Campionato Esportiva XIV - Everything Thread

[Nova Anglican Admin Zone of Esportiva]

Nova Anglicana Roster and Overview, Campionato Esportiva XIV

Issac Kingsley, NAFA Historian

Roster
Position-Number-Name-Age-Club (Division)

G #1 Thomas Barnett, 30, Heartwood FC(1st)
G #22 Tim Klein, 35, Bridgewall City FC (1st)
G #23 Derrick Cole, 26, Emberton Reds, Krytenia , LigAnaia One: Calania


D #2 Casey Bowman, 28, Trojana Condommakers, Royal Kingdom of Quebec , Q-League Premier Division
D #4 Bradley Lancaster, 33, Trojana Condommakers, Royal Kingdom of Quebec , Q-League Premier Division
D #3 Aaron Bowen, 24, Montreal Koreana, Royal Kingdom of Quebec , Q-League Premier Division

D #5 Eli Barrett, 26, FC South Bryant, Super-Llamaland
D #12 Felix Kelly, 35, FC Portus (1st)
D #13 Matt Wells, 24, Mierton Manatees, Taeshan
D #14 Cory Henry, 25, Rozelle, Brenecia
D #15 Terrance Jordan, 34, Maximum City, Nephara, Nepharim Premiership

M #6 Chris Parker, 28, Sanctuary FC
M #7 Jake Rhodes, 24, Atlantea Hurricanes, Taeshan
M #8 Cesar Martinez, 30, Rack City Rangers, Jeckland , Jeckish Premier League
M #9 Kyle Fleming, 33, Cassandra City, Cosumar, Harlighet Ligan
M #10 Emmanuel Moga, 28, Liberty Rodríguez, San Jose Guayabal , Liga Premier
M #16 Brendan Cook, 26, Arrendine Remparts, Unified Sunrise Islands , Sunrisian Championship - Division One
M #17 Brendan McBride, 24, Crawford City FC, Cosumar ,Harlighet Ligan
M #18 Alec Chapin, 25, Maximum Rovers, Nephara


F #19 Jimmy Kelly, 27, Mallox FC, Cosumar ,Harlighet Ligan
F #11 Chris Hodges, 30, FC Kaldukosic, Cosumar ,Harlighet Ligan
F #20 Rolf Pitre, 26, Atlético Nacional, San Jose Guayabal, , Liga Premier
F #21 Mathieu Garçon, 24, CdF Dowtel, Yttribia , Yttribian Premiership

Manager: Sook Jin Lee, 43, Royal Kingdom of Quebec

Formation, Starting XI, and Style

img]http://this11.com/play/abJDp6ca3.png[/img]

Style Modifier= +1

This time around, the Lions are going to be a bit more aggressive, starting in the midfield. Kyle Fleming, captain of Cassandra City, shifts from the wing to the center midfield. He'll roam forward in support of Emmanuel Moga while Cesar Martinez drifts back to cover up on defense. Replacing Fleming on the wing is Jake Rhodes, the speedster playing for Atlantea Hurricanes. Rhodes is an aggressive player with a nose for the goal and will almost function as an outside forward. His more attacking play means that Chris Parker will be putting his distributive skills to work more than his goal-scoring skills on the other wing. Backing up Rhodes will be Eli Barrett, who is well known as a strong fullback with good pace willing to challenge enemy attackers. Rhodes should be able to get back on D, given his speed and motor, but if he can't, then Barrett will be there to cut off any chances. Also new to the lineup is Aaron Bowen, playing for Montreal Koreana. He saw some time in the last World Cup, but this will be a true test of his ability. Tim Klein has stepped into a backup role to allow Thomas Barnett, the former U20 and Olympic keeper, to take his turn in the spotlight. Barnett is a good player, but he will definitely be relying on his defenders to help him out. Emmanuel Moga will provide a strong attack up front, but Jimmy Kelly replaces Chris Hodges as the striker up front. Kelly has been more productive domestically lately than Hodges anyway, and his late surge of good play in the World Cup and Cup of Harmony has earned the starting job. Casey Bowman anchors the middle of the back line, and Bradley Lancaster will attack down the flanks, though perhaps not quite as much, seeing as he's a bit older.

Uniforms

(In order, home, away, and alternate, courtesy of NSI's Vulpine Sportif)

I Give My Opponent Permission To:
    =================================
    Choose My Goalscorers:        Y
    Godmod Goalscoring Events:    Y - only if you TG me and ask first
    Injure Players:               N - TG me if the severity will be more than one game and I'll give the yea or nay
    Godmod Injury Events:         N
    Red Card Players:             Y - no more than one every two games, so if my previous opponent has doled one out, tough luck
    Yellow Card Players:          Y - for every two you give my players, at least one must be given to your players
    Godmod Other Events:          N
    =================================

[The Saint James Islands]

blogdefootball.co.om
All the football news that's fit to print!

---

Miracle at the Matterhorn: Archambault wins first competitive game after his return
By Makaio Moana, published 7 June 2020

After a disappointing season with Royal Martecabras, Jean-Baptiste Archambault returned to the helm of the national side ahead of the Campionato Esportiva in the Sarian. And in a stunning turn of events, Archambault voluntarily put his job on the line, promising to resign if Omerica went out in the group stage of the Campionato for a third time.

The reaction of most Omerica
fans after the win over Chiata

Group D could have very well been deemed “Group of Death”, with the Republicans, Chiatans and Omericans all in contention for a Round of 16 spot. But based on Omerica’s past tournament performances, the “Group of Death” label was all but unanimously dismissed by Omericans, who had reason to believe their team had been shafted by the draw.

Then came the game. After the Republicans despatched Kyrjasmark in a not-unimpressive 4–2 win, Chiata then proceeded to lose.

If you woke up this morning, saw “Chiata 0–1 Omerica” and pinched yourself to check if you were dreaming, you would be forgiven. We wouldn’t have believed it either. But remember that we beat the likes of the Holy Empire in Port Michael, so the unbelievable is always possible.

True to the old adage that one goal is all it takes to win and one mistake can screw you over, Catherine Carry ceded a critical corner kick to Les Oiseaux after more than an hour of back-and-forth stalemate. That corner proved to be Chiata’s downfall. Jan-Nikläs Rosenkränts uncharacteristically played the corner short, catching the Suns’ defence off-guard. After a quick pass-off from Neama Iokua to Jean-Baptiste Couard, Chiata nearly got the ball back when David Webb managed to get a touch off a pass meant for Rosenkränts, but accidentally ceded to Erik de Waald, who had a clear path to the goal. With no resistance from the defence and little hope of Mack Truex saving the attempt, De Waald managed to break the stalemate and secure his first international goal.

The defensively-oriented Suns had less than half-an-hour to equalise, but the Omerican back were able to successfully keep Chiata under pressure to the backdrop of Omerican patriotic songs: the Provençal Mon Chérie, the Aurentine Wejs Greend Land, the Takiari Karanga Nui. Despite the ability of Chiata to keep possession for most of the last 30 minutes, Omerica had the last attack of the game: Neama missed a second goal by mere centimetres, but ensured an Omerican victory at the Matterhorn by giving Chiata next to no time to score the equaliser.

An Omerican win at the Matterhorn is big, of course. In the wake of KRYBEC, Omerican footy fans have been desperate for a step in the right direction. The magical quality of the squad that was able to put teams like Nephara, Quebec and Yttribia under intense pressure had faded away. But maybe the magic is back. A win by a single goal is still a win, after all. And as long as Omerica win against Kyrjasmark, a team we had never heard of until the Campionato draw and still know nothing about, we are through to the Round of 16 for the first time in the team’s history. A miracle at the Matterhorn it truly is.

---

---

blogdefootball.co.om
All the football news that's fit to print!

---

Debunking “four points for a win”: why the TAO’s proposed wins tiebreaker isn’t so crazy
By Christine Lucas, published 8 June 2020

With United Philibiscostal’s elimination from the Champions’ Cup, the first time an Omerican club had ever lost its opening Champions’ Cup tie, the TAO is reportedly considering major changes for the 2021 season.

Fans have been quite angry that Les Pirates took home the Omerican championship after parking the bus all season, but the TAO came to the team’s defence, saying that they had won fair and square. Nonetheless, it is still grating that United could have managed to win an Omerican title with just twenty goals all season. La Corona’s Georges Rousseau single-handedly scored four more goals than the entire United Philibiscostal team, after all. And only two teams in the entire TAO league ladder scored fewer goals than United did: sixth-place Royal Michaeltown and last-place FC Londonderry.

So what big change are we talking about here?

The oft-mocked “four points for a win”, which is really a misnomer. The so-called “four points for a win” is simply a new tiebreaker that would separate teams equal on points; if the TAO had actually given out four points for a win last year, United would have still won. Instead, the proposal would simply state that if teams were equal on points, the number of wins each team achieved would be the first tiebreaker instead of goal difference.

This isn’t as radical as its detractors might assume. Few leagues do use this as a tiebreaker, but the basic assumption is that defensively-oriented teams will tend to draw more often than offensively-oriented ones, who will both win and lose more often than teams who park the bus due to their ability to score more goals and vulnerability to concede more. No places would have changed hands in last season’s Primerliig based on this tiebreaker, though. Two ties cropped up, with both pairs of teams equal on wins. Only in Sekundliig would it have made a difference in any tiebreaks, with Trinity Abbey finishing above Stirling United and Caithness United finishing above Spartan Hamlets, but even then, it wouldn’t have made any practical difference, given that neither of the former teams made the promotion play-offs and both the latter were relegated. Other cases where it would have made a difference in the final standings include:

• Primerliig 2018: FC Kingsmouth finish ahead of Corona Christiana
• Försteliig 2017: Ashley Mariners finish above Fife Athletic and Flove Santiago
• Primerliig 2016: Unit Takatori finish above FC Kingsmouth
• Försteliig 2016: Flove Santiago finish above FC Alopiana, Inter Bayoneta finish above Appleban FC, FC Capital Dragons finish above Li Pescadori
• Sekundliig 2016: Saint Edward finish above Shannon Victoria
• Primerliig 2015: Corona Christiana finish above Royal Martecabras
• Försteliig 2015: FC Peterborough and Li Pescadori finish above Fife Athletic
• Primerliig 2014: Royal Peimau finish above Ticomaça Nacional and Westminster City

Considering that Westminster City have become quite the force in recent years makes the 2014 example, in which Westminster would have likely been relegated, all the more eye-opening.

Given that it wouldn’t change that many ties, though, it’s absolutely amazing to witness this much opposition to the idea. But to the TAO: implement the change in lower leagues first, see how it works and if it gets results, implement it in the top flight. That might blow detractors’ mockery out of the water. And detractors: “four points for a win” isn’t the end of the world.

[Nephara]

It began; not with a bang, but with a whimper.

