World Cup 77 - Roleplay Thread

[Nephara]

THE HERALD
NEAR-PERFECT RECORD SETS CORMORANTS IN GOOD STEAD
Patricia Steinbren

On the whole, things are going well. The Cormorants might have let their perfect record slip, but they remain three points ahead of second, six of third and nine of fourth. That said, this can't be chalked up as a successful qualifying run just yet. Nepharim victories against Abanhfleft, Eshan and Nordskania were all by a single goal - and all at home. Even so - there have been no serious slips, and Shale is right to say that his side is in a strong spot.

Broadly speaking, weak sides were beaten with a security-first approach, and despite occasionally wayward finishing, the Cormorants got the job done all but once. It's been a chance for less established players to try and bolt into the squad. Hawke, Fletcher and Tarashaj have taken their chances, but the jury remains out on the mercurial Leona Rafford - scored a belated breakthrough against Averyickan City and yet was sent off in the 71st minute against a typically resilient Russ Reucassel side.

That would be Acronius - earmarked early on as an initial banana skin, with controversial manager Russ Reucassel, a renowned Premiership firefighter, eager to show what he could do against his home club. As expected, his side defended rock-solidly, threatened mostly from set pieces and ended up kicking their way to victory in time-honoured fashion. A scoreless draw isn't the best of results for Nephara - but it'll do, away from home. It would be churlish to complain about a single away draw after eight consecutive victories.

Of the performers, this has been an exceptionally good cycle for many of the veterans of the World Cup as they enter the prime of their careers. Tanith Rainsford has been imperious in the heart of midfield, while Adnan Szalai on the right wing has shouldered the responsibility of being the team's most creative player, the go-to guy to just 'make something happen'. And, thankfully, Penumbra Amokachi up front has blazed back into form, and her absence through injury against Acronius was sorely-felt by the Cormorants.

Meanwhile, a couple of more recent bolters into the side have failed to convince. Specifically, Apostolos Tsattalios was unconvincing against Nordskania and particularly abject against Abanhfleft, failing to make a save and conceding four goals. It was Gideon Fletcher between the posts against Acronius, and in his four matches (admittedly against weak sides) he is yet to concede a goal. By now, with his safe gloves, uncomplicated distribution and quick reflexes, the Treason goalkeeper is the odds-on favourite to establish himself in a starting position. While Tsattalios may be the more 'modern' option, the more traditional Fletcher is more in Ballard's mould, the stopper he belatedly replaced at club level - he does the basics exceptionally well.

It has to be said that things up front haven't been entirely convincing, either - if one was to nitpick, at any rate. Penumbra Amokachi has been beyond reproach, but Dragan Stavanger and Chrysanthe Scafidis have struggled to partner her and Claudia Cautcher's beginning, worryingly, to struggle once more with niggling injuries. Young gun Estrella Hawke is likely to have the chance to establish herself in their stead. Konrad Gosforth has perhaps not seized his chances as well as might have been hoped, either, while the firebrand Tarashaj has excelled given half a chance.

Reinhard Shale, it has to be said, is doing a very good job. Not spectacular, but he's definitely getting the Cormorants to do what they should, and has proven he's willing to shift people around to get a result, and that he knows when to blood new talent. The defence is (almost always) doing its job tidily, and the team's managing games excellently. The one concern - with regards to team selection, does he know when to fold? When to run? Time is running out to harden replacements in the weak areas in time for the World Cup - but at least we can now acknowledge the strong likelihood of qualification.

And, if you're still not confident, reassure yourself that it could always be worse. Just when it seemed as though Brenecia had pulled itself languishes in fourth place and is wracked by a match-fixing scandal. You have to laugh, don't you?

[Abanhfleft]

The Pridnestrovian Invasion of Nordskania, Part Twenty-four

Turbayov, Community of Revolutionary Nordskania

The peace treaty to officially end the Nordskanian War was to be signed in Turbayov, the capital city of the anarchist Community of Revolutionary Nordskania, the largest of the Anglatian puppet states now residing on the island of Nordskania. The Mountain Pact had wanted President Field Marshal Stepan Stepanovich Stepanenko himself to come down to Turbayov to sign the peace treaty as a final humiliation to the invaders, but that was simply a step too far for Stepanenko and Pridnestrovia. In his place, Stepanenko sent the Pridnestrovian Prime Minister, Durag Kirilovich Nikovgorodiev, to sign the treaty for the Democratic People’s Republic.

Prime Minister Nikovgorodiev arrived in Turbayov in a Pridnestrovian Air Force Antonov An-124, the largest plane in their fleet. Everything that the Prime Minister and his staff could ever want or need for the trip to Turbayov, including two limousines, had been brought to Nordskania on board the Antonov. The Pridnestrovians didn’t trust the Nordskanians to not sabotage the vehicles that they would have given to the delegation when they arrived. In any case, the limousines drove right off the Antonov’s ramp and drove straight to the place where the treaty was to be officially signed.

Prime Minister Nikovgorodiev looked entirely disinterested throughout the proceedings. When the time came for him to make a speech in front of the Nordskanian congress, all he told the pro-Mountain Pact audience was that President Field Marshal Stepan Stepanovich Stepanenko was deeply sorry for not being able to make it to the signing of the peace treaty in Turbayov due to prior commitments, and that Prime Minister Nikovgorodiev had been sent in his stead. Nikovgorodiev had also been given the presidential power to sign treaties, effective only for tonight.

Nikovgorodiev signed the documents quickly and without flourish. He shook hands with the Mountain Pact delegates but only very briefly. He shook the hands of the anarchist Anya Belashova, the fascist gangster Lyo Kotov, and the leader of the Republic of Vestania, but he refused to shake the hand of Vasily Zharkov “as a matter of personal principle.” Even as he shook hands with the Mountain Pact delegates, Nikovgorodiev made a whole show of wiping his hand with a wet cloth every time he shook the hand of a delegate, as if the delegates were all tainted with a disease which required a quick rub down every time he touched one of them.

Immediately afterwards, the Pridnestrovian delegation went back to their limousines, which drove them back to the waiting Antonov. It was during this time that one of the Pridnestrovians said this about Turbayov: “This city is so ugly that I am ashamed to be in it, and I wish that it were gone from the face of the earth.” To this day, people still disagree on who said it, whether if it was just an aide of Prime Minister Nikovgorodiev’s or Nikovgorodiev himself who said those immortal words. In any case, the Pridnestrovians were already up in the air and far away when the locals got word of the insult to their city and were therefore unable to do anything about it except rant and rave on every possible medium.

Back in Tiraspol, the returning armed forces were welcomed back with open arms and as conquering heroes (for they had been, for seven months, the conquerors of the southern part of the Nordskanian island). The people of Pridnestrovia knew that their boys and girls had fought bravely and would have won in a fair fight without the intervention of the Anglatian imperialists, who had been brought into the conflict by their anarchist puppets to the north. Without Anglatian interference, the Pridnestrovian people knew that they would have beaten each and every one of the Nordskanian rebel states running amok on the island and afterwards establish a stable nation-state that would care for its people instead of kill them all if they weren’t so much as toeing the official ruling line, as was apparently the case in Nordskania now. The soldiers, sailors, and aviators of the Pridnestrovian invasion army marched in front of the Tiraspol Kremlin with backs straight and chests puffed out, for this was only a tactical and, in a sense, geopolitical defeat. The peace treaty signed in Turbayov had been vetoed by a unanimous majority of the State Duma, the Pridnestrovian lower house and trashed in favor of an armistice between Pridnestrovia and the Nordskanian states. Only a separate peace between Pridnestrovia and Anglatia was ratified and allowed to pass through the Duma and the People’s Congress.

Then it was time for the Pridnestrovians to set up their own Nordskanian puppet state, the Republic of Nordskania. The Republic of Nordskania was established as a government in exile based in Tiraspol now that there was no more Nordskanian territory in Pridnestrovian hands. The Republic had been forced out of Puloko alongside the withdrawing invaders, and in Tiraspol they found a populace and government willing and eager to give them diplomatic recognition. The headquarters of the Republic of Nordskania government in exile were set up in the old embassy of the Nordskanian Democratic People’s Republic; the entire embassy staff, from the diplomats to the clerks and guards to even the cooks in the embassy canteen, unilaterally decided to defect to Pridnestrovia after Vasily Zharkov announced that he was now joining the Mountain Pact. Kiril Fedorchuk, a noted Nordskanian Communist who had spoken favorably of the Pridnestrovian invasion, was elected President of the Republic of Nordskania by a secret ballot between him and his fellow pro-Pridnestrovia Nordskanian communists.

There was another puppet state which was supposed to have been created in Pridnestrovian-occupied territory in Nordskania before successive events interfered in its formation. Now the time was right to announce the creation and establishment of the State of Vestania, the homeland promised by the Pridnestrovians to the Vestanian people. The establishment of the State of Vestania was a politico-diplomatic counter by the Pridnestrovians to the Mountain Pact-established Republic of Vestania, which was now occupying the lands once held by Pridnestrovia in Nordskania, and it was also the fulfillment of a promise made by the Pridnestrovian government to the Vestanian people in the early days of the invasion guaranteeing their independence. The Pridnestrovians could have abandoned the Vestanians after their leaders attempted to betray the invaders to the Mountain Pact during the Second Sopova Offensive, but a Pridnestrovian’s word was his bond, and the Pridestrovians had promised the Vestanians their homeland, a free and independent homeland.

To make matters simpler, the two governments in exile were merged into one entity, which was now named the Federation of Nordskania and Vestania. It was the political union of the Republic of Nordskania and the State of Vestania, and they laid claim to the entirety of the island of Nordskania. The Republic of Nordskania claimed the currently anarchist north and the State of Vestania claimed the south currently held by the Republic of Vestania. Fiergrad was made the capital of the State of Vestania as that was where the Pridnestrovian and Vestanian people had had their first fateful meeting. Choosing the capital city of the Republic of Nordskania proved to be a tougher job as they didn’t know which city would be a harder slap to the face of the Mountain Pact: Turbayov, present capital of the anarchists, or so-called “Orelgrad,” headquarters of the fascist gangsters and a place which Pridnestrovia still stubbornly refers to as the Red Strip. Eventually the Republic of Nordskania settled on claiming Turbayov as its capital because of the hated anarchists.

And because there was no place for the Nordskanian puppet states in the new Pridnestrovian outlook on the island, they had to be removed from existence by whatever means possible. The Community of Revolutionary Nordskania, the State of Nordskania, the Republic of Vestania, and even the new Nordskanian Democratic People’s Republic were immediately placed on Pridnestrovia’s list of international terrorist and criminal organizations. The leaders of the Mountain Pact states like Anya Belashova, Lyo Kotov, the leader of the Republic of Vestania, and even Vasily Zharkov himself were now included in Pridnestrovia’s most wanted men and women, with large and substantial rewards for their capture or killing.

Kiril Fedorchuk would remain President of the Federation of Nordskania and Vestania, but to more accurately represent the equal relationship between the two peoples in the newly established state, the position of Prime Minister of the Federation was given to Victor Traianescu, who was then the President of the State of Vestania. Traianescu’s cousin, Anton Ionescu, was named President of the Senate of the Federation. The members of the Vestanian Protection Forces which had been deemed loyal to the agreement with Pridnestrovia had been evacuated from Fiergrad and Duradino before the purges committed there by the Pridnestrovian Army, and after the withdrawal from Puloko they had been brought back to Tiraspol as well and reformed into the Vestanian Defense Forces, which would form the core of the new Federation Armed Forces. Bonifacy Covaci, brother of the late Chief Lucius Covaci, was made the commanding general of the Federation Armed Forces. There were also rumors that Niketas Boyko, formerly of the Nordskanian People’s Army and the Soviet Republic of Nordskania was also being mooted for the position of Covaci’s deputy once he had passed some kind of loyalty test to be administered on him by the KGB and the GRU.

Right now, there were more Vestanians than Nordskanians in the Federation government-in-exile and its newly organized armed forces. But events in post-war Nordskania would see the number of refugees from that island coming to Pridnestrovia rise exponentially in the hopes that this government-in-exile and nation-state would come back to restore order to their once-again-chaotic country.

---

Turbayov, Community of Revolutionary Nordskania
Thirty-one days later

The man in the black leather hooded jacket looked at the watch on his left wrist once again to check that the time was still proceeding and had not stopped without his realizing it. Time had not stopped, to his immense relief, even though such a thing was technically still impossible for the current technology of the day. But his contacts were running late, that much had to be said. They had agreed on meeting at exactly midnight to meet and go over the plan one last time before enacting it, but it was already two in the morning and there was still no sign of his contacts. Had they been caught by the purging hordes? Surely not, or else the hordes would have made their way to his location and found him waiting for someone who was never going to come.

Finally, a black unmarked van came out of the main street and drove into the alleyway where the man had been waiting. The van slowed down a fraction as it approached him, and the sliding door opened up. The man stepped into the van with carefully practiced precision and was gone, along with the van, in the blink of an eye.

“What took you guys so long?” he asked as he struggled to find a place to sit down after hours of standing and waiting. The interior of the van was crowded almost to the limit. He counted twelve people inside the van with him.

“The submarines took us to the wrong place altogether the first time,” the man sitting in the front passenger seat replied. “First we ended up off the coast of Puloko, and then we found ourselves in Kurovo before we finally landed in the right place. Please tell me that this is Turbayov or I will be forced to shoot you between the eyes.”

“Yes, my Pridnestrovian comrade, we are in Turbayov, all right,” Stanislav Vinogradovsky replied. He was a supporter of socialism more than communism, but even being in favor of a leftist ideology was rapidly becoming a death sentence in Nordskania, what with the Blue Skulls running amok throughout the country killing off anyone who ever so much as a word of support for the old communist regime or the Pridnestrovian invaders. Vinogradovsky had already been providing intelligence and support to Pridnestrovia during the invasion while the invaders were mooting possible landings in the supposedly undefended north and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the Blue Skulls discovered his duplicity. He had agreed to provide help and support to the Pridnestrovians for this last operation in exchange for the Pridnestrovians bringing him out of Turbayov before his life became forfeit. And if that wasn’t enough for the Skulls to come after him then the fact that he had a Pridnestrovian father, who had long since gone back to his home country, would probably do it as well.

“Do you really have to do this, though?” he asked as the van headed ever closer to their ultimate destination. “You have already established the Federation of Nordskania and Vestania as a counter to all these Mountain Pact states. Your government refuses to pay more than the two billion rubles they have already paid to the Mountain Pact as reparations for the damages wrought by the conflict. Is there still a need to blow up the national stadium?”

“I wouldn’t call it a need, my Nordskanian socialist comrade,” Major Mikhail Yevgeniyevich Kutuzov replied. “But President Field Marshal Stepan Stepanovich Stepanenko has a pathological desire to always get the last word, the last laugh. The Anglatians hadn’t afforded him much opportunity for that, but the opportunity has opened up to show the Mountain Pact that Pridnestrovia is beaten back but not defeated and Stepanenko is taking it come hell or high water. Knowing the Comrade President, he’s already planning his revenge beyond the destruction of the stadium. Maybe it is time that we did what the Anglatians have been afraid of in the first place. Maybe it’s time that we got ourselves involved in Patierre.”

“You do realize that such a course of action will have massive consequences for your country if the Anglatians discover your interference in the Patierre Insurgency,” Vinogradovsky said. “The Patierre Insurgency is swimming up to their ears with Imperial Intelligence agents, infiltrators, and informants. As soon as one of you Pridnestrovians set foot on Patierre, II will know all about it. What if they use those arrays of theirs on your country?”

“Oh, you never know,” Kutuzov waved away. “A meteor might fall out of the sky and absolutely destroy those arrays. They may be a superpower but even they are powerless against Mother Nature and the cosmos at large.”

“Something tells me that if you do go ahead with this cockamamie plan, it will lead you to an even bigger disaster than the Nordskanian adventure.”

“Da, da, da. Are we there yet?”

“Right on time,” the driver said. The van opened up and the Pridnestrovian saboteurs poured out of the van and looked up at the Port of Turbayov Stadium, the national stadium of Revolutionary Nordskania. “That’s a big stadium,” one of the Pridnestrovians muttered.

“Stanislav, you have the keys to the stadium,” Kutuzov said. “Mstislav, you have the encyclopedic knowledge of the architecture of this stadium. You’re the one who knows where to put the charges for maximum damage. The rest of us will carry as much explosives as we can humanly carry to destroy this symbol of the anarchists’ excesses.”

But the plan didn’t happen that way. Already constrained for time due to wrong landings on the wrong cities, the Pridnestrovians weren’t able to truly sabotage the stadium for total and complete collapse. However, they were able to plant explosive charges throughout the stands which would render the place unusable for a long time. Some of the more patriotic saboteurs took the time to hang Pridnestrovian flags from the stands so there was no question as to who was responsible for the destruction in the stadium. “There you go,” Stanislav Vinogradovsky said as the Pridnestrovians went out of the stadium and began filing back into their van. “You’re going to destroy the most important stadium in the anarchists’ lives with my help. Now will you let me come back to Pridnestrovia with you?”

“If you keep standing outside of this van then we will leave you behind without a heavy heart,” Kutuzov said. Vinogradovsky made to get into the van, but he happened to look up as he did so, and he saw a bright streak of white light crossing through the sky. “A shooting star,” he said almost to himself. “What are the odds of that?”

“That’s not actually a shooting star, Vinogradovsky,” Kutuzov shouted. “That’s the final surprise that Stepanenko has in store for the Nordskanian puppets. Now if you really value your life then you’ll get in immediately before that shooting star hits its target.”

---

Puloko, Nordskania
That same time

The bright streak of light seen over the skies of Nordskania generated much attention from those who were still awake to see it. It seemed unusually bright for a meteor, but no one who saw it questioned if it really was a meteor or something else entirely. And once the meteor vanished over the horizon, those who saw it immediately forgot all about it.

But over in Puloko, once the capital of the Soviet Republic of Nordskania and the Republic of Nordskania and now the capital-city-in-waiting of the Republic of Vestania, awe and wonder at the meteor turned to fear and panic when the people who were still in the city realized that the meteor was headed right for them. They panicked, they lost their heads, they tore their hair out, they prayed, they made to get out of the city as quickly as they could, but it was no use. There was no escaping the fate which had befallen Puloko.

The falling object fell from a northerly direction, and it struck the city right in front of the city hall, at the very same spot where Colonel General Vsevolod Pankavuranov had announced the fall of the Soviet Republic of Nordskania and the establishment of the Republic of Nordskania. Weighing eighteen hundred pounds and traveling at terminal velocity, the object impacted Puloko with the force of an atom bomb. Everything within a mile-wide radius of the impact site simply vanished, torn apart at the molecular level. The underlying rock was turned into smoking hot lava by the force of the impact and sizzled and crackled as they flew through the air.

The citizens of Puloko who were unlucky enough to be left behind by the withdrawing Pridnestrovians were carbonized, and their ashes mixed with the rock and debris flying out of the impact zone. The earth shook so fiercely that large cracks and fissures appeared around what remained of the city, and the island of Nordskania itself was shifted from its position by as much as two feet. And when the devastation finally ended, a large mushroom cloud of dirt, debris, and molten rock rose up from the crater where the city of Puloko once stood. The entire city had been destroyed, and not a single soul who had been inside the city when the impact arrived survived to tell the tale.

