (41)
Assistant manager: Julian Warner (35)
Goalkeeping Coach – Starc Johnston, (43)
Defensive Coach –  Narayan Das, (38)
Offensive Coach – Bighnesh Mullick, (50)
Physiotherapist – Sharon Bumberbatch, (47)

SQUAD

GOALKEEPERS

NAME                      AGE               CLUB
Lance Logan            (19 Y/O)        1830 Cathair, 
Joel Latibeaudiere     (26 Y/O)        Dursten Easterners,     
Mohammad Mandrea       (32 Y/O)        Other side of paradise, 

Lance Logan earned his position as the starting goalkeeper of the Brook following a series of disappointing performances from Latibeaudiere. Logan on the other hand made use of his time in Cathair and saw a significant improvement. Logan has always proved his potential in the field and became the youngest goalkeeper to earn a starting position in the team, credited for his sharp reflexes and precision is going to remain the first choice goalkeeper of the team and is predicted to start in most of the matches. However, putting a lot on Logan's shoulder could go wrong and thus to back him up, Latibeaudiere remains as the second choice. Joel might start in some matches and having a safer option in possession would secure the goal. Apart from Joel and Lance, experienced Mohammad Mandrea is also going to remain in the team. Mandrea still continues to perform t Mandrea will not disappoint the team if he is brought into the field at any point of time.

DEFENDERS

NAME                      AGE               CLUB
Nate Harlow            (29 Y/O)        Dreamland City, 
Geovani Angeles        (20 Y/O)        Urrhed FC, 
Kearyn Caceres         (23 Y/O)        Steinaux,    
Noor Ali               (33 Y/O)        AC Izotz Zubia,  
Adrian Gigore          (32 Y/O)        Hofvinger, 
Jayden Alonso          (24 Y/O)        Strange City, 
Rasihawn Donaldson     (27 Y/O)        Regiis Dreamland, 
Rakesh Dutta           (29 Y/O)        Halebid Warriors, 

Noor Ali's return to the team was not foreseen by anyone but after a long period of 5 years, Ali made his return at the age of 33, bringing a lot of experience with him. Ali's move to Izotz Zubia, undoubtedly one of the best clubs in the world was a great boost to the latter part of his career. Ali's strength combined with his agility will provide the Brook defense assurity to a certain level. Caceres is a typical full-back and can play both on the left and right sides. He is quite the safe full-back, who never makes a mistake in defensive positioning. He had a fruitful time in Graentfjall and learnt a lot from there. Caceres had played really well in the Twin Premier League and that is what caught the attention of manager Soham Misra's attention. Caceres is going to be an undisputed starter throughout the qualifiers and his performance in the qualifiers is going to decide his future. Then there is young Geovani Angeles who completed a seasion in Chromatika playing for Urrhed FC. Geovani is young defender who recently won the Twin Premier League with Dreamland City. He has been a very important part in Dreamland's defense and has a bright future ahead of him. Angeles plays a crucial role in the defense and builds the opportunities from the defense. Billy plans of making him play most of the matches to test out his abilities. Apart from the young blood, there remains the likes of Nate Harlow, the most capped Brook defender. Harlow's specialty is to understand his team no matter which player plays and that makes him the first pick in the team. He evenly makes contributions to the midfield and adapts to his team mates' style on the field very quickly. Adrian Gigore is going to be a starting option at the right back. Gigore is very energetic on the field and the best tackler on the team.
However, Browne would not be playing the starting team at every match as he wants his players to get adequate rest and thus the backup options in the team would be Jayden Alonso, a very fast and energetic player, Alonso focuses on assisting and scoring goals. Tough Rasihawn Donaldson is also going to be there in the team. He has been a good substitute in the team for a long time and his ability to quickly adapt to the field whenever he is brought in is going to be really beneficial for Misra to try out his new team and strategies.

MIDFIELDERS

NAME                      AGE               CLUB
Jean Pierre Polnareff  (28 Y/O)        Ancarea FC ,   
Laron Veum             (27 Y/O)        Athletic ,  
Louis Vassell          (25 Y/O)        Aspel, 
Alexis de la Vega      (29 Y/O)        Other side of Paradise, 
Steve Dolphin          (27 Y/O)        AFC Richmond, 
Vincent Mignolet       (29 Y/O)        Ribar PRD,   
Andre Vandendriessche  (21 Y/O)        Jutland Cannons, 
Andreas Roles          (32 Y/O)        Other side of paradise, 

