Baptism of Fire 77 [rosters/RP/results]

[StrayaRoos]

StrayaRoos and Aerodon will meet in The Next game of Group D
The Teams
StrayaRoos-The Roosians are Currently sitting 4th in group D After strong showings against Textentuck and Jeeves Land,With Cruz Kaiplo and Harry Cahill the Stars so far with Cahill tied for the Silver Boot with Fabian Prasutagusic of Estorvipa & Estorpiva and The nation's Top Scorer with 7 in 8 games and Kaiplo is the new kid on the block with only 3 caps and 2 goals so far
Aerodon- Arnold Werngov and Stergen Halland Being Crucial to their team who currently sit at 2nd Behind Cordia but not much is known about them by us At ThreeFourThree and we'll bring you the Deets soon

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Harry Cahill Stats
Club
2000-2003:Panem State 5 (1)
2003- : Panem Olympic 259 (107)
2000-:CLUB 264 (108)
International
2007-2021:StrayaRoos XI 131 (20)
2021-:StrayaRoos 8(7)
2007- International 139 (27)

[Tumbra]

MD5 Cutoff - Groups C & D

Some of you will continue on, some of you will be eliminated — but who? Cutoff for MD5.

Group C
Pekoland 1–4 Dispertag
Kingdom of Voidstania 2–3 The Karodin Tetrachy
Surgeius 3–2 Winnebogan

. Group C                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pekoland                   5   4  0  1   12   7  +5   12
2 Dispertag                  4   3  1  0   11   3  +8   10
3 The Karodin Tetrachy       4   2  0  2    6   7  −1    6
4 Kingdom of Voidstania      4   2  0  2    7   8  −1    6
5 Surgeius                   4   2  0  2    6   9  −3    6
6 Winnebogan                 5   0  2  3    7  10  −3    2  E
7 Allahai                    4   0  1  3    4   9  −5    1  E

Group D
StrayaRoos 1–3 Aerodon
The Cordian Isles 0–0 Jeeves Land
Soldera 2–1 Texkentuck

. Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Cordian Isles          4   3  1  0   10   4  +6   10
2 Aerodon                    4   3  1  0    8   4  +4   10  EX* 
3 Soldera                    4   3  0  1    7   4  +3    9
4 StrayaRoos                 5   2  0  3   12  13  −1    6  E
5 Acceptably Normal          4   1  0  3    2   5  −3    3  E
6 Texkentuck                 5   1  0  4    7  12  −5    3  E
7 Jeeves Land                4   0  2  2    0   4  −4    2  E

*OOC note: Aerodon has been given a forum ban for being underage, and are therefore treated as a withdrawal from the Baptism of Fire. Even if they finish in the top two of the group, they will not proceed to the quarter-finals of the competition.

[Graintfjall]

RP cutoff for MD5 (Groups A&B)

News

Háttmark

• The election season is beginning. Red (Left-slate), Blue (Blue-Green) and Pink (Progressive Liberal) posters are out in force, but you'll also see minor parties representing everything from the Finnish-speaking minority (population: 1.5; please try not to stare) to the Furry Rights Alliance.
• The National Chess Championships are underway in the capital, with chess prodigies from around the country gathering in the capital. Royal Square has been specially lit in a chessboard pattern.
  Altendalur
• The KV Tower, which has become the tallest skyscraper in Altendalur, is officially opened. Since relaxing building requirements four years ago, Altendalur inner city has seen substantial industrial redevelopment and new blocks are going up every week.
• Production of the long-running soap opera All My Krakens was disrupted after police mistook filming of a bank heist scene for an actual crime. Unfortunately, yesterday an actual bank heist saw no one call the police as they assumed it was another day of filming.

Weather: Lighter winds, cloudy skies, 1 inch of snow.

Group A
The Republic of Western Sol 2–2 Kingdom of Atlantia
Dod Rava 1–1 Estorvipa and Estorpiva
Magnecia 0–0 United Adaikes

  Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 United Adaikes                   5   3  2  0    9   5  +4   11
2 Estorvipa and Estorpiva          4   3  1  0    8   2  +6   10
3 Magnecia                         4   2  2  0    7   4  +3    8
4 New Jehova                       4   1  2  1    3   3   0    5
5 The Republic of Western Sol      5   1  1  3    8  14  −6    4
6 Dod Rava                         4   0  1  3    5   8  −3    1
7 Kingdom of Atlantia              4   0  1  3    5   9  −4    1

Group B
Ardengard 2–2 The Finntopian Empire
Taksylvania 1–0 Rhubarbton
República Guanacasteca 1–0 Takeshwar

  Group B                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ardengard                        5   3  2  0   10   4  +6   11
2 República Guanacasteca           4   3  1  0    4   0  +4   10
3 Taksylvania                      4   2  0  2    5   6  −1    6
4 Metherwoll                       4   1  2  1    2   1  +1    5
5 The Finntopian Empire            4   0  3  1    4   6  −2    3
6 Rhubarbton                       4   0  2  2    1   4  −3    2
7 Takeshwar                        5   0  2  3    4   9  −5    2

[StrayaRoos]

MD5-Couno
Aerodon 3
StrayaRoos 1 (Cahill 71)
HT 0-0 Att.31,291

OOC:Due to Aerodon's ban i'm not naming scorers for them
Against Aerodon, National captain Harry Cahill went second in the race for the Golden Boot with 5 goals in as many games,with Cruz Kaiplo getting his 3rd Assist for the Tournament and Tim Kewell Has been sent home after an 2nd Red of the tournament

[Soldera]

The day of a construction engineer is never done.

Eric Aston could tell you that. He was responsible for constructing the new national football stadium in Branwen, to be named King Anthony Stadium, a 77,000-seat stadium that would host the Snakes home matches. They had one stadium they were already using, Branwen City Field, but that was an overgrown high school stadium with bleacher seats extending around the entire grounds. That venue was a national stadium in name only, and only because King Anthony Stadium was not completed yet.

"What the fuck are these doing here?" Aston shouted as he saw some pieces of metal that he could tell instantly were of much lower quality than what had been used to construct the west façade.

"Those were the materials you ordered to finish the east façade," came the response from Bill Tunney, the assistant chief engineer.

"No, no, no!" Aston shouted. "I said get THESE!" he showed Tunney his mobile phone with the pieces he'd specified that were used to construct the west façade.

"They didn't have those, so they sent us these," Milt Collins, another engineer said as he overheard the conversation between Aston and Tunney.

"What do you mean they didn't have them?"

"They were on back order. If you want 'em, it'll take another week. We're already two weeks behind in construction."

"Now the stadium will NEVER be ready for the Sarzonia match!"

"It still has to pass code for that to even be a possibility," Tunney said. "The inspectors haven't finalized their appointment to come look at the plumbing and the sanitation yet."

"They're going to host Sarzonia at fucking City Field? After they hosted us at Dave Wilson Stadium? City Field is a goddamn embarrassment!" Aston shook his head and grimaced at that. The stadium was running behind and over budget, but he was still optimistic that King Anthony Stadium could be finished in time for a lid lifter against a former world champion. Now, that was looking unlikely.

"We're a very new football program," Tunney said. "I'm sure the Sarzonians will understand."

"Yeah, one of the best teams in football history are playing at a fucking overgrown high school stadium, yeah they're really going to understand that!"

"Eric," Tunney said. "Look, you've done everything you can to get this stadium ready, but the real goal is to have it ready in time for our first home match of World Cup qualifying. Now, we've done a remarkable job to get it to where it is now, so if we don't get it done for Sarzonia, we'll at least be ready for our home opener." Tunney walked over to Aston and put his right arm on Aston's back with his hand on Aston's shoulder.

"Look, I know you're disappointed we lost to the Stars 1-0 in Woodstock, but we can still get 'em back here, even if it's at City Field."

A few days after the Snakes lost their match to the Stars by a 1-0 score at City Field, the correct materials finally arrived and Aston was busy directing his crews in finishing the east façade. The morning after Soldera defeated Texkentuck 2-1 behind goals by Matt Conley and Jonah Clarke and a five-save performance by reserve goalkeeper Jeff Bannister, Aston would be in a better mood, not just because Soldera were now 3-0-1 and still within a point of both Cardia and Aerodon for one of the two knockout round positions from Group D.

A couple of hours into the work day, Tunney approached Aston with his mobile phone in hand.

"Great news, Eric," Tunney said. "Number one, the sanitation systems all passed code and the stadium's ready for the first match of qualifying."

"That's good," Aston said. "You said number one. What's number two?"

"The Baptism of Fire Cup organisers have disqualified Aerodon for some reason. We're through to the knockout rounds."

"Wait, what?"

"They haven't made an announcement yet, but Aerodon have been disqualified no matter how they do in their last two matches. We're going through."

It was a strange turn of events, one that manager Norm Carricker was trying to address in the post-match presser as the engineers all took a break from their work to watch Carricker.

