World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

STL|Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana
Sport | Football|
World Cup 81 - The Road to FR/Banija

A GREAT BEGINNING:
Central Shanesville 0-4 New Lusitania @ C.Shanesville

New Lusitania began their road to the Free Republics and Banija in Central Shanesville. António Lopes started in goal rather than Patríce, which showed that coach Sta.Cruz was ready to experiment, with younger players. The first goal came in at 35 minutes of play, Jorge Mário hoofed the ball upfield, making into Fransisco Gama, who crossed it to Daniel Jota, who shot it into the net. Before halftime, Gama launched a counterattack with a 1-2 with Silveira, eventually putting the ball easily into the net, giving them a two goal lead at halfway.
More experiments, with André Moreira coming on for the second half. In the sixtieth minute, a free-kick was conceded for New Lusitania. Rúben Neves, took it and put it in the top right corner. The last goal came from a midfield play from Fernandos that went into the feet of André Moreira, with the youngster proving himself worthy of the National team.
FULL TIME: 0-4


POST-MATCH REACTIONS
Interviewer: Another great match for you, Gama, what are your thoughts on this first win?
Gama: We handled the game well as a team, so I feel we got the three points as best we could, still 17 games to go, but we're here to prove we're not here to mess around. It's a real pleasure to be part of this team, we connect really well despite our rivalry in the league.
Int: And your goal, a stunning counterattack for sure.
FG: Yeah, um.. it was one of those that's really rewarding when you run up the pitch and just hit it into the back of the net. It's just an exhilarating feeling.
Int: Thanks for that, Fransisco. Moving on to the scorer of a great free kick, Nevais. What is your view?
RN: I agree with Gama, it's great to play for your country, and this team is really tight-knit, both on and off the pitch.
Int: And what of your goal?
RN: Ah, it's just amazing when you hit it into a sweet spot, specially in a free kick outside the box. Getting them right in training, coming into an International and just pulling it off, it's really great.
Int: Thank you, Rúben and Francisco.
RN/FG: No problem.
(...)
Int: We are here with the coach of New Lusitania, a great first win, comments?
Victor Santa Cruz: I think it's s great first win, later on we managed to experiment with some of the youngsters, who love the game time. Overall, yes two good halves, but we have to remember not to be off guard in the next match. I think if we keep playing like this we might have a crack at the big time but only time will tell, really.

RATINGS, AWARDS AND OPINIONS
Man of the Match : Fransisco Gama (1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots on target, 9.1 rating)
LUS Ratings: Lopes 7, Guerreiros 6.5, Dalot 6.5, Cédric Silva 6.5, Nevais 8.5, Mário 6.8, Fernandos 7.5, Silva 6 (Breu 7), Gama 9.1, Silveira 6.5, Jota 7 (Moreira 7). Overall : 7

Experts' Opinion: Although this game has shown the overall potential of New Lusitania, it does emphasise the shear waste of chances we have been accustomed to, however it puts even more strain on the next game as New Lusitania might be caught off guard after dominating a game away from home. Was good to see Moreira get a chance in the squad and he rose to the occasion. Nevais was once again on top form, as well as the star Gama. Understandable to see Lopes getting the Goalkeeper time today, proving that he is first team quality in the years to come, with Patríce coming to the end of his career.


STATS (CSH Vs LUS)
Goals: 0 /4
Shots: 10/21
Shots on Target: 4/15
Corners: 2/5
Fouls: 5/3
Cards - Yellow: 1/0
Cards - Red: 0/0
Possession %: 35/65

THE HUB
GOAL COUNT Top 5 Daniel Jota (1), Fransisco Gama (1), Neves (1), André Moreira (1).

Assist Count: Fransisco Gama (1), Bruno Fernandos (1), André Silveira (1)

Playmakers' Average Index "5" : Fransisco Gama (9.1), Rúben Nevais (8.5), Bruno Fernandos (7.5), António Lopes (7), André Moreira (7).

Injuries: B.Silva (Knock -75% chance of playing)

Ref's Book: Nothing to report


-----------------------------------
STL in association with FLF
MMXVIII

[Northwest Kalactin]

Northwest Kalactin 2-0 Sorrentopia
Northwest Kalactin starts off this World Cup with a strong win over sorrentopia with Jimmy McCarthy and Jared Sednah scoring the goals. McCarthy scored off of a 31 yard free kick and Sednah off of a breakaway on the goalie.

Visitors Guide to Northwest Kalactin
Hello this is the visitoers guide to Northwest Kalactin here are some tips for traveling here. It’s very hot in Kalactin bring short sleeves and drink lots of water. Also if your visiting Gold Coast there are amazing food trucks near the National soccer teams stadium. In Gold Coast we have a underground metro (map shown here) also if your in to hiking visit Mount Kyater it has many hiking trails with very scenic views. There are also many other sports in Northwest Kalactin from Airsoft to soccer you can catch a great sports game anywhere.
See you in Northwest Kalactin!

[Mattijana]

Mattijana To Face Eura in Group 7 For World Cup Qualifiers

MFO SPORT

Mattijana have been drawn against world number 2s and top seeds Eura in a World Cup qualifying group that is otherwise a kind one. They will also play top 100 sides Acronius and North Prarie as well as fellow Esportivans The Sherpa Empire during their campaign.

Having snuck into pot 3 due to the absence of Schottia, Electrum and Ceni among others, Mattijana were guaranteed a better draw than in previous years, but there was still one of the world's best sides due to come out of the hat and in Eura, they got the best side that they could have got on paper.
Their elevated pot, coupled with the highest number of debutant sides in recent history, means that this year represents Mattijana's best shot at qualification for their first World cup Finals yet, but after a disastrous World Cup 80 campaign, much work must be done by Dusan Vukoja and his team if they are to achieve that feat. This cycle's Campionato Esportiva went well as they improved on two successive bronze medals to take silver, although how far they were off the pace of World and now Esportivan Champions Brenecia in the final will be a major concern.

Here's the lowdown on the 9 teams they will face in qualifying:

Eura

World Rank: 2
Region: Rushmore
Manager: Daniel Belgrave
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD5, away @ undisclosed
-MD14, home @ Stadijo Nasinal, Petrovijanka

Eura come into the tournament as the on-paper favourite to win with the absence of Schottia, but have reached the semis of both World Cup 80 and the Copa Rushmori in their last two tournaments. As a result, whether they can withstand the pressure at the business end of the world cup finals is the major question asked of the side, assuming they make it that far.

Qualifying has rarely presented issues for Eura in recent times and this campaign is expected to be no different. Both Mattijana and Acronius are at the lower end of their respective pots and they should be too strong for everyone else. As a result, anything other than top spot in group 7 would be a massive surprise.

On the pitch, Eura are a well-drilled unit. Daniel Belgrave, who took over at the most recent Copa Rushmori, has reigned in some of the positivity of his predecessor Steve Thompson in favour of a more balanced approach, but attacking threat is nevertheless present.
There are few stars in the Euran side, but teamwork is a huge strength. The team can keep the ball for long periods, but are also able to fashion the end product required.
Oscar Coltrane and Jayden Fox represent a threat from set pieces.

Complacency will be Eura's main enemy in qualification as their opposition should present few difficulties.

Acronius

World Rank: 45
Region: Renegade Islands Alliance
Manager: Massimiliano Abdullahi
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD9, away @ undisclosed
-MD18, home @ Stadijo Dinamov

Acronius are a curious side. They have some talented players and have inched their way up into the world's top 50, but have never really set the world on fire. This also sums up their most recent qualifying campaign as they finished fourth in group 13, missing out on a playoff place to New Gazi by a solitary point.
As a result, more difficult challenges could have been presented by the draw and Dusan Vukoja will be happy to have avoided the likes of Savojarna and Qasden. Acronius have still come a lot closer to qualification than Mattijana ever have however, and although worse could have come, Acronius are a solid outfit.
A more attacking side than Eura, Acronius have a starting lineup of dynamic, young and versatile players this cycle. Central midfielder André Traëger, who like many of his fellow forwards is capable of playing basically everywhere, is the only player over 30 and will be expected to provide some experience to the team with his precision passing and prolific finishing. Question marks are present as to whether he should play as a second forward, but he appears to have the tools to pull the strings in the midfield.

The youthful lineup may be one that can hit the ground running this cycle and if they can make the step up, they will be a huge threat. With Mattijana facing them at the Stadijo Nasinal on the final day, it would be a massive occasion if that turned into a qualification playoff.

North Prarie

World Rank: 79
Region: The South Pacific
Manager: Allan Willis
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD3, home @ Garijo Ales Struna, Puljanka
-MD12, away @ Prarie National Sports Stadium, Worchester

North Prarie are very much a side on the up. The World Cup 81 debutants finished a respectable 5th in their opening World Cup qualifying campaign and racked up 5 victories in a tough group containing eventual finalists The Holy Empire.
With their opening cycle, in which they also reached the BoF round of 16, behind them, North Prarie will be looking to build on their early success this campaign. Another mid-table result is on the cards, but many will be expecting them to mount an outside challenge for qualification given the relative lack of disparity between them and the pot 2 and 3 nations in group 7.
From the Mattijanan perspective, both fixtures with North Prarie will be of vital importance if they are to stake a serious qualification claim, however the two team's playing styles may make life awkward for the marmots.
North Prarie prefer a counter-attacking game to match up to Mattijana's more intricate midfield and wing-based play, a setup that may make the loons tough to break down and may leave the Mattijanan defense exposed on the break. It is therefore important for Dusan Vukoja to get his attacking balance right and to tell his team not to commit too many numbers forward. The likes of Jessika Struna and Sophia Velezia will probably be hugely important in cutting open the North Prarie back line to avoid frustration, a technique that Revinka winger Struna light-heartedly named the 'counter-counter.'

However Mattijana and the group's other teams decide to play North Prarie, they will be an awkward team to face and it is hard to see them failing to take some points off the bigger guns during qualifying, even if they do fall short of the qualifying mark.

The Sherpa Empire

World Rank: 170
Region: Esportiva
Manager: Unknown
Fixtures With Mattijana:
-MD2, away @ undisclosed
-MD11, home @ Garijo Ales Struna, Puljanka

Like North Prarie, The Sherpa Empire also made their debut at World Cup 80. The Sherpas fared less well than their groupmates however, finishing qualifying 9th in group 13 with only 12 points to show for their efforts.
The team has had a little more preparation for this cycle, having participated in their first Campionato Esportiva, and unlike their first tournament, they this time raised some eyebrows as they beat Super Llamaland on their way to an eventual loss on penalties to Filindostan.
Despite the increase in general confidence, Mattijana will also take confidence into the two fixtures after they thumped the Sherpas 6-0 during the group stage, a result that kick-started the Mattijanan's run to the final.
Like their country of origin, little is known of the squad itself. They are said to live and train at high altitude, an additional challenge for Mattijana on their away visit, but at sea level in Weststrand, they should pose much less of a problem.

Blaneu

World Rank: 207
Region: Europa
Manager: John Snellbridge
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD8, home @ Stadijo Snezn, Snezn
-MD17, away @ Isthmus Arena, Town-On-The-Cape

Blaneu made their debut in this cycle's Baptism of Fire and had a decent time of it, reaching the round of 16 before a tight defeat on penalties to Carloso.
Manager John Snellbridge has made some radical changes to the squad, removing the experience of Lloyd MacDai and Mark Bowen in favour of some more youthful players. Despite the changes in personnel, he has decided to persevere with a 3-2-2-3 formation with a slightly attack-minded approach to compliment many of the balanced styles in the group.
Blaneu are still a team in development, but may be able to nick a few unexpected points off their higher-ranked rivals in their preparation for the future.

Mytanija

World Rank: 262
Region: Rushmore
Manager: Unknown
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD4, home @ Westerstadion, Weststrand
-MD13, away @ undisclosed

Little is known of 262nd-ranked Mytanija, who are also the second Rushmori side in the group. Whether they may one day reach the same level as Eura it is impossible to say, but the debutants will be looking to claim some scalps in this set of qualifiers.
The side didn't participate in either the 68th Baptism of Fire or 80th World Cup, so are carrying a few ranking points from a little while ago, although how long ago it actually was since they participated is as mysterious as their teamsheet, manager or indeed country.
Every group has its mystery low-ranked side that turns up and plays well and with little information about them, Mytanija may well be trying to satisfy that label. Worryingly for Dusan Vukoja, the mystery rookies have always seemed to cause Mattijana a few problems.