The remnants of the Vestanian Protection Forces which had survived the Pridnestrovian purges during their attempted backstabbing of the invaders, augmented by volunteers from the Vestanian diaspora throughout the multiverse, would have been the first people into Puloko in preparation for it becoming the capital of the Republic of Vestania. Now, all they had before them was a smoking and burning crater. Initially, they thought that the Pridnestrovians had launched a nuclear missile at Puloko as a parting gift to the Mountain Pact and was therefore understandably reluctant to approach the site. But when there were no signs of radioactive fallout detected coming from the crater, they were forced to change their theory. If it wasn’t a Pridnestrovian nuke that destroyed Puloko, then what did? Was it really an act of God, a random shot in the dark by the cosmos which was lucky or unlucky (depending on your point of view) enough to strike a major and important Nordskanian city? Or had the Pridnestrovians somehow managed to master the cosmos and use its natural resources such as asteroids or comets as their newest and latest weapons?

Deep in an underground bunker beneath the Tiraspol Kremlin, a sergeant of the Pridnestrovian Strategic Rocket Forces turned around from his seat to face President Field Marshal Stepan Stepanovich Stepanenko and said, “Target is destroyed, Comrade President. Puloko is gone. Stepanenko’s Fist is still working and effective.”

“That is very good news, Comrade Sergeant,” Stepanenko said with only the barest hint of a smile. “Now Anglatia and the Mountain Pact know that Pridnestrovia is not the cowering wretch they thought they were dealing with. They may have their Underfell Array but we have Stepanenko’s Fist. Let’s see them counter that which they cannot see.”

---

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WORLD CUP 77 QUALIFIERS: ABANHFLEFT VS ESHAN
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Kevin Kelvin celebrates his second goal against Eshan. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

LOTHARSTADT, XEMLICE - Abanhfleft came from behind to win a vital encounter against Eshan in the World Cup 77 qualifiers with a brace from in-form striker Kevin Kelvin.

Eshan took a surprise lead when Marco van Ciavatinni practically walked the ball into the goal just five minutes into the game.

Once again, just like in the game against Hazard Nation when Fleftic play became shoddy and haphazard after conceding an early goal, Abanhfleft couldn't string together a single pass, and whenever it looked they were about to build upon a dangerous moment, the Echani defense was there to mop up things and keep hold of their slim lead.

Kareem Dagen had the best chance for the Fleftics in the first half but saw his attempt to lob the keeper loop over the bar as well, but the Echani could very well have doubled their advantage had Marshawn Mercury done a little better to connect to Jean-Marie Bentacur's short pass.

Ranulph Bustamante's half-time team talk must have had the desired effect on the players as they came out of the gates searching for the equalizer, which they finally found through the efforts of Kevin Kelvin, who has scored in three consecutive Fleftic Premier League games for Malabon SC before the international break. Kelvin applied the simplest of touches to Rory Edwards' pass to take it just beyond the reach of the goalkeeper.

The Revolutionaries then got the second goal which they deserved through Kelvin once again, and this time it was impressive solo footwork from the Malabon striker which enabled him to get past the Echani defense once again and slot home.

Having experienced a topsy-turvy game with regards to goalscoring in Sabrefell against Nephara, though, Abanhfleft pushed on for the decisive third goal, and it almost proved to be their undoing as van Ciavatinni once again managed to walk into the box and somehow managed to shoot the ball into the side netting instead of into the back of the net.

Kenneth Owobowale had a good shot at goal from Valery Zolnerov's corner but instead was flagged for offside even as he managed to find the target.


Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: Another winning performance but we could have done better

Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: "In the end, we got the win, and that's what matters, doesn't it? But there was a possibility that things couldn't have ended that way. Conceding so early in the game almost messed us up once again, but this time we've learned from our mistakes, and we were able to dig ourselves out of the hole that was almost entirely our own making as well."

"What I said before is still true. We can no longer afford to drop any more points if we want to stand a chance of qualifying out of this group and into the World Cup once again. I started the streak for qualifying into the World Cup, and I don't want to be the one to break it."

Abanhfleft will host Nordernious for the second leg of the World Cup 77 qualifiers at the Stadion de December 27 in Imgortur, Verbergerkinnh.

       ABANHFLEFT 2 - 1 ESHAN
KELVIN (56', 71')       VAN CIAVATINNI (5')

ESHAN
GK: 1 Aurélian
RB: 2 Tadeo
RCB: 3 Tran
LCB: 5 Luc Villaview (Bambic - 55')
LB: 6 Carstensen
RM: 11 Arisilde
LM: 4 Samper Markovic
CAM: 8 Bentacur (Elrond - 70')
RW: 10 van Ciavatinni
ST: 9 Baudelio
LW: 7 Mercury (Stanford - 80')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Varamoninov
RB: 14 Popov
RCB: 4 L. Edwards
LCB: 5 Owobowale
LB: 3 Ogigayatsu
RM: 8 Vincelot █
CM: 7 Zolnerov
LM: 6 Marilungo (Lovren - 65')
CAM: 10 R. Edwards (El Salah - 84')
RS: 9 Kelvin
LS: 11 Dagen (V. Zima - 79')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 52%
Eshan: 48%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 13 (7 on target)
Eshan: 12 (7 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 9
Eshan: 5
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 13
Eshan: 15

[Boring Paradise]

Oh boy, it is another World Cup Qualifier

We haven't done specifically well in recent cycles but why do we still try. Well for once we have got a new rotation of players coming into the team with some names remaining such as Osama Homewood who stays in goal but reserve keeper Jamie de Longi, who was the main keeper at Westfield House, before it was taken control completely by Boring Paradise very recently in terms of our history. Hopefully he would be a god backup if something happens to the main Paradisian goalkeeper. Meanwhile in defence, we have had a complete overhaul with only one player remaining which is Daniel Jones as he keeps his place as the main CB alongside the new player Bendegúz Gamberlini whilst Fabien Wyatt and Jamie Szocsit take the full back positions. We also had our first female footballer make the national team as a substitute who is a right back by the name of Lily Van Ransbeke and will hopefully bring more to fold for the team when we are in dire straights. In midfield we see the return of Hishaam Ali Junior in the AMC role as he last played for the team back when they had qualified for the World Cup and hopefully he still has his wonder trait with him after several years away from the international stage. Remaining duo Ryan Miller and Samuel Wong keep their places on the starting eleven alongside Simon Ado who hasn't played internationally before this cycle. Old favorite Kevin Harris is seen on the bench alongside 3 other players who have proven themselves to be worthy. The front duo remain the same as Raiyaan Malik Junior and Sameer Jaklim Junior keep their 10 and 11 spots in the team and with the return of Hishaam Ali Jr we will be seeing the old playstyle of the trio in action again. On the bench we have Shooby Armours, a former starter for the Paradisian team, accompanied by Léon Banks and Moos Rossi who have not had their depute before this cycle and probably won't at all this cycle either unless the strikeforce receives an ill fate.

We started the cycle with us being in Pot 4, a pot we have not been in for a while as we usually end up in Pot 3. We ended up with teams such as 15th placed Electrum, 20th place Damukuni and 47th placed Ethane while we are officially ranked 68th in the world. This would not bode well for us as their is no playoff system in this as well top two advancing straight. So we have to get very lucky and beat the teams mentioned and not falter against lower ranked teams, which we failed to do. Matchday 1 saw us against Rebuild The Wall who are ranked 183rd away to their stadium, Wooden Palisade, which I would say is a rather dull name for something that can give all the fans splinters if they dared to go wild. However, even with our offensive mentality we couldn't break the wall that was rebuilt and the final score was a 0-0 draw. So when we say we would not falter against lower ranked teams, that had failed already. Then comes matchday 2 where we see the highest ranked nation in the group so against us at Paradisia North Park. It was a very close game from the very start but one mistake cost us the game as Electrum had taken advantage and punished us for it, a result people were expecting from the start.

We went on a winning streak of 4 after beating Cetheque (ranked 258th) 3-2 away which was a total disappointment since this should have been an easier win for us. Then we went against another ranked 258th with The Andromeda Archipelago at home with a comfortable 3-0 win, our 2nd clean sheet of the group after 4 matches. We went to Tinhampton for Matchday 5 who are unranked since for some reason they did not participate in the Baptism of Fire but anyways we won 3-1 and went to 3rd place, where we were 2 points behind Electrum and 5 behind Ethane. We never went back to Boring Paradise but after the match we went straight from Tinhampton to New Gazi where they trained for a while before winning 1-0 against the nation who were ranked 85th in the world, yet a team we have never heard of before. Now came a match we needed to win to close the gap on qualification spots in Matchday 7 which was against Ethane at the Boratio Park since the Paradisia North Park was undergoing spring cleaning, but that didn't stop Ethane from maintaining their perfect record and won 2-0 against us, something we will get our revenge on when we are the visitors. Matchday 8 against Damukuni who are ranked 20th was a very close match with Boring Paradise holding the 5-4 victory away from home. This has made the threats below us smaller and now we can properly battle Electrum for 2nd place whilst Ethane keeps their perfect record. Then we went back to Paradisia North Park where we beat 132nd ranked team Korizland with a comfortable 2-1.

In overall the first half of the qualifying group has been very inconsistant but at the end of it we are in 3rd place with 19 points, with 6 wins 1 draw and 2 losses. We are 3 points behind Pot 1 team Electrum and 8 points behind Pot 3 team Ethane, who has likely sealed a spot in the World Cup already unless they are given a beating in the 2nd half. Meanwhile pot 2 team Damukuni are in 4th place, 4 points behind Boring Paradise at the halfway stage. Group 8 has now boiled down to a battle for 2nd between Electrum and Boring Paradise, with us as the underdogs.

[Schottia]

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SBCNEWS Online...
Football special - The Road to San Jose Guayabal and Quebec. Part One

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The media back in Schottia were pretty much unanimous: This was undoubtedly the nation's best, and possibly only chance, to make an impact at a World Cup. The build up to WC77-Qualifying could not have been better, with the side reaching the final of the Cup of Harmony on home soil, before lifting the inaugural Independents Cup in Taxhavn. Under the stewardship of Quebecois manager Lionel Mah, the team seem to have found their groove - as they went from a side incapable of even making the World Cup play-offs, to one that reached back-to-back tournament finals. With this success behind them - and objectively speaking one of the strongest playing squads in their history - the Auks embarked on the long, and indubitably meandering road to San Jose Guayabal and Quebec.

Schottia were drawn in a group containing Ceni, Starblaydia, and The Sarian, all of whom have been to the World Cup finals in the recent past. This was alongside Baptism of Fire 43 Champions, Kalumba, who somewhat ominously put ten past us back in WC69. Of the other sides in this new ten team group-format, Nuevo Caracas could represent a potential banana skin, as the unstable nation is never an easy place to visit - a fact to which Port Christopher could testify. On paper it looked like a tricky draw, but Schottic fans would be heartened by the fact that both Starblaydia and The Sarian have dropped down the world rankings of late. And while Ceni are undoubtedly one of the best attacking sides in the world, they are one of the lower ranked top seeds, and in terms of personnel, they are a side we know reasonably well.

Abristan 0-4 Schottia
Line-up: McNott, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Conjure, McDonald, Coultan (Ünterhausen), Rudden (Rexmont), E.Killanen, Martel-Burns (Crew)
Goals: Martel-Burns (2), Coultan, Crew

You never quite know what to expect when visiting the Pacific. However this match possibly came a little too soon for newcomers to WCC football, Abristan, as the Baptism of Fire round of sixteeners got a brutal introduction to this tournament. Despite some flashes of brilliance from Magdalen 1977 forward, LeMoyen Turka, it was an otherwise comfortable match for Schottia, where they scored four for no reply. Abristan were unable to make full use of their normally fluid, attacking style of play, as they came up against a dogged Schottia defence. At the other end the visitors made the most of their chances with a first half double from 20-year-old striker, Corinne Martel-Burns, sending them well on their way.

In the second half, Schottia finished the job they had started. Crawford City star Kim Coultan made it three, after latching onto a through-pass from captain, Jenny McDonald. Then substitute Heron Crew put the result beyond any doubt as he rose highest to head a Larry Watt corner past Jamal Byala-Dwyer for number four. It was exactly the result Lionel Mah and his team would have been hoping for, with Schottia looking both solid at the back, and in front of goal.

Schottia 2-0 Kalumba
Line-up: McNott, Watt (Abner), Doig, Souter, Paul, Ünterhausen, McDonald, Coultan (Luna), Rudden, E.Killanen, Martel-Burns (McCormack)
Goals: McCormack, E.Killanen

Schottia's first home game of the qualifiers saw them welcome Kalumba to Harbour Hill Stadium. 10-3: It is a score line, which has always sat uncomfortably in Schottia's hall of sporting records, given the way they were dismantled during WC69. Ageless centre forwards, Peterson Watusi and Piet Von Kruger, were still in this Kalumba side, having both scored hat tricks in that now infamous match. However, Schottia are unrecognisable from the side that was so utterly taken to bits over a decade ago, and this represented a great chance to erase some bitter memories.

This wasn't Schottia's best performance, and indeed Kalumba made things difficult for the home side. It wasn't until the 64th minute when they broke the deadlock, with substitute John McCormack breaking free from Kaneu Daima, before finding the bottom corner with a measured effort. Chloe Rudden then squandered an excellent chance to put some clear daylight between the two team, as she pulled her shot wide from the edge of the D. However, Schottia eventually put the result beyond any doubt as Eion Killanen curled the ball past Ulusu Mtanda from the edge of the area to make it two wins from two for the Tyranian nation in Group 13.

Starblaydia 1-2 Schottia
Line-up: McNott, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Ünterhausen, McDonald, Coultan, Rudden (Rexmont), E.Killanen (Conjure), Martel-Burns (McCormack)
Goals: Ünterhausen, McCormack

The 196,754 seater, Stadii Di Bradini, is one of the iconic venues in Multiverse football, and there was serious danger that Schottia could have been overawed as they made the trip to Starblaydia. It is fair to say, however, that this is not the side of WC25, 28, or even WC41 - and ranked just inside the world's top fifty, Schottia faced the unusual prospect of going into this one as favourites. With this expectation, there would come a need for composure, something that Schottia have often lacked in the past against the big sides.

This current Starblaydia side are a relatively unknown quantity, and as a result, Schottia went into this a little blind to the threat they could pose. On home soil, the Men and Women in Mauve gave a good account of themselves in the opening half. Lionel Mah's players struggled to make headway early on, and penned in their own half, their chances were limited. However, Starblaydia had their tails up and duly took the lead on the stroke of half time as poor defending left Schottia exposed. Things were made worse in the second half, as Corinne Martel-Burns was lucky to stay on the pitch, following a gesture made to the opposition fans. Schottia somehow managed to drag themselves out the hole though, and against the run of play, Johannas Ünterhausen pulled them back level. With the match all square, the visitors slowly but surely clawed their way back into contention, and John McCormack scored his second of the qualifiers, moments before the end, to keep his side's 100% record intact.

Schottia 4-1 Huri de Wintre
Line-up: McNott, Thompson, Doig, Souter, M.Ünterhausen, Conjure, McDonald, Coultan (Luna), Rudden (Rexmont), E.Killanen, Martel-Burns (Crew)
Goals: Martel-Burns, Coultan, Conjure, Crew

This was already shaping up to be Schottia's best start to a World Cup campaign, and with the unranked Huri de Wintre coming up next, there was air of expectation back home. Schottia were sitting top of the table on goal difference, but with Ceni breathing down our necks, we had to make sure we didn't take our foot off the pedal.

After a couple of matches where she failed to shine, Martel-Burns was back to here combative best in this one, terrorising the Huri de Wintre defence throughout the opening half. While the 20-year-old opened the scoring after only seven minutes, she also received a yellow card for a very heavy challenge, meaning she will miss the next match. Schottia really ran away with this one in the second half, as superior fitness levels began to show. Kim Coultan, Evelyn Conjure and Heron Crew all scored in the closing stages to make the score line look a lot more comfortable than it really was.

Verceola 0-3 Schottia
Line-up: McNott, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Conjure, McDonald (J.Ünterhausen), Coultan, Rudden, E.Killanen (Bia), McCormack (Curren)
Goals: E.Killanen, McCormack, Rudden

Schottia were minus Martel-Burns for the visit to Verceola, with Centralis Heart's John McCormack given the nod ahead of Heron Crew as her replacement. The side ranked outside the top-200 were another unknown entity, and Lionel Mah would have been desperate to keep this winning start going, especially with the visit to Ceni next.

If the travelling support had any worries that this was going to be a difficult away-day, they were quickly dispelled, as Schottia wasted no time in going 2-0 up. Killanen scored the first, after a cross from Chloe Rudden succeeded in splitting the defence open, before McCormack tucked away his third of the tournament, in the confusion following a Paul Doig long-throw. Joey Bia and Lucy Curren both had chances to extend their lead further, but it was to be Sabrefell Athletic star, Rudden, who had the final say. The winger sprinted free ten minutes from the end, showing some clever footwork, before slipping her first goal of the qualifiers past the keeper to make it three-nil.

Ceni 2-2 Schottia
Line-up: McNott, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Conjure, McDonald (Cummings), Coultan, Rudden (Rexmont), E.Killanen, Martel-Burns (McCormack)
Goals: Martel-Burns, Paul
It was the one we had all been waiting for back home. Schottia's trip to Ceni had all the makings of a great, big two, World Cup qualifier. Both sides came into the match with five wins from five, and as two attack minded teams, this promised to be a good one. This match would also see top young strikers, Corinne Martel-Burns and Andrew Arrowsword pitted against one and other, two players with very contrasting styles. Ceni also had a familiar presence up front in the form of Cornellians star, Kel Koromin, a former Golden Boot winner in the SPL, who could most certainly do some damage.

Schottia were forced to weather something of a Cenian storm in the first half, with Jeremy McNott called into action to turn a lethal Arrowsword strike just wide. Despite being up against it, Lionel Mah's side were able to cause a few problems for the host going forward, and Eoin Killanen tested Juan Pablo Morales on the half hour mark with a powerful effort from the edge of the box. Regardless of this, there could have been no complaints when Kel Koromin gave the home side the lead, beating club-mate McNott at his near post with a well-taken goal.

Straight after the restart Schottia felt they should have had a penalty as Killanen went down in the box, but the referee quickly waved play-on. Several sections of the crowd were undoubtedly furious, as they felt the midfielder should have been booked for diving. Schottia responded well to going a goal down, and it didn't take them long to get themselves back level, Martel-Burns heading the ball past Morales on her return from suspension. The goal possibly had Elías Carrasco's side rattled for the first time in the match, as immediately following the equaliser; Schottia enjoyed their best period of possession. As a result, they were able to stun the entire stadium, including their own fans, as they took the lead through a Stephen Paul header. The Falourr defender managed to nudge just in front of Liam Lorechian, to turn Kim Coultan's freekick into the back of the net.

If Schottia thought this one was going to be straight forward, then they had another think coming. The home side, desperate to stop visitors stealing a march in Group 13, pressed their opponents hard in the closing stages. In the end, they got the goal they probably deserved, as Lammerton's Jasper Valaran curled in a powerful strike from the edge of the area.

Schottia 8-2 The Sarian
Line-up: McNott, Watt, M.Killanen, Souter, Paul, Conjure, McDonald, Coultan (Cummings), Rudden (Rexmont), E.Killanen(Luna), Martel-Burns (Brankovič)
Goals: E.Killanen, Martel-Burns (3), Coultan, Soria-Luna, McDonald, Brankovič

Buoyed by their result in Cenial, Schottia were clearly brimming with confidence as they welcomed The Sarian to Harbour Hill Stadium. We knew the Esportivan side had been struggling a little to replicate their top form of late, but no one could have anticipated what was about to happen. Schottia went on to have their best ever result in WCC football, with The Sarian utterly demolished in the second half, as Schottia put eight past them.