"Well, there are obviously some machinations that took place well beyond my pay grade," Carricker said. "Until we get clarity from organisers, all I'm concerned about for us is making sure we do our jobs and play well heading into the knockouts."

"Coach, will you rest players and play your depth players now that you're already through to the next round?"

"Only if we're in a position where we can't advance any further," he said. "We're still fighting to make sure we're Group winners because there's a big difference between facing the top team in the group and facing the group runners up." Even though current Group C runners up Dispertag routed first place Pekoland 4-1 to give the latter team their first loss in group play, Pekoland still have four wins from five matches and are still two points clear of Dispertag. However, Dispertag have a game in hand on Pekoland and the rout, so if the two teams somehow finished level in the Group C standings, Dispertag would be group champions and would face either Cordia or Soldera in the quarterfinals.

[OOC: I don't know how the hosts are handling Aerodon's disqualification in-game, so I'm leaving it somewhat murky in my RP. OOCly, my team know they're through but don't know exactly why.]

[Peko-land]

The Wanderer in a Pink Jacket - Chapter 3

Chapters
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chaper 3

The newly built part of the Pekoland capital (also named Pekoland) finally had its newest and most exciting building complete. A twelve-floor mall decorated with greenery, pools and a lot of carrot and rabbit themed assets. The mall's grand opening was broadcast on national TV.

The guards of the Pekoland Castle had snuck away again to drink at a local bar. They ordered their usual purple carrot wine and caught up with their friends. There was a TV silently broadcasting some random national TV channel in the corner, nobody really paid attention to it until...

---

"Hey Carl, turn that TV's volume up!" Guard #1 told the bartender.

"The TV? I forgot that thing even existed, what's going on?" Carl turned the volume up and looked at the TV to see that the new mall was being opened.

"Ah, this? Who cares, nobody here can afford to shop there anyways." Carl looked at his boss' office for a moment. "I'm fine with my pay though, haha." He was afraid that his boss might have thought he was complaining about his pay.

"No, not the mall, look at that guy next to the missionary! That's the wanderer!" Now the event had everyone's interest.

"Oh man, even if I had the money I wouldn't touch that mall with a 10-foot barge pole!" Junji said while trying to hold back his laugh.

"Yeah right, that guy's cursed as fuck dude, I heard he created a clone of the princess with his dark magic bullshit." Ethan said.

"Oh yeah? I heard he was the reason why everyone started worshipping the Princess. Apparently he faked the speech of god to fuck with that so-called missionary, who took it seriously! What an idiot!" Kazuta bursted into laughter.

"By the way, is that Princess-worship thing something we should watch out for?" Guard #2 asked #1.

"Nah, it's fine, plus the Princess can basically get away with anything now. She raised the taxes on income by half a point last week and nobody even noticed it."

---

At this point everyone had forgotten about the mall opening, people were telling made-up stories about that cursed wanderer, to see who had the wackiest and scariest story to tell. There was no guessing that these stories would get heard by the fearsome rat disease. The disease known to make people believe false narratives and make the victim more aggressive towards the people they dislike. There were several outbreaks of this disease before, but this one would be like no other.

---

Pekoland 1-4 Dispertag
[PKO] 23' Flattening Crew
[DIS] 11' Suárez; 41', 78' Saldaña; 60' Fernandez
An unexpected blowout between the 2 nations going for the group winner spot. Pekoland is left with no choice but to win their last game, which might not be enough for them.

[The Cordian Isles]

The Cordasfjord Post

---

What To Look For In The Next CIFA Season

---

Cordasfjord, CORDIA- With the third season of Cordia's football league due to start soon, here are four things to watch as the players prepare for what is sure to be an exciting edition:

Foreign Players

You can expect to see many more players from overseas this season than in the last two. With the only major signing of the last transfer window being Cliff Rouge of Qasden to the Brenville Blue, there's a low bar for improvement here which should be easily exceeded. Signing foreign players would increase the significance of the CIFA elsewhere, and also improve the skill level overall compared to what the Cordia-only talent pool can provide. There have also been a few high-profile Cordians who have said they will go overseas: Dineke Leeuwen, Lakeshore Hersir striker and fifth pick for the national team, and Hannah Andersen, a Thor's Rest Storm midfielder whose decision to leave the team has become a very public affair; she is also a national team starter.

IFCF Competition

Another very low bar to exceed. The last cycle saw the Cordian teams receive an absolute beatdown, winning only one match over all the competitions. This cycle should see an improvement as Cordians get more used to the international talent pool and some of that pool begins to drip into the CIFA. One team from which a win should not be expected is Northshore FC, a team from the third (now second after promotion) tier of Cordian football. As many should know, Northshore's ridiculously unlikely run to the Cordia Cup championship qualified them to the Cup Winners Cup and Challengers Cup, where they logically should get the shit beaten out of them. However, with a well-earned reputation for getting massive upsets, who knows where Northshore could end up.

League Realignment

That's right, the CIFA is going to realign the pyramid next season, into four leagues of twenty. All League A teams will be safe from relegation, while the top 5 League B teams will join the new League A. The new League B will comprise the bottom ten League B teams and the top ten League C teams. League C will feature the bottom five current League C teams, the top twelve League D teams, and the top three League E teams. The bottom three current League D teams will remain in League D, being joined by the other seventeen League E teams, with both of the E Leagues being removed under this new format. The new leagues will have a standard 38-match double round robin season (ten more than the current format) with the Cordia Cup run at the same time, allowing Cordians to gain more critical playing experience to progress as a league. The format also allows for another ten matches worth of revenue for Cordian clubs and stadiums, which is always helpful to the league.

National Team Players

With the national team actively competing in international tournaments, as well as the U18 and U21 teams, the experience playing at these levels will allow for further development of some of the CIFA's most skilled players and the discovery of yet-unknown talent. An example of the latter is Nicholas Eriksen of Cordasfjord FC, who's had an incredible run at the Baptism of Fire, with three goals and a pair of assists to his name, but whose name has not been mentioned often in league play. International play also serves as a catalyst for changes domestically, such as the dramatic uptick in public opinion which has been seen following Hannah Andersen's game-winner over Soldera in the Baptism. Overall, it's worth seeing how your club's NT players are doing overseas, as their performance there could affect how things work out in the CIFA.

Those are four things to watch in the CIFA, and you can expect coverage of every matchday of League A here at the Cordasfjord Post.

[Dispertag]

The rest day before the game. All seated at the table for dinner at the hotel arranged by host Tumbra in Straton. Martín (the coach) gets up from the table and slaps a spoon against a glass to get the team's attention. He is about to speak.

MGE: Please please pay a little attention here as I have important things to say to you. Shut up for Alfredo and company table, you are very tiresome today, let's see if you are going to have to sleep in the hall. Well, where I was going, I want, first of all, to congratulate you all again for the great game you played yesterday against Allahai, a piece of 3-0 result ...

Cheers and applause are heard in the room and some: ¡Vamos Mister! through the back of the dining room

MGE: Thank you, thank you, gratitude is for you. In any case, we are having a great championship and we have just premiered on the international scene. But I don't want you to relax for a minute. Do you hear me? Tomorrow we have, I would say, the most important game so far, and probably of the tournament in general.

ARC: More than the final, Míster? -laughter is heard at the table of the talkers- because we are going to arrive tp the final in plenty, bro, we are amazing and not even God wins us.

GHP: What dirty final are you going to reach, JAJAJAJA, if you are not even capable of making a good pass. If we make it to the final, I'll see to it that they change your first-team place to Sergio.

Laughter becomes widespread

ARC: But Cap, if I've played all the games great, don't bother me!

MGE: Well, less nonsense that Guille is playing with you Alfre, of course you are going to play for that I have the last word. And now if you shut up I'll finish saying what I wanted. We face Peko-land, maybe that doesn't tell you anything but they are leading the group and they are undefeated. That means that we would have to be the first to beat them with the difficulty that this entails and I have to tell you that if we lose things get very dodgy. Because in that case Kingdom of Voidstania is dangerously close behind us and our ranking is in jeopardy. So with that being said, and considering that Peko-land has scored fewer goals lately than they used to score in the first matches, I want you to continue to maintain a solid defense. Can you hear me Ramón?

RdlPG: Hey, cook! I have two clean sheets and I can leave you a third as my name is Ramón

MGE: Well well well, that's what I wanted to hear. We must take advantage of this opportunity that we have, because we are a game ahead of them. If we achieve the victory we will be able to put ourselves first in the group if then we are able to win our last confrontations with Kingdom of Voidstania and Surgeius. It's complicated but not impossible. I want to see a concentrated midfield and a successful forward, I do not want failures tomorrow!

All in unison: Yes, Míster!