This should still be a comfortable six points for the marmots however.

Hertisiana

World Rank: 272
Region: The Hertisian Archipelago
Manager: Unknown
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD7, away @ undisclosed
-MD16, home @ Stadijo Nasinal, Burges

Unlike Mytanija, Hertisiana's position in the hierarchy of world football is more generic. The BoF 68 debutants fell at the group stage as a 1-1 draw with Greater Libertania was not enough to get them into the round of 32.
All in all, the side didn't show anything special over their first three games of international football and nothing special is expected over their next 18 either.

The Hungarian Nation

World Rank: 317
Region: Social Liberal Union
Manager: Unknown
Fixtures With Mattijana:
-MD6, home @ Stadijo Katarina Zafarova, Revinka
-MD15, away @ undisclosed

Another group of BoF rookies, the Hungarians had an even tougher time than Hertisiana, losing all three of their group stage matches and shipping nine goals in the process.
Whilst the defence is certainly a concern, their attacking threat wasn't spectacular either as the team managed 4 goals on their way to the bottom of the group.
Whether the team with a distinctly central-European flavour can improve their form during qualification is another question, but it will be a tough ask for them to produce anything other than lower-table form.

Comind New Islands

World Rank: UR
Region: The Region That Has No Big Banks
Manager: Unknown, probably none
Fixtures with Mattijana:
-MD1, home @ Stadijo Dinamov, Petrovijanka
-MD10, away @ undisclosed

The Comind New Islands are the only unranked team in the group and are therefore the token whipping boys. They hail from 'the region that has no big banks' and it is hard to see them acquiring any riches in points either.
Having said that, they are completely unseen by the rest of the world and they might cause a few surprises. They'll probably finish bottom of the group though.

[East Belzaria]

East Belzaria State Media (EBSM):

East Belzaria was the underdog going into their opening qualifying game against Garifunya, but managed to put up a brave fight. Several chances were missed by Shad Radclyffe, most notably hitting the crossbar a few minutes before halftime. But in the end it was Garifunya who regrouped in the 2nd half to win the game. Harada Lopez making a dreadful backpass that resulted in the first goal. The 2nd goal was just a beautiful team effort from Garifunya who put together 15 passes in the buildup.

The East Belzarian fans, who rarely travel due to strict government regulations were very pleased with their team's performance. "I've always wanted to see our national teams proudly representing this great country wherever they go." said a traveling supporter "Even though they didn't win, I still know they did this."

David Madridson wasn't pleased with the outcome of the fixture, and was furious with Harada Lopez who gave up the first goal. "I hate backpassing." He said "It kills the game. Our style of play rarely includes it, but the one time Harada did backpass it cost us the game." Harada Lopez looked distraught during his post match interview stating "I feel ashamed that we couldn't get the victory today."

East Belzaria faces Saltstead in their first home game on matchday 2. Maybe then they will triumph.

[East Belzaria]

EBSM Report

East Belzaria's First Home game will be the most watched event in the country's history:

East Belzaria take on Saltstead on Matchday 2 of World Cup 81 qualifying.

This is East Belzaria's first home game. Tickets went on sale, but if you weren't quick enough you wouldn't be at the Complex A stadium to see this game go down. All 2 million seats are sold out. This means East Belzarian State networks are broadcasting the match through television, pay-per view and other streaming services. Recently, the internet ban in East Belzaria was removed and many citizens believe it was for this purpose as 300 million people already purchased the new state online streaming service. Current reports indicate that 87% of the country's population will be tuned in, meaning this will be the most watched sporting event in East Belzarian History.

David Madridson and his team returned from Garifunya and have already begun training for the next game. "I've seen Complex A, but I've never seen it with full capacity" says Madridson "I've been training these men hard because we have hundreds of millions of people who we can't disappoint." When asked about the situation with Harada Lopez, Madridson confirmed he'd still start the game despite his defensive error which cost East Belzaria against Garifunya. Harada Lopez spoke about his defensive responsibilities saying "I was very upset after what happened, but David calmed me down and told me to focus on what was ahead." We also interviewed Lorn Monte who stated "It has always been my dream to play here with a sold out crowd. But that dream could have a happy or sad ending. I think you know which one everyone here at East Belzaria."

So, will East Belzaria pull off a big surprise in this qualifying group? We'll find out.

[Adab]

A Dance with Football
A look into the lives of the people involved in Adabian football and those associated with them

Chapter 8: Take Me to Her

Early 2011
Saad Kaykali's house, Baghdad

Saad Kaykali's feet touched the pavement with not much of a sound. He looked around him, wondering what his neighbors would think of him now, but there was no one else around. Perhaps everyone just happened to be away, or no one bothered to come out and greet him now that he was a prisoner, but he preferred it that way. The sirens ceased and the engine came to a stop. The policeman who had been sitting beside Saad during the ride stood next to him and opened his handcuffs, while his friend who drove the car sauntered over to Saad's other side, watching solemnly as the former footballer - free of those little chains - stepped towards the house which he had not seen for a long time. It was an upscale neighborhood, but the house itself wasn't very extravagant; visually it didn't quite stand out from the neighboring houses.

But just for how long? Saad could have sworn he hadn't been here for years, but then again he had pretty much lost track of time while in prison. A more logical explanation, he kept assuring himself, was that it had been many months since he was here, though just what he meant by "many", he himself wasn't sure. The world marched on in a blur, leaving behind a multitude of memories to be lost in the mazes of time and a man who no longer was sure if he did actually live that life that he imagined he lived: the life of a superstar, a footballer, one of the greatest and most inspiring people in his country.

The world marches on in a blur was the mantra that he kept repeating to himself, victim of a seemingly long chain of events mashed together in a short timeframe. How did this all happen so quickly? He didn't understand just how much the world had turned upside down on him, and he convinced himself that he never would. He had grown distant from his wife and daughter during his imprisonment, partly because of himself, as he urged them to go on living without him, but one thing that had kept him going was the knowledge that there were still out there, waiting for him, and now that possibility was about to be taken away from him.

The first piece of news that he received regarding his wife's illness wasn't even about her going to the doctor or taking medication. She was dying. That's what Saad's lawyers told him. The whole time he knew nothing about the illness - though he was assured that the onset was rather sudden - and when he was finally told, he was told that she was dying. It seemed as if he had not been given time to contemplate the full extent of the situation and offer his support for his wife, let alone to prepare for her death. It all seemed to be happening so quickly. When Saad was first informed, she was still in the hospital. Then he was told she had been brought home; there was nothing more that the doctors could do. Now that it was happening, there was nothing that he himself could do but support his wife, and that's what he had been doing for the last thirteen years or so.

The government had confiscated much of Saad's property in the aftermath of his arrest and incarceration, but ownership of this house had been assigned to his wife. Thank God I married someone from the royal family. Whatever happened behind the scenes was something he didn't like to think about, but he was certain that his wife had used her influence and stature to keep the house. Saad knew that some of his in-laws in the royal family were sympathetic towards his condition and believed he wasn't guilty at all, and they might have helped his wife. If he had married an ordinary girl, the house would have been taken away and sold long ago.

Sometimes it paid to marry someone with connections, but of course he did it out of love. Maria was the only one that he ever loved. And soon she would be gone. Once they were a princess and a footballer, their marriage capturing the imagination of an entire nation. Now they were a dying patient and a prisoner, and you could say she, too, was a prisoner - confined not behind bars, but inside her failing body. But the love never died.

Without a word he marched past the fence, through rows of green and brownish grass. One of the policemen stayed behind in the car, but the other was never more than a few feet behind him. The grass hadn't been taken care of very well, but between his trial and imprisonment and Maria's illness it was understandable. Now that I think about it, is the staff even still here? He expected to see a few nurses and maybe a clergyman around the place - according to his lawyers, she insisted that she die at home and refused to hear anything about the local hospice - but what about the old staff? The driver, the gardener, the housekeeper, were they still there?

The door was in front of him and his hand reached for it, but before he could knock someone opened it for him. Maybe he had heard the sirens. He was a short man with a short mustache, his hair rapidly greying. His eyes widened when he saw the visitor and he nearly jumped back in shock. "M-Mr... Mr. Kaykali?" he said, mouth agape, still staring at the visitor.

"Walid," the visitor nodded solemnly. "It's good to see you again. Don't mind the policeman, he won't do you any harm."

Walid the old gardener was still here, thank God. Behind him Saad could see a nurse crossing the room, and then another one in the opposite direction. The gardener stepped aside, letting Saad inside for the first time in many months. The policeman followed him. The nurses had disappeared from sight. For a minute no one said a word. They all stood still, taking in the reality of the situation. Saad gazed at the lamp above. And indeed there was nothing that had to be said.

"Mr. Kaykali," the gardener spoke in a faint, low voice, breaking the silence. He was still standing by the door. "D-do you... know-"

"I know," he said, and then a brief silence. "Where is she?"

He could hear Walid breathe deeply behind him. He was reluctant to get the words out. Maybe he couldn't bear to let him see her? "The bedroom."

"Take me to her. I want to see her."

[Cassadaigua]

Beaten by Brenecia,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

At the beginning of every World Cup cycle there is tons of anticipation. Hundreds of nations believe that they will be part of the final field of 32 that makes it to the World Cup Finals. With a little more ambition, they dream of holding the trophy. That is something that last cycle was attained by Brenecia, rising from the shadows of Nephara, and showing that they could also win a major international title. Winning consecutive World Cups is an even greater ambition, but it is actually been done more often then one might think. Put the World Cup against some of the other great competitions that get played in the multiverse, and it is actually pretty surprising the amount of times that a nation has won back to back World Cups. The Patriots do not need any additional motivation, as they are led by Jim Reid, an accomplished former striker who knows that in order to win games, you have to build your team from the back end, before you can start worrying about scoring goals. That is an approach taken by Cassadagan rosters as well, really, even though it is always the forwards that get all the glory. 36-year old goalkeeper Mathis Woodgate is the rock of the champions, recording clean sheets in 40% of the games that he has played (71 clean sheets, 175 caps). That’s before this game! With that kind of consistent goalkeeping in the back, its safe to say that Jim Reid’s vision of building your team from that spot has been not only achieved, but conquered.

This is something that Stephanie Sweeney has tried to do with the current Cassadagan roster. Kristen Speller is an outstanding goalkeeper, and in World Cup 79 qualifying, she too hd an impeccable clean sheet streak. However, that did not continue into World Cup 80. As such, the Cinderella qualifying run that we had in World Cup 79 was not anywhere near close to attainment in World Cup 80. Speller has continued to be dominant at home, so no one would be thinking that she would be replaced heading into World Cup 81 qualifying. Sweeney is a big fan of hers, and she is a fan favorite at home. Any change in the starting keeper role before the campaign started would be highly ridiculed.

So, here we were. Concord Heights Stadium, home of the World Cup 50 and 51 champions. Banners and monuments around that reflect a period of dominance that Cassadaigua yearns to return too. Banners and monuments around that reflect a period of dominance that Brenecia looks to build on. It was time to play.

Not surprisingly, the two squads spent the early portion of the match getting a feel for one another. There is not much, if any, head to head history between the countries, but we know what they did last year. They know what we’ve done in the past. Despite us having a long way to go to get near Brenecia’s class, we are still the top two seeds in this group. After about fifteen minutes of relatively conservative play, the Patriots started to get ambitious in the attack, but the Cassadagan defense was up to the challenge, and after one half of play, there were no goals on the board. The edge in chances favored Brenecia a bit, but not excessively. It was a clean first half, with no bookings.

Both teams tried to figure out how they would win this game at halftime, based on what they learned in the first half. Jim Reid, the defending World Cup champion manager had the better answers. As the second half again, a generally evenly played match began to tilt in the favor of his Patriots. Kristen Speller valiantly tried to keep the Fillies in the game with great goalkeeping, and did for a while, but in the 65th minute, Griffin Riordan, the somewhat unappreciated member of the team (come on, she has 22 goals in 48 games, if she’s a weakness, then I don’t want to see your strength! Oh yeah, nevermind, that’s Woodgate!), was the goalscorer, finishing a play well set up by Brae Crowther). That goal was a stinger, but the Fillies tried to get the equalizer. Hannah Ranucci had a brilliant opportunity that I am still trying to figure out how Woodgate stopped in the 80th minute. But alas, that’s why Woodgate is so good, isn’t it? That save sapped some energy out of the Dagans, and the Patriots three minutes later did what everyone tries to do, they were the ones that scored. With the score 2-0, that was the game.

