World Cup 57 - Cafundéu & Sarzonia - RP thread

[The Kiaser Colonies]

Conner Tobin. Sat in his bed. The game had been moved as expected to New Leeds. Those geese were a real source of trouble. Luckily they had pulled through. Not without their hiccups he thought. That West Zircona goal after 9 minutes was definitely the new career low for Connor Neville. Tobin was sure that Beale would be back after a record length of time on the bench. Tobin still wasn't sure how the ball managed to squeeze into the net. Thankfully Neville was strong for the rest of the match. Tobin himself pulled the game back at the half hour mark with another magically squeezed shot that almost seemed to go through the keepers hand it was so close. The he still pinched himself every now and then to make sure it wasn't a dream. Unfortunately they were weak in the second half until the last minute, again. If it weren't for that West Zircona player turning his back on the ball as the keeper threw it at him, and had it not hit him in the back of the head then they could so easily have drawn the match and effectively had a 0% chance of qualification. Rather unfortunately for West Zircona Chris Hudson pounced at the ball with speed an beat the keeper to keep their qualification hopes around 25%. Vilitia had a game in hand and were only 2 points behind. Worse was the fact that their next match was against Krytenia. There was almost no chance of qualifying if they did not win and it would still be unlikely if they did as Vilita's next games were no big deal for them. It really was a terrible situation caused by 3 losses that really should have been won or drawn. Especially the Nitrome Island game. Tobin sighed. This was likely to be the last real chance they had at qualification. Next world cup they would not have Daniel Beale, Ricky Lamont, the Papakoi brothers, Jerry Wallaby, Ronan Jordan and, most frighteningly, Greg Jackson. He was the best footballer to come from the nation and soon he would be gone and that would deal a huge blow to the teams skill level and confidence. Without him they were half a team. No guidance or encouragement, only half the goals or chances they had. If they didn't qualify now it would be a huge battle for the next one unless someone new and of that level came and fast. It all depended on Vilitia loosing at least 1 of their games and themselves to at least draw with Krytenia. Tobin looked at Chris Hudson. He was lucky. He was a natural optimist and never seemed to worry about the outcome of the match until he played it. How Conner wished he could be like him. so calm and easy going. All he could do though was hope for a result next week and that Vilitia were beaten. He and the team would have to play the best game of football in their live's. No matter though, It would still be the toughest game of their lives, not to mention THE most important too. Next week was do or die for Kiaser football. At least a world cup play-off, possibly a world cup appearance, or just another tired, miserable slouch through the cup of harmony. He looked out the window. If they were going to beat Krytenia they would need to be focused. He looked at the time. And well rested too he thought as he settled down to sleep.

[Osarius]

The revolution continues
A feature for OSN, by Michael Henderson

             World Cup 57
          Qualifying Group 8

 1 Cosumar          12-1-1  +41  37
 2 Osarius          10-1-3  +11  31
 3 Gyatso-kai        6-4-4  -3   22
 4 Milchama          5-7-2  +3   22
 5 Kelssek           4-6-5  +5   18
 6 Crotunda          4-4-6  -12  16
 7 Mapletish         4-2-8  -1   14
 8 Northern Bettia   2-4-9  -22  10
 9 Hladio Huggers    1-3-10 -22   6

Though the Firebirds clinched a playoff berth with their win over Mapletish last night, fans seem resigned to the notion that there is little chance of them winning the group. Popular opinion seemed to be that even if Cosumar were to lose both remaining games, it would still require nothing short of a miracle for Osarius to finish above them.

It emerged this morning, however, that this perception may be flawed.

Upon review of the tie-breaking criteria for this World Cup, and the remaining games in qualifying, it appears possible that the Firebirds could steal the top spot with a little help from Kelssek. Initial reactions are probably not favourable to the idea, but they did hand the Dragons their sole loss of the campaign thus far in a 4-1 defeat in Kelssek. Should Cosumar lose their next game, and Osarius beat Michama, the Firebirds could steal the top spot with a two-goal victory over the Dragons at Mount Crown Stadium next month. Doing so would see the red, black and gold qualify for the World Cup proper for the first time, after a series of close calls in recent years.

Alain Montblanc has played down any talk of such, however.

"This is a possibility, yes... but I don't like the idea of relying on another team to help us out. As such, I have despatched scouts to look at potential playoff opposition, and we are preparing for that. If we can overhaul Cosumar and win the group that would be great, but for now we will proceed as planned. [...] I think the critical moments were the back to back defeats against Gyatso-kai and Northern Bettia. We knew both would be tricky matches but allowing five goals at home was unforgiveable, and both Northern Bettia goals were down to sloppy set piece defending. If, as I suspect, results are not in our favour over the next month, then that is where we threw away our automatic qualification, I think..."

- Alain Montblanc, Osarius national team manager

Montblanc's open disappointment is something not often heard of from Osarian coaches, and fans have praised his candidness. Some of his players, though perhaps a little annoyed at the public comments, have also acknowledged that this is perhaps the correct course of action to take. On the other hand, there are those within the setup who feel that Montblanc's disappointment -- particularly after the Gyatso-kai game -- was inevitable once he acquiesced to fan demands to play a more open, attacking game. Though he immediately reverted to his preferred system, the damage had already been done. Roberto Cormega, of academydropout.osr suggests that the media pressure has taken its toll on the former under-21s boss, and led to him behaving out of character...

"Conforming to popular opinion isn't something I would suspect Alain Montblanc of, though the team that lost 5-3 to Gyatso-kai did appear unusually offensive for his usual tastes. As manager of the Flying Sparks, he was cautious, and shielded his players from a lot of the negativity that surrounded them after previous failures at that level. With the national team, he hasn't had the luxury of limited exposure, and perhaps found it hard to motivate certain players in the face of such negativity. His attempt to 'unleash' the players, like di Corradi did on a few occasions -- most notably against Oberour Ar Moro in the Baptism of Fire -- didn't work out as well because these players aren't the same. They weren't trained to have a balls-out attitude toward the game like their predecessors, and instead carry more of Montblanc's personal characteristics. As a result, gaps opened up between the lines and play was a little out-of-sync. Guys like Tay'haai will exploit that."

- Roberto Cormega, owner and operator of academydropout.osr

Cormega did, however, go on to remark that Montblanc "flourishes when doubted, and if that attitude has rubbed off on his players, and Kelssek's win wasn't a fluke ... there is a real chance they could pull this off." He's not alone in that opinion, as former national team captain Benni Watson chimed in with a similar notion. "Those players won't give up until Cosumar get that last point they need. It's in our blood to fight." He told us. "I've played alongside a lot of those guys, and I've seen their game faces, how fearless they are when facing an enemy we weren't expected to beat. It usually didn't go our way, but you can only give it everything. They'll do that."

Even if Osarius are forced to go through the playoffs, hopes are high. The team have performed admirably, and Montblanc has managed to bring a few younger players through to the full senior team who look comfortable, and capable of staying within the national setup for many years. He hasn't quite managed to address the finishing issue as well as some critics would have liked, but Romario Roberts -- his first choice forward -- looks more and more confident every game, and you'd find it hard to bet against him scoring, even with his questionable conversion rate. Ayanna Barca-Carthy's leadership may come to an abrupt end, also, as Jayson Dhanda's industry is almost reminscent of Jermain Lewis fourteen years ago, and explains why the young Tubrissian was made Utica United captain at just nineteen. Habib Kouli's presence at right back on a number of occasions was compounded with clubmate Hamzah Ibrahim on the same flank in midfield at times to devastating effect, underlining the potential of the young players in the country. Perhaps most notably, though, is the development of several players as leader-type figures. While Barca-Carthy is captain, many of Montblanc's initial thirty-eight have shown great leadership at different times throughout the campaign. Referring back to the start of his reign with the under-21s, Montblanc made it clear he rejected the notion of "star players" and believed that "while there is only one armband, great teams have eleven captains". It's arguable whether he has eleven captains, but he certainly has a group of players with strong personalities who are not likely to fade any time soon.

[Cotdelapoms]

Erubiel Navarro's bicycle kick goal was more than enough for Cotdelapoms to get a victory over Stuffed Taxidermists, although Akbarabad didn't help the Apples out by earning a win of their own. Regardless, the Apples have guaranteed at least a place in the playoffs- perhaps why there were no images of Michel Carbonnier looking like a moron.

[Brendino the 3rd]

Ferrets Can't Hold Lead Against Landau
Despite a 1-0 lead going into the second half, a slew of yellow cards spelled disaster for Brendino the 3rd. Joshua Walsh and two fellow teammates were carded one after the other after a heated exchange between Walsh and some Landau players.

That was stupid. It was a real momentum changer and that probably cost us the game.

---Joshua Walsh, Defender

Joseph Pratt was the lone goalscorer for the Ferrets, and continues his lead as the best goalscorer for the team. The team is showing progress and some strokes of brilliance, holding off Landau Institute until the 87th minute before they took a 2-1 lead.

[Aguazul]

La Verdad

Victory "pretty much useless"

A foreigner who looks suspicious and goes on about learnings in books and suchlike said that Aguazul's impressive defeat of Quakmybush was "kind of a waste."

"I acquire the purchasing rights to the games, and what does it get me?" the dude, who's probably a commie, complained. "A bunch of people with like banners in...Gaelic, I think. Nobody from Aguazul brought any banners with words on them. How am I supposed to take pictures of Spanish words like that?

I had written up the blurb about how [football] is not like other sports where, like, gridiron football, you could score seven points at once, usually it was just a goal or two. But no, you have to go win seven to nothing again! I'd already had the "Cuenta a siete" thing with the video footage of the Tretskivucia win."

In contrast to the victory against Tretskivucia, Aguazul faced Quakmybush away, one reason behind the lack of much of a home presence. "I was expecting a little more panic and...I mean, it had just been hyped up to be more exciting," the man who on second thought might just be a poorly disguised spy continued. "Not that I mind the whole concern for my personal safety."

The dude says he had also dropped by the "National Academy" that "regulates grammar and usage" in Quakmybush. "It was nice," he said, "they really cared about teaching language. Imagine how I felt when I realized it wasn't even your stupid country at all.

