Di Bradini Cup 29/U21WC50 RP/Roster/Results Thread

[Farfadillis]

For the Group!

After an expected but still relieving win against Quebec, the Farves will have to defeat the Equestrian States if they want to top the group. We've already clinched advancement, however, so we're not really threatened. Topping the group would be nice, however.

The match itself showed a really attacking side against a side that has left many things to be desired. The Farf midfield controlled the game, even though the defense wasn't in one of its brightest days. Rossizzo will be happy to have won the game comfortably, as that is always a good sign.

It even took us just fifteen minutes to score a goal. When we were just getting to know what the Quebecois had planned for the match, Terán got the ball from Santic, near the edge of the box, dribbled the defensive attacking midfielder and sent a through pass to Fuego. The striker then ran to the ball and managed to chip it just in time for the goalkeeper not to be able to stop it. The ball went slowly towards the goal, but hit the post. It was then that Fôx, who was in the middle of a short sprint in case a rebound happened, got the rebound and brutallly kicked the ball inside the goal. Sure, it may not have been classy, but a goal's a goal.

Terán with the ball outside the box.

And we got another one two minutes right after the first one! Kâí showed why he was such a potent threat in this one, so I found it particularly wonderful. He got the ball from the Quebecois right midfielder thanks to a sliding challenge. He then started running down the flank. As soon as he saw the left back, he one-two'd him with help from Terán and continued the run down the flank. He then cut in, facing the left centre back. He feinted a cross, but the defender did not fall for it. He then acted as if he was to attempt dribbling him, which he would have if the defender had been left in an awkward position, and did nothing instead. The defender fell for it this time, and so he was left with a nice position. He could've crossed, passed the ball or something else, but he chose to shoot from a somewhat difficult position. The ball went straight to the upper-right corner after bending its path. As I said, a wonderful goal.

We'd have ten fatal minutes once the referee's watch hit thirty minutes. The Quebecois would get to score twice just as we had. However, it would be more by virtue of luck than anything else. In the first goal, the striker got into the box and shot as powerfully as he could before Mata could get to him. Lastá managed to stop it, albeit leaving a rebound up for grabs. The rebound went straight back into the striker's feet, somehow, and so he just shot again with our goalkeeper lying on the floor.

Then, just nine minutes after, Quebec would get a controversial free kick. The very same striker would step up to take it. He hit the wall. It went to the other post. It hit the post. Lastá had dived to the other side. It went in. I was angry.

Half time would come, and the scoreline was two-two. However, everybody knew it shouldn't have been two-two. The second half would reflect that, however. Luckily.

As soon as the second half began, we'd get a scare from the very same Quebecois striker, after he shot from afar, with Lastá punching the ball, which then hit the crossbar. Luckily, Mata got to the ball before the other Quebecois striker, which would've otherwise had the entire goal at his will to score his team's third goal.

It would take us some time to score the winning goal. It was in the seventieth minute that we got it.

Fôx got the ball from Elevado. The right back was running towards him. He pulled off a nutmeg and started sprinting down the flank. As the right flank was somewhat empty, the Quebecois defense was under chaos, with both defenders somehow failing to understand each other and both sprinting towards Fôx. Now, Fôx is no fool, and he obviously crossed. The cross was met by an incoming Terán's head. The header was brutal, incredibly powerful, even if not precise. The goalkeeper was so surprised he couldn't even react. It's not like reacting would've saved him or anything, the header was too difficult to punch out or anything.

The fourth goal wouldn't take much to come, much to our relief. Just five minutes later, Terán would score again.

He got the ball from Dragãozý. He was thirty metres from the goal. He then dribbled the defensive midfielder and, before anyone could've expected it, shot without even looking. It's got to have been flawless goal-reference, because I can't imagine how he could score such a fantastic goal without even looking. The ball almost hit the right post, not really far from the crosbar. I guess I don't have to say how perplexed everyone, except Terán, was.

After that, the game was pretty much a given for Farfadillis, who did not do much to score another goal. The Quebecois tried, but they couldn't find any more luck. Maybe they had depleted their luck reserves? Nonetheless, Equestrian States is waiting for us, and they look scare. I'm trusting our midfield trio. Please save us from this one, Kâí, Terán and Fôx!

[Mytannion]

A new home. The big city. It was a lot different here, it was permanently foggy, the smoke was thick in the air. Kalinina still had some effect here, apparently. The factories were still belching out their fumes and despite the ecosocialists regular calls for some regulation of this they were having no effect on anything. Zweig had been assassinated only a couple of weeks ago and the nation as a whole was in disarray, but that wasn't why Trofim had moved from the countryside to the port city of Ebor.

He had been invited to come, with promises of riches and fame and a better life. Trofim could already see that this was probably not the case. When his cousin Leo had given him a phone call telling him to come and join him in Ebor he could tell already that there was something not quite right. Trofim had wanted a change anyway, life in rural Mytannion was boring and the cities did promise something better. Although it wasn't set in concrete that you were set on a better life if you did move. There were a whole lot of people who regretted moving and ended up wrapped up in crime, wrapped up with the sort of people your mother warned you about. Mytannion was full of these though.

Leo had told Trofim that he owned four houses and had six Lantzias in different colours. He said he was seeing a model and had an easy job that earned him an excellent salary. Trofim suspected that this was all a lie, Leo wasn't a looker, he wouldn't be dating a model. There simply weren't any easy jobs that earned good salaries in Mytannion, it didn't happen. But still, Trofim would go and look for a better life for himself and also try and help Leo in whatever trouble he had managed to get himself into. That was the real reason why Leo would want him to come. It had been the case even in the country, whenever Leo had been bullied at school, Trofim had had to step in for him. It would just be that same story on a larger scale, with bullies who could probably do a little more than just take your lunch money.

Trofim would actually have to find Leo first - that would probably prove the hardest task - Trofim wasn't used to the scale of the city. He could walk around his village at a leisurely pace in about twenty minutes, this place was huge and Trofim didn't have the money to hail down a taxi. Everybody was looking to make money, the heavily regulated state systems had fallen to pieces with the fall of Kalinina and order still hadn't been restored fully. People would charge whatever they wanted for anything and if you couldn't afford to pay, you'd probably fall into crime of some sort in order to pay back. Those were the stories that were told and Trofim was inclined to believe them, despite not having any first hand knowledge of city life.

The streets were bustling and Trofim wasn't even in the city centre yet, or near the dockyards which Leo had often described and had made sound like the most hellish place in the world. He dreaded to think what would greet him when he actually met up with Leo, but he hoped it would be something that would change his cynicism even slightly.

Trofim had been involved in some evil stuff in his life, during the fight between Kalinina's forces and the Mytanar Befreiungsarmee there had been numerous atrocities committed, on both sides. Trofim's village had sided with Kalinina and had fought alongside her forces on numerous fronts, Trofim had been one of the child soldiers. Him and a group of friends, all from the same village had been picked up on army trucks one day and had been driven to another village. They had been instructed to attack the village and kill anyone in sight, they had been told that they were dirty Thessian scum and didn't deserve to live anyway. In reality, the people fighting were just scared children, just like Trofim himself. People preyed on different things, the different ethnic groups fuelled the fight against Kalinina just as much as hatred of Kalinina herself.

When Trofim had returned to his village, it turned out that another group had torched the town and were waiting in ambush. Only two men escaped, Trofim himself and Radimir Brkic. Trofim never saw Radimir again and was suspicious he was at fault for what had happened. Trofim realised it wasn't worth fighting for and immediately put plans in place to move to the next village and try and live in peace, forgetting about the war. Instead, he fell in with a gang, not like the gangs that ran crime in the big cities. But ones that raided rural banks, took all the money and went on the run. It was all too easy when the nation was in a state of civil war. People's savings were gone and the governmental stores weren't much harder to break down. When one heist went wrong and everyone involved died other than Trofim (again!), the gang leader believed Trofim had set them up and had tried to steal all the money for himself.

Trofim had to go on the run again.

He found some safety by lying low in various barns around rural Mytannion, avoiding major roads or the bigger villages around that region of Hochland state. Eventually the civil war ended and some order returned to the villages, it was safe for Trofim to go home. It was starting to rebuild a little and village life was returning to some form of normality. Leo told Trofim he was leaving for the big city and here they were four years later and Trofim was doing the same. Moving to the big city.

He was now 23 and life wasn't much better in the village. Leo was a few years older than Trofim and tried to apply some sort of wisdom, but it didn't really work. Trofim had always been the wiser of the pair.

...

Trofim had taken a few calls in the day, strangely, none of them had been from Leo himself. He had, apparently, ended up at Leo's location though. He was standing on a doorstep of an address he had been given. It was a block of flats, towering high above the street and Trofim had been told to press the buzzer of Flat 87. He readied himself, he didn't know what would be waiting him and he had a feeling it wouldn't be the dream that Leo had set out for him.

He pressed the buzzer.

A voice crackled on the other end of the intercom, but it wasn't a man's voice, Leo's voice, as Trofim had been expecting. But a broadly accented woman's voice, she was clearly an Eborian born and bred. There was noise as well, in the background, lots of different voices merging together, there was something going on, it sounded euphoric... Whatever it was.

"Hello, Konovalov residence, who is this..." She slurred. Trofim couldn't tell if it was the accent or consumption of alcohol or drugs that was causing this. It could be anything but he didn't really mind. It was definitely Leo's place. But, 'residence' what was that all about?

"Uh, yeah, hey this is Trofim, is Leo there?"

"Leonid's in yes honey, any message for hi--" The woman was broken off, her nasal, Eborian accent was as well and Trofim was thankful for it. He had been listening to it for less than a minute and it was already getting on his nerves.

"Trofim old buddy is that you?" Leo's voice, a familiar one, crackled onto the other end of the intercom and Trofim smiled, laughing.

"Yeah it is ma--" Leo broke him off too.

"Good my man, now come on up and have a drink with us, I got one hell of a party going on up here!" Trofim was unsure, but the old woman behind him made sure he moved quickly. She gave him the sternest look he thought he had ever received and Trofim gave a little half smile by way of reassurance but it seemed to have no effect. There was a buzzing noise and Trofim tried the door. It worked, pushing open with ease. It looked like he'd be seeing his cousin again, and whoever else he had with him.

This could be interesting.

[Darmen]

"It would be nice to get a win" says Jaramillo

Just about everyone in Darmen agrees that this Di Bradini Cup campaign has been anything but what was expected. Darmen currently sits at the bottom of Group G, win less through three matches and only one left to play. Star youngster Nur al Din Lambert, currently the only Darmeni playing abroad, has not lived up to expectations. Darmen have allowed eight goals, while only scoring three of their own. It's certainly no way to play the beautiful game. It can only be described by one word, "Ugly." And who wants to play the "ugly" game?

