World Cup 96 - Roleplay Thread

[Vdara]

Wasted Youth

It's often been said that the definition of insanity is 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result'. Perhaps, in another couple of cycles, hidden away in a Chania library, the word 'insanity' is replaced by the Vdaran flag. Anyways, it's also insanity to leave your computer on overnight, so let me get that for yo-

[HUElavia]

HUElavia 1-1 Mertagne
(Rossi-Rigoni 22' | Curwood 27')
The Ring Tank Stadium, Ostosaide, Mertagne

Don't Stop The Party!

HUElavia draw with co-hosts Mertagne to win Group E and set up historic rematch against Farfadillis!

Matchday 3 had always been a mixed bag for the 5 previous editions HUElavia had played in during their World Cup campaigns. While there were some losses involved, two historic results have come from this matchday, notably being the 4-3 thrilling victory over Farfadillis that led to the team falling short from the WC 84 knockouts and a 3-0 thrashing against Eshialand that sent Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos to the knockouts for the first time in WC 95. Entering Matchday 3, HUElavia controlled Group E's destiny, where their match against Mertagne (with the other being Zwangzug vs Zenic) would determine for the most part how the group would play out. While there were plenty of HUElavians present, there was less in the stadium than usual, due to the co-hosts Mertagne having thousands of their fans present to support their team. The A-Team came out, with both teams wearing their Alternative Uniforms in order to prevent any sort of clash of colors. While protests did exist before Matchday 2 over the sea animals in the aquarium

The match saw Mertagne playing with more ferocity, as they were on the outside looking in, needing a score to have hopes to advance to the knockouts, especially with the crowd chanting and cheering them on, while whistling and booing the HUElavians whenever they had a touch of the ball. Despite attacks from Will and Curwood testing the HUElavian backline, they stood firm, with Mok making saves and blocks to prevent the opening goal from coming in. The opening goal came in the 22nd minute, when Taylor-Calañas was on the ball being covered by Ibarborde, where he saw a sprinting Rossi-Rigoni, looped the ball over for Rossi-Rigoni to chest the ball down and give a one-time shot past a sprawling Fawn into the goal, making it 1-0. The Mertagne crowd fell silent at the goal while the sizable HUElavian crowd was cheering loud enough to be heard. Rossi-Rigoni hugged his teammates and did the cross to the sky, doing a more subdued celebration, seemingly out of respect to their opponents and the co-hosts. Back at home, watch parties were going crazy, as there was excitement at a possible sweep, a historic first for HUElavia, with people hugging and cheering throughout the cities around the country. That joy was short lived, as in the 27th minute, a foul by Lobo over Du Moucel gave way for a free kick, where Will sent a free kick into the box and Curwood tapped it past Mok into the goal, making it 1-1. The home crowd erupted at once, jumping and cheering around the stadium while the HUElavians were stunned and silenced, with much of the same reactions at home from the goal. HUElavia and Mertagne would trade shots throughout the half, but with the scoreline at 1-1, the half ended and the Mertagne fans were more anxious with nervous looks throughout the stadium.

The 2nd half saw Mertagne continue pushing more and more, but HUElavia played more to the defense, ticking off time as they could. Time ticked on and on, with more of the Mertagne supporters booing loudly as the eased pace Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos had towards the game. From the looks of it, HUElavia knew they could hold the result and rest some of the players. Thus, on came Watanabe and Ricci for the likes of De La Cruz and Canchon to give them rest, as well as Guerricagoitia for Oh, and Ruiz for Alvarez, with backups fully on to give some rest to the more solid players of the team. No score report was coming from Zwangzug vs Zenic that was being played simultaneously, and Mertagne pushed with Curwood, Du Mucel and Tompkins pushing with attacks, now with the backline putting in the blocks to give Mok relief in goal. Time went on and on, and it began to give dread to the Mertagne supporters, and the 90th minute came, with a live update that Zwangzug vs Zenic was still scoreless. In what was the final kick of the game, Curwood got right by Mok to score, but hit the side netting and out it went for a goal kick, which the referee blew their whistle and the match ended 1-1. Zwangzug and Zenic ended 0-0, meaning HUElavia and Zenic had advanced to the Round-of-16. Various Mertagne supporters were with sad and depressed looks, while the HUElavians applauded the result. After some celebration by the HUElavian players for winning Group E, they came up to the Mertagne players to give their commiserations and trade jersies, giving hugs and handshakes as a form of goodwill, earning applause by the fans in the crowd.

HUElavia won Group E with 7 Points (2-1-0), followed by Zenic advancing with 4 Points (1-1-1). Co=hosts Mertagne were eliminated in 3rd with 4 Points (1-1-1), while Zwangzug was out with 1 Points (0-1-2). At the end, Zenic's upset over Mertagne sent them to the knockouts, in what was one of the biggest upsets of this World Cup. HUElavia make it to the Round-of-16 for the 2nd consecutive edition and for the 2nd time, facing off against a familiar face: Farfadillis. One of the favorites to win WC 96, Farfadillis come off a blistering 5-0 defeat to Yuezhou, in what was one of the surprising results of this tournament. HUElavia had met Farfadillis twice, the aforementioned 4-3 win at WC 84 and the opening match to WC 85 when Farfadillis was the defending champion and co-host. It is a tall ask to take on the No. 3 team of the multiverse, but not an impossible one. Coach Honda was seen saying "Farfadillis is one of the finest teams of the multiverse and they are no laughing matter. We know we have to fight with strength and with a lot of sweat if we want to return to the Quarter-Finals. We want to give it our all and make the most of every match we can play in." The team trains diligently, with serious faces, knowing any game can be their last in this tournament. HUElavian fans viewed Farfadillis as the favorite to win it all, but now the team has a chance to pull off what can be a historic upset once again. One can only hope and pray, but there is a burning desire to give it their all and make yet another historic run. The failures from 8 years ago confirms one thing: This generation of players are hungry and have plenty of fight to make history and take it one match at a time, taking it up against anyone who comes in front of them. Here's to what can be historic day.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA

[Zenic]

“And with that final whistle, the Empire of Zenic has clinched its spot in the Round of 16 in this 96th edition of the World Cup.”

“Whoa. Is this real life? Tell me this is real life.” Luke Killian proceeded to pinch Emperor Cuauhtémoc on the arm. “Owwwwww my lord, this is happening!,” exclaimed the Emperor. The crowd within the room exploded in celebration as the sports commentary confirmed that the Survivors had just advanced to the Round of 16 in only their second trip to the World Cup. The select group of individuals in attendance at the Royal Regia was a who’s who of Zenic politics and sports: the Emperor, the FZF president, Consul Justo Felipe, the Minister of Sports Alaia Dimi and her Deputy Minister Heung Soo-min, the current heads of the ‘Quinque Familias’ and their entourages as well as security personnel.

Justo and the Ministry of Sport had collaborated to set up this regal watch party as both a fun gathering to celebrate the finale of Zenic’s group stage as well as a means for the newer members of government to get to know the Quinque Familias better. It was a bit of a gamble considering how recent international sports was in the grand scope of Zenician history. But luckily, there were several members of each familia that were integral in making the original initial leap into the international scene who were ecstatic to attend such an celebration. And what fortunate timing.

Despite his status, the Emperor was just as big a fan of the Survivors and Frozen Survivors as his fellow citizens and was relishing this historic breakthrough. He was still in grade school the last time the Survivors were in the World Cup and now as Emperor, he had just witnessed them one-up their previous performance and become one of the last 16 nations still standing. It would still take a few minutes before everyone settled down (in the Royal Regia, Spectrum Stadium in Dannin and in the broadcast station) and it was revealed whom from Group H the Survivors would take on.

The Dragons of the United Republics of Yuezhou.

Quarter-finalists of Copa Rushmori 45, Runner up of Group 11 in World Cup Qualifying, and Winner of Group H in World Cup 96. An all Rushmori duel in the heart of Anaia. Both squads looking to make it past the Round of 16 for a potentially magical run in the World Cup. Alas, only one of them could advance. Each squad ran surprisingly similar but distinct tactics: Yuezhou with the 4-2-3-1 and Zenic with the 3-5-2 at around the same level of somewhat offensively-minded futbol. It would be a fierce duel in midfield between each of the 5 midfielders for the two sides and whoever wins that battle will come away with a Quarterfinal trip and a memorable match to add to their history books.

The Emperor looked around for his Consul and found him clinking glasses with a member of the Valerie Familia. He waved at Consul Felipe and called him over for a brief moment. “Justo, remind me to talk with Boriss, Fina, and Ascanio to see about arranging a trip to Dannin for the Round of 16 match.” The Consul looked at the Emperor with a bit of a wry smile. “Oh? I thought you were a bit too busy to leave the country?” The Emperor rolled his eyes at his most trusted advisor. “There has been pretty good progress on the reconstruction and a nice uptick on trade trending back to at least pre-conflict numbers. Plus, this is a BIG moment, one the futbol squad has NEVER achieved on the BIGGEST stage.”

“The Emperor can’t miss a moment like this, can they?”

[Delte]

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Delte 4-0 Crpostran
Sports Correspondent Kim Samrodd at [Sorry but the board is temporarily unavailable, please try again in a few minutes] Huayramarca for the Skimpy Matchday Report & Negligible Detail Express (Sports Section)

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I won't dwell overly long on the finer details of this match but certainly mention should be made of the performance of a Crpostrani backroom member who seemed to be running the show for the surprise qualifiers as a technical adviser, but with executive control over every aspect of the match day. Players and coaches were seen to be following his directions at every step of the game, though in the end, it availed them little as the reigning world champions refused to take their foot off the gas despite already qualifying for the knockout rounds. Climo Coss, who has been around a bit and knows a few people, and had joined the Deltic bench after being eliminated from the Cup of Harmony in Tumbra with Wight, said he looked like Hebe Lakere, an infamous Vilitan undercover villain presently on the lam. When Climo gazed penetratingly at him, he drew up a false beard and put dark glasses on. Are Vilitans the masterminds behind the sudden rise of the new kids on the block? I mean, it's a theory.

Irki Mynster, Tai Cerotha, your man Enor Perro and young Onun Tasher all chipped in with goals as the surprise package of '96 were overawed by the rank amateurs from somewhere just sidewise of the North Pacific, their defence unable to contain the fluidity and controlled aggression of the high stoicpress.

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The Bronzed Giants
3/6: Enor Perro

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Exploring Sporting Statues Of The Valley

Speaking of statues, in the village of Warkin this morning it was the unveiling ceremony for a brand new sculpture by emerging superstar caster Lucy Bronze. Mostly known for it’s basket weaving and the Tuesday morning cheese market, this is only the second statue to be erected in the quaint little hamlet after the seated effigy of Rodineaugh Tike, the master weaver. For most, if not quite all, of the Warkinites, it is a matter of pride that they finally have a new paladin to celebrate, even if his reputation is somewhat tarnished from a short stretch in the Auld Triangle - that is to say, prison. I mean, he’s hardly Chad Naylor.

Some say the Perro family have a bit of Screvenor in them - meaning someone from the next valley along - while others blame it simply on having too much time and not enough work to do on the ramshackle former pig farm just upwind of Warkin that the lazy old swineherd Arrie Perro let fall into disrepair, losing all his hogs over the hills and not bothering to follow them up. Whatever the truth of it, the boy Enor and his brothers were a troublesome bunch, and it was a great relief to the village when the family upped and moved off the land and went to Oswark to trouble the townies with their slovenly and sometimes rowdy ways. Enor showed a great aptitude for sports and was progressing through the Oswark United ranks when trouble finally caught up with him: he was detained by the River Patrol for his part in an attempted jewel heist, having also shown a great aptitude for lock-picking and safe-cracking. After less than a year in the gaol he was released on licence to travel with the new Representatives’ squad for a trip to Farfadillis in the Baptism of Fire. Discovered by Rülândéá Kôstä, the rest, as they say, is history. World Cup winning captain sort of history.

Herod Rillpole, one of the oldest stoics in the valley and Parish Councillor for Warkin & District, was invited to unveil Enor’s commemoration. He was so old that he needed a little help with the drawstring, though he grumbled about the assistance provided, naturally. Ninety-six of the hundred and seven residents of the village crowded around the bus stop for a good view of the new statue, whilst a family of five were otherwise indisposed and six stayed away on account of protesting the legitimacy of celebrating a known criminal who only came back to the valley these days to meet with his parole officer. “That’ll end up in The Garden of Regrets before the decade is out, mark my words,” they said. There was a small groan of effort from Herod, a swoosh of silk, an ooh from the bystanders, and there before everyone was Enor immortalised, and with him - unexpectedly - his partner in effigy, @FarvyGirl, his supermodel GF. She certainly drew the eye. “What a pair!” said someone in the crowd. And who could disagree?

[Flavovespia]

Xanneria 1 - 1 Flavovespia

It was a close game, as the scoreline suggests, but Flavovespia held on to draw, and with it progress to the Round of 16. They weren’t group winners this time, but have met the expectations of them, as Rinaldi will end his time managing Flavovespia in the knockout stages of a World Cup again.

Xanneria had multiple players in the squad from Flavovespia, so Flavovespians at home watching had some familiar faces to recognise. However it was one of those who drew the ire of the Flavovespians just 6 minutes in. Peter Langdon latched onto a through ball by Jonathan Bagshaw, and had Hibernardo Selltick ahead of him. Selltick went in with a firm but fair challenge, and got the ball before Langdon went tumbling. Langdon however, waved to the bench, and had to limp off, his World Cup seemingly over. On was Amrik Singh, with Michael Cole sliding into centre forward.

Amrik Singh made a big impact in the 16th minute. Charles Adams made a smart run down the left, drawing out his marker. This created space for Amrik Singh to run into, and a great through ball opened up the opportunity to shoot. Singh hit the ball with power, and Evan Jefferson Jr was unable to do anything but watch it fly into the net. Flavovespia had the lead in a crucial game.

Flavovespia however, couldn’t press on and that cost them 15 minutes later. Xanneria were attacking with pace, and Kevin Young showed great heads up ability to read the run of Dillon Hailey. Over and past Paul Taylor, Hailey then squared up Nathan Crewe, and a curling shot beat the dive of Crewe, and flew into the net, just inside the post, few could’ve saved it. 1-1 it was, and for the rest of the first half, it looked like Xanneria were the better of the two sides, but just lacking one big chance.

Into the second half, and just 45 minutes for one of these sides to reach the knockout stages, Flavovespia would have it if it stayed like this, with Crpostran looking out of pace against Delte. Early minutes of the second half saw a ping pong of chances, Jonathan Bagshaw and Martin Edwards on one side, Dillon Hailey and Pete Ross on the other all recording shots on target. However, neither Nathan Crewe nor Evan Jefferson Jr looked like they could be beaten easily, another goal would take something brilliant, or a big blunder.

As the game progressed, it became Xanneria’s attack vs Flavovespia’s defence. With no hope of a group win, Flavovespia knew merely holding on was the key now, to enter the knockout stages. The Maroons pushed on, and the yellow shirted Flavovespians were getting backed up into their own half. However, defence and game management had become a forte under Augusto Rinaldi, every failed attack seemed to build confidence they could see it out. Jonathan Bagshaw as ever as a threat on the counter, dragging Xanneria’s players back to defend, just when they were pushing further and further up.

In the end, despite some late frantic attacks, Xanneria were unable to find that one moment of magic to get the second goal to send them through to the World Cup knockout stages at the first attempt. 1-1 it finished, the fans staying to give their side a standing ovation, and the players duly responded with photos and signatures. Colton Boyd-Church was a particularly popular player, even some Flavovespian fans got in on the act to get his signature. As for Flavovespia, the knockout stages await. Kelssek awaits, number 6 in the rankings, and whilst they had to make it through the playoffs on penalties to get to World Cup 96, they got 7 points in Group B. It’ll be a surprise for Flavovespia to win, but never say never.

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
The Beat Goes On

Huayramarca has not been a very welcoming place to the Marauders, as the pro Anaia crowds as well as the circus of events that have transpired either during or before the team's matches have definitely had a bit of a unsettling for the team. The frozen pitch in the first game against Vdara was a safety hazard that had many fans back home wondering why the match was allowed to continue and we sympathize with those in Vdara who think that they might have had a chance to steal a point or even three had the pitch been in expected playable condition and not subjected to being frozen. Pro separatist rallies touched a nerve within the team and they failed to play up to their standard against Saint Eleanor, as the second of the two Anaia affiliated teams fed of the crowd as well as the chaotic energy to give the Marauders more than they had expected to contend with and unfortunately the side from the Empire walked away two to nil losers on the night. The result put their progression into the knockouts in jeopardy despite having come into the tournament as the number one ranked team in the sport, a draw or loss against top ten ranked United Mandaran States, formerly Pemecutan for those at home, would mean the top team would be done before the knockouts had began.

In a kind twist of fate, there would be no such chaotic energy or events that would come to disturb the game between the top two seeds and two top ten ranked teams in an all important clash that would likely decide who would advance and who would go home early despite having entered as a favorite to win the entire tournament. While there would be no chaos in the stands, outside the stadium, or with the pitch itself, that very game that took place was so chaotic that at times it felt like a completely different team was playing than the one that had been doing so even just ten minutes before as the two sides combined for eight goals in the game. It was a bit of a grudge match for the Marauders, having felt like they had been upset by this side some years ago during a run in a prior World Cup where it seemed like they were marching their way to the Final and had ample opportunity to attempt to win the sixth World Cup title that has eluded the team for well over thirty editions now. There have been more editions of the World Cup since the Marauders last won the competition than from when they entered it and won their last World Cup. It is a team and a fanbase that is eager and hungry for success, to be able to be at the pinnacle of competition once more.

If there was a person to lead the team's charge against their well talented foes, it was going to be Laborious Hawk, the captain of the team and the only person to have played in all five of those championship teams all those many years ago. His elven blood gave him the longevity to still be playing, to still be leading a team that was desperately looking for the satisfaction of being able to live up to the legacy that Hawk and those teams in the forties had built for the program. The weight of putting on the shirt with those five stars above the crossed sabers brings on a sort of pressure that few players or managers have ever experienced and the feeling of always having to try and live up to that, to prove that you are worthy of the shirt and all that comes with it, the legacy and the burden. We have seem players excel and flourish under that pressure but we have more often seen players who when the lights are shining their brightest and they feel the gravity of the moment with that crest upon their shirt, they wilt and collapse under the pressure and fail to cope. With three top three finishes in the past four editions, there is belief that this is the right group of players that can manage it, who can rise to the occasion rather than falter.