It began with Theresa Riether in her office at home, leafing through papers and trying to figure out how best to deal with her problem - too many bloody midfielders.
Ashdown was indispensable. Locke was worth $25 million to FC Tannenberg. Bottlegreen was hanging around the edges of 'world-class' territory. Cawdor had been a revelation. Murdoch added graft, muscle and power, as well as a knack for perfectly-timed runs. Kestrel could play anywhere. This wasn't even touching Rivers, Lundgren, Branagh, Loxley...
She needed a system that would get the best out of them. 4-4-1-1 had done the job but it hadn't felt right somehow, her wingers were, well, more wingers than wide midfielders, Ashdown thrived in more space to roam and Kellard needed support closer to him. 4-4-2? Well, when it came down to it, Gawain added more than Quinn. A diamond? Unthinkable. She couldn't drop her wingers. 4-2-3-1? That was just dull.
Eventually she struck upon a 4-3-3. It seemed perfect in theory. Cawdor and Bottlegreen would be happier higher up the pitch (though it remained to be seen how Rivers would adapt) while Murdoch, Ashdown and Gawain was a perfect unit to have in the middle. Still pressing, still passing quickly and mixing up the ranges, still, hopefully, finishing clinically.
Surely this was it.

It began with a penalty shoot-out in Crisisbless.
The Liberty Cup, an annual friendly between the Cormorants and the Patriots, had brought nearly a capacity crowd to Godswatch. A tight game fought valiantly by a packed pair of midfields had seen Nephara dominate proceedings but Brenecia look lethal down the wings. Naphtali Thatcher in particular had gone above and beyond, harrying Christener into an early shower at halfitme and her replacement, Rosewood, didn't do much better.
Brenecia were interesting opponents, as ever. A new manager, Sasha Bale, and largely untested - though Riether wasn't about to throw stones from her glass house. They were well past their best, though - you just had to look the starting XI. Of the fourteen players on the pitch the one and only time Brenecia won a World Cup game, five years ago, three made it to the Campionato Esportiva squad. But they fought, bled, caught the Cormorants with a lethal counterattack as Thatcher's drive was tipped onto a post, Maddon racing ahead of Kruse and Ritter to slash the ball home. Nephara's front three came good, Cawdor's cross flicked on by Kellard to the far post, Bottlegreen running in to convert, but the combination of two technically-skilled highly mobile central midfielders in Kilbane and Cathy Blackslate (who Riether had genuinely never heard of until the starting lineups were announced) managed to stifle the creativity of Ashdown and the disappointingly-quiet Gawain.
After 120 minutes, Theresa Riether officially had her first draw in charge of the national team. But this was technically a competitive fixture - and so it went to penalties. The tall, powerful Diandra Ballard against the lithe, breathtakingly quick Geneva Urquhart - the tiger against the cheetah. Cullen scored, Ashdown saved. Purrington saved, Kellard scored. Maddon saved, Murdoch over the bar. Kilbane scored, a dismal effort from the substitute Rivers (who had otherwise done well) palmed away, and young Naphtali Thatcher finished it with a high, powerful drive.
That left a bitter taste in the mouth.

It began at 3pm in the Liberation Arena.
Racao were, in theory, not the hardest opponents. They hadn't been involved in football for five years, and that had only been an unsuccessful qualifying run. They weren't a terrible team, and stood a decent chance of getting out of the group - just pretty much anonymous.
Unfortunately - far more than Boring Paradise, evidently, who would be on the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing three hours later - Racao actually knew what they were doing. Deploying a 3-4-3 formation, they kept trying to hit Nephara and, nobly, retained possession as best they could. A final ball was lacking, and the Cormorants held firm, though Aristotle Ipirina caused a few heart attacks when he skipped past Kruse and fired into the side netting from a narrow angle eight yards out.
Ultimately, the Cormorants deserved to win - and did, Ashdown finding the angle to split the Racaoan midfield after a neat series of short passes, Kellard crashing down the middle and dragging the shot past Sakoto. But more goals were not forthcoming, and ultimately, it was not the dominant performance they were hoping for.
Empty talk after the final whistle. "No champion ever peaks too early," Branagh told the press after the match, baselessly. He'd replaced Gawain, who hadn't done particularly well.
Still - at least they had a win and a clean sheet. Hopefully it was a foundation for something greater, and not a sign of things to come.

[Kyrjasmark]

Kyrjasmark National Football Team

Style: +4
Formation: 3-2-5

Starting List

Coach: Bjor Helmussen

GK: Sigurd Helgisen #1
LB: Reko Olander #3
CB: Walter Asmund #2
RB: Sjurd Hermansson #4
LM: Vilmar Jorgensen #6
RM: Gerhard Jorgensen #7
LW: Jarl Hansson #5
LF: Johannes Thorsten #9
CF: Torsti Ostergaard #11
RF: Ragnvald Halstein #10
RW: Frey Sunden #8

Reserves
GK: Georg Odinnsen #12
GK: Bjorn Nieminen #23
LB: Juhana Hall #14
CB: Thorir Steffensen #13
RB: Orjan Normansson #15
LM: Njord Thorstein #17
RM: Sigmund Bodilsen #18
LW: Reginleif Alsvidsen #16
LF: Kai Andreasson #20
CF: Jari Skjeggestad #22
RF: Jonatan Kulmala #21
RW: Thorvald Dahl #19

Uniforms - temporary uniforms are plain white for home, plain black for away.

Choose my goalscorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: N
RP injuries to my players: N
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Y
Hand out red cards to my players: N
Godmod other events: N

[The Sarian]

Cutoff.

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Granger Fired After CoH Failure
by Karla Dunne

After a 3-0 defeat to a vastly superior Sarian, Danielle Granger has been fired as manager of the Patriots.

In what was allegedly a permanent managerial role, Granger's time in the hot seat came off as more of an interregnum. The team played just 21 matches under her year-long guidance, winning eight - and the winning percentage of 38% is the second-fewest of any permanent manager, ahead only of Clint Hemingway. Granger appeared to struggle under the weight of expectation, having only ever managed Rozelle United in the past, and came under heavy criticism for seeming to be more or less in the shadow of Catherine Bardsley. The lack of a coherent vision for the squad as well as many controversial omissions from the squad were also causes for concern, but most relevantly, the results were simply not up to scratch.

The bookmaker's favourite to be the next manager is Althea Reader, as she was last time, owing to her successes with Northern Union in the A-League - but Gabrielle Hourihane, a return for Blake Lawless and dark horses Sasha Bale and Conrad Keane have also been suggested.

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Sasha Bale Declared New Brenecia Manager
by Gareth Horner

Confounding bookmakers yet again, the new manager of the Brenecian national team comes in as a 16-1 outsider; Sasha Bale, formerly of Kingsgrove and once Catherine Bardsley's assistant manager.

Coming two months after the sacking of Danielle Grange, the delay is speculated to be due to drawn-out negotiations with potential candidates (believed to include foreigners) - the standout favourite initially, Althea Reader, stated a week after Granger's firing that she 'has no interest in taking the national team job - the dangerous lack of loyalty shown by the BFA to put forward Granger as a sacrificial lamb is alarming, and I have no intention of being next'. She was fined for the comment.

Bale is anticipated to bring her trademark attacking, short-passing style and focus on youth to the national team, and the hope is, perhaps, to bring some of the old magic back to the dark blue shirts. Either way, with the Campionato Esportiva looming, she has work to do.

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Sensational Omissions of Scherzer, Breton and Connolly Headline CE Squad Selection
by Karla Dunne

Sasha Bale has wasted no time in stamping down her mark on the national team with a Campionato Esportiva squad selection that has omitted arguably Brenecia's three best players - all-time top scorer Cheney Scherzer of Wye United as well as Brinemouth pair Larissa Connolly and Augustine Breton. Bale claimed that "the time had come to pass the torch to the younger generation."

All three of the players had, at points, had cycles to forget last year for the national team, and all three are in their early thirties. But the suspicion is that there is a lack of credible replacements - especially for Breton, who fought his way back into form later in the cycle and for whom there seems no clear successor. The only natural defensive midfielder left in the squad is Lilith Fife, who was unimpressive last year.

Other omissions included Diandra Branagh and veteran goalkeeper Sara Fairhall, while Hecate Charing of Rozelle was recalled and Sheila Cannon, Julian Collingwood, Naphtali Thatcher and, most intriguingly, Ursula Rankin are in line to potentially make their debuts. Rankin currently plays for the FC Endeavour reserve team in the ANL3 and is yet to make a senior appearance, and yet seems to be second- or third-choice striker behind Maddon and Cullen. Thatcher makes more sense, and after some sensational work for his clubs and a move to Iskara Daii in the LigAnaia, may well be ready to press for a starting berth - as may Collingwood, backup leftback for Hastmead Diamante. The prayer on everyone's lips is that the reshuffle will work out for the best, but hopes of immediate success are low ahead of the coming regional tournament and Brenecia are slated by most for a quarterfinal berth at best.

The Patriots will play Nephara at Godswatch in Crisisbless in a friendly in a week's time before travelling to the Sarian for the tournament.

[The Sarian]

Group A
 Southern Sunrise Islands 0–1 Polkopia  @ 15.00, Stadium of Light
 The Sarian 0–4 Northern Sunrise Islands  @ 19.00, Stadium of Light

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Northern Sunrise Islands      2   2  0  0    5   0  +5    6
2 Southern Sunrise Islands      2   1  0  1    3   1  +2    3
3 Polkopia                      2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 The Sarian                    2   0  0  2    0   7  −7    0

Group B
 Racao 4–0 Albaie  @ 15.00, The Mason Stadium
 Nephara 2–1 Boring Paradise  @ 19.00, The Mason Stadium

  Group B              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
2 Racao                  2   1  0  1    4   1  +3    3
3 Albaie                 2   1  0  1    5   4  +1    3
4 Boring Paradise        2   0  0  2    1   7  −6    0

Group C
 Racing 0–0 The Sword Bloke  @ 15.00, Invigor Arena
 Yttribia 2–2 The Jeckish Union  @ 19.00, Invigor Arena

  Group C              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Jeckish Union      2   0  2  0    4   4   0    2
2 Yttribia               2   0  2  0    3   3   0    2
3 The Sword Bloke        2   0  2  0    2   2   0    2
4 Racing                 2   0  2  0    1   1   0    2

Group D
 Kyrjasmark 0–5 Omerica  @ 15.00, Poseidon's Palace
 Free Republics 5–2 Chiata  @ 19.00, Poseidon's Palace

  Group D              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Omerica                2   2  0  0    6   0  +6    6
2 Free Republics         2   2  0  0    9   4  +5    6
3 Chiata                 2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0
4 Kyrjasmark             2   0  0  2    2   9  −7    0

Group E
 Patistan 1–2 Thalamascia  @ 15.00, Moody Brooke
 Buyan 0–1 Star United States  @ 19.00, Moody Brooke

  Group E               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Star United States      2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
2 Thalamascia             2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Buyan                   2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Patistan                2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0