It was a clean game. The referee never had to book anyone, as the two sides played each other with respect, focusing on the result, and not getting bogged down in any silly extracurricular crap. In game one, when pot one meets pot two, that’s the smart way to play. The defending World Cup champs know that. The team with two World Cups in their pedigree does as well. Let’s see how both nations build on this going forward.

OOC to Brenecia: Heads up, you mention that Gryphon takes corners, but she appears to be retired now on your actual roster.

[Britonisea]

Britonisea 2–0 Tanzanique
BURGENDORE LOCAL NEWS

With the World Cup Qualifiers only being limited to those who can afford pay-per-view sports channels, Britonisea's debut at the 81st World Cup might not have been hyped up in the media as much as the players may have wanted. If the team does get a mention on, let's say Twitter, the comments which appear below the news article are usually negative;

"Oh, we will slip down the table in a couple of days"
"Tanzanique are ranked below us anyway...just you wait until we face the big dogs!"
"LOL. This is only the World Cup 81 qualifiers...not even the real thing!!"
"I actually don't care, to be honest."

However, as long as we are near the top of the table, we can remain positive and hopeful for what should be our best World Cup since our debut in World Cup sixty-something. While the Britons are playing with a winning attitude, their target is only to reach the top half of their group's official table and it would be fantastic if the nation could break in to the top 4. Looking at the nations who are in Group 2, we are the 7th best group and that means the top 4 would be a massive feat - so many nations in this group could qualify.

In the DEXTER Burgendore Stadium, the location of Britonisea's opening match against Tanzanique, the amount of Britonish flags flying was astounding. While the stadium is near the bottom when it comes to capacities of World Cup qualifier stadiums, the stadium is aesthetically pleasing, especially as the sun sets and the floodlights shine on the 30,000 Britonish flags flying up and down. Being one of the most Northern of cities in the nation, the dark came in pretty quickly. There was a slight chill in the air, but most fans still wore their short-sleeve tops. They knew that if they won...well, when they win, they will be celebrating a lot and won't need the extra baggage on them. The match went pretty quickly for Britonisea, with two goals flying past the Tanzanique goalkeeper - who looked rather lost throughout the match. The Britons knew what they were doing throughout the match and enjoyed the home support.

Although their fans were cheering for them as they left the pitch, they probably all wished that they could celebrate with them. They couldn't, however. They took an aeroplane journey from the mainland to Ghiez, and another plane journey awaits. It is finally the start of the nation's campaign at the 81st World Cup. Let's hope they keep up the success...let's hope.

Britonisea is due to play HUElavia after their sad defeat by lower-ranked Saint Emelie. Undoubtedly, the whole crowd will be cheering on for their nation, with Britonish support most likely being non-existent. With that being said, the Britonish teams have nothing to do but to keep their eye on the ball and play their best football.

For Burgendore, the next match in the DEXTER Stadium will be Britonisea v Anollasia - a match which all World Hit fans are waiting for.

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union draws against Raffiah in a controversial match

Raffiah - (NAP) The Alpine Union started off the World Cup qualifications with a draw against an unknown low-ranked team. The headlines of the game is controversies, controversies and controversies. The referree, Billy Bob Theriault, denied two Alpine Union goals, pretending offsides, and he didn't give a penalty to the Bisons when a player from Raffiah tripped an Alpine player in the penalty area. Adding to that, 4 Alpine coaches recieved red cards and the physiotherapist was the only coach left! I've never seen something like that before! Billy Bob Theriault recieved his referreeing liscense just a month ago. We investigated on him following the game and find out he's a Republican known for despising socialist nations. He's also Rule Theriault's third cousin.

The Alpine Union attacked at the 16th minute when Bartlomiej Szczepankiewicz passed to Amelia Zalwowska who made a cross to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski. Zajaczkowski shoots but Goalkeeper #1 makes a fantastic save. At the 21st minute, Sarah Schroffenegger made a header pass to Jean-François Kleineheismann who heads the ball into the net. Everyone thought he scored but Billy Bob Theriault called an offside even if the assistant referree didn't raise his flag. Then, at the 39th minute, Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed to Amelia Zalwowska who made a short pass to Jean-François Kleineheismann but he's tripped by Player #2. It was clearly a fault but the play continued. Alpine's assistant coach Dragan Kovacevic starts arguing with the 4th referree on the sidelines and they were arguing for 3 minutes when Billy Bob Theriault stops the play to give a red card to Kovacevic. Head coach Wlodzimierz Jastrzebowski was furious and starts yelling at Theriault, making gestures and throwing stuff on the field. The referree directed him to the stands. Without two coaches, assistant coach Raghnaid McCulloch was now the head coach. The score was still 0-0 at the halftime.

At the start of the 2nd half, goalkeeper coach Jose Ramon Galarraga and Alpine captain Krzysztof Januszkiewicz were seen intensely arguing with Billy Bob Theriault and they both were sent off. The Reprezentacja Alpejski had to play without their captain and with 10 men and women on the field for the remaining of the game. Coach Raghnaid McCulloch decided to sub in Tearlach MacEachthighearna to replace Januszkiewicz and Jean-François Kleineheismann subbed out to make room for MacEachthighearna. At the 67th minute, Slawomir Skrzeszewski made a long pass to Zbigniew Zajaczkowski who shoots and scores but the goal was denied again by Theriault who pretended again that it was an offside even if the assistant didn't raise his flag. Raghnaid McCulloch, who'se normally calm, started arguing with Billy Bob Theriault and also recieved a red card. The only coach left on the sidelines was physiotherapist Urszula Skoraczynska who has no coaching experience! The score remained the same until the end of the game and the Alpine Union drew with Raffiah to start the World Cup qualifications.

Normally when a player recieves a red card he or she has to miss the next game, but following the game, World Cup officials appologized for Billy Bob Theriault's behaviour and lifted everyone's suspensions. The Alpine Union's next game is at home against Thibaea. To acomodate Thibaea, a french speaking nation, the game will be played in Stade Autodrôme located in Tavernes, Aquitaine-Languedoc. Aquitaine-Languedoc is a republic within the Alpine Union.

BOXSCORE

No goal

YELLOW CARDS

Raffiah: None
Alpine Union: Przemyslaw Zawistowski, Bartlomiej Szczepankiewicz and Amelia Zalwowska

RED CARDS

Raffiah: None
Alpine Union: Krzysztof Januszkiewicz, Wlodzimierz Jastrzebowski, Dragan Kovacevic, Jose Ramon Galarraga and Raghnaid McCulloch

[The Macabees]

LOLITA, CH. 2

"This place is tight, bro," yelled Lakén Yori over the music, although the incessant beat of the bass managed to drown him out regardless. Girls were dancing to either side of him, five or six total all vying to get the spot next to him, hoping to attract his attention. Problem was, he had enough attention for all of them, just in smaller batches than they'd like. He had drive tested a handful of them already. The man was insatiable. The man liked women.

He also liked fast cars, so said the Yobli sitting in the valet-only parking garage below the nightclub.

Not many went to Bernie at first, but he was having a good time regardless. It was always a good time with Lakén and at the end of the night he could always pick up the girls Yori didn't choose. For now, though, he was content with getting the man more drinks and more girls. It was like a job almost. And he got paid in late-night dividends. Worth it. "Hell yea, man. This place ain't bad. The girls are prime, for sure. Maybe you'll even be kind enough to spare me one."

Lakén roared in laughter. The girls next to him eyed him, then Bernie, and raised their eyebrows in intrigue. He seemed to have scored some points in the process. Only an important person could have made the great football midfielder laugh like that, right? Some of them inched closer to him.

The booze flowed like rivers freshly flooded by the late spring mountain rains. A deluge of inebriation and depravity. One could almost hear the perpetual rustle of the bills the club must have been counting. There was a game to be played soon and the boys liked to go big on their days off. It helped them relieve some of the stress. Get rid of some of the tension. And Bernie relished in it. Hey, it wasn't his money, he just helped spend it. And every place he went he made sure people knew he was rolling with Lakén Yori, even the guys. People talk, and guys like talking to girls. Bernie was just outsourcing some of the work. Soon enough his mouth was all over some woman's, another girl whose name was lost in the ocean of loud music and alcohol.

It was turning into another good night. Whatever girl he had started with wasn't the one he was with an hour later, and the drink sitting in his hand wasn't the same one he had an hour ago. There was hardly room to move by the night's peak, girls and guys shoulder to shoulder, butt to butt. As he danced he turned and he looked toward the nightclub's entrance.

There, standing at the head of the hall, was the girl from last night. What was her name?

Her eyes locked with his, then veered off to Lakén. Then she stormed right over, with a frown and scowl on her face. "What. the. f@%&. You weren't gonna call me, were you? You son of a bitch! You motherf@%&#%! Well, you ain't gettin' away from me, boy."

Bernie's eyes were bulging from out of his face. "Um, what?" he asked.

"All you men, you're all assholes," she went on. "Sleep with a woman and then throw her away. She's not worth shit. She's just another dumb broad. Right? Wrong! What? Did you just think I slept with you because you're good looking? Because you're not. You said you'd introduce me to Lakén Yori."

He chuckled. "I think he's, uh, busy," he said, pointing behind him with a thumb over his shoulder.

Yori was making out with some girl who was almost half-dressed considering the length of the dress, or lack of it. His hand was on her breast and, knowing the guy, it'd probably start traveling south soon enough. The girl from last night did not seem amused, although she was not altogether angry or seemingly disturbed. Footballers will be the footballers, Bernie supposed she figured. She snorted instead and walked right past Bernie, toward the midfielder.

She towered over Lakén and the girl whose tongue he was exploring, looking at them until finally the footballer saw her and turned to look back. Scoping her from head to toe, then back up again, he raised an eyebrow, and asked, "And you are?"

"That's not important," she said, sternly. "Your 'boy' here, Bernie, said he'd introduce me to you. Instead, he let me f@%& him after which he got rid of me. Well, let me tell you. I don't do that, that's not me. I get what I want and I want you."

"Hah!" said Lakén, with a laugh. "Well, I'm a little buy right now, but maybe later you can tell me all about you. Maybe tomorrow, baby. I might need some post-training squeeze."

"Wow," she said, "how charming."

He winked. Bernie whistled under his breath and turned around, looking to get lost inside the crowd on the dance floor. When she turned to see if he was still there, Bernie was already gone. "Not a brave one, your friend," he said.

Lakén laughed again. "Bernie? Bernie is my brother, we've known each other since we were little boys. You should be honored he gave you attention last night, girl."

"Trust me, there's little to honor. I don't think I've seen smaller." She had her hands on her hips. Lakén laughed again, this time louder.

A few seconds later, Bernie was back, this time with friends. Two big bouncers trailed him to each either side. When they got to the table, he pointed at the woman from last night, and said, "That's the crazy bitch. She's psycho, bros. Straight up stalker. Get her out of here, now."

The bouncers nodded and approached her, trying to get her to cooperate at first. When it was obvious she wasn't going to make it easy, they grabbed her by the arms and one put his hand on her back, and they started pushing her toward the nightclub's exit. As they struggled, she turned her head and screamed, "This isn't the last you'll hear from me! By the way, my name is Lolita, asshole!"

[South Covello]

Legislature Rejects Green's War Declaration By Wide Margin

In a vote earlier today, the Legislature of South Covello rejected President John Green's proposal for war with Eshan by a wide margin, 211-88. Consequently, President Green will not receive approval to take out Revan Bernat, who he believes to be a tyrant. Members of the Legislature and those in the gallery cheered loudly when the vote total was announced, and many spectators were heard announcing "FREEDOM THROUGH PEACE", which has become a rally cry of the anti-war movement in South Covello. The third war in as many years will not be happening.

David Hale, head of the youth activist peace movement, celebrated the vote, saying "I applaud the Legislature for doing the right thing and rejecting President Green's ridiculous proposal of war to take out Revan Bernat, a leader who isn't even a nuisance, yet alone a tyrant. More importantly, even if Revan were a tyrant, there will always be tyrants, and we can't be fighting perpetual war. We need to worry about ourselves, worry about providing basic needs to all our citizens, like food, healthcare, and a full and quality education. We cannot worry about invading other nations to take out tyrants, potential tyrants, or other leaders we won't like for whatever reason. We need freedom through peace, and we need to get our own house in order. I encourage President Green to cease these ridiculous calls for war, and finally instill an era of peace in South Covello. Perhaps then he can be the President we once thought he was, but we need to focus on on our own people, not liberating others forever and ever."