That belief was given renewed hope in the chaos of the match, as the Marauders found themselves down two goals inside the first quarter of an hour, Harun Muftadi scoring in the third minute after a scrum in the box that came to him and then Gede Putra Arimbawa with a magnificently directed header to the far post off a corner that caught Nikolai Simonsen wrong footed. Teams who can not cope would have hung their heads and like been run out of the Estadio Nacional de Huayramarca in an embarrassing fashion and scoreline, but this side decided to dig deep and fight back. In the twenty-sixth minute, they were back in with a shout after Bjerk connected with Holt as one winger fed the other and Holt hit it on the half volley that knuckled in front of the keeper and slipped through their legs. Barrientos would level the scoreline in the thirty-fourth, rising above the crowd to head home a inswinging cross from a Hawk free kick. And with the last kick of the half, Hawk would convert a penalty after Holt was dragged down in the box by Alvino Bastian, after she had dribbled past him and was in on goal. From down two to nil to up three to two, it was a momentous fight back but there was still a second half to play and the Marauders knew that they could be beaten by this team with talented players.

Beaten they were in the first ten minutes of the second half as Muftadi scored his second, with a pass from the midfield splitting the centerbacks perfectly and the striking timing his run also almost to perfection, Simonsen getting a hand to it but it still lofting itself into the top of the goal. Thirty-six minutes to go and it was all still to play for, the Marauders pressed on but had to hold themselves back a bit from getting exposed and having another daring through ball beat them as it had done so to bring the two side level. Klara Holmberg was brought on just after the hour mark and in the sixty-seventh minute, she made her presence known, with a nearly identical goal to the one that had brought the teams level, getting set in by Barrientos and calmly finishing the move by rounding the keeper rather than trying to power it through. The final goal came from the most unexpected of places, with Ismail Blom dribbling the field and letting one go from just inside the area that found its way into the back of the net somehow. It was a thriller, with eight goals on the board, but it was a Marauders victory and it meant the side was going through, though as group runners up with Saint Eleanor getting the point they needed to top the group after winning their first two matchers.

The side has been drawn now against Juvencus, who are on paper one of the weaker teams in the knockout rounds, but they also managed to win a group with Chromatika, Quebec, and the hosts. That is impressive in all sorts of ways that you have to give them their due, they have earned their spot and pose a challenge for the side to attempt to overcome. Although they tend to set up in what appears to be quite a defensive formation, the group stage showed they play with more openness than that as they scored ten while allowing six, meaning they have the bite to put the backline of the side to the test. Having given up seven goals during the group stages, this does not inspire a lot of confidence that the team will be able to hold back the surge that their foes are going to throw at them in the offensive end. It will rest on the Marauders very frightening attacking five players to have the brunt of the responsibility in finding the victory and not having a repeat performance of the Saint Eleanor match where they seemed very out of sorts. Provided the team can avoid any more chaos happening at their matches, they have to fancy themselves to progress through, perhaps even to make it the Final again, but a Juven wall need be bypassed before such dreams are allowed to start.

[Juvencus]

To say there was no pressure while entering the game against Chromatika would be a lie. After all, Chromatika had been our nation's biggest fear in almost every sport imaginable. The previous meetup between the two teams had been a long time ago and the best result la squadra could muster was a draw, which is the best result it had ever had against Chromatika in any sport ever in history.

To go against such opposition without Ponce, Oliveira and especially Callejon, the latter of which has experience playing in the country of Chromatika was a huge blow for the team. Urbà Pujals was to be used in Callejon’s position, as the FC Conton defender exhibited good form in practice and as a substitute in the game against the Grim Reapers. Now up front, Garcia also was out for the count after receiving yet another yellow card against the Quebecois, with Bevilacqua, the Chromatik winger getting in his place. Lastly, Sissoko and Gustavo Alfonso would command the midfield gaps together this time.

Gaetan had a plan in the works while playing with a seemingly “decimated” XI against a talented and established opposition such as the Anomalies. Knowing their media, they would surely underestimate la squadra, so he made sure to remind his players time and time again. This strategy surely riled up some of the players and reminded them what they were fighting for. This time la squadra was fighting for something greater than ever, a spot in the knockouts of the World Cup. This would be something the nation has never experienced before and this victory was more necessary than anything else at the moment. 4 points in the bag, making it 7 would be even better for gli attaccanti.

Before the teams could enter the pitch, Gaetan grabbed Carlo Bevilacqua to the side. “This is your time to shine, kid. If you’ve impressed them, then sure as hell you can impress us. We’re playing in a normal altitude, now your speed and positional flexibility will be our most-needed set of skills. I have faith in you and so do 150 million people back at home, eat them up.”

Juvencus vs Chromatika, Gaetan vs Repin, a battle of life versus death. On one hand you see a generation of talent emerge while on the other you see a golden generation age and diminish slowly. The game itself started on a 50/50 pace, both teams exchanging blows and possession. Unlike the rest of the matches, it wasn’t as big of an offensive showcase, instead opting to play safer for fear of losing more talent in following games.

Then, the Anomalies did what they knew best. A swift exchange of passes ended up with Xuen-Zhukov giving them the advantadge. In the past, the Chromatiks would pick up on that against Juvencus, but not this time, this time was different. The equaliser was just as fast, as Alfonso would full send it to Bevilacqua with the winger nutmegging past his Chromatik teammate in Coulibaly before cannonballing the ball to the top left side of the net. 1-1, things were serious now and the mentality was on gli attaccanti’s side.

The Anomalies were aware of that so they walled up. Pomenienze’s frustrating ball possession just did not find the space necessary to get past that team, no matter what. The Chromatika side relied on counter-attacks, but the Juven defense would always close up fast enough to make the game boring. One would expect this playstyle to keep going in the second half, which is not far from the truth.

“Fucking hell man, they’re parking the bus. What do you expect us to do, drill a hole?” exclaimed a frustrated Ceferino Audiol while pulling his hair. “I think I will fuck it and start shooting from outside the box, we can’t go in anyway. It’s stupid.”

Bevilacqua approached the Serrapince star, he did not say a word but trust was established after he nodded at him. The game was still long and the entire nation’s fate was still on their feet.

The second half was an even slower affair at first, both sides were assessing each other’s weaknesses. The Juven had the relief of not playing at an inconceivable altitude this time around, so their lungs were full to the core. The Anomalies had to crack through the defense when they could, they relied on their confidence and past history against the team.

Gaetan, wanting to change the pace of the game substituted Soares and replaced him with Vives. Pau Vives, despite what his name may suggest is not the son of Oriol Vives, instead being a nephew of his. A skillful youngster, he is highly technical with the ball on his feet and can provide as well as score in copious amounts. He is a danger whenever he finds space and the speed with which he is taught to play at AC Pomena helps his team with blitz attacks.

Vives’ impact was felt from the moment he entered the pitch on the 70th minute. He would find gaps through the defense that not even the defense itself knew it had. Vives was a menace with the ball on his feet and provided Audiol with 2 easy opportunities that would sadly be saved by Juxon Fillar right on the line. Two VAR checks, both negative, it was really frustrating but you know what they say, third time’s the charm. Bevilacqua would send a cross to the other side of the pitch for Vives, with the AC Pomena winger giving a quick pass to Audiol to make it 2-1. With cheers echoing on the stadium, a victory was possible, it was achievable. The World Cup knockouts were finally on the team’s grasp.

Fueled by hope, ambition, whatever one may call it. The team pushed onwards to victory, avoiding to play in the air, as was usual of gli attaccanti, instead opting to play low and use the gifted wingers’ technincality to carry the ball forward. Pujals, now operating on whatever was remaining on his tank would try to score from the distance, but Fillar would deflect it for the corner. Pujals would sprint to the side and kick the ball quickly, not giving it much height and all of a sudden there he was, Carlos Coste. Coste would be the first to head the ball and nail it to the back of Chromatika’s net, making it 3-1. Now, at the 89th minute, there was not much the Anomalies could do and Juvencus’ qualification to the round of 16 was all but assured.

But the Chromatiks wouldn’t go down without a fight. They would score again, this time with a Fucheux rocket making Ungaro unable to react. The pressure would stay on and with 8 minutes of added time, anxiety was at an all-time high. The Chromatiks would cross the ball in looking for an equaliser but always, there would be someone ready to head or kick it away. A back-and-forth for what felt like an eternity ensued, but the Juven would manage to keep themselves afloat and get their 2nd ever World Cup victory, their sweetest ever. A curse was lifted, as this Juvencus team would be the first one across the board to beat any Chromatik team in any sport. Finally, the Juven would also be able to enter a prestigious club filled with talented teams by qualifying for the round of 16.

Celebration erupted all across the Estadio de Purmamarca as the entire bench would enter the pitch to celebrate with the players while the people on the stands would light up flares and smoke like they have never done before. A feeling of happiness and hope filled everyone and Gaetan himself could not believe that the team assembled had done everything right and according to his plan. The entire nation was done proud, but it is not the end of the story yet, there’s more.

At the press conference, all Gaetan had to say was the following:

“Pride is overflowing me right now. My veins are red and gold and they will always be that way. We played the good and fair fight this time and we emerged victorious against some of the multiverse’s finest. As I told you all, this is not the last of us and it won’t be the last of us for a long while, we’re here to stay. Whoever is next doesn’t bother us, we treat everyone with the same respect and we will remind them why we are here and what we are made of. Our nation and especially our team is filled to the brim with talented players, consider this a warning, we will see you soon.”

[Sylestone]

LAWSON SECURES POINT FOR SENTIENTS, FACE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS IN ROUND OF SIXTEEN

PUERTO SAN CARLOS, HUAYRAMARCA - After five years, Sylestone have finally made amends at the Estadio Maritimo as Jack Lawson’s late strike saw Mojmir Anac’s side salvage a point in the fixture against Kelssek that saw them reach the final sixteen for the second time in two World Cups. After losing 3-2 (8-4 on aggregate) in Puerto San Carlos to fail to qualify for World Cup 93 via the playoffs, the place held many a demon for those remaining in the squad, Anac introducing a high turnover rate despite his team’s constant success as a group of youths turned Sylestonean football into something it had never before been. And had it worked, as his side continued to improve exponentially year in year out, to the point in the current day where no team, not even those amongst the world’s finest, could take them for granted. For they had shown that, on a good day, had the ability to push them right to their very limit.

Which is exactly what the Sentients did when they turned up to the Estadio Maritimo, prepared to take on the daunting task Kelssek posed, a team that had rather comfortably seen off both Josifovo and Audioslavia to all but wrap up first place in Group B. Yet, it was the Esportivan underdogs who started off on the front foot, launching several probing presses inside the opening ten minutes or so to test the Kelssekian defence and catching them by surprise; this was clearly not what Calen Reamsey was expecting from one of the world’s most prominent defensive outfits on a day where a goalless draw was enough for them to progress.

No, Anac had set out specific instructions for his team. They were to put their opponents on the back foot early and strike first, trying to seal first place in the group in order to maximise their chances of a more favourable round of sixteen opponent. From the state of play in Group C, it appeared as though defending world champions Delte, who would eventually walk through the groups with big wins against Flavovespia, Xanneria and Crpostran alike, was poised to take out first place, whilst the Flavovespians appeared all but set for second. And even though the Sentients had a perfect record over the Deltics after winning both games against them last year in the International Confederations Cup in Tumbra, a team of world champions in red hot form was far from an ideal opponent, no matter the two teams’ history.

Meanwhile, the Sentients also had a favourable record over Flavovespia as the outside chance of a repeat of the World Cup 95 round of sixteen appeared a possibility, Abigail Jones having secured progression for the hosts as Sylestone progressed to the quarterfinals, where they would eventually be eliminated by Tumbra. Hence, no matter who Sylestone would face in the first knockout round, they would be out for revenge after Anac had outsmarted them in the recent past.

But those thoughts were put on hold as in the 28th minute, as winger Rory Joseph ghosted past Jade Wettenhall, one of Sylestone’s best players thus far during the tournament, and cut the ball back to the edge of the box, where Titan Pogbacar had outpaced Gemma Rodway and somehow, received the ball unchallenged. A swift touch was all that was needed as Pogbacar switched the ball from his right foot to left while defenders closed in on him, piercing all those rushing him as his strike towards Ryan Macleay’s right corner escaped the goalkeeper’s diving effort and nestled in the back of the net.

All dreams of the round of sixteen stopped right there - it was back to square one for the Sentients. Even though Audioslavia, who had not scored all tournament, were being held at nil-all by Josifovo in the other game, they would have to get back up and running, as relying on other results to go their way was not what Anac, his team nor the fans wished to happen.

Even though the goal seemed to perk up the Voyagers as they began to force themselves onto the front foot, Anac had rallied his troops once again, and met their opponents blow for blow - as expected, the Sentients were not happy about having conceded for the first time all tournament, and were well up for the challenge. Half time came and went as a couple of half chances began to go begging at either side, Jean Maraipu holding strong between the sticks for Kelssek as the minutes gradually began to whittle down. Over in Pando (or wherever, as a data glitch and a surprising lack of memory amongst editors has simultaneously resulted in no one knowing the actual location of this game), Audioslavia had still been unable to score as Josifovo appeared likelier and likelier to take a point in their inaugural World Cup campaign on the final matchday, just when they had been eliminated by Charlotte Eastwood’s strike in Sylestone’s 1-0 win over them a few days before. In the 73rd minute, though, the Sentients were hit with another setback as Blackall was handed a booking for a poor tackle on Pogbacar, his second yellow of the tournament and should the Sentients hang on and qualify for the final sixteen, would result in his suspension for that game. And as it was looming likelier and likelier to be one particular world champion outfit on an absolute tear through their group, missing any key players would prove critical.

The seventies then turned into the eighties as the time remaining in regular time for a Sylestonean equaliser entered single digits, both coaches pulling the strings on substitutions to let fresh legs roam free. But just as hope was dying, Jack Lawson - another one of Sylestone’s unsung heroes over the past few years as an absolute rock in the midfield - surely ended all Audioslavian hopes.

In the 85th minute, Sylestone mounted another assault on their opponents’ goal, as Brett Sarcav-Jones’ wearing legs feinted past a couple of Kelssekians, before Ingrid Lambert was able to provide a crucial tackle just as he fired the shot, sending the ball back out towards the edge of the box while Maraipu lay on the floor, having dived in the direction of the attacking midfielder’s strike before Lambert got in the way. Rather, the Voyagers’ captain had not cleared the danger - making a run from the midfield, Lawson reached the ball first and without a first touch, fired the ball between defenders and Sylestonean attackers alike, Maraipu left helpless as he tried in vain to get up and somehow dive to the opposite corner of the goal in time to stop the Avondale City midfielder’s strike. By the time the ball crossed the line completely, he was barely even up, let alone prepared to put in a dive to try and stop the shot as the ground descended into raptures.

Sylestone had equalised and with a point a mere ten minutes from being secured, they were surely through to the round of sixteen for the second time in two cycles.

But Anac didn’t stop there. Recognising that first place in the group would likely provide a more advantageous round of sixteen opponent, he ordered his players to continue their press but to no avail, as Kelssek waited it out, their experienced players controlling the game to ensure that no Sylestoneans could get a shot away. In the end, only a couple of eighth-chances - if you could even call them that - were all that were created, the referee blowing the whistle thrice after five minutes of stoppage time, both teams celebrating as they would continue their campaigns into the part of the World Cup where a loss would prove the end of their campaigns.

And sure enough, Sylestone’s first task of a possible four, each likely to be more challenging than the one before, was to stop a rampant Delte, hitting their peak just at the right time to take Huayramarca by storm and successfully defend their title. But the Sentients had also improved along the way, and looked far more at home against Kelssek than they did against Audioslavia on matchday one. And with history on their side, no matter how good the Deltics had been, the only remaining Esportivans in the World Cup still stood a chance.

Could they pull off an extraordinary triumph and mark themselves as a very real threat to the title itself? Or would they fall like many others have done before to arguably the multiverse’s most in-form international outfit right now?

---

Sylestone vs Kelssek @ Estadio Maritimo, Puerto San Carlos, Huayramarca

Sylestone (4-4-1-1): Macleay; Wettenhall - Mornington - Blackall ( 73’) - Statton (Molineux 90+2’); Ryland ( 60’) (Milligan 64’) - Rodway (Hellyer 64’) - Lawson - Jones (Arnold 82’); Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood (Strathfield 82’)

Kelssek (4-3-3): Maraipu; Buené - Lambert - Camserhe - Usher (Loew 57’); dí Völará (Licea 82’) - Pogbacar - de Landa; Heer - an Deòir (Goh-Lemaire 57’) - Joseph

Sylestone 1-1 Kelssek
                                            Lawson 85'       Pogbacar 28’

Starting XI vs Delte @ somewhere idk lol

Macleay; Wettenhall - Mornington - Faucett - Statton; Ryland - Rodway - Lawson - Arnold; Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood

[Indusse]

IFA Today
What a Wonderful World!

This World Cup has been one of its kind for the football fans in Indusse. The Team's run in the Debut World Cup Proper has been pretty surprising as well as magnificent! The Team got drawn in the group as the lowest ever seeded team, playing against higher seeded teams like The Holy Empire, Tumbra and Tanirinthia. Major Pundits predicted that Indusse would probably finish last in the group since they won't be able to advance further due to having stronger teams in the group to compete with.

The Fans didn't really have much hope after the draw, but was pretty happy that the team has advanced to such a position after years of struggle to qualify. Still, they had a slight belief that something unexpected could happen causing the team to advance further. The First Match was against multiple World Cup Champions, The Holy Empire. The Flocking Blues would've already paid a visit to The Holy Empire multiple times in the World Cup Qualifiers in its history and has also has the history of giving a tough time to them. The Holy Empire this time seems to be represented by a squad of “likely mentally unstable” individuals or “Klowns”, as they call them. This “instability” was pretty evident in the match that followed.

The Indussean National Team surprised the whole world by making one of the best debuts someone could have in the World Cup. The Indusseans thrashed the team from The Holy Empire for a score of five against one. World Cup debutants defeating multiple World Cup champions for such a big margin wasn't something anyone would've expected. Captain Mersiás as usual was being the hero of the team just like he's been for all along. This surprise victory resulted in boosting the morale of the players as well as the fans. Now, it seemed like a fun game. Indusse wasn't as weak as many thought it would be.

