World Cup 68 RP Thread

[Vilita]

FIRST SHIPMENTS OF TCp-X1 BEING DISTRIBUTED

It took a while, but the first big shipment of Tropicorp's new TCp-X1 ball was ready to go. The labels were on the crates and their destination was the Northern Sunrise Islands. Now that the work was done, it was probably a good thing that they figured out how to take funding from the Sunrise Championship for the equipment - plus theoretically it would be easier the next time around.

Theoretically.

In practice? It seemed the Tropicorp Association Football Research & Development group wasn't quite ready to find out. With orders in waiting from San Jose Guyabal and Valanora, the Vanorian request for prototype equipment quickly got elevated to the top of the stack.

It wasn't a huge fulfillment, mind you, but it was exactly the type of shipment that Tropicorp was expecting when offering the TCp-X1 to nations of Atlantian Oceania at no charge for use in domestic or international competition or training. The Vanorians intended to deploy the TCp-X1 in their Silver Cup competition, basically a trial run for the ball with a view to potentially expanding the use of Tropicorp equipment in future seasons if the TCp-X1 proves popular in the Silver Cup and the official retail release of the new balls remain on schedule.

Of course, the TCp-X1 would be the official ball of the Tropicorp Lower League and the Tropicorp Cup competitions, the highest level of competition in Vilita & Turori outside of the Vilitan League. However, attracting a federation as large and important as Valanora as a potential future client space was a big deal for Tropicorp and the Research & Development group figured once that word continued to spread it wouldn't be long before prototype requests began to overwhelm the small group overseeing the orders.

With the inquiry from San Jose Guayabal still on the bench, Tropicorp officials looked at the next one on the list. Kirisaki.

A look of confusion.

The whole point was to keep things simply by shipping the prototypes locally and not having to deal with money. It just wasn't working out that way.

However, one of the Tropicorp employees was reading an article recently about an outpost in some unknown corner of Atlantian Oceania called Kirisaki. He wasn't really sure what Kirisaki was but he thought the article mentioned something about there being one or two Mizuyuki natives in Kirisaki. So, perhaps, Kirisaki was in fact within Atlantian Oceania, and did in fact qualify for a free batch of prototype balls!

Perhaps. Well, that was good enough for the Research & Development group. It was either an inner-region shipment to Kirisaki or some blah blah paperwork and money transfer effort shipment to San Jose Guayabal.

Next crate of balls: To Kirisaki here they go!

If your nation is interested in the use of Tropicorp's TCp-X1 Ball, please feel free to mention it in your RP's and/or send a TG to Vilita

[Cassadaigua]

Ode to the seemingly dead nation,
by Rachel Sharper, Concord Heights Times- Senior Editor


Schottia. At one time, there was an excitement in Schottia for soccer. No matter how great of a thrill it was, it seemed to have been as short-lived as someone going into an internet forum, and replying with a couple words, and then never returning. There was a temporary motivation, pulsating through the veins of that poster at that time, saying “I must reply to this thread!” There was enthusiasm, as Schottians also signed up for NSCAA 6, and even told people who was on their teams. Then, it all just died. Where did that enthusiasm go?

I did not personally make the trip to Schottia, as everyone and their sister knew Cassadaigua was going to win this game. We did have some beat reporters on location, from the location of the game, on the campus of the University of Hamdon (OOC: Yes, I am taking a liberty involving a non-RPer by using the name of school they listed as their top choice in the NSCAA tournament). The beat reporters we sent were Sabrina Velazquez and Randi Knuth, and I asked them what they thought about the campus. “It’s like they don’t even know there’s a World Cup qualifying soccer game here. The kids are going to school, focused on their course-work or partylife, and have no idea what is on their soccer field. They seem to just assume that all those ladies in pink, and all of fans that made the trip, which didn’t seem to be a ton, and I can’t blame them, are some scrimmage of some sort.” Hearing that, I asked Sabrina to go around the campus and not ask them about World Cup soccer, but to see how many of them had any idea how their school did in the NSCAA 6 tournament. They weren’t horrible in the Eternal Conference, and about half were able to say they were aware the school was in the tournament, and may have paid attention to it for a little while, but then lost interest. Only about 20% were able to tell Sabrina who won the Eternal Conference during the regular season, and what nation they were from (our own Starksville Medical College). We asked them how many schools from Schottia qualified for the final 64-team tournament, and most seemed to have any idea that there even was a tournament. No schools, by the way, from Schottia, were able to make the final field. So, it makes you wonder what happened to Schottia? Did they just give up? Is the nation no longer going to exist in another 18 days? (It’s seemed non-existent for the last 10). Students at the university seemed to think it was a joke that the nation could possibly cease to exist, and none of them had a contingency plan for a possible national armageddon.