As unlikely as it sounds, given the score line, the visitors didn't actually start this one badly; and despite Schottia going up the tunnel at half time with a 3-1 lead, the result was far from a forgone conclusion. However, it all seemed to click into place for Schottia as they scored another five goals in the second half to run out overwhelming winners. Martel-Burns left with the match ball, as the St Johns Arsenal girl scored three, in what was her best performance to date in a Schottia kit. There was also a good display from Crawford City's Kim Coultan, and 18-year-old winger Camila Luna continued to impress in her debut season in the first team. Substitute Višnja Brankovič wrapped things up in stoppage time, scoring her second goal for her country in what was a rare appearance.

Nuevo Caracas 2-3 Schottia
Line-up: McNott, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Conjure, McDonald (Crillin), Coultan, Rudden (J.Ünterhausen), E.Killanen (Crew), Martel-Burns (McCormack)
Goals: Martel-Burns, Coultan, McCormack

After the highs of the match with Sarian, Schottia were faced with the prospect of a trip to the former war torn nation of Nuevo Caracas. This is certainly one of the matches Lionel Mah will have been looking forward to least, and away from home, Schottia were going to need to keep their wits about them.

Our concerns proved indeed to be well founded, as the side ranked 73rd pushed Schottia very hard in the first half. There were echoes of the Ceni match about this one, and if Schottia take anything away from this match, it is that they need to keep things tight away from home. In the end however, goals from Martel-Burns, Coultan, and McCormack helped the visitors scrape over the line, but the match could have easily gone either way.

Schottia 5-1 Kinzenland
Line-up: Gould, Watt, Doig, Souter, Paul, Conjure, J.Ünterhausen, Coultan (Luna), Rudden, Kennicot, Martel-Burns (Crew)
Goals: Martel-Burns (2), Rudden, Kennicot, Crew

With Schottia at home to Kinzenland and Ceni away to Starblaydia, the final fixture in the first half of qualifying represented a chance for Schottia to put a little distance between themselves and the chasing pack. They were without Eoin Killanen for this match, meaning that Port Sebastian's Joey Bia would get a chance to prove what he could do on the right flank.

The match was reasonably straightforward, as the group's second bottom seeds failed to show up. Martel-Burn scored one either side halftime, as she took her tally to ten for the tournament so far. Chloe Rudden was also at her best, turning the Kinzenlandic fullbacks inside out with her mazy running, as she scored Schottia's second. Former Port Patrick teammates Kennicot and Crew also got in the action also, as their contributions ensured that the score ended up looking a little one-sided.

The faith Schottia have shown in Mah and Donaldson seems to have been well placed, as after a rocky start to their tenure, they seem to be squeezing every drop out of these players. With the only blot on their copybook a very reasonable 2-2 draw in Ceni, expectations will high going into the second half of qualifying. However, we have been here before, and fans will still have bitter memories of the collapse Schottia experienced back during World Cup 75. Key to making it this time round will be the visit of both Ceni and Starblaydia, as well as not getting complacent against some of the smaller teams. Corinne Martel-Burns' coming of age has also been a big factor this year, as has the emergence of Stephen Paul and Gareth Souter as a solid centre-back pairing. There is not much you can say, other than that Schottia need to keep going. With a smaller pool of players, the second half of qualifying has often been tricky for the Auks, but so far, the team have managed to stay injury free. With the work he has done over the last eighteen months, taking Schottia to the World Cup finals would undoubtedly be the final feather in manager Lionel Mah's cap.

[Barunia]

The Beat

Episode 2 (second half)


At the Glenmorris estate, a black van pulled up next to the south-east tower. The driver watched a couple underneath the towering block of concrete, who were staring into one another's eyes, and occasionally glancing around them. One, the woman, looked straight at the driver and gave a quick thumbs up. The driver raised his mobile to his mouth. "Blackbird one report all clear."
On the north side, a similar van received a surreptitious nod from a jogger, who had stopped by the basement entrance to tie his laces. As he disappeared up the stair well, the van driver reported, "Blackbird four report all clear."
In the dark recesses of yet another van, DI Powell listened to the calls coming in. "Blackbird three report all clear." came over the equipment. Powell picked up the radio. "DI Powell to All units, Operation Blackbird go, go, GO!"

From the multiple vans, armed police officers started pouring towards the towers. There were four groups, each to a tower, with the heavily armed SAO's leading the charge. On one of the towers, a young man came charging down the stairs, and was tackled by the jogger. "Hey man, get off me!" he screamed.
The jogger pulled out a warrant card. "Police. Off to tell your mates below hat's up, are we?"
He held the youth while he stopped struggling. Below, the rest of the police had taken up their positions. The jogger, DS Phil Reeve, dragged the youth down to meet them. He spoke to the nearest officer. "Dawson, I need your cuffs. One of their scouts."
"Don't know what your talking about man!" The youth interjected.
"We'll see." said Phil.

On the other side of the estate, Bills led the SAO charge. He aimed his rifle at the door as two other officers applied the battering ram to the door. As it crashed open, Bills rushed in, torches on and his rifle raised. "Armed police! Stay where you are, armed police!" Outside Powell, waved the rest of the troops in. DC Vance followed the uniformed officers. As she entered, she drew her pistol. They went from room to room, kicking open doors. Empty storerooms…bang, bang, bang! A hail of bullets rang out as they opened a door. One of the SAOs went down. Sarah raised her firearm and fired into the room. There was the sound of running feet and a door being slammed.
"They're making a run for it!" she yelled, and raced after the sound along with Bills. Two other officers pulled the downed officer out of the basement.

Molly was standing with her back to the wall, pistol drawn. She practiced her breathing. Usually, she never needed to draw her gun. For this operation, firearms had been authorised as a first, rather than a last, resort. Molly was scared. As she tried to stop from shaking, their was a crash as the door flew open. Molly leapt out, her gun ready. "Armed police!" she screamed.
The door slammed hurriedly, and there was the sound of running back down.
"Dawson to Vance, one suspect, heading back down your way."

In the darkness below, Vance heard Molly's message come through on the radio. Now she knew what entrance he'd tried to bolt from, she knew roughly where the suspect was. She moved towards the north tower. Whack! She was hot hard across the back of the head and the unexpectedness of the blow caused her to drop her gun. As she struggled to get back to her feet, a foot kicked her in the head. As she lay on the ground, she saw the suspect kneel down to pick up her gun. Trying to stand, she froze as he pointed the weapon at her.
"Freeze!" She saw the suspect jump in surprise, then suddenly swing her weapon away and up. A gunshot ran out, and the man dropped down, dead. Sarah let out a sigh of relief.

<credits>

[Bonesea]

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[Port Christopher]

This campaign was proving to be tough going, but then again, in what world was it ever going to be easy for Port Christopher. The win over Azrea was an important one though, and it ensured that they reached the halfway point with a little daylight between them and Chiata. As far as Jim Reid could see, there was no way they were going to qualify without another uphill struggle. They were now four points behind Farfadillis in second, and equal on points with the seemingly resurgent Equestrian States.

Jim Reid had been living on their recently acquired island for the best part of a year now. It had become a bit of a sanctuary, but also it was somehow his prison. Partly, he had taken up home there as a refuge away from the glare of the media spotlight, but it was also out of convenience. The attention his "DIY Football Association" had gotten both on the mainland and in Schottia was intense - but entirely predicted. Whether they were young anarchist who seemed to idolise this new Port Christopher side, or the detractors who thought the whole thing was a farce, Jim couldn't really leave home without being mobbed.

Jim's daughter, Lilou, was currently on her first visit to the island; and it was the first time she had seen her father in the best part of two years. She had lived with her mother in Schottia until very recently, when she had won a surprise move to Los-Juantos Coastal in Super Llamaland.

'Well it's certainly peaceful,' Lou remarked in reference to the lack of human life. It was extremely hard to put your finger on what exactly the place felt like, as it was somewhere between a state of the art sports centre, and a dusty building site. While they were between matches, there were very few people who stayed on the island: A) It was very impractical to try and support any sort of population B) most individuals who had anything to do with the island were playing football abroad. Only a small detachment remained, to look after the facility, while maintaining their claim to the lump of sand.

'It can be peaceful,' Jim shrugged. 'When you're not busting your gut, or enduring some sort of storm. There's plenty here to keep me busy though.' When he wasn't doing anything else, the Port Christopher manager generally pitched in with the building work. A second facility was under construction, which would allow them to cater for more visiting supports; since at present they were forced to leave soon after the matches took place, and were thus put off making the trip. Jim knew that ticket revenue was going to be important to the long-term sustainability.

'I kind of feel like I would get bored out of my mind here.' Lou said, as her father directed her through a high aluminium gate and into the stadium for the first time. 'It must feel a bit like being on one of those Antarctic bases, or eh, being on a space station.' The stadium, The Jim Reid Arena, was small but modern, and ergonomically laid out. Jim had pretested the name on the grounds of modesty, but he had been overwhelmingly outvoted.

'It's like I said Lou... I can find plenty to do.' Jim watched on as his daughter looked around. Her face was somewhere between impressed and being a little underwhelmed. It was actually difficult to tell exactly where she sat on the whole thing. Lou had been eligible to play of Port Christopher through her father, but had turned him down two years ago, and subsequently gone on to play for Schottia at U18 level. While the door was still open, she had turned him down in his hour of need, so the chances of her having a change of heart now were slim. The rejection had obviously caused some friction, but the two of them had worked through it, and this meeting was a sign of things improving further.

'LOOKS COOL.' Lou gave him a thumbs up, looking back from the top to the dugouts. She was forced to shout over the noise of the wind and waves, which could get surprisingly loud. That was one thing Jim hadn’t quite anticipated: how bad the conditions could be on the island, especially in the winter. The match with Azrea had been the worst of all, with the referee struggling to make his whistle heard over the swirling of sand and debris in the wind. 'WHICH SECTION IS FOR THE HOME SUPPORTERS?'

'THERE,' Jim bellowed back to her, as Lou tried to hold her hair back with a spare hand. 'AND THERE.' He watched his daughter nod her understanding, before climbing back down. Jim had seen a few contractors about putting up wind blockers of some description around the stadium, but there were bigger problems to be dealt with. The issue of erosion was also a very real problem, and apparently mistakes had been made when the sand was dumped here in the first place.

There were certainly sides in Multiverse football who had their problems, wars and conflicts, but Jim had the feeling that his was more or less unique. He was like some weird character from classical literature, living alone on a desert island. All he needed were a couple of sirens sat on the rocks, and a hydra in cave. In no way could he blame Lou for turning him down two years ago. Despite Port Christopher making the World Cup while Schottia did not, he wouldn't have wished this upheaval on anyone. All their success over the last couple of years had come at a price. Jim certainly felt it chipping away at his sanity, and he was glad that Lou had spared herself the same fate.

[Brenecia]

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Patriots in Crisis! One Win in Five Drops Cullen's Squad to Fourth
Laura Mulholland

There's no mistaking it by this point. Brenecia's shambolic qualification campaign is well and truly off the rails by this stage. Perhaps it is unsurprising, given that our country's football program is now the laughing stock of the world off the pitch, that it would be a laughing stock on it.

You'd think that our captain, who recently was on the stand reporting to a judge on how she could have failed to notice the match-fixing under her nose (acquitted of all blame, it has to be noted), would be a millstone. Instead, she has been a source of inspiration to the side, and one whose absence against Tobiasia (thanks to the BFA scheduling her trial appearance over it) was sorely felt.

The warning signs were there in the Campionato. The side never quite looked entirely convincing, and with no Purrington in the heart of midfield the side lacked creativity, only offering hard but perhaps uninspired running to the cause. It was enough, with some hard-boiled defending, to get them to achieve minimum expectations. Not enough to trouble the high-end opponents, though.

The problem seemed solved enough early on. The Patriots started qualifying well, though it seems so distant to remember it now. They won a deserved, if narrow, 1-0 victory over group rivals Turori and a similarly tight victory over a tough Savojarna, while stomping a couple of weaker sides away. And then Eastfield Lodge came to town.

Perhaps it was symbolic that Catherine Gryphon should finally score her first international goal here, a direct free kick that just kept flying, but in open play the Patriots' attacks kept breaking down, in defence they kept faltering. They lost 3-1, painfully.

And then things never really improved. Cullen rested many of her best players against Great Caledonia, and instead of a narrow 1-0 win ended up with a scoreless draw. A terrible home result, soon overshadowed by this paper's exclusive expose on Northern Union's hold over domestic refereeing. And Brenecia did recover, with a fantastic 3-0 win away over Anglatia. It was a brilliant result, spearheaded by Catherine Gryphon who was everywhere and doing everything.

And then Brenecia's defence collapsed in the next two games and the Patriots now languish fourth.

This upcoming fixture against Turori is unambiguously a must-win. It is away, and the Patriots have performed better away from the pressure-cooker atmosphere at home of late. There can be no dithering. Cullen must pick her best XI, a best XI that has scarcely changed since she first took over, and if that proves inadequate to at least secure qualification for the World Cup, then she must do the honourable thing and step aside.

If that seems a radical call, then note that her efforts at regenerating the national side have failed, and if her idea of a strongest XI can't cut it, then what exactly is she bringing to the table? For all her past successes, Cullen looks and sounds like a manager who's been found out, and there can be no room for sentimentality in international football.

Still, it could be worse. Althea Reader had been approached to fill the last two vacancies for the managerial job. Perhaps, had she accepted, it would be the national team now gripped by scandal. But even scandal would seem more exciting, more romantic, than this tiring malaise.

[Flardania]

Opening Theme

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Bonjour et Ohayōgozaimasu Kirishima. Welcome ladies and gentleman, back to the World Cup 77 Qualifiers edition of the Kitsune Report, brought to you by the Nagatomo Sports Network (NSN), sponsored by Air Pacifica, and Pocari Surge. Here at the Kitsune Report, it's all about Kirishinan sports but right now, our attention is set on world cup football. With the first half now completed and a second half remaining, it's time to getgrooving to some world cup football once again!

Kirishima 1-2 Tomikosan Review:

Following back to back dominating performances with a 5-0 win against 69th ranked Dainer and a 6-1 win against unranked Turkmenbasyn, the Kitsunes failed to continue that against Mriin, Brigantii, and The Mercenary Islands as they were only able to pull out draws. The Kitsunes were able to narrowly avoid a draw by defeating Ancharmunn at home in Akihabara although the match was too close while being up against an unranked team. While the draws did end there the Kitsune lost to Valanora as expected before returning home to the Dreamscape Arena in Kairaku in search of a win. The Kitsunes have been hit with several bombardments to their morale as of late and looked to jump start some momentum into the second half with a win against Tomikosan.

Morale is a very important factor in any sport. This is one of the main reason why people take match rigging or harmful blown calls seriously. Put any team in a hole or have them doubt themselves and it's a big problem. The belief and confidence are important to any team good or bad. The Kitsunes need to stay calm and take things one step at a time. They are desperate and I get that. The fans are pissed, trust me I get that as well seeing your team have a nice position in the rankings but also historically prone to underperforming when they are favorites is annoying. However if you don't believe me when I say self-belief is important, take a look at the first three shot attempts by the Kitsunes in the 28' 29' and 31', they were all off target. A 0-3 starting to shooting is not starting a game on the right track especially when the keeper did not save any of those shots.

To make matter worse three minutes later Stanley Connors would score a goal off of an assist from Tsung Nam-Kan which further sullied the mood of those watching in Kairaku. That was the opposition second shot all game with their first one being an off target miss in the 11'. Things did not look much better leading into the half missing another three shots in the 38', 39', and 44'. Shinzo Nakamura was able to save the shots taken in the 38' and 44', while the corner taken during the 39' managed to go off target. The Kitsunes were left reeling once again at the end of a first half with 6 shots for the Kitsunes and 2, one of which was a goal for the for the Vocaloid Army.

The second half saw Tomikosan still aggressive with the lead as they took an off-target shot in the 48' but that would be their last shot attempt in awhile. Then a bright side would emerge in the 59th minute when defender Claire Nguyen scored her first career international goal off of a corner. She seemed so confused on how to react to the moment. This would tug at the heartstrings as the team gave her space while her Akihabara teammates Ayame Fujisaka and Joseph Yabuta embraced their friend for her career highlight. At least for some time that seemed to have been a spark for the Kitsunes and they would need it as Tomikosan was determined to retake the lead.

Tomikosan in a show of brute force had shot attempts in the 61',63',66',70',71' and 72'. In those shot attempts, only the shots taken in the 70' and 72' minute were off target. The rest of the shots were saved by Miyoko Hojo, which helped to continue the momentum that Claire provided earlier in the match. Sayo Matsuoka took a shot on goal in the 77', it was their first attempt of goal since the goal in the 59', but it was saved by Nakamura. Two minutes later in the 79' Tsung Nam-Kan finally found the net to put the Vocaloid army up 2-1. A missed shot by Ishikawa in the 87' would all but seal the deal as the Kitsunes dropped their second straight match and solidify one of the worse qualifying halves the Kitsunes ever had, including when they were fresh out of the Baptism of Fire.

Following the match, a disappointed Seong Mi-Soo had this to say. "......It's tough, to be honest. They played their hearts out as they have nothing to lose, they have no pressure compared to us, their expectations and standards are much lower than ours. Our morale is in ruins and we are somehow out of form. We had a goal at the start of this to try and exit the group stages of the World Cup proper for the first time. It seems we are potentially on the verge of not making the World Cup prior to beginning with. I understand the concerns of the K.F.A and players. They would like to keep a Kirishinan manager....someone who understands and at the very least respect the cultural norms of this country. Not only that, the team needs to find success in a style we enjoy and our fans enjoy. This makes finding a new manager difficult and I want to avoid that difficulty. We are a talented team that is working hard and history shows that hard work and discipline works out in the end. Then again logic tends to not be the case in football..."

Also after the game, Claire Nguyen had a few words for the press about her first career international goal while teary eyed. "I wished I could've done more and I think I would take a win over scoring my first goal, if I had a choice, especially considering how qualifiers have gone.....but as for the moment itself...it was incredible. First was the moment that I had doubted it was me who scored. Then it was panic on how I should celebrate and then I locked eyes with Ayame and Jo-Kun. They both looked so happy and proud...I couldn't stop the waterworks and as you all saw on the t.v, I cried as I ran towards my best friends."

Kirishima 1-2 Tomikosan 
C.Nguyen(59')  S.Connors(34')
               Tsung Nam-Kan(77')

First Half Review:
Terrible. There is no other way to describe how a top 30 team like Kirishima is sitting 5th in Group 9 here at the mid-point of qualifiers. Granted not every game we failed to win were hands on wins but there were some questionable results for a team of our status that should've been different. Kirishima has finished the first half with 3 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses. It is in my opinion that we should be 6-2-1 with 20 pts 7pts behind Valnora or 5-3-1 with 18 points. The first correction being if we defeated Tomikosan and the second being if we drew with Tomikosan. They are a promising squad and saying we should've gotten a win guarantee is not fair. Also, the draw with Sameba and Brigantii are valid results that make sense. The things that do not make sense and needs to be corrected in the second half are the performances against The Mercenary Islands a team that is ranked 244 and that I still struggle to find team details about despite already playing against Kirishima and the team that started our misfortune Mriin. There is still time in this qualifies to turn things around for the second spot as the Kitsunes are 5pts away from second, but there is little room for slipping up.

The Kitsunes have back to back games at Mori Park in Hyuga against Dainer and Turkmenbasyn. Dainer is the harder of the two but is also out of form while Turkmenbasyn is unranked. On top of that while the Kitsunes are not nearly as confident this time around, the fact that the Kitsunes defeated both of these teams before should help calm the team nerves and playing both those games at home, in the same city nonetheless is a crucial opportunity that the team needs to take advantage off. Why? Not only they need the points but they need the momentum when they head on the road to face Mriin. The team that started the trend of drawing to teams, Kitsunes can't afford to draw them again. Brigantii, Sameba, and Valanora are the very dangerous teams and the Kitsunes need to collect heads in those opening three matches. Winning all three of those matches for a full on 9pts will be important to getting the Kitsunes back in a competitive position and in the right state of mind to face Brigantii in Akihabara. For now we can only wait, see and pray. Until then Lets Go Kitsunes!