The Second Match was against Tanirinthia. The Team from Tanirinthia was pretty confident about securing a victory since they had just returned from trapping the team from Tumbra in an interesting draw. The Pundits were chanting “If Tumbra couldn't, how could Indusse?”. The match was pretty interesting since both the teams tried their best to get themselves into the path of victory. Indusse hoped to continue winning the matches whereas the opponents wanted to get themselves back on the path to the next round. The Game ended in a draw, where we could only know who'll advance when the last matchday gets over.

The Final Matchday approached where Indusse faced Tumbra, the mightiest of all in the group. The Esportivan stronghold was posing a tough fight for the other contenders in the group for the next round spot other than The Holy Empire since the Klowns lost all their match with Tumbra and is in the bottom of the standings. The Match that happened in Webster ended up in a draw without any goals being scored that day. Tanirinthia on the other hand defeated the Klowns for a score of six goals against four, further ending the World Cup dreams of The Holy Empire. Now the group points were somewhat equally distributed. The Teams from Indusse and Tanirinthia qualified for the Round of Sixteen due to Goal Difference. Alas! Bad luck to Tumbra, Margaret didn't really favour them this time.

This would be the first time it's happening in the country, everyone's in surprise! The National Team qualified for the World Cup winning the group qualifiers and now they're going for the next round by winning the World Cup group against stronger teams. The Team has continued with their training as the go on to face Brookstation at Brandistock Football Campus in Mertagne. Newman, the coach of the National Team told the media that the team is showing an Absolutely phenomenal performance by exceeding all expectations and showing the world what the team is capable of. He also called up the team to raise the bar even higher and continue to make the nation proud.

[Kelssek]

“How frustrated are you to have given away a winning position by conceding a late goal?”

Calen Reamsey smiled. “We need to finish matches strong. Credit to Sylestone, they were fighting for their spot, and we were a bit more comfortable. It’s unfortunate how we conceded...”

Simultaneously, pundits in the NSN studio were giving a very different interpretation. “First of all, it’s a bad mistake from Jenas Maraipu. The goalkeeper wrong foots himself, he’s got plenty of time but he hesitates and doesn’t find his feet fast enough. So he’s left praying that Lawson’s shooting wide. And Lambert’s blocked the first shot, great but, where is everyone else? No one is alert to the ball coming loose. Titan Pogbacar just stops fifteen yards upfield! Agapeto Licea’s brought on specifically for his defensive ability. Where is he on this one, he’s gotten beat, and no urgency to stay with the player. Rory Joseph needs to track back, he’s a complete spectator to the whole thing. Loise Camserhe is marking empty space... a horrendous loss of concentration...”

“At tournaments the matches come thick and fast, so some people were surprised you weren’t rotating the squad more with the starting lineup. Did you think you needed to have a first choice starting eleven when the result wouldn’t have mattered for progression?”

Calen noted the number of landmines the question was rigged with. He might be baited into agreeing with the statement, implying the players not chosen were second-rate. Or by disagreeing, imply that some of the starting eleven were in fact not his preferred ones. Probably it would be twisted into a swipe at Titan Pogbacar, who for some goddamn reason was the guy the media always wanted to talk about, because he was a flashy youngster who had the most followers on Honkr or something. And if he said it didn’t really matter, his response might be twisted into a story about how he wasn’t planning properly or thinking about player fatigue faced with matches every four days and how everyone was an armchair sports physiologist now.

Maybe sometimes the sports reporters felt it necessary to slip in gotchas when political correspondents and people who covered warzones bullied them for not being “real” journalists. Or at least that’s the story Calen told himself whenever he wondered why press conferences got so negative.

“Well, coaches can be too clever sometimes. You can’t ever go into a match planning to get a 1-1. You can’t ever think to yourself, ok I need to give exactly 83.2 per cent effort to optimize the result and recovery. That’s not how the game is played, that’s not how any of this works. So I pick the side that’s most likely to get the win, and that’s what I did.”

Calen consciously stopped himself from saying more. He thought longingly about the cans of Rytick Special Stout waiting for him in the hotel fridge.

“Do you wish you’d handled the substitutions differently, or did you think about making a change after Sylestone scored, especially since there wasn’t something to be gained by going for the win, and how much did you think about managing players’ minutes when you went into this match knowing you were already qualified?”

“I talked to Agapeto Licea before I came out here. The lad’s upset with himself, he knows he should’ve done better. But I’ll repeat what I said to him, you play, you live, you learn. You can only fix how you respond in the future, and he’s got a great career ahead of him. As for the subs, I’m always thinking about how to get the best result we can, and I looked at the players on the field and thought they had the qualities we needed if we were to get the best result for the team. So no, I was not thinking about just going defensive, there’s still around ten minutes left at that point and plenty of time for something else to happen.”

Calen Reamsey smiled, thinly, again. The idea that he was actually thinking about stealing a win at the end, let that put the cat among the pigeons.

SYLESTONE 1 – Lawson (85’)
KELSSEK 1 – Pogbacar (28’)
Maraipu, Buené, Lambert, Camserhe, Usher (Loew 57’), dí Völará (Licea 82’), Pogbacar, de Landa, Heer, an Deòir (Goh-Lemaire 57’), Joseph
Estadio Marítimo, Puerto San Carlos (attendance 23, 745)

[Ko-oren]

This World Cup has suddenly turned into the biggest PR opportunity. A single bird was unfortunately sacrificed - and nobody knew it then, but Ko-orenite fans in Mertagne showed up early to games two and three, hastily scribbled animal rights signs in hand. Stadium security did their best but some signs were smuggled into the venue and were shown on TV. Some made light of the situation, some called for genuine prosecution, but both messages conveyed the same message: this bird situation had to be resolved and the longer Mertagne and the World Cup organisation waited, the more social media was going to blow up over this.

It seemed that the Brookstation kickoff would have to be postponed as staff were still figuring out how to deal with the situation. Turns out nobody prepared them for which messages were OK and which weren't. Was "Birds of a Feather" a nod to the cruel death? Or was it a nod to the Huayramarca national team nickname? It's obviously the former, but how many fans are going to admit that? Or "Get Sniped"? Well, that was maybe a little more on the nose. "Tern this thing around" and "It's Not A Lark" were also spotted quite a lot, and some of those signs weren't allowed into the stadium while others, bearing the same message, were. On the other hand, "Dicks Out For Harambeak" was a clear no.

So, obviously, that phrase was all over Ko-orenite social media the next day.

Local Mertagnians and other neutral fans joined in. Some genuinely interested in the cause, others there for the joke. It was an easy score for the candidates for Prime Minister, praising the Dragonflies in the same breath as telling the pyrotechnician off. The Aminal Health website didn't get as many clicks and donations in ages, and its chair, Casselaer, was on talk shows nearly the entire day to campaign for the cause. Easiest PR they've ever gotten.

There was one Ko-orenite, though, who was a little more conflicted. The guy in charge of the entire circus in Mertagne and Huayramarca, you'd almost forget, is still Juliasterinthen. Forced to speak out against the issue as a typical flora-and-fauna appreciating owner of a green passport of a certain Anaian nation, but having to defend his organisation and staff at the same time. And so the entire issue came crashing down on him: the journos back home asking for a pro-animal rights message, his own staff asking for a clear policy as to what's allowed in a stadium and what isn't, and the entire WCC PR machine in between. It left the organisation dumbstruck, an organisation that doesn't like to be made fun of.

There was some sporting merit at stake: the Dragonflies allowed two goals, a rare thing, and scored three, which is even rarer. And that means that at six points in two games, the elusive nine-pointer is still on, something never done before.

In the days leading up to the final clash against Eshialand, Dragonfly staff and players were never three questions away from having to deliver another pro-bird take, and Manguele wasn't having it. He never really cared about the situation, refusing to address it in either post-match press conference, and answering every question at the training facility in Scharfwick with "We're on to Eshialand". He put any further operations behind closed doors in an attempt to prepare for the third match in relative peace and quiet. But it worked. The Dragonflies won another 1-0 game - let's be real, did you expect a different scoreline - but despite the team winning its first ever 3-0-0 nine-pointer, the post-match talk centered around one thing: that hot air balloon.

Just before halftime, the sky was obscured by a hot air balloon, blown off course while training for the Neorudo-Dannin Balloon Race, and the story could have been stopped there - a monumental cock-up - if it weren't for the giant animal rights message printed all across it. "It's the Bostopians!" claimed one, another said "This woke nonsense has gone too far". "I'm all for animal rights, but don't shove it in my face." Meanwhile, Mertagnian police were on the scene within a minute to interrogate the pilot for flying that close to a city, a stadium, where a World Cup match was going on, etcetera. Good thing he managed to pull up at the last minute, else we'd have a second incident in Scharfwick involving a burner within a single week. That irony wasn't lost on the terminally online fans. Let's hope there was no malice intended, but let's also hope that Mertagne gets its aerial defences up soon: we're pretty sure the match was broadcast in Bostopia as well.

[Yue Zhou]

A Sea Change in Rushmore?
LI Guoyu, dragonsdaily.net

World Cup 92, held in Vilita and Electrum, saw Rushmoris Nyowani Katara finish fourth, while regionmates Graintfjall and Nephara also made the knockouts. But what really set Rushmore apart from other regions present at the tournament was their depth: they sent nine teams to the tournament, the most of any region. Now, just eight years later, only Tikariot is present of those nine; many of the qualifiers, such as Savojarna and Nephara, have since stopped entering WCC competitions altogether. The reason for the decline in fortunes of many of these teams is varied, ranging from natural disasters to lack of interest in WCC competition to what is hopefully just a temporary spell of bad luck. But for one reason or another, none of Savojarna, Nephara, Nyowani Kitara, Electrum, Cassadaigua, Eura, Mytanija, and Græntfjall are here. There are Rushmoris still - as many as made the knockout rounds in '92. But they are not the ones that anybody would've expected.

The recent Rushmori tumult, both in geopolitics and in football, has also brought welcome surprises. Zenic were long inactive in international sports before the prior cycle. But after returning from a hiatus, the Survivors stunned the world three times over: first in winning a Copa Rushmori in their first cycle back, then in qualifying for the World Cup out of a group with Sylestone and Baker Park, then advancing to the Round of 16 over Mertagne and Zwangzug. Geraldo Zys has worked miracles with one of the youngest and most domestically-based starting XIs in the knockouts, using an aggressive 3-5-2 that pushes from the flanks to resurrect his nation's chances on the biggest stage. As for the other two nations, Pavolans Brookstation have risen from humble origins to become a nation nobody is surprised to see back in the knockouts. And while Yuezhou have now qualified for four straight World Cups, it was just eight years ago when yet another playoff heartbreak to Flavovespia saw the Dragons narrowly miss out on qualification for the ninth time in ten attempts.

In a twist of fate, all three remaining Rushmoris have been placed in the same quarter of the bracket, meaning they will all be competing for the same spot in the semifinals. Will it be Zenic, Brookstation, or Yuezhou who achieve a historic semifinal spot (or Indusse pissing off the entirety of Rushmore by taking that spot instead)? It's unclear, but what is undeniable is that one of these relative underdogs reaching a World Cup podium could define a shift geographically in Rushmori football. In the contemporary era, Terranea has been viewed as the seat of footballing power in Rushmore. In the four decades between Pasarga's World Cup 72 win and Græntfjall's in World Cup 91, every Rushmori World Cup champion was Terranean. But between the withdrawal of Nephara and Electrum from WCC competition, a recent downturn in Euran fortunes, and Ceni leaving the planet entirely, Rushmore will have to rely on a more widely distributed set of teams to retain its status as the deepest region in the World Cup.

Of course, this will only happen if other Rushmori teams can actually sustain their success. Even if Mytanija retains arguably the best domestic league in the world, Pasarga can hope for a resurgence under new management, and former world champions in the Polar Islandstates have also returned to the world stage, there are no guarantees at this level. But if the rest of the region can't step it up, the future of Rushmore could look very different - and much bleaker.

WORLD CUP 96 GROUP STAGE, MATCHDAY 1: YUEZHOU 2 - 0 Reçuecn
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang (Lu 65), Zeminsson Yao (Shangyuan 54), Deng, Milosevic (Yuanjunsson Ren 72); Zhaxi (Guo 72), Pan; Lin, Mingsdottír Zhang, Luo (Zheng 78); Tsang
Goals: Tsang 60, 84 (p)
The Dragons' fifth World Cup got off to a strong start, as they dispatched Reçuecn 2-0 in a solid victory. The first half was somewhat frustrating, as the Pot 4 side did well to limit opportunities and cut off the Kara Mingsdottír - Leona Tsang connection. Reçuecn even managed a few promising chances on the counter: Per Tegeler fired off the post, while Franky Adams' audacious run from midfield ended in a speculative shot deflected wide by Deng Daiyu. Elaine Ashdown adjusted at the half, opting to try to attack the flanks more. The new attacking setup immediately applied pressure, and just fifteen minutes into the second half, Kara Mingsdottír Zhang was felled by Emanuele Cutrona in the box, with Leona Tsang converting the penalty. The lead allowed the Dragons to play more conservatively, Tsang latched onto a diagonal ball from Lin Qingling and rounded Firaut to put the game away for good.

WORLD CUP 96 GROUP STAGE, MATCHDAY 2: YUEZHOU 3 - 2 Tikariot
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang, Zeminsson Yao (Sha 61), Deng, Milosevic; Zhaxi, Pan; Lin (Bao 84), Mingsdottír Zhang (Zheng 70), Luo (Fu 70); Tsang
Goals: Luo 14, Pan 38, Zheng 75 // Vercauteren 45+4, Ástþórsdóttir 66
Neutral fans from across the world tuned into what was billed as a Pot 2-Pot 3 shootout, and while those who did may have been disappointed to miss a number of 5-5 draws, the Dragons and Snowy Owls still managed to combine for five goals of their own. The first half ended 2-1 Dragons after a back-and-forth half with many chances for both teams (xG put it at 1.9-1.4). Yuezhou, though, were just able to convert better in the first half, although not from the chances you might expect. Leona Tsang and Kara Mingsdottír Zhang both missed relatively clear-cut chances early, but Luo Nanwei converted a beautiful header from a difficult angle, before Pan Xilei completely upended a period of sustained Tikariot pressure on Zhao Deliang's net with a stunning long-range strike. Yuezhou looked to be heading into the break with a comfortable lead, but Mathias Vercauteren brought the lead back to one late in first-half stoppage time. In what was billed as the battle of the dual-national attacking midfielders, Kara Mingsdottír Zhang and Þorgríma Vigdis Ástþórsdóttir were both relatively quiet early. But the latter woke up in the second, tying the game with a missile that rivalled Pan's in degree of difficulty. Mingsdottír Zhang continued to struggle in an uncharacteristically sloppy performance, but her substitute, Zheng Hong, would win the game at the death, bundling in a Fu Xiaoxi cross in awkward but advancement-clinching fashion.

WORLD CUP 96 GROUP STAGE, MATCHDAY 3: YUEZHOU 5 - 0 Farfadillis
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang (Bao HT), Shangyuan, Deng, Milosevic; Zhaxi (Guan 60), Pan (Wang HT); Lin (Tong 60), Mingsdottír Zhang, Fu; Tsang (Liang 60)
Goals: Tsang 18, 55 (p); Lin 34, Mingsdottír Zhang 43, Tong 88
In one of the weirder moments in recent Yue history, the Dragons dismantled Farfadillis in a match that gave Yuezhou the group title. When the starting lineups were announced, it was clear that Yuezhou wanted the group title much more than Farfadillis: Elaine Ashdown rotated minimally, while Yuan Zilai played a wildly experimental lineup (Jáánsêlà at CB? really?). Farfadillis was also missing several key players, with certain absences rumored to be linked to some extracurricular activities after Farfadillis defeated Reçuecn on MD2. It immediately became apparent that the new lineup did not work, as a more-clinical-than-usual Dragons attack tore the Farves to shreds in the first half. It was 3-0 at the break, with Leona Tsang, Lin Qingling, and Kara Mingsdottír Zhang all converting chances while Zhao Deliang heroically kept the Dragons' own net clean despite a number of chances. Tsang would add her fourth goal of the World Cup with a second-half penalty, and Vincent Tong netted his first World Cup goal late in a match that saw Yue social media light up with praise for "Secret Agent Yuan". The result marks Yuezhou's first-ever World Cup group win - but they're hungry for much more.

WORLD CUP 96 ROUND OF SIXTEEN, to face Zenic:
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang, Shangyuan, Deng, Milosevic; Zhaxi, Pan; Lin, Mingsdottír Zhang, Luo; Tsang

[Tanirinthia]

---

OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Eleven - You can never really go home

---

Despite the fact see couldn't see outside of this warehouse, there were no windows anywhere in sight the dull hum of fluorescence providing the only source of light, regardless of not being able to see where she was she could feel it, she was home. Maybe it was the slight differences between their worlds, maybe gravity was an infinitesimal amount difference or maybe some fundamental force she had never learnt as school was different but she felt the change in her bones, and it felt familiar.

She was shaken out of her mind wandering by the archivist, placing his hand on her to guide her towards a line forming and before she could let any of her questions escape her lips, he spoke hurriedly.

"Yes the security here is impressive, cameras and all around us and our security services are impressively dedicated, it's certainly a step up from the academic setting you are coming from!"

"Indeed, well better not lose my ID card then!" She replied getting the message loud and clear, they were not out of the woods quite yet and the time for the hundreds of questions she had was not now.

She headed over to the line, where after stepping through a scanner was asked to present her identification and confirmed her name as Hannah Ramsey and that she was a research assistant, the pause that followed as she waited for the beep that has proceeded every other person in the queue in front of her, seemed to stretch on and on, but after an agonising wait the beep finally went off as she was motioned through, the corridor that this led to had no doors save a lift at the very end. She wondered why not have the lift at the start, seemed odd until she noticed in the walls the faint outline of panels, perhaps some other security measures, realising she had no idea where she was heading she slowed down and waited until the man everyone called Archivist came through to her. He called for the lift, which took its time to come up as an awkward silence grew between the pair, broken finally by the ding of the lift. Getting in to what looked like a very sleek and modern lift, and as they rush down to some sub floor you could barely tell they were heading down. Following the man off the lift, through a maze of corridors and finally into what was label of the Head Archivist's Office, he pulled something out of his pocket, clicked it and turned to her.