MGE: Well, excellent, having said that, all that remains is to toast, everyone with me please: Arribaaa, abajooo, al centrooo y pa' dentro! Health! Oh and one last thing before I forget. I already know all of you well rascals. I know that prostitution is legal here in Tumbra but I hope I don't have to call anyone's attention tonight in any room. If you want to satisfy your needs, you wait for us to finish competing. I know the Tumbrans are very pretty girls but I don't want distractions, that's all.

They sit down at the table again to finish their sumptuous dinner. The evening unfolds quietly, amid laughter and worldly conversations. It seems that in Aguileña there were no nerves before the great occasion that was presented the next day.

---

On the hotel bus trip to Tumbran National Stadium. Seriousness and silence dominate the atmosphere. It seems that the cloudy day accompanies the mood of the Dispertag National Team. Martín gets up from the seat and takes the microphone, all eyes are focused on him.

MGE: Let's see let's see, what the hell is wrong with you? Did your cat die last night?

Silence on the bus continues. Nobody answers the Míster's rhetorical questions.

MGE: And now what? Has the cat got your tongue? It can't be, this boredom and these long faces on the way to the game. You are going to go out to the field and with these spirits I do not know how you intend to score any goals. Impossible. So come on, cheer up those faces, we can't represent Dispertag like this, are those the faces you're going to show the fans upon arrival? Are you planning to celebrate the goals or are you going to stand still like dimwits? Come on, driver, give me the classic chants of Dispertagueños.

Bus Driver: Eeeh, sorry but I don't have that here, I can't put it on. This is a bus from Tumbra.

MGE: To hell with this!

TdAC: Aguileña, I want you all singing right now, I want to hear the feeling in your voices, this honor that we have to be here representing our country is reserved only for a few lucky ones, so let's go, everyone singing!

All in unison sing some of the usual songs of the dispertagués fans that are heard in the stands of the stadiums. The excitement takes over the players who sing more and more vigorously. Then the official Dispertag hymn begins to be sung, for which everyone gets up in their seats and puts their hands to their chests. Once they finish reciting it, applause is heard and Martín intervenes again.

MGE: This is what I fucking wanted to hear! That is how I like it, your looks are much better, and that is how I want you to play today, with enthusiasm, with motivation, giving everything of yourselves because it would be less of a shame. It is not only your duty to win today, but also your pride. Ala, to play.

---

Once in the locker room, the conversations are divided between the groups of positions on the field. Forwards with forwards, midfielders with midfielders and defenders with defenders. Martín, the coaching staff and the goalkeepers discuss at the entrance whether to keep the usual starting eleven or make a change that may surprise the opponent.

ATA: Míster, you should make some changes to start the game, I think it would serve to make way for more players who have not had their opportunity to play yet and it may also surprise Peko-land.

MGE: I don't know if it's a great idea. Think that if in this important game I put players who have not yet stepped on the pitch in the starting eleven, they could perform well below the others.

ATA: But it will be a great opportunity to surprise the opponent, nobody is expecting you to change the game mode now. In addition, there are players who require rest and other substitutes who have deserved to be in the starting eleven.

RdlPG: I agree with Alejandra Míster, I would put Arias Infante in Cruz Aranda's place and I would consider giving Mendoza Vivas and Castelló Rivera a chance.

ATA: They seem like good choices to me, if I may make a suggestion, in addition to the changes proposed by Ramón, I would consider putting Guillén Bolaños up front as a shock to Suárez in the second half. I would also start with Ayala Carrascosa instead of Buenaventura Tomillo who has not shown his best game and would give Cortés Quintana a rest, in this case for Cuéllar Fuentes.

MGE: I'm going to trust you two that for that, Ale, they pay you and you, Ramón, you know how your teammates work better than anyone. Anything else to add?

ATA and RdlPG: No.

---

Five minutes after the start of the second half, with a 1-2 favorable to Aguileña, Martín begins to consider the changes. For the moment, the strategy has worked well, but it is time to renew some players and revolutionize the game a bit.

MGE (to himself): I think Suárez is going to be the one to change, he has scored but Saldaña is doing a better game, and a 1-2 is not at all definitive, we have to ensure this result. Yes, I'm going to put Marco in for Jorge.

The referee gives a foul in favor of Peko-land that irritates Martín because it means a yellow for Mendoza Vivas and he does not exactly agree with the referee's decision. He makes a fuss that shows his obvious disagreement.

MGE: What are you saying !? He has done nothing to him, dreadful refereeing, there's no fucking foul!

MGE (to himself): This is heating up and I can't afford to risk someone being booked with a red and playing 10. I know what other changes I'm going to make. Luis in, Ignacio out and also Guillermo for Javier.

Martín approaches the assistant referee and announces the changes he wants. The marker lights: 1, 69; 32, 6; 5, 15. The game stopped at minute 60' and resumed after the changes were made.

---

The addition of 3 'arrives by the fourth official and the game is already ruling in favor of Dispertag. A magnificent 1-4 adorns the scoreboard of the stadium and the dispertagués and tumbran supporters celebrate, some euphoric for the result, the others for the great game they have witnessed. Martín for his part is happy (although he continues to signal, give orders and shout in the manager area) because the changes have produced results: Monrós Saldaña has scored a second goal with assistance from Ayala Carrascosa and Maldonado Fdez. has scored a goal with assistance from Guillén Bolaños. The players are trying to maintain possession as they already known themselves winners and Peko-land's team morale is low. The three final whistles sound and everyone (in the Dispertag side)cheerfully celebrates because this victory is vital for qualifying. Martín goes to shake hands with The Princess.

The Princess: Well played peko. Congratulations on the victory but don't celebrate so much that maybe we'll see each other again in the semi-finals or in the peko final.

MGE: Thank you Your Majesty. Don't worry, we'll be ready to deal with you, well played too and see you soon.

The Princess: See you soon peko.

Top Scorers(Pichichi):

1. Monrós Saldaña ⁵
2. Solís Suárez ²
3. Cruz Aranda¹
   Heredia Prieto¹
   Guillén Bolaños¹
   Maldonado Fernández¹

Top assistant Providers:

1. Cortés Quintana ²
   Arias Infante²
2. Zúñiga Echevarría¹
   de Andrade Cisneros¹
   Solís Suárez¹
   Ayala Carrascosa¹
   Guillén Bolaños¹

[Estorvipa and Estorpiva]

Kirill Fedorchuk and Victor Traianescu entered the massive conference hall in the middle of the Feuerstadt City Hall, where two men and one woman were seated on one side of a long table, while two places had been prepared on the opposite side, the one which Fedorchuk and Traianescu were now approaching. More men wearing a combination of military gear and civilian clothes were posted throughout the hall, providing security for the three people already seated. Two of the Pridnestrovian escorts followed Fedorchuk and Traianescu into the hall and then closed the doors behind them before they stood guard right in front of those doors.

The three people on the other side of the table immediately stood up upon Fedorchuk and Traianescu’s entrance. The three of them were the self-appointed leaders of the State of Estorpiva, the Imperial-supported rebel state in Estorian lands that was supposed to be the homeland of the Pivan people. Their leader was Denys Ihorovych, and while his name was more reminiscent of the Vipans to the west, he was born in Feuerstadt and thus considered himself culturally and emotionally Pivan. To Ihorovych’s right was Sara Basescu, an ethnic Pivan from the neighboring town of Durdenville. Basescu was the Minister of Domestic Affairs for the State of Estorpiva, which was in plain terms the head of government of their rebel state, while Ihorovych was the head of state. The man on Ihorovych’s left side, the one wearing a military field uniform, was General Luka Kovacs of the Pivan Protection Forces. He had originally been a colonel in the Estorvipan People’s Army before chaos had engulfed the Estorvipan nation, and once it had become clear that nobody was paying any attention to the Pivans during this crisis, Kovacs and other soldiers of Pivan ethnicity split off from Vissarion Zhivkov’s command and organized themselves into the Pivan Protection Forces. They took over the cities of Feuerstadt and Durdenville and then allied themselves with the civilian leadership of Denys Ihorovych and Sara Basescu to form what would become the State of Estorpiva.

Kirill Fedorchuk had no particular feeling for or against the leadership of the State of Estorpiva. He had met them once or twice before, back when Pridnestrovia was backing both the Federation of Estorvipa and the State of Estorpiva in the Estorian Civil War, to negotiate about the possible merger of the Federation and State into one united front against the Imperial puppets. The only real fault that he could find with them was that they had been so easily duped by the silver tongue of the Imperial Security Service’s agents, who promised that they would support the independence of a Pivan ethnostate in exchange for the State of Estorpiva allying itself with the Estorvipan Commune and turning its back on the Pridnestrovian invaders. But apart from that, Fedorchuk was neutral with regards to the leadership of the State of Estorpiva.