President Green is expected to give a speech shortly, we will have the details when that happens.

---

John Green's Presidential Address

OOC: All opinions of other individuals or nations in this speech are IC only, and are not shared by the vast majority of South Covellans.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Earlier today, as you all know by now, the Legislature rejected my proposal for war with Eshan, my sensible and reasonable proposal to rid the good land of Eshan of a wicked tyrant who will enslave them and burrow their frows. Make no mistake - the Legislature is complicit in Revan Bernat's tyranny, and the Echani blood will be on their hand. Therefore, I will be submititng another war proposal to the Legislature, and will keep doing that until they accept it. The Legislature must allow us to fight tyranny.

"But Mr. Bernat is not the only tyrant we must destroy. No, we must invade Saintland again to take out their dingus King who sexually oppresses women and children. We failed the first time, but we will succeed the second time. And also, we must invade the Free Republics and stop that clown tyrant of doom Sebastian Trudeau from ever getting elected, lest he become the third tyrant they have elected Consul in our lifetimes. Sebastian Trudeau would brutally ensalve the Republicans and whip their children with guns and brutally evil them. Sebastian Trudeau is a tyrant, and if the Legislature won't let our army take them out, the Republican genocide will be on their hands.

"And that's not enough. Northwest Kalactin must be invaded as well, for denying their people a basic English language education, and making them too stupid to stand up to tyranny. And that is a gross evil, because then they won't stand up for themselves because they are too stupid and poorly educated, so we must stand up for them and overthrow their leaders and give them a quality English language education so they can learn words like freedom and anti-tyranny, which most of them are probably too illiterate to know. Speaking of langugage things, we must invade Taeshan for using Eshan's name. And of course, as we saw with the new one claiming to be 'Lord Almighty Gregory' after the old one was assassinated, if you use a tyrant's name, you are as bad as that tyrant. So Taeshan must be invaded until they change their name to something that doesn't include Eshan. So I'll make the Legislature invade them as well.

"Oh, and that's not all. Ethane must be invaded since they're basically the same nation as Eshan. When I mixed them up in my previous speech, you know why? Because they're literally two iterations of the same nation. So we'll invade Ethane until they learn not to be Eshan.

"And if ever a tyrant in another nation should make themselves known, or a potential tyrant, we'll invade them too. Or if some nation is kind of sort of like a tyrant nation, we'll invade them too so they learn not to impersonate tyrants. We must stop tyranny, the Legislature must go along with this, the people must go along with this, and if you and you don't, then you all are complicit in tyranny, in genocide, and in evil, and the blood of millions slaughtered by Trudeau, Bernat, Paulus, and other horrible tyrants will be on your hands. We must invade Saintland, Eshan, Ethane, Taeshan, Northwest Kalactin, and the Free Republics at once. I have submitted six war declarations to the Legislature, I encourage them to approve all six at once unless they want to be complicit in crimes against freedom. So please, Legislature, fight the tyrants, or you will be tyrants yourself!"

---

Legislature Unanimously Rejects All Six War Proposals

The Legislature has, by a unanimous margin, once again rejected all six of President John Green's proposals in a late night emergency session. It was too late for us to reach anyone for comment tonight, so we'll have a bigger story tomorrow on how everyone will respond.

[Blaneu]

The Blaneu Broadsheet

Blaneu Fall Short

After a valiant effort by the side, Blaneu come away from Eura empty handed in what will surely be the toughest fixture of qualifying. Facing the best ranked team in the world, a side coming of the back of coming 3rd in World Cup 80, Blaneu fought hard and acquitted themselves well on away turf. Having gone behind just four minutes into the game, Blaneu came back to equalize just before the halfway point; late on, however, Eura found two goals in quick succession to tie down all three points.

The early goal came as a result of a defensive error, a sloppy tackle by Starkey set up a free kick that was put home not long after the match began. This initial setback didn't seem to phase the Blaneuan players, however, as they went on the press against one of the world's top sides. Blaneuan counter-attacks came frequently, with Davis and Navarro partnering as strongly as they do at club level, MacDaffyd also looked decent, offering a physical presence near the box. Eventually it paid off, Starkey played a pinpoint pass up to Navarro, who switched the wing, a cross in was then flicked on by Fitzstephens to MacDaffyd who fired home. The goal was certainly a team one, and demonstrates just how well these players now know each other.

At half-time Snellbridge decided to make some key changes, a tired looking Vernon was replaced by youthful defender Elliot Sketty, meanwhile Owain Davis seemed to be having issues with cramping and came off for Gethin Powell. As the second half pressed on Blaneu looked to close ranks, holding Eura at arms length around the halfway line and putting virtually 11 men behind the ball. This seemed to prove effective, Eura struggled to break down the defensive line, despite all the chatter about how shonky it can be.

Eventually, however, Blaneu were denied their flying start to qualification. As Blaneu gained the opportunity to press forward they came unstuck, a looping ball to the oppositions forward had them very much through. Elliot Sketty was completely skinned by the opposition striker, Justin Hollands could do little but launch a cynical foul, which saw him sent off. From the resultant free kick, Eura were able to set up a header to give them the lead. Just ten minutes later and they fired home again, able to exploit the space behind as Blaneu went forward for a goal. At full-time Blaneu went down 3-1, however many at home will think their performance may have deserved otherwise.

Whilst Snellbridge was disappointed in the wake of the result, he said he was proud of the display and thought the side had shown that they can play at a very high level. His words will likely resonate, based on their display tonight Blaneu have clearly stepped up in quality since the Baptism of Fire campaign, and with more time this team could well develop into a very competent outfit. Going into their next match, at the Bayside Ground in Merion, Blaneu will hope to take this form forward and beat The Hungarian Nation, a side that Blaneu should be able to dispatch.

Eura		3 - 1		Blaneu
Blaneu

O'Brian
Jones
Vernon - (Sketty - 45')
Hollands █
Driscoll
Sparks 
Starkey █ - (Gwent - 71')
Fitzstephens
Navarro 
Davis - (Powell - 45')
MacDaffyd  35'

Subs

Aled
Sketty
Gwent
Powell
Hartson


█

[Soute]

Soute Report

BYCZYNA - Gerwazy Fabian, the President of the Soute League, addressed the National Team and other onlookers before they took off for World Cup Qualifying. Here is the full text of the speech, followed by the results of Soute's first match.

After years of planning a football program, constructing the Soute League out of thin air, stumbling through the Compionato, and finding mild success in the Baptism of Fire, Soute has finally stepped onto the road to the World Cup. Now the road is a long one, and you would have to be quite mad if you thought the national team would qualify any earlier than a decade from now, but Soute is on the road nonetheless. At last the nation has entered the massive global arena, where legendary nations with centuries of footballing history and multiple World Cups to their name bump up against unheard of nations with unknown players. Sometimes they even lose to them too. In World Cup Qualifying, affectionately termed the meat grinder, no result is certain and everything must be earned on the pitch. Most of the time the titans move on to the real show, but every cycle a David or two slays a Goliath and makes it to the World Cup proper. Every nation that enters Qualifying caries the dream of the World Cup with them. For the few it is practically assured, for most it is dim and distant. The nation of Soute has just formulated this vague dream. The pessimistic will find it disheartening, but those with the true spirit of the sport will hold to this dream. Every nation has to start as a nobody. Every nation has to do their time climbing the ranks, sometimes rollercoastering up and down through the ranks. Still, with perseverance and commitment a nation will rise until they are just within reach of the World Cup. Given enough time and enough sweat, Soute will assuredly rise, and this assent begins here in our first Qualifying. However, this region just before the World Cup is a tough one, with many similar nations battling for the scraps. Among their numbers are newcomers like Soute will one day be, but there are also nations striving for a return to their glory days and nations that are perennially between qualifying or going to the Cup of Harmony. At this point it seems impossible to break through. But, if Providence should have it, once and a while a nation will find a way. The slow rhythm of change beats on, and eventually a persistent nation will pick up the beat. It is inexplicable, but a nation does the seemingly impossible and finally hops into the World Cup proper. It is difficult, very difficult, but the top thirty-two nations have all done it before. Therefor, there is hope yet for Soute and for all nations that strive for that greatness. At the beginning the road is long and the dream is distant, but years and years of labor will inevitably bare fruit. You reap what you sow. In this tournament Soute has just begin plowing the field and scattering the seed. While Soute can't control drought or hail, the football team will be diligent and in several cycles time, Soute will reap success.

Thibaea 2 - 2 Soute
Lafaille '45+2 Milhaud '53 - Gajos '18 Wyrzykowski '31

Group 14 Matchday One              Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Siovanija and Teusland            1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
 2 Sargossa                          1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
 3 Sangti                            1    1   0   0     2    1   +1     3
 4 Soute                             1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
   Thibaea                           1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
 6 Alpine Union                      1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
   Raffiah                           1    0   1   0     0    0    0     1
 8 Kita-Hinode                       1    0   0   1     1    2   −1     0
 9 Main Nation Ministry              1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
10 Altai Almas                       1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

Matchday Two Lineup

[Juvencus]

Juvencus 5-0 Acapais

PURE AGGRESSION, GOALS IN QUICK SUCCESSION

Great start to this world cup qualifications stage as gli attaccanti annihilates the Acapais team

VINCETI CATEDRAL, VINCETI Gli attaccanti's last afternoon performance in the frying pan that is the Vinceti Catedral was nothing short of exceptional teamwork as well as great efficiency on the offence, something unheard of from the previous teams. A quick Tafani hat-trick during the first half was enough to secure victory for the gli attaccanti.

The first half started with the gli attaccanti hungry for victory and rightfully so, as performances during last cycle proved to be quite mediocre. Immediately upon the whistle blow, a quick deep ball from Ibarra found Etxeberria on a great position just outside the box, but the ball hit the crossbar. Soon after, chaos ensued as an 1-2 play from Bret and Patxi Exteberria found the latter crossing the ball to Tafani, who scored the first one of the game. The team was not done there though, an exceptional Etxeberria spring through the Acapais defence saw Tafani score the 2nd one of the afternoon. Gameplay relaxed for a while, since the gli attaccanti players got slightly tired, so they stuck to some possessive play in order to play with Acapais' players minds, a tactic which worked, since Martell was able to find Tafani for a header to score her first hat-trick for the national team, whilst also securing the game early on. Acapais went to the counter-offensive but to no use, as the striker's attempts were cut short by Madeiros, who then got into a fight with the striker, with both players receiving a yellow card.

With Acapais' hopes now gone, the Juven team could play around the field however it wanted and it did not take a long time to score one in the second half as an Ibarra long ball found Etxeberria at a favorable position, with the latter powering the ball in with a very strong shot, basically turning the goalkeeper into a statue. Pressure relaxed as soon as the 4th goal was scored, however a couple of long shots from Bret and Christian were saved by the Acapais goalkeeper, who was trying his best, but with no luck. The game ended, with a great passing game from Martell and Christian which saw the latter score the 5th one of the afternoon, after lobbing it past the goalkeeper on the one-on-one that followed the passing game of the two. Next game is a visit to unranked Tasrailia, in what is expected to be another victory for the gli attaccanti.

Juvencus XI:
GK:Taddeo Bulgari
CB:Dudu Madeiros(Yellow card 38')
CB:Nicolò Bassi
CB:Izotz Ibarra(Assist 49')
CDM:Nino Russo
CDM:Clovis Bret
RM:Hugo Grec
LM:Tore Christian(Goal 86')
RF:Patxi Etxeberria(Goal 49', Assists 7', 12')
LF:Joaquim Martell(Assists 26', 86')
CF:Brunella Tafani(Goals 7', 12', 26')
Acapais XI:
The Acapais players thought it'd be of good taste to appear to the field shirtless, due to the intense heat during the match, something not uncommon of the Vinceti city area, where the gli attaccanti's games are played(Temperatures reached 39 degrees celsius).