Group F
 Fhulghamous Peninsula 2–1 Damukuni  @ 15.00, Beckwith Memorial Stadium
 San Jose Guayabal 2–0 Nova Anglicana  @ 19.00, Beckwith Memorial Stadium

  Group F                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 San Jose Guayabal          2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
2 Fhulghamous Peninsula      2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
3 Damukuni                   2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1
4 Nova Anglicana             2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1

Group G
 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalision 0–3 Brasiliania  @ 15.00, The Matterhorn
 Brenecia 3–0 Kazamatsuri  @ 19.00, The Matterhorn

  Group G                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Brenecia                             2   2  0  0    5   0  +5    6
2 Brasiliania                          2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
3 Kazamatsuri                          2   0  0  2    0   4  −4    0
4 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalision      2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0

Group H
 Varmelle 0–1 Gregoryisgodistan  @ 15.00, Gorgona Arena
 Apox 1–0 Arabnesia  @ 19.00, Gorgona Arena

  Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Apox                   2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
  Gregoryisgodistan      2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Arabnesia              2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
  Varmelle               2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Num.	Pos.	Name				Age	Team
01	GK	Luke CHARMANDER			22	Avenida Principal [FFD]
02	LB	PARANAWÊ			16	Libertarian Ferdullaele [FFD]
03	CB	Yuroichi SHIMADA		24	Foxchester Raiders [STB]	
04	CB	ALICIA				21	Penyol-Lunas [PAS]
05	RB	Lars POSCHELOSIDO		18	Seniors FC [EFL]	
06	DM	Namine NAGASHIBATO		27	CD Barrio El Niño [SJG]
07	CM	Malenna VON KRAUS		18	Royal Jam [EFL]
08	CM	CAFÉ				25	La Nueva Avenida [FFD]
09	OM	ABUDA				26	Avenida Principal [FFD]
10	CF	Rose LONETOTEM			18	Crystal [DAI]
11	CF	Hamashi KAGAWA			27	Condor Valladares [SJG]
12	GK	WEN HSU				18	Deportivo de Antillia [CDO]
13	LB	Mackenzie ROLLIG		16	White Cliffs [CEN]
14	CB	Taiji ISHIZUKA			21	Halholzer Spitfires [MBT]
15	CB	Marsellus WELSH			21	Lusenhagen [SEM]
16	RB	Shichiro TAKI			19	Draig Goch [LGL]
17	DM	Raelene MARINELLO		22	Raven River [NPH]
18	CM	LOLA COELHINHA			27	C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo [SJG]
19	CM	MATEEZO				24	KT Koroatuz [AUD]
20	OM	MARQUINHOS CARNAVALENSE		24	Iskara Daii [STB]
21	CF	Kenzo TEMPOURIN			28	KT Itzalovalle [AUD]
22	CF	Assate KNEECAPPER		17	Inga Rasen [DAI]
23	GK	Ezkidi GOYAOLARTE		16	Ravasha [FFD]
--	COACH	Maximillian JAMES		23	Unattached [Style: +2]

RP PERMISSIONS
Don't cripple or kill them. Anything else's A-OK.

[Racao]

---

Dam Plans Spark Controversy

---

Legislators in Soalara have proposed a large dam to be located on the Alaotra River in North Racao - near Port Louis and Voanorova, two of the country's largest cities. Opponents - and supporters - of the plan have jumped into action to defend their point of view and rebuke the other side's position, with the debate becoming especially heated. Supporters claim the dam would help Racao's economy and its people, while opponents point at the fiscal and environmental costs of such a radical move.

The proposed Alaotra Gorge dam would be located in a gorge along the Alaotra River, and would provide energy to the rapidly growing metropolis of Port Louis and Voanorova. Rated at about 2,000 megawatts of power, the dam would go a long way to increasing the electricity availability to both urban and rural consumers in Racao and reducing the country's shortage of electricity (current energy capacity in Racao is only around 1,500 megawatts). Estimates for cost range from anywhere in between $2.5 billion and $5 billion, with an additional $650 million for increasing the efficiency and coverage of the electricity grid that would deliver the energy to consumers in Port Louis and Voanorova. In Racao, only around 20% of people have access to electricity, and the current electricity system - made up of small hydropower units and other smaller means of electricity generation but nothing on the scale of the proposed dam - is very small and centered around major urban areas.

Minister of Energy, Environment, and Sustainability Hery Anjaotry, whose office has been critical in developing plans for the Alaotra Gorge dam, praised the measure. "Energy poverty is an important issue facing our economy and our country today. When we solve that problem, we help to solve poverty in our country by driving the economy, which helps to create jobs to lift our people out of poverty." Anjaotry also opined that the dam was the best solution for the country at a cost-benefit analysis. "Hydropower, while expensive at the beginning, has the lowest long-term costs - both to the environment and to the economy - of any other forms of power, and reduces Racao's dependence on other countries for electricity power."

Economist Cyril Rakotonirina of Port Louis University had mixed feelings about the Alaotra Gorge dam. On one hand, he noted, the dam served to benefit the economy. "Reliable access to electricity would help the economy by attracting manufacturers to the growing Free Trade Zone in Port Louis," he argued, "giving the nation more skilled and unskilled labor jobs that the country badly needs to lift it out of poverty." However, he observed that the costs of the dam could outweigh its potential benefits. "This dam will indubitably be expensive. Our government cannot afford a great expense and would be mired in years of debt to pay for this project." Private investors with a stake in the project might be persuaded to support the project, though, he noted, which would reduce the government's cost in the project.

Professor of Energy Studies and Renewable Energy at Port Louis University Edward Andrianajaka wonders if there are alternative energy solutions that would help to provide Port Louis and Voanorova with electricity without the huge environmental cost of the dam. "There are certainly other alternative solutions - including natural gas, wind, solar, and oil - that have a number of costs, benefits, and drawbacks. However, hydropower might be the best way to provide cheap, cleanish electricity to the people of Racao." He believes that a cost-effective solution to electrisation in Racao is small, portable diesel power plants that would help to provide electricity and power to small villages, and he noted that Racao has great potential for other renewable energy sources. "Wind power and solar power are both very reliable and strong in Racao, and there is great development for those forms of electricity, as well as other hydropower projects, especially smaller ones, which can be more efficient." As relating to the dam, Andrianajaka did warn against arguments that hydropower was a perfectly clean solution. "Theoretically, and in the north, where it's very cold, hydropower has much less carbon emissions than other sources. However, here in the jungle and near the tropics, hydropower produces methane, a greenhouse gas worse than carbon dioxide."

John Whitney, the head of the international NGO Ascend, supports the project. He argues that electricity access is crucial for the population of Port Louis. "With new supplies of electricity, schools and homes will be able to have lighting, hospitals will be able to power medical equipment, manufacturing facilities will be able to operate, and families will be able to boil water and cook adequately," which will improve health, education, and the economy. Education would serve to benefit, he argued: "More consistent electricity means a better learning environment for our students." Health would also improve with better electricity access, he observed, because people would have access to cooking utensils to boil water and cook food, which would reduce the instance of food-borne pathogens.

Joan Rabalomesina, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Director of Operations in Racao, disagrees with Whitney's assessment of the project. "While this might serve to benefit the economy, environmental costs of this project have not been considered. If the construction of this dam goes through, Racao has much to lose in terms of its environment." Rabalomesina noted that fish would no longer be able to reach their spawning grounds - as they cannot go through the dam - and that the dam's reservoir would flood hundreds, if not thousands, of "valuable square kilometers of Racaoan rainforest," which has some of the world's highest biodiversity. She also pointed out that the reservoir would displace thousands of human residents.

Michelle Rakotosoa, a frequent critic of President Charles Andriarivo's policies and Senator from Port Louis, has hopes for the project, but also misgivings. "While it is important that my constituents have access to electricity, which can help to improve the quality of their lives, I'm worried about the social aspects of this project." She pointed out the high cost of the project, which was likely to introduce corruption, as well as the displacement of thousands of citizens, and the likely beneficiaries of the electricity. "My concern is that the electricity will be diverted solely to manufacturing concerns and not enough will be used by regular people in order to make an impact in their lives."

[Racing]

>+> National Team of Racing <+<

---

Racing is the longest member of Esportiva, except for Cybord Holland. Cybord Holland and Racing moved together with other nations to create Esportiva after departing the region of Rushmore

Today Racing is first sending its national team for the esportiva championship in the Sarian

Goalkeeper:
1. James Vasser

Defender:
2. Allan Unser
3. Jack Villeneuve
4. Alexsandr Zanardi
5. Gilles Deferran

Midfielder:
6. Juanita Montoya
7. Robert Rahal
8. Daniel Sullivan
9. S. Olivier Bourdais

Forward:
10. Samuel Hornish
11. George Franchitti


Extras:
12. Raymond Harroun
14. Anthony Foyt
17. Kenneth Brack
18. Richard Mears
20. James Rathmann
21. Maximus Papis

---

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

Choose my goalscorers Y
Godmod scoring events Y
RP injuries to my players Y
Godmod injuries to my players Y
Hand out yellow cards to my players Y
Hand out red cards to my players Y
Godmod other events Y

[Nephara]

"Something isn't quite right, is it?"
Theresa Riether felt relieved. Christ, thank God someone else was honest enough to say it. "Six points, Portia. Let's keep focus."
"No, Tess, that simply isn't... well, true. Six points, sure, but in all honesty? Was either of them really that convincing? There's been guts, sure, but..."
"Damn right there's been guts. I'm proud of 'em for sticking through it all."
"Are you proud of Mick?" said Thrift pointedly. The assistant manager was as dependable as ever, growing in her tactical ability and, though she was growing somewhat stout in her middle age, she still looked like a powerful, strong leader, and an example to the troops.
Someone who hadn't been setting an example was Mick Kellard, currently training alone for the crime of having deigned it necessary to put John Alklani into a headlock midway through last game. Yes, Alklani milked it shamelessly and clutched at his face until the referee produced the red card, but Kellard hadn't covered himself in glory, his replacement Levy proved ineffectual, the formation shifted to 4-4-1 and Paradise got a goal back late on. The Cormorants might have been getting the job done, but so far, they'd made heavy weather of it.
Next opponent - Albaie - had been going through some exciting times, as a 5-0 win had been followed by 4-0 defeat. But more excitement was more or less exactly what Riether could do without.
"You sure about the 4-3-3, chief?"
"'Course I am," snapped Riether. "It's the best- the only way to bring the best out of this squad."
"It's new to them-"
"They'll learn, Portia. That's what the group stage is for." Riether turned, and snapped at one of the training players. "Mal! For fuck's sake, mark the near fucking post like we said! Christ... these thick fucking westerners."
"Mm," contributed Thrift. But something was wrong, Riether was on edge... Thrift knew it, and Riether knew she knew it.
The only way to settle the nerves, of course, would be victory over Albaie. A convincing one, for a change.

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
"OUR GOAL IS NOTHING SHORT OF WORLD DOMINATION": INTERVIEW WITH NFA PRESIDENT MARKUS RENSENBRINK
by Theodora Kenway

It is apparent very early on that President Markus Rensenbrink is not the kind of FA leader most nations would tolerate.