But Victor Traianescu was another matter altogether. He was one of the few high-ranking officials of the old State of Estorpiva who, in his own words, “saw through the lies of the Imperium” and thus could not allow the Piuvan people to fall under their perfidious influence. He was thus one of the few Pivans who chose to remain on the side of the Pridnestrovians while the majority of the State of Estorpiva chose to defect to the side of the Imperial puppet states. The fervor of his hatred against the Imperium also made him an easy choice for Prime Minister of the Republic of Estorpiva, the Pivan state created by Pridnestrovia to counter what was now the Imperium-backed State of Estorpiva. And it was clear on Traianescu’s face that he was enjoying every single moment of this meeting.

“Well, well, well, how the tables have turned,” Traianescu said with an almost sadistic grin as he took his seat across the table from the leaders of the State of Estorpiva. “So the very same people who have decided to turn their backs on the Pivan people by siding with the imperialists have finally come to their senses. Here you are, on your hands and knees, begging for mercy from the people you betrayed, and for what? A false sense of security? A sense of belonging? Did you really think that the Imperials cared about the Pivan people before you made that deal with the devil?”

“Victor, my friend, please calm down,” Denys Ihorovych said. “Yes, I will be the first to admit that we made many mistakes during the establishment of a free and independent nation-state for the Pivan people. The biggest one has to be trusting the Imperials with the safety, security, and sovereignty of our nation. I created the State of Estorpiva with one aim, and that is to show the world that there is finally a nation which the Pivan people could call their own. The Imperials said that they would hold us up in front of the whole world as a shining beacon of hope for the Pivan people, but as you can see, that never happened. Nobody outside of our country has even heard of the State of Estorpiva, and that’s not likely to change so long as the Imperials have kept themselves behind their borders. The Imperials said that all members of the Inselberg Pact would be treated equally, but as it turned out, the only member that the Imperium actually cared about was the Estorvipan Commune. Even as we speak, the Imperium continues sending supplies, aid, and manpower to the northerners while we here in the south continue to live in conditions no better than what we experienced under Vissarion Zhivkov’s tyranny. The other members of the Inselberg Pact are superfluous to the Imperium. We are only there so the Imperium can point to all of us and say that they have more allies in the region than Pridnestrovia. The Imperials could hardly care about us Pivans as long as their lap dogs in the north continue to have the barest semblance of a functioning government in that ugly city of theirs, surrounded by criminals and gangsters and all the other dregs of human society.”

“So that’s the reason why you want to surrender to me, Denys?” Traianescu asked. “You’re sick and tired of being forgotten about by the powers that be, so now, you’ve turned to me as your only hope of getting recognized?”

“Victor, please,” Sara Basescu said. “Every decision we have made was for the sake of the Pivan people. Denys has already admitted that he made a mistake trusting the Imperials instead of the Pridnestrovians. We have already told you that we are willing to do everything in order to secure a true and lasting peace for our people. And if that involves us surrendering the entirety of our territory to the Republic of Estorpiva and allowing ourselves to be arrested and brought to trial for treason against the Pivan people then so be it! All that we ask from you is to stop mocking us and rubbing it in our faces.”

“But how can I stop rubbing it in your faces when you were doing the same in the aftermath of the Pridnestrovian withdrawal from our country?” Traianescu asked back. “My friends in Tiraspol have told me that the only language that the Imperials understand is grandiosity and pomposity, and what else could be more grandiose and pompous than snatching one of their own puppets from right under their noses?” Traianescu snorted one more time and then he picked up the folder in front of him and began reading the peace treaty. "Oh, wow," he snorted as he read the treaty. "You really are desperate!"

"Come on now, Victor," Luka Kovacs said. "All of us here want nothing but to restore peace and order upon our land. The Pridnestrovians promised peace and order when they arrived, but the Imperials said that they could give it to us quicker, but now we all know the truth. The Imperials don't care about our stability so long as the Communards themselves are stable. But the Pridnestrovians… at least they appear to hold up their word once they've given it. Besides, what other choice do we really have? The Imperials have already let us down. Maybe this time, the socialists won't disappoint."

"And you wish to surrender yourselves to be tried for treason in a court of law as well?" Kirill Fedorchuk said, speaking for the first time in this conversation. "Do you really wish to put your lives in the hands of the Pridnestrovian justice system? Do you remember the last time someone was found guilty of treason in Pridnestrovia? They executed an entire family for it! Granted, it was because that family was spying on the Pridnestrovians on behalf of the ISS, but do you really want to risk your lives for this sense of justice that you want to achieve?"

"You didn't read the treaty, did you, Kirill?" Traianescu answered for his former compatriots. "My friends Denys, Sara, and Luka are willing to stand trial for treason, but only if it is before a court of ethnic Pivans. And to prevent any Imperial or Communard attempts to stop them serving their respective sentences, the trials will be held in Tiraspol to ensure that they will not escape or be broken out while they wait to stand trial."

"And you all agree to this?" Fedorchuk asked the Pivan leaders, who nodded their heads silently. "Once Victor and I sign on those dotted lines, you are all giving up your freedoms and privileges as part of your unilateral surrender to both the Republic of Estorpiva and the Federation of Estorvipa. You understand this, yes?"

"Please, sign it already," Ihorovych almost pleaded. "We only have a little time left!"

"What's the rush, Denys?" Traianescu asked. "You certainly took your sweet time reaching out to us, so why hurry your surrender now?"

"You don't understand, Victor!" Ihorovych said. "I don't know how they found out, but they found out anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Traianescu demanded.

"The Communards, they found out about our plans to surrender!" Basescu explained. "And now they're sending the Blue Skulls to Feuerstadt to deal with our treachery!"

             DOD RAVA 1 - 1 ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA             
POTRITSKIJ (82' o.g.)       PRASUTAGUSIC (19')

STARTING ELEVEN VS. MAGNECIA
GK: Vidanova; DF: Kessler——Birkov——Krasnenko——Krastenkovic; MF: Vinogradovsky——Potritskij; Roberto——Davydov——Roberta; FW: Lemish

[Guanacasteca]

Servicio Guanacasteco de Noticias

Discipline Rewards Guanacasteca Once Again

José Murillo, at Græntfjall for the 77^th Baptism of Fire.

Today’s report comes from the new KV Tower of Altendalur, a recent building that has been opened for the public in this part of the Bay of Blood of Græntfjall. Today has been another great day for the Guanacastecan National Football Team, as they managed to defeat Takeshwar with another high display of discipline from the pupils of Han Ruoyang. The Pigs accumulated their fourth clean sheet in the row, as they continue to stand as the only team that hasn’t received a goal in the Baptism of Fire so far, while also continuing to score in decisive moments.

Han decided to do some substitutions for this matchday, as he decided to give some rest to players that have played the first three matches. First movement was Rubén Tamacas instead of Dylan Orellana in the left side of the defense, also Rodrigo Marín rested while James Campbell played for him this time, the rest of the team remained the same as the prior matches. With some intensity, Guanacasteca went ahead with their playing lines in order to control the rival, the team kept the ball between defensive lines in order to prepare themselves to launch an attack. The idea was to invite the Takeshwari players to press and then, a Guanacastecan would seek to pass backwards and send a cross to the forwards.

The manager saw how the rival was eating the bait but the crosses didn’t have the desired effect for the forwards, as Campbell and Calderón weren’t performing those with enough precision. At the 26th minute, Ricardo Linton received a ball from Tamacas, the midfielder received pressure but passed the ball to David Monterroza, the captain crossed the ball right to Kenneth Ingram, the striker received and dribbled some defenders. His duty was well rewarded as he earned a chance to cross the ball to Sean Fuller, the right striker did a diving header and scored past the goal of Takeshwar, celebration ensued for The Pigs as they prayed and then regrouped in their half for the upcoming actions.

Takeshwar, since then, tried to attack more on the wings of Guanacasteca, Tamacas was accurate with some sweeping tackles while Alfonso Rosas didn’t have the best of the matches, as he tumbled down trying to stop a Takeshwari player. Fortunately, David Monterroza was there and stopped the player with a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge, he cleared the risk and passed the ball to Israel Góndola, then the team moved to possession mode once again. The remainder of the first half saw some approaches from The Pigs against the rival goal, Ingram kicked a mid-range shot but wasn’t able to give enough direction to goal.

For the second half, Han didn’t perform any substitution, as the team was performing as expected from him. Tactical discipline was being, once again, a key factor for the Guanacastecan victory of that moment, hence he focused on mentioning the players “let’s keep this as we are doing it, team work, discipline and keeping up good tempo. We shall control the conditions of this match, not our rivals.” With said mindset, the Guanacastecan side went to the pitch and tried to control the ball for the next 45 minutes, something that turned to be quite difficult as the Takeshwari team successfully pressed the Guanacastecan side. David Monterroza acted as a defensive midfielder, clearing some of that pressure and protecting Ricardo Linton when the latter tried to pass the ball forward.