[Main Nation Ministry]

Kahe Island: Rolling Hills

"Men, we're getting more intel on the opposition, we will be facing." the captain of the squad said, as they were removing their parachutes at the overlook of the island. "We have news that the enemy will have MP5's similar to ours, along with M16 assault rifles." "Hang on, I thought we have M16 rifles right now?" asked a squad member, which they were corrected with M14 rifles. "Now, we do have frag grenades in our possession, however we need to save them for the perfect occasion. Also, we have gotten word that the KFK had obtained medical technology that they are using to know when an area is being invaded. They are implanted with heartbeat sensors, so if one detects that one of their soldiers are dead, they will know which area to deploy reinforcements. That is why there are multiple squads. The purpose for this squad is acting as a lure."

The squads with their sub machine guns and M14 rifles at their sides proceeded to head uphill to find possible civilization. The area near the outlook had lots of plains and looked picturesque. Following a small dirt path, they see in the distance, a riverside village where several houses and even 2 storied buildings were in the distance. Meanwhile in the distance, a TrenchSea worker, dressed in civilian garb, was entering the Shining Light Inn asking the receptionist to pay for a room on the second floor.

Crossing the river with a long plank that was left behind by some villagers, the squad started to occupy the village, where several citizens were caught off-guard at the sight of the men. One squad member entered the inn, just as the worker was walking down the stairs, where they seemed to run back upstairs. "Hang on, stay here!" the squad member said to the receptionist, before running up the wooden stairs to find the worker entering a public study with several books scattered on the floor. "Wait a minute. You don't look like a citizen of Kahe? A tourist?" "Not. Not quite. I'm from TrenchSea." the worker said, where the squad member radioed for the captain to meet him at the inn.

At an interrogation, the captain of the squad was trying to ask for info about how TrenchSea was involved.
"You're to tell us anything you know about why the FKF have formed. If you can tell us, we can exclude you from punishment back in Main Nation Ministry."
"I just need to find a book! It was supposed to be in one of the book jackets, but someone already took it!"
"Took what? Who was in the study?"
"There was a flash drive of important content on it. It contains some passwords on how to access our accounts. By now, someone could be draining our reserves!"
"Financial reserves?"
"Yes! We..we...we were using counterfeit money to get the financing for several projects in Kahe in the first place."
"So TrenchSea are basically the idiots responsible for this mess?"
"Well, you see if you help TrenchSea find the flash drive that we need, then we can make it worth your while!"

Bribing was, of course, illegal. Shoving the worker aside, they went downstairs to ask the receptionist, if anyone else was at the inn. After that, his radio was abuzz with new intel. "Come on, we passed an aerial drone over the area you landed at."
"And?"
"There is an enemy presence at the lake down the river. If we make a successful lure to have the FKF be away from the resort area, you need to neutralize them to draw in attention."
"Roger that. Also, we have gotten tons of people at TrenchSea stuck in Kahe Island. They are trying to find a flash drive of possible compromising information, including information for their financial accounts. Then, a receptionist at an inn a TrenchSea worker was staying at told me something weird."
"What is it?"
"It seems there is an unknown man, possibly from Main Nation Ministry, is in Kahe Island. We need a new intel search, if we are dealing with a saboteur."

Down the river, there was a large wooden bridge over a lake, where several FKF militia men were patrolling. The captain, getting out a frag grenade, had his squad slowly moving towards the bridge with an idea in mind. "You're ready, boys?" the captain said, pulling the pin on the grenade and tossing it as far as he could towards the militia men. An explosion erupted, leading to a battle on a burning bridge.

[Rannoria]

Tonight in Rannoria

A Total Loss!

The stage is set. In the middle of a room, there stands a semicircular stage with a wooden floor. On the stage is someone alone; a 45 year-old man with brown hair, a moustache, and a suit. While he does look slightly tired, it looks as if age has not affected him as much as others. His eyes are glued onto a booklet of papers, notes, probably, and as those words come into his mind, he mutters them under his breath. In front of him is a desk with a tea mug on his right-hand side, and further on from there are two comfortable white leather chairs, and a sofa of the same kind. Around him are a crew of cameramen and other people who work behind the scenes, rushing about everywhere, handing papers to each other and getting ready for the upcoming interview. Behind them, a crowd is seated on rows of chairs, all talking to each other. Finally, a man yells out, "One minute until go-time!" The crowd's buzzing begins to die down with the aid of someone who stands in front of them, and waves his hands downwards repeatedly. That same man is handed several large cue cards a few seconds later, and he stands to the side. The man sitting behind the desk also starts to ready up, having a sip of tea, slicking back his hair, and straightening his tie. The large TV screens only visible to the crowd turn on, and the person managing the screens run through the cues to make sure they're all there. It's all set. The lights shine now on only the stage and the crowd, and the same man announces, "Three, two, one, go!" The cameras start rolling, and the man sitting behind desk smiles and looks at the camera. Suddenly, his eyes don't look as tired anymore, and off him comes a warm vibe. The man with the cue cards show up a large sign which says, "Applause".

"Good evening Rannoria, and welcome to Tonight in Rannoria! As always, I'm your host, Ako van Rann, and tonight we have a particularly special guest." His grin widened after that, but he still continued. "Joining us will be someone who's been on many people's minds lately, and although he is beloved by many, his most recent performance has shown himself to be a little disappointing to many as well. I'm sure you all know who I'm talking about now, but if you don't, give it up for SUSANTO KADER!" Upon the yelling of Susanto Kader's name, another man came from backstage. He looked much younger than his interviewer, though he shared the same brown hair colour. His eyes were brown too, and unlike Ako, his hair was slightly more unkempt. The TV screens visible only to the crowd lit up with the word "Applause", and so the crowd did that. The 23-year old smiled and waved to the crowd, and Ako stood up and shook his hand, both exchanging inaudible words then laughing. Susanto took a seat on one of the white chairs, while Ako returned to behind the desk. The applause died down, and Ako started talking to Susanto. "So, you're here now. Although we're all happy to see you on this stage, many of us are also quite unhappy with the game today. Tell us, and I don't mean to be blunt here, why did the team play so bad today?"

Susanto paused for a bit, but replied, "Honestly, I have no idea. Well, some ideas, actually, but to be defeated four-nil? It was maddening. We were all disappointed. We all expected a loss, but to lose this bad is a horrible way to start off the tournament."

"Mhm, continue."

"Of course, Mercedini is one of the world's best teams out there. While we got kicked out of the Baptism at the Round of 32 and landed on rank 230, they've been out there for years, playing and making their way to rank 26! That's insane, honestly. Secretly everyone hoped for a victory, but again, we all knew it wouldn't come."

Ako took a sip of tea, then continued. "So, let me ask you something else. You're out there before the game and getting ready. What were you feeling? Nervous, excited-"

"Definitely nervous, honestly," Susanto showed a faint smile, and the audience chuckled, "y'know even though I've been playing pro football for at least two years now, I've never thought I would have been that nervous. I mean, like... you're sitting in that changing room, and while your coach lectures you and your team, you're thinking to yourself, 'Man, I'm gonna go out there, and I am going to screw this up.' I thought I was nervous at the international debut at the 68th Baptism, but this? This is nervous. I was catching onto Jan's words, but for every word that came into my ear, it got all jumbled up. I understood what he said, but at the same time, my heart was beating so hard I could barely hear him. This is the first World Cup we've all been in, and to play against a team that's so experienced is truly something special."

The interviewer laughed. "So it wasn't a good time, huh?"

"Nah, not at all." Without a cue, the audience laughed. It worked either way.

After the room became quiet again, Ako came in with another question. "So, last football question. How was it on the field? You've just talked about how it was before the game, but how was it in the action?"

"Well, it's about the same to be honest. It's nerve-wracking out there. You're moving with the ball, and suddenly the attention of everyone's eyes there, both local and foreign, are on you. It gets to you. It's different than regular club football, since this is the only debut we're ever gonna have in the World Cup. And, of course, we blew it. I remember having the perfect shot on the twentieth minute against their keeper, Martin Hovek, and I just passed it to him. Just like that. No power at all. Same thing happened to Karsak. Issue is, though, is that he's our keeper. I remember watching him roll the ball straight to one of their strikers, Dostalok I think, and just being paralysed in terror seeing what he's done."

Ako laughed. "Yeah, we all saw that one. So many posts were made on social media when they scored that one. Malak accidentally rolling the ball to Dostalok, and Dostalok kicks it straight into the goal at the 33rd minute. You could just see the look on Malak's face of incredulousness, and how he just gave up as the Mercedinian striker took the kick. Truly, a wonder."

Some audience members laughed while others gave an awkward smile. It was a funny moment for sure, but it was still the World Cup. These weren't helping Rannoria's odds at all. "Yeah, it was something, really. Again, it's pretty terrifying to play against such a refined team. I really hope we can pull through against Oberour Ar Moro, but they've won 4-3 against their opponent Anthor."

Finally, Ako asked his last question. "We all do, Susanto. Everyone's praying to the gods here. But, of course, one last question. I don't mean to privy in, or anything, but what about your family status. You're a Kader. You're royalty. Your brother is the ruler of Rannoria. Since you entered pro football around the time he was elected, some people think that he used some political power to put you in Can'xhan Dynasty and to put you in the national team. What do you think about this?"

Susanto's expression soured. "I'd just like to say, to all the people who spread those rumours and lies, it's not true. I came to footballing with my talent, and my talent only. My brother didn't help me get into football. So far, and I don't mean to brag, I've become the national team's top scorer. It's not a crazy amount of goals, or anything, but I'd just like these rumours to end. Please, stop. And no further questions about this, please."

Ako nodded, and the audience stayed silent. There were some whispers though, and although they couldn't be heard on television, some people were still a bit jealous of Susanto's form of success. "Well, that's it I guess. Thanks for coming on tonight. This has been a short one, but we don't have long anyway since you should get some sleep. It's another big game in Arena Perla tomorrow, and of course, we hope to see you Rannorians there tomorrow as well. Thanks for coming Susanto, and see you all tomorrow night, in Tonight in Rannoria!"

The audience applauded and cheered, and Susanto and Ako shook hands for another time. The cameras stopped reeling, and with a loud, "End!" the people on-stage and in the audience were allowed to act freely. Susanto was about to go before Ako stopped him.

"Susanto, I need to tell you something." The interviewer began. He was no longer smiling, though. He looked rather serious actually.

"Mhm?"

"Watch out, okay?"

There was a pause after this. "I will."

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

I'd hoped to have this ready before MD1 since this part is intended kind of as a lead in, but here it is: the first part of my very first attempt at a character based NSWC RP. Hope everyone enjoys

Be Ever Watchful, Chapter 1:

Farfadillis had been a dream debut for the Squornshelan Confederate football team, but for Captain Farid Ruoho and his team, it had been more of a series of waking nightmares.

Most officers within the Confederate Police Bureau Division of Personal Security had regarded the new national team posting as a plum job. Farid himself, while personally selected by the division chief, Deputy Director Saima Vassiliani for the seriousness with which he approached every assignment, had harbored a few doubts about how demanding the work would be. After all, how hard could it be for a team of some two dozen officers to babysit a bunch of footballers?

The Baptism of Fire had put paid to any ideas of a cake walk assignment. Farid still wasn't sure if Farfadillis had no laws whatsoever, or if the existing laws were simply ignored by everyone from the Federal Council on down. Between the flying jellyfish, near universal firearm ownership, and the fact that most of the country seemed to be on fire at any given moment, it was truly miraculous that anything ever got done there, let alone a major football tournament. Attempting coordination with the local authorities had been like trying to nail spaghetti to a wall. Ensuring the footballers' safety through one debacle after another had seriously worn down his team, to the point that he'd been grateful that the SCFA had elected to hold the Confederacy Cup between the end of the tournament and the beginning of qualifying, rather than organizing international friendlies.

The rest prior to the match against Illahee and the experiences gained in Farfadillis had given Farid an opportunity to reorganize his team somewhat. He leaned forward over his desk, running his long-fingered hands through the streaks of gray starting to appear in his dark brown hair and looked once more over the new assignment scheme. Gone was the idea of trying to escort every player at all times; that level of control had quickly proven impossible. Instead, he wanted to have active escorts present for large groups of players and staff, and have rapid response teams on call in case of any incidents involving small groups or individuals.

"Any great epiphanies from staring endlessly at the assignment sheet, Chief?"

Farid had nearly forgotten the presence of his executive officer, Lieutenant Yrja Dzegtarin. He let out a long slow breath and lifted his gaze to the intense gray eyes looking back at him from across the desk. Farid sometimes wondered where the Lieutenant found her apparently boundless energy. She was the definition of thorough, catching oversights before they became problems, enforcing proper procedure with an almost manic intensity, and generally performing as the perfect second-in-command. How she can possibly have time for any semblance of a personal life I'll never know. Dzegtarin's physique made it clear that she spent a significant portion of her spare time in the gym. A wry smile slid across her round face as Farid realized she had once again caught him completely lost in his own head, "looking for tomorrow's trouble," as she would say.