Post by: Keita Woo

[Red Blackiland]

Red Blackiland Sports and Off-topic Chronicles

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Forty years ago

RB fans in the match against Taeshan

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Author : Mathias Gërdorffen

I had not seen Feuermann for more than forty years, since they had completed high school, at that time that was how high school was called.
But he remembered that morning when, in front of more than 45 brats like them - and some girls too - swapped their way out of school.
He was punched in the nose, which bled, but he was certain that he struck punches on Feuermann's head, which, being larger than him, remained unshaken, as if he had felt nothing.
Now he was looking around in the dim hall of the party-room where the Institute of Education's 1981 class decided to make their first meeting so long afterwards, one knows why, anxious to recognize the disaffection of a faded adolescence and Of few good memories.
The badge on the shirt made many come to greet him. He remembered some, others were mere names lost and unimportant.
Until someone hit his shoulder:
- Hey dude? Did I change that much?
Yes, it had changed. He was fatter, almost bald, but it was certainly that loud-talking Feuermann and the beast that annoyed him in class, in playground, wherever he was.
The two of them hugged each other.
More people arrived, the buffet was getting full, Feuermann apologized and said he was in a hurry, had another appointment. Before he left, however, he pulled him aside:
- You know, on that day of the fight? Yes, I held on, but my head ached. If they had not stopped us ...
And he left, shaking hands and hugging anyone he saw on the way.

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Red Blackiland 2-0 The Serbian Empire

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Playing in Redinxson, Red Blackiland defeated The Serbian Empire without much difficulty, 2-0. Schwartz made his 100th goal for the national team, 495 in his career.
Barely sounded the referee's whistle and Red Blackiland already showed saying to who came. After 12 seconds of game, the owners arrived with Carmona and Beckenstander who hit the crossbar. And even playing on a more punished pitch, the technical and tactical superiority of Red Blackiland's team became stronger. When Carmona started with the ball, it sent shivers down the opponent.
It was a matter of time to get out the first goal of Red Blackiland. At 21, Carmona charged quickly and left Beckenstander in the face of the goal, the ball was left for Enzo who sent to the back of the goal. And the second goal came to 30. Rodristander was knocked over by The Serbian Empire quarterback. Schwartz collected and scored the second goal of the match, and his 100th goal for the Seleção. The Serbian Empire, though he could not get through the field.
The domination and possession of ball of the squad of Red Blackiland that was immense, extended still further along the second stage. With an opponent who did not endanger his goal, Red Blackiland lost goals and the chance to improve his goal balance in the competition. Ferreth, who was also in the starting lineup, was ready to recover his position. The Hashbury's top scorer pitched plays and fought hard.
In the second half of the second half, the players of the local team exchanged bureaucratic passes, without much willingness to extend the score. The Serbian Empire was even trying to break free, but without technical quality and a chasm on the pitch it was difficult. And although he made one of his best appearances in the qualifiers, so far, the team led by Peter Valbuena opted for a bureaucratic football in the second half.
With the result and victory of Red Blackiland, the local team maintains the second position in the race behind Chromatika and in the fight to move away from the squad of the third and fourth placed, for that, the next game is fundamental, against Taeshan.

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The Justified Means - Storyline and Guide

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The Justified Means - Be a little warrior fighting against a titan!

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Mission 20 - Overcoming Barriers (Mission for Khawaja Mens)

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Federico is tasked with recovering a large Khawaja drug shipment from a crashed plane on El-Abduk cost. When you get the mission, Haasmi gives you a TK-35, a standard light, civilian, low-winged monoplane, and sends you off to the island in El-Abduk cost. On the way Haasmi will tell you that El-Abduk is a mysterious island that not even the Dakersh Army/Navy venture to. This seemed like the perfect route for the Khawaja Mens to ship cargo to and from Dakersh. Haasmi also tells you that his grandparents told him stories about the souls of cannibals which haunt the island. Unfortunately, the cargo plane went down and they lost all contact with the pilot.
Upon getting to the island, the plane mysteriously crashes. You meet up with the pilot near the crashed FL-86 (a large military cargo plane) who tells you that the rest of the crew is dead and that an electro-magnetic pulse generator is blocking signals and destroying vehicles. Get in the Hasamani B1D2 (a 6-wheeled military truck). The pilot informs you about one-hundred year-old Sunrisian soldiers, being situated on the island, on the way to the pulse generator. The xx soldiers think that the Corvidae War still goes on.
Two power supplies must be cut, to disable the pulse generator. To do this, Federico has to fight through waves of Sunrisian soldiers with unusually modern weapons, to get to the control panels, which have to be hacked. This breaks the power cables. After doing so, you must scale the huge central tower and destroy the pulse generator. That's not all, remember the cargo. You must then take at least three boxes of cargo to the beach, starting with eight boxes in a Hasamani B1D2 with a unique Sunrisian livery (paint and symbols). The route is perilous and full of angry Sunrisian soldiers and creatures intending to kill you. Upon reaching the coast, an Khawaja helicopter will pick up the cargo and the pilot, ending the mission. After that you should be able to have the points to do the next main O.I.M mission.

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Mission 21 - Overcoming Barriers (Mission for O.I.M)

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Meet up with Manuel Sanchez on the beach. He tells you that Fernanda Koo-win has been kidnapped by Taamir and is held hostage in the Dakersh Qaleat-Easr Alnnahda (Dakersh Renaissance Castle) military base. After he explains everything, it would be wise to resupply your ammunition before taking-off, as it's difficult to buy during a mission while under fire. This military base is the largest one in Dakersh, but not the largest military facility, has a large inaccessible bunker. The bunker has multiple entrances. The two largest entrances are both facing the lake. Rumors says that in this base exists a Heavy water power plant.
Get into the helicopter and fly to the indicated place. To cause a distraction, you have to destroy four vent stations across the mountain base. Also remember, that the vent stations are covered, so you can't destroy them with your chopper. The best way to do this mission, if you want to cause disturbance, is to fly around the base and destroy every destructible object you see.
As close as you gets to the base, you should be able to have the vision of the first vent. Get into the building, kill everyone inside and blow up the generator with C4s or fragmentation grenades, also you'll face soldiers from the Dakersh Army's Elite Commando. The second vent is in the left side of the fist one, repeat the above method for each station.

Fight the Dakersh Military and save Fernanda

The third vent is in a hill. Be precise and attent, because there's a soldier with a rocket launcher, which can kill you in one or two shots if you don't dodge and the road is blocked by small concrete blocks, but the armored car can easily pass them, if you if you're using it. Taking out this vent has its benefits, as you can use the rocket Launcher from the dead soldier in destroying the other vents. The fourth vent is just further than the third one, right above it. Also, you can use a VV-20 and use its auto-cannon on the vents if you angle your vehicle at a certain angle, it can destroy them in one hit.
After destroying the vent stations, Manuel will inform you to get to the building by the cliffside. It's the one you see near the second vent station. as you get there, you are introduced to a new enemy type, the Alssayf Wuryurz (Sword Warriors). They are slightly harder to kill than the normal soldiers or even the elite soldiers from Dakersh Army's Elite Commando, as they can teleport about 11meters. Teleporting leaves behind a cloud of black smoke. They can't teleport while they're being shot at, so you can kill them if you're fast enough. If you're still having trouble, try to use the grappling hook to pin them to the walls and then shoot them. Also, again, you can use the VV-20 using the auto-cannon and machine guns on all of them in the battle. Its explosive firepower combined with rapidly firing machine guns should take care of them in a short amount of time. Also you can find a create of grenades and a SMG in that place.

Using the heli to fight the enemy vehicles

Turns out that Fernanda has been moved to a different building, at the bottom of the cliff and is about to be moved away from the base. Use the grappling hook to the edge of the base and use the parachute after them. You should have just enough time get close enough to them to use the grappling hook to the roof of the target car, a DK-30. If you've tried several times and failed, there's a free one close to the corner of the lake wich you can use. You might notice that a giant nuclear submarine from teh Dakersh Navy, the D-01, will rise through the ice to your left. If the convoy gets too close to the submarine, it will shoot a missile at the car carrying Koo-win, instantly killing her. But pay no attention to it now, just get out of the base quickly. You'll have all the time you need to look at it in a later mission.
Two of the convoy cars are DS Softroad a military off-road jeep and if you can be fast, it's possible to hijack one of them, even more if your skill level is high. Now, you should have concentration and focus in the DK-30 where Koo-win is getting held. After a little distance from the hangar door, Manuel will show up in the O.I.M's transport helicopter LK- Falcónnegro V-2. Be wary of time, because Manuel will message you to save Koo-win quickly because of something about the vehicles driving into the D-01. After Federico gets inside in the DK-30, a cut-scene begins.
Manuel Sanchéz flies up to Federico who jumps onto the helicopter while missiles are still being shot from the D-01. Fernanda manages to grab onto Federico before their vehicle is overturned by a missile, crashing into one of the DK-30 special types that appears only in that cut-scene. The next mission, now will be explained by Fernanda Koo-win and Manuela, as well as talking about the international benefactors for the three rebel factions on Dakersh.

[Ethane]

Explosive News: Sports
World Cup Qualifiers 77

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Unbeatable: Onwards We March

Unbeaten in every one of the nine games of the first half of the 77th World Cup Qualifiers, the Red Kites are at the top of their game and the top of their group. No one can quantify how surprising their performance has been this cycle considering the team's weak performance in the previous cycle and lacklustre preparation for the qualifiers. Some people have suggested that the increased maturity of some of the players have helped in the development of the Ethane national team into a world-class side from the average side they were before, although there is disagreement over whether this is the root cause of the strong cycle or not. However, a statement that no one can deny is that the Red Kites are deserving of their position, and will qualify for the World Cup barring a disaster in the second half of the qualifiers. But how well are the team going to do? Who will the Red Kites lose to? Who else will qualify from the qualifiers group? And which other teams will make up the final 32 in the World Cup group stage?

The Red Kites find themselves top of their group by a clear 5 point margin over the top seed Electrum, having won every game while the Electrum national team have drawn a game and lost a game (against Ethane). If you said at the start of the qualifying campaign that the Red Kites would be one of only two teams who have won every game they have played in the qualifiers to anyone, they would have laughed in your face and told you to stop being ridiculous, considering in context the team being the third seed in the group behind Electrum and Damukuni and having had such an awful qualifying run last cycle, losing out to Eura and Ficiscia. Yet here we are today; the Red Kites are atop their group with a straight nine wins to their name, almost certifying their position in the actual World Cup.

The Red Kites have certainly put in a strong performance, with a solid base in defence from which to attack. It is their heavy focus on defence and the effort put in by the skilful defenders that have seen the Ethane national team win every game so far. The team's ability to shut down the attacks of their opponents and stifle any moves they try to make on goal while countering with the varying skills of the midfield and striker lineup, that have seen the team manage this dumbfounding achievement.

However, despite the defence of the national team playing a significant role in the success of the Red Kites this cycle, there are other factors that come into play.

Electrum have put in a good performance, but have struggled against the defensive nature of the Red Kites who have been able to easily stifle the attacks of the other teams. The Electrum national team, despite being the supposed best team in the group, have really struggled to adapt their tactics to the defensive nature of the Red Kites, which has resulted in their loss in the first half of the qualifiers and fears that the result could be repeated again in the second half of the qualifiers.

However, the big story of top teams struggling has to be Damukuni. As the second seed, the Damukuni national team were fairly confident in their chances of qualifying for the World Cup yet they failed to register the danger which lower ranked teams posed to their chances. The national team from Damukuni have really struggled to kick off and get going in this qualification campaign which has resulted in their results suffering. Their inability to really get going has seen the team fall to fourth in the group behind Boring Paradise and ahead of Tinhampton on tiebreakers alone, with Korizland only one win behind. The team have won five of their games and lost four, only just maintaining a positive record, which is a result of their poor gameplay in the campaign. They have been a drastic threat when they manage to get shots on goal as shown through the fact they have scored 22 goals across the first nine games which is lacking in comparison to other top teams but is not a performance to be shrugged at, but they have also struggled in defence conceding 8 goals across their nine games at nearly an average of one goal per game conceded highlighting key issues in their defensive structure and patterns.

As we enter the second half of the qualifiers, there are many questions on people's minds. We'll try to address a few of them here.

Do Damukuni still have a chance?
The chance of Damukuni qualifying for the World Cup from the position the team finds itself in currently are extremely unlikely considering their record so far this qualifying campaign, but they cannot be completely written off yet. If Boring Paradise and Electrum were to struggle in the second half of qualifying in a greater fashion and Damukuni were able to improve their performances to take advantage of the open opportunity for them then they could have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup. However, this would need a remarkable change of events in the further progression of this qualification group and would have to see a fair number of upsets for this to occur.

Something that seems more likely at the moment is that they slip further in the group rather than pull themselves back into contention for qualifying. I can't see the team picking up the momentum enough to pass Electrum, and I can't see how with the momentum Boring Paradise has, the team from Damukuni will face much chance in getting too far above the position they find themselves currently. However, with the team only ahead of the lower-ranked Tinhampton based on tiebreakers, and only 1 win ahead of Korizland, there is every opportunity for the lower teams to overtake Damukuni and knock the higher ranked team down a few more pegs in the group and the rankings. While this does also remain an unlikely scenario, I see it as a higher probability scenario than the qualification scenario for the team now.

Can Electrum hold on?
With the surging team from Boring Paradise pressurising the Electrumites, it appears like the top seeded team in the group is under threat of also not qualifying from the group. Boring Paradise in only 3 points or one game behind Electrum having lost one more game, and with another nine games scheduled to go, there is every opportunity for the team from Electrum to trip up and lose out on their qualifying position.

However, this is an unlikely scenario. Despite Electrum losing to Ethane in a dire result for the top seeded team, they have not lost another game while Boring Paradise has lost 2 games - one against Ethane and one against Electrum (whom they are trying to pass), which makes things relatively challenging for the team from Boring Paradise. We can also further consider the goal tallies and goal concessions to see that it is unlikely Boring Paradise will surpass Electrum in the group. While the team from Boring Paradise has scored 17 goals which is more than Electrum's 11 and is actually the second highest goal tally in the group behind Damukuni, 5 of those goals were part of their 5-4 win against Damukuni. Furthermore, the conceded goals of the respective teams: Boring Paradise has conceded 11 goals while Electrum is joint-lowest for amount of conceded goals in the group with Ethane on 1 goal, suggesting that the Electrum team will be able to hold on to their position as second in the group and qualify for the World Cup, although they can be expected to feel the pressure throughout the qualification period.

Can Ethane win the rest of their games as well?
If they can keep up the performance of the first half, then yes. The team have excelled in their strengths and covered their weaknesses which has resulted in them continuing their excellent form throughout the first eight games. While it is possible that the team could win the rest of the games, matters such as fatigue will probably come much more into play in the next nine games and result in the Red Kites dropping a few points, although they will still qualify.

Group Predictions

Group 1
This group is relatively close compared to some of the other groups, but the top three seeded teams are definitely performing close to or as expected. It is likely that Chromatika will finish first in the group but second place is a much more debatable point and will be most likely up to who wins in their face-off against each other again, Red Blackiland having won the first one. Taeshan also has an underdog's chance, but this is a little far-fetched in expected circumstances. However, on the need to make a judgement, Red Blackiland does appear to be the more convincing team between them and Krytenia and therefore is more likely to qualify.
Chromatika, Red Blackiland

Group 2
Group 2's title race is a lot more heated than Group 1 provides, and group 1 could be considered to be close. Only 1 point seperates Jeruselem and Bonesea and it could go either way between them as to who finishes top of their group. However, Bonesea is a solid 6 points clear of Drawkland in third place who I can't see coming back to qualify, leaving the two qualifiers as relatively easy. The order of the two qualifiers is proving to be more difficult as they are very closely matched teams currently at this stage from their performances but based on the previous result between them, in which Jeruselem won, I will have to judge it as to Bonesea finishing second.
Jeruselem, Bonesea

Group 3
In this group there is a very clear and distinct leader in the group who has remained unbeaten in all nine games so far, only drawing 1. Valladares sits atop group 3 with a 6 point margin over Tumbra, making it seem fairly obvious who is going to win the group. However, the fight for the second qualification place in the group is the closest of all the qualifying groups, with 4 teams in contention. Tumbra and Semarland sit second and third, both on 19 points with Tumbra leading by differentials. Amnarei-asud sits 1 point behind them on 18, their attack propelling them to great places and threatening the others, and Qasden sits on 15 points - a little more of a stretch for qualification and most likely relying on a number of other factors outside their control, but feasiable nonetheless. This is very close to call, but with the surging strength and activity in their team, Amnarei-asud appears to be the most likely team to qualify in second.
Valladares, Amnarei-asud

Group 4
Eura is the leader of group 4, but does not appear to be the strong team it was of old. After finishing second in the WC76 group, they have now gone 6 wins and 3 draws, signalling a difficulty in finishing off the games and highlighting significant problems with their national team. Nonetheless, they do still lead the group and by a 3 point margin over Spaam, and will likely stay in that position despite their lacking performances. Spaam themselves aren't doing bad considering they are an unranked team, and currently sit in second, 1 point ahead of Veldgouwen who is also pushing for the qualification position. The decision between which of these two qualifies isn't helped by the fact that they drew against each other, goalless.
Eura, Veldgouwen

Group 5
Pasarga is the clear leader of this group currently with a 5 point cushion, and I believe that it will likely stay this way, with Pasarga clearing the qualifiers top of their group. Second place is slightly more contentious, with Super-Llamaland, Nova Anglicana and Banija in the running, but with Super-Llamaland's advantage in points, larger positive goal differential, greater number of goals scored and lesser number of goals conceded seems to align the stars in Super-Llamaland's favour.
Pasarga, Super-Llamaland

Group 6
Group six is one of those which are going to go right down to the wire, with 4 teams still in real contention for either of the top 2 spots in the group. Turori currently lead the group, but only by 2 points, yet they do also have the lowest number of conceded goals out of all the teams at 5 goals across the nine games. Eastfield Lodge sits only 2 points behind and could be ending their World Cup drought if they keep up the performance, although Anglatia, who is only 1 point behind Eastfield Lodge, does not intend to let them qualify easily. Brenecia is the only other team left in contention, sitting only 1 point behind Anglatia, 2 points behind Eastfield Lodge and 4 points behind Turori in what is going to be an interesting second half for this group.
Eastfield Lodge, Turori

Group 7
This group appears to be nicely divided up, providing a clear leader in Farfadillis whom I expect will continue on to win the group from their 22 points and ridiculous number of goals scored, and two clear runners for second place in the group: a battle between Port Christopher and Equestrian States who both sit on 18 points, with Port Christopher only ahead because of tiebreakers. Port Christopher and Equestrian States both tied, making this an easily matched fight between the two of them and one that will likely be decided by their result against each other. However, while Port Christopher has drawn with Farfadillis, Equestrian States lost, meaning my judgement slightly leans in Port Christopher's favour.
Farfadillis, Port Christopher

Group 8
As already explained above, it is very clear who is going to finish first in this group. But second is slightly more contentious, and as explained above, the pressure is on Electrum. However, Electrum is still the most likely to qualify for the World Cup.
Ethane, Electrum

Group 9
As the other team which has won every single game, Valanora has a very clear margin of victory as first in the group even more so than Ethane, who has a 5 point gap to Electrum in comparison to a 9 point gap between Valanora and Brigantii, practically guaranteeing qualification if they play and don't fail miserably. Second place is more competitive, with Brigantii sitting in second on 18 points and Sameba only 1 point behind. Mriin comes in two points behind Sameba as well and only 3 points behind Brigantii, yet is probably not going to qualify.
Valanora, Sameba