Having been in the job for seven years by now, Rensenbrink broke a tradition of an insular and relatively laissez-faire FA. His first action in the job was, reportedly, to shut down an attempt by Jess Mortlock to resign from the disastrous qualifying campaign of World Cup 69. Since then, his resume includes the significant boost of Nephara's profile worldwide, with both league and national team in the top four, as well as the gamble represented by promoting Theresa Riether to the national job. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that it has paid off.

Next target? Youth. "Too many fucking foreigners in the Premiership," says Rensenbrink with his characteristic candour. "Clubs are getting rich, and there's starting to be more short-term thinking in the game. Why wait ten years for Gary Stubbs to be a quality player when you got the cash to spend on someone proven? The national team's strong, but the goal's got to be when the Cormorants have a strong core at home. As it stands, most of the best Nepharim go abroad, and a ton of foreigners get drafted in to replace 'em."
Doesn't this add colour to the leagues and the national team? "What the fuck do you mean by that?"
Evidently not.

A key decision undertaken early on was a major increase into the funding of sport science and small-scale pitches at youth level. The theory is that players would then spend more time on the ball in their youth and as a result develop more skills. But does this mean that the stereotype abroad of Nepharim needs to be changed? Big, physical and uncompromisingly muscular players in all positions, the Finnans, Crowleys and Cathars of this world?
"That's a blatant exaggeration," says Rensenbrink, undiplomatically. "Don't be ridiculous. Having a national character is important, and I think it will continue to be that way forever - you'll always know the Cormorants, or any Nepharim club is gonna give you a good fight. The smaller pitches thing, that's just to make the same tough, strong players better at actually playing football. And it helps, too, that the more technical players don't slip through the cracks if they're initially shit at running along a full-sized pitch. That's the only way we're going to fulfil our potential, our ambitions."
And what might those be?
Rensenbrink grins. "Nothing short of world domination."

His logic is compelling. Nephara is a big country where football is the dominant sport, holds a history of winning trophies and is on a direct upward trajectory. The breakthrough might not have happened yet - the best finish in the World Cup remains three quarterfinal exits - but with performances only getting better it's surely only a matter of time.
It's a similar story domestically. The clubs are getting stronger and stronger, with Sabrefell Athletic recently claiming a Globe and Esportivan double after setting the record for the most expensive transfer in the league twice in a couple days. And all of the major teams, to their credit, are keeping faith in their academies - when teams look abroad, it's rarely for their benches, and they're happy to let Nepharim take their chances when opportunities arise.
The league, however, has been accused of one problem consistently - its calendar. Rensenbrink only laughs when I bring it up. "That old bloody chestnut. Well, the league won't budge, and I don't plan to force it through. Which, believe me, I would if I cared." There is absolutely no reason to doubt the sturdy Northwesterner's word. "If forty-six games was really making everyone tired, the poor babies, then they wouldn't be achieving the success they currently are, and foreign internationals wouldn't be so quick to flock to it. I don't think anyone can doubt that the Premierrship is always competitive throughout, either. Maybe a few too many yo-yo clubs. That's all we can do, really - destroy Chenoworth and Iron. Sadly, I don't think the fans would be up for that."

It seems to make sense to finish on a topical note - one with a predictable answer. So, then, President - where will Nephara finish the current regional tournament?
"We're gonna win the fucking thing, of course."
Of course.

[The Sarian]

Cutoff.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XIV: FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA VS DAMUKUNI
By Malik Qazizadah


Sebastiano Pelucci celebrates as he scores his first goal of the tournament. His goal gave Fhulghamous Peninsula the advantage in the game against Damukuni and gave the team its first win in the competition. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

BECKWITH, THE SARIAN - Fhulghamous Peninsula finally managed to get over their tournament nerves and brought back to prominence the same side that had managed to surprise many observers during the World Cup qualifiers with a confident 2-1 win over Damukuni.

To the surprise of many, it was Fhulghamous that controlled the game for the entirety of at least the first half of the game. The Colonists did well to keep possession and to deny Damukuni a decent sniff with the ball. Mephistopheles had an early chance to open the scoring with a fantastic effort from 20 yards, but Damukuni keeper Jayne Patrick got a hand on it before it curled the wrong side of the post.

Mephistopheles had another chance to score when he nicked in the rebound from a parried Sebastiano shot, but a knee-jerk reaction from Patrick kicked the ball to a Damukuni defender, who cleared the ball with a little bit of flair that was quite honestly uncalled for at the moment. Aidan Power Jr. also had a chance to give Fhulghamous the advantage but he headed his shot way over the bar.

And then, against the run of play, to the surprise of everyone supporting the Green-Grays, it was Damukuni that got the first goal of the game. In the dying minutes of the first half, Damukuni captain Wisdom Tracey, following a defensive mistake from John Hainaut, took advantage and slammed the ball into the roof of the net. Rashidunnin Ali made a grab in the general direction of the ball's path just to say that he made an attempt to save even though it was clear that probably not even the best keepers in the world could have saved Tracey's shot.

In the second half, Fhulghamous didn't look really troubled by the fact that they were one goal down, but there was a sense of urgency in their play as they made ever more dangerous forays into the final third to keep Damukuni on their toes. And the Colonists finally found that equalizer in minute 53, when Naftali Singerstein jumped above everyone else inside the box to head in the cross from Power.

Now having tasted blood, the Fhulghamous didn't look like resting until they had the advantage. Damukuni tried to counter this by going on the counterattack, but Fhulghamous was quick on their feet and looked to block any scoring chance that got close to endangering the current balance. Damukuni came close to regaining the lead with a cheeky volley from Takara Sawachika after breaking away from John Montemayor, but there was not enough power to it, and it was an easy save for Ali.

Fhulghamous finally found that elusive second goal just minutes from the end of the second half, with Sebastiano snaking through three defenders and slotting away the ball with a collected finish. His fellow Fhulghamousian players rushed him as he celebrated his goal, and some Fhulghamousian fans looked to get onto the pitch even before the referee had blown for full time, and once he did that the trickle of Gray-Green fans on the pitch turned into a flood, a practice that is tolerated within Abanhfleft and associated territories and colonies but not in international football. The Fhulghamous Peninsula Football Association has already received a warning letter from the international football authority warning of not having any more pitch invasions at the risk of playing before an empty stadium.

Fhulghamous Peninsula's final game in the group stage will be against Nova Anglicana. With San Jose Guayabal already guaranteed advancement, Fhulghamous needs to win against the Lions to have a hope of advancing along with the Guayabalenses.

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA 2 - 1 DAMUKUNI
    SINGERSTEIN (53')       TRACEY (43')
     SEBASTIANO (87')

DAMUKUNI
GK: 00 Patrick
RB: 03 Jakeman
CB: 01 Sato
LB: 02 Wakahisa (Takedashita - 55')
CDM: 05 Rupertson
RM: 13 Nakahara
RCM: 34 Ackerman (Rose - 73')
LCM: 21 Tracey
LM: 08 Himura
RS: 89 Matsushita
LS: 55 Sawachika

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 01 Ali
RB: 02 Montemayor
RCB: 03 Singerstein
LCB: 04 Hainaut
LB: 05 Kamakura █
RM: 06 Power Jr.
RCM: 07 Moskowitz (Lovejoy - 60')
LCM: 08 von Frankreich (Magomedun - 60')
LM: 09 Suzuki
RS: 10 Sebastiano
LS: 11 Mephistopheles (Salvatore - 84')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 50%
Damukuni: 50%
Shots
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 10 (5 on target)
Damukuni: 4 (4 on target)
Corners
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 7
Damukuni: 8
Fouls
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 10
Damukuni: 8

[The Sarian]

Group A
 Northern Sunrise Islands 0–5 Southern Sunrise Islands  @ 15.00, The Matterhorn
 Polkopia 3–1 The Sarian  @ 19.00, The Matterhorn

  Group A                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Southern Sunrise Islands      3   2  0  1    8   1  +7    6
2 Polkopia                      3   2  0  1    4   2  +2    6
3 Northern Sunrise Islands      3   2  0  1    5   5   0    6
4 The Sarian                    3   0  0  3    1  10  −9    0

Group B
 Boring Paradise 0–2 Racao  @ 15.00, Beckwith Memorial Stadium
 Albaie 3–4 Nephara  @ 19.00, Beckwith Memorial Stadium

  Group B              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Nephara                3   3  0  0    7   4  +3    9
2 Racao                  3   2  0  1    6   1  +5    6
3 Albaie                 3   1  0  2    8   8   0    3
4 Boring Paradise        3   0  0  3    1   9  −8    0

Group C
 The Jeckish Union 0–1 Racing  @ 15.00, Moody Brooke
 The Sword Bloke 2–2 Yttribia  @ 19.00, Moody Brooke

  Group C              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Racing                 3   1  2  0    2   1  +1    5
2 Yttribia               3   0  3  0    5   5   0    3
3 The Sword Bloke        3   0  3  0    4   4   0    3
4 The Jeckish Union      3   0  2  1    4   5  −1    2

Group D
 Chiata 1–0 Kyrjasmark  @ 15.00, Stadium of Light
 Omerica 1–1 Free Republics  @ 19.00, Stadium of Light

  Group D              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Omerica                3   2  1  0    7   1  +6    7
2 Free Republics         3   2  1  0   10   5  +5    7
3 Chiata                 3   1  0  2    3   6  −3    3
4 Kyrjasmark             3   0  0  3    2  10  −8    0

Group E
 Star United States 3–0 Patistan  @ 15.00, The Mason Stadium
 Thalamascia 0–2 Buyan  @ 19.00, The Mason Stadium

  Group E               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Star United States      3   3  0  0    6   1  +5    9
2 Buyan                   3   2  0  1    3   1  +2    6
3 Thalamascia             3   1  0  2    3   5  −2    3
4 Patistan                3   0  0  3    1   6  −5    0

Group F
 Nova Anglicana 1–5 Fhulghamous Peninsula  @ 15.00, Invigor Arena
 Damukuni 1–2 San Jose Guayabal  @ 19.00, Invigor Arena

  Group F                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 San Jose Guayabal          3   3  0  0    6   1  +5    9
2 Fhulghamous Peninsula      3   2  0  1    7   4  +3    6
3 Damukuni                   3   0  1  2    3   5  −2    1
4 Nova Anglicana             3   0  1  2    2   8  −6    1

Group G
 Kazamatsuri 2–1 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalision  @ 15.00, Liberation Arena
 Brasiliania 1–1 Brenecia  @ 19.00, Liberation Arena

  Group G                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Brenecia                             3   2  1  0    6   1  +5    7
2 Brasiliania                          3   2  1  0    5   1  +4    7
3 Kazamatsuri                          3   1  0  2    2   5  −3    3
4 Cheetahs and reptiles Coalision      3   0  0  3    1   7  −6    0

Group H
 Arabnesia 1–1 Varmelle  @ 15.00, Poseidon's Palace
 Gregoryisgodistan 1–0 Apox  @ 19.00, Poseidon's Palace

  Group H              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Gregoryisgodistan      3   2  1  0    2   0  +2    7
2 Apox                   3   1  1  1    1   1   0    4
3 Arabnesia              3   0  2  1    1   2  −1    2
  Varmelle               3   0  2  1    1   2  −1    2

Round of Sixteen Fixtures

Southern Sunrise Islands vs. Racao @ Liberation Arena
Racing vs. Free Republics @ Gorgona Arena
Nephara vs. Polkopia @ The Matterhorn
Omerica vs. Yttribia @ Beckwith Memorial Stadium
Star United States vs. Fhulghamous Peninsula @ Moody Brooke
Brenecia vs. Apox @ Poseidon's Palace
San Jose Guayabal vs. Buyan @ Invigor Arena
Gregoryisgodistan vs.Brasiliania @ The Mason Stadium

[Apox]

Olim Benzari prowled the touchline, hawklike, glaring. His reign as the manager of the national team hadn't gotten off to the perfect 3-0-0 group stage he'd imagined, especially now that the score was 1-0 in favour of their opponents, Gregoryisgodistan, with just 10 minutes left to play.