"Nothing particularly exciting. I think I'm happy with what we've come up with though."

"Well that's exciting, Chief. The team would be amazed to hear those two words come out of your mouth."

"Hmm?"

"I'm happy."

"Station Chiefs aren't supposed to be happy, Lieutenant."

"If you say so, sir."

"I do. I also say that having Ebeling, Filtu, Shvaliev, Struma, and Torluk as response team leaders is our best option, with at least two on call at any given time."

"You don't think Filtu's a bit raw for a team leader yet?"

"Aife showed she has good instincts and common sense under pressure in Farfadillis. I trust her with the responsibility, and I like the initiative and attention to detail she shows. Almost reminds me of someone I know."

"Can't imagine who that could be, Chief."

"Hush. I want you and Sergeant Ryndin both present in addition to the normal detail at all practices or other large gatherings outside the hotel."

"I've read over it almost as many times as you, Chief. It'll go like clockwork, after Farfadillis, Illahee won't present much challenge."

"I hope you're right."

[Beepee]

Beepee 4–3 Michine

Match Report by Vonda Race sports reporter


"Stone the flamin' crows!

We didn't need to kidnap the Michine players after all!!!"

Prime Minister Stan Bach expressed mixed emotions at the result of the first match in WC81 Qualification.

Beepee, playing at Pinewoods Stadium, edged a seven goal thriller in the first match of the campaign.

Beepee entered as slight favourites for the match but with a poor run of form and a lack of pre-tournament competitive fixtures, Michine were expected to provide tough opposition, and so it was.

The match was opened by a rousing rendition of the National Anthem, 'On Glorious Beepee', by Beepee opera star Anne Aida.

Played in overcast but comfortable conditions, Michine started slowly, perhaps as a result of the long journey to the South Pacific from the Axiom Supercluster, but soon found their stride after surviving an early scare.

The Opening Goal
Beepee 0 - 1 Michine
Aïvtchenko 25'

The scoring was opened by Michine in the 25th minute. Aïvtchenko pounced on some poor defending by Boles who failed to clear the ball. Aïvtchenko managed to poke the ball past 'keeper Shep into the bottom corner.

Beepee 1 - 1 Michine
Veera 28'

The lead was short-lived however as, only three minutes later, a long ball from the Beepeean defence somehow managed to bounce through to Sam Veera who turned and lost Tchernikoff. Veera deftly placed his shot into the corner to level the scoring.

Both sides went into the half time break evenly balanced. In the second half both sides set caution to the wind and played more attacking football. Whatever the head coaches said seemed to work.

Beepee 2 - 1 Michine
Bannan '48

Beepee took the lead, through a headed goal from a free-kick. Captain Patterson drilled the ball into the box and Bannan rose above Virasstchiouk to send the ball into the top corner beyond Lapine's outstretched hand.

Beepee 2 - 2 Michine
Aïvtchenko '53

Aïvtchenko scored his and Michine's second with a burst of speed to pass the stubborn defence of Jason Baker. Chipping an on-rushing Shep into an open net. The Michiniennes erupted in joy.

Beepee 2 - 3 Michine
Lavotchkine '61

Aïvtchenko nearly had his hattrick with half an hour to go after a long range effort rattled the crossbar. However the ball ricocheted back to Lavotchkine who was unmarked in the box and easily placed the ball into the goal past an out of position Step.

Beepee 3 - 3 Michine
Patterson (pen) '78

Beepee levelled the match through a penalty after Volochine was deemed to have handballed. Video replays suggested the penalty was 'soft'.

Chris Patterson fired the ball into the net sending Lapine the wrong way.

Beepee 4 - 3 Michine
Veera '87

As the Michiniennes seemed to run out of puff, Beepee pushed forward in the last ten minutes seeking a winner. The goal came from Veera who managed to get some power behind his shot and scored from the inside the box.

The referee blew for full time sending a shocked set of bulldozer fans into rapture.

Prime Minister Stan Bach, who had earlier this week criticised shockjock Colin Schpoert for suggesting taking unethical action to bolster the Beepeean team, couldn't quite believe the result saying "it was a ripper match and a ripper result to boot!"

Following the match the Beepeean squad and travelling fans board a flight to The Republican Empire of New Lusitania and the Algarves, who had a 4-0 win in their opening match.

[Acronius]

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The Thirteenth Try
Pascale scores two in opening 2-4 away victory against Mytanija
James E. Sudlow (@SudlowUP)
^{01/09/2018, 21:58 | Lionsgate, Acronius}

^{SHARE THIS}

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MYTANIJA CITY, MYTANIJA - The Acronian national football team kicked off their World Cup 81 Qualification campaign in fine fashion today, defeating Mytanija away from home by a margin of two goals. Though the ranking gap between the two teams meant that Acronius had only met expectations in collecting all the points in Mytanija City, the Blue Boys, fielding their brand new ediraf kits for the first time, marked the occasion and demonstrated flashes of promise throughout the ninety minutes, giving both the rest of Group Seven and the fans at home some food for thought.

Target man David Pascale was in fine form for the Blue Boys today, with his brace guiding Acronius to 2-4 triumph which now places the nation at second in Group Seven, superseded only by Mattijana, who are ahead of Acronius on goal difference following their 6-2 thrashing of the unranked Comind New Islands. Acronius boss Massimiliano Abdullahi’s shift to a more free-flowing, attacking style of play seems to have somewhat paid off, as his men did indeed manage to win the match and score four goals in the process. The Republican manager, who has been in charge of the Blue Boys since the World Cup 80 Qualifiers, did however concede in a post-match press conference that a nation of Acronius’ standing should have won by a larger margin.

The match started off slowly, with Mytanija focusing more on ball retention than offense while Acronius needed some time to truly settle in and find their rhythm. Fruitless, but mildly entertaining back-and-forth movement from both sides dominated the game for the first twenty minutes, before Acronian winger Shin Kra opened the scoreline in the 23rd minute. The play started with team captain Marin Trésor, who recovered possession for Acronius before sending an excellently-measured low, diagonal pass of roughly 25 yards to Shin Kra, playing as an inverted winger, on the left instead of the right. With a man-marker directly in front of him, Kra shifted play further left to Pierre Paulois, who had advanced all the way up to the edge of the opposite box despite being a centre-back.

Shin Kra scores a well-struck effort from distance,
scoring Acronius' (white) first goal in the WC81Q

The defender whipped in a low cross, but angled it too far away from the goal, and danger man David Pascale was only able to get a weak touch on the ball after taking a large, awkward step backwards. The ball, however, continued on its very acute trajectory, ricocheting again off of an unwitting Dimitri Péguy, before then changing directions completely and rolling back towards Shin Kra, who punted home a low, 25-yard effort to give Acronius the lead. It was by no means the most beautifully-crafted goal - in fact, there was a very probable chance the assist was completely unintentional - but the end justified the means and a goal was a goal. 0-1 for Acronius 23 minutes into the game.

Kra’s goal noticeably boosted Acronius’ morale, and the Blue Boys played somewhat more confidently from that point forward. This however, did cost them - and Mytanija was able to equalize a mere four minutes later. It should be noted that Mytanija failed to provide an official roster for their team going into the World Cup 81 Qualifiers, and research by the Daily Post into the side found no previous rosters from other tournaments either. Additionally, none of their players’ jerseys featured names on the back, leaving all of them unidentifiable by name - as such, they shall only be referred to by either position or squad number.

The first Mytanijan goal was scored from a set piece; a free kick awarded to the home side as a result of a Ryan Chimneys foul. Positioned near the corner of the Acronian box, Mytanija’s left midfielder overshot his cross into the area, and the ball ended up at the feet of Mytanija’s other lateral midfielder on the right. Playing the number 9, he displayed some deft footwork and successfully dribbled past Dimitri Péguy to get inside the box. A wild pass into the cluster of orange and white shirts in front of goal managed to bounced off multiple players before rolling back to the Mytanijan left midfielder, who beat Acronian goalkeeper Michael Rowland at his near post to level the game. 1-1 in the 27th minute.

The rest of the match’s first forty-five minutes were uneventful, with Acronius playing frustratedly after having given away their lead so quickly. As the half-time whistle blew in Mytanija City, many Acronian supporters seemed disgruntled, perhaps believing another debacle of a World Cup Qualification campaign was to come. However, Massimiliano Abdullahi’s half-time talk must have been an inspiring one, as the Blue Boys went on to control the rest of the game with renewed motivation and brilliance. This withstanding however, it started off with another huge blow to the away side, as Mytanija claimed a second goal within twelve seconds of kickoff.

The home side started things off for the second half, and a quick long cross from their central midfielder once again found their left midfielder (playing number 6), who bolted past an unprepared Paul Althusse, who proved unable to keep up with the pacy Mytanijan’s speed. An incisive pass into the box, dispatched from the outside of number 6’s foot, found Mytanija’s number 10, who then laid the ball back for number 11 to fire a sitter squarely into the bottom-left corner of Michael Rowland’s goal. 2-1 for Mytanija - mayhem in amongst the locals in the stands as the Free Union collectively groaned.

Despite blowing the lead, the Blue Boys were not deterred, and from that point forward, showed tremendous spirit to earn their respect back. Ten minutes after Mytanija’s second, Acronius fired back via star striker David Pascale. After another scare in Acronius’ box, Louis Maçon’s clearance found Ryan Chimneys, who quickly laid Antoine le Kervelec up on the left flank. Seeing two orange shirts closing in on him, the left midfielder quickly slammed a miraculous cross all the way to Shin Kra on the opposite flank. The right midfielder in turn played a quick one-two pass with Marin Trésor, before using the newly-created space to dash further forward along the right flank.

Stopping a couple yards from the width line of the pitch, a feint and an elastico was enough to trick the Mytanijan right-back, and Shin Kra somehow managed to pass the right-back via his near side without letting the ball go out of play for a goal kick. Kra then fired the ball backwards at a very sharp angle to find Trésor once again. Strikers Guillaume Fontanils and David Pascale were both in the box, but so were three Mytanijan defenders - thusly, the best course of action, and the one Trésor took, was to pass laterally as to allow more white shirts to get involved in the offense. A quick succession of passes between Trésor, Chimneys, le Kervelec, and Fontanils all over the box ensued, and its rapidity was enough to force the Mytanijan goalkeeper out of position, allowing David Pascale to finally convert. 2-2 in the 56th and likely one of Acronius’ best team goals ever, but there was still much work to do.

David Depoorter of Union First Division’s Palame was brought on for Ryan Chimneys in the 69th minute, and instantly made an impact. With pressure mounting on Acronius to score again and win the game, the Blue Boys had at this point engaged in an aggressive style of play in multiple ways, consisting of high pressing and repeated, incessant forward-minded playmaking. The fruit of Acronius’ hard labor came thirteen minutes after their last goal. For what seemed to be the hundredth time of the day, Marin Trésor gathered the ball and pushed forward, but his cross was blocked by a Mytanijan midfielder, and the ball went out of play at the half-line, right by the dugouts. It was at that point that Depoorter came on - but after giving Chimneys gave him a high-five, Depoorter, aware that none of the Mytanijans were paying attention to his introduction, instead walked along the boundary line, still not on the pitch.

Perhaps pretending to just another substitute warming up, he jogged down the line, passing Mytanija’s defensive line by fifteen yards. Back at the half-line, Chimneys threw the ball back in to resume play - down the line, as far as he could - where David Depoorter recovered the pass where no one could stop him - and no whistle blew, because throw-ins were the rare exception to football’s offside rule. Charging down the open field, Depoorter entered a one-on-one duel scenario with the Mytanijan goalkeeper, managing to round him with a quick, short lob. Feigning a shot, two defenders desperately threw themselves in between the near post and Depoorter, but the Acronian man fired a pass backwards, where his former Palame teammate Guillaume Fontanils made sure Depoorter’s efforts didn’t go to waste, firing the ball into the top-left corner. 2-3 for Acronius in the 69th minute - Acronius lifts its chin.