Match One: L 1-2 95X
Alexander Ayala, or "Den Picter" as he's sometimes known, scored Darmen's only goal, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback against 95X. al Din Lambert was the main reason Darmen went down quickly in the first half, failing to mark anyone well throughout the entire match. Abe Adams and Daniel Baker played well up front but were unable to put a ball where it counts most.

Match Two: L 2-4 Bears Armed
Abe Adams put one in within three minutes to set Darmen out on a good start, but once again al Din Lambert failed to perform in his role as Defensive Midfielder, and the Bears Armed went up 3-1 at halftime. They added a fourth in the 60th minute, effectively sealing the victory. Ayala added another goal to his tally, pull Darmen to within two in the 72nd minute, but it was all too little, too late.

Match Three: L 0-2 Taeshan
Overall this match was a poor performance for Darmen on both sides of the ball. No offense, and very little defense. In fact, lets not even talk about it.

Match Four: vs. Nouvel Ecosse
Hopefully this will be the match where we can win. Hopefully.

[Polar Islandstates]

Gregorz van der Riise threw his notebook over his shoulder as Larsen ballooned the free kick well over the crossbar and into the upper tiers of the stadium. What a waste of a good situation.

He started composing his full-time team-talk. The Chicks had raced into a two-nil lead. Vauxhall Jansen of all people had scored the first, always looking like he was doing well by accident he managed to slot home on the half volley despite looking in a different direction. Whatever it was that was distracting him, it stopped him from overthinking things, and his shot flew in. Even though he'd just lost half his ethnicity, in a dream apparently, he'd managed to keep his head in the game as much as it usually was, and that was a blessing. Ernest Akerhausen had scored the second, stabbing out a leg to prod home the loose ball that was bouncing in the box. At half time, things had looked sewn up, and van der Riise's team-talk had been full of praise.

Apparently that had gone to their heads however, as the second half performance had been appalling, and he was now thinking of how to berate his his players accordingly.

Furellum's performance in the second half had been fantastic, of course. No reason to take that away from them. They'd reacted to their shortcomings and plugged the gaps that Konigstein and Kuetari had been finding so easily, and had started attacking Jansen and Bjerregaard with much more intensity. Not that they'd had much luck against Bjerregaard, but Jansen had proved a pliable enough target that the defence had been stretched. And when you're stretched but not paying enough attention, you allow players like Moisey Vaduva in around the back to take easy shots at your goalkeeper.

Five times.

Two of which had ended up in the back of the net.

Nilsson, Navarro, Arnesen. None of them would escape blame in this particular team-talk, although there were all sorts of managerial techniques that van der Riise possessed that would prevent any particular individual from being victimised, he'd make sure they knew quite how disappointed he was in the performance of the defence.

Not that it was just the Furellum attack that was frustrating his plans, of course. The hugely impressive Ragnar Asbjorn and Sorin Vladimirescu had each denied Polarian attacks on many occasions. The former, as a polar bear, already gathered a huge amount of respect from the players on the pitch, despite van der Riise howling at them to close him down in possession. The latter, well, van der Riise wouldn't be at all surprised if any Divisjon One scouts that had been in attendance for playes in his squad would have instead had their heads turned by Vladimirescu.

The Chicks had been poor, but the substitutions of Hedegaard and Eskildsen had changed things somewhat. Akerhausen, despite his goal, wasn't playing particularly well, and with the addition of a few more attacking midfielders Larsen was suddenly having a lot more support. Quite why he'd decided he was going to be the one to take that free kick was beyond van der Riise however. The man must have had the least subtle touch in the entire squad, accurate striker though he was.

No, the Chicks had thrown away a two goal lead, and that wasn't good enough.

He looked at van Jendrisen. van Jendrisen looked back. Out of ideas. van der Riise continued his mental speech, when the crowd's noise made him look up. Eskildsen had broken down the left, and played a quick one-two with Jansen to evade the attentions of Thor Kokot. Taking a touch to compose himself, he whipped the ball into the area, and Tor Hedegaard was running in at the near post to tap in from close range.

The Polarian bench erupted. That was the winning goal! With only two minutes left on the clock, surely they couldn't mess it up again?

van der Riise jumped for joy, running fully out of his technical area with van Jendrisen to embrace the onrushing players. A mass of hands, arms, and grinning faces. Warm shouts. Glorious ecstasy at having won the game.

The players retreated back onto the pitch, Hedegaard still applauding the fans. van Jendrisen and van der Riise returned to their bench. Wincing, van der Riise put a hand to his heart, feeling the muscular pull and physical discomfort of a short stabbing pain. His face flushed. He took a few deep breaths and sat down. Gradually, the world stopped spinning, and the pain subsided. It was concerning, however, and he made a note to ask for some time with the team doctor after the warm-down that evening.

Before that however, he had a new team talk to write.

[Mizuyuki]

"I see NSB are going for brawn over brains, are they not?"

I brought a cup of fragrant tea to my lips as my assistant manager furiously swiped at her tablet, trying to find the spreadsheet document that contained the relevant details on New Sideburn's tactics.

"Yes, it appears that Boyden's going for physicality over the aesthetic. We do already have a contingency plan in place for this very eventuality, however; it was you that suggested going down this avenue in the first place."

"Absolutely, my dear Shinobu. It has long been my belief that every possibility, every single detail should be explored in order to guarantee success in the world of football. No detail is too finite; no scenario too implausible. Of course, I am aware of the fact that there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory, but I find that going into a match prepared does considerably elevate one's chances of securing a win."

"But just look at that lineup. Flynn, Monroe, Connacht, Stubbs ... hell, it reads more like a lineup for rugby than football! We knew that NSB would be physical and uncompromising in terms of playing style, but this is just ridiculous. It's almost like they're concentrating on suffocating our players with sheer bulk."

I delicately set down the fine china cup onto its plate.

"And that is indeed what they're planning to do, if I'm not sorely mistaken."

"Wouldn't be continuing our usual style of play against the New Sideburnese be folly? I mean, they've got all the necessary tools at their disposal to counter that. Looking at the contingency plan ... it doesn't seem to inspire much confidence in me, to be honest. Unless we bring on Kurugaya, the entire forward line and midfield will be compromised if Park doesn't manage to put in an exceptional shift."

"I never said that I was going to keep our usual lineup for the match against the rugged New Sideburnese."

"Then, may I make so bold as to pick your brains, Kamioka-san?"

A faint hint of a smile curled itself around my lips.

"Very well. Shinobu, you have been of great help to me throughout this DBC campaign, and I'm honestly impressed by your dedication and perseverance. I realise that it cannot have been a particularly tasteful proposition to work alongside me, but so far you've performed rather commendably. Thus, I will be presenting you with the chance of a lifetime, my friend; we shall exchange roles for today's match."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean exactly what I said, Shinobu. That is to say, you will be the de facto head coach, manager, gaffer, or whatever you'd like to term it for today's match against New Sideburn. I'm going to relinquish the opportunity to you, given that we've already qualified for the next round. Mid-game tactical switches, substitutions, team talks - I'm leaving them all to your discretion. It'll be good practice for your eventual elevation to a full management position within the FA some time in the near future. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you allowed me the luxury of dictating the starting line-up."

"Very well. I'm not exactly in a position to refuse you, am I?"

"It's good to know that you realise that, Shinobu. Very good indeed. I'm pleased to see that you at least have the requisite level of tact to survive in the harsh world of football. We may very well be bearing witness to the birth of a managerial genius at this very moment."

Smiling graciously, I beckoned to Shinobu as I stepped out of the room.

"Now, shall we head to the changing rooms? I imagine you'll have some pep talks to dish out."

Lineup in full - GK Haruto
DEF Takashi, Shibue, Young, Rin
MID Torisawa, Mugino, Park, Akechi, Tsukuyomi
FWD Kurugaya

[95X]

(Continuation of MD0 RP)
...Floyd Commando turned around, and saw a familiar face.

"Jerrod!" he replies. Seems Jerrod Nebraska also made the team. The two played on the 95X team that placed third in the Fourth U-15 World Cup.

They exchange a firm handshake, both of them focused on their own careers and had lost track over the years.

"I'm playing for the Nationals," Commando said. "Got into a three-way tie for fourth-place, didn't make it, but hey I'm here now."

"Weeksberg U19 for me," Nebraska replied. "Have a decent chance of making the actual team next season."

The conversation turns.

"So," Nebraska questions, "did you and that one girl hookup afterwards?"

Commando looks down, then looks up to say something.

"I can't talk about it," Commando replies, looking off in the distance. He quickly changes the topic back to the task at hand.

"Well, we're here now, let's concentrate on what we have to do for the next few days, alright?"

[Felix]

(Word from the "wise", never procrastinate. Also going to RP the journal thing today, no time to do match reports.)

Backstory
Entry #1
Entry #2

Luca Esser's Journal

Well my girlfriend and I watched the The Licentian Isles - Felix game on TV while on the restaurant, was fun to watch even though Felix drew. My friend Noé scored Felix's only goal in the 7th minute but Aran Millar tied it up 10 minutes later. 1-1 and the game would stay like that for the rest of the match. One point, still in the run to qualify.

As for the date things went well, we ate, talked and I vented about what happened to mama. She understood and she smiled. It felt great to get my feelings off my chest. We ate some local food and it was super tasty, one of the chefs (and he was a pony) Flutterfly came out and met me, telling me that he was a big fan of my footballing work, so happy about that. Glad to have fans from other countries.

Well, I am in the car and my girlfriend is out to get some desert. Ok, bye.

-----

Things for Luca Esser turned for the worst as he was waiting for his girlfriend when he saw her get surrounded by some men. He got of the car and stood up telling the men to back off from her. They didn't listen and they proceeded to assault her. Luca was outraged and despite being outnumbered 4 to 1 he decided to fight against them and save his girlfriend. It failed and he was stabbed and repeatedly kicked. Before he blacked out he heard the words from a familiar voice, "Looks like we finally got ourselves a foreign girl." He then proceeded to black out.

Luca woke up from the hospital and proceeded to struggle as he still thought he was in those streets. He looked around and yelled out his girlfriend's name. The nurses looked at him and said she was fine and was recovering from her assault. He asked the nurse what type of assault was it. The nurse gave a grim look and said, "Sexual." Luca's heart sank. He was sad and outraged but he knew he couldn't do anything. Yet. Three days later he and his girlfriend were released from the hospital. The two later went to the authorities and made a report on the incident. And the local officers then filed the report and the lookout for the 4 suspects began.

-----

Luca Esser's Journal

THOSE FUCKERS ARE GOING TO PAY! THEY WILL! WITH THEIR LIVES! I... I know who did this... Those fucking Free Republicans... They did it. I will avenge my girlfriend... And I must, I have no choice. If the law doesn't bring justice, I will bring my own type of justice. I will kill those bastards! If it is the last thing I do! And I will do it without mercy!