Being too much of a pansy to observe Aguazuleños making war or doing something really exciting, he decided to just stick with what he had. "I mean, apparently there's some domestic football too? But they'll probably run up the score again or something. I mean, I was gonna say I like góóóóles as much as the next guy but...clearly I don't.

No, seriously, seven again? Children need to learn different things. And apparently my editors don't think "people in line in front of me for beer" is okay even though there were only six of them. I could count World Cups Aguazul has quali...no, shoot, seven again."

Upon being informed that he could try counting "teams who still have a better goal difference than us," despite the fact that we have scored seven for the third time these qualifiers, the guy dubiously noted that there were five, then claimed we were just making that up.

At press time, a thrilled Pelayo Sortani was trying to sell him a video of Aguazul's game against Greater Cotswalds in the qualifiers for World Cup 53.

(Criville 16, Pulido 25, Nadol 41, Lissón 53, Morayta 68, Cortez 79, Osorio 83)

[Jeruselem]

To: All sisters of the Order of Golden Bike
From: Princess Sofia Michelle Dallas, Princess of the Order

As you know, the High Priestess, Queen Katherine Alexandra Dallas (aka Kate Dallas) isn't young as she was. She has decided to step down and retire. Princess Jacinta Sasha Dallas (younger sister to Kate) will take over as the High Priestess for now on. There won't be any real changes with this transition. I've been finally promoted to Fairy Princess now. To celebrate this, all members of the Order can buy my album at 50% discount when I get around to finishing it. Just have to show your membership card at a retail store or buy it online at my web site and enter your membership number.

Things are tight in Group 1 and Jeruselem want to desperately win that top spot to avoid them playoffs. So sisters please support Jeruselem in the final few games to we get the automatic spot into the World Cup finals.

I've been asked to be a celebrity guest in Glee. I've accepted. So don't miss the show when it screens on TV. Thanks for the messages when got that cold. It was great to be back for the next game at home and contributing to the team's 4-0 today. I hope everyone enjoyed my version of Boys Boys Boys by Sabrina. One has sing that song in a bikini too. Speaking of boys, if you're at Jeru FC games please support them too. I do advise not getting too friendly though or they'll take it as you want give free sex or something.

Oh thanks for the recipes for the upcoming cookbook being compiled for the Order. Not everything will be accepted and we do test them. Please no more recipes which require rotten fish. I know some people like that stuff but we don't.

[Miley World]

Miley World Daily Mail

Miley World lost against Pretty Awesome Persons

Miley World was playing against a pretty awesome opponent and the Untamed Robots lost 2-0. The Pretty Awesome Persons controlled the ball 57% of the time and they had 8 shots on target. Miley World only had 5 shots on target and the Pretty Awesome Goalkeeper blocked them all. A Pretty Awesome Person scored at the 29th minute on a cross by another Pretty Awesome Person. Then at the 42nd minute a Pretty Awesome Person scored a pretty awesome goal with his forehead.

Boxscore
29' PAP Pretty Awesome Person assisted by a Pretty Awesome Person
42' PAP Pretty Awesome Person assisted by a Pretty Awesome Person

Yellow Cards
16' MIL Conor Downing
68' PAP Pretty Awesome Person

Standings

Western Cuba won against Silver Beach and their only remaining game is against The Vuhifellian States which we think they will beat, so Miley World will almost certainly stay 6th in the group 19.

Group 19 Standings

   Team                         P   W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Valanora                    14  13  1  0  58   7  +51  40 Q
 2 Octinstine                  14   9  3  2  24  16   +8  30
 3 Pretty Awesome Persons      14   7  4  3  20  14   +6  25
 4 Silver Beach                15   5  7  3  25  19   +6  22 E
 5 Western cuba                15   5  3  7  17  23   -6  18 E
 6 Miley World                 14   3  6  5  11  11   +0  15 E
 7 The Vuhifellian States      14   3  3  8  15  35  -20  12 E
 8 Pernam                      14   2  2 10  10  30  -20   8 E
 9 The Peterwood Estate        14   1  3 10   8  33  -25   6 E

Next game

Miley World's next game is against Pernam at the Estadio Katsu-Ya in Madrid, Miley World, we expect a win for Miley World. The Untamed Robots are getting better from games to games and Pernam are unranked. Dodô will be the starting goalkeeper and Vladimir will play instead of Alexandre Viard. Here is Miley World's formation:

Starting line up:
Formation: 4-4-2

GK-------------------------DODÔ---------------------------
D----J.GARCIA----ALEX----ZEZINHO----C.ROBINSON---
M---------------------FABRICE DURAND-------------------
M----ROSS WALLACE------------------VLADIMIR---------
M---------------------CONNOR DOWNING----------------
F----------A.JOHNSTONE----GRÉGORY DEDIEU---------

[Qazox]

World Cup 57
Match #14 @ Carpathia and Ruthenia

Coach Holtz could have celebrated his Qazoxian team record setting 59th win, but with the group still up for grabs with 2 games remaining; Coach Holtz had this to say:

Unless we qualify for the World Cup, there's nothing worth celebrating at this point or time. We still have two tough games left and we could still not qualify for the Cup or the playoffs. I'm pleased that the team has taken to heart my instruction after the last loss we had and I hope we still maintain our composure and not get ahead of ourselves.

Goals from Iona Laughlin (17th); Dwight Lynn (38th); Jamie Hinkley (43rd and 58th); Derek Ranger (70th) and Rene Martin (82nd) sparked the team to a 6-2 victory, as C&P scored both goals rather early (24th and 35th) and became the first team in almost 7 games to have a lead on the Eagles. As the Eagles played, Chetkosk and Valladares both were in action at the same time; albeit against different opponents. Chetkosk defeated Sargossa 4-1, while Valladares slammed the Kytler Peninsulae 7-1. Currently Qazox still have a 2 point lead over Chetkosk and a 5 point lead over Valladares.

On Sunday, Qazox hosts Chetkosk and with a draw, Qazox would at worst clinch a playoff berth. A draw and a Valladares draw or loss would clinch the group for Qazox as would a Qazox win over Chetkosk. So at the SaxerDome in SaxerVilla, the group of death either will come to a close or set up for a must-win finale next Tuesday night in Valladares.

Taking a quick look around the other groups:
Group 1: Jeruselem and Kernansquillec are 1 point apart, with Jeruselem having a game in hand. Both teams have clinched at least a playoff berth.
Group 2: The Babbage Islands have clinched the group. Stachland and Orlkjestad are battling for the playoff berth. Stachland leads by 5 points, but Orlkjestad have a game in hand.
Group 3: Bears Armed have clinched the group and Civil Citizenry have clinched a playoff berth.
Group 4: QPeMA have clinched the group. Churchma leads suprising Kalumba by 3 points and each team has two games remaining.
Group 5: Sarzoclava has clinched at least a playoff berth. Bostopia leads North Chicanan by 6 points, with both teams having 2 games left.
Group 6: Mytannion have clinched the group. Mangolana leads Pasarga by 4 points, but Pasarga has a game in hand.
Group 7: Sorthern Northland has clinched the group. Allamunnic States have clinched a playoff berth.
Group 8: Cosumar leads Osarius by 6 points with 2 games left for both. Both teams are assured of at least a playoff berth.
Group 9: Akbarabad leads Cotdelapoms by 1 point with 2 games left for both. Both teams are assured of at least a playoff berth.
Group 10: Saugeais leads Dorian and Sonya and Khytenna by 2 points. Saugeais has 1 game left; while D&S and Khytenna both have 2 games remaining.
Group 11: Jeru FC leads Kagdazka and Pazhujebu by 3 points with 2 games left for both. Both teams are assured of at least a playoff berth.
Group 13: Polar Islandstates have clinched at least a playoff berth. The Archregimancy trails PIS by 4 and lead FSSO by 5 with two games left for all 3 teams.
Group 14: Augazul has clinched the group. Eastfield Lodge leads Tretskivucia by 3 points and Quakmybush by 6. Tretskivucia and Quakmybush each have 2 games left, while Eastfield Lodge has one game left.
Group 15: Krytenia has clinched the group. The Kiaser Colonies leads Vilita by 2 points; Landau Institute by 3 and Nitrome Island by 4 points. TKC has one game remaining; while each of the other 3 teams have 2 games left.
Group 16: Astograth have clinched at least a playoff berth. Starblaydia leads Pays de Horreur by 4 points. Astograth have 1 game left, while Starblaydia and Pays de Horreur each have 2 games left.
Group 17: Cassadaigua and Swartaz each have clinched a playoff berth. Cassadaigua leads by 5 points, and both teams have 2 games left.
Group 18: Kulverint has clinched the group. Whirl Islands leads Delaclava by one point. Whirl Islands have 1 game left and Delaclava has 2 games left.
Group 19: Valanora has clinched the group. Octinstine leads Pretty Awesome Persons by 5 points, and both teams have 2 games left.
Group 20: The Holy Empire has clinched the group. Virabia leads Khabarovsk Krai by 2 points, and both teams have 2 games left.

Through the games of today here are the top 5 scoring teams:

#1- The Babbage Islands- 72 goals
#2- Cassadaigua- 65 goals
#3- The Holy Empire- 64 goals
#4- Qazox- 60 goals
#5t- Valanora/Krytenia/Sorthern Northland- 58 goals

[New Montreal States]

CURTAINS FOR PALADINS AFTER SLAYING THE DRAGON

We didn't really want to go cough up our pensions to pay taxes in Cafundéu anyway

NEW MONTREAL - The NMS Paladins were officially eliminated last night after a crushing 4-1 victory over Ithadi. The win, which featured a brace of goals from Ed, Christian Ponder and Chase McDougall putting the center midfield on lockdown and feeding the wings and front with crisp, well-placed ground passes, which would have totally gotten us into the playoff if they'd started doing this, oh, anytime before the last two weeks when our backs were to the damn wall in fourth fucking place in the stands SERIOUSLY I DO NOT WANT TO HAVE MY JOB BE CONTINGENT ON HOW ECSTATIC I SOUND TO BE COMING LIVE FROM THE CUP OF HARMONY...