If you want to have a particularly strong team with a good defense and a good attacking lineup, it would be necessary to strengthen the link between them which is the midfield. The midfield is perhaps the strongest point of the Brookstation national team. Starting with Vassell in the left to Veum in the right, the midfield has seen a number of changes this time. Vassell's performance in the Twin Premier League gained him a move to Euran clup Aspel. Vassell is deemed as an appropriate replacement of Jean Jacks who has been completely out of shape for the past few months mainly owing to injuries. Jean Pierre Polnareff is obviously there in the squad. Polnareff was always a great midfielder and in fact it would be safe to say that our win against Nephara came more or less thanks to him. Polnareff would be Brookstation's first choice free kick taker. Finally there would be Veum in the right, will allow him to open attacks from the right. Veum's chemistry with Vassel and Polnareff has been impressive which makes it easier for the team to coordinate better. Veum is a promising midfielder .Veum tends to come deeper and get open inside the hole between the opposition lines which has helped the team to get goals earlier and hopefully will this time also. Alexis de la Vega will also be a regular starter who will be ready to come to the field at any point of the match when required. de la Vega has a lot of experience and he is going to be prepared to come out on the field. Vincent Mignolet is a new inclusion to the team seeing that he performed well in his club in Zeta Reka. Mignolet performs his role well and he exploits wide angles for chance creation. He does this primarily with through balls, where successful ones are important in determining the outcome of a counter-attack. There is also Roles

FORWARDS

NAME                      AGE               CLUB
Leon Michael Robes(c)  (28 Y/O)        Cednia Beach AFC, 
John J Johnson         (26 Y/O)        Space Coast Rockets, 
Johannes Kehr          (23 Y/O)        Rutland Dockside, 
Dwayne Onfroy          (31 Y/O)        Dreamland City, 
Moussa Wague           (22 Y/O)        Lakewood City, 
Alfred Weasley         (21 Y/O)        Weedpot FC, 
Quincy Poe             (21 Y/O)        Berriaordena GZ, 

After a long wait, Robes was finally able to gain an international move to Turori. The attack is going to led by captain Leon Michael Robes as usual. Currently a player of Cednia Beach AFC, he is by far the most successful captain of Brookstation ever leading Brookstation to their first football trophy. He is a dangerous striker and has a beautiful style of play. Once he gets the ball to his feet, he rarely misses the chance to score. His assistant wingmen would be John J Johnson and Johannes Kehr. John has a swift style of play and his long passes help setting up his fellow strikers. He is also a fast and agile winger who can overcome defenders with his speed. Following Cust's retirement, 23 year old Kehr has been regarded as the "future Cust". A great dribbler and a possessor of a wide variety of moves, Kehr has become a young sensation in Brookstation and earned a transfer to Rutland Dockside. Onfroy is the player whom the fans want on the field due to the wide range of tricks he possesses and more importantly due to his ability to pull them off confidently. Then there is Wague, the young striker who recently found his way to Tumbran side Lakewood City. Wague wasn't a starter for the club but the youngster shined whenever he got the opportunity furnishing the team with goals whenever he could. He would be one of the first choice substitutes preferably for Robes. This tournament will be his opportunity to bring out his skills in front of the crowd and prove himself a worthy striker. Two reserve strikers, Weasley and Poe will also be part of the Brook team. Both the young strikers have shown their potential in the past and deserved a position in the team.


STARTING LINEUP

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:

Choose my scorers: Y
Give yellow cards to my players: Y
Give red cards to my players: Y (Not more than 1)
RP injuries to my players: Y (Be sensible)
Godmod scoring events: Y (Ask me first via a tg or discord dm)
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Godmod other events: Y (Ask me first via a tg or discord dm)

Style modifier: +4

[Nyowani Kitara]

Nyowani Kitara National Team

Nyowani Kitara is a nation that is a multi-ethnic and largely bi-racial communist nation, formerly ruled as a one party state. For nearly 90 years, in various iterations, the country was ruled as a one-party state, with the Kitara Progressive Worker's Coalition, the nation's communist party, being the sole source and summit of political power in the nation. After brutal civil war, which sparked interest and interventions from many nations within Rushmore and beyond.

Following the war, a peace deal was signed, and free and fair elections, sponsored by Nephara, were brought to the forefront. A referendum for independence in Osterland was narrowly defeated. The peace deal seems to be holding strong, as Muhoozi Kulan was elected as President of a newly democratic Nyowani Kitara.