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

Café, #08

Amazing how sometimes, the unexpected pick may bring more to the table than the rest. Playing to guarantee their spot at the next round, the Vaporeons entered the pitch to face region neighbors Sangti, who obviously had way better days at Under-21 football. But regardless of the power that the main team was bringing to this match, it seemed to be focused mostly on the talented Café. His versatility, along with a couple of goals could easily prove that he was able to do a lot to Sunrisian football.

After already opening the score with a great shot, Café would outskill his opposition at his second goal, something truly deserving of the term "Huelandese Moment". As he left the field following the match, one reporter would quickly ask, What do you have to say to the world? Café gave him a huge smile, before leaving and calmly answering.

"You may laugh at my name if you will, but Café is here to stay."

[Equestrian States]

Match Day 5 Results

Group A

Farfadillis 4-4 Equestrian States
at Royal Equestria Stadium in Canterlot

San José Guayabal 3–2 The Royal Kingdom of Quebec
at Star Stadium in Canterlot

  Group A                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Equestrian States       4   3  1  0   17   7 +10   10
2  Farfadillis             4   3  1  0   14   9  +5   10
3  Patistan                4   2  0  2    9   9   0    6
4  San José Guayabal       4   1  0  3    5  11  -6    3
5  Quebec                  4   0  0  4    4  13  -9    0

Equestrian States ahead of Farfadillis on Goal Differential

Group B

Starblaydia 0–0 Åsløtten-Bëðerbørg så Česky
at Derby Field in Manehattan

Filopines 0–1 Felix
at Manehattan Industrial Park in Manehattan

  Group B                          Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Starblaydia                    4   2  2  0    7   4  +3    8
2  Felix                          4   2  1  1    6   5  +1    7
3  The Licentian Isles            4   1  3  0    3   2  +1    6
4  Filopines                      4   1  0  3    6   9  -3    3
5  Åsløtten-Bëðerbørg så Česky    4   0  2  2    5   7  -2    2

Group C

Sangti 0–3 Dutzenderland
at Elements Stadium in Ponyville

Nassau Hessen 0–0 Northern Sunrise Islands
at Sky-High Coliseum in Cloudsdale

  Group C                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Blouman Empire              4   3  0  1   12   7  +5    9
2  Northern Sunrise Islands    4   2  2  0    8   5  +3    8
3  Dutzenderland               4   1  2  1    6   5  +1    5
4  Nassau Hessen               4   0  3  1    2   4  -2    3
5  Sangti                      4   0  1  3    2   9  -7    1

Group D

Mizuyuki 1–0 New Sideburn
at Diamond Park in Stalliongrad

Eura 0–1 Ko-oren
at the Maple Bowl in Trottawa

  Group D                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Mizuyuki                4   4  0  0    7   1  +6   12
2  Ko-oren                 4   3  0  1    3   2  +1    9
3  New Sideburn            4   1  1  2    1   2  -1    4
4  Thatius                 4   0  2  2    2   5  -3    2
5  Eura                    4   0  1  3    1   4  -3    1

Group E

Wight 0–1 Free Republics
at Wild Grounds in Everfree

Welsh Cowboy 3–0 Bloodbath Generation
at Shady Grove in Whitetail

  Group E                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Free Republics          4   2  1  1    9   8  +1    7
2  Tynewear                4   2  1  1    6   5  +1    7
3  Wight                   4   2  0  2    8   8   0    6
4  Welsh Cowboy            4   2  0  2   10   7  +3    6
5  Bloodbath Generation    4   1  0  3    6  11  -5    3

Free Republics ahead of Tynewear on Goals Scored
Wight ahead of Welsh Cowboy on H2H Result

Group F

Furellum 3–2 Saugeais
at HarmonyLink Field in Seaddle

German American States 0–0 Polar Islandstates
at Pony Lands Park in Manechester

  Group F                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  Polar Islandstates        4   3  1  0    6   3  +3   10
2  Furellum                  4   2  1  1    8   6  +2    7
3  Saugeais                  4   1  1  2    5   6  -1    4
4  Albaie                    4   1  1  2    4   6  -2    4
5  German American States    4   0  2  2    3   5  -2    2

Saugeais ahead of Albaie on Goal Differential

Group G

Taeshan 2–4 95X
at Salt Lick Stadium in Salt Lick City

Nouvel Ecosse 2–2 Darmen
at Estadio Poco Caballo in Maredrid

  Group G                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  95X                     4   4  0  0   13   6  +7   12
2  Taeshan                 4   2  1  1   10   8  +2    7
3  Nouvel Ecosse           4   1  2  1    4   5  -1    4
4  Bears Armed             4   1  0  3   10  13  -3    3
5  Darmen                  4   0  1  3    5  10  -5    0

Group H

Iseteskog 0–1 The Inevitable Syndicate
at Thunder Palace in Oatlahoma City

Mytannion 3–2 Uitbregen
at Point Stadium in Hoofston

  Group H                       Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1  The Inevitable Syndicate    4   3  0  1    5   1  +4    9
2  Mytannion                   4   3  0  1    6   3  +3    9
3  Uitbregen                   4   2  1  1    8   5  +3    7
4  Sicoutimont                 4   1  1  2    4   7  -3    4
5  Iseteskog                   4   0  0  4    1   8  -7    0

The Inevitable Syndicate ahead of Mytannion on H2H Result

---

Round of 16 Schedule

Equestrian States vs. Felix
at Diamond Park in Stalliongrad

Blouman Empire vs. Ko-oren
at Star Stadium in Canterlot

Starblaydia vs. Farfadillis
at Sky-High Coliseum in Cloudsdale

Mizuyuki vs. Northern Sunrise Islands
at Pony Lands Park in Manechester

Free Republics vs. Furellum
at Royal Equestria Stadium in Canterlot

95X vs. Mytannion
at Manehattan Industrial Park in Manehattan

Polar Islandstates vs. Tynewear
at Estadio Poco Caballo in Maredrid

The Inevitable Syndicate vs. Taeshan
at HarmonyLink Field in Seaddle

[Taeshan]

http://chirb.it/g8qG4s

U21 2

[Ko-oren]

Impossible! Ko-oren in Round 2!

And so, for the first time ever, the Liteblues are in the second round of the Di Bradini Cup. Does that mean that we finally have a pool of players that are ready for the job before they are 25? Does it mean that the rest of the world has just become worse? We do not know, but we do know that the current group of players took the Ko-orenite Way to heart. Three goals scored, three victories. Get a load of this: in all games the Litegreens even scored, they won. It is even better than the Ice Hockey team, who had four goals scored and three games won.

In the second round, there are two teams on 4-0-0: Mizuyuki and 95X. On 3-1-0: three teams: Equestrian States, Farfadillis (both from Group A) and Polar Islandstates. Then, on the other side, we have Starblaydia and Felix, from Group B, both advancing with just two victories. A similar thing happened in Group E, with two qualifiers on just seven points. The Free Republics and Tynewear.

After a group stage, there are always a few stories to tell. We have looked at the best teams to qualify and the worst teams to qualify. Both are happy stories... and then there are the more dramatic stories. The teams that played so well, but still did not qualify. And the teams that were left without a chance since MD1. We are still not sure which we have to feel more sorry for. Group H's Uitbregen has 7 points and +3 GD, which makes them have a better record than five out of sixteen Round of 16 teams. And Quebec, Darmen and Iseteskog were left with zero points. Now we could feel sorry for these teams, and we do feel sorry for them... on average. Sorry for all but one, so to say. We cannot say that we are that sad now Darmen is out of the tournament. In fact, there is only one better scenario than them flying out of the DBC with 0 points, and that is that they finish last on 0 points while we are in their group. But anyhow, thanks 95X, Taeshan, Bears Armed and Nouvel Ecosse!

Now it is time to focus on the Blouman Empire, the next opponent. They play a simple 4-4-2 with a slight inclination to push the opponent back to their goal, with a diamond in midfield. The Ko-orenite midfield is warned for the different players on their midfield, with left Miller making the ball do the work and the right Fox doing the work himself. Freltron is there to control the midfield, with Cupstran in his back. The latter might be a better passer, but he has got the defensive style in his play that makes him the better defensive mid. Cupstran could easily be a Ko-orenite player: not playing in defense, still favoring the defense over the attack. Blouman Emipre have Hunter and Credab in attack, responsible for the 12 goals that the team scored in the first four games. Both are good finishers, capable of scoring from within the box and out of it, but rely on the midfield to get into that scoring position. And let that be the strong point of our defense... shutting out attackers and making sure that passes do not reach them. The Blouman Empire defense is responsible for their 7 (!) goals conceded in the group stage, Lonret and Relston on the outsides, and Parson and Potts in the center. All four are decent, but not as good as the midfielders or attackers on this team. Therefore their choice to play somewhat up front is a good one, masking their faults as much as possible and using their advantages in the process. Still, a few well placed and timed counters could easily upset them... as they have proven in the group stage. Seven goals against is not something to brag about, even though they finished in first place. Lonret is a slightly colorless player, without any strong points. Relston is an offense-minded back, as they are popular in modern football. Parson is not even playing for his club team. Potts is a physical defender, but seems to have no other merits. All in all, the 11 players of our next opponent all come from different clubs. Let's see if their bond holds.

Of course, their midfield is strong, their offense is capable, and they have managed to finish first in their group. We cannot say that their team is bad, just that it seems to be lacking in defense. Imagine a Blouman-Ko-orenite team. Ruthless in defense and attack. The football intelligence of the Greenblues with actually scoring attackers of the Blouman Empire. Flawless. But unfortunately, we will not be seeing them cooperate. Instead, we will see tomorrow if the Ko-orenite defense can best the Blouman Empire's attack.

[Furellum]

Player Reviewwith Jan Sorensen

Thor Kokot

Thor showing off
his famed long blonde hair

Thor could well be one of the stars of the future. While overlooked during the U-15 World Cup, he has been impressive with Gallifor Grit, who pulled some strings to get him into the adult team. One of a growing number of young players from rural and isolated communities, Thor comes from Svadilhiem, a Sleipnirian community out in the west country. He claims his two heroes are the horse-god Sleipnir and national team captain Fyodor Iosef. Comparisons with Iosef are natural, as apart from the physical they also share similar playing styles. Thor is a clean, precise player with a good head on his shoulders, and could well be a star of the future.

Levi Kolar
Levi was an integral part of both U-15 world cup teams. He is an excellent midfielder, but off-field he has had several clashes with other teammates over "differences". Some would go so far as to call him a bully, although that is not displayed on pitch. That's not to say that Levi hasn't earned his fair share of cards, but he certainly does not go out of his way to take down opposing players. His growing horns have had a negative impact on his game, preventing him from being able to use his head, but Levi has overcome this by playing a more supporting role in team attacks.