Editor's Note: At this point, our writer appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown. This was the result of a night spent celebrating our 1-0 victory over the Sea Dragons, which triggered the now-traditional victory riots in New Montreal that kept us from publishing our paper in a timely fashion. Combined with jet lag from the trip to Ithadi and back, as well as the cosmic injustice of having Group 7 be set in place this early DESPITE THE FACT THAT NOBODY KNOWS ANY OF THE ALLAMUNIC STATES' PLAYERS FROM ADAM AND WE TOOK FOUR POINTS OFF THEIR SORRY ANONYMOUS ARSES...

Executive Editor's Note: Dear readers, both our writer and our editor appear to have gone around the bend. The emotional roller coaster our sports bureau has gone through over the last week cannot be overstated, as the Paladins have performed beyond everyone's highest expectations for an unranked 8th seed. André Vaillancourt-Bosquet's winner against the Sea Dragons really was a poor man's version of Archambault Legault's Hall of Fame strike against Bedistan in World Cup 10. And the offense really did come together against an Ithadi side that, let's not forget, just beat the FRIGGING GROUP CHAMPIONS 2-1. HOW IS THIS GROUP'S COMPETITION ALREADY OVER? IT REALLY WAS PRETTY DAMN CLOSE GOING INTO THE BREAK AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH...

Publisher's Note: Usually I fire people with deep-seated psychiatric problems, just to be on the safe side. But all three of my peons are right about this, so I'm going to quit guzzling scotch for thirty seconds and update the goal tallies for their sorry, apoplectic asses. Seriously, "publisher?" What does that even mean? NOTHING, THAT'S WHAT IT MEANS. I SMOKE MAD 'DRO AND DRINK SCOTCH OLDER THAN YOUR GREAT-GRANDMA EVERY SINGLE DAY I'M ON MY "JOB." AND THAT'S NOT EVEN COUNTING THE TIME I SPEND ON MY "SECRETARY"...

Intern's Note: I deeply and sincerely regret majoring in journalism. Here are the goal tallies:

GOALS

Denny Roy 5
Ed 5
André Vaillancourt-Bosquet 4
Fabrice Archer 2
Yves St-Zotique 1
Cory Taylor 1
Craig Kennedy 1

THIBAULT SOLD TO FC SANDSIDE

National keeper to join Civil Citizenry side

LAVAL - FC Laval has announced the sale of national-side starting keeper Édgar Thibault for 2.57 million NMS oz.

The unexpected decision came in the aftermath of a failed television contract for Laval, as local rights holder NLTV has lost its spectrum and recording studio as a result of bankruptcy proceedings. The club's losses are on the book, but forensic accountants estimate the losses at well over 10 million ounces. Prominent stockbroker and FC Laval fan Réjean Morris has publicly speculated that the true value of the club's TV contract losses at over 23 million oz.

Regardless, the second-tier side seemed to have no choice but to part with Thibault, who seemed enthused about the chance to go abroad.

"Any chance I get to re-establish NMS's good name abroad is something I've always wanted to take," said Thibault. "I look forward to many positive seasons in Civil Citizenry."

[Cassadaigua]

Britt’s Law
Case #17: Writer’s Block

Introduction:
It’s never fun when you know you should be writing about something but you can’t think about anything to say.

A) How about talking about you’re pathetic performance in the draw?

Well, I would have gotten to that anyway. Obviously, we did not play well against Darmen. But I am not gonna sit here and whine about officiating. Nor am I going to say we had a million red cards in the game. The 1-1 draw with Darmen will not go down in our history books as one of the greatest games we have ever played, but it wasn’t the worst either. Results like this can sometimes serve as a reminder that you cannot get complacent and that you need to keep your foot on the gas pedal. Especially when we go into a stadium of a team that might be playing desperation soccer. Darmen did not play well in their previous outing against Nicole Scherzinger, and may have felt they needed to redeem themselves in front of their fans. Meanwhile, you had our team who’s been having everything fall their way and haven’t had to deal with much adversity. We were just not able to match the intensity level, and we were outplayed. Given the way we were outplayed in the first half, we were probably pretty fortunate to be down 1-nil at the break. Michelle Taylor kept us in the game with some great saves. Around the hour mark, we started to come together, and a stadium who might have been anticipating a great victory had to settle for a draw when Jessica Behnke scored in the 78th minute. We had the better play after the equalizer, and quite frankly a lot of us just felt like we ran out of time in this one. Such is the way sports can be.

B) So that’s it?

Yeah, that’s it. I apologize to the fans out there for my bout with writer’s block today, but it happens to the best of us.

Conclusion:
The game won’t go down as one of our worst ever, but this case will probably go down as mine.

[Stachland]

Group Two
₅The Babbage Islands (L 2-3, @ MD17)

₄₂Orlkjestad (L 0-2, W 1-0)

₄₆Stachland (Byes MD9, MD18)

₇₂Utmost Upright (W 1-0, L 0-1)

₁₅₈Tamarindia (W 2-1, W 1-0)

₂₂₇Iphmopf (W 4-1, W 4-1)

₃₂₅New Gaelicia (W 1-0, D 0-0)

_UNRDance 2 Revolution (W 4-1, W 3-0)

_UNRLes Macarable (W 1-0, W 2-1)

That May Have Done It

The Reds defeated the visiting squad from Tamarindia one-nil in a thrilling match in the city of Chevrin last night, but that was not the only good news for fans of Stachlandic football. At the same time, against all odds, the team from Iphmopf—ranked two hundred and twenty-seventh in the world—managed to topple Orlkjestad, giving Stachland a great advantage in the race for second place in Group Two.

In the Stachland-Tamarindia matchup, both defenses played well throughout the match, and scoring opportunities were few, though a shot by Lyle Verdak did just miss in the twentieth minute, hitting the top bar. Navering Pounchtal made three saves in the first half and eight total, while senior defender Nigel Svirvsky broke up a potentially deadly Tamarindian run at the goal at the very end of the first half.

Stachland's lone goal was scored by Jun Streat, seemingly invigorated by his new status as a member of Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk's Central Lalard football club, in the seventy-first minute, off an expert pass from fellow midfielder and team captain Everett Lang. From that point, the Reds played defensive football, and never gave their visiting opponents another clear chance at the goal. Ultimately, it was a tactical, methodical match, but it was a Stachlandic victory.

Soon after that match had concluded, televisions around the country were switched to the final minutes of the Orlkjestad-Iphmopf match, and millions watched amazedly as the visitors managed to defeated Orlkjestad at home, one-nil, all but securing for Stachland its first playoff match in team history.

Stachland plays the Babbage Islands later this week, and, if the Reds can gain any points from the fifth-ranked team in the world, they shall be set to qualify for the playoff match. Even if they do not earn any points there, their foes Orlkjestad must earn all six in two tough matches, playing Utmost Upright away and the Babbage Islands at home.

It is presently uncertain what team Stachland might face in the playoff, if the Reds were to qualify.

UPDATE: It has now been released that, if qualifying were to end today, the Reds would oppose Churchma, the fortieth-ranked team in the world. Churchma has gone 9-2-2 so far in qualifying, in a Group Four that includes Stachland's neighbor and ally Camerania.

[Jeruselem]

On Radio Dallas nightshift ...

Jose: Hello, this is Jose Catface! I'm doing the nightshift today. We've got a lot of stuff lined up today. Today's theme is Qazian music. Before that, I'm taking some calls from the nightowls out there. So who's first up?

Caller: Heeeeyyyyy Joooosseeeee
Jose: Mango, I told you not to call when you're drunk.
Caller: Sorryyyyyyyyy!
Jose: Sorry everyone, let's get the next person.
Caller: Oh hi Jose. I'm Mary.
Jose: So what's your question Mary?
Caller: I think people like set a bad example for girls of the future?
Jose: Why is that Mary?
Caller: We've lost the traditional family values for girls.
Jose: No I think we're empowered now. We're not scared or ashamed.
Caller: I think naked women doing football news sends the wrong message.
Jose: Naked News Jeruselem have the contract to cover the world cup. They have to make it pay.
Caller: Young women these days have no concept of decency.
Jose: I tell ya, we're smart educated and make decisions for ourselves. God gave us good looks, I'm making use of mine before I lose them.
Caller: The good book will show you the light. It is only way to learn how to be a true woman.
Jose: My mother used to be a member of a church. They threw her out because I was born. I was treated like trash by the church.
Caller: Illegimite children should not happen.
Jose: I'm here. You want them church people to ask Mum to throw me into the river as baby? Is that what should happen?
Caller: I never said that.
Jose: I'm not the smartest person around but I'm doing my best to make a living.
Caller: There's time to save your soul Jose.
Jose: I respect people's decision to follow a path, but I don't like others dragging me into theirs.
Caller: Hell is not a place to go. There's time.
Jose: Well, you get their first and show me around when I get there.

[Kernansquillec]

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Outsiders and Underdogs: Kers look to perform miracle

Kernansquillec have had a great World Cup qualifing so far. In the first 8 group games it was almost a perfect record with 7 wins and a single draw at home against Armorgames. The Green Ks lead the group at the half-way stage and keep the lead for an other 3 group games but lost their unbeaten record in a surprise defeat to Eastern European Nations. Their next games was a vital one, just ahead of Jeruselem by a point who had closed the gap since their defeat in Kernansquillec. Despite twice taking the lead with a Kai Holmes header and a Lilac spot kick they ended up losing a hard game in Jeruselem.

With that defeat they slipped to 2nd place. With Jeruselem having their bye day the Green Stalions turned the pressure back on with a 4-1 victory over Homelands our to retake the group lead. The goals coming from Suutari-Jääskö, Lilac, Roseby and Francoeur. But yet again the Kers slipped up when they could only draw 2-2 with Ponoka (Holmes and Francoeur). They feel to second a point behind and a game ahead of Jeruselem who had taken back their lead in style, beating Eastern European Nations 6-0.

Despite this Kernansquillec went into their penultamate game knowing that a single point would seal a play-off spot, but a win was needed to keep their hopes of clinshing the top spot. Princess Béatrice Island were their opponants on the day and didn't prove to be much of a challange as the Green and Whites found their feet to run out 4-1 winners. Suutari-Jääskö grabbed a hat-trick while Louie Dunn got his first senior team goal as Kernansquillec keep just a single point behind Jeruselem and sealed at least a play-off place.