"It's safe to talk now, I'm sure you have many questions."

Her mind had been whirring with a thousand questions, what this place was, who did he work for, what on earth his godsdamn name was, why they are travelling worlds to play matches of football, but as her mind was buzzing, she remembered why she had fallen down this rabbit hole in the first place and it all crystallised down to that question.

"What really happened to him?"

He must have known that question would be coming but it seemed to catch him almost off guard

"He really did save many lives, that part of the cover story is true, my life included. The true scale of the amount of lives he saved on that day wasn't part of the cover, he saved tens of thousands of lives, perhaps more. He sacrificed himself to stop a runaway reaction that was unable to be stopped in any other way than manually, and he didn't hesitate he went straight in and saved us all. He was good man and I had the privilege to call him friend." He paused before starting again "But it was not a nuclear reactor that he stopped, but a reactor running on something entirely different, I know you've been to a different world but now I've got to let you know the true nature of this world. But first I've got to ask you an important question, have you been having more good luck that usual?"

[Brookstation]

Criticism was nothing new for Liangde He. Ever since joining the Brook team and skyrocketing the team’s potential by a huge margin, He had led a life surrounded by the media, nothing short of criticism at every stage. But He had never been bothered by criticism, rather he always took it in the positive sense. However, what really bothered him was the hypocrisy of society. For instance, the very set of people who had once hailed him as one of the brightest managers in the world now termed him a fraud following his defeat to Ko-oren.

He glanced through the papers, only floating his eyes past the main headlines. He never had an affinity for reading the newspaper but he did have an unusual liking for all the salty headlines on the daily news. That is the reason no one found the ‘Daily Times’ or ‘The Dreamland Gazette’ on his desk but instead local and independent issues. “Luck might side with you once but not always: The end of Brookstation” ; “He was nothing but a madman” ; “He has done the damage, the results will follow”. Every time he glanced through his headlines, he couldn’t help but smirk lightly. At this stage, he even considered quitting his job as the perfect decision. Oh how the game has changed..

He was not a man known for celebrating much but his resignation from the duty had seen quite a change in his behaviour in all aspects. It was as if He had been reborn, with all the freedom in the world. It was as if the caged bird was finally let free off its cage. He was not sober anymore, it was evident from his looks. His face had definitely been wrinkled thanks to his age but there was a tinge of enjoyment in his face as well. The dark circles under his eyes had started to fade and his hair didn’t seem very white either.

All this might be too much of an exaggeration but perhaps for the first time in his life, He had celebrated after a victory. The long held lead by Brookstation had more or less secured a qualification spot for Brookstation but football is a game all about twists and thus unless a second goal was scored, there was no relief. That is exactly when Johnson stepped up to the rescue and scored his second goal of the night, sending the Brooks in screams and Liangde He running into the field in joy. The repercussions of the goal wasn’t very welcoming as both He and Johnson were booked a yellow card following their celebrations but at that moment it didn’t matter to either of them or anyone else in the world.

These were the memories of yesterday. Today is a new day. Now it was time to start anew. As He prepared his sheets and files for training, he couldn’t help but glance at his long deceased parents’ photograph by his desk. He always did that before leaving his residence. It always reminded him of his parents, the very force which had been responsible for giving him hope throughout his entire life. When he was young, his parents had made him familiar with the phrase - “Fortune favours the brave” and He knew for certain that he was brave enough.

---

---

The Dreamers do it once again
Captain Johnson comes to the rescue with a stunning brace

Scenes at the Box-2-Box Ballstadion were exciting to say the least as the stadium witnessed a do or die knock-off between Brookstation and West Barack and East Obama, two of the most exciting upcoming superstars in the game. Even if Brookstation had slightly more experience than their opponents, West Barack and East Obama were definitely not an opponent to be taken at face value. The Dreamers would’ve been safe from all the last day drama had it not been for Ko-oren’s last minute defeat in their previous match but the circumstances had to be met someway or the other.

Liangde He’s sudden resignation scheduled at the end of the cycle had sent shocks throughout the nation and while some sympathized with the climax of a brilliant managerial career, some threw rants at him for no clear reason. Thus with He in a precarious position of his career, it was almost impossible to read his tactics for the game but one thing was for certain- He was there to win at any cost. The Brooks were expected to play with a more defensive approach than their usual aggressively inclined style but nothing could be proclaimed with certainty.

He’s mentality reflected clearly within the first half an hour of play as the Dreamers had somehow managed to pile up 60% of the game possession in their favour. West Barack and East Obama however were nothing short of resilient and the team planned on strengthening their back line until and unless they cracked the Brook formation. Had West Barack and East Obama not been on guard, Brookstation could have easily scored two early goals but with a defense as strong as this, it was almost next to impossible for Brookstation to do anything apart from trying and failing repeatedly. Brookstation reached dangerously close to the goal at times but none close enough to give them an edge. Wague had been particularly marked throughout the whole match, making it all the more difficult for Brookstation to score without their main striker.

The referee was as lenient as he could possibly be and in a match of such importance, one could very well expect this. Had it been any normal match, both the teams would probably have been playing with only 9 men by the second half but the referee didn’t book players unless completely necessary, making the game more and more heavily contested between the two teams. Bark Obamallama had been exceptional for Obamen and even if anyone managed to break it past him, they would hit way off target or straight towards the goalkeeper.

Luck would finally shine on Brookstation in the 38th minute. A corner was swayed right towards the box but among all the men out there, it would be young sensation Jacobus who would be able to jump high enough and get a touch on the ball but sadly for him, thirty eight year old Obama would protect the nets by deflecting the ball. Upon deflection however, it would be the newly appointed skipper of the team- Johnson who would get a touch of the ball to hammer it home for the Dreamers.

That was it for the first half but the second half would witness more excitement, more drama and more heartbreaks. Cards flew off here and there, chants echoed throughout the stadiums and with all the recent environmental concerns in Mertagne, the stadium was in a mess. But the show went on, with the Obamen trying their best to make a comeback. There was a high possibility for the team to score had it not been for the Brook defense led by Alnio defender Geovani Angeles who had delivered probably the best performance of his life. Would West Barack and East Obama be able to make a comeback ?

The question kept haunting the crowd for hours and hours but on the other hand every ticking minute brought a sense of relief for the Dreamers. In the 84th minute, Brookstation were just on the verge of a breakdown when Brett Pogama crossed the ball directly to Andrew Vobama who stood unmarked right at the mouth of the box. Like any other player would have, Vobama shot the ball with a brilliant first touch but Logan would dive right in time to punch the ball out of the pitch, keeping the scores in favour of the Brooks.

In fact, this brilliant opportunity from the Obamen would backfire and give Brookstation the advantage as Jamieson was able to start a counter attack in an attempt to clear the ball off the box, sending it straight to Butterfield. Butterfield had positioned himself perfectly and upon getting an opportunity like, he was sure to not make any mistakes. Butterfield ran down the right wing, his speed unmatched before elegantly crossing it to captain Johnson and as they say, “In times of trouble, always trust the captain” , Johnson had slammed the ball at the back of the net. It was done and dusted. Brookstation had made it to the Round of the 16 for the second time in a row, all thanks to the one and only- Liangde He.

On being interrogated about the win however, He didn’t show much satisfaction and in fact, he credited the win to West Barack and East Obama instead. “The Obamen deserved to win the game, it was very evenly contested. They are a new team, they have a lot to learn, I don’t think they are well adapted to such game nights but apart from that they definitely carry the potential. I would always look out for them in the future. As for Brookstation however, there is still a lot of work that has to be done.”

[Farfadillis]

Robineau y Sürréo, dos jugadores que por cuestiones de química en la cancha y calidad son siempre obligados a concentrar juntos, están jugando un partido de “Mentira”, un juego de cartas farolero con muy poca complejidad. Están pasando el rato mientras esperan la próxima reunión táctica.

La habitación que alberga a los delanteros es exactamente lo que uno imaginaría teniendo un poco de cancha arriba (es decir, en este caso, conociendo a la FFFF). Basta con cruzar la puerta (o atravesarla accidentalmente; está hecha con un material muy endeble) para que a uno lo invada un distintivo olor a humedad (y capaz hongos?), a un nivel que puede hacer toser hasta al menos astmático. Hay moho visible. Las paredes descoloridas, manchadas con vaya a saber quién qué, apenas dejan entrever los restos de un empapelado floreado que debe tener, de forma conservadora, unos cuarenta años. Inclusive para la época, es un empapelado de mal gusto. Ah, y ojo con el piso, porque es de madera y algún clavo suelto puede haber, preparado para dejarte afuera del siguiente partido.

Sentados cada uno en su silla (plegable…), están teniendo un intercambio sobre el partido pasado, aunque de a poco va yéndose por las ramas, tomando una temática que abarca temas más generales.

A la mesita rodante con las patas torcidas que están usando le da, quizás a duras penas, para aguantar un partido de “Mentira”. La atmósfera es apropiada para el post-partido: hay una sola ventana, suficientemente sucia para impedir el pasaje de un sustancial porcentaje de la luz. Ambos, obvio, han crecido en situaciones mucho peores, pero sigue rechinándoles cuando la FFFF les asigna un hotel de estos. Ya están acostumbrados a la vida de futbolista en país extranjero.

El mazo de cartas es de cuarenta. Toman veinte cartas cada uno. Los números van en ciclo y cada jugador tiene que arrojar, boca abajo, una carta con el número correspondiente. Si el otro sospecha que la carta no es del número correcto, puede decir “Mentira” y el otro jugador debe llevarse el mazo acumulado sobre la mesa. Gana el que se queda sin cartas en la mano.

Es un juego que, de a dos, es interminable. Llevan ya siete horas jugando. Tienen veinte cartas en la mano cada uno.

“Qué te pasó en el partido?” pregunta Robineau, rompiendo lo que ya era un silencio de quince minutos, mientras deposita una carta. “Ya venías bastante mal de los partidos anteriores, pero ayer fue otro nivel.”

“Mentira.”

“No es mentira.”

“Digo la carta. No es un diez.”

“Es un diez, sí.” Robineau anuncia mientras de vuelta la carta. “El que no sos un diez sos vos. Desde hace ya unos meses.”

“Ah, bueno, eso no es mentira,” Sürréo le responde. “Chocolate por la noticia,” añade sarcásticamente.

“Y, bueno, qué te pasa entonces?” La pregunta de Robineau es, más o menos, 20% preocupación genuina por su compañero, pero 80% preocupación por sí mismo y el equipo.

Sürréo sonríe un poco, pero se nota que es una sonrisa un poco agresiva. “Desde cuándo a vos te importan esas cosas?”

Robineau se encoge de hombros. “Tanto compartir olor a moho y desayunos que no pasarían la más básica inspección bromatológica me hizo desarrollar un poquito de cariño hacia vos. Pero la verdad que me interesa solucionar lo que te pasa o decirle a Yuan que te haga comer banco, porque en octavos no me voy a quedar afuera ni loco.”

“Nada. No me pasa nada.” Sürréo tira una carta. Robineau lo mira a los ojos.

Robineau tira un doce, boca abajo.

“Mirá que el juego no se llama ‘Mentira’ porque tenés que mentir mientras charlamos,” atina a responder Robineau.

“Es en serio. No me pasa nada. O más bien, no hay nada que me haya bajado el nivel. Solo pasó.”

“Lo decís como que tuvieras cuarenta años y ya no te dieran las piernas. Te veo presionar. Estás desconectado. Algo queda del jugador que conocemos, pero lo mostrás muy cada tanto. Casi no clasificamos porque Yuan no tuvo los huevos de mandarte al banco.”

Sürréo deposita un uno, sin querer boca arriba. “Dénes, no todos somos como vos. Te ponés un objetivo entre ceja y ceja y el mundo puede caerse a pedazos que tu cuerpo y tu mente no frenan hasta dar cada gramo de tu alma y cuerpo en búsqueda de ese objetivo. Sos el único así en el cuadro. Al resto nos cuesta encontrar esa mentalidad, o directamente nunca la encontramos.”

“Bueno,” Robineau le empieza a responder mientras apoya un cinco boca abajo, fingiendo que no cometió un error su compañer, “pero ya sé que antes lograbas entrar en ese estado de enfoque absoluto. Te preciso así de vuelta.”

“Mi estado de enfoque es distinto al tuyo, boludazo,” Sürréo le responde, poniendo un tres boca abajo. “Por algo jugamos tan distinto. Vos siempre tenés el gol entre ceja y ceja, a mí me gusta jugar al fútbol nomás. Y últimamente ni lo disfruto.”

“Mentira.”

“Es un tres, te llevás la pila.”

“No, digo,” Robineau suspira enojado. No le gusta errarle ni sin querer. “Me llevo la pila, pero digo que me estás mintiendo.”

“Qué disfrutás del fútbol?” Sürréo le pregunta.

Robineau tira un seis. “Jugarlo.”

“Mentira.”

Robineau levanta la carta. Sürréo tira una propia.

“Disfrutarlo,” se corrige Robineau, tirando un nueve.

“Mentira.”

Robineau levanta la carta, enojado. “Ganar. Disfruto de ganar.” Robineau tira una carta.

Sürréo sigue hablando. “Mirá, jugar al fútbol fue siempre mi escape. Desde chico. Y ya hace como diez años que es de lo que vivo. Hay una parte dentro de mí que ya no aguanta. Quiero jugar en una plaza, poder tirar un caño o dos, tratar de colgarla del ángulo, meter un pase jugado sin pensar en que nos hagan una contra. Y cada vez estoy más desgastado con esto de tener las luces arriba todo el día, cada día. En la cancha no puedo tirar una finta de más, no puedo buscar un pase demasiado complicado, tengo que bajar bastante a marcar. Y la presión es enorme. Me tiene podrido. Completamente podrido. Y mi cuerpo reacciona con desgano.” Tira una carta.

Robineau no sabe qué responder, pero sabe que la carta es la correcta. Sürréo la dejó ver mientras la tiraba.

“No me pasa nada. Solo estoy podrido. Una sensación generalizada de que la vida me tiene podrido. A vos la presión te potencia, a mí me desgasta. Contra HUElavia voy a tratar de sacarle el poco jugo que le queda a mi cuerpo y mente para que pasemos, pero va a ser eso. Un esfuerzo. No soy como vos, punto, entendelo.”

“Qué hago entonces?!” Robineau responde exaltado, dejando caer las cartas de su mano al extender los brazos. “Le digo a Yuan que tenés la cabeza en cualquier lado y que ponga al nabo partido al medio de Adama?”

“Hacé lo que quieras, querido,” Sürréo le responde, suspirando. “La verdad es que a esta altura me da lo mismo. Juego porque debo, no porque quiero. En algún momento me ganó la inercia.”

“Ok, bueno, y cómo mierda arreglamos eso?” Robineau pregunta ya enojado.

Sürréo abre las manos, sonrisa falsa mediante. Cierra los ojos por unos segundos. “Yo qué sé, Dénes. Yo qué sé. Si supiera no estaría en esta.”

El silencio invadió la habitación. Las cartas tiradas por el piso. El olor a mierda de la habitación de al lado asediando a ambos. Sin dudas se trataba de Lajos. Odiaban cuando Lajos iba al baño.

Sosteniendo miradas, Robineau tuvo un extraño, muy poco frecuente momento de autocrítica mientras se agarraba la nariz. Su amigo – compañero, lo que fuese – tenía la razón. Era algo que él nunca iba a poder entender. Sürréo, por su parte, no había cambiado su expresión facial ni ante el olor.

“Bueno, lo dejo a tu cargo, entonces. Algo se te ocurrirá, sos más inteligente que yo,” Robineau le respondió, finalmente, con una muy, muy, muy poco frecuente admisión de inferioridad en alguna dimensión de la vida, fuese la que fuese. “Si mañana jugás como el orto, voy a tener que jugar por vos también.”

Sürréo asintió. “Ojalá no llegue a eso,” sentenciaron ambos al unísono.

Robineau and Sürréo, two players who, due to matters of chemistry and quality on the field, are always forced to room together during concentration, are playing a game of "Bullshit," a bluffing card game with very little complexity. They are killing time while waiting for the next tactical meeting.

The room housing the forwards is exactly what one would imagine having a bit of experience with the FFFF. Just crossing the door (or accidentally smashing through it; it's made of very flimsy material) fills one’s nose with a distinctive smell of dampness (and maybe mold?), to a level that could make even the least asthmatic person cough. There's visible mold. The walls, discolored and stained with who knows what, barely reveal the remains of a flowery wallpaper that must conservatively be about forty years old. Even for its time, it's a wallpaper of bad taste. Oh, and watch out for the floor, because it's made of wood and there might be a loose nail ready to keep you out of the next game.

Sitting in their respective (folding...) chairs, they are having an exchange about the last game, although it is gradually going off on tangents, taking on a theme that covers more general topics.

The wobbly-legged rolling table they are using barely holds up the cards for a game of "Bullshit." The atmosphere is appropriate for the post-game after that match against Yuezhou: there is only one window, dirty enough to prevent a substantial percentage of light from passing through. Both, obviously, grew up in much worse situations, but it still grates on them when the FFFF assigns them such a hotel. They are already accustomed to life as a footballer in a foreign country.

The deck consists of forty cards. They each take twenty cards. The numbers cycle, and each player has to throw down, face down, a card with the corresponding number on it. If the other player suspects that the card is not the correct number, they can say "Bullshit," and the other player must take the accumulated deck on the table. The winner is the one who ends up with no cards in their hand.

It's a game that, when played between two, is endless. They have been playing for seven hours already. They each have twenty cards in hand.

"What happened to you in the game?" Robineau asks, breaking what was already a fifteen-minute silence, as he lays down a card. "You were already pretty bad in the previous games, but yesterday you reached another level of utter shit."

"Bullshit."

"It’s not bullshit"

"I'm talking about the card. It's not a ten."

"It's a ten, actually." Robineau announces as he turns the card back over. "You're not a proper number ten anymore. It's been a few months now."

"Well, that's not bullshit," Sürréo replies. "Thanks for the news," he adds sarcastically.