At this point, some other sides would have settled for the lead in such a rollercoaster of a match with only a half-hour to spare - but the Blue Boys, aware that they held all the momentum in the game now, pressed on and pursued their lust for goals. Fortunately for them, they were gifted another one eleven minutes later, in the 80th minute. David Depoorter was once again moving forward looking perhaps to get his second assist of the game, slaloming just within the edges of the box. It seemed that the midfielder was attempting a meg through the legs of one of the defenders who had pointlessly attempted to block a shot from Depoorter which never came when he provided an assist earlier in the game. Seemingly already fed up with the Palame man, the Mytanijan shoved Depoorter to the ground in anger.

The blow of a whistle, an index finger pointing to the 12 yard mark, the brandishing of a red card, and the completion of a brace by David Pascale followed, as the Acronian number 10 fired a shot into the bottom-right corner. 2-4 now for the Blue Boys - and that score would prove final as the ninety minutes expired in Mytanija City. It was a result Abdullahi and his men could genuinely feel proud of - they could have done better, especially considering how many chances they created, but it was the nonetheless a victory. It is imperative, however, that they don’t let a single win distract them from what lies ahead - what will certainly prove to be a very tough game against giants Eura - currently second in the world, bronze medallists at the last World Cup, and two-time winners of the competition.

Man of the Match - David Pascale: Registering a 8.4/10 rating largely due to his two goals, Pascale ranked ahead of David Depoorter in second (8.2/10). and Mytanija’s number 6 in third (8.0/10). Often singled out as the man who can make a difference in Acronius’ roster, Pascale made his nation proud as his crucial efforts helped guide the Blue Boys to a victory.

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Comments [ --COMMENTS-- ] | E-mail

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521 comments

Roy Stark · 3 minutes ago
Listen, the only players we can put faith in are Pascale, Fontanils, and Depoorter.

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703 up · 3 down

REPLY · UPVOTE · DOWNVOTE

Errol Smith · 4 minutes ago
Abdullahi actually has a plan, and it's working for once. Fair play to him.

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642 up · 15 down

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Tyson Ulrich · 8 minutes ago
Depoorter very impressive today, should have claimed MoM in my opinion.

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589 up · 3 down

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Goals:
David Pascale - 2
Shin Kra - 1
Guillaume Fontanils - 1

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Assists:
Dimitri Péguy - 1
Guillaume Fontanils - 1
David Depoorter - 1

Fixtures:
Mytanija 2-4 Acronius
Unknown 27’, Unknown 46’ | Kra 23’, Pascale 56’, 80’ (pen.), Fontanils 69’

[Rakivland]

Match Review - Qusmo 4-1 Rakivland
Rakivland played an experienced Qusmo side, and were ultimately defeated by a strong Qusmo side, Goals were Paliv-Xilit Max, Xilit-Zaxac Yol with a hat-trick, Zarafrav with the goal for Rakivland.

Rakivland Manager Kanievev Saeriva - "Disappointed, however there is no shame in losing to a strong side like Qusmo, Creative goal showed promise, however it is the result that matters, and we need to improve"

REPORTER - Ok, Thank you Kanievev!


Qusmo Manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban - "What an absolutely fantastic match. Our players went out there & did a phenomenal job today. In the end, that kind of performance is the best you can hope for, & I'm really happy with how it turned out. [Xilit-Zaxac] Yol was an absolute terror out there, & I'll just say that I'm happy I have them on my team. It was a brave performance to come back after we had conceded at home, in the opener, though, & so I can't commend our players enough. [Ilinx-Xepex] Zev really turned things around in the match. I can jabber on as much as I want from the touchline, but the captain leads by example, & there wasn't a word I needed to say to get Zev focussed on the task at hand & exactly what we needed to do. Yol is probably going to take the headlines - & deservedly so - but it was a true team effort. Every player that was on the pitch today knew of today's importance & lived up to the task, & then some. That's why we had the kind of performance we did today. We had some stellar individual performances, but not one player let me down all night. That was the first time we bagged four since Beepee back on Matchday Two of the last qualifiers, I think, so it's wonderful to see our attack going at all cylinders like it did today. We've set the tone for how we want the rest of our campaign to go; now we have to go out there, seize this momentum we've created for ourselves, & do it. Rakivland showed some true class today, & they put a real scare in us early, but it just wasn't meant to be for them today. They showed some flashes on the pitch, & they're certainly nothing to trifle with; we'll see them again at Rakiv Arena, & I'm sure it'll be a good one."


REPORTER - Thank you, Enjoy!

[Shayla]

Match Recap

The Shaylan Team suffered tough loss to Baurina at Sam Garica Field an important Stadium for their Soccer Team.

HRH Jonathan Barkley put up a great game against the 33rd rank Suns. The Final was 4-3 as the young 17 year old Ceciel Bloomfield ended up putting 2 goals of Shayla's 3, casting any doubt of her involvement in the squad. The other goal going Substitute John McCain Late in the 2nd half equalizing the game. For the oppossing suns Kovack took 2 goals with Azarola and Coddington took the other two.

HRH Jonathan Barkley praised the team saying the team doubled his expections for their competitive debut, he said he was extra impressed with Bloomfield even going out on a limb to say if the Shaylan team were able to pull off the victory she would be the Man of the Match. The loss puts the Team at 6th in the Division. The Team will take on San Reganda Next who won there game 1-0.

[Kita-Hinode]

The Adventure Continues...

Noëlle woke up. She rubbed her eyes, getting up from the cozy bed she rested at. The girl made sure to pick up a cup of coffee and walk up to the main room. Daisy, as Doctor Muyami called, was a fairly spacious... thing inside. As far as she could tell, it was like a spaceship, capable of transporting through pretty much anything and, compared to her old home, it at least had a great bed. She walked up to the main room, finding Hachigo focused on guiding Daisy around while the... person they picked up the other day seemed to be enjoying a healthy bowl of cereals while watching what seemed to be a kids' show. "You do know My Little Alicorn - Acquaintances are Wizardry is for kids, right?" The Solsteedian asked, clearly being rather disappointed that a grown woman was watching such a thing. The child-like pyjamas didn't help. "Pay no heed, miss Noëlle." He noted, his eyes still focused on the map. "Haruka always acted like a child. She won't really change that now." The girl widened her eyes. "So you just take that? She's allowed?" He chuckled. "She's also our ninja and doing anything to anger her might tick a certain Empress on us both. I consider it a reasonable deal."[/b] Haruka kept watching her cartoons. Noëlle shrugged, patting her head before sitting by Hachigo's side.

"So, what's the plan then?" She asked, flashing a look at the grown woman watching her cartoons still before looking back at her mentor. "Where are we going to?" Hachigo sighed. "Jenson works for an entity that generates energy via feeding off of people's poorest emotions. Anger, sadness... He also goes for sportspeople, for some reason." He then handed her a piece of paper from a magazine, a piece of an interview with Moe Himura. It often mentioned a person called Jenson. "I'm willing to take a guess that he should be at a skateboarding event at North Wheatley."

15:52
Capital City
North Wheatley

A hooded figure stood on top of a house, a ramp in front of him. The figure looks back, a group of others standing there, jeering. A look towards a skateboard. A piece of wood, a black grip tape, a shiny metallic pair of trucks and green wheels. The deck still had a drawing of an angel but it was clear that image had long since been faded from skating. Or rather, to the figure's horror, the hours of failing. They could make up one jeer in particular. "You're never gonna make it, Claude! Quit it! Go back home!" The words hurt like daggers, fire coming from his own brother. Claude looked from under the shadows of the hoodie. He took a deep breath... and jumped.

The landing was as sweet as he could get, him speeding down the ramp. His eyes scanned another ramp in front of him, time flying with him as well. He jumped with his board. He flicked his foot, hitting the board and causing it to turn. He looked at the sky for a second before turning his body to prepare for landing... only to notice a deadly mistake. He wasn't going down the same ramp he used to shoot upwards. He saw a pile of trash. He closed his eyes.

All he could make up was a wooshing sound before his mind fully understood what happened. His eyes opened slowly. He took some time before actually seeing where he was. A dark ceiling with a couple of light bulbs here and there to illuminate things. He felt a bed under him. He heard someone humming, which caused him to try and turn his head a little bit, but it started to hurt. Another voice started to talk. "You know. My mother never allowed me to skate but... it does look like an interesting apparatus." Hachigo turned the object around, sighing. "And very mistreated." The boy groaned. "Don't worry. We'll help you out... but you'll need to do us a favour." The kunoichi's head peeked up from out of his vision's reach, looking at the boy. "Ever heard of the Hinodejin Empress?"

He sighed. "I hate my life."

[Anollasia]

THE ANOLLASIA NATIONAL

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English edition

Saturday, September 1, 2018

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Rough start in World Cup

By Alex Gorki and Ece Bayburt

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JEFFERTON - A feeling of fierce confidence and pride in the Anollasian national team was prominent in Jefferton's James Anoll Stadium before today's match with Cosumar. Most of the stadium was blue and white - or rather, all of it, since both teams' colours are the same, though different shades of blue - with many wearing jerseys, waving flags, holding up banners, and showing off whatever national team merchandise they got hold of. However, Cosumar, ranked 14th amongst over 300 teams who have participated in the World Cup since its 69th edition, is one of the elite teams and swiftly crushed the crowd's spirit. Cosumar defeated Anollasia 5-1 right in the heart of Jefferton.

The first goal came in quickly, during the 10th minute, when Cosumar scored a goal due to the Anollasian defence players not paying attention for a moment. Goalkeeper Emre Demirboğa leaped across the net to reach the ball, but he was not able to stop it. The Cosumar team celebrated jovially while the Anollasian coach Ahmet Tan shouted at the defence players John Williker, André Vanier, Panagiotis Ferraiou, and Tevfik Aydost to "pay more attention, this isn't practice, this is real!" to which the players nodded and looked down. Later, the players said in a press conference that they "did not know what came over [them]."

Despite agreeing with their coach, the same thing happened again, though only with Ferraiou and Vanier. During the 31st minute of the match, Cosumar scored again, as their forward player went through the defence with relative ease. Though Williker and Aydost were trying to stop him, Ferraiou and Vanier were just slowly making their way to the scene. Coach Tan, clearly upset, substituted Ferraiou and Vanier with Erol Akça and Patrick Lonny, who played for the rest of the match instead. Ferraiou and Vanier are the oldest players on the team, 32 and 30 respectively. Perhaps these are signs that they should retire early, as their performance did not seem to be up to par during this match, though it is still early to say so.

Cosumar scored again during the 42nd minute, though this time all defence players were trying to stop the advancing forward player. Regardless of all their efforts, the Cosumar forward pushed past the defensive wall and scored. The Cosumar team and crowd celebrated once again, though it was apparent that they weren't as excited anymore. The same could be said for the Anollasian crowd, but some segments of the Anollasian supporters continued to fiercely wave their flags, hold their banners, and shout their slogans.

After halftime, the Anollasian team was refreshed and rejuvenated. Anollasia attempted to score during the 55th minute but the Cosumar goalkeeper was swift enough to save the ball. Anollasia attempted to score again during the 63rd minute, but once again was blocked by the Cosumar goalkeeper. The saying "third time's a charm" has proven itself true as Anollasia scored its only goal during its third attempt at a goal, during the 67th minute. The goal came from the centre forward player Yunus Terry, who zigzagged his way past the Cosumar defence like a lightning bolt and caught the goalkeeper off-guard. The Anollasian crowd went wild at the sight of not only an Anollasian goal, but a good one too. Many supporters celebrated the fact that at least Anollasia won't walk away from this match without scoring a goal. The crowd was once again alive with flags, banners, and slogans.

Celebrations did not last long however, as Cosumar immediately followed up with a goal during the 69th minute, effectively crushing the team's spirit. It appears that the Anollasian team was slightly too self-confident in their goal so they were caught off-guard by a Cosumar forward who scored the team's fourth goal with ease. Once again the Anollasian crowd died down and the team lost their confidence as well. Coach Tan was going crazy during the match, shouting at the team and walking back and forth like a cartoon character.

The Anollasian team seemed to play a stronger defence for the rest of the second half until the 89th minute, when the defence slipped and Cosumar scored a fifth goal. By this point, the joy of the match was already dead for the Anollasian supporters, team, and coach. Coach Tan stated in the following press conference that he was "very disappointed in the team but need[s] to be more optimistic since it was only the very first match." Many supporters feel the same way. We asked a random spectator after the match how he felt and he replied "I'm pretty bummed out, but it's only the first match, you know?" All of the other spectators we asked echoed a similar response.