There are three major ethnic groups in Nyowani Kitara. The first is the Kitara, who account for approximately 57% of the population. These are black skinned people who originate as part of the Kitara tribe, in Banija, mass migrated to modern-day Nyowani Kitara in the 1840s after they were largely exiled by Banijan authorities. Because of that, they have no diplomatic relations with Banija and are largely to be considered 'radically' anti-Banijan. Radical anti-Mormon teachings from the country, alongside Communism and a dispute over who should use the name(Banija consider their own Kitara Region to be the 'true Kitara', while Nyowani Kitara believe Banija lost the rights to the name when the exilied the Kitara people), lead to heavily strained relations.

When they came to north Rushmore, They conquered the land that was dominated by a variety of white native tribes. Osterlanders(approximately 30% of the population) are the biggest native white ethnic group, with Nordlanders(6%) and Zealanders(1%) behind them. The remaining 6% are largely white immigrants and their descendants from neighboring countries (particularly Graentfjall, Tikariot, Yuezhou, and San Ortelio).

Nyowani Kitara is known for its short, yet harsh, winters. This is a small and poorer country, and therefore outdoor sports are rather popular in this corner of Rushmore. Ethnic group for each player is listed. While sports in Nyowani Kitara are integrated on gender, this team is all males.

Despite the new government being opposition controlled, the KWFA is still firmly in control by KPWC supporters, and the manager is an energetic supporter of the now former President, Nafuna Akongo.

Information
Country code: NYK
Denonym: New Kitaran
Association: Kitara's Workers Footballing Association(KWFA)
Manager: Liang Wei(Yuezhou). 53 years old. A former assistant manager for Yuezhou during their communist era, he is a good selection for the country to lead the national team. He understands the pressures of international football, and yet, as a committed communist, was definitely acceptable to the powers that be in Nyowani Kitara who hired him. He has also taken over the role of Executive Chairman of the KWFA at-large, which, functionally, makes him his own boss.

His role has become certainly more challenging. As a committed communist, he is in political opposition to the new government, but he has generated plenty of goodwill for guiding Nyowani Kitara successfully through their first ever World Cup Qualification. It is an open question whether or not the Government will attempt to wrest control of the KWFA away from supporters of Nafuna Akongo.
Senior Assistant Manager: Raira Ouma. 43 years old.
Captain: Armoni Okombo
Alternate Captain: Odede Angonga
CR ranking: 15th
KPB ranking: 29th

RP Permissions
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Choose Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
RP Injuries to my players: Yes(please state what injury they have suffered and how many games they will miss).
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes(please state what injury they have suffered and how many games they will miss). You can kill unnamed characters(groups of fans, etc...) but cannot kill named characters(any named players/coaches, senior politicians, etc...)
Godmod other events: Yes(However, all of my nationals, players, fans, or whomever else you can think of, are banned from catching a pandemic).
Style modifier: +4.5

Roster for Copa Rushmori XLI
Players are italicized if their first callup is at this tournament.
The KWFL is the country's domestic professional football league. Players are bolded if they are based abroad.
Starters: 4-4-2.
GK #1 Oduor Bigombe. 32 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for 1896 Ebor in Mytanija.
RB #2 Omollo Ayange. 23 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Defected during the civil war halfway through World Cup 90 Qualifying, and banished from the NT since then until now.
CB #19 Catarina Malmquist. 24 years old. Nordland ethnic group. Female. Only woman on the team. Plays for FTC United in Zwangzug.
CB #3 Tendenka Mutsekwa. 26 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Red Star Karora in the KWFL.
LB #4 Armoni Okombo. 33 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for 1923 Esca in Mytanija. Captain.
RM #7 Wang Jiahui. 30 years old. Plays for Litala '93 in Mytanija. Former Yue national who has been naturalized.
RCM #6 Arvid Handsdotter. 22 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Plays for Montreal Koreana in Quebec.
LCM #8 Farmen Ekberg. 27 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Plays for Ibarnet City FC in the KWFL.
LM #20 Olaf Svante. 29 years old. Nordland ethnic group. Plays for North Sabrefell in Nephara.
RS #9 Odede Angonga. 29 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Lakiska SC in Banija League Soccer.
LS #11 Owino Odede. 29 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for East Dewayo in the KWFL.
Bench
GK #35 Parmenus Apondo. 33 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Gugola United in the KWFL.
GK #23 Fwaya Sialo. 31 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for CSKA Dewayo in the KWFL.
RB #33 Jekuche Jokonya. 26 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Red Star Dewayo in the KWFL.
CB #18 Obasea Somayina. 24 years old. Kitaran ethnic group. Plays for the Viljan Vultures in the KWFL.
CB #5 Örjan Qvist. 28 years old. Osterlander ethnic group. Plays for East Dewayo in the KWFL.
LB #14 Zhou Mushonga. 28 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Keppal Cosmos in Zwangzug.
RM #39 Janani Nyaoro. 33 years old. Kitaran ethnic group. Plays for Red Star Dewayo in the KWFL.
CM #10 Mhara Vera. 23 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for the Dewayo Mustangs in the KWFL.
CM #13 Ramah Abong'o. 32 years old. Kitara ethnic group. Plays for Red Star Karora in the KWFL.
LM #22 Rudolph von Katzenstig. 23 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Plays for Ibarnet City FC in the KWFL.
ST/CAM #23 Josef Sparv. 22 years old. Nordland ethnic group. Plays for the Bujukamba Stallions in the KWFL.
ST #12 Lars Anders. 28 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Plays for Mubeza United in the KWFL.