So what can happen? Well as it stands Kernansquillec are second a point behind Jeruselem who have a game in hand. Kernansquillec travel to third place Kazzoria who cannot qualify for the World Cup now. If Kernansquillec can win their they may have a chance to pick Jeruselem at the posts who have two tough final games as they travel to Armorgames before playing Kazzoria. Both teams could make Jeruselem slip up. To clarify all the possible outcomes here's Johnny's guide to World Cup Qualification Outcomes:

So out of 18 outcomes only 4 would give Kernansquillec a chance of an automatic ticket to the World Cup, so the play-off is looking more likely. Across Kernansquillec fans will be hoping to see their team compete at their first World Cup, and it could be just two matches away. Let's hope for the best, enjoy the football and when it finaly goes all wrong we'll just get drunk and throw a big party. Comon Kernansquillec!

W 4-2 (Fr.): at. Miley World (Holmes [2], Lilac, Grosventre)
W 2-1: vs. Eastern European Nations (Suutari-Jääskö, Holmes)
W 1-0: at. Seunem (Holmes)
D 1-1: vs. Armorgames (Holmes)
W 3-1: vs. Jeruselem (Suutari-Jääsko [2], Lilac)
W 2-0: at. Homelands our (Holmes, Roseby)
W 9-0: vs. Ponoka (Holmes [3], Lilac [3], Francoeur, Suutari-Jääskö, Campbell)
W 4-2: at. Princess Béatrice Island (Roseby, Boursier, Holmes, Suutari-Jääskö)
W 2-0: vs. Kazzoria (Holmes [2])
L 0-2 (Fr.): at. Darmen
L 1-2: at. Eastern European Nations (Roseby)
W 2-0: vs. Seunem (Suutari-Jääskö, Francoeur)
W 3-2: at. Armorgames (Francoeur, Holmes, Boursier)
L 2-3: at. Jeruselem (Holmes, Lilac)
W 4-1: vs. Homelands our (Suutari-Jääskö, Lilac, Roseby, Holmes)
D 2-2: at. Ponoka (Holmes, Francoeur)
W 4-1: vs. Princess Béatrice Island (Suutari-Jääsko, Dunn)
11/11: at. Kazzoria (18th)
13/11 (Fr.): vs. Erathore (32nd)

[Dorian and Sonya]

3-Way Race for Group 10 Title

My Most Magnificent Queen,

Our girls suffered a major setback last night as they lost 2-3 to Unitopolis. It was a fast-paced match in which our girls controlled the ball for the vast majority. It should have been an easy win for the girls but Unitopolis is never an easy out and this match proved to be no different. Perhaps what surprised us the most was our opponents ability to match pace with us. That is very rare indeed.

The loss leaves us in a tie for second in the group with just two matches left to be played. The first is a trip to group leaders Saugeais. This will be a very tough match for our girls as they have been really dominant to this point. A victory over the Knights would move us back into the top spot while a draw would keep us alive. A loss would not mean things are completely over even if Khytenna were to win, but it would make things very interesting.

Speaking of Khjytenna, the Black Shields have been playing solid football as well and are even with us on the group table. They will be a tough out as well. This is where we get to prove why we are one of the top sides in the world and a former WC Champions.

Playing the two toughest opponents on the final two days with qualification hanging in the balance is exactly the way we want it.

Your humble servant Khyber.

[Sorthern Northland]

The Torchlight
Shining a spotlight on corruption and oppression for over a decade.

Government crackdown see protest turn to massacre

A number of eyewitnesses have reported scores of civilians dead after anti-government protests in Durness turned violent. Across the nation dissent has been on the rise following a build up of tension over government and corruption and oppression falling large numbers of what many believe to be political murders by secret police. This came to a head with large numbers gathering into the south-eastern city of Durness for the first large scale protest against the government in years.

Whilst official information has been impossible to get hold of, independent observers have estimated a a number of protesters ranging somewhere between 5,000 – 30,000 persons having gathered in Durness's Seamarket Square. Riot place armed with batons are understood to have charged the large crowd in an attempt to disperse them, whilst army soldiers have been accused of firing indiscriminately at protesters.

Said one protester claiming to have received a number of minor injuries in a crush following a police charge, “It was absolute chaos. The police came in and once they'd sufficiently stoked things up they withdrew and the army have come in firing at us. I saw a number of people dying, some by being crushed others by being shot at.”

Whilst local hospitals have remained silent upon large numbers of admissions that would presumably go hand in hand with the reported events paramedics speaking anonymously have claimed to have been prevented attending to a number of wounded.

“There's been a number of injuries I've personally been prevented from attending to by people claiming to be police or army, they seem to be selecting certain individuals who they claim they will take for treatment themselves. I've heard similar stories from other paramedics as well. We have graves concerns for the welfare of a number of people in the car of the police and army.”

Whilst government controlled media sources initially failed to acknowledge any protests they now seem intent on attributing them to “enemy” sources. With rumours of protests spreading to other towns and cities, and even to the capital Beningrad, the Taoiseach Rhys O'Donnell appeared on state television denying that the protests had mass support.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters he claimed “Who are this people protesting? Who are they? They are terrorists from Inishnadun, they have liars. They say there are many of them but there are few. They want to divide us, they want to destroy us.”

“If they want a fight, they shall have a fight. We shall destroy them, the foreign enemies who try to break them. They shall try to brainwash you, do not let them. We are united, the liars and terrorists cannot defeat us.”

[Bears Armed]

“You don’t plan on making any changes to the starting line-up even though we’ve already qualified by now and so the remaining two ‘qualifier’ games aren’t ones that we actually need to win?”

“No. I’ll probably bring substitutes on more frequently and earlier during this pair of matches than I was doing in our earlier games, to give those players more experience... But, after all, the way that this series was scheduled means that we’re facing our highest-ranked opponents last and not only do I think that slacking-off the pressure any more than that by withdrawing our regular starters from play now might be giving the girls the wrong idea but I think that it would be hrrather disrespectful to those opponents as well.”

“Hr’mm, I hadn’t looked at the situation in that latter light before this… but I do see your point.
“Anyhows, talking of line-ups, what I actually came around to chat with you about — before I got distracted by seeing your roster for tomorrow’s match — was that hypothetical roster you drew up for that hypothetical ‘Higher Powers’ squad…”

“Ur’rmm?”

“Hwell, that business of having Owl and Raven as the ‘Wingers’: Were you thinking of having them play in fully-avian form, flying with their fore-limbs as wings and so having their talons free for handling — so to speak — the ball.”

“Ayyuh. Those talons are their feet, after all, so I don’t smell how it could reasonably be considered against the rules. It’s not as though players in this competition absolutely have to wear boots, after all, because we’ve had at least one team whose members all played barefoot involved before this — You do remember Ug-Ug and his clan-mates, hrright? — and in fact, I gather, back in the years before we got involved there was at least one national side of Humans competing whose ‘kit’ consisted of nothing but their bare skins!”

“Urrgah!
“But, useful though Their ability to pick the ball up with those feet would be, don’t you think that including them because you were planning to count on that ability would be hrrather against the spirit of the game?”

“Hwell, yes, it would be…. So but then, as I smell it, so would a nation fielding a team of ‘Higher Powers’ — instead of a team whose players were drawn from amongst its actual, mortal inhabitants — on the first paw: And so, if we would be going against the game’s spirit anyhow, why not go the whole dog about it?”
(OOC: No, my writing ‘dog’ there — instead of the word ‘hog’, as you might have expected — wasn’t a typo... Cultural differences, remember? )

“Fair enough, that, I suppose. Hokay…”
“but anyhow, bearing in mind your doubtfulness about naming the Kitt-Robin as a player — let alone, for want of hwhat you saw as any obviously better alternatives, as a striker — I have a suggestion to make…”

“Oh?”

“Ayyuh. To start with, as well as dropping him or at least relegating him to substitutes or even reserves, I’d say that bearing in mind the theological roles of The Strangers you should probably withdraw Them from the starting line-up and just ask Them to help Mother Nature with the nurturing or ‘medical’ side of things instead…”

“Hr’rmm. Thus leaving a vacancy in midfield as well as the one in the front row… and removing the team’s only basically-female player into the bargain? Can’t hrreally say that I like that, so far, for true.”

“Ah, but it improves. Firstly, we move Fox back to fill the midfield gap…”

“Hr’rmm. I suppose that Rabbit probably won’t hrreally object to that partnership.”

“I suppose not.
“And then, anyhows, we fill the two vacancies that we would then have in the front row by bringing in a pair of Powers who are accustomed to working together and who are famed for prowess in battle — which might carry over onto the football field hokay — as well as in more peaceable matters even though we Bears haven’t interacted much with Them since the ‘Age of Heroes’…”

“You don’t mean… two of the Barrlarr?”

“Ayyuh. None other than Elbeareth and her mate Barrwe, themselves: Hwhy not ask for the verrry best, after all? As they struck down the demons, so let them strike shots into the other teams’ nets.”

“Ayyuh, now that suggestion I do like. Even talking hypothetically rather than in terms of actually trying to put that squad together, though, I wonder how likely They would be to respond to an invitation to play for us — compared to how willing any of the Seven Holy Helpers, for example, would be — bearing in mind how little serious worship They have actually received from our people during recent yonkhs?”

“Hwell, Urra tells me that the TrueBears still give reverence publicly not only to that couple but also, for that matter, to the other Barrlarr as well… So if the request were to be channelled, maybeso, through their shabears?”

“Hr’rmm, that could work, maybeso: Interesting suggestion you’ve brought me, for true.”

“Happy Birthday!”

“Urrgah!”

“Did you think that I’d forgotten it?”

[Ipeland]

Ipeland's qualifying so far
By Gaven Pottesen

A short overview on Ipeland's qualifying matches.

Ipeland
In short our qualifying has been crap, which is the best we could have hoped for, seeing as it is our first World Cup and we are ranked only slightly above 300th. Well here are Ipeland's 14 qualifying matches, summarised:

MD 1: vs. Nitrome Island. Away
A 3-2 loss is not that badder way to start your qualifying campaign. Kevin Texan scored both of Ipeland's goals that game and we played pretty well, but still lost.

MD 2: vs. Landau Institute. Home
The first home match of the campaign ended in another close loss. Victor Brahah catching Ipeland on the counter-attack to score the only goal of that game. Defence did well though.