Group 10
Osarius leads group 10 by three points, so is not completly safe yet, but does find themselves in a position from which they can go on and win the group. Audioslavia sits not far behind on 20 points, closely followed by Hasznia on 18 points, all of whom are in contention for the first place in the group. In terms of second place, The Great Pi could be drawn into contention as well as the team is only 5 points behind Audioslavia, but this is a very slim and far-fetched chance and equates as a very unlikely probability.
Audioslavia, Osarius

Group 11
There is no doubting which teams will qualify to the World Cup from group 11, but which order they qualify in is dependent on their performances in the second half of qualifying. Gregoryisgodistan currently sits atop group 11 with 23 points, closely followed by Cosumar on 21 points. 95X is the nearest team to Cosumar on 16 points, but doesn't really pose much of a threat to their positions. Both Cosumar and Gregoryisgodistan have gone unbeaten so far, making this an interest final stretch, but it is clear that Gregoryisgodistan has the advantage over Cosumar with their points margin, making it seem more likely Gregoryisgodistan will qualify. However, if Cosumar were to beat Gregoryisgodistan, things would drastically change at the top of the group.
Gregoryisgodistan, Cosumar

Group 12
Once again, there appears to be two clear leaders in the group as to who will qualify, although there is a greater threat posed by Savalen in this group than 95X in the previous group. Vilita sits atop the group on 23 points, with Mercedini only 3 points behind. Savalen then sits only four points behind that, but doesn't appear to be in a strong enough position as to be able to push for the qualification spot.
Vilita, Mercedini

Group 13
Group 13 entails a 2 horse race for first place and a two-horse race for second place. If Ceni does well over the second half of qualifying and continues to push Schottia who is only 2 points ahead, then there will be a two-horse race for first place and the loser will take the other position. However, if Starblaydia continues to perform well and Ceni underperforms slightly, then there could be a two-horse race for second place as Star is only 4 points behind Ceni, with the loser not qualifying.
Schottia, Ceni

Group 14
In group 14, there appears to be a two-way battle for first place in the group between Nephara, who is currently leading the group on 25 points, and Abanhfleft who sits 3 points behind. Eshan could be argued to be in the fight for second place as well, but the recent loss against Abanhfleft seems to suggest that Eshan doesn't have too much of a chance.
Nephara, Abanhfleft

Group 15
The final group of the qualifiers provides an exciting battle for first place in the group, but no exciting battle for the qualification positions. Unified Sunrise Islands sits atop the group with 25 points, with The Holy Empire only 1 point behind them and Frenline Delpha trailing them by 8 points. What is exciting is the goal dynamic; the Unified Sunrise Islands have a high goal scoring record themselves with 22 goals in nine games, but The Holy Empire blows this out the water with a hefty 41 goals across the nine games (an average of just over 4 goals scored per game). However, that is not the deterministic factor of a teams performance, yet it does offer some indication as to who could do better when they face each other again after the Unified Sunrise Islands beat The Holy Empire 6 goals to 5. This is by far the most ridiculous group in terms of goals scored and goal margins, but should make for an interesting second half of the qualifiers.

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Lineup vs Korizland

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GK: Brody Church
LB: Cliff Driscoll
CB: Darien Fear
CB: John Campbell
RB: Archie Holmes
CDM: Merlin Midgley
LM: Kevyn Stidolph
RM: Branden Veresoto
ST: Hayden Watts
LF: Samuel Mitchell
RF: Thomas Peone

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Schedule and Stats

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Note: statistics do include friendlies.

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Pre-WCQ Friendly: Qasden 1-0 Ethane @ Royal T.V. Stadium, T.V. City
MD1: Korizland 0-1 Ethane @ Korizland
MD2: Ethane 1-0 Rebuild the Wall @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD3: Electrum 0-1 Ethane @ Centralis Arena
MD4: Ethane 2-1 Cetheque @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD5: The Andromeda Archipelago 0-2 Ethane @ The Andromeda Archipelago
MD6: Ethane 1-0 Tinhampton @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD7: Boring Paradise 0-2 Ethane @ Boring Paradise
MD8: New Gazi 0-1 Ethane @ New Gazi
MD9: Ethane 2-0 Damukuni @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
Mid-WCQ Friendly Ethane 1-0 San José Guayabal @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD10: Ethane vs Korizland @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD11: Rebuild the Wall vs Ethane @ Wooden Palisade
MD12: Ethane vs Electrum @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD13: Cetheque vs Ethane @ Cetheque
MD14: Ethane vs The Andromeda Archipelago @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD15: Tinhampton vs Ethane @ Tinhampton
MD16: Ethane vs Boring Paradise @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD17: Ethane vs New Gazi @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD18: Damukuni vs Ethane @ TBC
Post-WCQ Friendly: TBC

Stats
Goals
Samuel Mitchell - 5
Julian Harrington - 3
Hayden Watts - 2
Dewayne Boivin - 2
Thomas Peone - 1
Wilmer Jaurequi - 1
Assists
Kevyn Stidolph - 3
Branden Veresoto - 2
Grady Stevens - 2
Dewayne Boivin - 2
Wilmer Jaurequi - 1
Alex Brown - 1
Carl Sanders - 1
Sub Appearances
Samuel Mitchell - 4
Hayden Watts - 4
Branden Veresoto - 3
Jonathan Harris - 2
Kyle Cooper - 2
Christian Ali - 2
Cliff Driscoll - 2
Andrew Biley - 2
Caleb Powell - 1
Gerald Coleman - 1
Dewayne Boivin - 1
Kevyn Stidolph - 1
Thresa Desantis - 1
Merlin Midgley - 1
Julian West - 1
Grady Stevens - 1
Alex Brown - 1
Joshua Cook - 1
Julian Harrington - 1
Daniel Moore - 1

[Saintland]

Sister Polus's Thoughts

Hello, I am Sister Maria Polus. I am the Housemistress of Tomlinson House at the Barjavel Academy at Republica, the Instructor in Religious Studies, Deportment and Latin at the Academy and the Headmistress of the Barjavel Junior Academy. I am joining you today on VirtueTube to discuss various events throughout the multiverse.

I shall begin by discussing the ongoing election here in the Free Republics. Much has been written around the multiverse about the rise of Delmar Lavallee who leads an allegedly Christian organization known as the Salvation Circle which rejects apostolic succession and embraces the heresy of sola scriptura. Let me be clear: Mr. Lavallee is not an ordained minister and his alleged "church" is a counterfeit because the sacraments of salvation are only valid if they are performed by legitimately ordained priests. The Church has taught this since time immemorial. However, Christians should also be aware of the importance of advancing our faith in the public sphere and should recognize that sometimes we must use imperfect vessels to carry out the Will of God. Indeed, even we, who are part of the True Church will still have to atone for our many sins in Purgatorio after we die, unless we have lived the life of a saint.

The other major candidates for Consul of the Free Republics are Abelino Greece, Admiral Pierre Theriault and Lydia Henderson. Given that the Moderate Liberal Conservative convention is still deadlocked on the 64,328th ballot, I doubt the ability of their candidate to put up a serious challenge in this election. Abelino Greece, for those who are unaware, is the President of Falatulu and a degenerate scumbag who was one of the ringleaders of the Legion of Lucifer. Mr. Greece has many objectionable policy proposals, including his call for the Federation Government to amend the Constitution to legalize homosexual "marriage" and what he calls "plural marriage", which is known to the rest of us as polygamy. He also favors an amendment to prohibit Republics from outlawing marijuana, a measure that is clearly designed to thwart the Outlaw Marijuana Party government in Mareeva's plans to prohibit that disgusting substance in their Republic. Speaking of marijuana, just yesterday I caught a few boys smoking marijuana in the ladies room. Let's just say that they'll be regretting that decision for a very long time. Obviously, Mr. Greece is unfit to be a Consul of the Free Republics and I call upon all good Christians to oppose his candidacy.

Lydia Henderson is actually worse than Abelino Greece, if you can believe it. She is a college student from Taxachusetts who is the poster girl for why permissive parenting is child abuse. This young lady, who obviously could have benefited from attending a boarding school with a decent headmistress, is campaigning as an advocate for every kind of degeneracy under the sun. Lately, she has taken to wearing a dog collar around her neck, which has to be a call for help, help that she's unlikely to see because no decent man would voluntarily go near her in a million years. I mean, have you seen what she's done to her appearance lately? She's dyed her hair blue and tattooed up most of her body, all the while relying on that lying fake news outlet known as News Magazine to prop up her candidacy. This young lady illustrates why we need young adult reformatories to make proper ladies out of girls whose parents refused to actually parent them.

Finally, there is Admiral Pierre Theriault, a military man who is seemingly on both sides of every issue. Other than competent government and a strong national defense, I cannot figure out what he actually stands for. I guess he's a good enough choice as an alternative to Henderson and Greece but the Free Republics would be much better off with Lavallee. Having reviewed the hundreds of minor party candidates, I do not see any candidate who is better for Christians than Delmar Lavallee, so I want to officially endorse Delmar Lavallee for Consul of the Free Republics.

Next, I wish to turn to Saintland and Fake Saintland, which recently re-emerged. Upon their re-emergence, it seemed that 28 years had passed since their disappearance, with both King Andreas and Usurper Petrus now middle-aged men with grown children. The differences between the two nations could not be more stark. The western half of the island's birth rate has now fallen below replacement level as their society has become female-dominated and totally dominated by Feministvs Sanctvsterra, which eventually proved to be even worse than everybody had feared. Meanwhile, the eastern half, which had a significantly smaller population before the temporary time acceleration, now has twice as many souls as the western half. The east, which is the seat of the True, Legitimate Government of Saintland, is a prosperous state where highly advanced technology aids the population in the all-important task of living a virtuous life.

All of the multiverse has been introduced over the past two months to the utter degenerates that now represent the western portion of Saintland in the World Cup, which is the second most prestigious soccer tournament in the multiverse. The so-called "West Saintland" team is now entirely comprised of women, many of whom are daughters of former national team players. However, these young ladies look noticeably masculine while the young men in the stands at their home matches look more feminine than they do. What a complete mockery of human nature! If I didn't know better, I'd say that "Princess" Amanda was actually a cross-dressing degenerate who had deluded himself into thinking he was the opposite gender. Speaking of those perverts, can you believe that Lambridge in Taxachusetts actually passed a law allowing them to lawfully enter the ladies room? But, honestly I don't think we should be surprised that the Taxachussans are such a bunch of degenerates.

Back to the point, as it turns out, the fake Saintland team is apparently so bad that they're actually in 4th place with a pathetic record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. How bad does a soccer team have to be to win just 4 out of 9 matches in a World Cup qualifying group where half the teams are fly-by-night outfits with anonymous rosters and no media coverage whatsoever, even in their own nations? That is the baseline for a halfway competent soccer nation in World Cup qualifying. Additionally, who are those teams that are actually ahead of them? Why are Veldgouwen and Spaam actually ahead of them in the standings? I've never heard of Veldgouwen before and Spaam hasn't been relevant in international soccer since Spaamgate happened when I was 12!

For those of you younger than I, Spaamgate was such a major news story that the news actually reached the Kingdom of Saintland, ruled at the time by King Petrus XIX (who was a true king, unlike his grandson and namesake). This was the first time anybody in Saintland had ever heard of the World Cup. From what I remember, the nation of Spaam lost out on a spot in the World Cup to their colony then forced their colony to withdraw from the World Cup at gunpoint in hopes of stealing their spot. Fearing a future in which nations could use the threat of force to steal spots in the World Cup finals, the World Cup Committee eventually chose some other nation to take the place of Spaam's colony. (OOC: I'm pretty sure I described the events of Spaamgate inaccurately, but the Sister Polus character isn't exactly known for making factually accurate statements, if you know what I mean .)

I have to say that I'm --------- Oh my gosh! I heard that, you insolent little brats! I apologize for the interruption but I have to go attend to my responsibilities as an educator right now and will finish my train of thought in a future video. I am Sister Maria Polus and I thank you for watching.

[Turori]

Group 6 Coming up Eel

Eel's Park, Eelandii, Turori :: After the Turori Eels returned home from a mildly disappointing trip to Eastfield Lodge where they faced the Group 6 leaders and were unable to to gain any ground, leaving Group 6 in a 4-way, one point clustermuck, it was evident that the final three matches of the first half of qualifying would be telling of where Turori stood in their quest for World Cup 77 Qualification.

Having already played all 3 of their table-topping rivals, the onus was on the Eels to record maximum points and carry momentum into the second half of qualifications. If they could do that, they would be guaranteed to either gain ground, or, create a gap on somebody in the Finals Race as the other three contenders all still had to play at least one of their contending foes before the break.

On Matchday 7 the Eels hosted Mattijana at the Iobabao Legendary Field, home of Mliona-Lpaka AFC. The Eels took care of business with a comfortable 2-0 victory. At the same time, Group 6 leaders Eastfield Lodge did what they had to do away to Great Caledonia and North Hybernia, earning a 3-1 victory meaning that Turori remained one point behind the leaders in third place. The critical match on the day was between the other two nations that the Eels started the matchday level on points with; Brenecia and Anglatia. With the match being played in Anglatia, the White and Purple would seem to have had the edge on paper but instead it was Group 6's top seeded favorites Brenecia who collected all three points with a convincing 3-0 victory, relegating Anglatia to 'outsider' status in the Finals push.

Just as quickly as it appeared that Brenecia had gotten themselves a leg up, however, they took a step back. Arriving home after the massive confidence boosting victory over Anglatia, Brenecia slipped up against Tobiasa dropping points in a 3-3 draw while the rest of the Group 6 leaders did their jobs and collected all 3 points. With Eastfield Lodge winning 3-2 at home to Mattijana and Anglatia putting in a dominating 6-0 performance against Great Caledonia and North Hyberina, the Turori National Team's 1-0 victory over 5th placed Savojarna allowed the Eels to slide up into "Qualification Zone" - leapfrogging Brenecia into second place in the Group 6 table; still 1 point behind Eastfield Lodge but now 2 points ahead of 3rd-place Brenecia.

With just one more match before the break, things were looking ok for the Eels - even if all the leaders came away with three points on Matchday 9, the Eels would find themselves in the thick of the Qualification Battle in possession of one projected World Cup Finals place. However, by the end of Matchday 9, their prospects would look even better than that.

After struggling to climb ahead of their rivals for the entirety of World Cup Qualifying thus far, the plucky Eels, who always kept their competitors within reach, finally took advantage of the opportunity granted to them to take control of their own destiny in Group 6. Facing bottom side Kaisara, the only winless team in Group 6, Turori employed traditional Kareelan tactics and recorded a safe - if nail-biting, 1-0 victory over Group 6's bottom side. The three points collected would certainly have been perhaps expected for the Eels but as their rivals would find out, no points are ever guaranteed and the importance of following through and collecting the points would shine through by the end of Matchday 9. Group 6 favorites Brenecia would drop their second straight result behind held 2-2 in Juvencus and falling a full 4 points behind Turori - ensuring that even if Brenecia were to defeat Turori head to head in the second half of qualifying, the Eels cold still control their own destiny by running the rest of the table and all matches going the way of ranking. To further aid the Eels chances, the big clash of the day between then-leaders Eastfield Lodge and fourth place Anglatia went in favor of the Anglatians by a 2-1 scoreline, allowing Turori to catapult themselves to the top of the table 2 points clear of Eastfield Lodge and 3 ahead of now-third placed Anglatia.

After spending the majority of early qualification outside the top 2, the Eels persisted and eventually their rivals fell away allowing Turori the best possible position going into the second half of qualification. If they can survive the early matches against their Group 6 Qualification Challengers without a hitch, the Eels could get the chance to make amends for a poor showing in World Cup 76 with a trip to San Jose Guayabal and the Royal Kingdom of Quebec.

[Eura]

Her eyes flickered open under the intense, burning heat of powerful lights. She could barely maintain a constant state of sight due to the luminosity of what covered her field of vision. After a few moments it became clear that actually it was just ordinary floodlights on a sports stadium. The senses of her body were now synchronizing after regaining consciousness, and she quickly gained an understanding of her location. The stadium was the Oak House, a grand 80,000 seater arena in the Euran city of Oakstone. It had been transformed into some sort of makeshift military base, with thousands of personnel moving about and tents covering the pitch. A chilling wind was making it difficult to avoid shivering, but the real reason that her hairs were stuck on end was the passage of dozens of helicopters over the stadium at once, some sort of squadron heading north. A man in a coat and suit asked for her name. 'Come on, speak up. You've been out for three weeks ma'am. Please confirm your name.' It took a moment but finally the will to speak was conjured with quite some difficulty. 'Catherine.'
'Catherine what?'
'Bardsley.' The well known former football manager of Sameba and Brenecia spoke with confidence for the first time in a very long while. 'I'm Catherine Bardsley. Why are we in Oakstone?'
'Recognise the ground, huh? You'll see soon. Come with me.' Catherine was pushed forward in a wheelchair that she hadn't even noticed she was sitting in until now. Her unidentified carers took her deep into the concourse of the stadium, which had been given temporary protection and camoflague including netting and large "gabions" designed to defend from light explosives.

Once she was inside, Catherine was introduced to a new figure. 'Mrs Bardsley, how wonderful to finally meet you. Are you feeling ok? We were quite worried about your health.' Her head was still in a daze but she had pretty quickly developed a basic understanding of what was going on. 'I'm ok I think. The doctors can answer that question better anyway. I'm guessing I can't be all better if I'm stuck in this thing.'
'Yes, well, it might take you a little while to get back on your feet. But soon you're going to be taken well away from here for your own safety. What do you remember last before you were unconscious?' This was a difficult one for Catherine. She could clearly remember the start of the war, the horror that had struck her when it happened and how she had been clueless as to whether she should flee Sameba or not. Catherine had been "voluntarily" interned there after losing her job as Sameban National Team manager, treated as a normal VIP but under the very careful supervision of the military police. That wasn't the difficult part to remember mind. Nor was her leaking of a few secrets she knew to the mysterious individuals that kept rendezvousing with her without warning. Individuals she could only assume were Euran agents. 'I was in my flat in Samebus and there was some sort of flash from the window outside. I thought I remembered getting up to go and see what was happening, but its all a bit vague after that.'
'We thought that might be approximately what you'd say. To cut a long story short, we extracted you. Some very brave South Sameban separatists raided your hotel and bailed you out, but you were knocked unconscious during the attempt. An unknown number of Sameban troops were killed. And now you're here!' The official didn't say anything about what happened to the separatists, but Catherine could only assume they wouldn't let themselves be taken alive. 'So, what now?'
'Now, Catherine, we need you to tell us everything you know about these bastards. That's why you've got a long flight ahead of you.' Many would have been horrified by the prospect of an interrogation, but after what she had been through, Catherine couldn't wait to get as far away from the border as she could.