[Polar Islandstates]

Sam Radcliffe sat down in the stands high above the pitch at HarmonyLink Field. Furellum against Saugeais was well into the second half, and she'd missed a huge amount of the action, but she didn't mind. She wasn't there for the entertainment. Her ambitions were of a slightly more monetary nature. Specifically, the letter of introduction and the business card in her inside pocket. Both of which carried the embossed crest of SK Franz Josef City. More importantly, the latter carried the scrawled biro phone numbers for most of the senior management team at the club. They were after a player in a big way, and as ever, chief scout Sam Radcliffe was the one to deliver the initial statements of introduction. After all, her hard work had created the reports that they'd all read, and her instinct had spotted the talent in the first place, so it stood to reason that she should get the honour.

Of course, she'd originally attended the match between Polar Islandstates and Furellum with the intention of keeping tabs on the highly rated Polarian youngsters Alexei Brannstrom and Nikita Eskildsen, but instead it was a player in the opposition that had caught the eye. Sorin Vladimirescu. Left-back. SK's own left-backs were getting on in years, and with no youngster good enough looking like emerging from the academy in the right position any time soon, they'd need to buy in. That he's a youngster himself made the proposition all the more satisfying for the club.

'Sam,' she thought to herself, 'you've done it again. Vladimir Lucic, Bjorn Konigstein, and now Vladimerescu.'

And then a finger tapped her three times on the shoulder. She turned around. Her heart sank.

"You."

"Hello, Sam." smirked the face sat behind her in the stands. Espen Demidov. Scouting and player recruitment for East Franz Athletic.

"Why is it I seem to spend half my life running into you?" asked Sam.

"That's just the way it is, you know," he replied, leaning back with a horrible little smug smile, "we both go after the same players, and then they sign for East Franz Athletic."

"One time, that happened."

"Stung though, didn't it?" he sneered.

"Didn't stop you losing Kvitchenko, did it?" she snapped back, wiping the smile from his face. That shut him up. "Who was it you lost him to? Oh yeah, Extramarine. A team that never even existed. You bunch of losers."

"Actually, he's at Axel Heiburg now." sniffed Espen.

"Then that's worse, surely?"

"Oh, shut up. Anyway, I assume you're here for the same left-back I'm here for?"

"Indeed I am. Got a very nice offer tucked away in my top pocket." said Sam, smugly.

"Oh, well, I'm sure he'll find the offer we've got in mind more than favourable. And better than anything some two-bit birdies can come up with."

"That's Griffons, actually. Champions' Cup winning Griffons, thank you very much."

"Yeah, what took you so long with that?"

"Shut up, Espen."

Their spat was interrupted by the shrill chirping of the referee's whistle. Full time, and the Furellum players were celebrating their victory and progression to the next stage. Time to act. Sam acted first, shoving a hand out and knocking Espen off the back of the chair he'd been sitting on. As her rival crumpled onto the terraces, she raced down the steps, quickly reaching the pitch side where she prepared to get her stadium pass out so she could go down the tunnel and deliver the invitation to Vladimerescu.

And then her path was blocked by a hooded figure stepping out in front of her.

A figure that grinned at her.

Stefan Vandegarde. Chief scout and recruitment officer for FC Axel Heiburg.

"Going somewhere, Sam?" he smirked.

"Oh, come on!"

[The Inevitable Syndicate]

Stories of SHOCK & AWE
Part One: Atomia
Part Two: Mods
Part Three: Special Delivery

Monitor 000 was unlike the others. A behemoth of Syndicatian engineering, the computer was responsible for overseeing the entirety of SHOCK&AWE's internal Systems. Jim sat at it's desk, and he dwarfed in comparison to the looming screens. Dr. Riley sat beside, him and begin to explain the basics.

"Right then," he said, tapping at a keyboard and bringing up a map of the region, a notepad file, and various other things (which included his e-mail) "I'm going to set the thing up for you, but I can't be bothered to input the targeting parameters for other nations - hopefully anyone on the other end has done that already. I'll give them our co-ordinates, in case they want to hit us with anything..."

Jim interrupted him at this point. "What if they send nuclear weapons?"

Dr. Riley shrugged. "We'll just have to take it, I guess." He bought up a video link, which showed a very stressed Andrew Browne with his head in his hands at a desk. The other side claimed to be "connecting". Browne looked up, noticed the odd looking scientist and the apprentice at the other end, straightened his tie, and spoke:

"Oh, hello. Did you get the delivery that we sent you?"

"Yes, it was all in working order!" Dr. Riley said, with a smile on his face. "I've been prepping the missiles all night, and now it's just a case of finding an emergency broadcast to find contact with another nation. Any luck with that?"

The Administrator sighed. "Nope. Nothing. We've tried at least half of the emergency spectrum, and nothing is coming up. I don't even know if this has affected other nations... Did you find anything?"

Jim looked into the camera. "Only think I found was a Taeshani Broadcast that must have gone awry - mentioned something about how we're facing them in the Di Bradini Cup? I thought that didn't even start for a couple of months..."

Riley stared at Jim. "Which codec did you use to search for those?"

Jim shrugged. "The secret one that was hidden deep in the files. I assumed it was for emergencies."

"That's our experimental one that recieves broadcasts from the future. It uses some Holy Empire technology that we engineered from the Meteoricon - at the moment, it's in an alpha stage, and we can only get the odd broadcast from it. Nice to see it's working, though, and that does mean that we might come out of this alive."

The Administrator coughed at the two SHOCK&AWE members. "Wow!" he said, looking towards his monitor. "I think I've found something!"

Riley sat back down in his chair, furiously tapping away. "What is it?"

"It's crude, but it's also encrypted. Doesn't seem to be too much data... Here, I'll ping it to you."

Monitor 000 kicked back from it's sleep, and a series of pings could be heard. Jim was startled by the loud noise it made. "What the hell is it doing?"

Riley looked on in awe. "It's designed to solve any encrypted signals it gets... That's what the pings are!" He went to the kettle to make another tea, and while he was gone, the Monitor let out a final, microwave-like 'ping', and displayed the signal. It was a series of co-ordinates, along with a bunch of times. At the bottom it simply read:

Cure effort co-ordinates and times. If you have the capabilities, send a cure that way before our cure missiles get there. 

Starblaydi High Command

Riley peered from the kitchen and punched the air. He let out a shout that echoed across the empty building. In a flash, he hurried back to his seat.

"This is exactly what we needed, and if I just overlay the data with this map... Jim, do us a favour, finish that tea, will you?"

As Jim went back to the kettle, Riley punched in some numbers and presented a crude overlay of the co-ordinates with the map. Then he took out a pen and scribbled down a list of nations in his notebook. "Jim?" he shouted. "Jim, get over here - you have a job to do!"

---

The Forum was empty. Only Andrew was left. The others had either gone home to check on their families or succumbed to the virus. It was a miracle he was still alive, as not an hour ago, Arnell tried to eat his arms off before he was taken to the panic room. Orders to everyone in the country were to incapacitate, and not kill a single infected. Browne had been sent the decrypted files, and The Syndicate wouldn't be hit for another three hours. Three hours to wait and hope for the best.

He opened his desk, hit the button underneath that opened the secret back compartment, and peered in. He paused for a few moments, before slamming it shut. It was way too early for that.

---

"So is this literally all I'm doing? Clicking the crosses when they flash and pressing the button? Only thing it reminds me of is this one time in this online game, when I had to move my 'troops' within a certain time frame or the war status would update... It was very well co-ordinated, mind you, but really dull."
Riley took a sip of his tea. "That's exactly what you'll be doing." He moved over to a filing cabinet and rifled through some papers. "It's not too tricky, but I've more important things to do. Like finding a way to contact the Starblaydi directly...

"Fine..." said Jim, with a touch of boredom in his voice, as he grabbed the mouse and started clicking...

[Farfadillis]

Great Match, Not Top, But Who Cares?

Now, that was a match. The Equestrian train seemed impossible to stop, and we may not have fully stopped it, but we managed a very respectable tie against a team that had been thrashing the teams we had been just defeating. The goal difference between the two teams shows this, and sadly that was the tiebreaker that could set the two teams apart. Both teams look like very good candidates. That, or the rest of the teams in the group were simply pathetic. Now, this has left me wondering...

Anyway, the match surely was exciting. Rossizzo didn't seem to like the idea of not winning, and so he seemingly ordered the entire team to be super attacking. Luckily, Fôx, Kâí and Terán were particularly inspired, and so the attacks were mostly lethal. The Equestrians seemed to want to win the game as well. They fielded players as good as Pristina Shine, Krystal, Apple Cobbler and Stardust, who all play for the senior squad.

I'm pretty sure the Equestrian States as a country don't need any introduction. I mean, every Farf must remember how we qualified for a World Cup for the first time. Defeating their under twelves... As close as that game may have been, we sure got the best part of it, as we even reached the quarterfinals that tournament. But it's not like anybody doesn't know already.

As for the game, it started just as expected. With both teams bombarding the other's defense, there was easily going to be a goal in the first twenty minutes. And indeed, there were two. One for each team.

On just the fifteenth minute, Fôx would give us the lead. After Alaminos recovered the ball from Pristina Shine, he managed to dribble Stardust and send a great aerial through pass to a sprinting Fôx. The Rulandese then chested the ball and managed to execute a perfect rainbow flick just as the ball hit the grass, with Bailey approaching him. Soon, he was facing Redtooth, a two-metre tall dragon. Fearlessly, apparently, he dribbled to the right side and shot as powerfully as he could, surprising the goalkeeper, who would've otherwise easily stopped the shot, even taking into account how precise it was. Indeed, a wonderful goal because of all the resources used.

But it wouldn't take the Equestrians much to equalize! They would do it in just two minutes, in fact. Stardust soon surprised Cervántez with a through pass, which Rosewing easily stopped and, after adjusting position, turned into a goal. The shot from the Sunrisian-established forward was very difficult for Lastá to stop, so I might as well not blame him this time. Just this time.

After that, both teams seemed to calm down just a bit. However, both got their own fair share of chances, with Terán hitting the crossbar twice, while Rosewing got two wonderful shots stopped by Lastá, along with Stardust almost scoring, with the right post refusing to allow it.

But the Equestrian States would get to score again just before half time, thanks to a few wonderful brushstrokes of skill from Krystal. She got the ball on the right flank, dribbled Kâí, then Cervántez, who seems to be just not good enough, and faced Mata. Then, she managed to confuse him with a combination of tricks I cannot yet understand, getting to shoot powerfully to the left post just after dribbling our centre back. Alaminos almost got to it, but he could just barely touch it, and Lastá couldn't do a thing. Two-one down now.

Half time arrived and finished, and neither manager decided to change schemes. The game had been entertaining, and not many mistakes had been committed anyway.

And soon we'd equalize again. Now thanks to Kâí. The other Rulandese winger got a great through pass from Terán just ten minutes into the second half. He dribbled Flyer, then Redtooth by feinting a shot, and got to the penalty spot. Then, he heeled the ball back to Terán, who was already sprinting, prepared for that. The ball violently hit the post, but Glove had already dived. Kâí was the first to react, and so he managed to outrun Redtooth to the ball and, with the goal at his will, equalize. Looks like Risko has got a great goal instinct now too. Just wonderful.