MD 3: vs. Vilita. Away
For crying out loud, another loss by one goal. Most people had grown sick of them by this match. Kristofer Kilpter scored Vilita's goal on 12 minutes. Reserves played.

MD 4: vs. Krytenia. Home
A 4-1 loss against group leaders is probably what you'd expect from a game like this. An own goal from Krytenia was Ipeland's only goal, while Anderson, Davis and Rowan scored Krytenia's goals.

MD 5: vs. West Zirconia. Home
Another f'ing loss, this time 2-0 to West Zirconia. It was a literal of a qualifying up to then and continued. Zirconia scored an 80 yard header late on in the second half, a world record.

MD 6: vs. The Kiaser Colonies. Away
6th loss in a row against the top 5 teams in the group, this time 2-0 against The Kiaser Colonies.

MD 7: BYE
Finally a day we can't lose, a bye day.

MD 8: vs. Zoobians. Away
A point! Finally a point! A 1-1 draw with Zoobians lifted the morale of the Ipeland team.

MD 9: vs. Brendino the 3rd
Finally a win! The first of the campaign against a slightly higher ranked Brendino the 3rd team.

MD 10: vs. Nitrome Island. Home
Same team, similar result. A 2-0 loss ended a hope that Ipeland might grab some points.

MD 11: vs. Landau Institute. Away
A low point for Ipeland in this dear qualifying campaign, a 5-0 thrashing by Landau.

MD 12: vs. Vilita. Home
A surprise mood changer, a 2-0 win against play-off spot chasers Vilita, who beat Ipeland by one goal last time.

MD 13: vs. Krytenia. Away
A high point in qualifying, a 1-1 draw away at World Cup 56 quarter-finalists and group leaders, Krytenia.

MD 14: vs. West Zirconia. Away
Ipeland went crashing down to reality with a huge crash, a 3-1 loss against West Zirconia.

MD 15: vs. The Kaiser Colonies. Home
A 1-0 loss against The Kaiser Colonies lowered morale in the team

[Khytenna]

4 second half goals keeps the Six islands hopes alive

Khytenna :4

Thorne 55th
Firestone 60th, 72nd, 79th

Greater Coventry: 2

??????????? 44th 89th

Khytenna bounced back after conceding a goal on the stroke of half time, by scoring 4 wonderfull goals to secure the game, Khytenna solid attack was, once it got going, unstoppable, once again the work of the three forwards made sure the points went to Khytenna. the Shields now enter a three horse race for the either automatic qualification or play off's

Khytenna did not start well, as they struggled to get in the game, shots coming from mainly outside the box, Greater Conventry had done their research and made sure Khytenna didn't have the time to outmanoeuvre their defence, their play was rewarded on the stroke of half time where they scored a free kick to put them in the lead.

Ten minutes in to the second half, not to be out done, Thorne scored a free kick of his own, from a much tighter angle and from a longer distance, the scores where level and Khytenna got themselves back onto the game, A hat-trick from Firestone got their total up to four, two of those goals where thanks to brilliant team play and passing, the forwards opening up the defence and Firestone was the one to finish the play of, his third goal was from an impressive powerful shot from nowhere, the keeper could only stop and watch and it shot past him.

Greater Coventry got a goal at the end of the game, a small defensive error made sure that a forward got a one on one with the keeper, chipping Troy a grabbing the last goal of the game.

Khytenna bring on Malik Deshazior for the next game against Unitopolis away. the two rival teams in this group above Khytenna have faltered in their last game, Khytenna can smell blood in the water, and need two more solid games to see them through.

the opponents of Khytenna also are weary that if you give the Shields an inch, then tend to take a mile. Said coach Dresden to us after the game.

GK 1. Roary Troy (28 Blue Bay)
RB 3. james Ursua (25 Blue bay)
LB 2. Shad Vancil (27 Keltyme Foresters)
DC 17. Nelson Bohannan(26 Alterdamm Merchants, Gray harbour)
DC 15.Oliver Testerman ( 24 Dunboor FC, Cafundeu) (Captain)
RM 7. Casey Thorne (capt) (27 Central FC)
LM 16.Trever Evelyn (22 Keltyme Foresters)
CM 12. Malik Deshazior (22 Percepi Sharks)
FW 9. Fergal Firestone (21 blue bay)
FW 20. 10. Lini Pellett (21 Porto Lacruz , Cafundeu)
FW 20. Lyle Blaylock (22 Kings’s District Athletic))

[The Kiaser Colonies]

the team sat in their dressing room. It was their last game of the group stage and they needed a win. There nerves were on edge and they were nervous. They could hear the faint calls of the Krytenia faithful. The last time they played here rang through all their minds. Those 6 painful goals had been tough to face. And now it was that same team they had to face, to beat. Each player was going through his pre-match routine repeatedly. The coach had made his speech and Jackson had too. The calls were getting louder they thought.

"Krytenia, Krytenia, Kyrtenia!"

they all tried to block out the chants and focus on the match. Just then the coach walked in and motioned to the players to come out to the hall. It was time. Now they had to play the best football in their lives or they were gone. There they were, in the entrance tunnel to the pitch. Standing beside the Krytenian's. They knew they wouldn't let anything away easily, especially goals. The intercom came on.

"Please welcome today's teams, The Kiaser Colonies and Krytenia !"

The crowd went wild as they heard it. The teams marched down the tunnel to the pitch. The Kiaser Colonies nerves were jangling. The intercom announced the national anthems.

"Please stand for the national anthems of The Kiaser Colonies and Krytenia"

The tune started. They were first. There were definitely more Kiasers than they expected. The following crowd sang with pride. They players felt a weight lifted from their shoulders. They belted out "1000 Islands, One Nation". They were no longer nervous, they were determined to get the result. Nothing would stop them playing. The Krytenian's were next. They sang in larger numbers but the team stayed strong. They would not be deterred. They starters took the field, the subs took to the bench. The referee held the whistle to his lips. The crowd were ecstatic. Ricky Lamont and Greg Jackson went to the centre. They were ready to kick-off. The referee blew the whistle and they began. Now was the time to play football like never before

[Jedi8246]

Fenris Sports Corner

"Evening, this is Chris Cotchery bringing you Fenris Sports Corner. A somber mood spreads across Jedi8246 today, as we lost our game against Mytannion today. It was a solid beating of 5-1. While we played very well throughout the game getting an early lead, the team began to fall apart letting five goals go unchallenged. While the hosts of the World Cup seem to think we are out of contention, we do actually have a chance. Jedi8246 will win it's next two games with relative ease, putting our record at 8-5-3. If Pasarga loses it's next two games, their record will be 8-3-5 putting us above them. Undoubtely, Mangolana will get the play-off spot anyway if they beat Pasarga, but we technically do still have a chance. I think. Anyway, Mytannion will probably win it's next two games, though they are already qualified at this point. Whatever happens, Head Coach Donald Hemlock is very pleased with his team's performance this World Cup season and expects to only continue to do better. The Wyverns can now be respected among the world's nations. We will be back tomorrow to tell you what happens in the World Cup. And now onto fishing."

[Chetkosk]

PLUGGED IN . part eleven

+++ 19 November 2079 . Kemenovsk . Chetkosk +++

Zach jumped up the stairs four at a time, no time to lose, with the deformed addict scuttling close behind, his mother. Thundering above their heads, The Inter began to lose all structure. The place was warping in and out of existence, taking anything left in it and deleting it from both planes of reality. One tear in the fabric of the digital realm had claimed the torso of an addict, swallowing it up and leaving it's disembodied limbs behind as it tried to comprehend its sudden lack of a physical body.

He knew where he was headed, if only he could find it. The controller might have laid traps, just in case Zach had got free. Rounding the top of the stairs - the very top floor of the Zerkalo Mesa Zvezdy Spire - Zach heard a furious beeping and looked around to find the source of the noise. There, just beyond the top step, was a tripwire unit. It had been hidden, phasing in and out of existence in The Inter, barely there, just a shadow with a skeleton made of static. Grabbing his mother Zach threw himself past the double doors beyond and escaped the blast of the directional anti-personnel explosives. Mrs.Brandon was not quite so lucky, her foot bloodied and burnt by the peripheral heat and shrapnel, but ehy had to keep moving.

"<kfkfrrzzhcchc-ach, where are you!? Disconnect now! I repea-zkrrrrfkchchhh->"
His earpiece, powered by The Inter, was barely functioning anymore, and his microphone had long given up. There was no way of letting Marie know where he was, or why he couldn't get out of The Inter, or how fond of her he had grown. The Inter's destruction horizon rumbled ominously as it drew closer, more and more of the world losing connection to the digital world as it imploded back to the epicentre - Kemenovsk, Chetkosk.

Hurtling along the corridor as fast as he could, Zach arrived at his destination. A door with a golden plaque that read "controller" stood in front of him, though half of it was missing - wiped from existence by a static lightning bolt. It also explained why The Controller had gone AFK, or rather, half of him had. The other half was still at his desk, crumpled in the chair he had sat in for many years, wires attached to the membrane he had worn to allow himself increased control over The Inter. It would have been stomach churning if Zach's doom was not quite so imminent.

Zach strode over to the main computer and began tapping on the keyboard, searching for a solution, trying to allow himself to disconnect. Of course, if he disconnected, he would not be able to take his mother with him. She was dependent on The Inter to thrive, and would die within the hour once taken back to reality in her current form.
"Damn it! GOD DAMN IT!" He yelled, throwing the keyboard across the room violently. The whole computer was shot, vital wires and circuits having phased out of The Inter minutes before. The only reason it appeared still operational was that time had now gone a bit wobbly in what was left of The Inter.

The digital realm retreated further, only covering a single continent now, and drawing closer to Chetkosk every second. Mrs.Brandon cowered in the corner, whimpering and rocking on her blasted heels as Zach paced the room, searching for a way out of the situation. But the more he searched, the more he realised there was no way out. The Inter was going to swallow him and his mother, and then itself. No doubt.
...
...but if...