The Pigs, with the extra effort of Monterroza, were able to retain control after the 65th minute mark of the match. Guanacasteca went with the ball backwards and upwards, trying to desperate the rival team with his quite slowed-tempo game style, it proved useful as two rivals were yellow-carded due to harsh tackling against Tamacas and Góndola. With a threatening possibility of suffering expulsions, the rival slowed up his physical strength in order to be careful and avoid any chance of that happening. The match was close to its end, Græntfjallers were somewhat whistling against the Guanacastecan team due to their defensive mindset, but the players cared little to nothing and continued to perform the game that has provided them some fruits as of now. The referee whistled and the match ended with another clean sheet and victory for Guanacasteca, who’s close to Ardengard in the contention for first place, although, The Pigs have one match pending compared to their rivals.

Han Ruoyang was satisfied with the performance of his team, as he said “We are performing as we want. We don’t want something spectacular; we only want something effective and we are doing it, the numbers speak by themselves.” As he got a somewhat challenging question from a Græntfjaller journalist about getting booed by their defensive performance, Han replied “Somebody should always do the dirty job, well, we are those ones.” While sipping some water, something that was applauded and praised by Guanacastecan fans and media, as they are witnessing how a game identity is being built by this manager, from words to action, with a high sense of coherence and professionalism.

Guanacasteca has two games left, and the players eye the first position in order to prepare their path for the upcoming knockout rounds, where concentration and good performances will be important, as well the placing obtained during the group stage.

[Metherwoll]

’Afore The Fitba

Before the match against the Finntopian Empire, Tam felt the need to send a message to his captain and vice-captain, SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO (alternatively known as “Seebs” or “The Seebster”). His side hadn’t scored any goals as of yet, and considering his only goalscorer was an angry nutcase who spoke fluent Slovak and about 6 words of Metherwollish, he wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.

”Here, Seebster.”

“Me Seebs.”

”Fuckin’ get intae them, Seebs. Shout at them. Scream at them. Kick the living daylights oot ae them. This game is yours tae control - so get oot there and score some goals.”

“SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO score goal. SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO kick.”

“Aye, aye. SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO kick indeed.”

And thus, SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO strolled onto the pitch ready to scream at everyone there, and ready to score some goals. It is his job, after all.

The Fitba

Within about 3 minutes, SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO was already on his first caution when he tried to scare a Finntopian player away from the ball by shouting and screaming at them, and then proceeding to miss the ball and boot them in the leg. The Seebster narrowly avoided a yellow by proceeding to intimidate the referee, who quickly put the card back in his pocket. It would only take another minute for Seebs to score, as he took the ball from a Finntopian defender and blootered it towards the goal. The keeper failed to catch it, and could only stand in pure fear as the ball flew into the net and SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO ran straight towards him - flailing his arms around like a mad man - to celebrate.

”SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO SCORE GOAL! GOAL SCORE! GOAL!”

Metherwoll fans were delighted to see him finally bag his first goal on the international stage, and were even more delighted when he scored his next goal five minutes later.

“And SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO slots it home to make it 2-0 to Metherwoll! All five of Metherwoll’s travelling fans are absolutely ecstatic, their star man has done it again!”

His celebration was much less reserved on this occasion, as he ran straight towards the goalkeeper once more and berated him in fluent Slovak, before proceeding to berate the referee once he was given a yellow. This did not go down well, and he was hence sent off. Amazingly, he understood this, and went off the pitch calmly, albeit with a grin on his face. The fans didn’t care, however, and their cries of “SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO, SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO” were drowned out by the much larger Finntopian contingent as he walked off the pitch.

After The Fitba

The dressing room was filled with celebrations, after the team had finally achieved their first real victory over a team that wasn’t just Wee Jamie.

Seebs: ”SOM NAJLEPŠÍ SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO, AKÉHO SVET KEDY VIDEL!”

Ness #1: “Fuck’s he saying?”

Ness #2: “Not a clue, mate. Just roll with it, he seems happy.”

Seebs: “DÁM ZA VÁS DALŠIE GÓLY, JA SOM STRELEC GÓLOV, TO SOM JA!”

Ness #3: “Does he no speak like us?”

Ness #2: “Naw. Did ye no know this?”

Ness #3: “I just thought he was aff his face on something, y’know?”

Ness #2: “He’s just a nutter, no a junkie.”

Ness #3: “Fairs.”

Qualification was more or less out of the question, but Tam wanted to send the squad off on a high in these final few games. They’d already done him proud by actually winning something, but he felt like the boys could do something more. Could they really pull off a better result than they just had?


…realistically, absolutely not.

[Tumbra]

MD6 Cutoff - Groups C & D

Here it is, then — one team from each group will finish their six matches today. Will they manage to hold on come the last countdown?

Group C
The Karodin Tetrachy 4–2 Surgeius
Dispertag 0–2 Kingdom of Voidstania
Allahai 1–2 Pekoland

. Group C                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pekoland                   6   5  0  1   14   8  +6   15 Q
2 Dispertag                  5   3  1  1   11   5  +6   10
3 The Karodin Tetrachy       5   3  0  2   10   9  +1    9
4 Kingdom of Voidstania      5   3  0  2    9   8  +1    9
5 Surgeius                   5   2  0  3    8  13  −5    6 E
6 Winnebogan                 5   0  2  3    7  10  −3    2 E
7 Allahai                    5   0  1  4    5  11  −6    1 E

Group D
Jeeves Land 0–0 Soldera
Aerodon 0–4 The Cordian Isles
Acceptably Normal 0–2 StrayaRoos

. Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Cordian Isles          5   4  1  0   14   4 +10   13 Q
2 Soldera                    5   3  1  1    7   4  +3   10 Q
3 Aerodon                    5   3  1  1    8   8   0   10 EX
4 StrayaRoos                 6   3  0  3   14  13  +1    9 E
5 Jeeves Land                5   0  3  2    0   4  −4    3 E
6 Texkentuck                 5   1  0  4    7  12  −5    3 E
7 Acceptably Normal          5   1  0  4    2   7  −5    3 E

[Graintfjall]

RP cutoff for MD6 (Groups A&B)

News

Háttmark

• Míla Robertsdóttir, a minor Græntfjaller royal, has endorsed the Progressive Liberals, breaking the royal family's usual policy of neutrality. She spoke at a large (~10,000) public gathering in support of the mayor.
• University administrative and technical staff are on strike over pay conditions. Though they can be seen picketing university buildings, disruption to transport for visiting teams and fans is not anticipated.
  Altendalur
• The Altendalur Pride festival is happening this weekend. Streets will be closed as a carnival atmosphere descends on the usually fairly drag and colorless port city.
• Controversial right-wing comedian Hárlaugur Ástgeirsson has bemoaned being "cancelled" on the first of seven sell-out gigs in the city.

Weather: Still, heavy mist, snow in the air but not settling.

Group A
Estorvipa and Estorpiva 3–0 Magnecia
Kingdom of Atlantia 3–4 Dod Rava
New Jehova 2–2 The Republic of Western Sol

  Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Estorvipa and Estorpiva          5   4  1  0   11   2  +9   13
2 United Adaikes                   5   3  2  0    9   5  +4   11
3 Magnecia                         5   2  2  1    7   7   0    8
4 New Jehova                       5   1  3  1    5   5   0    6
5 The Republic of Western Sol      6   1  2  3   10  16  −6    5
6 Dod Rava                         5   1  1  3    9  11  −2    4
7 Kingdom of Atlantia              5   0  1  4    8  13  −5    1

Group B
Rhubarbton 0–4 República Guanacasteca
The Finntopian Empire 0–5 Taksylvania
Metherwoll 4–0 Ardengard

  Group B                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 República Guanacasteca           5   4  1  0    8   0  +8   13
2 Ardengard                        6   3  2  1   10   8  +2   11
3 Taksylvania                      5   3  0  2   10   6  +4    9
4 Metherwoll                       5   2  2  1    6   1  +5    8
5 The Finntopian Empire            5   0  3  2    4  11  −7    3
6 Takeshwar                        5   0  2  3    4   9  −5    2
7 Rhubarbton                       5   0  2  3    1   8  −7    2

[Soldera]

The final two matches of the group stage weren't exactly going to plan for Solderan national football team manager Norm Carricker.

Oh, don't get us wrong. When he found out the Snakes would be through to the quarterfinals because Aerodon were disqualified, he was pleased. He would be able to use the final two matches as a way to iron out a few kinks in his team. He would be able to possibly use the final match as an opportunity for his depth players to start, and play significant minutes before the knockout rounds precluded any changes that didn't occur because of injury or penalty. It was when he found out about the disqualification that would mean the final match against Aerodon was meaningless. They'd still have to play the match, but instead of their playoff lives potentially resting in the balance, it would serve as a mere tune-up for the knockout rounds.