There has been no attention paid to the soccer team. When Sabrina told the students that there was World Cup qualifying going on, and today there would be a team ranked in the top-32 and former two-time World Champion right there on their very campus, they had no idea what we were talking about. Though I have to give credit to Sabrina, because she was prepared and provided material for the students to read, and actually got a bunch of them to actually decide that they should watch the game. Sabrina told me, “It was an interesting scene with the Schottia players. They have been ignored by the student body for the whole tournament, and they actually had some of the people that we talked into going to watch the game, cheering for them. Some of their players, smiled, probably realizing that these fans had no idea they were 0-0-9, and they used that as a spark when they scored their 4th minute goal.”

Yes, the brief jolt of energy for the home team was probably enjoyable, and it served as a nice wake up call for Cassadaigua, and the Fillies scored just five minutes later to equalize (Sierra Hinson). Still, this group of college students, become more and more intoxicated as minutes ticked away, gave their team a little support and kept them motivated for a little while. However two late first half goals by Stacey Matthews started to put the game away, and have the drunken students turn their focus to making sexual slurs at the Cassadagan players. They seemed to take it in stride, and laugh it off, as its nothing they haven’t heard before, although usually its in an actual stadium, and not as if it was played on a little league caliber field with about 200 people total supporting the home team. By the time Schottia cut the lead to 3-2 in the 75th minute, most of the Schottians decided to leave and do other things. It didn’t matter, and Cassadaigua quickly responded, just three minutes later, with Courtney Benson scoring. It should be noted that Benson got the “super sub” duty today that Maddie Kirwin had been getting as Maddie had been dealing with a stomach bug during the day, and coach Barrett just decided to give her the game off.

With the win, and the Paladian-Smurfs unable to recover and only get a draw against Maklohi Vai, Cassadaigua has a bit of breathing room now at the top, expanding their lead to 5. It will be our turn to go to Maklohi Vai for the next match. They will be looking to put some distance between them and Nouvel Ecosse, so expect them to bring their “A” game.

[Star United States]

If there are any mistakes, titles, etc. please forgive me and telegram me so that I may fix them.

Star United States

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The World Cup 68 Qualifies

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☆★ One Won, One Tied ★☆

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Previous Editions: SUS Roster, First Victory, Check, Second Victory? Oh yeah!, First Tie? Okay., Rocking The Tournament, Still Surviving, Another Day, Another Tied Game, The First Lost Game, Four, Four, Four

One Won

Match Day Nine
April 3, 2014

Group 18
Star United States 6–1 New Mumford
Carialus 3–2 New South Aqmuland
The Royal Barangay 4–1 Arititan
Astograth 1–0 The Inevitable Syndicate

Star Stadium, City of Star, Star United States - Star United States v. New Mumford
On Thursday, Star United States faced the team of New Mumford in the glorious capital of Star United States, City of Star, in the official Stadium of the national soccer team of Star United States.

New Mumford lost to the score of 6 - 1 in the hands of Star United States on Thursday. With four goals in the first half, and 3 in the second half.

The referee, as usually (hopefully), started the match on minute 0, with New Mumford having possession of the ball since they were the guest in Star United States. The first goal, in fact, favored New Mumford, which was scored on minute 7. Heinz Schöningen, a forward of New Mumford, managed to get through Star United States defenders Johnson, Solo, and Sanchez. He then managed to get near the goal and shot, scoring the first goal of the match. Spark, goalie of Star United States, attempted to stop the ball, but failed to do so. (Star United States 0 - 1 New Mumford)

The next goal of the match came 20 minutes later, when Soarison got possession of the ball on Minute 27, and scored. He went through New Mumford's defense, along with the help of Stafford, and managed to tie the game. (Star United States 1 - 1 New Mumford)

The next goal came in one minute 34, when once again Soarison stole the ball from a New Mumford forward, and eventually scored. This goal put Star United States in the lead, which would last for the rest of the match. (Star United States 2 - 1 New Mumford)

Minute 42: On this minute the last goal of the first half was scored, it was in favor of Star United States. Barnna, a midfielder of Star United States, caught a pass from Stafford, and since he was close to the goal, he took his chance. Score. (Star United States 3 - 1 New Mumford)

The referee ended the match a few seconds after the 45th minute, since no time needed to be made up.

The second half brought three goals, which in fact were all favored in Star United States. It all started with Star United States starting with the possession of the ball, since New Mumford has it for the first half. Star United States' Garrison took the ball and passed it to Stafford, who passed to Soarison, then Horas, then Barnna, who then passed it back to Garrison. Garrison was a few feet away from the goal net, and managed to the get the ball into the goal with a soft kick. Score. Many thought that Bial, goalkeeper of New Mumford, was gonna stop the ball, but this didn't happen. The ball just rolled in on minute 49. (Star United States 4 - 1 New Mumford)

On minute 68, Star United States' player, Stafford, got the ball from a smooth, gentle pass from Soarison. Stafford looked up, then down, then up, and kicked the ball. The ball seems that it was going to miss the goal, but just by an inch, it went in. Score. (Star United States 5 -1 New Mumford).