Alaminos stopping the ball after dribbling Rosewing.

The game was now officially impossible to predict. Neither team was winning, and both were getting to the other's goal seemingly at will. It even looked as if they were taking turns. But it would be Equestrian States the first to score again.
Apple Cobbler, the incredibly young earth pony who plays for both Jungle Strike and the Equestrian senior side, got the ball at the edge of the box. She then connected a great through pass to an incoming Pristina Shine. Alaminos managed to prevent the ball from getting to the latter, however, with a great sliding challenge. However, by tough luck, the ball would bounce off Farsight and go straight back to Apple Cobbler. She would once again pass the ball to Pristina Shine, who now was free of marking. The Equestrian striker then shot to the lower-right corner, easily scoring.

But we'd equalize in no time! Just as the Equestrians had equalized in the first half just two minutes after Fôx scored, Terán would get to score from outside the box after finding Golden Glove out of position. He dribbled Apple Cobbler, found Golden Glove a few steps outside the goal line and then chipped the ball to the upper-right corner. The ball took a debonair path straight to it. Little could the Equestrian goalkeeper do to stop such a classy goal, really.

The game was now again tied. Three-three now, though. The game continued with both teams attacking, attacking and attacking, until the Equestrian States finally found their way to our goal once again.

It was Krystal this time. She got the ball from Stardust at the midfield, dribbled Elevado and then, upon reaching the edge of the box and just before Mata got to tackle her, shot to the left post. Lastá managed to touch the ball with the tip of his fingers, but it wasn't enough and so Krystal got her own goal too.

And the game now looked all set for Equestrian States to take it home. It really wouldn't have mattered much if we hadn't scored five minutes later, but it was nice regardless. I mean, we're still unbeaten because of that.

Alaminos got the ball from Rosewing and starter a swift counterattack. He connected a long pass to Fôx, who got the ball and waited for an inevitable incoming wave of Farf players, regardless of position (excluding goalkeeper). Fuego was the first to get close to Fôx's position, and so he passed the ball to him. The counterattack had so far been lightning fast, but Fuego got tackled by a concentrated Redtooth who was taking none of it. However, as the ball bounced back to the Farf side of the pitch, Alaminos picked it up just before Apple Cobbler could get to it. He then dribbled Redtooth in the middle of a sprint and sent a through pass to Kâí, who barely made it to the ball before it went out. He then stopped, looked up, and proceeded to feint a pass before running down the flank, dribbling Bailey. He then cut in instead of going for the cross, passing the ball to Terán. At the edge of the box, he saw Alaminos sprinting all the way towards the box, so he sent an aerial through pass that went just over Flyer. The Equestrian defense was already a mess. The pass-cross-thingy to Alaminos met the Faroleran's head just a metre to the right of the penalty spot. As soon as it did, it was rocketed straight to the upper-right corner, as if hit by a powerful kick. But no, it had been headed. A very good goal.

And now the game had been equalized again. We went for the win, so did the Equestrians despite how risky that was, but none got another goal. Nonetheless, an exciting match. I'm proud for the guys. They gave it their best, and I think both teams are currently strong candidates for the title.

Now we're facing Starblaydia, a very dangerous team. I'd say to take care from Ffion McAllister, but she's not the only good player they've got. So, well, let's just watch the game as another exciting match we're playing, and another way of sweating due to being nervous!

[Mytannion]

Trofim arrived at the flat door, he braced himself for a second. Standing, not quite sure as to what he would find inside. He hoped that Leo was okay, he hadn't seen him in so long. His talk of riches in the city seemed a little far out though, this place wasn't exactly the poshest place that Trofim had ever visited. He had heard about the city streets, the tough lives people had there. Drugs, gambling, prostitution, all sorts of crime went on. It wasn't like the crimes that occurred in rural Mytannion. The bank raids and whatever. It was a lot simpler out in the country, it seemed. Trofim didn't pretend that it didn't appeal to him, the city lifestyle, but he was slightly scared of what Leo could have gotten himself into. He always was reckless.

The door opened.

Leo stumbled towards the door, putting one gnarled hand up to hold onto the door frame. Trofim's cousin was only a few years older than him, in his late twenties, but he looked a lot older. His face was sallow and his eyes were sunken, he looked almost like a skeleton, his skull pulling the skin tight. He wasn't a pretty sight, he was obviously heavily inebriated and struggling with the effects of the alcohol. His eyes struggled to focus, swivelling in different directions irregularly. He finally managed to gain some concentration and tried to make eye contact with Trofim, struggling throughout. He realised who it was, despite having only spoken to him about a minute or so before and then a crooked smile revealing even more crooked teeth broke out across his face.

"Trofim! Cousin!" He shouted, stumbling forwards towards Trofim, "How are you my friend? It's a long time since I saw you, here let me take your bags." He attempted to pull Trofim's bag onto his shoulder but instead only managed to drop it on the floor. Leo began laughing hysterically. Trofim peered past him into the dingy flat, he could smell alcohol. It genuinely smelt like his cousin had set-up a brewery in this flat, the fumes were noxious and Trofim could feel himself struggling to breathe over the smell. There were bodies strewn all over the place, men and women, many paralytic. This was truly squalid. Trofim could only hope that this wasn't actually Leo's flat. He knew already that that was just wishful thinking.

"Leo, who are all these people?" Was the first thing that Trofim could actually manage to say.

"Trofim, they are my friends! You will become friends with them soon enough I am sure..." Leo said, stumbling over a sofa and falling face first onto the floor. Trofim picked up his bag, closed the flat door that had been left open and moved into the flat. He looked around and there was a true arrangement of people, it was an absolute mixture. He could see women wearing fishnets and bright coloured hair, tough looking men with skinheads reduced to nothing more than a pile of absolute waste. There were some darker skinned women, obviously of Djocorangan or Mwembamban descent, some men that looked stereotypically Cotdelapomais. It was a proper assortment and Leo really did not know what to do with himself. He didn't know where he was meant to be staying or what he was to do with his bag. He felt completely out of place.

Music was pumping from somewhere, it sounded like The Aurora or The Pink Skies or something similar. Everyone in here was obviously absolutely wasted in some way or another. On the glass table in the middle of the room, there was some foil with some white powder arranged in lines. Trofim wasn't too sure what he was, he was fairly naive in that way. Country life didn't really prepare people for moving to the city and it seemed Leo had experienced that first hand. Going from the relative simplicity of rural Mytannion to the excesses of the urbanised areas didn't suit him.

A woman walked into the room from an adjoining one and strutted over to Trofim. It was probably due to the fact he was one of very few that still had some life in them, obviously Trofim did for different reasons. Others just held their alcohol a little bit better than others. Or were just a little more intelligent about it and drank less. She was fairly attractive, there was that, but she was also drunk and Trofim wouldn't take advantage of her. He wasn't that much of an opportunist. She came up close to him and put her hand on his chin, then took his hand and tried to get him to stand up, to follow her. Trofim stood stock still, unmoving. The woman turned her gaze on him, Trofim was surprised by the size of her pupils.

They were huge. Portals. Trofim couldn't help but look into them, they seemed to go on forever. He didn't realise as she let go off his hand and stepped away. All he could think of were them eyes.

They haunted him.

...

A crash echoed through the flat. Over the past hour people had been going the other way, people had been recovering bit by bit from their alcohol consumption and had been leaving Leo's flat. Trofim had been giving them a helping hand when needed, which was fairly often. His cousin was in a room with one of the 'delightful locals' as he insisted on calling them and Trofim didn't want to disturb him. He just continued to empty the flat of people. But now, it was coming from the opposite direction. Trofim stood up and waited, the door had been broken in two and something hammered the top section through the door frame and to the ground. A boot kicked the bottom section over and then in walked five men.

Four were fairly burly, but one was smaller, slighter of build and with finer features. He was probably in his early thirties, he was dressed in a pair of jeans, a top and a leather jacket and although he was smaller than the others he was definitely in control. The others flanked him and looked to him for guidance, Trofim could see that and he had only seen these people for ten seconds. This man looked around the room taking everything in and chuckled. His gaze then turned onto Trofim and he sighed.

"And who might you be my friend?" He asked in a thick Eborian accent.

"Trofim Konovalov..." Trofim shot back, "Who are you?"

"Ah, another of the fantastic Konovalov family? Excellent." The Eborian man said, "I'm a good friend of Leonid's."

"Who are your friends?" Trofim said, trying to understand what was going on here. He didn't like this man - and he certainly didn't like the skinheads that flanked him. They could probably break Trofim in half just like they did with the door with inherent ease. This man was shady, possibly the shadiest man he had ever seen. He wasn't right, something about him just didn't add up and when he had these friends with him. Well, it made for quite an intimidating combination.

The other man didn't give a response, for as he considered an answer to Trofim's question, Leo walked out of his bedroom and into this main area and as he saw the other men there a look of sheer shock appeared on his face. He was in a fairly compromised state given he was standing there in just his boxers, but that wasn't the reason. Trofim could tell he was scared of these men and he could tell that this man, the Eborian, was in control of the situation. Whoever he was, he had some sort of hold over his cousin and Trofim didn't like it one bit. The look of fear in Leo's eyes was scary, what was it that this man was here for?

"Ah Leonid... So glad you could join us, I was just getting acquainted with your..." The man trailed off, waiting for an answer to who exactly Trofim was in relation to Leo.

"Cousin." Leo grunted.

"Your cousin that's right!" The man shouted. "Anyway, I've brought my friends to your little party, I heard about it a few hours ago but I thought I'd give you the chance to have some fun before I come to collect what I'm owed."

"Listen Meyer I don't have your money!" Leo protested, sobering up quickly now he had been confronted over whatever it was this was, "I've tried man but I just can't get it together."

"That's unfortunate." The man now known as Meyer stated, he gestured to one of his skinheads to move forwards, the oaf did so obediently. "We may have to send you a clearer message as you clearly didn't understand our last one Mr. Konoval--"

"Wait. What does he owe you?" Trofim butted in. A flicker of anger crossed Meyer's face, but it passed.

"Ah, Trofim. Well, your delightful cousin over here owes me a sum of money. Not a significant sum of money, but money nonetheless. I have supplied him with a small loan and some substances I wouldn't use myself, now I need to be paid back for my services." Meyer responded. Trofim realised that Leo's stories were nothing more than that. Stories. He didn't have any of the riches he spoke of, he lived in squalor at this dingy flat and he dabbled in drugs. Trofim didn't know what the loan was squandered on, but it obviously wasn't anything useful. Trofim had committed some crimes before in the past, but he wouldn't touch drugs and he'd go about his business cleverly. Whatever Leo was into here was far from clever.

"Meyer, please no man, I'll do anything..." Leo pleaded.