"You mean there's no explanation for the disqualification?" Carricker was seen asking his boss. "Just ... they're disqualified and we're through no matter what?"

"Correct," the team's technical director said. "They're out. You're in."

Carricker was seen after the Snakes played to a goalless draw against Jeeves Land in the team's penultimate group stage match shaking his head and telling assistant manager and older brother Larry Carricker "I regret telling them."

"We didn't give enough effort out there," Larry Carricker said, agreeing with his little brother. It seemed unusual as Larry Carricker and Norm would always be wrestling each other and arguing over who had Mom's favor and who had Dad's. In later years, they'd acknowledge that Larry was Dad's favorite and Norm was their mother's. In the years since, they had a few other disagreements, but not when it came to football, and not when it came to Norm reading the psyche of his team. He knew his team took their proverbial foot off the gas against Jeeves Land. The Snakes didn't demonstrate any sense of urgency when a single goal would have kept them one point behind a Cordia side that already embarrassed Aerodon 4-0 in their match. Now that the Snakes dropped two points of a possible three, they no longer had any shot of winning Group D and avoiding Pekoland in the quarterfinals.

So how did Norm Carricker plan to deal with the match against Aerodon since the Snakes would go through and Aerodon would not?

"Nestor's getting the start in that one. We'll go back to George for the Pekoland match," he said. Of the three defensive starters, only Chuck Ingram would start the match for the finale against Aerodon. The other three would be available as substitutes. In the midfield, both Jonah Clarke and captain Joey Westway would be on the substitutes' bench with Greg Irvine assuming the captain's armband. Both Don Bynar and Lisa Allyson would start up top, so that left only three of Soldera's usual starting 11 in the lineup for Aerodon.

"It's a long qualification schedule," Norm Carricker said of his decision to start the depth players. "After the Baptism of Fire Cup, we've got World Cup qualifying, so that's going to be a long grind. We need to make sure we keep our players sharp."

As for the match up against Pekoland, Norm Carricker announced that assistant manager Bert Lundquist would miss the Aerodon match to scout Pekoland and help draw up Soldera's tactics for that contest.

"We're almost in better position than Cordia are because they don't know which of the three teams still fighting for knockout round position they'll be facing." To wit: Dispertag are currently in second position with a 3-1-1 record, the same as Soldera's, but The Karodin Tetrachy and the Kingdom of Voidstania are all one point behind and each team have one final match to make their push. Dispertag will face a Surgeius side that was already eliminated from knockout round contention with a 2-0-3 record. Karodin will face already eliminated Winnebogan, who are 0-2-3. Meanwhile, Voidstania will face bottom of table Allahai who are 0-1-4. Cordia's opponents will come from one of the teams playing an already-eliminated foe. Pekoland will have their bye to close out qualifying, so they'll potentially have a preparation advantage since they know they'll be facing Soldera in the quarterfinals. However, Norm Carricker expressed confidence in his team.

"We know they're good, but we can play this game a little bit, too," he said. "We'll be ready for them."

[StrayaRoos]

MD6-Nantwich
StrayaRoos 2 (Cahill 19,90 +1)
acceptably normal 0
HT 1-0 Att.
StrayaRoos-Yesak-Forsberg,Jedinak,Poalian,Okuna
Yuail,Hazard,Guala (Bale 58 ),Fitzsimmons
Kewell,Cahill
Acceptably Normal-Unknown

[The Cordian Isles]

Soren Larsen: Soren Larsen here. Tonight I'll be interviewing football player Hannah Andersen. For those who don't know, Andersen is a starting midfielder on our national team and has caused a bit of controversy of late with her decision to leave the CIFA's Thor's Rest Storm, transferring away from the Isles in doing so. She'll be joining us from Tumbra, where she is participating in the Baptism of Fire and looking to bring home Cordia's first WCC championship. Hannah, welcome to the show.

Hannah Andersen: Thanks, it's good to be here.

SL: I'm sure the nation will want to hear what you have to say. First off, congratulations on clinching a quarterfinals spot in the Baptism of Fire!

HA: Thanks! We've worked pretty hard for this and it's good to see things come to fruition.

SL: I'm sure it is. How have you been handling playing for the national team? Is it stressful?

HA: *laughs* very much so, I never get used to the feeling of representing Cordia on the international stage, which is great because it's an awesome feeling. It does come with some stress, but that's par for the course when we're talking professional sports.

SL: How's this for stress: you scored a game-winning goal in the final ten minutes against Soldera. How did that feel, and do you think you sent a message to your doubters with that?

HA: Of course I sent a message with that goal, and I'm sure we'll get more into that later. In terms of the feeling... representing is one thing. Performing is very much another, and against Soldera I performed and it felt freaking amazing. To be a critical part of a big match like that is amazing.

SL: We very much enjoyed watching you succeed. Let's dig a bit deeper here, what do you want people to know about the recent events between you and Thor's Rest?

HA: The Thor's Rest Storm is an organization that needs to protect its reputation. It is understandable to me why they would try to spin the narrative in their direction, but they're pretty biased-

SL: Sorry to interrupt, but how have they been biased?

HA: No problem. Their bias lies in the fact that they have a reputation to protect. They might have offered me what might have seemed like a fair contract to them, but if you look at what I did for them last season and compare it to what they offered, it's a very small increase, barely worth talking about. And I'm not going to take that. I'm just not, and they wouldn't budge, so that's why I'm leaving the team. Then you see them talking about how they offered a fair contract, posting about it, talking about it. It's just not true.

SL: On the subject of the transfer, where do you think you might go?

HA: We'll see when the transfer window opens, as until then I won't receive offers unless something exceptional comes up. I'd prefer to go to a competitive league inside AO, but I could accept going most anywhere if there was a good offer.

SL: The talk online has shifted more toward the positive recently. How do you think playing for the national team has helped others' opinions of you?

HA: I mean, score a goal like that in a game like the Soldera match, for a team that matters more than anything in the CIFA... yeah, it'll be tough for anybody to keep despising me after that, I hope. Actions speak louder than words, so rather than firing back I've been focusing on playing better and it paid off on the scoreboard, which is all that really matters.

SL: A very good strategy for anyone to follow, in sports and in life. Hannah, before I let you go, how are you feeling about the quarterfinals?

HA: Too early! We can't get ahead of ourselves yet. Acceptably Normal is a perfect sleeper match, and we can't get ahead of ourselves with thoughts of the quarterfinals if we want to go into them with momentum. Acceptably Normal could easily kill that and put us on our heels going into the knockouts, and we can't have that happen if you look at the teams we could end up playing.

SL: Thank you for setting me straight and for your time. I know you need to get some sleep, so I'll let you go now, and good luck tomorrow.

HA: Thanks for letting me on the show!

[Estorvipa and Estorpiva]

(OOC: Something a little bit different because WGPC has drained me.)

From the diary of Marek Lemish

That game against Dod Rava was just terrible. It was terrible because we didn’t win against them, and it was terrible because we lost our best striker due to an injury caused by them. Yep, Fabian Prasutagusic is out, injured for the rest of the Baptism of Fire. And now the burden is on me to continue scoring goals for the team. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.

You would have to be actually made of iron if you don’t even wince a little at how that Dod Rava bastard chopped off Fabian at the knees. You could hear from Fabian’s screaming that this was actually serious, and that he wasn’t just rolling on the ground to draw a foul or a card on the defender. Good thing the referee saw reason and showed the red card to that bastard of a defender, but because of his injury, Fabian couldn’t continue playing.

It was supposed to be my time to shine. It was supposed to be my time to show that I could take up the slack from Fabian when needed, and that the team can win the Baptism of Fire without relying solely on him. But these Dod Rava fuckers… they were tough. They couldn’t get past our defense so they took out their frustrations on us, the players. In fact, it took them an own goal from Serafina Potritskij to actually put a goal to their name. That’s how awful they were as a threat to our goal.

I almost came close to suffering the same injury that Fabian did. Only luck saved me from tearing a ligament in my knee or ankle. But those Dod Rava bastards are really dirty. The moment that we don’t have to play them anymore can’t come soon enough.

~ Entry dated 16 January 2022

---

After all that trouble against Dod Rava, it seemed like we were now overqualified to play against Magnecia. Playing against some very dirty bastards has taught us a few tricks, and it looked like we really put that knowledge to good use against Magnecia.

I finally scored my first goal for the Federal Republic. And then some time later, I scored my second goal for the country. Maybe [Branislav] Vinogradovsky was right to trust me to be Fabian’s replacement after all. And Holdie Krastenkovic got a goal as well, so that’s nice.

What was not nice though was both Serafina [Potritskij] and Stan Vinogradovsky getting yellow carded in this game. It means that they can’t play the next game, and that we’ll have to get an entirely new midfield up and ready with only days to go before the next game. It sucks, but the referee got wise to our ways and showed those yellows as a warning to not take it any further. Which means that we’re still not as dirty as Dod Rava, which is a good thing because we never wanted to be the team playing dirty in the first place. But they forced us to do it, and now we’ve lost our midfield because of those bastards.