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Folk legend in Sameba has long suggested that even when the tide goes out at the huge natural port of Aspel, the water is still high enough to swallow up chunks of the actual city and docks in big gulps. There was no such risk rationally. Nevertheless, these were dark days for the home of the Sameban Navy. Despite the Republican Fleet's recent great successes, there was a dawning sense of reality that the element of surprise had gone, and now the real hardship would begin. They were outnumbered, slow paced in technology and inferior in crew professionalism and quality. The mighty Euran Navy would have to be stopped somehow, but the failure to devastate much of it at Falourr - despite the propaganda victory of sinking a couple of nuclear aircaft carriers - had just made the task harder than their leader in Samebus had hoped it might be. They knew they didn't have all the resources they needed, and that compared to the air force, and even much of the army, the Sameban Navy was to be the sacrificial lamb of this war. It was to cause havoc and wreck the Euran economy by starving them of fuel and food for as long as feasibly possible before what would surely be an inevitable high seas defeat. Yet there was no great "Green Armada" ready to leave Aspel, given a sending off by thousands of tearful loved ones, departing to go down as heroes. Instead the navy had been mostly dispersed for that early surprise attack, leaving behind a small number of escorts and submarines still in maintenance. These were ships that would have to join up with other left behind vessels in east coast ports to make a breakout of some kind. If it wasn't for a risky fuel situation and lack of immediate strategic plan for these ships, they would have gone already during a period of relative disarray for the enemy. That was the only meaningful way in which they could carry out their duties. For now though they were going to be welcoming foreign ships rather than sailing out to fight them.

The remnants of Gregoryisgodistan's fleet of flawed friendship had turned up to the port. The city didn't bear much war damage yet, bar a couple of smouldering dock facilities hit by Eura's few cruise missile strikes into Sameba while they were on the defensive. In stark contrast the Greganian fleet was a floating mess after being dealt a severe blow by the Euran's. Their attempted engagement of the Eleventh Fleet of the Euran Navy while making a run for the Sameban coast had been preceded by a remarkably successful transit through Rushmori waters, and initially they even thought they'd embarrassed a Euran scouting group by sinking a modern escort vessel with a suicide ship. Reality soon kicked in though as the full Eleventh Fleet committed itself to battle against a large and vastly technologically out of date Greganian vessels, their massive numbers only being possible by making cutbacks in quality. Approximately a hundred ships had made it there, but this was much less impressive when their starting numbers had been five hundred precisely. Navy SuperAdmiral Joseph Larez, the commander of the lead ship Holy Gregory, was exhausted after this pummeling. Unlike perhaps the vast majority of the drone like officers in the unprofessional but devoted mess that was the Greganian military, Larez wouldn't have been too out of place in another nation's military, at least in terms of officer like discipline and ability to think for himself. With a regime like the one at home on his back he could only apply such thinking in terms suitable to the regime, and that meant deciding to abandon any vessels which would require towing to port, but at least stopping to pick up some of the slaves floating in the water. This would normally be the wrong way around to do things, but out here there was no Gregory to police every single thought. All that said, he couldn't guarantee that even this slight deviation from his normal extreme loyalty wouldn't get him the Brownie Cutter of Death when he got home. If he got home.

On the dock at Aspel, it would be Admiral Bresa Maricono representing the Sameban's as the battleship Larez and other commanders were based on was tied up to dock. Larez looked somewhat tidy despite his anguished face while Maricono was surprisingly sweaty and bedraggled, but looked much more cheerful. 'Comrade, you have suffered many losses. I am sorry for your tragedies.'
'No need to dwell on it, Admiral. All are willing to die at will for the glory of the Lord!' Larez was starting to crack a bit even with the loud, obnoxious declaration he and every other Greganian used burned into his brain by now. 'We lost a few hundred ships, most escort vessels we didn't think would survive, obviously. There are many more to come, and our most important combat vessels and around eighty supply ships are here!' This wasn't entirely true. Larez was a smart chap but like many Greganian's who grew up in such a remarkably totalitarian state, he had serious misconceptions about how the world worked and had expected a more even handed gun based naval duel with the Euran's. The long range missile fuelled slaughterhouse he had been subjected to had been the most brutal lesson ever dealt to him in his career, possibly even to any of his countrymen in the recent history of so-called Gregoryisgodistan at sea. Luckily he wasn't so deluded as to not realise that the promise of reinforcement was totally made up as it was unlikely the regime could fund another expedition after such drastic losses. 'Shall we open up the first vessel?' A brass band struck up and the highest ranking living officers and slaves were assembled with the Sameban's to greet the first supplies onto the dock. Photos were taken by Sameban state press as the first large containers were lifted out of the vessel's by large dock cranes. It was supposed to be a golden moment for both nations, especially for embattled Sameba which now more than ever needed to prove it wasn't alone. That's why Larez was shocked to hear Maricono's first comment once he looked inside an opened container. 'Fucking teddy bears? What the fuck is this!' Everyone smiled awkwardly. Larez peered through the container to notice it was just packed full of teddy bears. His chief political officer, as much a spy on him as the rest of his crew, came over to join him. 'Don't worry, there are guns too! This is just a token of our friendship!'
'But why?'
'There's four hundred more of them!' Larez simply sighed and walked away, letting the political officer enjoy a heated argument with the Sameban's. If this was the sort of thing the Euran's were up against, Larez couldn't help but wonder if the puny weaklings of a federal social democracy, those pesky Euran's, might somehow triumph.

[San Jose Guayabal]

Hop into the crazy train of Qualifiers before it leaves you on station waiting for the next train.

Matchday Ten Cutoff

[Red Blackiland]

Red Blackiland Sports and Off-topic Chronicles

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The cards never lies

RB fans in the match against Taeshan

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Author : Mathias Gërdorffen

"I read hands - 10 marks
Tarot - 10 questions 10 marks, 20 questions 15 marks
Play búzios - 10 marks
I read the destination in the letters - 15 marks
Guaranteed Success - Seer Brauschitsch "
The poster was hanging on a table, and Brauschitsch the seer was a blond-haired lady of indefinite age who read a Caras magazine in the absence of customers in that Sunday shop at the neighborhood mall.
As the next film session began in just 40 minutes, Femmler thought it would be a good investment to know what the future held for her, 19, a dreamy little head, and in the shoulder bag, DM DM 65 Notes of DM 10 and DM 5 kneaded and mixed with bus tickets, meal tickets, and a newspaper clipping announcing the desk job at a dental clinic. "It does not take experience," the text said.
Femmler, who did not like intimacy, and so would not let a stranger take it in his hand, preferred that Brauschitsch the seer read the letters. He did not know what a tarot was, and he found things like umbanda. The pastor of his church used to speak whenever these people did not lend.
Glad to have her first client of the day, the seer Brauschitsch promised herself to read well. He sympathized with the dark-eyed, shy green-eyed girl, and improvised a beautiful, tranquil, cloudless future with a deep blue for her.
When the service ended, Brauschitsch seperate again picked up Caras magazine last week and returned to see photos of the 400-square-foot beach house of her favorite heartthrob, thank God single again.
Already Femmler hesitated between spending the remaining 20 minutes for the movie session looking for a blouse that matched the pants bought last week or sucking an ice cream. He ended up entertaining himself with the children who skated on the ice rink set up in the space where the arcade machines used to be. If you had the courage, I'd like to try it. But she was ashamed. If she would fall, everyone would laugh and she would blush like a sweet pepper.
As she turned to finally get the movie queue-she was pulling away, as time went by-Femmler was frightened: three boys, a few feet away, were watching her, laughing. She did not see, lowered her eyes and hurried. But she heard one of them say, "Cute, cute ..."
He gave the ticket to the ticket clerk and looked quickly back. The tallest of the three, a mulatto wearing a gray T-shirt with the phrase "In God We Trust" written in red, was at the box office.
She then remembered the words of the Brauschitsch seer as she turned the gold valise and opened a smile that showed nicotine yellow teeth: "Girl, this is a very good letter, which means reflection, novelty and love."
He had not understood the meaning of it at once, but when he saw the young gallant enter the darkened room and looked sideways as if he were looking for someone, he knew at once that his fate had been laid long ago and would be decided there, In those 116 minutes of the sentimental and foolish movie he had decided to watch.
A small tear slipped from her eyes and slipped, growing colder from the air-conditioning that squeaked through her brown face.
Manuela Femmler, Femmler, younger daughter of his Heinrich von Bock and Lady Anna, heaven forbid, filled his mouth with popcorn and did not care when he bit a pirouette and felt a tooth break.
Nonsense, she would be employed as a receptionist for a dentist of those very chic ones tomorrow, and her new boyfriend would be happy to pay for that obturation.
The letters never lie.

PS: DMs are the same currency as marks.

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Red Blackiland 0-0 Taeshan

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In one of the group's most anticipated games, Red Blackiland and Taeshan met at Red Glorious Stadium. The first half was balanced at Red Glorious. Red Blackiland had more possession, sought the game and created good chances. Already Taeshan, bet on against attacks and took danger in the ball stopped. After 5 minutes, Carmona risked from a distance and the ball passed paint from Troubador's crossbar.
At 22, Eberhard took a corner kick from the left and found Carmona on the first floor. The striker tested with force and the ball next to the right rail. At 32, Schwartz made a good move on the right, advanced to the entrance of the area and released the right bomb. Troubador went well and spread out, saving the Aurinegros. At the end of the stage, Anton Vader fired a foul in the right wing of the area and Snavely deflected for the middle. Chesnut got the ball in first, but the ball passed the goal.
Red Blackiland returned with everything to the complementary stage and pressed Taeshan until the end of the game. The visiting team defended themselves, but remained very dangerous against the attacks. At 6 minutes, Shacker received in the left, hit crusader and Ferreth who entered during the game diverted in the small area. However, the ball went past the goal. Six minutes later, Fuegahita pulled against attack, opened at the right end of the area with Eskandarian who finished over the goal.
Apparently better physically, Red Blackiland continued to press Taeshan as the game was ending. After 22 minutes, Schwartz sent a free kick in high over the penalty box. However, Nguyen arrived at the exact time and stopped the completion of the attack of Red Blackiland. At the last minute of the first stage. Eskandarian received the right end of the area and even without angle tapped cross. The ball landed at the feet of Landon van Neymar, who was completely unmarked in front of the goal.
Exactly, the players dragged on the field at the end of the second half. Only change of Peter Valbuena in the match, Eberhard still gave a scare in the adversary. However, Hargreaves made a great save, tipping the awkwardly curled shot past the penalty area.

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The Justified Means - Storyline and Guide

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The Justified Means - Be a little warrior fighting against a titan!

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Mission 22 - Drugs for Khawaja (Mission for Khawaja Mens)

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Haasmi wants Federico to kill the leader of the Dakersh Drug Enforcement Unit (government's new anti-gang unit). The training camp can be found in the nearby military base at Al-Shinsani's Base. Get your weapon of choice and go to the base. The easiest way to kill him is to approach the base from the mountain, at the corner of the base, where the assassin is hanging out. This will let you get the closest, before anyone sees you.

Drugs for Khawaja - Take out the Consul

The assassin is armed with a .40 machine gun, has a group of well armed soldiers around him, and has considerably more health than normal. The nearest guard tower also has a soldier with a sniper rifle. He's standing between some barracks and won't get out of this small area. There's first aid kit on the wall of one of those barracks and weapon boxes near the others. An udpated machine gun or rifle, also there's guard tower soldiers with sniper.

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Mission 23 - Assinate the Consul (Mission for Khawaja Mens)

---

Haasmi sends Federico to assassinate Consul Kansul Albeduk, a well respected politician who has refused to take the Khawaja bribes. You are provided with a Dakakka L-1 (a small two seat helicopter equipped with machine guns) and informed of the councilman's location. All you must do is fly over towards the bridge and shoot his limousine. Alternatively, you can leave the Dakakka, and jump on top of the Kansul's limo. He will lean out of the door to shoot you with a submachine gun, but he has rather low health. Either way, it's mission complete.
Consul Kansul is escorted by an extremely rare DK-31 from the Wikalat Alaistikhbarat Almarkaziat, or commonly called Wikalat, the Dakersh's Central Intelligence Agency. This mission features some vehicles that cannot be seen anywhere else unless you edit the game with modifications.

---

Mission 24 - File Burning (Mission for Khawaja Mens)

---

The Khawaja Mens are fearful of an upcoming trial in Alhaiat (the Dakersh's capital), that could have serious repercussions on their affairs. Haasmi hatches a plan to stop the trial with all the witnesses for the prosecution must be convinced to not show up for the trial. A bullet in the brain should do the trick. When the mission begins, take the precision rifle Haasmi gave to you. You need to assassinate the two witnesses for the trial. Once you have the rifle, you must situate yourself on some roof with a good view of the targets. Use your grappling hook to get there.

File Burning - Killing the Witnesses

Before dropping down to street level to cut off the witnesses, fire the precision rifle one last time. Lead the remaining witness as he runs through the street. If you pull the trigger just as the witness runs through the centre of your crosshairs, you can cut him down right away. However, you must hurry, since the snipers on the other rooftops are, unsurprisingly, now searching for you.
If you miss the witness with your second shot, jump off the building and chase him. The witness runs through the park on his way to the courthouse. Run alongside him and open fire, ignoring the shots from the soldiers. You can deal with them as soon as you neutralize this witness. The witness lacks armour, so it takes only a few shots.

---

Mission 25 - File Burning (Mission for Khawaja Mens)

---

Haasmi sends Federico to protect a hacker, while his hacker hacks into a satellite. You are provided with a Red Blackiland 'Panzerfaust' (an anti-tank combat weapon similar with a rocket launcher) and a Dakakka L-1. The satellite antennas and computers are on top of an unknow Dakersh building. The entire skyscraper belongs to an unknown Dakershian company according to Haasmi one of the largest in Dakersh, and is used as their HQ. If the antenna is destroyed, the mission fails.
It's best if you grab a Dakersh Army helicopter in the airport, before you begin and then pick up the hacker and land on the side of the building. It's easier anyways to have a rocket armed helicopter, as the enemy helicopters tend to come from the building directly opposite of the satellite antenna. But even if you don't have a helicopter, or even the provided rocket-launcher, it's still easily possible to hide behind something and shoot them down with an assault rifle. The LK-70 (a multi-lock shoulder-resting two-handed rocket launcher with a large ejection port) is a much better choice than the rocket launcher since the missiles follow the target, while the rocket launcher's missile goes in a straight line missing the helicopters. Unfortunately, the multi-lock missile launcher can only be obtained from DLC or huge points of habilities and skills, which you can earn making missions for the three groups of the game.
Alternatively, on all difficulties, grab the first helicopter that comes towards you. Then make your way to behind the building all the helicopters seem to come from, destroying other helicopters on the way, once you've made it just position your cross hair on the spawn point and go trigger happy destroying the spawned helicopters until the mission is completed.

[Abanhfleft]

The Pridnestrovian Invasion of Nordskania, Part Twenty-five

Bender, Transnistrian Socialist State, Pridnestrovia

They came at four in the morning. Scientific experiments had showed that the human body was most vulnerable at this point in time due to the fact that it had already settled into its sleep rhythms by this time, and waking up a person at this time made for weak, confused, and ultimately compliant subjects. The KGB and the GRU had proven this also time and time again, and they were doing so again now.

The KGB entered the apartment using an experienced lockpick. The objective was to surprise the occupants, not alert them to the presence of intruders in their apartment and were about to be captured by the Committee for State Security. The KGB agents crept through the darkened apartment by memory and made their way to the two bedrooms. The lead agent lined up beside the door to the master bedroom alongside two other agents and picked the lock quietly once again. Then, choosing his moment carefully, the lead agent then slammed the door against the wall and began shouting at the top of his lungs. The commotion stirred awake the two occupants of the king-sized bed in the room, and they groggily shook their heads as they struggled to make sense of what was happening to them now. Before they could make a sound of protest, a gun barrel was already pointed at their faces.

“Domen Krylenko, Mateja Litovchenko, you are under arrest for high treason against the Pridnestrovian Republic,” the lead KGB agent said. “If you wish to see the light of dawn then I suggest that the two of you come with us quietly and immediately and without a fight.”

They were given only enough time to put some clothes on before Domen Krylenko, his wife Mateja Litovchenko, and Krylenko’s twins from another woman Sasa and Artem were brought into the back of a black unmarked truck and driven to the local KGB headquarters in Bender. There, the adults were held in a separate cell from the teenagers. Domen and Mateja didn’t have long to wait before they had their first and only visitor, a white-haired man with white hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and colonel’s insignia on the shoulders of his uniform shirt.

“My name is Colonel Polikarp Anastasovich Chakulakov,” the man said as he sat down in front of the couple. “I am with the Military Intelligence Directorate. As you may have already guessed by now, you and your family have been brought in by the KGB due to suspicions that they in the Committee and we in the Directorate have with regards to you and your family’s true allegiance. My job specifically is to root out subversive elements working within the Democratic People’s Republic of Pridnestrovia, people whose loyalties lie with any state not called Pridnestrovia. I think I should make it clear that we already know everything about your little Operation Azure Mamba, Mr. Krylenko and Mrs. Litovchenko. We are rounding up your fellow agents, operatives, and subversives as we speak. We have also determined that you and your family are working for Anglatia’s Imperial Intelligence Agency and have been approached for this operation even before you arrived here in this country. Ah, you can’t trust the imperialists, can you?”

“But I digress, my Nordskanian refugee spy comrades,” Chakulakov continued, wiping his eyeglasses with a small blue cloth. “What you two need to know is that the evidence of your espionage and subversion against the Pridnestrovian Republic is overwhelmingly implicating. Cases are already being prepared against your whole family. The Pridnestrovian people are not in a forgiving mood right now, especially now that Anglatia and their Mountain Pact have shoved a distasteful armistice and peace treaty down their throats. Anyone who has supported the Anglatians or the Mountain Pact, not that there are many of them, is fair game for the people’s anger. But I have before you the offer of a deal: in exchange for telling me everything you know about Azure Mamba, I can put in a good word for you and your family. If you show yourselves to be the models of judicial cooperation, the jury will take that into account and recommend that your sentences be commuted from the death penalty to just mere deportation back to Nordskania. I believe that would be a good time for your family to get that Anglatian citizenship which has been promised on all of you. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

Domen Krylenko and Mateja Litovchenko were not trained II agents; they were merely a family of Nordskanian refugees fleeing from the devastation of the Pridnestrovian invasion of their homeland when they were recruited by a platoon of Anglatian soldiers to infiltrate Pridnestrovia for Imperial Intelligence and therefore had no counter to the colonel’s seemingly reassuring words. So they told Colonel Chakulakov everything they knew about Azure Mamba, from the other Anglatian agents they knew were operating within Pridnestrovia in support of that operation to the plot to take advantage of the supposed tensions between the various peoples which made up Pridnestrovia. In the other cell, Sasa and Artem told their interrogator everything about their efforts to recruit their fellow Nordskanian refugees into Azure Mamba, promising things like monetary rewards to Anglatian citizenship. They told everything to the KGB and the GRU, hoping and believing that by showing that they were wholeheartedly cooperating with the investigation then their lives would be spared.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

The resulting trial was already being called “the trial of the century” by more unscrupulous members of the media and the populace. It was the first time in many decades that an actual trial was going to be held against those who had been accused of spying against the Pridnestrovian Republic; a quick death by summary execution had been more the norm in recent years. Domen Krylenko and his family arrived at the Pridnestrovian Supreme Court in Tiraspol under full guard by both the KGB and GRU, and they were placed in a barred cell more for their own safety against the howling and baying mobs rather than to truly prevent their escape.

There was no lawyer present for the Krylenkos’ defense, only a plaintiff which represented the entire nation of Pridnestrovia in this case. The plaintiff turned out to be none other than Colonel Polikarp Chakulakov himself, who presented as evidence everything which the Krylenkos had told him and his team during their interrogation back in Bender. At that point, though, Domen Krylenko still believed that there was still hope for him and his family to get out of this thing alive, but when he saw what came next, he knew that his life and his family’s had been forfeit ever since they set foot on Pridnestrovian soil.

Colonel Chakulakov brought to the stand witnesses to attest to the Krylenkos’ subversive activities within the nation. The witnesses turned out to be the very people whom Domen Krylenko and his family had contacted during the five months which Azure Mamba, or at least their part in it, had been going around Pridnestrovia searching for those who would want to bring down the country from the inside out. It turned out that each and every one of the witnesses was actually a KGB or GRU agent who had been posing as a revolutionary just for the Krylenkos’ benefit. But it was the last witness which Chakulakov called upon which made Domen Krylenko realize that he and his family were now merely pigs being led to the slaughter.