"Well, what's wrong then?" Robineau's question is, more or less, 20% genuine concern for his teammate, but 80% concern for himself and the team.

Sürréo smiles a bit, but it's a somewhat aggressive smile. "Since when do you care about such things?"

Robineau shrugs. "Sharing so much moldy smell and breakfasts that wouldn't pass the most basic food inspection made me develop a little bit of affection for you. But the truth is, I'm interested in fixing what's wrong with you or telling Yuan to bench you because I'm not going to be dumped out in the round of 16, no fucking way."

"Nothing. There's nothing wrong with me." Sürréo throws a card. Robineau looks him in the eyes.

Robineau throws a twelve, face down.

"The game isn't called 'Bullshit' because you have to lie while we have our little chatter," Robineau replies.

"I'm serious. There's nothing wrong with me. Or rather, nothing has caused my level to drop. It just happened."

"You say it as if you were forty years old and your legs couldn't carry you anymore. I see you pressing. You're disconnected. There's still something left of the player we know, but you show it very rarely. We almost didn't qualify because Yuan didn't have the balls to bench you."

Sürréo lays down a one, accidentally face up. "Dénes, not all of us are like you. You set yourself a goal, and the world can fall apart, but your body and mind won't stop until you've given every ounce of your soul and body in pursuit of that goal. You're the only one like that in the team. The rest of us find it hard to find that mentality, or we never find it."

"Well," Robineau begins to reply as he lays down a five, pretending not to notice his teammate's mistake, "but I know you used to be able to get into that state of absolute focus. I need you back like that."

"My state of focus is different from yours, idiot," Sürréo replies, laying down a three. "That's why we play so differently. You always have the goal in sight, I just like to play football. And lately, I don't even enjoy that."

"Bullshit."

"It's a three, pick up the pile."

"No, I mean," Robineau sighs angrily. He doesn't like making mistakes. "I'll pick up the pile, but I mean you're lying."

"What do you enjoy about football?" Sürréo asks him.

Robineau throws a six. "Playing it."

"Bullshit."

Robineau picks up the card. Sürréo throws one of his own.

"Enjoying it," Robineau corrects himself, throwing a nine.

"Bullshit."

Robineau picks up the card, annoyed. "Winning. I enjoy winning." Robineau throws a card.

Sürréo keeps talking. "Look, playing football has always been my escape. Since I was a kid. And it's been what I live off of for over ten years now. There's a part of me that can't take it anymore. I want to play in a park, be able to pull off a couple of nutmegs, try to curl one into the top corner, make a pass without thinking about a transition or whatever. And I'm getting more and more worn out by having the spotlight on me all day, every day. On the field, I can't pull off an extra feint, I can't try a too complicated pass, I have to drop back a lot to defend. And the pressure is enormous. It's wearing me out. Completely wearing me out. And my body reacts with reluctance." He throws a card.

Robineau doesn't know what to say, but he knows the card matches the number it should. Sürréo let him see it as he threw it.

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm just worn out. A generalized feeling that life has worn me out. Pressure empowers you, but it drains me. Against HUElavia, I'll try to squeeze the little juice my body and mind have left so that we can go through, but that's it. An effort. I'm not like you, period, understand?"

"What should I do then?!" Robineau responds, exasperated, dropping the cards from his hand as he throws his arms up. "Do I tell Yuan that your head is anywhere but in the game and to play fucking Adama in your place?"

"Do whatever you want, pal," Sürréo replies, sighing. "The truth is, at this point, I don't care anymore. I play because I have to, not because I want to. At some point, inertia took over."

"Okay, well, how the hell do we fix that?" Robineau asks, now angry.

Sürréo opens his hands, with a fake smile. He closes his eyes for a few seconds. "How should I know, Dénes. How should I know. If I knew, I wouldn't be in this mess."

Silence fills the room. Cards scattered on the floor. The stench from the next room invading both of them. Definitely Lajos. They hated it when Lajos went to the bathroom.

Holding each other's gaze, Robineau had a strange, very rare moment of self-criticism as he pinched his nose. His friend—teammate, whatever—was right. It was something he would never be able to understand. Sürréo, for his part, hadn't changed his facial expression even in the face of the smell.

"Well, I'll leave it to you, then. You'll think of something, you're smarter than me," Robineau finally responded, with a very, very, very rare admission of inferiority in any aspect of life, whatever it may be. "If you play like crap tomorrow, I'll have to play well enough to compensate for you."

Sürréo nodded. "Hopefully it won't come to that," they both said in unison.

[Huayramarca]

OOC: Features AI imagery with some edits made by me.

It was a gentle afternoon in Guayaquil, pretty weird to have both gentle and Guayaquil in the same phrase but that’s the kind of things that happen in Huayramarca during the winter, climate miracles in what is often believed to be a bakery oven, a kettle… Ten minutes to four in the afternoon, people had already crowded the Estadio Metropolitano del Guayas since ten in the morning, expectation around the match has been insane, as The Condors are in the fight for a qualification for the World Cup Round of 16 at home soil, and they also face Québec & Shingoryeo, a derby in the whole semantic sense of the word.

Huayramarca was in a rather odd situation, as they were not al all depending on scores in the other match, as a single point would do to qualify for the Round of 16, and even some losing scenarios would help if the goal difference was bigger than two goals. The match against Chromatika proved a point for fans, that the team has recovered a bit after the disaster that was the qualifiers for the previous iteration, or the zero-pointer that was the 94th edition, that the generational transition was working nicely and proving that Blâás Âgínsôgnó was worth of the cliché phrase of “trust the process.”

A gentle breeze in the cheeks of everybody in the stadium, it was a delightful 30°C afternoon in a place that’s used to suffer 37-43°C during summers, with even higher temperatures due to the humidity that comes from the sea, and that’s pretty much why the stadium was crowded since early hours and, somehow, there weren’t any reports on dehydration or insolation. Fans from La Banda de la Alpaca, the ultras group of the Huayramarcan National Team, were close to their Québécois counterparts, The Bubonic Plague. As the time of protocols came, the respect from one side to the other was paramount, at least for a brief second, due to the great relationship and historic backgrounds of both nations, let aside that Huayramarcans are the largest foreign minority in the land of the northern neighbour.

As Guayaquil is close to the pretty weird portals that connect Huayramarca and the Québécois realm, a large drove of Shingoryeoites were present and displayed a tifo in “support” for their national team, a gigantic mjölnir with a phrase of “You win, or you get smacked”. Meanwhile, the Huayramarcan ultras and casuals showed a big tifo paying homage to the feared Sniper Division 4 of the National Army of Huayramarca, one having a sniper pointing right where The Bubonic Plague was seated. And as soon as the tifo was released from the cords from the roof of the stands, several, if not thousands of fans went on an onslaught against The Bubonic Plague, resulting in a brawl that had to be ended by the army by taking away from the premises several members of both groups.

The match was expected to be a complete tactical disorder, as both teams are fans of going all-in while attacking, and the circumstances also showed that, as the Québécois were eliminated but they wanted to leave the World Cup with honour, while Huayramarca wanted to secure points and march to the next stage with the head held high. Those expectations were proved right, as Cesar Icardi-Rabiot took a ball after Bryan Tello tried to shoot on goal, Icardi-Rabiot went on a counter and passed the ball to Oberon M’bah-Pinho, the highly technical winger controlled the ball and dribbled Aidar Armendáriz, then entered in the areas and passed the ball to Amina Salihamidzic, who shot but Juan Mamani deflected the ball towards the corner. A corner taken quickly by Odette Tsioui ended with the ball heading to Geovanni Jurgen Berhalter, Berhalter dived, and the ball crashed in the crossbar, Rebecca-Anne Wawanolett shot but Kevin Quispe saved the ball in the line at the mark of the 8th minute of the match.

The Shingoryeoite onslaught continued with M’bah-Pinho doing whatever he wanted with Armendáriz, as he dribbled him, overtook him on speed challenges and even on physicality during the first twenty minutes. M’bah-Pinho was controlling the game and being the strongest link in the chain for the visitors, but there wasn’t something working for the Québécois attack, as M’bah-Pinho just tried to outrun defenders and his shooting attempts weren’t able to kick in, as he didn’t figure out the right angle to kick the ball to the goal.

Fans were pressing Huayramarca to react, even insulting Blâás Âgínsôgnó because of it… But the manager was already aware of the situation and decided to switch Armendáriz and Quispe, so M’bah-Pinho would be closely and harshly marked than what Armendáriz have done previously. With that, M’bah-Pinho faded as time was moving on, and Huayramarca was recovering some terrain. Bad news came from the Estadio de Purmamarca, as Chromatika was ahead from Juvencus and that meant that Huayramarca was being eliminated due to goal difference (Juvencus had already +3 and Huayramarca only +2), it was the scenario that people didn’t wanted to see, a small margin happening because of the consequences that said scenario implied.

Worrying faces in the stand, Blâás Âgínsôgnó maintained his composure and instructed the team to hold some time and then attack. He was right, as the Québécois attack continued with balls pouring heavily in the Huayramarcan area, as M’bah-Pinho was controlled, he attempted to cross the ball towards Odette Tsioui, who tried to get past Ismael Lobatón, but her attempts didn’t work due to the stiff pressure from Lobatón, so she diverted to passing towards Salihamidzic, who tested Juan Mamanin in the 30th minute. In said challenge, the Québécois striker controlled the ball, then got past Armendáriz (who wasn’t having the best of the afternoons possible) and got into the area for a head-to-head against Juan Mamani, the goalkeeper saved, providentially, as he moved forward and snatched the ball from Salihamidzic to avoid a goal chance.

Unable to react, Huayramarca tried to force things by pressing he midfield of Wawanolett, Redondo and Icardi-Rabiot, with Marcelo Huanca being commended the task of doing high-pressing, that meant that he would be pushed forward, and Orlando Mina would be the sole defensive midfielder. Adaptability was the name of the game, as the Québécois outfit turns out to be unpredictable on their attacking ways and plans, so there was need to use the very best to regain control of the match. Huanca robbed a ball from Redondo at the 37th minute, he then passed to Ian Mamani, the midfielder went on and decided to cross to a pretty much forgotten Gabriel Sayritupac, as he hadn’t had a chance to create something in the wing, same for Abraham Mendoza. Sayritupac was able to get past Esteban Flores, then entered in the box, tried to dribble Ghislaine Barbieri, he did it successfully and then shot, Goh Yeong-Rok deflected and provoked a corner kick. As it was taken by Sayritupac itself, he decided to pass to Ian Mamani, who was close, then crossed the ball in what it seemed to be a previously trained movement, to Orlando Mina, the midfielder nodded the ball and it smashed the post, then came Abraham Mendoza to strike the ball but send it far away from the goal.

Québec was holding possession for more time and being more effective than Huayramarca in their attempts, as they Shingoryeoites had caused more threats than Huayramarca had done through the match. The numbers gave proof that the ball was in Québécois feet for 58% of the match, while the other 42% in Huayramarcan feet. Four shots on goal for the visitors and only one for the Huayramarcans, in what seemed to be a situation where Huayramarca was unable to react and being hold against the rope pretty much due to the score in the other match of Group A between Chromatika and Juvencus. Incredibly, a Bryan Tello wasn’t being fed with passes, had to push back from his usual position some meters to help in the collective effort of recovering the ball and try to orchestrate a counterattack, but the plan didn’t work as intended.

The referee whistled, the first half ended, and the fans demanded more from the team, that’s why some boos and jeers were listened from the stands as Huayramarca had been playing in a sub par way due to the pressure made by the visitors. Blâás Âgínsôgnó made some substitutions to improve the overall performance of the team, and that’s why Carlos Vilca substituted Aidar Armendáriz, Nicolás Allauca instead of Marcelo Huanca and René Matsabanda for Abraham Mendoza. The bet from the manager? Speed, control and experience to protect the defence, then to orderly attack and get some goals if possible.

The match started with positive news, Juvencus had already taken advantage against Chromatika, that meant that Huayramarca was through due to the head-to-head record on The Anomalies. The change of attitude in the team wasn’t something it suddenly started, as Québec continued to attack through the wings with M’bah-Pinho, but the experience of Carlos Vilca was decisive to restrict the effectiveness of the Québécois. The first chance of the second half for Huayramarca came at the 62nd minute, as Carlos Vilca crossed a ball right at Gabriel Sayritupac, who also crossed the ball for Matsabanda, the young winger took the ball and entered in the area, getting past Esteban Flores, being able to shoot but Goh saved the shot.

What it was seeming like a bright spark of light for The Condors turned into pitch dark like a tunnel in a matter of four minutes. M’bah-Pinho had one last chance and got past Vilca, using his technicality to pass the ball to Redondo, who went on tandem with Wawanolett, who finally passed the ball to Salihamidzic, the striker kicked the ball to the right side of the goal and put the Shingoryeoites in the lead at the 64th minute. Two minutes later, Icardi-Rabiot took the ball from Ian Mamani, went into an empty pocket near the box and shot to the upper-left side of the goal, scoring the two-nil for the northern neighbours, and slamming the Round of 16 door in the face of Huayramarca.

Blâás Âgínsôgnó had to act quickly and he did, he substituted Ian Mamani for Ronaldinho Caicedo and Kevin Quispe for Tathan-Antony Berhalter, in a curious match as it faced brother vs brother in both sides (the Berhalter brothers, one of which is Tathan and the other one is Giovanni) with the aim of gaining physicality and more speed for Huayramarca, who was in dire need of it. As the clock ticked, the Québécois relaxed a bit and The Condors noticed it, that’s how by virtue of hard work they were able to create more threatening chances on Goh’s goal. At the 73rd minute, a corner kick derived in a dangerous header by the Huayramarcan Berhalter, who sent the ball to the post, then Bryan Tello attempted to kick the ball and scored, but it was deemed as offside, so the goal was voided.

Two minutes later, Gabriel Sayritupac went through Pyo Seung-Hue, then sent the ball to Caicedo, the midfielder noted that there was a chance to shot, he did but Goh was aware of the intentions, that’s why he deflected it and sent the ball to one side of the pitch. At the 79th minute came the so much desired elixir, as Matsabanda went through the wing and outpaced Esteban Flores, then got into the area and slotted a ball through it, it was Bryan Tello the one in the right spot and time, he controlled with his left foot and shot, scoring the 2-1 that made people have a hope in qualification to the next round.

The next ten minutes were complete Huayramarcan madness, as the team tried in every single way possible to score the 2-2 and snatch a point, but it didn’t worked as Goh was having a tremendous performance, including some saves to Bryan Tello in a head to head, to Matsabanda with a mid-range shot and a bicycle kick from Ronaldinho Caicedo that was sent out of the goal with the tip of a finger. Desperation reached its climax at the 92nd minute, as Juan Mamani recovered a ball and decided to go forward and send a cross to Bryan Tell, the striker reached the ball and kicked it, but Goh made a spectacular save with his left foot and send the ball to the corner. Juan Mamani decided to attack and went to the Shingoryeoite area.

René Matsabanda took the corner, but passed the ball to Carlos Vilca, who then crossed to the right side of the box, Juan Mamani was there and dived to make contact with the ball, he sent some sort of a pass to Orlando Mina, who then was able to shot and turn Guayaquil into a state of craziness as Huayramarca managed to equalise at the 93rd minute out of 5 that were added, securing qualification no matter what if they were able to hold for two more minutes. The team tried to waste some time, but the Québécois had a last chance, as Icardi Rabiot kicked from the middle while Mamani was returning, his shot was about to enter to the goal, but Ismael Lobatón was there to take the ball out of the line while jumping like he has never done before. The referee whistled the end of the match, Huayramarca is in the Round of 16 for the third time ever.

---

Saint Eleanor

The next rival, Saint Eleanor, another Anaian nation into the contingent of qualified nations in the WC knockout stage, are a pretty defensive team, not Ko-orenite or Audioslavian level of defence but something stiff that may require patience to break-up through speed or strength, as discipline will be their key. We have had experience with them in the World Cups, as they were one of the sides that defeated us 2-3 in World Cup 94. Remembering the zero-pointer and the fact that the Peregrine Hawks are part of it can cause in the Condors the desire to get revenge, sure, being in Puerto San Carlos will help a lot, a talisman venue for Huayramarca but not a reason to be overconfident, they will play the game as they’re used to do, straight to the point, which should be enough for us to do in the same way, attack, attack and attack until cracking their defence.

Another reason to take care of this team is that they also play with a line of two destructive midfielders, the kind of midfielders we also have, but these ones have a clearer defensive role compared to the mixed one ours have. David Newcastle can also work as a third one in case of need, and that's where the key to the match will be present, it will be a matter to outpace Newcastle and Steve Pilchard when needed in a counterattack, as there shouldn't be any chances given to the Eleanorans to regroup, our counters must be as swift and precise as possible, relying on direct and short passing to outpace our rivals. Condors vs Hawks, let the red star win!

[Saint Eleanor]

OOC: Filed with Mriin on exceptionally short notice; do not expect pushback from them.

---

Group of Six meeting (XXI) --- Vdara 0-0 SAINT ELEANOR
Participants: Gentle Breeze, Reniira Clevinger, Stephen Mitcham ~ Bridget Coombe [C], Cathy Winchester [VC], Christine Terrence [ballot]
Location: A steakhouse in Puerto San Carlos, HUA

Stephen again, again. Your favourite assistant manager has not quite taken over notation duties, rather he was assigned them after we unexpectedly made the knockout stages ahead of schedule. One nice, juicy steak and one glass of soda for everyone - although I did allow people to have seconds, let's just say. You'll love it when I get the big job.

There was a consensus, but a marginal one, that this was an underwhelming result. On the one hand, we had already progressed, just about any result other than total breakdown would have sufficed to make us head up Group D in the end, and Vdara were as hungry for a result as we were. On the other, this was a good chance to "strut our stuff" prior to the last sixteen and, far from us not taking every opportunity at our disposal, I would argue that we hardly made any of our own. People were conflicted as to who our best player was: perhaps Coombe for keeping pretty much the entire team honest for most of the game (this was argued by Cathy, not Bridget), Lawson for being the main attacking threat on a day where threats were few and far between, or Newbridge for pulling most of the defensive load, Fotellis was agreed on as their star - I thought he was unlucky not to have converted his penalty, although everyone else disagreed, and he mostly kept us alert enough, maybe even cynical enough, to deter any serious attacking ventures.