"I'm afraid it's gone beyond that Leo. Unless..." Meyer considered. "I have a proposition for you."

"Yes, anything!" Leo was scared, Trofim hated to see it, but his cousin was clearly fearful of this man. It was horrible.

"Now that you're cousin is here I think I have a nice way of you repaying me, Leonid." Meyer said, Trofim was shocked, he didn't want in, but his cousin needed him and Meyer - whoever Meyer was - was including him anyway, "I have a little business that needs taking care of on the other side of town. The Charmunnry Mob, the Hegartys or whatever they're called. Small time, whoever they are. I've got a few issues with them. If you agree to do the job for me, you'll pay me back in full and there may be a little money in it for yourselves too. I'm a generous man. I'll be sparing you a beating," Meyer said, pointing at Leo, "And letting you earn some cash, who knows? You could be a part of the business one day." Meyer laughed.

He gestured to one of his henchmen to retreat and then gestured to them all to leave. He pulled something from his jacket and threw it on the glass table, it was a business card.

"Contact me by that number," He said, I'll be expecting the call within the next two days. Don't try anything funny Leo, or you and your cousin will get it - and we wouldn't want that." Meyer looked Trofim straight in the eye, "No, we certainly wouldn't want that, I like you kid, got something about you." He said, and so saying, walked towards the door, out of it, chuckling to himself at the handiwork of his men and then left.

Leo slumped to the ground and Trofim could only look at him in horror.

"You'd better start the explanations cousin." Trofim spat.

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

Letters to the Editor

Free Republics draw The Sportocracy in UWCFA

Why are we even wasting our time with some irrelevant country called the Sportocracy? This UWCFA Gold Cup is just a total joke. Saintland's team consists of mostly benchwarmers and Acedonians. Our team consists of mostly little kids. While it is great that there is an international soccer tournament without any animal involvement, we can surely find better competition than this bunch of nobodies.

Jole Colombo
Republic of Jolarus

It is simply a disgrace that both our country and those Sanctii are treating a regional championship tournament like a joke. Yes, its under that unusual Casaran format, but these are the best the region has to offer. If we want to someday be a sports region on par with Atlantian Oceania, Rushmore and Esportiva, we've got to start somewhere. To do that, some of the more prominent nations in our region need to start taking regional competition more seriously. Its certainly more interesting and more prestigious than some stupid youth soccer tournament in a country where horses know how to talk.

Tyri Petersen
Republic of Roxawa

I don't understand why the press has to put so much hype into this stupid UWCFA competition. Are you being paid off by the Acedonians who started UWCFA to promote their joke of a sporting event? I also don't understand why Rule Theriault would choose to coach the UWCFA team rather than the DBC team. Sure, those ponies are irritating, but they are the hosts of the Di Bradini Cup and retaining our status as the DBC champions is more important than some stupid UWCFA event. If Theriault had taken this thing seriously, we would still be undefeated against human opposition in the DBC. I just hope Massimiliano the Incompetent doesn't find a way to lose to Furellum.

Elisha Kalinin
Republic of Vorita

World Cup 67

I think we ought to just consider boycotting World Cup 67. We're either going to end up with the stupid Casaran, which is a conspiracy to hold us back, or we're probably going to end up competing in the barnyard, yet again. I'm sure the National Team would love to visit Cassadaigua, a nation that is home to many beautiful and talented women, but we know there's no way that the WCC would allow us to not end up in Animal Land. For that reason, I suggest that Rule Theriault vote to re-open the bidding process.

Morgan Baxter
Republic of Amolotopia

Rule Theriault should vote for the Saintland/Legalese bid. We have generally favorable relations with the Sanctii, something we can't say about the Ponies. When the nation that hates you more than any non-Troll is bidding for the World Cup, you vote for the other bid whether you like the format or not.

Josef Toncar
Republic of Nejax

We really need to be more sensitive regarding diversity issues in our nation. A good start would be voting for the bid by Cassadaigua and Equestrian States. This would be a positive sign that we are distancing ourselves from those reactionary lunatics at the north pole and from our own homegrown reactionary lunatics and joining the mainstream. While we're at it, we should also apologize to the nation of Felix and pay reparations to that reporter for his mistreatment at the hands of some corrupt right-wing backwater of a Republic. Our nation has alot of changing ahead, if we want to join the civilized world.

Markus Berg
Republic of Kaluto

Has anybody considered Option D? Rule Theriault should announce his own solo bid for the World Cup. Then, he can propose a reasonable qualifying format to produce 30 or 31 qualifiers (depending upon whether he wanted to give Eura, as defending champions, an automatic spot) to join the greatest nation in the multiverse in our World Cup. My personal preference would be for a format with 10 groups of 20. Each group would play a double-round robin for a total of 38 matches. Afterwards, the top 10 teams would advance from each group to a second round for a total of 10. They would be drawn into 20 groups of 5, which would play a double-round robin with the top 3 per group advancing to the third and final round. In the final round, the remaining 60 teams would be drawn into 5 groups of 12. Each group of 12 would play a double round-robin, with the top 6 qualifying from each group. The tiebreaker would be a home-and-away playoff under Acedonian rules. Therefore, a replay would be held in the FFR if it was still tied after the playoff. In total, teams would play 68 qualifying matches, plus playoff matches.

Edvarda Podmiljsak
Republic of Exastrium

The Editor Responds: Edvarda, you have put alot of thought into this. Your bid sounds better than either current bid and would probably be the best World Cup qualifying of all time. No, I'm not just saying that because we'd be able to publish more click-bait articles about the World Cup, get more page impressions and therefore more ad revenue. We are a reputable publication that would never prostitute ourselves out to advertisers like that.

Noburu Taiyou enters Campionato Esportiva

I am proud of Taiyou for entering Campionato Esportiva. It is time for Taiyouese to show arrogant Republicans that Taiyouese play team football, Republicans play selfish football. Team football better than selfish football.

Yuzuko Sugano
Via Email

The Editor Responds: Apparently, somebody in Taiyou didn't pay much attention in English class. We've done so many things for Taiyou, but yet those people continue to refuse to learn proper English. Its a disgrace, really.

I'm going to be cheering for our colony in the Campionato Esportiva. Esportiva may be a backward region of the world that is home to many fourth world countries, but at least the Taiyouese are our Esportivans. I am grateful to the Federation Government for allowing Taiyouese to immigrate to the homeland, since they are excellent farmworkers. I can't get any of our lazy Republican teenagers to do any work. I've tried and tried and tried. Every Republican I hired to harvest my crops was a lazy bum who just wants to play on those new-fangled cell phone thingies from Saintland all day long. I think we ought to just send every one of them useless teenagers to Saintland. Maybe then, they'll be taught some work ethic. But, I'm writing this letter because I want to say how much I appreciate everything my Taiyouese laborers do for me. They work for low pay, less than those worthless teenagers would accept. They never complain. They work hard all day long like real men, the men of old. I may have supported the War back in my day, but I've developed quite a liking for them. They are the good kind of kids that we just don't raise anymore.

Rhode Brocken
Republic of Horadote

I couldn't give a talking horse's arse about the Campionato Esportiva. Why do I care if a bunch of Taiyouese are competing against the likes of the Felix Trolls in some joke of a competition that nobody that matters cares about? Actually, I'm kind of sick of Sporting World's excessive soccer coverage. Where is all of the baseball and football coverage that I paid for? Ever since Rule Theriault started that stupid National Soccer Team, it seems like it is the only thing you know how to report about.

Casey Simpson
Republic of Plymouth

The Editor Responds: According to my statistical research, we dedicated 35 percent of our magazine to soccer last year. That was compared to 28 percent 3 years ago. That is around 3-4 pages per issue. The reader's claims about our magazine are simply preposterous.

[Blouman Empire]

THE EMPIRE TIMES

Eaglets Finish Top

A scoreless draw between Nassau Hessen and Northern Sunrise Islands allowed the Blouman Eaglets to finish their group on top in the Di-Bradini Cup with a total of 9 points from 4 games. The team now progress into the first of the knockout rounds against Group D second place finisher Ko-oren. Performed to a similar standard to the Eaglets finishing the group stage with 3 wins and a loss and only finished second thanks to the flawless performance of Group D winner Mizuyuki, despite being the runner up the Ko-oren side will not be a team to take lightly and will not want to be complacent in the lead up to the match something Captain Ty Freltron expressed in a press conference earlier today when asked about the risk “We approach every game with the same level of commitment, there is no such thing as an easy game”.

The Ko-oren team have indicated that they will be seeking to exploit the leaky Eaglet defence which have struggled to prevent scoring opportunities for opposition teams and has nearly an average of 2 gaols conceded per game. While manager Lewis Helstrom has not indicated that he will be making an changes to the lineup it will be cause for concern for him as he works with his defenders to improve their defensive play. On the flip side the pairing of Brad Hunter and Paul Credab has worked well with the pair scoring a total of 12 goals between them over 4 games with Freltron setting up the play for the pair it will no doubt help to break to Ko-oren defence whom have so far only conceded two goals in the tournament.

The Eaglets had a bye and spent the time with a light training session, when asked about the benefits of having an extra day off from match time Helstrom extolled the benefits “It will certainly give us an edge, the team is has had extra time to recover from the group stage and this will only help us as we now face the knockout rounds”. With the first of these knockout rounds soon to begin the team will be looking to ensure that the win is convincing as the continue their march in an effort to lift the trophy,

[Northern Sunrise Islands]

"Would you just shut up, you bloody wanker?" asked O' Haile, among the players of the team as they were leaving the stadium after the tie against Nassau-Hessen. Conbi would later yell "Enough is Enough, Kylx. We screwed up, but that's more your fault than ours!", also pissed at the coach. He spent the entire game bragging that his efforts, though Byrd Jr. did most of the job, were what made the Sunrisian national team qualify to the Second Round with a game of advantage.

Then again, regardless of Kylx's typical stupidity, the team itself was pretty worthy of what they got. With Café, Cervantes and Marticrant displaying a decent array of skills, the team obtained, step by step, a spot at the second round. Again, the team had enough pieces to work their way out. Backed by surprising moments of brilliance of an otherwise poor defense, consisting of near-Felix Football League players such as the Kinsington brothers, Didi, Milena and Filipe.

And now, Mizuyuki. Of all nations, of all people. Aside from the obvious excitement that Panther Rosso had on meeting with said team, they knew it would be rough. Two talented teams. One against the other.

"And us against the world." said Negolossauro Rex, somehow breaking the fourth wall.

[Furellum]

Sorin stared at the letter for sometime. He'd been walking down the tunnel, celebrating the win over Saugeais, when a man in a hoodie had stepped forward and given it to him. He'd introduced himself as Stefan Vandegarde, a scout for a team called FC Axel Heiburg. The played in the Polar Islandstates League. "Best league in the mulitverse" Vandegarde had said. Unexpectedly, they wanted Sorin to join them. The money wasn't really an issue; he still owned considerable amounts of land in Furellum as part of his family's estate, and his income was more than sufficient. Sorin did suspect that when he did get around to converting the amount to Crowns, he'd be pleasantly surprised.