“The state calls upon Ludvig Zitovchenko to the stands,” Chakulakov said, and the middle-aged clerk who was the Krylenkos’ contact with Imperial Intelligence stood up and sat down on the place where witnesses were made to tell their stories to the court.

“Before I say anything before this court,” Zitovchenko said, “I would just like to say something. I am not Ludvig Zitovchenko. Nor is this what I really look like.” He then tugged at the salt-and-pepper beard on his chin, revealing bright red stubble and skin underneath. The man then tugged at his hair, which removed itself easily being a wig and exposed flaming red hair. “My real name is Major Iosef Borisovich Birsakov, and I am an agent of the Military Intelligence Directorate.”

“Major Birsakov, what is your mission within the Military Intelligence Directorate?” Chakulakov asked him.

“My main assignment was internal counterintelligence,” Birsakov replied. “My specialty was deep penetration, meaning that it was often my job to infiltrate supposed counterrevolutionary organizations in the country by using disguises to obscure my identity from the members. My task was, is to uncover spies and intelligence officers working inside Pridnestrovia to gather intelligence on the country’s current status or working to destabilize it from within. It was because of this that I was assigned to the case of Ludvig Zitovchenko. Initial investigations have revealed him to be a mere clerk within the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But something told me that Mr. Zitovchenko couldn’t possibly be just that, a mere clerk, so I initiated a more in-depth investigation into this man. It was through this investigation that I discovered Mr. Zitovchenko’s true identity. His real name was Gylfi Nikitassen. His parents were Nikita Krenkov-Ragnarssen of Valeria and Nordskania and Claudine Fillon of Patierre. An Anglatian through and through, shall I say, and a dedicated member of the Imperial Intelligence Agency if I may say so.

“My first instinct was to bring in Mr. Nikitassen for questioning and potential sanctioning,” Birsakov continued. “But once again, something in my gut told me that I should let Mr. Nikitassen continue under the illusion that he was still working undetected within our country. He wasn’t doing anything against the Republic yet, but it was bound to happen soon. And so it happened that two months after the invasion of Nordskania, Mr. Nikitassen-slash-Zitovchenko was contacted by his Anglatian handlers and told to prepare to receive a family of Nordskanian refugees who had been recruited for something called Operation Azure Mamba. Just that designation was enough to tell me that the Anglatians were planning something within our country following our invasion of their puppet state, but as to what kind of operation that was, I had no idea at the time. I asked permission to interrogate Nikitassen at his place, received it, and accompanied by two fellow agents of the Directorate, I set out to have a chat with Mr. Nikitassen about his subversive activities.

“It was during this interrogation that I was interrupted by the arrival of the family of Nordskanian refugees,” Birsakov said. “I did not know yet whether this was the Nordskanian family mentioned in the communications to Nikitassen, but to not answer the door would have raised their suspicions whether they were the family or not. Fortunately, I went into this interrogation prepared for the possibility of an interruption by outsiders so I took on Nikitassen’s appearance and demeanor and pretended to be him while I received the family of refugees. They were indeed the spies recruited for Azure Mamba by the Anglatians, and they are the accused standing before this court right now: Domen Krylenko, Mateja Litovchenko, Sasa Krylenko, and Artem Krylenko. Domen Krylenko and I, under the guise of Ludvig Zitovchenko, discussed at length the particulars of Azure Mamba, which I learned to be an operation designed to gather intelligence from within Pridnestrovia and also to organize an armed revolt against the present government by inciting conflict and revolution between the peoples of this great Republic. I gave Domen Krylenko false information implying that there was growing dissatisfaction between the people and the government and encouraged him to meet with the leaders of various fabricated revolutionary movements. I made up leaders and movements to trap Azure Mamba and recruited GRU agents to play the parts of these disgruntled people for Domen Krylenko’s viewing pleasure. I also gave Mateja Litovchenko, Sasa Krylenko, and Artem Krylenko permission to recruit within the refugee populace. It would have been a harder task to infiltrate more agents into the refugees and give Azure Mamba false members, but it looked as if none of the other refugees were too keen to become part of Azure Mamba. They went to Pridnestrovia for a reason, after all, and that was to escape the anarchists and fascists which the Anglatians have installed in positions of power on the Nordskanian island during this invasion and after it.

“With the Krylenko family well and truly convinced that I was Zitovchenko, keeping him alive would have jeopardized the whole operation. So I took the personal decision to sanction him right then and there. He now lies in the GRU’s common grave outside of the city along with the other traitors and spies also sanctioned at one time or another by the Directorate. And like I said before, to maintain the illusion that I was in contact with members of various fictitious rebellious movements operating within the Republic, I recruited other GRU agents to play the parts of these rebellious members of the population. Inevitably, the KGB got wind of the activities of my fellow agents, so I intervened and told them of the operation to trap Azure Mamba, and once they learned the truth they immediately and cheerfully volunteered their own personnel to the operation. And then, after five months of cultivating their trust, the decision was made to bring in everyone involved in Operation Azure Mamba.”

“Thank you for your testimony, Comrade Major,” Colonel Chakulakov said. “You may return to your seat.” To the jury, he said, “As you can obviously see, comrades of the jury, the Krylenko family is involved up to their necks in criminal and subversive operations within the Pridnestrovian Republic. We cannot let such things pass unpunished! I ask the comrades of the jury to look at the evidence before them and come to the correct and proper conclusion which must surely be reached. This family of spies and subversives surely deserves the death penalty and nothing less!”

And it was at that moment that Domen Krylenko realized that he and his family had been earmarked for slaughter by the Pridnestrovians after their humiliation in Nordskania. He and his family were never going to see Nordskania ever again; they were going to die on this godforsaken communist country. “You!” he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Chakulakov through the bars of their courtroom cell. “You promised us that you would help to get us brought back to Nordskania if only we cooperated with your investigation! But no! You never intended for us to get out of this country alive, did you? Well, then, this is what I have to say about your country: death to Pridnestrovia! Long live the Community of Revolutionary Nordskania! Long live the Empire of Anglatia! I curse this godforsaken nation! You are a nation of liars! Liars, all of you!”

“Order in the court!” the presiding judge shouted, banging his gavel even as Pridnestrovian military police descended upon the cell and began banging their wooden batons against the metal bars to shut up the accused. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”

“Yes, it has, your Honor, Comrade Judge,” the leader juror said as he stood up to deliver the jury’s judgment. “For the crimes of espionage and high treason against the Pridnestrovian Republic, this jury and the people of Pridnestrovia find the accused, Domen Krylenko, Mateja Litovchenko, Sasa Krylenko, and Artem Krylenko guilty!”

“So noted and found,” the judge proclaimed, banging his gavel once again. “For the crimes of espionage and high treason against the Pridnestrovian Republic, this People’s Court sentences the defendants to death by firing squad!”

There was a great furor as the people inside the courtroom cheered the verdict and sentencing of the Nordskanian spies, drowning out the furious curses of Domen Krylenko and the soundless sobbing of Mateja Litovchenko. They were brought out of their barred cell by the military police and shoved unceremoniously once again into the back of the same unmarked truck which had taken them from their apartment in Bender to the local KGB headquarters to the Pridnestrovian Supreme Court in Tiraspol.

The execution was scheduled for immediately after the trial. The killing field was a cleared plot of land outside the city limits owned by the KGB. It was walled off and sited far away from any major or minor roads so no one would be able to interrupt whatever was going on inside, usually summary executions. But today cameras had been set up inside this vacant lot so the people of Pridnestrovia could watch the Nordskanian spy family receive the fate they deserved.

The Krylenko family was forced out of the truck by more military police. Their hands were bound together and tied to four wooden posts erected before a cinder block wall inside the lot and gags tied over their mouths. Before he and his family were blindfolded, Domen Krylenko saw that soldiers of the Federation Armed Forces of the Federation of Nordskania and Vestania were the ones tasked with carrying out their sentence. The MPs then made sure that each and every prisoner was secure before they swiftly moved out of the line of fire.

“Ready,” the commander of the firing squad called out. The firing squad of Nordskanian and Vestanian soldiers loyal to Pridnestrovia cocked their rifles and chambered rounds. “Aim!” The firing squad lifted their rifles up to their shoulders. “Fire!”

“Long live Nordskania!” Domen Krylenko shouted through his gag, but no one heard his words as four cracks split the air and four rifles fired on their targets with a single shot each. Mateja Litovchenko died immediately when the bullet meant for her burst her skull wide open, and Domen’s twins Sasa and Artem both received fatal gunshots to the chest, right at their hearts. Domen himself was struck in the neck by a bullet, and his shattered spine shredded his throat along with the exiting bullet. He would have died choking had the commander of the firing squad not decided to give him a coup de grace to the back of his head with his pistol. Even the others did not escape this fate. Mateja Litovchenko was shot in the chest, and Sasa and Artem Krylenko were also shot in the back of their heads just to make sure that they were dead.

This time there were no cheers for the fate of the fallen, as there was nothing to celebrate about taking another human being’s life. It was an undignified end for a family which had only picked the wrong side to support during the Nordskanian War. Had the Krylenko family decided not to join the convoy of refugees headed for the camp which would bring them to Pridnestrovia then perhaps they never would have met that squad of Anglatian soldiers who recruited them into Operation Azure Mamba, and the Krylenko family would still be alive today. Instead, they had become the victims of a wounded Pridnestrovia which wanted to show its enemies that they would never be truly defeated.

While all that was happening, chaos was ruling over Nordskania once again as the anarchists were now moving against those who had supported the Pridnestrovian invasion or had been involved with leftist ideologies even before that. This would result in many Nordskanian and Vestanian refugees flooding into Pridnestrovia and taking up arms for the Federation of Nordskania and Vestania. Pridnestrovia had given up Nordskania for a lost cause for now, but judging by the way things were going in that island, there may yet be hope for Nordskania, hope of running the imperialists out of the place.

---

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

WORLD CUP 77 QUALIFIERS: ABANHFLEFT VS NORDERNIOUS
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Kevin Kelvin celebrates his goal against Nordernious. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

IMGORTUR, VERBERGERKINNH - Another goal from Kevin Kelvin was more than enough to sink Nordernious and keep Abanhfleft’s qualification hopes for World Cup 77 alive.

In a game once again lacking in clear opportunities, it was the people who could make their own luck who were going to edge out the competition, and tonight Kevin Kelvin happened to be that man.

Using the insole of his right foot, Kelvin got the telling touch to Rory Edwards’ free kick which allowed the ball to loop over the Nordernious keeper and into the back of the net.

Abanhfleft knew that they could not rest with such a slim lead in their hands and continued pushing for a second goal even as Nordernious’ defensive style meant that the opposition was truly limited in their chances of getting back into the game.

Both Rory Edwards and substitute Omar El Salah should have doubled the Revolutionaries’ advantage but were flagged for offside; in the younger Edwards’ case, wrongly as he was actually just behind the last Nordernious defender before Toumain Vincelot released the ball for him.

Nevertheless, Kelvin’s lone goal in the game was more than enough for Abanhfleft to keep pace with group leaders Nephara after the latter’s victory over Hazard Nation in the same night.


Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: Team made their own luck once again

Abanhfleft manager Ranulph Bustamante: "Once again, it all came down to how well we were able to get through such packed defenses as the one Nordernious used. We made our own luck in this game once again. Kevin’s [Kelvin] chip could have gone anywhere; we were lucky it landed in the back of the net. Now that’s truly a moment where a person made their own luck."

"I keep telling this to everybody every day of training now: we cannot afford to drop points at this stage of the campaign. Any points we drop is another chance of qualifying lost. Now we’re facing tough opponents ahead of us; just because we defeated them before or they’re unranked doesn’t mean that they can’t do anything to surprise us. We have to stick to our game plan and keep playing until the final whistle comes, and even then we can never truly relax as there are still more games coming up."

Abanhfleft will travel to North Karakosa in Endelos to face off against Revolutionary Nordskania owing to the unstable situation currently occurring in Nordskania and due to the fact that the Revolutionary Nordskania team’s original home stadium, the Port of Turbayov Stadium, was damaged by Pridnestrovian saboteurs following the end of the Nordskanian War.

  ABANHFLEFT 1 - 0 NORDERNIOUS
KELVIN (34')

NORDERNIOUS
GK: 1 Wolf
RB: 2 Freytag (Ackerman - 72')
RCB: 3 Hartmann
CB: 4 Eichmann
CB: 5 Schultheiss
LCB: 6 Hoch (Eberhardt - 59')
LB: 7 Hofmann
RM: 8 Abendroth
CM: 9 Klein
LM: 10 Scherer
ST: 11 Schweitzer (Neustadt - 84)

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Varamoninov
RB: 14 Popov (Afolayan - 63')
RCB: 4 L. Edwards
LCB: 5 Owobowale
LB: 3 Ogigayatsu
RM: 8 Vincelot
CM: 7 Zolnerov
LM: 6 Marilungo
CAM: 10 R. Edwards (El Salah - 70')
RS: 9 Kelvin (V. Zima - 90')
LS: 11 Dagen

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 64%
Nordernious: 36%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 13 (6 on target)
Nordernious: 7 (2 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 8
Nordernious: 4
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 13
Nordernious: 22

[Juvencus]

OOC: I'm currently sick, so sorry if this article's kinda bad.

A home game victory, at last!


Juven players celebrating the third goal

Juvencus XI:
GK:Naldo Zappa
CB:Dudu Madeiros
CB:Valerio Scarpa
CB:Artur Bernat
CDM:Filipe Rodrigues
CDM:Gian Landi
RM:Hugo Grec
LM:Angelino Alberighi
LF:Joaquim Martell
RF:Oriol Vives
CF:Rodolfo Gallo

Great Caledonia and North Hybernia XI:
GK:Jennifer O'Byrne
CB:Tearlach MacEachthighearna
CB:Brittany Winchester
RB:Elizabeth McQueen
LB:Maggie Johnstone
CDM:Melanie Kirk
RM:Saundra Dunlop
LM:Callum McGivern
CAM:Cristiano Fernando
CAM:Anton
CF:Kevin O'Maoilsheachlainn

Juvencus was finally able to win at home, against a pretty weak Great Caledonia and North Hybernia. With the scoreline being the usual 3-0 win for the Juven squad. A Gallo brace as well as another one by Martell, both of whom are in monstrous form. This win, alongside Savojarna's crushing defeat against Eastfield Lodge has given Juvencus a slight advantadge of a point, rising up from 6th to 5th.

Juvencus used La Torona on the match against Hybernia.

The first half was quite a fast and aggressive one for both sides. Hybernia's Anton managed to slip through Juven defence but his shot against Zappa was pretty weak and easily saved. Then Juvencus went on the counter, Rodrigues crossed it to Vives with the latter through balling it to Gallo with the latter barely missing the target. This didn't make Juven players quit though, as 3 chances followed, 2 by Gallo and 1 by Martell, with all of them being saved by the Hybernian goalkeeper. With Hybernia pretty much unable to do even the slightest of counters, Juvencus pushed on and they scored at the 28th minutes with a Gallo goal after being assisted by Vives, who had previously dribbled through several Hybernian players. Juvencus kept pushing on and the second goal didn't arrive much later, at the 35th minute, the scorer this time was Joaquim Martell, the usual scorer of the team after he found an impossibly small space to shoot through from and his shot miraculously ended in, making it 2-0 for Juvencus, which was half time's score.

At the second half, Juvencus relaxed its play, playing a bit more possessively rather than going fast on the attack, as usual. Despite all of the possessive play, Juvencus pushed on and several chances occured. 2 from Martell and Gallo as well as a longshot by Oriol Vives which hit the right post and then went wide. Juvencus' play got a bit more offensive as Cristiano Fernando almost scored an incredible backheel goal, but it was saved right on the line by Zappa, who was on his day. On the counter, Landi made a really strong cross forwards to Gallo, with the latter avoiding 2 Hybernian defenders before finding himself one on one with the Hybernian goalkeeper, all he needed to do was flick it on the left hand side of the goalkeeper, initially hitting the post before getting in, making it 3-0 for Juvencus. The final score for the game was another 3-0 win, but it was on home this time. The next match is against Anglatia, away, Juven players surely hope to avoid a defeat there.

Match mistakes:
Juvencus:A relatively offensive Juvencus side scored many goals but despite the 3-0 thrasing they gave Hybernia, it was clearly not enough as they were many more chances that could lead to goals. It's worth noting that shooting accuracy has improved a bit.
Great Caledonia and North Hybernia:The side only had 2 chances the entire game, it was pretty much dominated by Juvencus. They couldn't get past the midfield line, all these losses must've softened the squad as they seemed to be on the brink of quitting the entire game.

Ticket sales:
An away match against Anglatia will cost 75 pesos.
However food and drinks will only cost 2-5 pesos.

Top scorers this cycle's WCQ:
Joaquim Martell: 8 goals
Rodolfo Gallo: 5 goals
Angelino Alberighi: 2 goals
Oriol Vives: 1 goal

Top assistmakers this cycle's WCQ:
Oriol Vives: 4 assists
Angelino Alberighi: 3 assists
Joaquim Martell: 1 assist
Aleix Costa: 1 assist
Gian Landi: 1 assist

[Nephara]

"... more convincing victory than the scoreline suggested. The Cormorants' strike partnership of Hawke and Amokachi worked well together, with the Starling striker's flick-on setting up Amokachi for a straightforward side-footed finish in the 11th minute."
Leona Rafford snorted. "C'mon, Essa. Do you really give a shit? The game's... you know. Over. It isn't really news to us. We played in it."
Hawke glanced back at her, pouting. "I just like hearing my name! Besides, they're going to talk about your goal."
"I don't need to hear about that goal! I scored it!"
"Well, I do."
"... physicality lead to a goal off a set piece, Ahlgren's corner turned in by Lundstrom and sending the home crowd into raptures. The Cormorants, with a strong lineup that only rested players at risk of suspension, pressed the attack and were unlucky not to go into the break level when a crisp strike from Raquel Naeher rattled the upright in injury time."
Hawke sighed. "The gaffer gave us pelters."
"I was there."
"Yeah, but you were half-asleep!"
"The Cormorants' pressure told in the second half, with a 30-yard screamer from Leona Rafford calming Cormorant nerves in the 51st minute..."
It had been a beautiful strike. A pearler from the right-back, who'd just found some space, taken a simple pass from Rainsford and twatted it into the top corner.
"... before Hawke was slipped through on goal by Vedran Tarashaj as the Republicans chased the game, and the Starling striker made no mistake to slot low past Marnaren."
Bread-and-butter stuff. She'd have kicked herself had she fucked that one up - even so, Rafford gave her a little affectionate nudge in the ribs.
"Late in the game, under-fire goalkeeper Tsattalios flapped at an Eltberg cross to let Lundstrom notch up his second of the match, but the day was Nephara's, and they continue to sit pretty at the top of the table with a near-perfect record."
Rafford turned the television off. "Happy now you've got your time in the spotlight?"
Hawke grinned. "Of course I am."
"You're hopeless."
"I know, Leo. I know."