Reniira made a fair enough point, if one I considered to be typically derogatory of her: the Huayramarcan team is, pretty much, made up of "codgers ancient and modern." Marcelo Huanca, a new midfielder who many agree is a younger, better, shorter and more annoying Nicolas Allauca, is the only player not to have been battle-tested in their Baptism of Fire. The side is, in fact, largely still recognisable from the one that got edged out by us four years ago, although Huanca was on the bench throughout. The tactics required to defeat them again in 2010 will therefore resemble those used in 2006: stay back whenever possible, lest they bite back (although it's safe to push forward on your own steam and pass the ball to nearby teammates); pitch the ball long if required, to disrupt their trademark fulbo scheme; mark the next man across, not the man on the ball, if you can; and be assertive in defence, if not too aggressive.

Goldsmith will play instead of Hart - we very much need the straight-talking and/or the "attacking oomph" against a team like this. However, we will give the rest of the eleven we fielded against Vdara a second chance in the same 4-2-3-1 formation, since they have proven to be reliable and will bring their relevant skillsets against Huayramarca for reasons that are either already clear or that will be reiterated by yours truly in the pre-match briefings: Richardson; Winchester, Launceston, Newbridge, Davies; Coombe, Hollenberg; Lawson, Felaraneta, Northend; GOLDSMITH. (Gentle Breeze reserves the right to throw more experienced players to the sharks if we need some extra backup over time.)

The offside trap WILL NOT OPERATE against Huayramarca. The Condors are heavy on steady-paced wing play, less so on centre play; going too far, too fast, could prove to be catastrophic.

The Grand Tour of Anaia - Mriin: All fun and games, even when it's not - and they're not having it

by Lara Torridge - March 4th 2006

It takes a good three days to get to Mriin. When I do dock in Maal, I think to myself I'd be looked on with suspicion, if not for the fact that it is already rather late - 7pm, by my accounting. Thankfully, there is still a bureau de change open in a rather unlikely place: the back office of a Faroleran-cuisine restaurant, which is marked inside only as being under CCTV surveillance and open by appointment, and not at all outside.

Exchange rate: 490 nyxx = 326.67 scales (1 nyxx = $1 = 0.66 scales)

I get my money changed, enjoy my dinner - which, despite its extraordinary size and deliciousness, I still find to not be enough to compensate for those days of finding my way around the Strait of Chie - and find a hostel of what I suspect is some disrepute.

Days 1-3: Summary

What I wore: a massive coat, long-sleeved top, skinny jeans and tall pair of boots
What I spent: 16.67 scales
What I've got left over: 95 Eleanorian dollars for emergencies; 310 scales

I ask a man who I think is the receptionist for directions to the city centre. He is neither the actual receptionist nor does he take kindly to my question. I am duly pointed a mile or so down the street to what is actually called the Old Town, where I imagine I must have parked my boat the other night. Even if I do not, I find there is nothing much to do except look around the various historic attractions and buy a few trinkets from the local vendors - I find a couple of fridge magnets which I think my parents will like and, for whatever reason, a perfectly ripened banana. I chance upon a train station after a few minutes of wandering, albeit not a particularly impressive one.

The train is small, and uncomfortable, and makes me thankful I've brought out my trainers for this visit (although the walking would have made me just as grateful). It takes a few minutes to stop at what is now immediately apparent to me as the shopping district. From there, I grab an obvious slap-up meal that would not be out of place in certain other countries; get what looks like a pearl necklace, but is not; and. My stream of questions continues apace, as I ask another person on the street where the Eleanorian community is - if there is one - given that so many other nations are well-represented here. They tell me there are a couple, but for obvious reasons not enough to do much but try to gel into Mrii culture; I imagine that they must be doing a better job at that than John, Lydia, their child and most of their friends were.

So onwards I continue to Ashfell. It is remarkable for little other than the University of Architecture, and its football team, also called Ashfell. I find a good fish and chip outlet there, and find it to be much better than advertised - not a bad achievement for a restaurant that seems to have low standards of itself. The waitress, who I imagine is a quirky twenty-something, rapidly identifies herself as a University student who's working there part-time. When I ask her about Ashfell football club, she shakes her head vigorously and says that the Mrii football league collapsed long ago. She encourages me to look around the Uni, which does not disappoint, especially compares to what comes after. When I ask her where I can say, she forwards me to another uni student who claims to be looking for a short-term lodger.

Day 4: Summary

What I wore: a long-sleeved top, skinny jeans and a pair of trainers
What I spent: 10 scales
What I've got left over: 95 Eleanorian dollars for emergencies; 300 scales

Some short-term lodging that was - I'm only there for a day and rend my flatmate some payment. I have smartly decided to leave my luggage behind in the hostel in Maal, although it is safely cocooned under my bed. This leaves me needing to get yet another train to kill the time, fetching the luggage, and then getting my boat to Seastone. After some trekking, I find myself in Vidial, recommended to me by the waitress, who told me that she knew a human Mrii at the university there. I do not see him or her, or them, at any stage, although I try to make some reasoned guesses.

The roads, to and from and within the university, are narrow and winding; the smells I distrust immensely to the point where I have to complain to a supermarket cashier about them, who assures me that they are completely normal. The university itself is nice, although not quite the place I'd see myself studying in if I were Mrii; I haven't seen one in Maal, but if there was one there, the prospect of that alone would be attactive enough. The fish and chips is dreadful, even despite the fact I somehow manage to finish them; they do not even supply me with a courtesy lemon slice, either atop the battered cod or in my soda. At the end of it all, I feel compelled to return to the capital, however late the hour may be.

Day 5: Summary

What I wore: the same as last time
What I spent: 8 scales
What I've got left over: 95 Eleanorian dollars for emergencies; 292 scales

Eventually, I arrive in Westhold. There is a dryad on the beach who asks who I am, to which I tell them that I used to go to a University far away from Mriin. After some explanation, they work out that I am from Saint Eleanor, a place about which they only know that George Mitcham is the leader and there are many good football teams. They do, however, ask me if Jessica Martin is a character in a novel I'm writing. One of their friends leads me onwards to Hosingr, where I find the fish and chips to be little better and the guided tour to be an invaluable, if low-quality, insight into dryad life. It is a tourist trap, but - thankfully - an inexpensive one.

I am therefore compelled, having almost squeezed up all the fun I could have here (or maybe not), to go back to Maal for my luggage and a couple of other things; stop in Mariina for a hotel coffee (it was nice), some fish and chips (they were excellent), a couple of questions for the few locals (yes, I should consider moving here once I have enough money; thankfully my parents make six figures between them) and the many tourists (it's a great place, please visit when you can), and head onwards for Flavovespia. I have no regrets, except perhaps that I did not spend enough time here.

Day 5: Summary

What I wore: the same as last time
What I spent: 12 scales
What I've got left over: 95 Eleanorian dollars for emergencies; 280 scales

[Huayramarca]

World Cup Finals Round of 16 Cutoff

The road to glory might look as a rose-filled one, but it isn't one. We're entering in KO territory!

[Sylestone]

GREATEST WIN IN SYLESTONEAN FOOTBALL HISTORY?
EASTWOOD, SARCAV-JONES ELIMINATE WORLD CHAMPIONS

LIMA, HUAYRAMARCA - To say it’s a day of rejoicing across the entire country of Sylestone is a severe understatement. Even non-football fans turned on their televisions in the early morning to catch such a critical game and sure enough, they were not disappointed.

What they witnessed was a high intensity football encounter as both sides charged out of the blocks, the Sentients settling into their regular low block but fully aware of the threat Delte posed on the ball, played an unnaturally expansive style of play that saw them create several chances within the opening quarter of an hour. Yet, it quickly became evident that player for player, the world champions were understandably plenty stronger than the plucky Sylestoneans and quickly gained control of the game, gradually forcing the Sentients further back as the chances begun to rise.

All of this happened in the first twenty minutes and yet, despite both sides having their chances, the game remained scoreless. It wouldn’t for long, though.

From the left wing, Valentin Fey whipped yet another ball into the Sylestonean box, Hugo Mornington once again rising higher than anyone and heading the ball to safety, where Jade Wettenhall picked it up and began to carry it forward, taking on and defeating Onun Tasher as she hared towards the halfway line. Just as she was about to be closed down, the fullback spotted Alexandra Arnold’s unmarked run on the right wing, the Whitepool player returning to the starting lineup to add necessary flourish on the attack. As expected, Wettenhall’s ball was perfect as Asa Awestorm was caught in no man’s land, leaving no one on Arnold as she began her run into the Deltic box, the crowd on the edge of their seat.

Arnold moved the ball onto her left foot, escaping the defensive lunge of Untto Squaker and opening up the goal for herself. Before she could shoot, though, the rogue leg of Enor Perro materialised in front of her, missing the ball and instead clipping the winger, who fell straight to the ground.

The decision was easy. The referee immediately pointed to the spot without a second thought, na db egan reaching for his pocket, cautioning the star Deltic midfielder. A alps in concentration and all of a sudden, Charlotte Eastwood had a free shot from metres out to give the underdogs an unexpected lead.

And lead they did, Eastwood sending the ball straight down the middle while Tombes dove left, leaving him watching in horror as the ball nestled in the back of his net, for just the third time all tournament and for the first time since Delte’s World Cup opener.

Sure, Sylestone did the double over Delte last year in the International Confederations Cup, but that was a far different Delte side to the one they would face on the biggest stage. Yet, the result was still going the same way, as the Sentients took the lead 21 minutes in, leaving the world champions with plenty to do if they wished to defend their title.

Their best chance of the half came from a rare mistake on the ball from Gemma Rodway, whose heavy first touch gave the ball away to Tasher, who looked to pounce immediately. With the Sylestonean back line exposed, Tasher sliced the ball between the two central defenders, into the run of Tai Cerotha, leaving him one on one with Ryan Macleay. Mornington was tracking back quickly, though and with Cerotha looking to move around Macleay and carve it home from a tight angle, was able to clear the ball on the goal line after the Deltic forward succeeded in his mission, only to have the path blocked by the giant body of a big, 195-centimetre tall central defender. And 1-0 it remained as half time loomed, both sides recovering for fifteen minutes before leaving it all out on the field in Lima in an attempt to reach the final eight.

The second half began with a bang as like the first, both sides looked to immediately go on the attack, the Sentients continuing to shock everyone with their uncanny expansive football - so much that conspiracies began on social media platforms that Mojmir Anac had been secretly assassinated and an imposter was now in charge of the Sylestonean national team. Of course, this wasn’t the case and it was just another Mojmir Anac tactical masterclass but nevertheless, it was a shock to see them play like this with a 1-0 lead in the second half over potentially the best team in the world.

But as the clock wound down, the Sentients gradually began to drop back, as Delte became more frantic in their attacks. Alicia Dowie was brought on for a tired Gemma Rodway as Brett Sarcav-Jones dropped alongside Jack Lawson in the midfield for the final stretch, victory appearing more and more assured with every second, every minute that passed.

And then, with one quick flick of the head, it vanished.

After breaking past Holly Statton, Tai Tunnyo’s fresh legs fired a cross into the Sylestonean box as the clock ticked into the 82nd minute of the game, leaving the Deltics under ten minutes plus stoppage time to score. They wouldn’t need it, though, as Untto Squaker’s shoulder-to-shoulder clash with Hugo Mornington temporarily reset the star defender’s bearings, Irki Mynster rose above all and caught the ball sweetly, heading it in the direction of Ryan Macleay’s near post. Despite the Sylestonean goalkeeper reading the strike from the get go, even his reflexes would not suffice as the ball crept past his outstretched arm, skimming the inside of the post and crossing the line.

1-1.

For the first time in what felt like years, the Sentients’ defence had broken in the dying stages of the game, giving away a lead and putting them back at square one. All of that effort, seemingly for nothing.

Seemingly.

But there was still time to score another goal and finish the game inside regular time, without forcing it to extra time and eventually, the possibility of penalties. Buoyed by the goal, Delte immediately began to pounce but the Sylestonean defence held resilient as usual, repelling any attacks and forming the foundations of some of their own. So Delte pushed back a little bit, well aware of their momentum advantage but well aware that another Sentient goal would all but mean curtains to their campaign.

Unfortunately for them, it would already be too late.

Once again, Alexandra Arnold played a massive role, receiving an excellent ball from Jack Lawson that left Awestorm well behind in their chase, Arnold cutting back in to take the centre backs on. Instead of shooting as she was so good at from the range she was at, though, a delicate pass into the free run of Brett Sarcav-Jones left the 22-year-old with basically an open goal ahead of him, Tombes only to beat.

All the stud playmaker did was pass it into the back of the net, Tombes unable to save the decisive shot into his bottom left corner. With a minute to play before stoppage time, the Sentients once again took the lead.

And this time, it would be the nail in the world champions’ coffin. Despite their best efforts, the Sylestonean defence held resolute through seven minutes of added time and although those seven minutes felt like seven hours to every supporter of the Sentients out there, it did not matter.

Once again, the Sentients had defeated Delte - make that three times now in the past year in three separate encounters. And this time, it had come where it truly mattered.

For the second time in two cycles, Mojmir Anac had led Sylestone to a quarterfinal, the win all but confirming his side’s place inside the top ten in the world as per the official rankings. Last time, they were ground out by a dogged Tumbran outfit who would go on to finish as runners-up; this time, they were up against hosts Huayramarca also looking to tread into unknown semifinal territory.

It’s been five long years since the Sentients last played Huayramarca, and boy have they come a long way since then. Can they enact revenge for the heartbreak of World Cup 93, or will they once again succumb on Anaian soil?

---

Sylestone vs Delte @ Estadio Olimpico Universitario, Lima, Huayramarca

Sylestone (4-4-1-1 → 5-4-1): Macleay; Wettenhall ( 76’) (Holt 85’) - Mornington - Faucett - Statton; Ryland (Milligan 72’ ( 90’)) - Rodway (Dowie 72’) - Lawson - Arnold ( 29’) (Jones 85’); Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood

Delte (4-3-3): Tombes; Awestorm - Sawdare ( 45’) - Squaker - von Dach (Kampermann 80’ ( 90+4’)); Steng - Perro ( 21’) - Fey (Tunnyo 62’); Cerotha - Tasher (Mastorqa 62’) - Mynster

Sylestone 2-1 Delte
                                       Eastwood 21' (p)        Mynster 82'
                                       Sarcav-Jones 88'

---

Starting XI vs Huayramarca @ Estadio Olímpico del Oriente, Sechura, Huayramarca

Macleay; Wettenhall - Mornington - Blackall - Statton; Ryland - Rodway - Lawson - Arnold; Sarcav-Jones; Eastwood

[Valanora]

Lothas Ludwig watched from his box as the Marauders were playing their knockout game below him on the field and there was a surreal feeling for the striker, being here rather than there on the field or on the bench with the rest of his teammates. He had been part of the team that had qualified for the World Cup, he had even pitched in his fair share of goals, and yet when the roster was announced that would be traveling with the team to Anaia, he had been let off of it. Emeline Millet had called and explained the reasoning of why she was deciding to drop him and he understood where she was coming from and why she was doing it, there was only twenty-six spots and the squad needed depth in other positions. It all made sense as to the why she was doing it, yet Lothas could not lie and say that it did not hurt to be part of the team and then suddenly not, to then see them playing rather than being with them and trying to help them succeed or cheering them on from bench. Every fiber of his being wanted to be down there with the rest of the team and not stuck up here in the a pampered caged that was the luxury box.

Despite all that pain and frustration, he still wanted what was best for the team, he still wanted them to go out there and succeed where he had failed, to find the way to break the curse that seemed fixed over the heads of the players. Lothas had become a student of the game some years back, knowing he needed to get smarter rather than merely relying on his skill and physical abilities if he wanted to be considered among the best at his position and had gone back to study the old teams of the Marauders during their heyday. That run that they had from World Cup 33 through the middle of the 50 World Cups was likely never to be seen again, with seventeen straight appearances in the quarterfinals and eight straight appearances in the semifinals, they were a team that was simply a click above everyone else. Well everyone except for Starblaydia, the only team from that era that was able to consistently find a way to beat those Marauder teams of old, but it was not their fame that Lothas was looking at but rather how they were able to be so remarkably consistent and to always seemingly find a way to elevate their game at the most important of moments.

It remained mostly a mystery to him, as it had to their contempories at the time, but when he had decided to ask Hawk about it, the captain having been part of those teams who made all those records and won all the title, Hawk simply shrugged and said that they played the way they had been taught to play. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing special in what they were doing, they were merely ahead of the game at the time and these days the rest of the world had more or less caught up and even surpassed what had been taught in the Empire on how to play the game. It was no mistake that it had taken an outsider to correct the national team and get them back on winning ways, Dan Eastwood had revitalized the team and gave them purpose, gave them ideas that were not part of what was taught in the Empire and it worked. They went from merely being consistent qualifiers for the proper to once again contending for titles, lifting trophies at some of the smaller scaled tournaments like the Eagles Cup and AOCAF, and of course getting the team ninety minutes away from lifting the World Cup itself.

The rest of the box erupted in joy and Lothas looked around to see the Marauders celebrating in the corner, with Imre Haaland having looked to score the winning goal against Juvencus. The youngster represented the hope of the future for the national team, much like Lothas once had after leaving the homeland for Felsenkirchen and then going on to lift the RSC trophy before lifting their domestic league as well and being part of the Marauders squads that once more commanded respect among their peers. Lothas hoped that the youngster could handle the pressure that was being put on his shoulders, though so far he had seemingly been able to shoulder the load quite fine with having done quite well after his move from Juavi to Stein-los Turkish and the transition from the youth national team to the senior one. Still, he was young and needed guidance, someone to help keep him on the right path that he was currently on to help him see out his potential to its fullest ability and be a force that could lead the national team both now as well as for the next decade if Elune was good and kept him healthy enough for that period of time.

Time, it was a precious thing, and at least Lothas got to bring glory and triumph to Soldarian before his own had come to an end. He could still likely go for another season, being part of a team competing for the Champions League did have a bit of an appeal, but he knew he would only be a rotational player now, his legs were finally starting to go at thirty-five and that likely played into the equation as to why he was in this box and not down with the team celebrating a win and moving on to the Quarterfinals. Although, being there and being a good influence for the likes of Edwin Schjelderup and Olaf Myrhe could be interesting, he could be the one to help see them through those troubling transitional times of moving from a rotation player to a nailed on starter. While Haaland was beyond his reach, there were those in Raynor City that he could be their mentor, help them along the way as he had been guided with his time in Felsenkirchen. Maybe if he had listened a little more and taken care of his body a bit better like he had been asked to, it would be him down there among the celebrations and not some others, but he would content himself with celebrating with his fellow countrymen and rooting on the team from afar as he no longer could be a part of their success on the field.