Ragnar Asbjorn had seen Sorin take the letter and talk to the man for some time. He'd been trying to pick up the man's nationality, but the humans all looked the same to him. They certainly had poor hearing. Despite his size, Ragnar was able to creep up behind Sorin, and snatch the letter out of his hand.
"Hey!" yelled Sorn, turning on the Polar Bear.
"What's this?" asked Ragnar. Reading through the letter, his eyes grew wide. "Polar Islandstates? A fucking offer? You?"
Sorin drew himself up, trying to ignore the fact that he still only came up to the bear's chest."Yeah. What of it?"
Ragnar growled. "I'd give my right eye to play for a club like that. Fucking. Privileged. Human." He spat the last three words, then threw the letter to the ground and stalked out.

[Mizuyuki]

Despite a rather underwhelming performance by the team against New Sideburn, Kamioka Ryoichi was suitably pleased at the way his team had secured a round of 16 spot.

He liked it best when his teams crushed their opposition ruthlessly. Ruthless, by his definition, did not necessarily mean besting the opponent by an astronomical score - all that was needed was a slender margin of victory, an iron will, and perseverance to the bitter end.

A sidelong glance at the group tables told all about the Aurorae's campaign thus far.

Seven goals scored; one conceded. Maximum points in the bag. Their goalscoring was decent, but then again, Kamioka's teams never did emphasise the offensive. Rather, he preferred to see games out once he had a goal or two - through the efficient deployment of ingeniously varying defensive tactics that he had made all his own. That was highlighted by the paltry sum of goals that they had conceded thus far - one solitary goal, against Thatius. That put them on par with TIS for the best defensive record in the group stages.

After seeing his team make light work of a burly New Sideburn side, who huffed and puffed but were ultimately undone by their eagerness to impose themselves on the Mizuyuki-jin, Kamioka was now engaged in prematch preparations for the game against Northern Sunrise Islands.

The Sunrisians were a hard bunch to figure out. They oscillated between the splendid and the ludicrous all too often, as could be observed from their results in the group stage. The same crop of players who managed to beat the Blouman Empire's U21 team were then held to a scoreless draw against Nassau Hessen, a comparative footballing minnow.

To say nothing of their insipid defending. Well, that could probably be put down to the ineptitude of their coach Val Kylx, who had seemingly taken the job simply in order to ensure that he laughed all the way to the bank when his inevitable sacking came. In this case though, Kamioka would take any advantages he possessed against Kylx.

It had always been Kamioka's footballing mantra throughout his 20-odd years of life, ever since he'd been introduced to the sport by his primary school PE teacher. "Always look to expose deficiencies in the opposition. Make sure you've got them pinned down."

"Follow that up by punishing them. Mercilessly."

Mizuyuki versus Northern Sunrise Islands. It promises to be an enticing matchup.

[Starblaydia]

Part One: Outbreak
Part Two: Revealed

OOC: This takes place somewhere between MD2 and MD3, really. I just suck at finding the time to write things.

Overly dramatic dramatisation of
FUCKU Cure Missile assembly.

"A 'weaponised' solution?" Lord-Protector Julius Starblayde asked his Minister for Defence, "care to explain that?"

"Well, um, the, err," Honourable Representatives of the Starblaydi Parliament - the Sjarondai - were often asked questions. They were not often asked ones they didn't really understand the answer to by the most powerful man in the land, "you know like gas grenades, chemical weapons and that sort of thing? It's like that, only a missile."

"Missiles?" Julius raised his eyebrows. "You want us to shoot cruise missiles at our people?"

"Cure missiles, my Lord," the Minister said, spluttering out something that sounded good, "we'll call them Cure missiles! That sounds much better than what we'd thought of."

"Which was?" Julius mentally prepared himself for the most stupid answer he could possibly think of. He wasn't prepared enough.

"Fragmenting Universal Cure Kinetic Utility," the Minister said, proudly, "Missiles."

Julius rubbed his face with his hands in what must have been a subconscious attempt to wipe the idiocy away from him. It hadn't worked, and the face of the Minister of Defence and his beaming smile still looked at him, waiting for approval.

"Cure missile it is, then," Julius said after a long pause.

"And if we have enough, we can shoot them at everybody!" The Minister looked particularly gleeful. "We've had those targeting solutions for ICBMs against Falcania, Audioslavia, the Inevitable Syndicate and the like for so, so long and we've never used them."

"And Sarzonia?" Julius asked.

"Who?"

"Oh, nevermind."

[Tynewear]

---

DBC Megapack: Oh Look It's Only PIS!
By Nick Weatherspoon

Well ladies and gents, looks like we made it! To what I hear you ask? Well to the Di Bradini Cup knockout stages of course! And why stop at the last 16, when all we have to beat to get to the quarter-finals is, urm... Polar Islandstates. No but seriously! After all, it's only their U-21 team, and if they have anywhere near the same amount of fantastic luck that their senior team have in WCC-sanctioned tournaments, we should be in for an easy ride. 4-0? 5-0? Nope, I don't think we're thinking big enough. Why not 8? Ah yes, I simply cannot wait!

Note: We're gonna die.

Tactical Analysis: Tynewear vs Free Republics

Before we get to any 'in-depth' talk about our upcoming deathmatch, I thought it'd be nice to spend some time discussing our last match against Free Republics. Perhaps the biggest talking point prior, during, and after the match was Alex Valrey's surprising move to utilize a rather surprising 4-2-3-1, having shown no previous signs of ever switching from his lovechild, the 'DPR 4-3-3'. I suppose if you look at it from one point of view, it wasn't much of a surprise. Free Republics is probably as attacking a team that you'll ever face, but it wasn't so much the formation that shocked fans, but rather the team selections, that were bizarre if anything.

With Danny Herbert and Josh Oliver starting on their preferred sides on the wing, right and left respectively, it was clear that Valrey was eager to play a more direct game. Oliver was finally given an opportunity to shine at his preferred position on the left touchline, having been utilized as a central midfielder for all of the competition thus far. Adam Carroll was also given a start, playing in the hole behind James Taylor, given a surprise start after his horror-show against Welsh Cowboy. The double-pivot was comprised of Alfie Whitehead and William Fry, whilst perhaps the weirder selections were at fullback, where Matt Smith was given the start ahead of James Downing. On the right, the underperforming Harry Bridger was given the boot in favour of Tommy Duke, playing out of position.

Massimiliano Abdullahi's side kicked the game off, and it soon became very clear what sort of game Tynewear were looking to play. Both Fry and Whitehead sat deep, looking to break up attacks and hog the Free Republic players as often as they could. Although their energy and tackling meant the Free Republics (hereby known as FR) side were rarely able to carry out a cohesive offense, it also meant the side was without a natural passer, and Tynewear's lack of creativity was clear for all to see. Alex Valrey had no doubt given orders to sit deep and break on the counter, but both Fry and Whitehead's poor balls to the wings meant Tynewear often found themselves back where they started, defending an FR attack.

Still, Tynewear were, on occasion, able to break with decent results. Oliver was clearly reveling in the chance to play as a natural touchline-hugging winger after those odd experiments in central midfield, and he was able to ping in at least a dozen crosses within the first half an hour or so. When the Sabres finally settled into the game, Adam Carroll quickly found himself controlling the game, knocking some sweet diagonal passes from his deep position to one of either Herbert or Oliver and wreaking havoc in the FR back-three with his mazy runs. The Darlington native was, however, guilty of overdoing it at times, and several chances were wasted due to poor decision making.

Tynewear's opener was a result of some neat play between Matt Smith and Carroll. Smith, a surprise inclusion, was able to find Carroll deep inside his own half, and, after a short dribble, the Darnton midfielder was able to flick the ball to Smith who had continued his run. With FR completely stretched, Smith took the chance to completely abuse his pace, and having entered the FR box, squared it back for Fry to finish. This would be the peak of Tynewear's attacking activity, and throughout the rest of the game, Valrey's side were more or less parking the bus, a move that had been forced upon them more or less, with FR flipping the switch to overdrive. It was during this long period that the benefits of James Taylor's inclusion were seen, with the Hadrian United striker putting in a good shift hounding whoever had the ball. Carroll quickly found his skillset redundant, and was replaced by Rory Mansell early in the second half.

If there's anything positive to take away from this game, it is that Valrey seems to have finally learned how to deal with different threats. He knew that FR were going to go all out, and he chose his side accordingly, and it almost worked. Matt Smith was surprisingly effective, but predictably ran out of steam very fast, whereas Tommy Duke looked very uncomfortable at right-back, but was nevertheless able to whip in some crosses, and was particularly impressive defending. All in all, it looks like a 4-2-3-1 is more or less a signal that Tynewear will look to play a more defensive game, and we'll probably only ever see a reprise if we come up against someone like Farfadillis, who are apparently even more swashbuckling than FR. Pray we don't meet them then.

'Preview' - Polar Islandstates
Note: This isn't very much of a preview, in case the apostrophes didn't warn you enough

So on to our match with the Polarians. Apparently, they've switched back to an older version of their jerseys because they can't seem to win with their newer design. I know what you're saying, that sucks for us, because, urm, they were far more successful with the older ones. Right? Right? WRONG. Polar Islandstates suck, and that is a fact. They're so bad they can't win a World Cup, and I mean playing them is more or less three points in the bag, or an advancement to a further stage of a tournament in this case. And, if you don't agree, then you must be a Polarian yourself, and you are in denial. I hate polar bears. Death to the goddamn polar bears. Can somebody tell me if they are actually polar bears? I mean... I'm just not too awful sure of myself after watching ponies and horses fill up the stands in Whitetail and Everfree...

Ahem...

Sorry, what I was trying to say was we are more or less guaranteed a swift and painless exit from the Di Bradini Cup. Yes, that is not a prediction, it is something that will happen. Trust me, I dreamt of it. Anyway, here's some excerpts from the big man Valrey himself after his latest press conference;

The group stage is now done and dusted, and we cannot rest on our laurels. What we've achieved thus far has been a great experience, but we cannot stop here. Polar Islandstates are a big name, I know, but as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what your name is. If you can play football well, you will win. And Tynewear can play good football. I am not saying that we will definitely win, but we have a chance, and we will give it our all.

The draw against Free Republics was probably not the most convincing, but it was a very important point, and, having registered some very good victories against Welsh Cowboy and Bloodbath Generation, there is no doubt an unquenchable thirst for more within the team. The idea is to keep on winning. There's no safety net now. You either win and go through, or you lose and walk out. I will do everything in my power to win, but when the day actually comes, it's all up to the lads, and I can tell you that they are ready.