Yes, it could work. Possibly. He would have to hope somebody worked it out, maybe Marie would come looking for him.
Zach rummaged through the drawers of the desk in front of the controller's chair, trying to find what he needed. It was archaic technology, but it could save his life, and his mother's. No luck. Turning to the controller as his only hope, Zach grimaced as he stuck his hand inside the pockets of the lifeless controller's interface suit, trying to ignore the bodily fluids and the smell, focusing on searching for...got one!

It was a memory stick. A storage device used in the early twenty-first century, connected via a universal serial bus port. Zach hurled himself over to the computer, dragging it round so he could reach the back and find a port. The action of hurling himself was not intended, but a side affect of the tremour that rocked what remained of The Inter. The destruction horizon had reached Chetkoski borders, retreating ever closer, bringing with it non-existence.

"<Zach? Zach! Plea-zzzkkfrrhvhhhhchh-orizon's approaching! Oh god...>"
Zach plugged in the device and opened a command window, prompting it to make one last copy of something very important. The horizon was at the Kemenovsk city limits - the slums were no longer connected, the many addicts and downtrodden peoples suddenly felt a shadow lift from over them, like a background buzzing noise that they had never noticed before had suddenly stopped, and they only now noticed the difference. Andy ZMZ officers that still remained loyal lost their connections, and their power. A full scale uprising was in motion across the world. Zerkalo Mesa Zvezdy was crumbling along with The Inter.

"Close your eyes and pray..." Zach muttered to his mother, hugging her as the horizon flew backwards to the ZMZ spire. The deafening roar of an entire reality filled his ears, the light of a billion connectiosn filled his eyes. And then nothing.

It was gone. The Inter, as the world knew it, was gone.

Marie was distraught - having not regained contact to Zach, she had watched in normal reality as a thin, veiled blue light crashed into the top of the ZMZ spire, not destroying anything, not a single pane of glass cracked, but undoubtedly killing the cyber-terrorist. She knew she had to move on - there was a whole world waking up and taking back what was theirs - and she had to be there to see it rebuilt the way it should be. But, just for a moment amidst the carnage of revolution, she gave herself the time to mourn.

At the top of the spire the remains of the controller were gone, gobbled up by The Inter. The computers and servers were still there, but none of them had a connection anymore. How could they, The Inter was gone, wasn't it? Wasn't it? One server hummed quietly in the corner of the room, a memory stick dangling out of the back, a small LED flashing slowly and methodically.

---

---

Huffin' and Puffin
A Fat Man's Football Blog

Dun-dun-dun-DUNNNNNNNN!

The final match of the qualifying campaign is upon us, folks! The Puffins have flown to Qazox and are preparing to play right now, as I type this in a fervent furious rush. I still haven't got ANY of my snacks sorted!

I know we're in good shape though. The game against Sargossa could not have gone better, really. Well, apart from Scherbak perhaps keeping that clean sheet, but it really was a corker of a shot and I doubt he would have stopped it from going in even if he did get a hand to it - would have probably broken his wrist. Kudos go to Kurzhakov and Puzin, two goals each, on their excellent game. They play really well together and I'd like to see more of that partnership tonight if I may. Torbinskiy was quiet all game, but note that he was drawing a lot of markers and that made things so much easier for Tomislav to get those early goals in.

It's unfortunate that The Kytler Peninsulae couldn't have put up a better fight against that pesky Valladares squad. We could have done with them losing a few points, and I would put more faith in those Kytlerians making that happen than Carpathia and Ruthenia tonight. I can almost assume that Valladares will get three more points in tonight's game. Which puts us in a bit of a pickle doesn't it? Well, don't be so sure.

Even in the likely event of a defeat at the hands wings of the Eagles tonight, Chetkosk can still make the playoffs - even though this is our last game. For you see, the final games of Qazox and Valladares are against each other! Fancy that! Then, you've got the look back on our games against Valladares, one win and one loss each, and look closely at the goals scored. That's right, Chetkosk have a better head-to-head record against them by a single goal.

All of this means that, provided Qazox beat both Chetkosk and Valladares, we will tie on points, and then tie on number of wins, but ultimately beat them to the playoff spot on head-to-head performance. So that's promising, innit? All we have to do now is hope that Valladares are unable to conquer Qazox (ohh, two syllables in a row beginning with "q", that's weird to say out loud). And if we actually get a point out of our game against the top-team of group twelve, then so much the better for our chances of qualification.

So, there you have it. All we have to do is hope that the opposition do no better than us.
Wait a second... could I not have concluded that right at the beginning of this campaign...?

Spotlight on... Georgi Obstantov
27, Centre Midfield

They call him 'the long game', and that's also the way he should be played and managed.

Georgi Obstantov is a stunningly good centre midfielder, but suffers from the most horrific inability to break bad form. This also translates into long runs of good form as well, so it's not all bad, but once he's in a rutt it's very difficult for him to get out of it.

Obstantov grew up in Bolsh-Adyevey, and was actually involved in a lot of gang rivalry and scuffles from an early age. It is with thanks and great testament to the Bashkaguryan province inner city development scheme that Georgi was able to break this cycle of petty youth crime and put his energy into something he both loves and excels in.

When he's on good form, Georgi can tear up any opposition's midfield like there is no tomorrow, and stands out as an inspirational player of the team. However, on a bad form streak Georgi takes up valuable physio resources trying to sort niggling little injuries (some of which I suspect are psychosomatic by now) and get him back on a good streak. Byshovetsiy has expressed the opinion that Obstantov should be employed on a part time basis, stating that "he always breaks the streak, in time, but he's worth very little in the down time, and no amount of physio seems to help."

In the next spotlight feature, I'll be talking about the one and only Aleksandr Onopko.

---

---

(BC) Polar Islandstates 3-0 Chetkosk

Chetkosk 5-0 Eggy216
The Kytler Peninsulae 0-3 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 0-2 Carpathia and Ruthenia
Chetkosk 1-3 Valladares
Di Lianzio 0-2 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 2-2 Braxil
Sargossa 0-2 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 5-1 Qazox
BYE

(BC) Bleak Rock 0-2 Chetkosk
(Fr) Chetkosk 2-4 Sorthern Northland

Eggy216 2-1 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 3-1 The Kytler Peninsulae
Carpathia and Ruthenia 0-4 Chetkosk
Valladares 0-3 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 1-0 Di Lianzio
Braxil 0-2 Chetkosk
Chetkosk 4-1 Sargossa
Qazox v Chetkosk
BYE

(BC) Chetkosk v Cotdelapoms

[Astograth]

(OOC: Starblaydia has not posted a roster, therefore I am working on assumptions based on World Cup 56. Should any of it be incorrect, I apologise, and feel free to retcon.)

Estebe Bularte breathed deeply, getting into the feel. At the far end of the line he could hear Ormache clapping and shouting encouragement, but otherwise the Astograthians were silent if nervous. World Cup qualification was agonizingly close. A draw would see them through to the proper for the first time ever, but a loss would likely fling them into the uncertain hell of playoffs and make the pressure unbearable. But getting a point out of this encounter seemed, at that moment, well beyond their ability.

To their left stood the white-clad Starblaydis, determination written all over their faces. To qualify directly all they had to do was beat the upstart Olibondeka at home and then win at Pays de Horreur. Easy enough on paper, but if Powell Pieran was right they were just as uneasy as the Astograthians.

It was hard for Bularte to believe that. Sure, their unique status put them under an unenviable amount of pressure, but they had the quality to see it through. Valrauncion, Soronúmë, Dacil Taniquentar...elves, World Cup winners and household names around the multiverse. Bularte'd met their kind before, and indeed had an Erathi elf as a teammate at Iturributa United, but he still felt odd around them. An air of mystique surrounded them, and when their eyes looked into his he always got the feeling they were looking straight past him, as if he were but a wisp of smoke. And it probably wasn't too far from the truth, for what was that meeting, that tiny fragment of time, amidst thousands of years' worth of memories? Thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

Bularte closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, deeply, and when he felt calm he glanced at Ázëwyn Fëanáro to his left. Attacking midfielders and captains, one a beautiful, elven, World Cup-winning legend and the other...just an old, tired man trying to give his country one final joy.They shared a small, humourless smile, in the knowledge that carrying out their job meant crushing the others' hopes. The referee walked past with the match ball, and when the teams walked out on the impeccable pitch of the gigantic Stadii Di Bradini Bularte felt more exposed than ever. What was the capacity? Something like two hundred thousand, he recalled. He'd played there two times before, for the Mike Sarzo Memorial Trophy, but for neither match had it been even close to full. Now, seeing so many people gathered to cheer on eleven men and women was pleasantly insane.

Anthem time, and Bularte braced himself as the cameras focused on his team. This was the part he hated most, when some players refused to sing to send across a political message. As captain, he insisted it was neither the place nor time to do so, but a sizeable contingent led by Ormache and Sarlange was adamant. They had no problems playing for Olibondeka, but the anthem was, to them, a symbol of the Rumiatzi oppression. Fair enough - Bularte didn't like it either - but it struck him as odd that they were Astograthian enough for the team but not enough to sing.

Soon enough, the deep brass tones of Yaso Astogarreka rang out, but only Galard, Adin, Legeren, Belarte and Baranzano joined their captain in belting out the controversial lyrics as the Starblaydis held respectful silence. When their turn came, Bularte learned the sound of two hundred thousand people singing the same tune, and though he couldn't understand a word of Starblaydia Triumphant the moment still moved him deeply. One of life's little gifts, to treasure during the long and dreadfully imminent years of retirement.

Like the handshakes that followed, and the trading of pennants with Fëanáro...the entirety of this match, of this trip, was worth remembering, and not just because they could at last seal Astograth's first World Cup participation in fifty-seven editions. A tournament steeped in history, drama and glory...but he didn't have time to obsess over it now. He gathered his teammates in the centre-circle and formed a chain, each man's arms over another's shoulders, like they did for the anthem. The Raiigar was coming.

Twenty-two Starblaydi players stood with their feet firmly planted, Fëanáro pacing amongst them with decision as the crowd went wild with expectation. The Astograthians had sworn they wouldn't let themselves be intimidated, but it was a difficult promise to keep when put up against a score of footballers beating themselves and crying out in a scary language, moreso when they happened to be one of the best teams in the world.

Yet the olive-green men held their ground and looked their opponents in the eye. A win, even a scrappy draw, would propel them into the big time, but if they lost it wouldn't be without a fight.