[Huayramarca]

It is not a joke when Huayramarca gets the moniker of being the “Land of the Wind”. No matter where you are, there’s a big chance of having wind streaks at some point of the day… Death, taxes and wind in Huayramarca. Puerto San Carlos is not an exception to this pattern, instead, is one of the windiest places in the nation, as it is conveniently located between the Ko-orenite Archipelago and the Calanian landmass, right in the middle of an alleyway for winds coming from the North Pole and the Pibada, specially during winter, which is the part of the year we are on right now.

Returning to Puerto San Carlos is always special for The Condors, a place with romantic remembrances of the beautiful game, now wishing to add a new one for the history books as Huayramarca was about to face Saint Eleanor for the Round of 16 (or commonly known as “Octavos de Final” in Huayramarcan Spanish. Another meeting with history, the third time the Huayramarcan National Team reached this instance in its history, being the other two the World Cup 90 (defeated 4-2 by Valanora) and World Cup 93 (Winning 5-4 in penalties against Cabo Azure after an insane 5-5 in aggregated extra time).

In the World Cups there are no easy tasks, no matter if being hosts or just another participant, a game has to be played and quality needs to be demonstrated in a sustained level for 90, or even, 120 minutes at high intensity. The Peregrine Hawks seek to make history by reaching the Quarterfinals, The Condors also want to do it again after achieving it in World Cup 93, people knew it and that’s why they flocked in pretty much not usual numbers to the stadium, even seeing scenes of people complaining that they weren’t able to enter to the stadium despite having tickets (which were reimbursed after the match).

The Estadio Marítimo was like never before, overcrowded and featuring a lot of fireworks being prepared outside the premises by fans, as they wanted to do another tifo to receive the National Team, creating a beautiful environment as they have been doing throughout the campaign. A late kick-off time (8:00 p.m. in the Coastal Time Zone – 9:00 p.m. for Sierra) was no match for this faithful bunch of supporters, in the hopes of witnessing more history for their country. In the dressing rooms, the situation was similar, as players were being ecstatic, as we looked to Bryan Tello pointing to the fans and telling Tathan-Anthony Berhalter to “admire the passionate spirit of the Huayramarcan football fan”.

Blâás Âgínsôgnó would field the usual 4-2-3-1, no surprises and betting to have the usual scheme to favour the players to show their best performance in the pitch, as he admitted that cohesion “would mark the difference in any critical circumstance of the World Cup Knockouts”. That’s why Bryan Tello would start once again, Sayritupac and Mendoza too in the wings. Huanca, Mina, Ian Mamani in the midfield; while Aidar Armendáriz, Ismael Lobatón, Kevin Quispe and Paolo Manco in defence, alongside Juan Mamani would be covering any potential attack from the rival.

Gentle Breeze, the Equestrian manager in charge of Saint Eleanor, fielded her best starting XI available and mirrored, somewhat, the Huayramarcan line-up as she used a 4-2-3-1 with a twist, that being the less offensive nature of it, with a more defensive setting that would require David Newcastle to get back to defence, as he would serve as the spearhead of a new counterattack plan when the Peregrine Hawks recover the possession. Newcastle is, seemingly, boring yet effective when it comes to defend and assert his technique to lead any plan of counterattacking, which would be useful for a team that tends to press high, leading this to surprises if the midfielders and defenders are sluggish to come back to their positions.

As the teams entered in the pitch, La Banda de la Alpaca released another new tifo with interesting features, as this one depicted the first settlers of Huayramarca while harnessing the elements they were subjected at, while adapting to their new fatherland, which happened to be what is now the modern Huayramarca we know. Below the tifo, a phrase that read “Stronger Together”. While the fans outside the stadium proceeded to use the fireworks to receive The Condors for such an important match.

Saint Eleanor started with the possession for the first couple of minutes, and as it was being expected, it happened to be defensive possession but with a double edge in the sword, as it was the kind of possession that invited the rival to press and find guys like David Newcastle to cross the ball far away for either Rick Goldsmith, Steve Pilchard or Angelica Northend to net a goal against the home side. Âgínsôgnó noticed that situation and asked Ian Mamani to “wait for the right moment to intercept a pass”, he waited for the instruction to come to fruition, and he had his chance.

At the 6th minute of the match, David Newcastle was about to receive a pass from Bridget Coombe, as they intended to start a counterattack, but Marcelo Huanca recovered the ball for Huayramarca, he controlled the ball and decided to sprint towards the midfield once again, he passed the ball to Ian Mamani. The captain considered that he could have performed a shot, but had to take care of Sylvia Hollenberg, who was close to mark him, he eluded with a dribble and then proceeded to shot from 25 meters away from the goal and try to surprise Arielle Richardson who, in fact, wasn’t expecting to see Mamani releasing a shot, as she dived and tried to save the shot in vain… 25,000 people roaring crazily was the confirmation for Ian that his effort was good, enough to put The Condors at the front.

Huayramarca would find confidence after scoring that first goal, trying to get the ball back and do what they know to do the best, handling the ball from one side to the other, make the rival come to press, and then distributing it to the attackers. Nine minutes in and there was another chance from Huayramarca, as Abraham Mendoza took a pass from Marcelo Huanca, Mendoza got near the edge of the box and crossed despite the efforts of Cathy Winchester, Ian Mamani came to shot but it wasn’t as precise as his goal, it went too wide.

Despite missing, Saint Eleanor had enough alarms pointing out that Huayramarca was handling the ball nicely, intending to score another goal that would put The Condors in a comfortable position in the lead, which was what they found in the 13th minute of the match. Marcelo Huanca pressed Sylvia Hollenberg and stole the ball, the Athletik Thessia midfielder was broken up in an attempt to produce a counterattack, as Huanca tackled cleanly and passed the ball to Gabriel Sayritupac, the experienced winger found Exandra Davies, who he tried to outpace, not being able to do so and also forced to cross the ball before being anticipated by Davies, the cross landed near the penalty spot, a speedy Bryan Tello was rushing and jumped, considering the height advantage (195 cm vs 178 cm), nodded the ball and scored the second goal for the Condors.

Âgínsôgnó, and pretty much everybody out there, know that a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous of its kind in football, as it could lead to relaxation from the team in lead, or hit the ego of the rival and make them pull a comeback; it didn’t help that it was pretty early in the match, that’s why Huayramarca tried to keep attacking as most as they could do so. Saint Eleanor, in the other hand, wouldn’t want to let the chance to make footballing history for them to vanish so fast, and that’s why they tried to attack and invite The Condors to fall in the trap of pressure.

David Newcastle adopted a role where he would be a couple of meters at front of where he usually is, as he would try to mark Marcelo Huanca, who was being the key to break the deadlock, and nullify his movements, trying to provide more predictability to the match in that way. Gentle Breeze appeared to have found the right key to control the match for a big chunk of time, as the Eleanorans hold 55% of possession in 22 minutes, had more passes but were lacking a bit of depth to attack.

Esther Launceston recovered a ball from a Gabriel Sayritupac attempt to get near the box, she quickly passed the ball to David Newcastle, then to Sylvia Hollenberg, who considered to have Steve Pilchard in a nice position to try and get a goal, the winger dribbled past Armendáriz and found himself with Quispe, he then passed to Goldsmith, the Eleanoran striker shot but Juan Mamani deflected the ball. In the corner after the shot, Coombe crossed and Pilchard missed a clear chance, as he had the ball right in front of him and missed an open-netter as Juan Mamani tried to catch the ball in vain.

30 minutes in, Saint Eleanor had another chance through Goldsmith, who found himself in a 1v1 against Kevin Quispe, the Huayramarcan defender tackled Goldsmith and earned a yellow card for the rough challenge. Pilchard took the ball, he struck it with power and Juan Mamani had to deflect it and avoid a goal from the Peregrines; then, a corner taken quickly by Northend, who then passed to Hollenberg, who crossed to the area, saw how Launceston nodded the ball but it went too wide, Huayramarca was once again with the control of the possession.

This situation continued for most of the remaining 15 minutes, with some isolated chances from Bryan Tello from distance, a cross from Coombe that didn’t found Goldsmith to head or control the ball right to the Huayramarcan net. The first half ended, Huayramarca was leading with a comfortable 2-0 and managed to resist the attacks from the Eleanorans, despite those were pretty heavy through most of the first half, while Huayramarca was still in the need and hope to widen up the goal difference and snatch the qualification to Quarterfinals without doubts.

Âgínsôgnó didn’t made any substitutions, as the team was working “in a cohesive and solid way”, hence The Condors would continue the match as they intended to do, having a solid possession, control, and trying to attack in a counter or being aware of not leaving the defenders alone, without support. Matsuda Kichiro would substitute Sylvia Hollenberg, as Matsuda could support the team with a differentiating speed factor that could be what the Eleanorans needed to get started with more in-depth chances to score past Mamani, or at least trying to have enough dangerous chances that would make the Huayramarcan defence succumb and allow weaknesses and cracks to appear from what is now an already solidified defence quartet for The Condors.

The second half began and Huayramarca showed the same combat spirit as they did in the first half, as the lines of pressing were clearly demarcated near the midfield, not allowing Newcastle nor Matsuda to do something that would hamper Huanca’s or Mina’s plans for the remainder of the match. The 50th minute came and another chance for The Condors as Orlando Mina controlled the ball and quickly passed in a lobbed pass towards Bryan Tello, the striker tried to get past Davies, but the Eleanoran defender covered the potential gaps that Tello could’ve exploited in a clean fashion. Despite the effort, a rebound was found by Tello and he shot, but Richardson did a routine save, as easy as drinking the so-famed Eleanoran coffee during a morning.

Possession was in favour for the local side, as the Eleanorans were controlled by the deadlock settled by Orlando Mina and Marcelo Huanca, a duo that hasn’t played a lot of side by side but one that has got used to each other fast. The chemistry between them could serve as a testament to those who think that opposed poles attract each other, as they have the same position but two diametrically opposed skillsets, as Mina tends to favour strength and aerial game, while Huanca favours technicality and tempo control to recover the ball; skills that were enough to solidify the gap that Nicolás Allauca was creating as he’s now past his prime level.

“Huanca, keep the tempo high!” was the indication of Ian Mamani, the leader of the team, was it was extra help for him to have somebody else dictating the path of the game, with high intensity passing and constant pressure on the rival to recover the ball, while Âgínsôgnó also insisted in “scoring again” to “finish up the business”. Despite the instructions to do so, the Peregrine Hawks would also bring to the stage their rock-solid defence, one that made them one of the strongest sides in the World Cup Qualifier, well better than the plain “just survive” expectations from the SESB on Gentle Breeze.

Continuing with what was said, Saint Eleanor showed discipline and dedication to avoid the score to become worse, trying to build a counterattack and get the game close to an equalisation territory, as David Newcastle demonstrated why he is the leader of the team, providing oxygen when the team needed it the most. 75th minutes, Huayramarca continued attacking but the midfielder of the Hawks came to press Orlando Mina, the Huayramarcan hit Newcastle and got a yellow card for the reckless challenge on Newcastle. He didn’t wasted time and kicked the ball immediately to attempt a surprise attack on Huayramarca, which worked initially as Goldsmith took the ball immediately and went in a 2v1 against Quispe and Juan Mamani, Goldsmith dribbled Quispe like pretty much nobody has done, leaving him in the floor, then Mamani came and deflected the shot, which hit the crossbar before being conceded a corner kick for the Eleanorans.

The corner was made, Pilchard sent the ball to the area, Mina deflected but Matsuda controlled the ball, he immediately came close enough to the edge of the box, he crossed the ball and found Pilchard again, who nodded the ball, but it hit the post again. Two posts in the last two minutes were enough of an alert for The Condors, as they were seeking to secure the match with another goal and avoid suffering unnecessarily for the last minutes of the match.

Âgínsôgnó is not the kind of manager that will ask their teams to close gaps and rely on defence to protect the lead, instead, he will ask the team to press higher and higher and take advantage of the fatigue of the rival, despite the team also having that or, even, a higher degree of fatigue. As the time passed, Huayramarca continued to attack with a twist, long crosses to the wingers, this time with Abraham Mendoza, who received a pass from Juan Mamani after clearing a ball from Goldsmith in the 83rd minute, Mendoza rushed to the edge of the box, then dribbled and seek for Ian Mamani, who was coming to the box, Mamani was expected to shoot, but he didn’t he just passed the ball to Sayritupac, who shot but too wide for even being considered a threat.

Despite the efforts made by the Eleanorans, Huayramarca managed to continue holding the gridlock in the midfield until the final whistle, demonstrating that the team has regained that usual consistency in said zone of the pitch, enough to lock solid midfields and provide guarantees to keep the scores in a desired zone as they did. Two goals in the first fifteen minutes were enough for the Huayramarcans to get their ticket to the Quarterfinals of the World Cup for the second time ever.

In Sechura once again, in a primetime match, Huayramarca will play against the surprise team of the World Cup, Sylestone, as the Sentients defeated the reigning world champions, Delte, with a 2-1 scoreline at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario of Lima. No one will sleep in Sechura, no one will quit the eyes from the Estadio Olímpico del Oriente as Sechura will be on fire for another date with history, as Huayramarca looks to appeal once again to the Spirit of Sechura and qualify, for the first time, to the World Cup Semifinals.

World Cup 93 is a key to describe the whole context of this match and for what is in game for both sides. To qualify for said edition of the World Cup in Tumbra and Chromatika, Huayramarca had to face Sylestone in the playoffs, where The Condors hit decisively with a 5-2 victory at Sylestone, and then capped off with a 3-2 at Puerto San Carlos to qualify for what was a historic World Cup for us, one where we reached the Quarterfinals but we lost to Zwangzug, the eventual champs, 4-2.

Despite the precedents, Âgínsôgnó and players are aware that Sylestone will want to “take revenge” and “hit where it hurts the most”, making the match a situation where “Huayramarca can’t be overconfident.” It is, for sure, a capital sin to be overconfident in a World Cup, let alone in a Quarterfinal… That’s why Ian Mamani said, “We know how they play, they’re one of the best defensive teams in the Multiverse and we must be resolute and precise to take our chances.”

Indeed, there’s no room for mistakes when you must face a solid defence and beat a literal Brick Wall defending their goal. Now that it has been made so far, Huayramarca should try to make it to the top, to the pinnacle of football, by being capable of holding out patience, controlling the tempo and avoid falling into any trap of desperation that could happen in this match… We must remember, these matches last for 120 minutes + penalties, no matter the way, just win it!

[Tanirinthia]

---

OF FATES AND FORTUNES
Chapter Twelve - The curse of luck

---

"But first I've got to ask you an important question, have you been having more good luck than usual?"

The question struck her as both odd and yet immediately giving words to a feeling deep in her subconscious, something down deep inside had noticed that something was off. She started remembering all the times where things of late had just fallen her way, but with no counter balance, no times she could remember that something out of her control had caused things not to fall her way.

"Yes" she replied "Now that you mention it"

The Archivist slumped back down into his chair, as if he had still held out hope she wouldn't say that.

"It's as I feared then. I owe you an explanation of what you have found yourself in. My name is Jasper Poole I am the Chief Archivist here at the Institute. The Institute is classified organisation dedicated to the study of the paranormal. Now you may roll your eyes, but might I remind you that you have recently just returned having travelled to entirely different universe, besides our study is of the paranormal in the proper form, i.e. the suffix para meaning beyond, simply that it is beyond our current understand. The job of the Institute is the catalog, codify, investigate and thereby normalise the paranormal.

Now until around fourteen years ago, the Institute was what you are probably thinking now Clara, a laughing stock, somewhere people were sent as a punishment for screw ups, not something taken seriously and kept going by some benefactor in the halls of government. The mission of cataloguing, codifying, investigating and normalising, only ever got so far as the investigating stage. We would only every find anecdotal or circumstantial evidence, nothing that couldn't be potentially explained through ordinary and normal means.

Finding myself at the Institute I decided to make the best of where I found myself, wishing to tackle the problem perhaps from a different angle, given the lack of seriousness the previous archivist had taken over this and the fact that all records were still in paper and scattered throughout what was the warehouse you entered above, I began the process of dragging the Institute into the modern era by organising and digitising all records and introducing some measure of order on the storage of an physical items kept during the process of an investigation. Hoping that once complete that we could run data analysis on the categorised data and perhaps find patterns that could lead us down new avenues of investigation.

This was a fairly herculean task, I mean you saw the size of the warehouse, I was aided by two junior investigators who still believed and weren't jaded like the rest and we began. It took many years to do, but we did manage to do it. During these years I did begin to notice patterns, one of which called out to me the most. Earlier I said that I had attributed the mess I inherited due to either lazyness or simple lack of caring from the previous archivist, however there seemed a pattern to the things most misfiled. They all related to the Great Uniter, it seemed that they were also interested into what at the time was referred to as the occult. It seems there was a library of research done from their own work into the paranormal, and unliked other misfilings which were wholesale in the wrong place, their writings were seemingly deliberately separated, pages from the same books scattered across the volume of the warehouse.

So once it had all been digitised, that was the first search I ran and connected all the works together. I thought I was so clever, little did I know what path I had set myself on.

That's when I found it, the journals that the Great Uniter had written and how they had used magic to bind an entity, an entity somehow linked up with fortune and that was the great secret of how the Great Uniter had gotten the title, how they had united all the lands of Tanirinthia, how so many of their plans in retrospect happened because of a key point of luck. I was so excited, here learning the secret history but more tantalisingly they spoke of where the entity was contained. Not only secret history, but perhaps the first actual bit of proof of the paranormal, the entity is described as immortal and still bound. If this were true, we would be able to go and find this entity.