Luckily for him, it didn't matter, as Arabnesia and Varmelle had drawn 1-1 in their final game, meaning this game was merely to place each team in order for progression out of the group. Benzari's normally calm exterior had, as it had in so many tough moments before, bubbled over into prickly rage, and he was letting the team know. If they were serious about winning the damn thing, having finished second and third in the previous two tournaments, then they really had to show they meant business by topping the group,

"KAJ! Adjust your running, stay wide as well discussed! Adnan, I need you to work harder!" Then turning round to the bench, "Alpha! Get ready! I want an impact!" Before storming back to his seat in the technical area and pretty much throwing himself down onto it. Moments later, his experienced assistant manager, Ivel Mendes sat down next to him, and leant over, quietly whispering;

"Reign it in a bit Olim, we gotta keep this together, the press are noticing." Olim nodded silently, but inside he was still angry. Unnaturally so. Perhaps it was due to the stress of the team struggling a bit through the group stages, as they often did. Perhaps it was the stress of the weight of expectation of the public he was carrying? Or indeed perhaps it was the continued and unrelenting comparisons and warnings about appointing another "national treasure" to the position of manager, as with Dravid Scott years before? Well, this time, this "national treasure" actually had 8 years of management at Urbanista to back up his appointment to the position of national team manager.

He watched the youthful sensation Alpha Gandhi sprint onto the pitch to replace a tired looking Corinna McKenna. He sat in his seat, arms folded, motionless.

---

The press conference, was, strained. Olim Benzari plonked himself into the seat, barely looking round the room, merely announcing "yes" to signal that the assembled press should get on with it.

"Mister Benzari, what do you make of that performance against a side we'd really want to be beating if we want to win the title this tournament?" Olim took a breath before answering, steadying himself.

"It was merely a hurdle in our path to progressing to the knock-out stages, and while we weren't able to win, I'm still proud at the way the team applied themselves, and believe we can still do well."

"Olim, what do you make of a group stage where the team only managed one goal? Is the team missing the steady goalscoring presence of Tolgus Tregajorran?"

"Well, I'm not sure it was just us to blame, we took part in a group where only six goals were scored between all four teams. Yes, the fact that we only scored once - and what a goal it was, I've never seen Zana strike the ball better - is a little troubling, but we keep creating chances, and sooner or later they're going to go in. Fact."

"What do you make of our chances against Brenecia in the Round of 16?"

"Well, Brenecia are always a tough opponent to break down, and we've got plenty of history against them. However, we're the more disciplined side and certainly the more experienced side so the eyes of the world will be on us and expecting us to win. That means we must be more vigilant than ever and ensure we don't slip up at some point in the game."

"And what about Apox's chances for lifting the Campionato itself?"

"We're just going to focus on the next game. One game at a time is my motto. But I bloody hope we beat the Nepharim to it."

[Star United States]

The Next Phase
Chapter I
Chapter II

Hery City, Herbeid - Mille had enough of the city life. Nothing good ever happens in a city. In a war, major cities are always attacked. She was angered by it. She resented war because war took her mother away from her. Her mother, a young and strong woman, died during the attach against Hery City during the Great War. For that reason, and that reason only, she hated war, and strongly opposed it. Little did she know what was around the corner. She thought about her mother as she walked down the street.

The city was not like before. Some stores opened, but more remained closed due to damages. Children played in the ruins of the park, and a thick layer of clouds say over the city. Without a single drop over the dry ground, the people of the city yearned for the water to fall.

She continued to walk down the street and as she turned onto Main Street, which led up to the Triangle, she saw it.

A plane, with the Starian Seal on the side, was above the City Triangle. As she got onto the sidewalk of the Main Street, a silver object slowly fell out of the plane and gravity did its job. The object sank towards the earth, and BOOM. It was a bomb.

Within seconds, the plane dropped more and left. The sirens were quickly activated and the city was plunged back into chaos. That's when it started to rain. It's started to pour over the city. That's when troops walked in. They weren't dressed in the Starian Uniform, which made people panic. In the sky, more planes were staring to become visible. Mille ran home.

She got there and grabbed her family. In their basement, she unlocked a secret door. Her family questioned her, but she remained silent and lead them into the darkness. She turned the light on. A black, spiral staircase lead towards the bottom, the destination: unknown, expect for Mille. They descended as the ground shook, and lights flickered off.

City of Star, Starix The Capital is always key for a hostile takeover.

Carson loved the weather. It a nice, warm, and sunny day! It was the prefect pool weather, or at least that's what he thought as he made his way to his best friend's pool! His flip-flops clicked as he walked down.

His best friend, Lilly, was the mayor's daughter. To his luck, the mayor's house had a rather large pool. He walked into the backyard and glimpsed at shimmering water in the pool. Over the fence, he could see the Starian Hall in the far background. They started to swim! The day went by, and the fun as well.

A plane flew by, but the presence of it was dismissed by the two teenagers because of the increased security of the city. Nonetheless, they continued. After a bit of time, they sat on the edge of the pool and Lilly had her back to the fence.

They spoke the afternoon away. In the background though, Logan's eyes wandered. He saw a black object fall out of the white cloud over the Starian Hall, where the Council of Directos and the Coucil of Legislation sat in a meeting.

"Lilly," he called out as he covered his eyes to protect himself from the shinning explosion. BOOM! She turned her head and watched the flames consume the building. Planes filled the sky and the city's sirens ranged loud. Instantly, Lilly pulled Logan into her house.

"Come with me," she said to him, as she pulled him and her present family to the basement There, she unlocked a hidden door after she placed a code into the pad. She stepped into the room and told those behind her to follow. The stepped in where they say a spiral, black staircase leading into the earth. The ground shocked, and the gun shots were heard. They descended into the darkness.

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XIV: NOVA ANGLICANA VS FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
By Malik Qazizadah


Mephistopheles of the Fhulghamous Peninsula is mobbed by his teammates after scoring his third goal in the game against Nova Anglicana. The side from the Fleftic colony surprised all by coming out 5-1 winners against what is generally considered one of the best footballing countries in Esportiva. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

LAVINGTON, THE SARIAN - In a day that will be forever remembered in Fhulghamousian, Nova Anglicanan and Esportivan history, underdogs Fhulghamous Peninsula not only managed to triumph against Nova Anglicana, they did so by utterly smashing the veteran football team by a score of 5-1.

Perhaps this surprise of a result was foreshadowed by how easily Fhulghamous managed to slice through the Nova Anglicana defense as Mephistopheles, who plays football for the Fhulghamous Peninsula and baseball for the other Fleftic colony of Trendstart, zipped past the Nova Anglicana back line and slotted away the goal at just nine seconds after kickoff. It is certainly the fastest goal scored in Fhulghamousian history, and whether it broke any other records internationally would have to be determined at a later time.

Nova Anglicana responded with a goal of their own, although not as quickly as Mephistopheles had scored his. Emmanuel Moga received the long ball from Cesar Martinez and sent it into the top of the net, beyond the reach of Rashidunnin Ali, who had committed himself to attempting the low save.

With things level, it looked as if a lethargic air had settled on both teams, with players from both sides appearing content enough to absorb the pressure from their opponents. And perhaps both sides level would have been the ending of the first half were it not for a lucky Tatsuo Kamakura header from a Sebastiano corner.

In the second half, when Mephistopheles sent in his second goal of the game just three minutes after the start, the Nova Anglicana side then almost literally deflated right in front of the spectators' eyes, and it was easy for youngster Lucian von Frankreich to sidestep Casey Bowman before poking the ball into the back of the net with his toe.

By the end of the game, the Lions didn't even put up a fight when Mephistopheles literally cruised all around their defensive line before smashing it into the net for his third goal of the game and first hat trick in the Campionato Esportiva. With the victory, Fhulghamous advances to the round of 16 by virtue of being second place in the group, with San Jose Guayabal maintaining their grip on first with another victory over Damukuni. Fhulghamous' first opponent in the knockout stages will be Star United States. It will prove to be a tough fixture, but if the Fhulghamous side that goes into the SUS game is the same Fhulghamous side that brought the beatdown on Nova Anglicana, it will certainly be an entertaining one too.

NOVA ANGLICANA 1 - 5 FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
    MOGA (23')       MEPHISTOPHELES (1', 48', 90+1')
                     KAMAKURA (45+2')
                     VON FRANKREICH (72')

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 01 Ali
RB: 02 Montemayor
RCB: 03 Singerstein █ (Carlson - 74')
LCB: 04 Hainaut
LB: 05 Kamakura
RM: 06 Power Jr. █
RCM: 07 Moskowitz
LCM: 08 von Frankreich
LM: 09 Suzuki
RS: 10 Sebastiano (O'Mitchell - 70' █)
LS: 11 Mephistopheles

NOVA ANGLICANA
GK: 01 Barnett
RB: 04 Lancaster
RCB: 03 Bowen
LCB: 02 Bowman
LB: 05 Barrett
CDM: 08 Martinez
RM: 06 Parker
CM: 09 Fleming
LM: 07 Rhodes
CAM: 10 Moga
CF: 19 Kelly

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Nova Anglicana: 52%
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 48%
Shots
Nova Anglicana: 10 (5 on target)
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 18 (12 on target)
Corners
Nova Anglicana: 12
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 5
Fouls
Nova Anglicana: 10
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 23

[Nephara]

THE BRINEMOUTH HERALD
ANXIOUS VICTORY FOR THE CORMORANTS ENOUGH TO WIN GROUP
by Rowena Mason

Kieran Ritter had an uncharacteristic nightmare at the back in a Cormorants side resting four first-choice players and missing Kellard through suspension. But goals from Ashdown, Cawdor and a brace from Sigmund Levy gave Nephara a deserved victory that sends them through the group in first place.