[Kagdazka and Pazhujebu]

Back in Gelendzhik, of course.

It was almost a relief for Yevgeniy when the Urchins had left Kagdazka, either to play in Pazhujebu to go abroad, mostly because he felt duty-bound to put his troubles behind him. But it was also agonizing, coming home... inevitably he would find himself at Arukuma's bedside, dying of worry because of her deteriorating condition.

The doctors had found out nothing at all new. They'd pumped her full of epinephrine, but she was beginning to develop an arrhythmia because of it, and she still hadn't regained consciousness at all. There was no doubt, Arukuma would die if this Philippe Després lead turned out to be a dead end.

And then, in more ways than one, Yevgeniy's family would be at fault for her death; his scheming father and grandfather for the drug that had put her here and his incestuous brother for the tip that led him the wrong direction.

Yevgeniy looked up from his lap and up around at his surroundings. Snow was falling in audacious drifts in the early December nighttime, down onto the pitch where the Kagdazka and Pazhujebu national team was in the midst of a furious push to finally break down the resolutely defensive-minded Logria national team.

The venue was the Gelendzhik Stadion, home of the city's second club, Gimnasia. Yevgeniy didn't mind playing here (it was a small stadium with a capacity of only 35,000, but had an intense atmosphere) even though he'd grown up a fan of Vulkan, Gelendzhik's most popular club. The stadium had only been built a decade ago, replacing Gimnasia's old one, a hellhole known throughout Kagdazka as simply 'The Pit.'

The Gimnasia supporters, mostly decked out in the teal and wisteria of their favorite club, were desperately urging on their national team, clad in wisteria and green, as the match reached minute 59. There was only a little over an hour left, and the full three points were absolutely critical if the Urchins wanted to keep pace with Jeru FC, the Group 11 leaders.

Yevgeniy watched from the subs bench as the national team manager Brutušam Erassi whispered a few words in Ouamchi Pudibhišu's ear before sending the striker in the number twenty-one shirt on to replace Hridayaja Durai for the Urchins' first substitution of the match. Durai sat down next to Yevgeniy, frustrated.

"Ten bloody men behind the ball. Cynicism if I've ever seen it."

"Well, maybe Ouam-Ouam will have more luck than you, mate. He is a little taller."

"Yeah, yeah. What we need is Chadi, I think. Pull Aquillius or Yuzhissa and push Fušia back into a playmaking role and use her vision to break them down. Hey, any luck with that Després bloke?"

"We've been trying to look up at my father's corporate box with a pair of binoculars... now where did they go... oh, Speratus has them. It's pretty hard to see through the glass, though. It's tinted."

"Hey, Ošafi! Pass those over, mate!" Durai shouted at the Tallyn Rovers right back. Ošafi obliged, and the young Angels striker took a glance up at the box where the Southern Cynoceph pharmaceutical mogul Philippe Després and his Kagdaz host, Yevgeniy's wealthy father, were observing the proceedings. "Yeah, I can see there are two people in there, but nothing else. Bloody hell, it's cold down here on the bench."

"Have a blanket."

At that moment, everyone's attention was drawn away from Yevgeniy's family drama to the pitch, as a subtle one-two set a Logria winger loose on a flat-footed Ryurik Mizirov. This would be a messy situation if Eduard Winogradsky couldn't get back to help...

"Oh, no!" a crowd of Urchins players shouted from the bench.

A lovely square ball had allowed a Logria striker to use a brilliant first touch to evade Arkhip Tikhomirov, and the lad only had Zubeida Ichuvihaja to beat. He took a touch to the right, looking to slot the ball away with finesse. No, the Kagdazka and Pazhujebu captain was covering that side, offering him the other.

A better player would simply have clobbered the ball with power to the left, but instead the Logrian opted to try and dribble Ichuvihaja. First a reverse step-over, feigning a motion to the left, and then BANG... a real touch to the left. Zubeida had it, certainly...

But she caught more than ball. The striker left his cleats trailing as the Urchins number one snapped up the ball, coming down right on the goalkeeper's head as he tumbled to the ground in search of a penalty.

Now it was more than the concession of a goal they were worried about. Some players, both on the pitch and on the bench, reacted with concern for Ichuvihaja's safety, where others surrounded the Logrian offender, screaming at him to try that one more time.

The referee had to call over both the linesmen to sort out the scrum near the K&P goalmouth (all of which was made more complicated by the medical staff buzzing around, trying to care for the injured Urchins captain). In the end, the solution was yellow cards for Aqhorassia Bhara and Yuzhissa Aghimaqaj, who'd gotten physical with the Logria striker, shoving him around in anger. This would have seemed unfair, except for the fact that the final act in the saga was a the referee showing a straight red to the original violent offender, sending Logria down to ten men.

Erassi was already prowling down the sideline, trying to establish whether Ichuvihaja would be able to continue. If she couldn't, he needed a substitution right now.

Eventually, his mind was made up for him by the medical staff, who'd called for a stretcher to be hauled onto the pitch.

"Oistrakh! Warm up, you're going on!"

"Me, coach?" said a confused Oistrakh as he tossed off the blanket that had been on his knees.

"That's right. Even though Gašughumi's form's been better than yours recently, he's carrying a knock and I'm not taking any chances. Move it!"

"Yes, sir."

And so, in the blur of seeing his number twenty-three in green on the fourth official's board, Yevgeniy lost track of what his father and the foreign drug tycoon were up to up above. He reassured himself that Fušia's friend Emiliaja was on top of the situation, and tried to focus on the match which he was now involved in.

The next time he saw the clock, Yevgeniy noticed that it had just passed the seventy-minute mark. He was quickly distracted, however, as Logria began to break in a counterattack on Kagdazka and Pazhujebu's skimpy three-player defense. They played it out wide, and the blue-and-yellow clad winger tried to whip in a cross. It would have been a weak one, thought Yevgeniy as Bhara deflected the ball out of play for a corner.

"Stay on your line," Ryurik Mizirov (the man who'd been handed Ichuvihaja's armband in the chaos of her exit) told Yevgeniy. "Arkhip and I can clear out anything they send in."

"Okay," Yevgeniy muttered nervously.

A short Logrian player, presumably the visitors' dead ball specialist, jogged nonchalantly out to the corner, obviously happy to waste time as the match remained nil-nil. It was only when the ball left that player's foot that Yevgeniy realized he was earning his first cap for the adult K&P national team.

His mind found focus just in time. The cross was an outswinger towards the near post, clearly a set piece Logria had worked out on the training ground. A towering Logria defender had evaded both Tikhomirov and Mizirov, and was ready to head the ball into the top corner. Yevgeniy read it at the last possible moment.

Mizirov screamed in anguish as the young goalkeeper leaped off his line, doing exactly what he'd been told not to. If Yevgeniy didn't get his fist to this cross, his teammates would have his balls for this...

SLAP! The Logrian player dropped to the ground, wondering where the ball had got to, since he hadn't felt it hit his head. Yevgeniy had punched it well clear of danger, swaggering back into the goalmouth with a look of relief etched on his face.

That would be the last action Yevgeniy would see in the match. Erassi ultimately threw on Chadi for Aghimaqaj and moving Oujadda back into midfield, just as Hridayaja Durai had suggested earlier. This tactic proved to be a stroke of genius, as in the eighty-third minute, the breakthrough came at last...

Yevgeniy took a sip of water from the bottle Ichuvihaja had tossed into the back of the goal as he watched the action far up ahead. Kagdazka and Pazhujebu were driving ahead; really turning the screw as they determinedly searched for the winning goal. There! Fušia had transformed into a purple, brown, wisteria, and green streak as she dashed inside, exploiting a hole in Logria's back line! Evading the center back, she could have taken a shot at the Logria goal from thirteen yards out, but had something more clever up her sleeve. Rotating quickly, she dragged the ball back, daring the goalkeeper to charge. Once he did, she simply lifted the ball over his head, where Lyonya Filipov casually strolled forward, fully onside, to volley the ball gently into the back of the net.

The stadium erupted. Their hometown boy Filipov had scored! Fans all over the place began to light off teal-colored flares, and smoke poured into the air. The celebrations at last gave Yevgeniy a chance to glance back up at the corporate boxes.

There were flares going off in several boxes filling them with smoke and setting off alarms, which Yevgeniy immediately noticed as being very, very odd. Naturally, he checked to see his father's box was one of the boxes in crisis.

Even from the pitch, he could hear a klaxon going off. His father's box had smoke pouring out of its windows.

[Kulverint]

A Kulverintian Taste On The Football

Group 18 Hotting Up With 2 Matches Left!

Well, that's shaken things up!

What a matchday for group 18! The key game today produced what could turn out to be a very important result for the group. Scratch that. It produces what WILL turn out to be a very important result for the group. Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk lost 3-2 to the Whirl Islands, kicking themselves out of the world cup in the process. That now leaves the Whirl Islands 1 point ahead of Delaclava, with the game tomorrow between the two almost certain to be the group decider.

Essentially, the scenarios run thus: If the Whirl Islands win tomorrow, they are through to the playoffs. If Delaclava win tomorrow, they are into the playoffs. If the two teams draw, then Delaclava will need to draw or win against Kulverint to seal a playoff place. It really is a winner-take-all match tomorrow, and doubtless many a nation worldwide will be watching it with great interest.

The Delaclavan squad have been on an upturn in form of late. At the halfway stage, they were ranked 4th, a real surprise for a team expected to top the group easily, whilst the Whirl Islands have never been lower than 2nd before. But its where you are at the finish that counts, and so it doesn't matter where you've been the whole thing. The writer of this sports page certainly feels the Whirl Islands are about to cruelly learn that lesson the hard way against Delaclava, but if they can hold out for even a draw it seems highly unlikely, based on present form, that Delaclava could do any real damage to Kulverint, particularly at the fortress that is the Stadia de la Kulverint.

Tomorrow two nations, each at the other end of the spectrum, will play each other in a fierce battle for eternal glory: One will be a young nation, an upstart competing for their first ever place in the finals, showing all the spirits of youth but including all of its pitfalls. The other, battle-hardened, scarred, aged, and yet still alive. Dragging, yes, but dragging themselves with purpose to the final stages of this world cup qualifying cycle. With all the experience that comes with age, they will be more than worthy foes for this new challenge.