Notes:
- Our free kicks are taken by Wang Jiahui. Penalties are taken by Owino Odede.

Wang Jiahui
- Wang is a mobile forward most at home as a penalty-box predator, but who also loves playing on the right wing and cutting inside to unleash long-range shots. Wang Jiahui was once conisdered the next big thing in Yue football. While his footballing talent remains, his diehard support for Ren Qiang's doomed socialist regime in Yuezhou turned him into a POW and a fugitive in the newly-established United Republics, and so he had to go abroad. Finding a home in Mytanija, he's risen to stardom with the opportunity focus solely on club football, with Litala '93. But he's itching to get back into international duty. Wang Jiahui, as a supporter of Ren Qiang, was also a very loud supporter of President Nafuna Akongo during the civil war. He even held a fundraiser for the KPWC in the early stages of the war, when it looked as if the Kitara Revolutionary Forces would collapse. Therefore, without a country, the President reached out, and gave him an award for 'special services to the state'. She also, surprisingly, gave him citizenship- a unique power of the President in the Kitaran Constitution. Despite diplomatic protests and strong protests from other FAs, as he is a Kitaran citizen, he is eligible to represent Nyowani Kitara in international competition- so his compatriot, Liang Wei, has called him up.

Defectors
The following players have defected from the national team during World Cup 90 Qualifying, due to opposition to the ruling regime as a result of the Civil War. They remain functionally banned from NT participation.
RM #17 Vilgot Westermark. 30 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Starter for Matchdays 1-3. Benched for Matchdays 4 & 5 for speaking out against the ruling regime, defected and quit the NT between Matchdays 5 and 6. Currently in the process of claiming asylum in Tikariot, while his wife and children claim asylum in Eura.
LM #7 Johannes von Weber. 30 years old. Zealander ethnic group. Starter for Matchdays 1-3. Benched for Matchdays 4 & 5 for speaking out against the ruling regime, defected and quit the NT between Matchdays 5 and 6. Currently in the process of claiming asylum in Tikariot, while his wife and children claim asylum in Eura.
CM #8 Arendt Sundin. 32 years old. Osterland ethnic group. Starter for Matchdays 1-5. Defected and quit the NT between Matchdays 5 and 6 after speaking out against the regime. Claiming asylum in Chromatika.

Arvid Handsdotter
[M/He/Him] Hansdotter is being called the future of Kitaran football. While, of course, there is always some hyperbole with declarations like that from countries that are new to this, he impressed in league play in Nyowani Kitara as one of the league's most consistent players, even at his young age. While his effort defending varies wildly, he's got a laser focus when going forward. He can pin point passes, and moves well without the ball to help pull apart defenses. Almost everybody agrees that he's good enough to start for the NYK national team- however, his vocal support of Osterlander independence left him blackballed from the national team. But with a new government, Liang Wei, with an eye towards making limited concessions so KWFA power isn't stripped away from him, has brought Hansdotter to the forefront for the national team.

Group E Schedule
Matchday 1: Nyowani Kitara(15) v. Pridnestrovia(5) @ Shadow B'Betsy Stadium(cap. 63,126) in Cenial, Ceni
Matchday 2: San Isidro Labrador(29) v Nyowani Kitara(15) @ Shadow B'Betsy Stadium(cap. 63,126) in Cenial, Ceni
Matchday 3: Nyowani Kitara(15) v. Ceni(UR) @ Cenial Halcyon National Stadium(cap. 85,000) in Cenial, Ceni

[Cassadaigua]