It was impossible to know what kind of Albiae side would turn off, prior to kick-off; after all, they'd beaten the Paradise 4-0 before capitulating 5-0 to Racao. While the defence was still reeling from being dissembled by Racao, the attack was definitely still present in full force, and they took the lead just six minutes in. Ritter's sloppy backpass went straight to Robert Werek, who immediately played Deberen in past the exposed Kruse. The Dubrack's Town Celtic striker - at the same club as pretty much the entire Albaie team - made no mistake converting past Ballard, who was apoplectic.

Levy, however, would find the net for just the third time at international level in the eleventh minute, following a period of sustained Nepharim pressure. It was Rivers' cross that was lashed in at perfect forehead-height after he brushed past Fent, and the Vermillion centre-forward made no mistake to smash the ball past Erentsen. Seventeen minutes into the match and Nephara had another, Ashdown finding the long ball of Tanith Rainsford (making her debut at the base of midfield) and smashing the ball past Erentsen from twenty yards. By the end of the half, Nephara had a nice sheen on the scoreline as Cawdor sashayed past Whitetree, knocked the ball past Muaka and stabbed the ball between Erentsen's legs, an early contender for goal of the tournament.

But a bit of 4-0 Against Paradise Albaie showed up in the second half, Tererent - the tender 18-year old whose statistics dubiously allege him to be scoring more than a goal a game at international level - showed he wasn't all talk with a powerful drive from the edge of the area, clipped past Ballard who saw it late. Again, that put the pressure on the Cormorants to put some more gloss on the scoreline, which Levy managed with his trademark muscle, holding the ball up from Rakeruth's long cross and, instead of flicking it onto one of the wingers, turning on a dime, powering through Alecder and smashing the ball past Erentsen. The scoreline finally looked okay, but there would still be another twist on the game - Ritter not really to blame but still finding his way onto the end of Whitetree's cross, deflecting it past a distinctly unimpressed Ballard. But that came in the 92nd minute, too late to be much use to anyone - and the final whistle blew soon afterwards.

The Cormorants' next opponents are Polkopia, a team that has improved markedly in the past cycle and boasts an impressive win over the hosts. Not too much is known about them, but they boast a strong domestically-based core with T'voni in defence and Kantrisov in attack their leading lights. Favouring a 4-4-2 diamond, they won't go down without a fight - in a way, perfect opposition. The Cormorants will need to do more than just another ugly win to convince anyone as potential candidates to win the competition, but a solid, comfortable win over the Slashers would represent progress - and, the theory runs, the Cormorants choosing the right time to peak.

[The Saint James Islands]

blogdefootball.co.om
All the football news that’s fit to print!

---

A Sari miracle: Omerica win Group D in defiance of all logic to set up an uphill knockout stage path
By Makaio Moana, published 11 June 2020

After the Miracle at the Matterhorn, chances that Jean-Baptiste Archambault would not resign as Omerica manager plummeted to near zero. After Chiata fell to the Republicans, those odds fell to zero, with the Free Republics securing itself a knockout berth and sending Omerica through to the Round of 16 for the first time ever.

Chiata did give Omerica a gift on their way out, though. By scoring two goals against the Republicans, Chiata assured that all Les Oiseaux needed to do to win the group was draw the Republicans. The thought that Omerica could win the group would have been dismissed by most before the Campionato began. Now it is reality.

To illustrate how mind-boggling this is, here are the reactions of some of our staff to the group victory:

Christine Lucas: “Holy crap, they did it. They actually fucking did it…”

Victoir Delacroix: “Impossible. Am I reading the table correctly? Is the table upside down? Is there a misprint?”

Christian Fritter: “I didn’t think we were constitutionally capable of doing anything other than losing in the group stage.”

According to the United Counties Network, the Bourse de Philibiscostal, the largest stock exchange in Omerica, has seen its best trading day since last year’s election cost the Socialists their parliamentary majority, while approval of the Commonwealth government is, strangely, at a four-year high. All thanks to the national team’s success so far in the Sarian. Apparently, our national mood—and our economy—goes up and down with the national team. Now that they’ve tasted a good performance, we’re on top of the world.

What’s next?
Now we actually have reason to talk about knockout stages. And to be honest, we probably would have been better off losing to the Republicans. We were guaranteed to go through anyway.

With victory in the group, we now face Yttribia, i.e. the sixth-ranked side in Esportiva, in the Round of 16. If we win against Yttribia, we then need to face down with the winner of Nephara-Polkopia. Given that the Nepharim are almost certain to claim victory, it doesn’t look good for us, even if we make it out of the first knockout round. Had we lost to the Republicans, we would have faced Racing instead. The winner of that game would have then gone on to face the winner of Southern Sunrise-Racao. All in all, a much easier path to the semifinals.

Overall, I highly doubt we can complain about making it to the knockout stage after disappointment after disappointment. We’d always gotten our hopes up too high and never braced ourselves for the possibility of not pulling off an upset. (After all, why else would it be an “upset”?) After five straight tournaments of painfully gutting losses in the group stage, maybe we should brace ourselves for the loss ahead and go home happy that we made it to this point in the first place.

On the other hand, now that I think about it, where is the fun in that? Let’s go, Les Oiseaux!

---

---

blogdefootball.co.om
All the football news that’s fit to print!

---

Is football the “southerner’s game” or is something else going on? A look at the geography of Omerican club football
By Victoir Delacroix, published 11 June 2020

Locations of Omerica’s thirty-six professional clubs.
Primerliig clubs are in red, Försteliig in grey and
Sekundliig in brown.

As a proud Provençal man and stubborn northerner, I’m often troubled by the supposed dominance of the South in football. Sassari-born and Sassari-raised, the city has the classic Martecabras-Trailblazers derby, but doesn’t really amount to much in the national scene. Ticomaça doesn’t fare much better and you’d probably struggle to name another club from the Provence. (Hint: there are no other professional clubs from the Provence.)

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you might have realised that AFC Georgetown were relegated in the Primerliig play-offs, while FC Londonderry were sent down to the second tier—aptly named the “first league”—by virtue of finishing in last place in the league. The two northern clubs were replaced by two southern ones: Försteliig champions FC Alopiana of Alopi and Inter Bayoneta of Mariascola. In terms of number of cantons with top-flight sides, the north has the advantage: North Provence, Mid-Provence, Chamangol, Faroka and Sempton are all north of the River Argent, the cultural dividing line of Omerica’s cantons, while Mariascola, Philibiscostal, Kalsden and the Free State lie south of it.

In terms of the number of clubs, however, the south now has the majority. The Black Dragons of Kalsden, Inter Bayoneta of Mariscola, the Azure Army of the Free State and Alopiana of Alopi join the three Philibiscostal clubs La Corona, Kingsmouth and the (in)famous United Philibiscostal. Even worse, no club outside Philibiscostal finished in the top three of Primerliig last year. The Federation and Challenge Cup winners were a southern side: FC Nassau. The only northern sides to enter UICA competition were Uniti Takatori and Sassari Trailblazers; five of Omerica’s seven entrants hailed from south of the Argent.

So how do we look at measures of historic success? We could use championships as one measure, which tips the scales wildly in favour of the south: no Primerliig title has been won by a team north of the Argent and all three professional championship teams were southern last year. As for northern teams winning championships, there are a few examples: northern teams have three Försteliig titles, three Sekundliig titles and three Challenge Cups to their names. FC Lamalas and Appleban FC won both Sekundliig and Försteliig, while Ticomaça has been formidable in cup competitions and a constant UICA contender. But this pales in comparison to three Försteligen, three Sekundligen, three Challenge Cups, six Federation Cups and six Primerligen for southern clubs.

Cantons represented in UICA competitions.
Champions’ Cup represented by orange, Globe Cup by
blue and SBCC by gold. Only the highest competition a
canton has been represented in is marked.

What about UICA qualification? That ought to be worth something, after all. As it turns out, the North is closer to parity here. When it comes to the Champions’ Cup, the South hogs Omerica’s historic entry lists to themselves, but northerners have had plenty of success making their way into the Globe Cup and the North and South approach parity when it comes to Series B qualifiers. Nine northern clubs have qualified for UICA to date, while the South has had eleven. The average southern team has had 1.2 Globe Cup appearances compared to .6 for the North, but northern clubs have made an average of 1.2 Series B appearances compared to 1 even for the South.

In terms of success upon qualifying, the North isn’t entirely hapless, but doesn’t fare nearly as well as the South. Ticomaça made it to the group stage in their last Globe Cup campaign and the Trailblazers came tantalisingly close to a Series B group stage appearance this past season, but even then, only two Omerican teams have made it to a knockout stage: United Philibiscostal and FC Alopiana, both southern clubs. Ticomaça have Omerica’s fourth-best club coefficient, though, and the best of any club to have not lifted the Rakau ʻo ʻeti Toa in the modern era.

So in the top-tier and UICA competition, the South predominates, but returns to parity when you go down to lower-level competitions. The River Argent evenly splits the clubs of Omerica’s professional ladder in two: 18 call the South home and 18 call the North home. More interesting to look at, though, is the cantons that don’t have representation in professional football.

Cantons with no professional teams

Astonishingly, this shows not a north-south divide. If anything, it would suggest that the further west you go, the less successful your surrounding vicinity is on the Commonwealth football stage. Of the six cantons with no representation in professional football, only Nice lies in the east. The rest—Altfort, Asterleis, South Provence, South Selaga and Melenchon—lie in the west. No canton that shares a border with Varmelle has been represented in UICA or Primerliig. Union Orange of Braadwund, the southernmost canton of the Commonwealth, are the westernmost team to have ever won a TAO Club Honour, winning last year’s Sekundliig.

Ultimately, though, the line between east and west is fuzzy and unclear. Give a thousand people a map of the twenty-six cantons and ask them to tell you which ones are “eastern” and which are “western” and you will get a thousand different answers. Ask them to identify which cantons are “northern” and which are “southern”, people will be in much more agreement. After all, the River Argent serves as a great dividing line. The cantons of Chamangol, Durham, Silverforce and South Selaga—all of whom use part of the river as part of their boundaries—will gladly tell you so. The biggest disagreement on the North-South divide will be whether Durham, just north of the river, is northern or southern; I have assumed that Durham is northern for the purposes of this article, but a vocal minority will disagree with me.

As for east-west, there is no clear line. The best guess is that anything west of Chamangol and Kalsden are in the west, but this leaves Braadwund ambiguous, since it wouldn’t fit neatly on either side. To make things less ambiguous, some classify Alopi and anything to the west of it as western and the rest as eastern, but this isn’t universally agreed upon. Others still opt to go with linguistic definitions, classifying Aurentine and Takiari cantons as western and Anglophone and Francophone cantons as eastern, but this leaves us with the oddity of an eastern canton (Melenchon) sharing a border with Varmelle. Under the linguistic definitions, the easternmost point of the west would be far to the east of the westernmost point of the east, not to mention that the west would be largely contiguous while the east would have a giant bottleneck on the Tyrone-South Provence border, with Melenchon and the Provence being nearly isolated from the rest of the east.