I've got a tough choice to make, about who starts. They've all been fantastic. The effort and energy from every single one of the lads has been terrific, and it's probably unfair to the 12 players who don't get to start, because everybody's ethic on the pitch and off it has been wonderful. We've got a few injuries, but hopefully they'll be back up and running before long.

Tynewear Team News

The latest update from the official website seems to suggest that Oliver Redman will continue to miss out, with a return date set to November 11, which, incidentally, is the date of the final. So who knows, perhaps if by some almighty miracle we make it as far as Canterlot, Mr. Redman will make his long-awaited return, and will hopefully not slip on a banana peel as they walk onto the pitch and wreck his ankle. I know, I know, nobody actually slips on banana peels, and it's just a long-running gag. Still, knowing our luck, it'll probably happen.

EXCITING NEWS! John Brown has been cleared to play! The 18 year old Teeside native has been left out for the tournament thus far as a result of a hamstring pull he suffered whilst training, but if Alex Valrey's lack of faith in Harry Bridger persists, then the Ironopolis fullback might see his debut on the biggest stage of all. James Taylor meanwhile has reportedly suffered a knock, which will clear the way for Joel Hunt to play.

We really have no idea as to how Tynewear will lineup. It's become rather unpredictable. Keeping in mind the defensive mentality of PIS, Alex Valrey will mostly likely opt for his trusty 4-3-3 again, and Josh Oliver will probably make a return to central midfield despite the simultaneous facepalms of Tynewearers everywhere. Tommy Duke will almost definitely return to the middle of the park after a shaky 90 minutes at right back against Free Republics, and Jacob Fairman should return after a short absence. Jackson Naylor and Ben Leston as centre-backs is more or less a given, but who flank them is the bigger question. There is a chance Matt Smith will once again play after his impressive outing against Free Republics, while, as previously mentioned, John Brown could feature from the beginning with Valrey's faith in Harry Bridger shaken and stirred. See what I did there? Funny right! Haha! Ha! Ahhhh... No? No...

PIS Team News

I don't actually think anyone's injured. Well this sucks. Why can't anyone we face have injury problems?

MTJAG Predicts

Prediction time guys! How exciting!

Simon Clark - Polar Islandstates 3-2 Tynewear
I am totally expecting a repeat of what happened against Wight (whatever the hell happened to them?). We probably won't embarrass ourselves and in the end we'll probably rueing A LOT of missed opportunities.

David Walsh - Polar Islandstates 2-0 Tynewear
A deceiving scoreline, PIS will probably control large amounts of the game, and only some terrific defending from Alfie Whitehead will prevent it from going any higher.

Craig Boyle - Polar Islandstates 5-0 Tynewear
HAHAHAHA LOL WE'RE F*CKED HAHA.

Michael Jones - Polar Islandstates 2-2 Tynewear, 4-2 AET
We'll probably give a good account of ourselves throughout the 90 minutes, with some good chances from both sides, terrific goals, last-ditch defending, and all in all an awesome game of football. Then we'll predictably collapse when extra-time begins.

Chris Graham - Polar Islandstates 1-1 Tynewear, 1-1 AET, 3-0 PK
I am predicting a 4-2-3-1 from the start, similar play as with the Free Republics game, giving us a glimmer of hope before being comprehensively steamrolled on penalty kicks.

Nick Weatherspoon - Polar Islandstates 0-1 Tynewear
Just because this could happen!

Predicted Lineups

Tynewear


Polar Islandstates

[Felix]

(I'll add the reports in if I can make it. >.<)

U-21 World Cup: Last Second Draw.
By: Liselotte Moser

In a hard fought match against regional rivals, The Licentian Isles, Felix draws. The two teams were duking it out for a battle of supremacy as neither team could edge each other out with both teams getting a equal amount of possession and neither team using that possession effectively. Now both teams exit the match with a point each in a increasingly heating up group stage. Will Felix crack under pressure? We will talk about that, later. But for now, here is the recap of today's match.

The first half was more or less Licentian dominated as they had 52% of possession and lead in the shot counter. But despite all that the team only scored one goal, with a shot by Aran Millar in the 22nd minute assisted by Joe Watt. As soon as TLI scored the Felixian defense tightened up and tried to prevent any more goals, they did that with the heroics by Arthur Schultheis, but the shots still rained on the Felixians. The first half luckily ended 1-0.

The second half was a total flip of the first as Felix put on the pressure on the opposing team and started to make shots that got closer and closer to the goal. Eventually as shot by Noé Fierro in the 73rd minute gave Felix the game tying goal from an assist by Sabrina Köhler. 1-1 and the game was tied. The rest of the match pretty much stayed as same with neither team getting control. The matched ended 1-1.

Felix now has 4 points in Group B, can they continue to win games and make it to the next round? We will find out soon enough. Until next time.

U-21 World Cup: Tough Loss Against Starblaydia.
By: Liselotte Moser

Felix lost against Starblaydia in a match dedicated to Luca Esser and what happened to him and his girlfriend minutes after they went on a date. The girlfriend was assaulted and Esser was beaten up. Many sources now believe that some players from the Free Republics may be involved in the brutal attack on the two Felixians. The FFA and the Felixian National Police Force (FNPF) has yet to comment on the possibility of Free Republican involvement in the attack. More news as it comes. Going back to the game, Felix lost in a tough battle as they couldn't muster up the force to catch up to the speedy Starblaydian team.

While the whole match was rather equal on both sides in terms of shot count, possession, and shots on target it was Starblaydia's single shot in the 19th minute that sealed the fate with a powerful volley shot by Jeremy Anselm was made outside the box. Felix was behind and would stay behind. Now Felix is 1-1-1 with four points in Group B. With the Licentian Isles out on a bye and Starblaydia getting the top spot Felix must win against Filopines in order to advance to the next round. Can Felix do it? We will find out next week, until next time.

U-21 World Cup: We Win And We Are In!
By: Liselotte Moser

Felix won in a tight match that only had one goal. The goal was produced by Luca Esser who dedicated his goal to his hatred of the Free Republics. While I can't say if that is acceptable or not as I am journalist, I can only say the language was not appropriate for the time. Anyways, with that win Felix moves on to the playoff round by getting second place in Group B.

The first half was Felixian controlled as the Filopines defense was overwhelmed by the Felixian offense lead by Esser. Shots came in left and right and the heroics of goalkeeper kept his team, the Filopines team, in the game. But it was all over for the opposing side as Luca came in from a counter attack and scored a goal in the 28th minute. He then proceeded to take off his shirt and show a white shirt that said, "F*ck The (Un)Free Republics!". I found it tasteless but he did have his motives.

He got a yellow card for it but he said that it was worth it in a postgame conference. Going back to the match, Felix won in the end and the team will be moving on to the next round. We will be facing hosts, Equestrian States in the Round of 16 match. Can Felix maintain their momentum and win and later move on to the next round? We will find out next week when we travel to another side of the Equestrian States. That's all this week, until next time.

-----
Backstory
Entry #1
Entry #2
Entry #3
Entry #4

Luca Esser's Journal

That yellow card was worth it. I will continue to play well and when I meet those bastards I will beat them and I will show them who is boss. Not them, not those pigs. Now excuse me, I am going to buy some Free Republican trash flags and burn them. Going to invite some friends, it will be great.

[Equestrian States]

Di Bradini Cup: Can the Little Ponies Win?
by Steve McNotapony

Yes, the Equestrian States can win the Di Bradini Cup.

...

Okay, since a single-sentence article would likely get me fired, I'll expand on that answer a bit. Sure the Equestrian under-21 squad is capable of winning a title on home soil, and a number of factors do give the Little Ponies advantages in their quest to reclaim the trophy they first won a couple years ago in Saugeais. However, there are several arguments that might be brought against the likelihood of the Equestrian States claiming its second Di Bradini Cup in three attempts.

The first thing to consider is the most obvious factor in the Little Ponies' bid for a title: home-field advantage. As the host nation, the Equestrian States will have an overwhelming number of supporters in each and every match, cheering them on and helping create and preserve the team's momentum through sheer force of will. No opponent the Equestrian U-21s will face will be able to muster the tens of thousands of fans required to negate this advantage. However, the benefits of being hosts do not come without a cost. First and foremost, there is an extreme amount of pressure on the team to perform well and meet the fans' lofty expectations. Furthermore, the Equestrians will present a massive target for upset-seeking teams as the hosts, a target which is only increased in size by the second reason that the Little Ponies have to be considered a favorite to win it all.

In the group stage, the Equestrian States under-21s were practically unstoppable. Though the Little Ponies were unable to defeat rivals Farfadillis in a thrilling duel between two of the Cup's most successful teams, the Equestrians' dominant victories over San Jose Guayabal, Quebec, and Patistan defined them as an offensive juggernaut with a remarkable ability to score goals. As winners of Group A by virtue of their tournament-leading +10 goal differential, the Equestrian States will be a prime target for lesser-known squads looking to score a headline or two in the international press with an upset. Still, the Little Ponies have a tremendous amount of momentum heading into the knockout rounds, which could be very difficult for inexperienced teams to stop.

Finally, the Little Ponies will bring their considerable star-power into the fray against opponents with relatively-unknown players. First among a number of the Equestrians' big-name youth stars is Krystal, the goal-scoring midfielder from Crystopolis City of the Crystal Empire who led the club on an odds-defying Globe Cup run. Joining Krystal in the midfield and on the Equestrian senior national team is Stardust, who might lack the critical acclaim of her friend but has just as much potential for greatness. The earth pony phenom Apple Cobbler rounds out the Equestrian midfield, signed just a couple months back by Jungle Strike FC of Vilita at the age of 16 after being lauded by national team head coach Twilight Striker as the next great Equestrian midfielder. Fighting on the front lines will be Pristina Shine, who helped lead Iturributa United to the Globe Cup final and a league title over the club's bitter domestic rivals. The unicorn striker has been hailed as the next superstar goal-scorer as a lead candidate for the tournament's golden boot, scoring at least once in each of the Little Ponies' group stage matches, including a hat trick in the opener against San Jose Guayabal. But like home field advantage, the stardom of the Equestrian players heaps unreasonable expectations upon them and subjects them to intense coverage by opponents, making it difficult for them to surprise anyone.

Ultimately, there is a lot supporting the Equestrian States as favorites to at least reach the semifinals, and the Little Ponies will likely follow through on such expectations. But still, the fact remains that no team has ever won a Di Bradini Cup on home soil while hosting, and only Daehanjeiguk, 21 editions ago, has reached the final as a host nation. The Equestrians still face a number of obstacles if they are to defy the "curse of the host," but the potential remains. This team is young, most starters not even being 21 years old, and will be a favorite for years to come, so a defeat here would hardly signal the end of their chances for a title in the near future.

The Little Ponies will face Felix tonight at Diamond Park in Stalliongrad, hoping to gain revenge for their group stage defeat a year ago that cost the Equestrians a chance at defending their title.