Team Cassadaigua- Copa Rushmori 41

Coach- Brittany Byers (57)
With Stephanie Sweeney now serving as the President of CASE, a new manager was needed for the Fillies for the first time since our return. Byers was the logical choice, since she had often been the backup national team manager, anyway. Has coached in the Copa Rushmori on multiple occasions, and was an assistant to Sweeney in World Cup 87, before being named the manager of the team prior to World Cup 88. Since that point, the results have been positive, so Brittany continues in this position for #91. Sure, there are some nations who would see a coach like this, and look at the recent run of Round of 16 exits and think that a change should be made, but CASE has never been like that. Byers is still the right person for the job. She scored her biggest coaching success recently when Cassadaigua won Copa Rushmori 40. Failing to qualify for World Cup 91 was a downer, but a third place effort in Cup of Harmony 83 made that a little easier to handle. As a player, the ex-defender played in World Cups 78 and 79, and was the captain of those teams. Also led Brattleboro FC to a national championship during her tenure there, but she no longer manages at the domestic level to focus on the national team.

Assistant- Hannah Shanley (Starksville United) (47)
Starting defender from World Cups 80-83, and then served as a regular substitute in World Cup 84. Has served in this role since World Cup 85, and that includes while she was still active as a player for a little while. Some are beginning to think that Shanley might be a little too focused on the national team, given Starksville United’s struggles of late. Shanley has been a regular assistant of Byers, but did not serve as such in the Copa Rushmori 40 title run.

Starters in Green
Subs in Blue
Reserves in Red

Goalkeepers:
#20- Stacie Thornton (25) (New Lakeland Soccer Club)- Reserve WC 90 & CR 40, Sub DBC 51
#31- Cynthia Kerr (28) (Victoriaville South End)- Starter WC 90 & 91, CR 40; Sub CR 38 & 39, Reserve WC 89, CR 37, Starter DBC 49
#30- Stacey Schalberg (20) (Grande Mountain)- International Debut

It’s been no secret amongst those who follow Cassadagan soccer closely that CASE has wanted to make Stacie Thornton the international team starter for a while now. Unfortunately, her play did not quite warrant her getting the nod over Cynthia Kerr. It might not still, but with the team not making the World Cup, and because of too many goals allowed, Byers has her excuse to start Thornton. Schalberg had a great season in Grande Mountain and gets a chance to be on the team, but it’s likely just for the travel experience in a short tournament. Katie Schnapper is an interesting omission.

Defenders:
#4- Brianna Ward (26) (Victoriaville South End)- Starter WC 91, CR 40 & DBC 51, Sub CR 39
#2- Madison Rutland (24) (Starksville Coastal)- Starter WC 91, CR 40, DBC 51 & 52
#29- Amber Hogan (24) (Brattleboro FC)- Sub WC 91, Starter CR 40 & DBC 52, Reserve DBC 51
#6- Caitlyn Kaleta (30) (Brattleboro FC)- Starter WC 88-91, DBC 49 & CR 37-40
#32- Tara Keane (29) (Victoriaville City)- Sub WC 91, DBC 49 & CR 39, Reserve CR 37-38, WC 89 & 90
#21- Hailey Meyer (23) (Zenit Attawapiskat, Quebec)- Starter DBC 52
#24- Sarah Bayne (30) (Brattleboro Westside)- Starter DBC 49, CR 37-39; Sub WC 89-90 & CR 40, Reserve WC 88 & 91
#44- Rachel Becker (20) (New Lakeland SC)- International Debut

The entire starting defense from the Copa Rushmori 40 title team is back. This means that regular World Cup starter Summer Speers, now 34, does not start. The fact that her #3 was not reissued for the Copa Rushmori likely suggests that she will still be given an opportunity to play in the next World Cup. It is the back end which was the scapegoat of the team’s failure to qualify for World Cup 91, so they would all love to rebound here.

Midfielders:
#9- Morgan Rosenblatt (31) (AFC Treson, Nephara)- Starter WC 87-91, DBC 48 & 49, CR 36-39 (TEAM CAPTAIN)
#25- Kelsey Werth (24) (Cednia Beach, Turori)- Starter WC 91, CR 40, DBC 52; Sub DBC 51
#36- Tara Kriedel (30) (Shearwater, Kelssek)- Starter WC 91, Sub WC 90, Reserve WC 88, 89 & CR 38, Starter DBC 49 & CR 39, 40
#8- Krystal Sherwin (26) (Northern Union, Brenecia)- Starter WC 90 & 91, DBC 51, CR 39 & 40
#38- Emily Doran (25) (North Granby)- Sub WC 91, CR 40 & DBC 51, Reserve CR 39
#39- Kaylee Carraway (26) (Rutland FC)- Reserve WC 90 & CR 40
#35- Marquis Miles (Victoriaville City)- International Debut
#37- Lori Garland (25) (Rutland Dockside)- Starter DBC 51 & 52, Sub CR 40

There’s no changes to the group of starting midfielders. Cassadagans immediately point out that none of the starters play in Cassadaigua any longer. Other nations will see their players move on in abundance, but it’s very uncommon here. Werth and Sherwin each moved on, and for Kelsey, she is loving the opportunity to now finally have career stability. She also pointed out that she’s always been intrigued by Cocoabo. Rosenblatt is the biggest scoring threat here, but Sherwin should also be respected there. Kriedel typically plays a more defensive role.