No matter how we define the east-west divide, the disparity between east and west in football is much deeper. But the fuzziness of the division between the two makes it harder to talk about, so people will keep talking about the disparity between North and South, which is nowhere near as deep as the division that runs parallel to the equator. Football might not be as much a “southerner’s game” as we have been led to believe, but more an “easterner’s game”.

[Racao]

---

Onward, Racao: Campionato Esportiva XIV

---

When Racao went off against Esportivan giants Nephara - ranked third in the world and first in Esportiva - they didn't expect to find anything competitive in store. After all, it had been a hard World Cup qualifying cycle, they had lost more times than anyone could count, and Racaoan football - although popular - was not impressive on the world stage. In fact, they expected a total dismemberment - every part of the team lopped off, chopped off, cut through, and anything else bad that you could imagine. They expected maybe a seven-nil loss or something totally outrageous like that from their tired, weary, and apparently not all-that-good team. What they got, though was a totally different story.

After halftime, it was a total surprise that Nephara - being the powerhouse that they are - had not scored a single goal. Racao's midfield did an excellent job of covering their bases, employing a continuation of their successful (in Racaoan terms, that is) strategy of controlling the midfield. While they didn't exactly control the midfield in the sense of the word you'd imagine, they did at least put their foot in the door. Mosa continued to orchestrate the operation as the captain of the team, receiving passes from defenders and coordinating the midfield's efforts with that of the defense. Wherever Nephara tried to pounce, someone in the midfield cut them off - whether through an interception, a tackle, or some other lucky measure.

About in the midway of the first half, Aristotle Ipirina caught a pass from Mosa just outside the defense, running around the defense, and shooting from eight yards out - a guaranteed goal, right? Racaoan fans were excited for the potential of scoring against one of the world's best teams, but it didn't come to pass, as the shot just barely miss. At this point, considering that Nephara hadn't scored umpteen bazillion goals against Racao, Racaoan fans were excited and hopeful for their prospects for the rest of the games. A nil-nil draw wouldn't be so bad, and they still held striking potential and a good control of the midfield. The status quo continued up until the whistle for the first half - Nephara getting possession but running into the roadblock that was Racao's midfield, then Racao trying to strike - sometimes successfully penetrating the defense but missing, but mostly utterly failing.

It was still mostly a shock to Racao's players that they were holding their own against the world's third ranked team at the beginning of the second half - after all, Racao, at this time, is ranked number two hundred and forty-four, and unranked at the Campionato Esportiva. Nephara, on the other hand, were livid that they hadn't blown the Racaoan opposition to bits already and still seething from Aristotle Ipirina's near miss, but they continued to try on, the team that they are. Their breakthrough came about midway through the second half when Nephara somehow managed to cut through the previously impenetrable Racaoan midfield and past the defense, where Michael Kellard steadied, shot, and made the goal in what would be the winning - and only - goal of the match.

Racao gamely tried to strike back, to retaliate, after they conceded the goal to Nephara, but the status quo ante bellum - or, in this case, the status quo before the goal - continued, with Racao's attacks all ending in vain against Nephara's defense, who truly were unstoppable. There were a couple of close calls, though, with Arivelo almost making it for an equalizer, and there were some far cries from a good shot, like Mosa's attempt on the goal from more than twenty meters out. It was a desperate attempt to salvage a point out of the encounter, but that kind of low quality shot wasn't what was needed to win against a quality team such as Nephara.

The final whistle blew, and the Racaoan team had held their own against one of the best teams in the sporting world for more than sixty minutes. They would then face the slightly-less-known and slightly-lower-ranked team of Albaie, ranked number eighty-eight in the world. Perhaps dulled by their five-nil thrashing of Boring Paradise the previous day, the Albaie team came out with all guns blazing, only to find that they were out of ammunition; Justin Rabelomasina stole the ball right out of vaunted attacker Robert Tererent's grasp, something the striker might not have ever considered a possibility. The ball went straight to the midfield, where Masibo Andrianajaka received the pass and sent it straight up to the offense. Albaie's defense must have been sitting around, picking dandelions, because there was absolutely no resistance whatsoever.

Silvëre Ravalomanana did not need to use his extensive skills at outwitting defenders, as the net was almost wide open and defenders nowhere in sight; he sent the ball into the right corner of the net, where the goal was met with a wild measure of applause from the crowd, almost none of whom were Racaoan. The ball again ventured into the midfield, where Racao's team is the strongest. Albaie's team, on the other hand, did not present a strong face of opposition, as Mosa, Andrianajaka, Manasoa, and Rabalasoa dominated the center of the field. Although Albaie did gamely repulse several Racaoan attempts at the goal, Mosa's attempt, upon receiving a nice pass from Ryan Arivelo, went in, definitely a nice angle.

Albaie was basically sidelined for the rest of the match, perhaps only spectators for the rest of the match. Racao's team continued dominating the midfield throughout the rest of the match; Albaie never got off on a strong foot, and they never posed any real threat to goalkeeper Sakoto. What few shots they did manage to send off were blocked or off the mark - wide off the mark. Meanwhile, Ryan Arivelo and Aristotle Ipirina both found their shots hitting home - Arivelo's off a nice lob from Mosa, Ipirina's on a nice counterattack after Albert Manasoa stole the ball from Ben Werek.

The match against Boring Paradise was played merely for ranking points. While Racao was not mathematically guaranteed to go through to the Round of 16, they were altogether likely to do so, considering that Boring Paradise would have to win by a ridiculously high margin to even have a shot at qualifying. Nonetheless, Racao played its best throughout the game. Boring Paradise was nominally a harder opponent than Albaie - they were a pot and thirty places higher in the world rankings - but they played the same aggressive strategy that caused Albaie so much trouble.

Indeed, Boring Paradise did present much higher opposition than Albaie's team - but Racao was able to dispatch them handily. While Racao's team is young, they were quite surprised to find the fifteen-year-old Samuel Wong wearing the captain's shirt. This distraction and novelty allowed Boring Paradise to penetrate Racao's midfield, as Racao might have been a little too busy gawking at Wong, but they were able to stop his drive with a good save from Sakoto. This paved the way for an excellent counterattack at the thirtieth minute. After the ball got sent up to the midfield, where dribbling, passing, and stealing took place, Mosa passed to Ipirina and the team moved forward. They smelled opportunity.

Ipirina crossed in front of a defender to Arivelo, who was ruled offside. An indirect free kick was awarded, but it was quickly snuffed out, and Arivelo sent the ball flying into the goal from his good position at the thirty-seventh minute. Passing and stealing and such ensued in the midfield until the end of the first half. In the second half, Racao continued to dominate the midfield, although Samuel Wong did make it through the midfield, only to find his potential shot blocked by the defense. In the sixty-eighth minute, Mena Rabalasoa found himself on the receiving end of a pass from Mosa, and promptly send it rolling into the far left side of the goal.

When the whistle had blown, Racao was ecstatic. They had defeated two higher-ranked opponents than them, Albaie and Boring Paradise, by huge margins, and held their own against Nephara, one of the world's best teams. They were even more ecstatic when they found out their next matchup was against Southern Sunrise Islands, only sixty-second ranked in the Campionato Esportiva and not ranked in World Cup competition. If they could defeat Albaie and Boring Paradise, they can certainly defeat Southern Sunrise Islands and make it to the quarterfinals - certainly an exciting proposition, which was way more than Racaoan fans expected at the beginning of the competition. Onward, Racao!

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Preview: Brenecia vs. Apox
by Gareth Horner

Well, that was significantly less disastrous than feared - Brenecia have cleared their group with ease, with two good wins over the Coalition and Kazamatsuri, followed by a tense draw with a strong Brasiliania side. The Patriots are missing many of their key players simply by virtue of them not having been picked, though Bellight FC leftback Gerry Duffy is a doubt after taking a knock late against Brasiliania.

Sadly, the reward for finishing first was an entirely poisoned chalice, as heavyweights Apox now stand in the Patriots' way. Unlike the Brenecian side, a look at the diverse and powerful Apoxian roster reveals them as a side that is headed in one direction - up. A first-team squad more or less entirely composed of players in their prime, the late-twenties, is expected. Still, they looked shaky in the group stages.

Tactics
Bale's Patriots have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 in every game so far, with an emphasis on fluidity and attacking with pace down the wings. Perhaps it's not surprising that they are, in essence, a slightly lower-grade copy of the Patriots under Bardsley, as Bale was Bardsley's understudy as a manager from the years they spent at Kingsgrove together. Either way, while the defence may not be the strongest, the emphasis is always on moving forward.

The Apoxians have lined up to date in a 4-1-3-2, aiming to keep tight at the back first and foremost but definitely with the ability to punch holes in a defence thanks to the strike partnership of Zozula and McKenna up front. Kaj Aurora presents a difficult proposition as well, while the untested A-League winger Abbraciabene will be tested against the untested leftback Julian Collingwood, expected to make his first cap. St. Cleer shields the midfield.

Key Players
Brenecia are finally blessed with a good goalkeeper in Geneva Urquhart, who has shone in seemingly every match for the national team. Naphtali Thatcher has been a freakishly impressive recent debutant, and has personally scored equalisers first against Nephara in the Liberty Cup friendly and subsequently against Brasiliania. Sheila Maddon up front is also on fire, scoring the opener against the Coalition and a brace against Kazamatsuri.

Where do you start with a team like Apox have? Solomon Etezadi is rock-solid at the back and a deserved captain of the side, while club teammate Kaj Aurora is, frankly, terrifying to face on her day. Luxulya St. Cleer, who should be seeing plenty of Crisisbless teammate Kilbane on the day, is an exemplary holding midfielder and should give the immobile Purrington a hell of a fight.

Potential Weaknesses
Brandon Duguid has looked good throughout the group stages and against Nephara, but even his biggest admirers have to admit he was appalling at times during the World Cup cycle, and on paper he matches up unfavourably with the likes of Zozula and McKenna. Julian Collingwood will make his starting debut at leftback, and it's a hell of a fire to throw him into - though the Diamante leftback is a good player on paper.

Erik Abbraciabene will have the role of unlocking Collingwood, but the Halholzer United winger was a controversial selection, and some doubt if he has what it takes at this level. Corinna McKenna is an exceptional player on paper and for her club, but given that her goal tally prior to the tournament stands at 10 in 33, it's yet to click for her on the world stage.

Prediction
There is sadly no way around it - Apox are the stronger side. But the Patriots have shown some real fight lately, and signs that things are on the rise again - it will be close. A 2-1 win for Apox.

[The Sarian]

Cutoff.