It was different for Estrella Hawke. She was middle-class.
It really shouldn't've made a difference, and usually it didn't. Nepharim culture was proudly, resolutely egalitarian, and sometimes that lead to an inclination to cut a perceived tall poppy down to size.
Football, in particular, was very much A Working-Class Sport. Most of the origin stories revolved around it being their way out of minimum wage, past a school system they couldn't get into, a way to break past the safety net, to try and strive for more than the minimum. Hawke... her father was an academic, her mother a poet. Her grades had been alright in a suburban Starling school. If she'd never had a career in football, she had plenty of other options waiting for her.
There were a variety of accents in the squad, of course. Dour semi-Teutonic Northwesterners, chipper Cockney Sabrefellsmen, the slightly more refined Crisisbless accent, Greeks, even a Traveller in Tarashaj. Rainsford's was probably the most exotic, originally from Treason but with a distinctly Hispanic . Irwin, the couple times Hawke had spoken to her, had a weird but distinct Schottian brogue overlaid on standard Crisisbless.
And, she was probably projecting, but Hawke's voice sounded... well, it sounded middle-class. She was self-conscious about it.
And, she had to reiterate, it was fine. Nobody had given her much grief over it.
Sometimes, though, she couldn't help but feel like the girl from Common People (even though she was more incredibly rich) - and she hoped like hell things wouldn't end the same way.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Elsa and Alice Arce after losing to Barunia at Dazza Dallas Stadium. Princess Elsa has her left knee heavily strapped.

Alice: You alright
Elsa: I've been better ...
Alice: Doesn't look great that knee
Elsa: Well, if someone takes out your knee from under you .... it wouldn't
Alice: I've seen worse though
Elsa: Eh, if you've this genetic thing with rather fragile knees. It's not good

Alice: Is anything broken
Elsa: I don't know, I'm going for X rays to check. It bloody hurts to walk still.
Alice: We can't afford to lose players like you
Elsa: I know and we lost to of all teams, Barunia. Bonesea won, mind you that wasn't exactly convincing either.
Alice: I guess we had to lose at one point
Elsa: I guess so

Alice: Sounds like we might not have you for next few games
Elsa: Don't think anything it broken but I'll find out.
Alice: Didn't help being such a cold day
Elsa: Yes, I get injured a lot more than it's cold. You're a bit stiff and not so warmed up
Alice: I don't know about that
Elsa: You're young, I get injured a lot. Nothing serious but lots of little injuries still has an effect.

Alice: I heard your other knee was rebuild once
Elsa: Oh yes, that was fun. Good thing that was before I had kids.
Alice: I guess it's gonna be a pretty stressful next eight games
Elsa: We'll need to win everyone to qualify proper, Bonesea didn't win 7 straight because they were crap. We have Drawkland and Barunia to worry about as well.
Alice: Darmen didn't win either
Elsa: You'd think they'd beat Quakmybush today

Alice: Yeah
Elsa: We could have won today still
Alice: Not our best day really
Elsa: Their keeper kept us out, if we have scored at least once we would have won.
Alice: First time we haven't scored any goals this cup
Elsa: Better get a few next game for us girl

Alice: Say, why are you a defender and not a striker. I mean you're not incapable of that
Elsa: Not sure, but strikers tend not to be short asses like me
Alice: I'm not exactly tall big or strong.
Elsa: But you're quick moving. You're still taller than me.
Alice: Say, they say headers give you brain damage.
Elsa: Well, you smack your brain against a football too many times you will.

Alice: That's a bit of a worry
Elsa: I avoid headers if possible, I don't want to mush my brains.
Alice: I can't exactly avoid it
Elsa: Compared to boxing, it's a lot safer.
Alice: I don't know how they do that, boxing.
Elsa: Getting deliverably whacked around the head for a living isn't for me.

Alice: It's not good for you looks either
Elsa: Especially if you don't wear clothes on TV ...
Alice: How to hide your football scars
Elsa: Lots of makeup, people don't want to see that crap.
Alice: True
Elsa: Ageing isn't much fun I tell ya

[Veldgouwen]

It would never win an award for prettiest goal scored, for the simple reason that it rather looked like a rhinoceros ploughing through a dense bit of the savannah rather than a gazelle dribbling through the meadows to take home the point. But those on the benches, who screamed their hearts out seeing a vital score that placed Veldgouwen in the hot seat for the qualification, obviously couldn’t care less. Even more, they heralded Jim Decubber for doing what he did because they knew that if there was one man out there on the grass who had the power to pull them out of the mud and all the way to San Jose Guayabal and Quebec like a monstertruck, it would be him. The best part of it all was that this knowledge trickled down in the dugout as well now, but possibly for different reasons.

For the rare neutral supporter who had decided to spend his evening in the couch, ogling the turnout of this group four key confrontation, it had not been a treat. It would be unfair to say that either side had cemented up their goal area but neither Spaam nor Veldgouwen genuinely seemed capable of crafting something that came close to creative football. Both feeling the hot air of more reputed sides such as West Saintland and Kaboomlandia breathing down their neck, one could say that their legs refused to take a chance. It did not result in an all too short highlight reel, but it was rather a collection of long-distance kicks and cross passes easily hurled out of danger than a quick follow-up of passes which cut through the heart of the defense like a hot knife through butter.

As captain Farlinar Reyen demonstrated that his home performance wasn’t a fluke, keeping Piet Masschelin at such a close leash it nearly was a chokechain, the audience looked one row further for salvation, for someone who could turn this game upside down. Most would have put their money on either of the creative wingers but it did more merit to the game and its high stakes that it was the roadrunner in the middle of the pitch, sporting the number eight, who did the trick. Jim Decubber was the engine of any team you dropped him in but fulfilled that role for the national side with a peculiar dedication. Some called it guts, some called it burning ambition and others just called him a cocky overperformer.

Fact is that he was quickest on a loose ball after a Spaam corner kick, beating Kian Rose to it and avoiding the latter’s slide tackle in the same effort. Rushing to the ball, he won a duel with Fenzana as well before shouldercharging into Gibelar Ralora just carefully enough to avoid a whistle from the referee. At that point, Decubber had not gained control of the ball at a single moment, simply pushing it upfield whilst holding off the others, but had made it into the opposing half with two teammates to take on three remaining defenders. Most players, exhausted and worn out by now, would have opted for a through pass but Decubber stubbornly drove the ball towards the opposite goal. Ilirith tried to intervene, managed to bring the Veldgouwer down but he rose after a simple roll and marched on. At last, Reyen seemed capable of holding him back at the edge of the box, but whilst crashing to the ground, Decubber got his weaker right foot behind the ball and put his laces through it.

It’s an action-for-action description that does not even give full merit to Jim Decubber and how he, as if it were a heavily staged mixed martial arts demonstration, found new ways to get rid of opponents who all remained on the ground after spectacularly being tossed towards it with a dazed look as if they had just discovered that stopping a train with your bare hands could bloody hurt. The whole scenario was not majestic at all, no butcher ever is, but it made the crowd go bonkers enough in a thrilling mix of their eternal lust for blood and a more civilized sense of respect for a player who didn’t hesitate to make his shirt wet, as analysts put it.

”He’s meriting that captaincy armband by now,” Ronny whispered remarkably clear to Johan Valkeniers, as around them everything seemed to explode with joy.
”Just a second,” the gaffer halted him.

If Decubber runs, then he does it as if he is escaping a lion. If he tackles, he seems to be the only man standing between the forces of evil and the one ring to rule them all. If he shoots, there is no room for subtlety but only for raw power. Heck, even when he is eating his morning cereal, it seems his first meal after forty day in the desert. There is nothing he takes on half-assed, so one could imagine the bravado with which he celebrated his goal, a spontaneous routine which included a long rush along the stands, a multitude of waved fists, some screams that would have made you call the police if he uttered them in the middle of your abandoned street and evidently some contact with his teammates which held the middle ground between chestbumps and straight out car crashes.

Van Baekel, Schaepdryver and Troch, quite a force of nature himself, were fended off as if they were Spaamian defenders. Masschelin got a high five of nuclear force and Kieran Maes received a scruffle on his head which would have been considered an assault if not for the circumstances. But he also took the time to run up to Yassin Tarki, who usually kept himself out of goal celebrations, to lift the lanky winger in the air and waved to the crowd one last time, in the meanwhile holding his day-to-day teammate with a single hand, as if it were a baby on his arm.

”You’ve ordered him to involve…” Ronny asked, when the kick-off for the remaining twenty minutes was given.
”Nope,” was the dry response.
”Well, then, ehm…”
”He might merit it indeed,” Valkeniers concluded.

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Upper Sunrise's lab was a bit of a mess.
Filled with all sorts of pieces for machinery and a couple of experiments.
The girl seemed at home, of course.
"...This place could use a bit of cleaning, don't you think?"
"Rich coming from the guy who'd leave his clothes all over the floor, don't you think?"
Kitsunia giggled a bit, Sunrise rolling over his eyes.
"I'm sorry... I'm still new here, barely had any time to settle."
"S-so... You were one of the Arceusian Sun members..."
"A forced one. Those were terrible ten years, in all honesty."
"...What?"
"Our mother was insane. We might not even be blood-related for all I know but... sadly, we couldn't find any papers about it."
"Who would be the we in question, might I ask?"
"I took the liberty of asking the police about our registering papers but I still haven't received any answers. Wherever they are, they're very well hidden."
"That... that's my fault, I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. My hypothesis is that she was already a mess from the start."
"Your sister Southern told me she wasn't as bad until Sir Byrd passed away."
"Wait. Wait. You said something about ten horrible years."
"Indeed I did."
"You don't look ten years old."
"I'm fourteen. Those four last years were the time I found Science and fell in love with it... Good thing Madam DuBeaux didn't mind and- DON'T PRESS THAT!"
Qasden looked to the girl, her finger almost reaching the button of a rather spherical robot.
"What does it do, missus Upper Sunrise?"
The scientist walked to it, laughing a bit.
"It's a trap. If you click it, the upper half of it shoots upwards, hitting whoever clicks it."
"Did you always invented things like this?"
"I... I really truly started inventing here. Back at the Castle, I was stuck doing repair job."
"Probably why she didn't mind your interest."

Sunrise looked at what seemed like a headset.
"What's this?"
"It's my Pokémon Translator."
She smiled, putting it over her head and clicking a couple of buttons on the side.
"This way, anyone can understand what their Pokémon is speaking but it needs something to work..."
"What does it need?"
"It needs to be tested."
Sunrise smiled.
"Well, let's test."
He took out a Pokéball from his purse, releasing Jolteon from it.
"Jolteon, we'll need you for a second, OK?"
"Jolteon!" "I hope you have food!"
She smiled.
"He said something about pants!"
"...pants? Does it want pants?"
"My Jolteon isn't like that..."
"Jolteon?" "Pants? What's that?"
"He asked about food."
"...That sounds more like it."
"Did someone say food?"
She sighed, turning off the headset.
"Maybe we should take a break..."
Sunrise looked at the girl, seemingly sad.
"Why are you upset?"
"...I wanted it to work..."
"It did translate something, didn't it?"
"But... You said it translated it all wrong..."
"It seemed like it did but hey... it's probably just in need of some minor fixing."
"..."
She looked up to her smiling brother.
"Say, why don't Chrom help you out?"
Chrom looked alarmed at him.
"I'm not a scientist, Sunrise!"
"But you're smart and all. Surely, you can help her out."
"Custardy brother is very smart!"
"It's custody, little girl."
"Oh, sowwy!"

Upper Sunrise and Chrom kep staring at the Translator, thinking on how to fix that equipment.
"...I have no idea."
"Hmmm... Maybe it's on the translation."
"What did you use to understand the languages of Pokémon?"
"I used a basic guide from a nurse... Someone called Cass, I think."
"I see."
"As a trainer, if I might add..."
Sunrise walked behind the two, carrying a glass of orange juice.
"The nurses have a guess-based dictionary. They acknowledge it's not accurate."
"Well... I didn't have any other choice. It's not like I'm a Pokémon Trainer to know all that."
"Wait! You're not?"
"Madam DuBeaux didn't let us have Pokémon, she said it made us lose focus."
"Fits her description."
"I've heard trainers know how to deal with their own Pokémon. If only we had a really good trainer-"
The two looked at Sunrise, who laid on a wall, finishing his glass of orange juice.
"What?"
"You're helping me get better..."
"You won the last two World Cups..."
"Sounds like you fit the bill!"
"...Eh? But I'm not that good."
"You did win twice."
"C'mon, Sunrise. It's not like we know a lot of World Champions."
"...Nephara is our next door neighbor!"
"He's still out on a trip."
"What about the elf?"
"...That's actually not a bad idea."
"Who?"
"Valanora. She's old and knows a lot of things. I'm sure she could help us out."
"...Does that mean I have to go there too?"
"...Yes."
"Give me that."

[Tinhampton]

Tinhampton City FC - manager's office: 5:41am, 18th February 2017

• Press Secretary Suzanne Hammond: Well, we've never been the most stellar of football teams. At our current rate, it looks like a case of "win, lose or die!" Carry on without a draw, and we'll have one of the more recurring happenings in the game.
• First-Team Manager Clive Turnwood: So anyway, onto the match. Did we win or did we lose? I'm tempted to say it's the former, but I just know it's the latter.
• Suzanne Hammond: Unfortunately, you are correct. Lost 1-0 to Electrum at home. Admittedly, one of the more gripping and defensive matches I've seen from our lads (and two ladies), but not quite enough to pull us through. Same scoreline as it was with our controversial old staff, but much more heart shown. I've got the match report for you here.
• Clive Turnwood: This is one of the best I've ever seen - and you can trust me when I say that it's better than the report we put out after my boys won 9-0 about six years back! It's not just the team that's improved...
• Suzanne Hammond: Good comments you make there. I'll be sure to send this to my usual sources.

---

TINHAMPTON 0-1 ELECTRUM: BILATERAL RESILIENCE WINS PLAUDITS

Despite attempts by both sides to keep each other at bay, Tinhampton tanked by late header
Tinhampton 0 -- Electrum 1 (Latham 85')

[Taeshan]

"Well at least we didn't lose."

"True. We really played well against a top team on the road."

"The good news is we stay only 5 points behind them for playoffs."

"Yeah but if we had found that lone goal we could have made it 3."

"And we still have Krytenia on the road, and at home vs Chromatika. So it's basically an impossibility anyways."

"Yeah, but at least we all expected that. They gave us a taste of possibility and then slammed the door shut by being themselves."

"We should really just support our club teams instead of Taeshan. They never come through."

"True is anyone still alive that watched the team in a quarterfinal."

"Lol."

"We really should be better."

"Much Better."

"Oh well we will continue to go to games, and watch the garbage truck on fire."

"Of Course."

[Ethane]

Last Gasp - Part 9
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Mr Aberson eyes flickered. His vision was hazy and blurred, unable to make out where he was and confused as to what had happened to him. He knew he was lying on the floor as the floor was quite cold against his chest, and he knew he was by a table of sorts as his foot was resting against a table leg of some sorts.

It took him about a minute to regain full consciousness and understand where he was, undoubtedly helped by the slamming of the front door. Who had left? Was it one of his kids? His wife? What time was it?

He sat up and screamed. His wife was next to him, sprawled across the floor with blood pouring out of her and all over the floor. She wasn't breathing. Her eyes were open, but they held no life in them, all the life having rushed out of them at the moment it happened.

He remembered what had happened. He had arranged for dinner with Mr. Holmes - the leader of this country - but had also arranged dinner with the GreenerEthane! leader, who had wanted to take Mr. Holmes into custody. The women had used them for the place for dinner, but had promised to spare their lives. How he should have never trusted her.

Mr. Aberson started crying, kneeling down next to his wife. Saying his goodbyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was his fault. It was his fault. It was his fault. He placed a hand on his chest, in pain. It was then that he realised he had also been shot himself.

'That bitch!' he screamed out, wishing he could just reverse time to this morning and never arrange that dinner. But then they would probably still be killed. He knew he'd need medical attention, so he crawled across the floor and grabbed the phone, in too much agony to stand up and walk there.

He dialled the emergency number into the phone and called up the ambulance and the police and anyone who would come. He told them everything they needed to know. And then he fainted.

---

Match Review

---

Ethane have continued their winning streak with a narrow win against Korizland at home, repeating the result they obtained when visiting them.

There was no doubt that the unbeaten group leaders were the favourites in the game, and they showed that, stifling any attack which Korizland tried to offer. The unbreakable defence which has only conceded 1 goal in the entire qualifying campaign so far held strong yet again despite a few changes, signifying the strength and depth that the Red Kites have in defensive selection owing in part to the defensive nature of the Explosive League.

Samuel Mitchell scored the solitary goal in this game in the 57th minute which continues his impressive performance in the World Cup qualifying campaign, showing him to be one of the Red Kites' future stars following in the footsteps of Dewayne Boivin, who finds himself if not at, then near the end of his footballing and international career.

It was Branden Veresoto who assisted the goal with a long pass from the right side of the pitch about half way between the half-way line and the box. Veresoto has really stepped up this cycle after being the second choice right winger for the duration, finding himself solidifying his starting position in the team after his impressive winger and assisting capabilities.

The team now go on to face Rebuild the Wall - a team which has changed drastically since Ethane last faced them and hopefully made it more likely they will be defeated by the Red Kites soaring above them. More on that tomorrow hopefully.

'61: Daniel Moore
'73: Christian Ali
'80: Julian Harrington

---

Lineup @ Rebuild the Wall

---

GK: Joe Henderson
LB: Cliff Driscoll
CB: Darien Fear
CB: Jonathan Harris
RB: Joshua Cook
CDM: Merlin Midgley
LM: Kevyn Stidolph
RM: Branden Veresoto
ST: Dewayne Boivin
LF: Julian Harrington
RF: Thomas Peone

---

Schedule and Stats

---

---

Note: statistics do include friendlies.

---

Pre-WCQ Friendly: Qasden 1-0 Ethane @ Royal T.V. Stadium, T.V. City
MD1: Korizland 0-1 Ethane @ Korizland
MD2: Ethane 1-0 Rebuild the Wall @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD3: Electrum 0-1 Ethane @ Centralis Arena
MD4: Ethane 2-1 Cetheque @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD5: The Andromeda Archipelago 0-2 Ethane @ The Andromeda Archipelago
MD6: Ethane 1-0 Tinhampton @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD7: Boring Paradise 0-2 Ethane @ Boring Paradise
MD8: New Gazi 0-1 Ethane @ New Gazi
MD9: Ethane 2-0 Damukuni @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
Mid-WCQ Friendly Ethane 1-0 San José Guayabal @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD10: Ethane 1-0 Korizland @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD11: Rebuild the Wall vs Ethane @ Wooden Palisade
MD12: Ethane vs Electrum @ King Edward IV Stadium, New Sarum
MD13: Cetheque vs Ethane @ Cetheque
MD14: Ethane vs The Andromeda Archipelago @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD15: Tinhampton vs Ethane @ Tinhampton
MD16: Ethane vs Boring Paradise @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD17: Ethane vs New Gazi @ King Edward Stadium, New Sarum
MD18: Damukuni vs Ethane @ TBC
Post-WCQ Friendly: TBC

Stats
Goals
Samuel Mitchell - 6
Julian Harrington - 3
Hayden Watts - 2
Dewayne Boivin - 2
Thomas Peone - 1
Wilmer Jaurequi - 1
Assists
Kevyn Stidolph - 3
Branden Veresoto - 3
Grady Stevens - 2
Dewayne Boivin - 2
Wilmer Jaurequi - 1
Alex Brown - 1
Carl Sanders - 1
Sub Appearances
Samuel Mitchell - 4
Hayden Watts - 4
Branden Veresoto - 3
Christian Ali - 3
Jonathan Harris - 2
Kyle Cooper - 2
Cliff Driscoll - 2
Andrew Biley - 2
Daniel Moore - 2
Julian Harrington - 2
Caleb Powell - 1
Gerald Coleman - 1
Dewayne Boivin - 1
Kevyn Stidolph - 1
Thresa Desantis - 1
Merlin Midgley - 1
Julian West - 1
Grady Stevens - 1
Alex Brown - 1
Joshua Cook - 1