One more game left, against United Adaikes. Before, when we were set to face Magnecia, I was absolutely nervous. Now the nerves are gone. I know what I’m capable of doing, and that’s the only thing I need to know.

~ Entry dated 20 January 2022

 ESTORVIPA AND ESTORPIVA 3 - 0 MAGNECIA 
       LEMISH (14', 38')
      KRASTENKOVIC (22')

STARTING ELEVEN VS. UNITED ADAIKES
GK: Enin; DF: Kessler——Birkov——Krasnenko——Krastenkovic; MF: Atanackovic——Rodin; Roberto——Davydov——Roberta; FW: Lemish

[United Adaikes]

With a bye on the previous matchday, United Adaikes men's national football team coach Dylan Burke focused on defense and set plays during training and final preparation for their last match in the group stage, which will be against the Estorvipa and Estorpiva, who are currently leading the group. The Panthers should also want Magnecia, another rising contender in their group, to either lose or only draw against the Kingdom of Atlantia. The latter is already eliminated in contention to proceed to the quarterfinals. If Magnecia wins, the Panthers need to get a draw with the leading team in their group to ensure qualification in the next round. The Adaikesians are currently 3-2-0 in their win-draw-loss record.

Coach Burke will be looking to increase 24-year-old forward Collin Maddox's goals in the tournament, leading the team with 3, to score against their opponents in the next matchday. In every win of the Panthers, Maddox always gets a goal in.

The 26-year-old defender Van Burgess, who plays for Gasple Dynamic in the Adaikes Premier Football League, is tied with midfielder Billy Jordan, the team captain, with the most tackles won, at 12. Burgess also leads the defenders with 12 interceptions.

The Adaikesian midfielders have also proven that when they dictate their matches' pace. 34-year-old Cody Harrison leads the team with 18 crosses. The Panthers midfield also have 39 tackles won and 41 interceptions.

The Adaikesian goalkeeper Dexter Marsh has only allowed five goals compared to 15 shots on target against. It is also essential to know that all of the Panthers' draws ended with no goals scored.

United Adaikes player stats after Matchday 5:

Pos	Name			Min	Goals	Assist	PK	PKA	Sh	SoT	CrdY	CrdR	Fls	Fld	Off	Crs	TklW	Int	OG
GK	Dexter Marsh		450							1			1					
DF	Aidan Fisher		410							1		1	3		9	11	8	
DF	Peter Knight		450									3	2			4	8	
DF	Benson Schroeder	450		1			2		1		5	2			2	6	
DF	Van Burgess		450	1	1			3	1				3		17	12	12	
MF	Aaron Duncan		450	2		1	1	6	2	1		8	4		16	10	8	
MF	Billy Jordan		442		3			2				5	5		10	12	13	
MF	Cameron Ross		422	1				5	3	2		7	5	2	11	7	8	
MF	Cody Harrison		439	1				8	1	1		3	5	1	18	9	10	
FW	Kolton Dale		450	1	1			10	1	1		11	4	2	15	2	5	
FW	Collin Maddox		346	3				10	4	2		9	5	2	3	2		
FW	Derick Parsons		104					3	2			5	3	2		1		
DF	Solomon Cobb		40										1		2			
MF	Vincenzo Sweeney	38					3		1		2	1			1	2	
MF	Eliot Fisher		9														1

*Blank slot for the player means 0 in that statistic

Goalkeeping Stats	Min	SoTA	GA	Saves	Sav%
Dexter Marsh		450	15	5	10	67%

[Dispertag]

The Referee's Bulletin
Your source for dispertagués football latest news

The Aguileña gets distracted and loses its winning beat at the hands of Kingdom of Voidstania 20th December 2021

---

Nobody in Dispertag could believe it, after achieving the feat of the championship that meant the win against Peko-land, once leader of the group and currently already classified in that position, by a crushing 1-4 in addition, the players of the National Team were inexplicably defeated in the penultimate round facing a magnificent and flawless Kingdom of Voidstania. A 0-2 that has been the amazement for the most and the reason of criticism for the latter: there are those who did not understand that after four undefeated games (three wins and a draw) Dispertag could collapse at this point, especially having the classification to quarterfinals almost guaranteed, final already on track, with everything in order to achieve and materialize a dream, the qualification. However, both life and reality are capricious, and it has been the luck of the latter two and the good work of Kingdom of Voidstania that have sentenced the immediate future of Dispertag and have retained it in the second position, from where the classification options have become less visible, lost in the distance of an illusion shattered by an excessive confidence, which was and has been uncontrollable and fatal, and an adversary at first sight incapable of damaging the impregnable walls of La Aguileña which have however irrevocably collapsed.

Dispertagués footballers were overwhelmed in the first half by an unparalleled defense of the opponent that allowed them to achieve a clean sheet. The forward formed by Zúñiga Echevarría and Monrós Saldaña could do nothing to make up for the two goals that, on the other hand, did manage to score the lead of Kingdom of Voidstania, both in the first half. The first of them, in minute 22 ', happened because of a pass from Buenaventura Tomillo that did not reach its destination due to the interception of the rival, who had a golden opportunity to mount a counterattack from the middle of the dispertagués field and took it. They caught the dispertagués rear off guard because our players were not expecting the failure in the pass, in such a way that the strategy was very easy for the forwards Carlos Cortez and Gilberto Wise who, after a pass from the first to the second to stay alone before the goalkeeper, only pursued by a defender at a relatively far distance, shot and saw the ball hit the back of the net. The second came not long after, in the 29th minute. The National Team had barely recovered from the hard blow of the first goal that opened the scoring in favor of the opponent who, seven minutes away from the first, scored the second by Cortez on this occasion. Disbelief had spread among the men in the dispertagués group.

Needless to say, despite having had a break between the first and second half, nothing was enough to restore the morale of La Aguileña, who thus saw its dream of qualifying truncated. This does not mean, however, that we are not yet within reach. There is one match to play against Surgeius, and victory in that game is decisive. If it does not occur, it could mean the elimination of the amarizul Team (whose jersey is yellow and blue). We put our trust in our team for this final, which is due to play this afternoon, and we wish them all the luck in the world. Thanks for joining us as always. Long live the Aguileña and long live Dispertag!

[Kingdom of Voidstania]

The night sky shines on a pub in tundra, but the moonlight is ignored by the bright lights from within. Inside enjoying a drink is the Voidstanian National Team, celebrating their latest victory. Once again, Sutton and Mcbride chat, over a drink.

"So Mcbride, some game huh? After our loss against Karodin I thought we were eliminated! If we can score enough goals, we might be able to make it!"

"Sutton, not to be a pessimist, but I would doubt it."

"I know the chances of Diperstag losing or us scoring enough goals is low, but today, lets try to be happy."

"Fine then. A toast, to Voidstania!

"To Voidstania!"

As the toast finished Mcbride looked around. After the loss against Peko-Land, Voidstanian hope had been low, however now the team looked at ease. The victory against Diperstag was decisive and was the make or break for the team, and they did not break. And even if the chances of victory were slim, the Voidstanians would fight for every to achieve it.

[Guanacasteca]

Servicio Guanacasteco de Noticias

The Pigs and a Graceful Evening

José Murillo, at Græntfjall for the 77^th Baptism of Fire.

The fifth matchday of the Baptism of Fire will be, for sure, a special one in the minds of the Guanacastecan National Team and its fans. The Pigs did one of their best performances in their short-lived history agaist Rhubarbton at the Fjistjing Arena of Altendalur, a city that continues to suffer some heavy mist and some particles of snow in the air.

For this match, Han Ruoyang has decided to do considerable changes to his tactical scheme, as he decided to switch his 5-2-1-2 to a 4-4-2, sacrificing Alfonso Rosas and adding Luis Leverón to the midfield in order to gain some strength while attacking. Despite that, the intentions of Han were clear and he didn’t give up in his major goal of a high-quality defending line lead by David Monterroza and Dylan Orellana. On forward lines, things remained equal with Kenneth Ingram and Sean Fuller as the attacking references of The Pigs.

The match started with The Pigs showing some moments of struggle to adapt to the somewhat more attacking ideal of manager Han, as the Rhubarbtians gained control of the midfield, forcing David Monterroza to be fully concentrated trying to stop the incursions of his rivals to the area. Sergio González had to act at the 8th minute with a strong kick by a rival player, a ball that crossed the area and found a player who kicked it right into González chest, he was helped by Israel Góndola, the defender kicked the ball far away while Han was reprimanding the defenders for such situation.