Both teams shall be all calm on a coach to the stadium. Both will enter their respective dressing rooms, and each will be filled with fear. Some will be praying, some breathing deeply, others pacing, knowing that this match is a big one.

The nervousness will be almost tangible as they get the call: "You're on." Hearts will be nearly audible as they lineup in the tunnel, ready for the night of their lives. Ready to really feel the emotion, the dread. The time will, seemingly after hours, come for them to step out onto the pitch. Each team will line up as comrades, and sing their hearts out to their national anthems. This will, probably, relieve some of the tension inside them. They must now ignore the crowds, and focus in on the game, the opposition, and the ball.

Who said football was boring?

---

Kulverint 2-0 Free Swiss States

Kulverint: M. Winschöten (21), J. Milverki (71)
Free Swiss States: -

---

Antoletia 0-3 Delaclava
Whirl Islands 3-2 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk
Kulverint 2-0 Free Swiss States
Soviet Canuckistan 2-0 Beldonia

---

Group 18 Standings

   Team                         P   W  D   L For  Ag  +/- Pts
   1 Kulverint                   14  13  1   0  35  10  +25  40 Q
 2 Whirl Islands               15  10  1   4  37  19  +18  31
 3 Delaclava                   14   9  3   2  27  10  +17  30
   4 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk      15   7  4   4  32  22  +10  25 E
   5 Antoletia                   14   4  3   7  19  21   -2  15 E
   6 Beldonia                    14   3  4   7  11  24  -13  13 E
   7 Free Swiss States           14   2  4   8  10  23  -13  10 E
   8 Wadomia                     14   2  4   8   8  25  -17  10 E
   9 Soviet Canuckistan          14   1  2  11   7  32  -25   5 E

---

MD1: Kulverint 4-1 Soviet Canuckistan - Drachnamara Fütböll Stadia (43,000)
MD2: Wadomia 0-1 Kulverint - Wadomia Football Stadium (12,000)
MD3: Kulverint 3-0 Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk - Der Stadia de la Kulverint (123,000)
MD4: Whirl Islands 2-2 Kulverint - Sharks Waterfront Stadium (27,528)
MD5: --BYE--
MD6: Kulverint 5-0. Beldonia - Drachnamara Fütböll Stadia (43,000)
MD7: Free Swiss States 1-2 Kulverint - FSS Stadium (212)
MD8: Kulverint 1-0 Antoletia - Drachnamara Fütböll Stadia (43,000)
MD9: Delaclava 1-2 Kulverint - Delaclava National Stadium (12,000)
--------MID-QUALI-FRIENDLIES--------
MD10: Soviet Canuckistan 0-1 Kulverint - SC Stadium (101)
MD11: Kulverint 2-1 Wadomia - Drachnamara Fütböll Stadia (43,000)
MD12: Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuk 2-4 Kulverint - ABK National Stadium (80,020)
MD13: Kulverint 4-2 Whirl Islands - Der Stadia de la Kulverint (123,000)
MD14: --BYE--
MD15: Beldonia 0-2 Kulverint - Beldonia National Stadium (152)
MD16: Kulverint 2-0 Free Swiss States - Drachnamara Fütböll Stadia (43,000)
MD17: Antoletia vs. Kulverint - Antoletia National Stadium (5,000)
MD18: Kulverint vs. Delaclava - Der Stadia de la Kulverint (123,000)

[Vilita]

Jungle Cats KO the Zoobians

Crucial rematch with Brendino the 3rd Awaits!

Something is stirring atop the Group 15 Table, and its not just the Vilita Jungle Cats. The Kiaserian media seem to have realized the severity of their plot, having only Krytenia and the bye week remaining on their schedule, and the motivated World Cup 20 champs-turned n00bs hot on their heels. Of course, Vilita is hoping its too little too late for The Kiaser Colonies, who recorded just a single point in 2 matches against the Jungle Cats this campaign. The situation, with the Kiaser Colonies two points clear of Vilita atop the playoff race, was set up by a favorable Matchday 15 bye week for the Jungle Cats, and then a comfortable 3-0 Victory against the 7th placed Zoobians on Matchday 16. The Colonies did all they could do to keep that spot, defeating; and thereby eliminating; West Zirconia by a 2-1 Scoreline. In what is certainly one of, if not the most exciting playoff race ongoing in the World at the moment, 4 teams remain alive in the race going into Matchday 17, and any permutation of results is still possible, with as many as 4, and as little as 1 team entering the final matchday with a chance at the Playoff place.

             World Cup 57
          Qualifying Group 15
   Team                      P   W  D  L For  Ag  +/- Pts
 1 Krytenia                 14  11  2  1  58  17  +41  35 Q
 2 The Kiaser Colonies      15   8  2  5  24  13  +11  26
 3 Vilita                   14   7  3  4  20  20   +0  24
 4 Landau Institute         14   7  2  5  25  17   +8  23
 5 Nitrome Island           14   6  4  4  25  22   +3  22
 6 West Zirconia            15   6  4  5  26  29   -3  22 E
 7 Zoobians                 14   3  2  9  10  33  -23  11 E
 8 Brendino the 3rd         14   2  3  9  13  33  -20   9 E
 9 Ipeland                  14   2  2 10  10  27  -17   8 E

The task will be a difficult one for the Kiaser Colonies who, despite sitting 2 points clear of the pack, must feel the heat of the opposition bearing down on them. Vilita, Landau Institute and Nitrome Islands all have two games to play, while the Kiaser Colonies have just one to play, and it just so happens to be against group leaders Krytenia who have surmassed an unequivocable +41 goal differential, despite a slow start to the campaign. Highlighting a spat with Geese and a teenaged central midfielder with problems sleeping, media coverage of the World Cup in the Kiaser Colonies has been minimal at best. However, it is unclear what type of Krytenian side will show up, as the domestic league is the only thing the Krytenian media seems particularly concerned about, and the players likely share a similar priority schedule, assuming an Atlantian Oceania powerhouse such as themselves could just waltz through the qualifying - as they did. It will be all riding on the line for the Kiaser Colonies, but if the other three teams do their part, it may not even be enough.

While the two K's square off, Vilita will be traveling to the home of Brendino the 3rd, looking for some revenge for an utterly embarassing home defeat in the first leg which could yet prove to be the difference between a playoff place and a direct ticket to the Cup of Harmony for the Jungle Cats After a confident victory over the Zoobians on Matchday 7, the Jungle Cats returned home and were utterly flat and uninspiring against then-bottom Brendino the 3rd, the first of two results the Jungle Cats would drop against a bottom-ranked Nation. Luckily, a second win has allowed Brendino the 3rd to remain ahead of Ipeland and they will not be the groups bottom club when they face the Jungle Cats.

One thing the Jungle Cats may have going for them is the return of Kristofer Kilpter and Jomur Hulyer. Kilpter made his return to the starting lineup in the 3-0 victory over the Zoobians, although he didn't get on the scoresheet or get terribly involved in the match. It was a bit of a surprise that coaches Massa and Wrice did not choose to substitute Kilpter before the end of the match, but perhaps they felt he needed to keep playing to get back into the swing of things.

Certainly in the swing of things was Retiso Buran, who netted his 2nd goal in 3 games and won the Man of the Match honors. Kilpter's partners in crime also found themselves on the scoresheet, with Erocka Lorei netting his 4th of the campaign in the 74th minute. Not to be shown up, Sirkii Moliaudo also netted his 4th international goal just 3 minutes later. All 3 forwards had entered the day level on 3 goals, now Lorei and Moliaudo have pulled clear of Kilpter for the top active goalscorer in the Vilitan squad. On the bench for the first time but not taking part in the match was Turoki Academy prospect Lita Adjei. Adjei was absent from the sidelines for the first portion of the campaign to focus on his schooling, but he's now taking more of an active role in the training and was rewarded with the invitation to travel with the team to Brendino the 3rd.

The pressure will be intense, not just for the players, none of whom have ever been in a comparable situation before, but also for the coaches who must know now that every move, every decision, will be matches, not just by the fans in the sure-to-be sold out arenas, not just by the local media, but for the first time in decades; by the Whole World. Two games remain on the Vilitan schedule, and Two wins will see them qualify for a world cup playoff, and thats exactly what the supporters have come to expect from their upstart Jungle Cats.

Vilita Goalscorers::
16' Retiso Buran
74' Erocka Lorei
77' Sirkii Moliaudo


Opposition Goalscorers::
- N/A -

Vilita

Best Player: Retiso Buran
Worst Player: Astara Daiili
Shots on Target: 5
Corner Kicks: 6

Opponents

Best Player: Sam Hazari
Worst Player: John Tarn
Shots on Target: 1
Corner Kicks: 1


Vilita Jungle Cats (3-(1-4)-2) ::
[GK] Nycflala Kater, [D] Kadi Molali, [D] Ritopa Simafela, [D] Tyaoino Munviola, [DMC] Retiso Buran, [ML] Rexii Tzikas, [MC] Astara Daiili, [MC] Steffyn Siazzu, [MR] Viliaka Morasita, [FC] Kristofer Kilpter, [FC] Erocka Lorei
BENCH::
[FC] Lita Adjei, [FC] Sirkii Moliaudo, [M] Jomur Hulyer, [M] Riksa Valjariia, [U] Miiara Makose, [D] Eda Shindhi, [GK] Jawz Tiiaupila

Vilita Substitutions::
(45) - Steffyn Siazzu >>> Jomur Hulyer
(45) - Rexii Tzikas >>> Sirkii Moliaudo
(84) - Retiso Buran >>> Eda Shindhi


Match Ratings (For Future Statistical Reference)
GK :: Nycflala Kater 6

D :: Kadi Molali 5
D :: Ritopa Simafela 7
D :: Tyaoino Munviola 7

DMC :: Retiso Buran 9

ML :: Rexii Tzikas 7
MC :: Astara Daiili 6
MC :: Steffyn Siazzu 8
MR :: Viliaka Morasita 6

FC :: Kristofer Kilpter 6
FC :: Erocka Lorei 7

Vilitan Subs Bench:
FC :: Sirkii Moliaudo 7
M :: Jomur Hulyer 6
D :: Eda Shindhi 5