Forwards:
#19- Chloe Anderson (23) (Montreal Koreana, Quebec)- Starter CR 40 & DBC 51, Wub WC 90 & 91
#26- Rachel Boldin (23) (Victoriaville South End)- Starter CR 40 & DBC 51, Sub WC 90 & 91
#12- Jenna Frontiera (30) (Brattleboro FC)- Starter WC 88-91, CR 38 & 39; Sub DBC 49, Reserve CR 37
#27- Allyson Perry (22) (Winchester City)- Starter DBC 52, Reserve WC 91
#28- Carly Patterson (22) (Grande Mountain)- Starter DBC 52, Reserve WC 91
#34- Steffie Garrett (29) (Brattleboro Westside)- Sub DBC 49, Reserve CR 40

It worked in Copa Rushmori 40, so Byers is once again going to make Anderson and Boldin the starters. Jenna Frontiera opted out last time, but chose not to this time, perhaps feeling a little envious on missing the chance to be a part of a title team. The other World Cup starter, Bayley Stanton, did opt out, and her #23 was not issued for this tournament. Perry and Patterson are a couple of new younger people to look out for, and more than likely they will alternate who is a sub and who is a reserve.

Team Info:
Formation: 4-4-2 Typically, but can transition to a 4-3-3 at times
People from Cassadaigua are referred to as Cassadagans.
Team nickname: Fillies. Also, we are commonly referred to as the Dagans

Home Stadium & City information:
n/a for CR 41

RP Permissions:
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose Goalscorers: Yes (Top 5 preferable in order: Frontiera, Rosenblatt, Stanton, Sherwin, Werth. If late in the game and a big goal for us, move either Anderson or Boldin in that mix; but you can choose anyone but the goalkeeper if you want!)
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes (only say they are hurt, please)
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Give red cards to my players: Yes (No more than one more than you give yourself)
Godmod other events: No

Style Modifier: + 2.7


Kits: (Pink= home, White= away, Black= keeper or third. Thanks Donnacona!)

If there is a conflict with the white kit, the team will wear pink.
If there is a conflict with the pink kit, we will first compliment the other team on their choice of uniform color. We should probably get to know one another better. Then, wear white.

Retired Kit Numbers:
#1 is retired in honor of Allison Salamida
#5 is retired in honor of Michelle Fuller
#7 is retired in honor of Shannon Myers
#10 is retired in honor of Brittany Lawton
#11 is retired in honor of Courtney Ferguson
#13 is retired in honor of Meaghan Bateman
#14 is retired in honor of Stacie Kerrigan-Fraser
#15 is retired in honor of Erica Lambert
#17 is retired in honor of Jessica Schanke
#18 is retired in honor of Taylor Connolly
#22 is retired in honor of Lupe Enriquez
#33 is retired in honor of Hannah Ranucci

For now, #16 is not worn in honor of Meghan Wolcott, but the number has not been retired.

[Tikariot]

Winston Curtis: Good evening and welcome to "Tikariot Tonight". I'm Winston Curtis.

With the Copa Rushmori 41 about to kick off in Ceni and the Isles of Avon, the Tikariotian Football Federation has announced that the Copa Rushmori 41 will be played under the banner of "Ride of the Valkyries", which will have an all-woman line-up, something that usually is only seen in strictly matriarchal nations. Reason enough for Tikariot Tonight to go out and catch up with some key players (and overall people) in this unusual approach and see all of this started.

First off we reached out to national team coach Brian McAllister to see, how this whole project came to be to begin with.

"A couple of our players approached me after the end of the Cup of Harmony with the idea of a bit of an experiment for the Copa Rushmori of nominating an all-girl squad to, and I quote, 'show the boys how it's done.' I was both intrigued and skeptical at first, because I liked them taking the initiative and wanting to take the responsibility, but at the same time I also was a bit worried about a potential backlash about restricting access to just women and going against the equality and inclusivity that we have been practicing and promoting for years now. So I knew that it was something that could backfire dramatically, regardless of the eventual outcome, just politically speaking.