[The Sarian]

Round of Sixteen Results:
Southern Sunrise Islands 0–2 Racao @ Liberation Arena
Racing 0–4 Free Republics @ Gorgona Arena
Nephara 8–2 Polkopia @ The Matterhorn
Omerica 3–2 Yttribia @ Beckwith Memorial Stadium
Star United States 0–1 Fhulghamous Peninsula @ Moody Brooke
Brenecia 1–0 Apox @ Poseidon's Palace
San Jose Guayabal 0–2 Buyan @ Invigor Arena
Gregoryisgodistan 2–0 Brasiliania @ The Mason Stadium

Quarter Final Fixtures:
Racao vs. Free Republics
Nephara vs. Omerica
Fhulghamous Peninsula vs. Brenecia
Buyan vs. Gregoryisgodistan

[The Saint James Islands]

blogdefootball.co.om
All the football news that's fit to print!

---

The dream continues: a preview of Nephara v Omerica
By Christian Fritter, published 12 June 2020

Omerica. A name accursed in international football. A name associated with shameful losses and James-Alexandre Christopherson’s sailor mouth. That we have made it to the Campionato quarterfinals is an Omerican football fan’s dream come true. Les Oiseaux were counted out from the minute the team entered the tournament, but somehow, are still in the running.

Nephara, on the other hand, are a methodical team. The Cormorants are unyielding and unforgiving. They are not a side to take tread lightly and they are not ones to dream small. Whereas their near-neighbours in Omerica have been delighted to simply be in the knockout stage, the Nepharim are after nothing short of the title.

Long fuse: Nephara’s path to the quarterfinals
Nephara 1–0 Racao
Nephara 2–1 Boring Paradise
Albaie 3–4 Nephara
Nephara 8–2 Polkopia

Seeking “nothing short of world domination” after three painful quarterfinal exits, Nephara has begun to blaze a trail of destruction as they goose-step into the quarterfinals. Fancying themselves as favourites for the title, the Campionato’s most victorious team squeezed passed the group stage with three narrow victories. Racao’s defence proved incredibly competent, making the Cormorants work for their lone goal. Despite keeping a clean sheet, Nepharim feared that their team’s struggles against the Lemurs were a sign of things to come.

Even Nephara’s win over Boring Paradise couldn’t assure them a spot in the knockout stage thanks to Racao’s victory over Albaie, with apprehension the predominant mood at home. Another gritty, grinding win, though, put Nephara through to the Round of 16, but not enough to please those back home. However, upon arrival in the knockout stage, Nephara proceeded to destroy Polkopia and tear them limb from limb in a clobbering the likes of which is rarely seen at such a level, instilling some sense of confidence that Nephara could break the quarterfinals curse hanging over them, especially given their opposition.

True fantasy: Omerica’s path to the quarterfinals
Chiata 0–1 Omerica
Kyrjasmark 0–5 Omerica
Omerica 1–1 Free Republics
Omerica 3–2 Yttribia

The team’s own countrymen had little hope for their squad going into the Campionato Esportiva. Jean-Baptiste Archambault, who returned to the national team after a brief and disappointing return to club management, offered his resignation if Omerica went out in the Campionato group stage a third time and most people expected that he would have to make good on that. No one took the possibility of Omerica defeating Chiata at the Matterhorn seriously. A knockout stage berth, let alone winning the group, was simply out of the question.

Come the 63rd minute at the Matterhorn, Omericans were singing a different tune. With Erik de Waald capitalising on silly mistakes from the Chiatans, Les Oiseaux found themselves in the lead and the true blue Omerica fans in the Sarian were belting out patriotic tunes to celebrate what looked to be a fantastic tournament for the team—what has turned out to be the best tournament to date for the Commonwealth.

By the end of the first half against Kyrjasmark, Archambault had been all but vindicated in his choice to gamble his job. Omerica had built up a three-goal lead and had yet to concede a single goal over the course of the tournament. With Archambault playing with four forwards and five defenders in the game and benching most of Omerica’s starters, Jan-Nikläs Rosenkränts, John Percival and Red Tyler all put their names on the score sheet in the first forty-five minutes. By the end of the game, Omerica captain Rosenkränts had another and Black Dragons teammate and captain Tömas de Vrikt had joined him on the score sheet. With the Republicans beating Chiata, Les Oiseaux were through with a game to spare.

Chiata’s two goals against the Republicans and Omerica’s lack of goals conceded meant that all the team needed to do to win the group was not lose the last game. Neama Iokua quickly added his name to the list of Omerican scorers after Rosenkränts took a far corner in the first half-hour of the game, but the Republicans levelled twenty minutes later after Tobias Wilmer ceded a penalty to Rule Theriault’s side, which was beautifully taken by captain Kyle Bolton. After the penalty, both sides created countless chances and had a number of near-misses, as well as wonderful saves by Intan Petera and Levai Imre, but no one could score for the rest of the match. After a winless Cup of Harmony in KRYBEC, the Commonwealth had traversed the group stage undefeated and would taste a knockout stage spot for the first time since the country’s international début.

The game against Yttribia wasn’t one most people expected to win. Les Oiseaux ceded an early own-goal thanks to Jean-Luc Charpentier, putting the underdogs down within eleven minutes. With orders to become more aggressive in attack, the Triad was able to squeeze three corners out of Yttribia in the next half-hour, with the second resulting in a goal off of Kai Eko. Heading into the half tied, Omerica pounced in the early minutes of the second half when Neama managed to beat the Yttribian defence in a long volley before scoring the third goal of the game. Yttribia levelled just minutes later, but found it for nought after Rosenkränts scored on a late 77th minute header into the far right corner of the net, securing the team’s third win in the fourteenth Campionato and sending Les Oiseaux through to the last eight.

The game
The Cormorants and Les Oiseaux both head into the game undefeated so far at the Campionato. Both sides will undoubtedly be hungry for a semifinal appearance—Nephara to claim a fourth title they believe is long overdue and Omerica to make the statement that they are relevant on the international stage. History presents both sides a mountain to climb. Nephara have not made it past the quarterfinals since their last title win, while Omerica is in the knockout stage, let alone the quarterfinals, for the first time ever.

Omerica enter as obvious underdogs, as Esportiva’s 22nd-ranked team goes to face the top side in the region. The team will have the resolve to play, but if the Commonwealth team has the skill to win is a different question. Comfortable on set pieces, but quick to make silly mistakes, the team may soon be the victim of a comedy of errors like none have ever seen before.

But Nephara are trigger-happy. It is sometimes said that there is no such thing as a foul in the Nepharim Premiership and the Cormorants reflect that. Given that Les Oiseaux are more than happy to draw fouls and win free kicks, which the team is no slouch at, Nephara will have to hold back on the team’s famed physicality to get to their first semifinal in eight years. Not to mention that overconfidence and an overbearing FA chief are not likely to work in Nephara’s favour, but, as the Nepharim will be quick to point out, Omerica’s chronic pessimism and tempestuous TAO aren’t really much better.

Neither side has released their starting line-up for the game, but it is expected that Archambault will put his eleven best on the pitch and keep to the team’s 4-2-1-3 formation, while Nephara are expected to retain the 4-3-3 that has served them well here in the Sarian so far, holding nothing back against the Omericans. Ultimately, Nephara’s front line has proven the better of the two—scoring 15 goals to Omerica’s 10—while Omerica’s back line has proven superior to Nephara’s, letting in just three compared to Nephara’s five. Whether the quarterfinal battle will be won by the unstoppable force or the immovable object is a question that we will all be eager to find the answer to. Will the Omerican dream continue or will it be crushed in a trail of Nepharim destruction? Will Nephara go out in a fourth consecutive quarterfinal or will they have another chance at glory in the Home Covert?

[Fhulghamous Peninsula]

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

CAMPIONATO ESPORTIVA XIV: NOVA ANGLICANA VS FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
By Malik Qazizadah


James Gasteiz of Star United States tries to get through the Fhulghamousian defense. An early goal from Mephistopheles proved the game-winning difference as this allowed Fhulghamous Peninsula to advance to the quarterfinals of the Campionato Esportiva. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Ulysses Turogo)

SAN CARLOS, THE SARIAN - An early goal from Mephistopheles proved enough for the Fhulghamous Peninsula to advance to the quarterfinals of the Campionato Esportiva, at the expense of Star United States, yet another Esportivan nation which is generally considered as one of the better nations of the football multiverse.

Fhulghamous Peninsula were certainly swimming in luck after their 5-1 thrashing of Nova Anglicana, and they seemed to have some of that luck left when Rashidunnin Ali managed to scrape the ball from Evandro Amaral with his fingertips and made it hit the post after it looked like it was a sure goal. The luck continued at the other end of the pitch, as Mephistopheles' effort from range managed to curve away from the Starian keeper before settling nicely into the back of the net.

Now one goal down, Star United States realized that they were facing a side dedicated to getting through at all costs, they ramped up both their attack and their defense. But Fhulghamous' luck still held, even as James Gasteiz managed to get one past Ali only for him to be ruled offside by the linesman. Video replays later showed that the decision could have gone either way, but it was a disallowed goal that Star United States really wished would have stood.

In the second half, Star United States continued the pressure, and Fhulghamous' luck continued to hold. Rashidunnin Ali, who is already a colonial councilman in the Fhulghamous Peninsula and only plays football for international competitions, had the game of his life as he saved shot after shot from the Starians, with one very notable moment being Ali putting a hand against Matthew Stafford's attempt at goal.

Fhulghamous' attacks in the second half were few and far between the Starian attacks, but they were just as effective in putting fear in the hearts of Starian fans. Mephistopheles had another shot saved by keeper Fernando Spark, and Sebastiano skied his own attempt from a free kick. John Montemayor's glancing header bounced off of the bar, and Kieran Moskowitz managed to get past Spark only to see his shot bounce off both posts before coming outside for an easy save for the Starian keeper.

In the end, it didn't matter how many chances were saved or hit the bar and posts. Fhulghamous Peninsula had the one goal advantage, and that was enough to give them the win. In the quarterfinals they face Brenecia, which will prove to be yet another tough test for the Colonists.

STAR UNITED STATES 0 - 1 FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
                         MEPHISTOPHELES (16')

FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA
GK: 01 Ali
RB: 02 Montemayor (Carlson - 72')
RCB: 03 Singerstein
LCB: 04 Hainaut
LB: 05 Kamakura █
RM: 06 Power Jr.
RCM: 07 Moskowitz
LCM: 08 von Frankreich
LM: 09 Suzuki
RS: 10 Sebastiano (Salvatore - 60')
LS: 11 Mephistopheles

STAR UNITED STATES
GK: 01 Spark
RB: 05 Andrews (Richards - 51')
CB: 06 Vale
LB: 10 Solo
RM: 11 Soarison
RCM: 13 Horas
LCM: 14 Banks
LM: 15 Stafford
RS: 17 Gasteiz
CF: 18 Carniero (Saunders - 75')
LS: 19 Amaral

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Star United States: 52%
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 48%
Shots
Star United States: 12 (7 on target)
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 14 (6 on target)
Corners
Star United States: 5
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 7
Fouls
Star United States: 10
Fhulghamous Peninsula: 25