The next match is set to be held tomorrow in Britonisea's DEXTER Burgendore Stadium, which will be awaited with anticipation and hope for a more enjoyable match.

You can watch the World Cup on NATV Sports or online at www.natv.an.

[Qusmo]

SPONY LUQ TELEVISION

Hello, all. Welcome to Spony Luq Television, broadcasting from Qanz, Qusmo. After a convincing win over Rakivland at Mastad Qusma, Qusmo have sole possession of first place in Group 9 of World Cup 81 Qualifying, which would send them to the final tournament in Banija & the Free Republics. However, we’re only one matchday into the action, with seventeen still to go, including home & away matches against Eastfield Lodge, New Gazi, & Valanora. Let’s take a closer look at the qualifying campaign & whether Qusmo can keep up the pace. First, we’ll field a question from a viewer right here in Qanz.

I just saw that we’re on top of the table; will it last?

In a word, no.

First, let’s look at what Qusmo did right against Rakivland; that’s a lot of things. After a sixth minute strike from Rakivland left midfielder Zarafrav, the visitors took a 1-0 lead into the break in Rakivland’s first World Cup Qualifying match. It was a dream start, but it quickly turned into a nightmare, as Qusmo regrouped & finally cashed in on all the pressure they had been applying to Rakivland’s back line & goalkeeper; a forty-eighth minute strike from striker Xilit-Zaxac Yol made it a new match.

From there, it was all Qusmo, as Paliv-Xilit Max scored what proved to be the decisive goal in the seventy-fourth minute, while Xilit-Zaxac iced the game in the eighty-fifth & earned a treble in the eighty-ninth. Qusmo showed admirable grit & tenacity throughout the match. They got off to a slow start, of course, but they were able to rally back to the front in a pressure-filled match, not only salvaging points, & not only earning all three, but going so far ahead that they are now technically in the top seed in Group 9.

It would be lovely to think that Qusmo will continue to perform well & rack up victories, but it’s not as simple as that. Remember, in the previous World Cup cycle, Qusmo got off to a great start to qualifying, winning both of their first two matches, including a 4-0 thumping to christen the national stadium of then-reigning Baptism of Fire champions Beepee. After two matches, Qusmo was second in Group 11, behind Ceni only on the goals scored tiebreaker. However, Qusmo didn’t qualify then; they did not even come close to it.

Qusmo got off to such a great start because it faced opposition that was fairly weak. Wolves Clans were ranked 254th in the world, while Beepee was 144th at the time; both had only made their international debuts at that cycle’s Baptism of Fire. Once Qusmo started to play nations ranked in the top 100 in the world, it became a much different story. After their promising start, the team lost four straight & did not win again until matchday nine, earning only sixteen points over the final sixteen matches, finishing seventh of ten in the group.

Of course, that is not to fault Qusmo’s efforts; they were one of two unranked teams in the group at the time, & they finished higher than some good opposition, including Beepee & 111th-ranked Omerica. However, the World Cup 80 Qualifying campaign is important to consider as we look to how Qusmo might perform in this cycle. Opening at Mastad Qusma against 214th-ranked Rakivland, then travelling to 307th-ranked Axuva, & then returning to host 116th-ranked Savalen, Qusmo has a welcoming slate of matches to start the campaign. Qusmo will be expected to perform well in those matches. After that is when the real tests will come.

That isn’t to say Qusmo is unprepared, of course; entering this qualifying campaign, Qusmo had always been unranked or ranked lower than their competitors in all competitive & friendly matches they played. They did face (& defeat) an opponent that was lower-ranked per the KPB scales in Copa Rushmori XXX, but this was as a team unranked in the Rushmori rankings. Thirty-eight matches’ worth of experience punching above their weight may give Qusmo some experience when dealing with highly-rated foes in this cycle. On the other side of the coin, however, Qusmo lacks experience being the favoured team, with pressure & a target on their backs. Qusmo will have to play from both positions in this campaign, a position that is new for them. Whether they can do it is something only time will tell - but the matter certainly wasn’t resolved on Matchday One.

We also have a question from a viewer in Polan.

Who will qualify for the World Cup from our group?

Group 9 is certainly an interesting one. Let’s break it down.

First, we have to recognize that there is a clear gulf in rankings between the top & bottom halves of this group. Ranked eighty-first, Qusmo is the Pot 4 team, with three nations ranked above it & one nation not too far behind at 116th. The Pot 6 team from this group, however, is ranked 214th - nearly a hundred-rank gap between the two teams. That means that it’s going to be extremely tough for the bottom five nations to get points from the top five. That also means that, in order to compete for a place in Banija & the Free Republics, the top five nations will have to earn maximum points - or close to it - from their encounters with the five lowest-ranked nations of the group.

So, our contenders were drawn into this group from Pots One through Five. Who are they? First is Savalen, the 116th-ranked team from the Western Isles. They may be ranked lower than Qusmo, but they are no strangers to the international game. They first appeared on the international scene in Baptism of Fire 62, & they accomplished the remarkable feat of qualifying in their very first cycle: World Cup 75. They would qualify again for World Cup 76 & earned three points there before falling just short of World Cup 77 qualification, prompting their football association to draw back for two World Cup cycles. However, they returned for the World Cup 80 cycle, & they appear here yet again. They are ranked only 116th now, but they were ranked as high as 33rd & are a two-time World Cup qualifier; there is no counting them out.

Skipping past Qusmo in Pot 4, we reach Pot 3’s Eastfield Lodge, which on Matchday Fifteen will be Qusmo’s only away match within their own region. Eastfield Lodge is another former World Cup qualifier, having last reached the final tournament in its 77th edition. Now they are in an excellent position to do so again. This is not the highest-ranked side the nation has put forth; at 51st, it is the first time Eastfield Lodge has slipped outside the top 50 in the KPB rankings since before the qualifiers of that World Cup, since which it has been rated as highly as 35th. A finals appearance since then has been elusive, but that does not mean that Eastfield Lodge is not a dangerous; on the contrary, their appetite for a World Cup has been whetted, & they will hunger for a second course.

After Eastfield Lodge, we arrive at New Gazi, ranked 29th in the world. Another graduate of Baptism of Fire 62, they have been an absolute force in the international picture for some time now, having qualified for World Cup 80 & having placed third in Cup of Harmony 71, of the cycle before then. It took some time to get going - unlike Savalen, New Gazi achieved no instant success in World Cup 75 qualification - but New Gazi really took off in their Cup of Harmony 71 campaign, & they have not looked back since. With an all-time best ranking & a soaring profile that saw them earn their first Cup of Harmony points in the 78th cycle, then fall in the the 79th cycle’s Cup of Harmony semifinals to eventual champions Juvencus, then qualify for World Cup 80 in Starblaydia & the Equestrian States, New Gazi is a team firmly on the up, & they will be looking for nothing less than a ticket to Banija & the Free Republics.

But, of course, the undoubted class of this group is Valanora. Other nations in this group can claim that they have qualified for a World Cup, but none have ever advanced to the knockout stages. Valanora has won sixty knockout round matches in thirty editions of the competition. They do not lack for silverware, as they have won AOCAF Cups 44, 46, LI, & LIII, as well as World Cups 40, 42, 43, 52, & 61. Their last World Cup title may be twenty cycles removed, but that doesn’t mean they have not had recent success; Valanora lifted the AOCAF Cup LIII trophy between World Cups 77 & 78, & they have challenged for more titles on both the regional & World Cup levels since. Valanora will not be looking merely to qualify for the World Cup, but to advance to its knockout runs - &, from there, who knows what might happen? The answer: five iterations of the Vanorian national team does.

Of course, those are Qusmo’s four main competitors, but they aren’t the only teams the Qusmi’y will have to face. Karulicja is in a situation reminiscent of where Qusmo itself was just last cycle: unranked & making its first appearance internationally in the World Cup Qualifying campaign - &, just like Qusmo, they have started off with a win. When they visit Qusmo on Matchday Fourteen, they may have some support at Mastad Tracama. 307th-ranked Axuva, 272nd-ranked Nuadh-Alba, & 214th-ranked Rakivland debuted in Baptism of Fire 68 earlier this cycle, with the latter making it to the knockout rounds & winning one knockout round match before exiting in the Round of Sixteen. Now, they hope to test their mettle in the meat grinder of a World Cup Qualifying campaign. &, of course, one team in Group 9’s bottom five is not a stranger to this process. Polkopia, too, has qualified for the World Cup, though not since its 74th edition. The nation has only attempted to qualify for two World Cups since then - editions 75 & 78 - but they will be back, likely performing above what their 223rd KPB ranking might suggest.

Qusmo is in a group with five previous World Cup qualifiers, including the winners of five World Cup trophies. Qualifying would be no mean feat. Qusmo will need to scrap, claw, & battle its way for every point it can get, & that is why the win against Rakivland was so important; points lost against the bottom half of the group have to be made up somewhere else if Qusmo is to qualify. Ultimately, we don’t think that Qusmo will quite reach that mark; we think that Valanora is an overwhelming favourite to top the group, & we think that Eastfield Lodge & New Gazi could have a very close battle on their hands for the playoff spot. We think that Qusmo will show that it is a good team, capable of competing with some major footballing powers; however, we do not think that Qusmo is quite ready for the jump into the World Cup proper.

Then again, we have been wrong before.

Group 9
Axuva 3–2 Savalen
Qusmo 4–1 Rakivland
New Gazi 2–0 Polkopia
Karulicja 2–0 Nuadh-Alba
Eastfield Lodge 2–2 Valanora

   Group 9                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Qusmo                             1    1   0   0     4    1   +3     3
 2 Karulicja                         1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
   New Gazi                          1    1   0   0     2    0   +2     3
 4 Axuva                             1    1   0   0     3    2   +1     3
 5 Eastfield Lodge                   1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
   Valanora                          1    0   1   0     2    2    0     1
 7 Savalen                           1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
 8 Nuadh-Alba                        1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
   Polkopia                          1    0   0   1     0    2   −2     0
10 Rakivland                         1    0   0   1     1    4   −3     0

QNT rallies to open WCQ campaign with 4-1 win over Rakivland
Qusmo 4–1 Rakivland
Mastad Qusma, Qanz, Qusmo (cap. 80 000)

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GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
46’ Ozolx-Alfan Ixi
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
79’ Yoltz-Tlanx Sal
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
DM  Yunal-Julad Waz
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
RM  Forzu-Ralox Kal
AM  Ilinx-Vulav Ixi
79’ Nirlo-Betva Uzo
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max (74’)
ST  Xilit-Zaxac Yol (48’, 85’, 89’)

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Weekend 2020
Away Victory in Freeport a Good Start
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Writer

The initial foray into the qualifying process for World Cup 81 kicked off at the Condottieri Coliseum, in front of a crowd approaching 80,000 and saw the Commonwealth survive a late onslaught against the hosts to take all the points here in Freeport by the score of 2-1.

Evan Ashcroft and Erica Shaw each scored a goal to power the BP side and a solid defensive effort led by Derick Briggs, Faith Enzikomibo and goalkeeper Scott Hartline held The Condottieri to a Torvald Royle goal on 58 minutes to make a perfect start to the campaign.

The hosts had the better part of the play early, although they found chances in the final third at a premium. The Bees had shown a tactical wrinkle early, based on the knowledge gained when the two nations had played in the opening match of the BP Open Cup and bided their time against the all-out attack of side that has many similarities in style and makeup as their near neighbors Equestrian States.

As the Commonwealth eased their way into the match, they began to take advantage of their experience by dominating the midfield, and this pressure led to Ashcroft's opener in the 36th minute when Matt Villareal and Antonio Sotolongo played a superb one-two and Villareal's well timed pass beat the offside trap, which Ashcroft buried with his right foot into the far upper corner.

Straight from the restart, Baker Park moved the attack again into the Freeport defensive third, Hafiz Igiekhume carrying the ball down right wing and cutting a pass back for Shaw, who exchanged passes with Sotolongo and then fired past the keeper Kurkiri to his left to make it 2-0 less than a minute after the previous goal.

Freeport worked their way back into the match and Royle halved the deficit after an excellent buildup, which brought the home supporters back into the match.

A late push to find an equalizer was turned away by the hard tackling and strong organization of the Commonwealth defense and at the final whistle, there was a sense of relief from the white clad visiting team, as they had taken the first step towards the ultimate prize.