In the years gone by I had found a simple bit of data had been flipped, and I never saw the page that followed until it was much too late, the page warning never to disturb the site, that they had sealed the entity away binding it as by the end of their life they had found no way to destroy the entity, instead binding them deep in the earth and building an Institute for the study of the paranormal to one day find a method to either neutralize or destroy the entity, and by ensuring the institute would always exist no-one would accidentally find the entity. What rotten luck hey? The same kind of rotten luck that ended the life of the previous archivist in a freak accident, the same kind of freak accidents that over the centuries since unification had led anyone that had any true knowledge of the real purpose of the institute, perhaps the same bad luck that had landed me here?

But as you may have guessed, without any of that we went ahead laughing at our good fortune that we happened to be above were this thing was contained, that it would still be there is the writing were true, and so fourteen years ago we dug down and broke into a completely sealed chamber and found standing in the middle of a circle of runes the entity, and it's forked tongue promised much, swore that it was bound to Tanirinthia, spoke of portals to other worlds where greatness lay. Never leaving it's runed boundaries, we assumed it was still bound and all of us ignoring anything that wasn't telling us that finally after our years on being out on the fringe that all of us at the institute would now be back to our previous stations. It convinced us to send sporting teams out into the multiverse were it could work through them, showed us how to build the portals to other worlds, all of this you see built around you as we became the most prominent government organisation as technology from other worlds was brought to Tanirinthia.

This has been it's plan all along, but what its ultimate goal is of that I have no clue. However it clearly manipulates the world around it through luck, distance seems no bound given it's interference across the multiverse, but it clearly has designs for you Clara Bonner."

A cold pit welled up in her stomach, as she realised when she thought things had fallen her way she realised that they had been the design of another, and what had set her off in this direction was her brother death, this thing whatever it was had caused the death of her brother. The cold pit was quickly replaced with an ember of rage.

[Kelssek]

KSK 1-0 FVA / Kelssek passes “test of will” to move into quarterfinals

A first-half goal by Êsêkïl dí Völará stood as the match winner for Kelssek as they defeated Flavovespia in a draining last-sixteen encounter to reach the quarterfinals of World Cup 96. As a spectacle it was not a match for the classics compilation, yet it was one that fans will remember for its sense of grinding peril.

Captain Ingrid Lambert lauded her teammates. “We had to earn this one. I’m really proud of what we’ve come through because this was a full on effort. It was a tight game decided by tight margins. It demanded a lot physically and we came through a test of will today.”

Flavovespia seemed to have the situation in the box well under control as Rory Joseph carried the ball down the right flank on in the 19th minute, but they hadn’t accounted for Ingrid Lambert joining the attack to receive a low cross. As two players converged on the Kelssek captain, dí Völará was able to evade the defence and Lambert slipped him the ball on the edge of the box. The midfielder measured a daisy-cutter of a shot that bounced in front of the Flavovespia goalkeeper Nathan Crewe and into the net.

It all seemed to have gone to plan for head coach Calen Reamsey. “Scoring early was a massive boost for us. Flavovespia are a hard team to break down and they punish you on the transition. If you want to take the game to them you’re constantly on the lookout for that and it gets worse the longer the match goes.”

Endurance was needed as Flavovespia pushed back, closing down aggressively and seeking to pressure Kelssek with intensity. Their best opportunity perhaps came in the 74th minute as an interception by Kieron Player in midfield was played through the line for Michael Cole. The flag stayed down but Jenas Maraipu came out well to narrow the angle and Cole’s shot went off the outside of the upright.

Humidity in Sechura can bog down the fittest players and Reamsey was taking no chances as the match wore on, maximizing his substitutions and switching forwards for defensive-minded players on 82 minutes.

Julius Heer was one of those hooked from the match, in favour of centre-back Timo Thomsen. Heer had been tempting fate by that point, having been booked earlier for clattering Amrik Singh on the counter-attack, he barged into Jonathan Bagshaw tracking back on the flank and earned a tongue-lashing from the referee. Kelssek’s coaching staff couldn’t get the substitution board up fast enough.

Andrew Dance was not as lucky and knew what was coming next on the stroke of 90 minutes when he hauled down Kaiden Pépin as the CF Saint-Richard captain raced to get on the end of a long ball from Tobert Usher. Dance had already been booked for an earlier offence and Flavovespia were left to play out stoppage time with ten players. Kelssek were keen to ensure there was no repeat of a late defensive lapse as there had been against Sylestone and were able to see out the match, surviving Stan Scott-Wilson hitting the crossbar with a header from a corner kick that was the last action of the match.

KELSSEK 1 – dí Völará (19’)
Maraipu, Buené (Loew 74’), Lambert, Bream, Usher, Breault, dí Völará (Pépin 74’), Pogbacar, Heer (Thomsen 82’), an Deòir (Ahmad 82’), Joseph (Licea 82’)
FLAVOVESPIA 0
Estadio Olímpico del Oriente, Sechura (attn. 29.169)

Quarterfinal preview: Kelssek vs. Valanora

After a muggy day out in Sechura, Kelssek could be in for some climate change at the Estadio Nacional in Chuquiago, where snow was cleared off the pitch ahead of Valanora’s second round match there. But of course it’s the opposing team who really matter. This quarterfinal will mark the tenth time Kelssek will play against Valanora since the 80th World Cup cycle. To repeat something Voyagers fans will have heard too often before, the five-time world champions are the opponent Kelssek has faced the most often, and Kelssek has won exactly none of those matches.

Losing to Valanora is quite a normal occurrence in the world of football. Plenty of teams lose to Valanora all the time. Yet Kelssek’s dismal history of two draws and seven losses threatens to become self-fulfilling. Add that to the other impenetrable barrier Kelssek faces – they have never in their history won a World Cup quarterfinal – and you can imagine the psychological challenge the players face even before a ball is kicked.

Some mystics argue a sort of curse is at play, given the bizarre circumstances in which Kelssek won their first-ever competitive fixture against Valanora far back in the mists of time. In this tale, whatever happened then to give a completely outclassed Kelssek team a win against the world-beating juggernaut has reverberated through the ages to deny Kelssek any hope of winning today when they are arguably on a similar level.

Left unanswered are injury-related questions about who will pair with Ingrid Lambert in the centre of the defence. Loisé Camserhe had been set to start against Flavovespia ahead of Eoin Bream, who had been named to the squad despite carrying a foot injury from the domestic season. But then Camserhe pulled up during the warm-up, and the decision was made to start Bream, who finished the match but seemed in some discomfort towards the end.

[Yue Zhou]

before yuezhou - brookstation

"You again, huh?" Jason said, poking his head into the gym.

Kara Mingsdottír Zhang and Jason Yuanjunsson Ren had exactly one thing in common. Other than the shared dual nationalities, Kara was the golden child that the YFA had gone all-out for to stop the Snow Wolves from snapping her up, and Jason was the guy that the YFA threatened to drop if he didn't stop insisting on wearing the number four, a symbol of death in Yue culture. One was destined for captaindom, both creative and solid at the same time, while the other was the irreverent fullback who took a special joy in fucking up opponents' attacks. Still, they had both found themselves representing the Dragons in Mertagne, and that meant a lot of shared time together. This was especially true after recent events had led Græntfjall to go dark. And with Esekíel Zeminsson Yao and Brynjólfur Zhenyasson Zhang unwilling to talk about it, the latter so unwilling that he'd taken his ball and gone home midway through the group stage, it'd led to the two spending a lot of time together.

"Just talked to Leona, by the way," the defender added. "She's ready to go." Kara's face flickered briefly - relief? before she nodded. "Not surprised. I don't know what they'd have to do to her to keep her out of a World Cup knockout match. Are they spraying her ankle?"

"Just wrapping it, I think. Trainer said that the, uh, recovery they've seen is already the best-case scenario. Usually they would force her to sit on a sprain that bad, but I guess she's got superhero ankles on top of all the other shit she has going on."

"You hear the news from home, by the way? New joint Yue-Tumbran commission 'looking into it'. Not sure what that even means, but they're working on getting communications back up first, I guess."

"Kara, it's the World Cup quarterfinals tomorrow. I don't give a shit."

She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't your whole family back there?"

"I mean, some of them. I'll think about it when we win. The politicians need some time to synergize or whatever, anyway - not like scrolling through news is going to make them go faster."

"Yeah, it's not that, I'm locked in. Just figured you'd want to know."

Jason looked back up from his phone. "Sure, yeah. Thanks. Hey, after the match, right? In the meantime, uh, talk to Zeke about it. Or FaceTime Brynjólfur, I guess."

"Esekíel hasn't been talking to anyone since he got dropped. Him and Brynjólfur was tight, and after all the shit Brynjólfur caught online for being some national traitor, or 'not a real Yueren', or anything like that...yeah, I think it's been weighing on him."

Jason looked up, somewhat softened for a moment, but said nothing.

"You're not thinking about it? Shit, I thought about it. You just transferred to Kelssek, dude - that could've been you if you'd stayed another season. I'm not saying you should do a Brynjólfur or anything, but...it's not getting to you?"

"I guess I just grieve different."

WORLD CUP 96 ROUND OF SIXTEEN: YUEZHOU 2 - 0 Zenic
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang (Lu 61), Shangyuan (Zeminsson Yao 61), Deng, Milosevic; Zhaxi, Pan (Guo 70); Lin, Mingsdottír Zhang, Luo (Tong 61); Tsang (Zheng 48)
Goals: Tsang 28, Luo 39
It was a tale of two halves as the Dragons ended Zenic's miracle run to advance to their first World Cup quarterfinal in national history. The opening forty-five were, despite Kian Hodge's best efforts, the Leona Tsang show. While managerial prodigy Geraldo Zys tried to mark the AFC Treason striker out of the game, Tsang's movement and athleticism made this a difficult task for any defender, as solid as the Survivors have been this cycle. After a relatively open start to the match, Tsang turned on the jets to latch onto a Kara Mingsdottír Zhang through-ball and slot the ball calmly past Saúl Mosley. After Elaine Ashdown opted to calm the game down with the lead, Tsang continued to threaten, but the Survivors rallied and were relatively able to keep her away from the goal. But ten minutes later, Tsang showed her creativity in setting up others, dropping a backheel into Luo Nanwei's pocket for the La + Querida forward to slam home from a close distance.

The Dragons came out of the second half up 2-0, but when Tsang went down early in the half to a professional-but-unlucky challenge from Burley Trac, the game's energy shifted dramatically. The Survivors steadily grew into the game, with Giuseppe Gentile in particular creating two half-chances out of nowhere that Zhao Deliang was nevertheless able to parry wide. A slightly nervy line-leading performance from Zheng Hong in place of Tsang (whose status for the quarterfinal is doubtful after her ankle injury) was enough to keep the Dragons from being completely overwhelmed. However, Zenic didn't go down without a fight, and it was a nervy ending to the match for the Dragons faithful. In the end, Zhao Deliang was composed and diligent in keeping the defense up to the task of blanking Zenic, and a miracle round of sixteen run for the Survivors has finally come to an end.

The win is the Dragons' first-ever knockout round win in the World Cup, and comes on their third attempt after losing at this stage to Pemecutan and Valanora in the previous two editions. The win cements this new Elaine Ashdown era as one of the best in Yuezhou's history, surpassing even the heights achieved by the likes of Liu Huiying and Li Jing a generation ago. Still, a loss against Brookstation could send them back to square one - this is their best chance for glory in quite some time, and they don't have to look too far from home to realize what the cost of squandering such opportunity could be.

WORLD CUP 96 QUARTERFINALS: Yuezhou - Brookstation
Starting Lineup: Zhao; Huang, Shangyuan, Deng, Milosevic; Zhaxi, Pan; Lin, Mingsdottír Zhang, Luo; Tsang
As the two highest-ranked Rushmoris in the world square up for a chance at a World Cup semifinal, what would be a first for either nation, the big question is whether Leona Tsang will be at one hundred percent. The star striker, who has already scored five in four matches in an electrifying World Cup debut, went down with an ankle injury in Yuezhou's Round of 16 win over Zenic. While Tsang is listed in the starting lineup, it's unclear if she'll be playing the whole match, or if Lakewood United's Zheng Hong will have to deputize. Brookstation come in at full strength and hoping to send legendary manager Liangde He out with a deep run. Brookstation run a high-octane 4-3-3 and like to go for the throat; after making short work of a qualifying group with Juvencus and ex-champions Wight, they shut out both Eshialand and West Barack and East Obama before edging by Indusse in the Round of 16. The improvised back line of Deng Daiyu and Garrett Shangyuan will have their work cut out for them against a fearsome front three spearheaded by Inter Nantwich's Moussa Wague. If they can't, the match could be a shootout - and they'll need Tsang at her best if they want any hope of winning such a shootout. It's undeniable that this is the biggest game in the history of both nations, with Farfadillis or Tanirinthia waiting in the wings for whoever advances. The Dragons have been under pressure before - and they'll need to come through again if they want to write their names in the Yue history books.

[Brookstation]

When you looked at Liangde He, you could immediately sense a feeling of optimism, a sense of hope that should’ve ideally died long ago. Having faltered for way too long, his team finally seemed to be coming back to their best form, the very form that they had displayed two years ago at the same stage, this time with a much more inexperienced squad however. This was undoubtedly one of the bizarre World Cups, a tournament filled with heartbreaks and overachievements at the same time. One such nation which had massively exceeded their potential, thrashing five times world cup winner- The Holy Empire along with pulling up a decisive draw against the strong Tumbran side. Playing this team automatically meant that it wasn’t going to be an easy job.

The team’s perfect coordination with each other along with the smooth passing accuracy made it difficult for Brookstation to cope with early on in the game. Thus you couldn’t blame anything on the Brooks either. It was not as if Brookstation didn’t try, but the efforts surely did not add up to the requirements or in simple words, they weren’t prepared yet for the main crux of the World Cup. One could not simply help but commend Indusse’s performance overall, starting from their very resilience against the Dreamers to their very determination on the pitch. Indusse were mentally prepared for winning the game, unlike the Dreamers, who on the other hand just considered the game to be trivial to a certain extent.

This was a sign of concern for He. Changes needed to be made if Brookstation really desired a win. Thus after a dry and boring first half, He spoke at length to the whole team. The first minute was observed in silence, with no one really knowing how to break the silence. After almost a minute and half of confusion, Johnson had concluded that he must break the silence.

“ All good, sir ?”

“What do you think ?”

Again the response had propelled the room into an atmosphere of silence. It was not because they didn’t have enough to talk about but it was because no one knew what to say. No matter how much of an open-minded person Johnson was, this time he didn’t have an answer to the question. When He acted cold, people knew something was off; it was one the very odd traits that defined He. Liangde was busy in the dressing room, shuffling through hundreds of papers at the same time.

“Sir do you need a hand” asked someone from the crowd

“No I am good to go, I might be seventy two, but I am still well alive”, replied He in that same cold tone as he kept marking some stuff on a piece of scrap paper.

“Weakness, weakness , weakness. Fuck. Every team in the world is bound to have weaknesses, why can’t I figure it out now, then?”

It was now a stage where the squad had lost their tolerance and as a result Johnson went over and firmly tapped on the shoulders of the paranoid coach . “We have had enough of this. You cannot break the code every time, gaffer. We might get lucky once, but never forever. So quit the kidding and get to the real talk,”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” replied He, while fiddling with his navy blue tie. “You all have failed as a team and I hope you are aware of that. What the fuck was the first half all about ?”

“We don’t know, it’s not easy out there to play like a professional in front of a crowd of fifty-thousand. Everything about a big game is scary.”

“Scary, my foot. If you were so scared, why didn’t you spend the rest of your holidays chilling with your family then? You came here with a motive and you are not going anywhere until your motive is fulfilled. Are my words clear ?”

--------------------------------------xxxx-------------------------------------

Oakley Gamble was not used to playing in big matches. After all, he was just twenty years old. He was of course one of the brightest prospects of Brookstation and it can’t be denied that he was destined to become one of Brookstation’s best in the future. But, when it came to his disadvantages, the major issue that could be raised was his lack of professional experience. His debut for Whitepool in the Sylestonean Toilet League had not been that impressive either. It was not as if he hadn’t scored goals but that performance would alone not be enough to term him as a good player.

Like majority of Brookstation's football sensations, Gamble hailed from a humble background, not having any access to any sort of footballing facilities until the age of sixteen. His transformation over those two years has been impressive to say the very least and in fact Gamble had set the record for becoming the youngest ever goalscorer for his club Strange City FC. In his life, Gamble didn't value trophies , accolades or money; rather he prized human relationships to the fullest extent. If he was indeed a coward, would he be able to look his parents into the eye ? Would he be able to dictate that he has done something for his nation ? Would he be able to convince his beautiful girlfriend to marry him after all this ? It was not about winning to him anymore nor was it about scoring a goal, it was about giving his best and leaving the pitch as an injured soldier who gave his best.

Wague’s early substitution was definitely not something that He had even considered but the sudden circumstances demanded the substitution of Gamble into the field. Gamble, himself had never imagined that he would be able to play in a game of this magnitude, let alone be the main striker. He saw Gamble as more of a liability on the pitch and thus He was in a perilous position when it came to the introduction of new tactics on the field. Gamble was not experienced for all this yet. The words uttered by He somehow did have a very major effect on Gamble’s mentality for the rest of the game. He’s words had hurt him pretty bad, worse than he himself imagined. Maybe it was Oakley’s overthinking which caused all the problems but nevertheless,the coach’s words heavily bothered him. “Was he actually a coward after all ?”

In the first half, Gamble wasn’t nearly impressive and that was the context for all the misinterpretation. He had to do something. He didn’t mind not scoring a goal but he would never consider being called a coward for the rest of his life. Gamble was determined to do something for the team. Chances came and went by and thousands of seconds passed in that interval.

Gamble now finally had complete authority over the ball thanks to a wonderful pass from Debuer. It was him versus the entirety of the Indussean defense. Now ahead of him, lay two choices, to either be a dick and shoot from outside the box or be sensitive and play the ball back to Johnson. Both the choices came with its own set of threats; for instance if he messed up the shot, he would be slandered but if he passed the ball, their attack would die out again. His subconscious mind made the decision to shoot. Better to be a dick than a coward !

--------------------------------------xxxx-------------------------------------

As Liangde always says, fortune favours the brave and time and again, his notion had only been proved to be valid. Gamble was anything but a coward. Standing in front of five world class defenders, in front of a crowd of fifty thousand, any player his age would be expected to wet their pants but Gamble had the guts, the guts to imagine that he could somehow curb the ball past the two central defenders at the far right corner and as they say- sometimes imaginations come true in the long run.