As the time passed, the Guanacastecans were able to settle themselves better in the match; concentration in the midfield improved and ball control did too. The team was leading some counterattack ideas that started from Leverón, the midfielder passed the ball efficiently to Rodrigo Marín and then to Sean Fuller. The first real Guanacastecan chance was at the 28th minute, where Fuller was able to get into the area, dribbled and passed the ball to Ingram, his partner wasn’t able to contact the ball properly and sent it to the stands of the Fjistjing Arena.

The Græntfjallers were expecting another close-margin match and the actions were proving them right until that moment, since Rhubarbton wasn’t being close to create another situation like the one they had at the 8th minute of match, while Guanacasteca was missing some clear chances. Despite that, at the 39th minute, Orellana transitioned with a pass right to Calderón, the winger took advantage of a gap in that side and crossed near the area, Ingram didn’t nod the ball properly but left a rebound for Fuller, the striker kicked the ball between the legs of the Rhubarbtian keeper and scored the first goal for The Pigs in the match.

The team continued to press more and more before the end of the first half; right before the end, a discrete Ricardo Linton decided to get into action with a large cross to Kenneth Ingram, the striker took advantage of his height and got the ball down to the grass, turned over his own axis and shot to goal. The goalkeeper wasn’t able to save the shot and Guanacasteca had a somewhat comfortable two-goal lead for the break.

The team didn’t perform any substitutions for the second half, Han insisted to keep pressing the rivals as they were leaving several gaps in the midfield and weren’t able to return in time when a Guanacastecan was close to make contact with the ball. The second half also provided the same kind of football that The Pigs were doing during the last minutes of the first half, they continued to control the actions and tempo of the match with precision passing. For the 55th minute, Ricardo Linton launched, once again, his branded cross to Kenneth Ingram, the striker passed the ball with a nod to Sean Fuller, our striker was in position to dribble the goalkeeper and didn’t doubted to do so, getting with the ball in his feet into the net to score the third goal.

Han insisted on the team to keep pressing and being humble, as there wasn’t any reason to underestimate them. As he later said in press conference “We must be responsible of playing at our best and not providing leeway to our rivals for their goalscoring intentions. No matter if we’re up 3-0 or 0-0, it’s the same scenario for us.” The Pigs continued pressing in order to fulfill the needs of their manager, the scenario provided more ball control to the Guanacastecans as their rivals were diminished by then, unable to provide a response. At the 85th minute, Rodrigo Marín passed the ball to Sean Fuller and the striker decided to shot from mid-range, getting a solid kick right into the lower left side of the Rhubarbtian goal, hence scoring his hat-trick and the fourth goal overall for The Pigs.

With this victory, Guanacasteca has guaranteed a spot for the knockout round and also the first position in their group. Despite that, Han Ruoyang insists “We must not quit our foot from the accelerator, we need to push more and more as we get close to the decisive instances of the tournament.”

[Metherwoll]

(SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO’s red card was rescinded following a strongly worded appeal in Slovak from the man himself)

Following their half decent result over The Finntopian Empire, Metherwoll were back in action against Ardengard, a team flying high in the group. A result wasn’t really expected to come from the lads, but Tam simply told them to get out there and pull something out of the bag.

And they fuckin’ did it.

The Seebster was on form as he hit four past the opposition, bagging himself his first career hattrick. It looked like shooting practice against Wee Jamie was finally paying off for the big man.

Metherwoll - 4
SEEEEEEEEEEEBOOOOOOOO (13’, 42’, 69’, 81’)

Ardengard - 0
naebdy (haw haw, class)

[Tumbra]

MD7 Cutoff - Groups C & D

Who will move on to the quarter-finals? Who will go home early? It's time to find out.

Group C
Kingdom of Voidstania 5–2 Allahai
Surgeius 2–5 Dispertag
Winnebogan 2–2 The Karodin Tetrachy

Group C                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Pekoland                   6   5  0  1   14   8  +6   15 Q
2 Dispertag                  6   4  1  1   16   7  +9   13 Q
3 Kingdom of Voidstania      6   4  0  2   14  10  +4   12 E
4 The Karodin Tetrachy       6   3  1  2   12  11  +1   10 E
5 Surgeius                   6   2  0  4   10  18  −8    6 E
6 Winnebogan                 6   0  3  3    9  12  −3    3 E
7 Allahai                    6   0  1  5    7  16  −9    1 E

Group D
The Cordian Isles 1–0 Acceptably Normal
Soldera 2–0 Aerodon
Texkentuck 0–1 Jeeves Land

Group D                    Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Cordian Isles          6   5  1  0   15   4 +11   16 Q
2 Soldera                    6   4  1  1    9   4  +5   13 Q
3 Aerodon                    6   3  1  2    8  10  −2   10 E
4 StrayaRoos                 6   3  0  3   14  13  +1    9 E
5 Jeeves Land                6   1  3  2    1   4  −3    6 E
6 Texkentuck                 6   1  0  5    7  13  −6    3 E
7 Acceptably Normal          6   1  0  5    2   8  −6    3 E

Quarter-Final Fixtures

Pekoland vs Soldera @ Couno Port Stadium, Couno

The Cordian Isles vs Dispertag @ Nantwich Stadium, Finnley

[Graintfjall]

RP cutoff for MD7 (Groups A&B)

Weather: Light breeze, rolling mist, light sleet.

Group A
Dod Rava 0–1 New Jehova
Magnecia 1–0 Kingdom of Atlantia
United Adaikes 0–1 Estorvipa and Estorpiva

  Group A                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Estorvipa and Estorpiva          6   5  1  0   12   2 +10   16
2 United Adaikes                   6   3  2  1    9   6  +3   11
3 Magnecia                         6   3  2  1    8   7  +1   11
4 New Jehova                       6   2  3  1    6   5  +1    9
5 The Republic of Western Sol      6   1  2  3   10  16  −6    5
6 Dod Rava                         6   1  1  4    9  12  −3    4
7 Kingdom of Atlantia              6   0  1  5    8  14  −6    1

Group B
Taksylvania 0–1 Metherwoll
República Guanacasteca 1–0 The Finntopian Empire
Takeshwar 1–1 Rhubarbton

  Group B                        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 República Guanacasteca           6   5  1  0    9   0  +9   16
2 Metherwoll                       6   3  2  1    7   1  +6   11
3 Ardengard                        6   3  2  1   10   8  +2   11
4 Taksylvania                      6   3  0  3   10   7  +3    9
5 Takeshwar                        6   0  3  3    5  10  −5    3
6 Rhubarbton                       6   0  3  3    2   9  −7    3
7 The Finntopian Empire            6   0  3  3    4  12  −8    3

Quarterfinals

Estorvipa and Estorpiva v Metherwoll
@ GT Estadio Fútbol De Musarañas De Oro, Háttmark

República Guanacasteca v United Adaikes
@ Fjistjing Stadion, Hintersfjörður

[Soldera]

It may have been a foregone conclusion that Soldera would advance to the quarterfinals in the Baptism of Fire Cup, marking the first time a football team representing the Kingdom would qualify for the knockout rounds of a competition, as the team they were level with in the Group D tables, Aerodon, had been disqualified by event organisers for a reason still unclear to Solderan national team manager Norm Carricker.

That didn't mean the Snakes weren't expected to give their all. Carricker rode his charges hard for what he described as a lackluster effort in the team's goalless draw against Jeeves Land that guaranteed the Snakes would be runners up in Group D, and would have to face undefeated Pekoland in the quarterfinals. Even with an overwhelming majority of the team's normal starting 11 on the substitute's bench for the now meaningless affair between Soldera and Aerodon, Carricker got exactly what he wanted in a workmanlike 2-0 victory that allowed the Snakes to finish with a 4-1-1 record.

Even with assistant manager Bert Lundquist scouting Pekoland instead of sitting on the sidelines with Norm and Larry Carricker, the Snakes didn't miss a beat. Norm Carricker would convene his charges after both substitute forwards Lisa Allyson and Don Bynar scored goals in the 18th and 48th minutes, respectively. The Snakes would return to their usual starting 11 against a Pekoland squad that only had one blemish, a 4-1 blowout defeat at the hands of second place Dispertag, who earned the second spot with a 5-2 victory ovder Surgeius while both Voidstania and The Karodin Tetrachy were eliminated despite the former's 5-2 victory over Allahai and the latter's 2-2 draw with Winnebogan. Dispertag will face Group D champions The Cordian Isles in the quarterfinals.

Norm Carricker said the Pekoland offense was of grave concern to him because they were level with Voidstania and StrayaRoos for third among the 28 teams in the Baptism of Fire Cup for most goal scored. Soldera's four goals conceded are tied for fourth among all teams defensively. Only Group B runners up Metherwoll have scored fewer goals than Soldera's nine. República Guanacasteca have also scored nine goals, but they lead all teams with no goals conceded in six matches.

"We're nervous, but eager," midfielder and team captain Joey Westway said of his team's qualification for the knockout rounds. "I'm sure we'll be ready."