The fact that it was the ladies themselves that were proposing the plan in the end was a very important factor for me personally to support the movement, also because it came from within the team, and was not just a federation initiated marketing scheme. I believe that while it technically indeed goes against the fully integrated approach and could be seen as setting us back within the tremendous progress we've made, it will allow the ladies to showcase how much they actually have to offer and silence the naysayers that are still stuck within the same misogynistic mindframe of female inferiority or at least inequality."
-- Brian McAllister, national team coach, Tikariot

While still in the minority overall, women have been making a very distinct push to the fore in recent seasons within the Tikariot Premier League, and by extension also in the Tikariotian national team, with both domestic and foreign players making headlines and even pushing into the Teams of the Season, such as Jess Oaktree, Yekaterina Pshenichnikova or Martine Aldergrass.

Looking further into last season, there are more emerging names that spring up, like Erdotza de la Fontaine, Annika Nurmsalu, Kathleen Chamberlain, Oceanne Audette or Þorgríma Ástþórsdóttir, continuing into the current, still young, season that continues the same trend. So who are the driving forces behind the "Ride of the Valkyries" movement that is making these waves in the run-up to the Copa Rushmori? One does not have to look very far to find some of the initiators for it is them, who had been among the forefront of woman already pushing into the national team, with Kathleen Chamberlain and Þorgríma Ástþórsdóttir being among the most outspoken members of both team and movement. When asked about what prompted them to start a whole movement, the duo had some interesting answers for us.

"In recent years it has become more and more obvious that under the surface we have great, young potential just waiting to break out and show to the multiverse that Tikariot is a force to be reckoned with and when the move was made a few years ago to make the league and national teams fully integrated was a great step towards really harnessing this potential for the greater good. Some were complaining about how long it took to actually took practical effect for more women to break into starting elevens and then the national team, outside of foreign players moving into the league, of course, but it's not something that just happens overnight, you have to be realistic enough about that. But last season was the first, where homegrown talent really started to attract attention on a national level and it is really exciting to see this continuing to build."
-- Kathleen Chamberlain, player Crimsonhawke FC

"So a few of us had the idea of building on this foundation and taking it one step further for the Copa Rushmori. We approached coach McAllister with the idea and concept and are very excited that he came onboard and supported us when we pitched the idea to the federation as well. Now we don't want to see this as a feminist push to force people to take notice or to try to claim that we're better at this than the boys, despite the slogan of 'show the boys how it's done' that I've seen make the rounds a lot of late, but as a fun way to show the talent that we've all been evolving and we feel that the Copa Rushmori is the perfect tournament for this, because it is a great established international venue, but not the 'big one', where I could have seen a lot more resistance and accusations."
-- Þorgríma Ástþórsdóttir, player Carathyr Emeralds FC

Ahead of the Copa Rushmori, the Tikariotian national team embarked on a ten-game friendly tour to get some games under their respective belts and get both team spirit and tactical cohesion built up, to great success, with seven wins, one draw and only two losses, with some of the young players putting down remarkable numbers, Tumbra-based Victoria Thesselborg scored eight goals and added three assists in six matches, for example. Even though the friendlies featured opponents such as Cassadaigua, Darmen or the Independent Athletes of Quebec, it will be interesting to see, how these performances are going to translate into the tournament itself, where Tikariot have been drawn into a group with group heads Cassadaigua, Oberour Ar Moro and Gnejs.

So far Tikariot has faced Cassadaigua twice in friendlies, the first match still stands as the national team's biggest defeat ever at 0-7, while in the latest clash the result was a far more competitive 0-1, and at the last Copa Rushmori XL Cassadaigua eliminated Tikariot in the Round of 16 in a thriller of a match that had seen the two sides 4-4 after 90 minutes with the Dagans scoring one more goal in overtime, so the Valkyries definitely are very eager to prove their mettle to the reigning Copa Rushmori champions this time around. Similarly the three meetings with Oberour Ar Moro so far have been a win and a loss in two friendlies, but most recently a 0-1 loss in the group stage of the Cup of Harmony, while Gnejs will be a first-time encounter for our national team.

We will continue our coverage of the Ride of the Valkyries with more background stories as the tournament unfolds, for now I bid you good night.

[San Isidro Labrador]

Part 1: Berganza
Part 2: The caciquismo of the founding
Part 3: The Bourbons and the first taste of caudillismo
Part 4: A brief return to caciquismo
Part 5: Centralised rule, or was it?
Part 6: Bourbon rule falls apart
Part 7: Bonapartism comes to the island

En San Isidro Labrador, el liberalismo constitucional es una frase desconocida.

(In San Isidro Labrador, constitutional liberalism is an unknown phrase.)

Part 8: Ferdinand and Isabella (not those ones)

As discussed in the last overview, French rule on the island of San Isidro Labrador came to an end when an army loyal to Fernando VII El Deseado finally evicted the French-Irish servant of Napoleon Jean-de-Dieu McDonald-St. Hilaire, leading him to flee and become a pirate. In the decades that followed, numerous Spanish colonies would gain their independence, but not San Isidro Labrador. Instead, the upheaval in the other colonies led Fernando to keep a tighter grip on his Rushmori territory.

Fernando was a notorious conservative, and he made sure that his edicts against Enlightenment knowledge and the liberal press extended to San Isidro Labrador. This suited the large landowners just fine, who were in no mood to acknowledge the rights of man or embrace any kind of economic reform. So whereas Fernando's despotic rule in Spain led to a military rebellion and the ushering in of a three-year period of liberal constitutional monarchy, it did no such thing in San Isidro Labrador. Instead, Jose Manuel Serrano, the military ruler of the island, completely ignored the government's edicts, trusting to the island's distance and, as we now know, the full and complete backing of Fernando to enable him to do so. As such, there was no need for a Bourbon invasion of San Isidro Labrador to restore Fernando's absolute rule. The Inquisition, banned during the Trienio Liberal, survived in San Isidro Labrador to torment those who would oppose any aspect of the ruling order. It even managed to survive its abolition on the mainland in 1834, surviving another decade until Serrano grew fearful of the Church developing an independent power base.

The revolts in Spain's other colonies left San Isidro Labrador untouched, although some small-scale revolts, touched off by pirate raids by McDonald-St. Hilaire, did arise throughout the 1820s. However, these were weak and disorganized, and thus easily suppressed. Any liberal opposition to the regime that might have led a revolt had already been suppressed (indeed, there was somewhat of an exodus of liberals in this and the previous decade) and the ruling elites were content to collaborate with Serrano. When Fernando died and Isabella II, the first sole female ruler of a unified Spain, succeeded him, some ultraconservatives opposed it, coalescing around the king's brother Carlos, becoming known as Carlists. The Carlist movement indeed found adherents in San Isidro Labrador, as they viewed Carlos' conservatism as more compatible with their own beliefs and also practically, they wished to be left alone. In a pattern we have seen before, Serrano, now seeing an opportunity to establish himself as sole ruler of the island, pragmatically changed sides to uphold Isabella against the Carlists, despite his earlier advocacy of conservatism. Liberals returned to the island with the promise of constitutionalism, and Serrano smashed the Carlist forces, breaking their power. But liberals were soon to learn that Serrano's commitment to liberal constitutionalism was little more than lip service. Once he had appropriated portions of the Carlist rebels' lands and broken their power base, he reverted to conservatism, using the Inquisition to suppress opponents until it itself was abolished.

The reign of Isabella II was marked by competition between so-called "moderates" and "progressives." Frequently, one side or the other would rally the military to expel the other side from power in pronunciamientos. This meant that power alternated between conservative constitutionalists and liberal constitutionalists during the period. This was not so in San Isidro Labrador, and indeed San Isidrano textbooks today teach that Serrano was a good leader for ensuring stability and avoiding pronunciamientos. During the period of the early reign of Isabella, the moderates attempted to set up civilian leadership and reorganize local and regional government, as well as reform taxation. Serrano undercut the government at every opportunity, making it clear to the Moderate Party officials who came in to administer San Isidro Labrador that they would comply with him or they would find themselves out of a job, and took considerable portions of taxes collected for himself. Serrano was more popular than the Moderates, in fact, because he protected the island, was willing to let things slide as opposed to Moderates who insisted on recording everything, and because he often spent his ill-gotten gains to create a network of patronage that often helped the poor.

After the Moderates were ousted in 1854, and the Progressive general Baldomero Espartero took power, they intended to sell Church and other common land to fund the new state. The Progressive surveyors, however, were threatened, cajoled, or bribed into reporting only small amounts of land for sale in San Isidro Labrador. This won more admiration for Serrano, as he protected the poor against losing common land, and the Church against losing their property to anti-clericalists. The two-year period of Progressive rule was largely ineffective on San Isidro Labrador, and the government was toppled by a counter-coup, returning the Moderates to power in 1856.

Serrano continued to rule the island until he expired in 1868, just weeks before a new pronunciamiento would topple Isabella II for good and establish a new constitutional monarchy, and eventually, the First Spanish Republic. His successor, appointed by the new constitutional government, would not be prepared for what those turbulent years would bring to San Isidro Labrador.