By this point in time, Star United States had already reassured the three points of the victory, unless if New Mumford managed to score more than four times in the time remaining. Now, just to make sure, on minute 74, Star United States scored another goal from the played Horas. By this time some people teased "just because 5 to 1 wasn't enough". (Star United States 6 - 1 New Mumford)

The matched ended on minute 90+3, Star United States won over New Mumford to the score of 6 to 1.

What About the Rest of the Group?
As we know, Star United States won 6 - 1 over New Mumford in the capital City of Star, Star United States. New South Aqumland traveled to Carialus, where Carialus defeated them to the score of 3 - 2. Arititan traveled to The Royal Barangay, where the lost to the score of 4 - 1. Astograth defeated The Inevitable Synicate in Astograth, to the score of 1 - 0. It seems like all the home teams won not his match day.

One Tied

Match Day Ten
April 4, 2014

Group 18
New Mumford 1–2 Astograth
The Inevitable Syndicate 1–4 The Royal Barangay
Arititan 0–4 Carialus
New South Aqmuland 3–3 Star United States

New South Aqumland - Star United States traveled to New South Aqumland, where they tied another game to the scored of 3 - 3. Three goals came in the first half, all in favor of New South Aqumland, and three goals came in the second half, all in favor of Star United States.

Minute 5: Sebastien-Knipo, player of New South Aqumland, scored the first goal of the match. The ball managed to slip right through the hands of Spark, goalkeeper of Star United States, who could've stopped the ball from going in, but he failed to do so. The home team took the lead early in the match. (New South Aqumland 1 - 0 Star United States)

Minute 23: Soswikze, captain of New South Aqumland, scored a goal from a somewhat far location, which caught Spark total of guard. The ball cut through the air right into the goal. The roar of the goal didn't go unnoticed in that stadium. (New South Aqumland 2 - 0 Star United States)

Minute 44: Star United States still had some hope, until when Fala scored a goal that easily could've been prevented. Spark stood still as he saw the ball roll right into the goal net. He refused to answer any questions after the match. (New South Aqumland 3 - 0 Star United States)

The first half ended on minute 45+1.

The second half came, and Star United States was playing better than what they ere in the first half. On minute 53, Star United States' player Johnson scored the goal. He came in helping out the forwards, and managed to get Star United States' first goal of the match. (New South Aqumland 3 - 1 Star United States)

On minute 56, inspired by the first goal which gave everyone on the Star United States hope, Soarison got a rather difficult pass from Stafford, and was able to get the ball through under the legs of the goalkeeper of New South Aqumland. Score. (New South Aqumland 3 - 2 Star United States)

Minute 89: Star United States had lost all hope of wining the match, but Stafford actually managed to tie the game. He took the ball from the defensive New South Aqumland team, and kicked it right into the net without thinking about it. Score. (New South Aqumland 3 - 3 Star United States) Seconds after this goal, the match was ended by the final whistle of the referee.

What's the Update on the Rest of the Group?

Below you will find an updated table of the group:

Group 18                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Astograth                         10    8   1   1    25   11  +14    25
2 The Royal Barangay                10    6   2   2    30   20  +10    20
3 The Inevitable Syndicate          10    6   1   3    20    8  +12    19
4 Carialus                          10    5   2   3    27   18   +9    17
5 Star United States                10    4   5   1    31   23   +8    17
6 New South Aqmuland                10    3   2   5    21   24   −3    11
7 New Mumford                       10    1   0   9    10   35  −25     3
8 Arititan                          10    0   1   9     9   34  −25     1

Second, third, fourth, and fifth places are rather close together in points, meaning anything is possible. Astograth is in first place with 25 points, meaning it has a safe spot in the World Cup 68, unless if they manage to lose the rest of their matches. The Royal Barangay managed to pull themselves from under Star United States, to above them to second place with 20 points. The Royal Barangay is only 3 points above Star United States. The Inevitable Syndicate finds themselves at third place, despite being the highest ranked team in the group, with 19 points. This teams is 2 points above Star United States. Carialus is at fourth places with 17 points, sames as Star United States, but the have one more goal in their favor. So, for these teams they still have hope to make it to this World Cup.

New South Aqumland trials behind with 6 points away from Star United States. They still have some hope, but not as much to make it the toe World Cup. New Mumford and Arititan have no possible way to make it to the top of the chart, due to the fact that New Mumford only has three points, and Arititan only has one point, so far.

Matches: World Cup 68 Qualifiers
Partidos: Clasificación para la Copa Mundial 68
Jogos: Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo 68

3/24: @ Carialus (Won 2 - 3)
3/25: @ New Mumford Won 1 - 2)
3/26: v. New South Aqumland (Tied 2 - 2 )
3/27: @ Aritian (Won 2 - 4)
3/28: v. The Inevitable Syndicate (Tied 1 - 1)
3/29: @ Astograth (Tied 2 - 2)
3/30: v. The Royal Barangay ( Lost 3 - 4)
4/1: v. Carialus (Tied 4 - 4)
4/2: v. New Mumford (Won 6 - 1)
4/3: @ New South Aqumland (Tied 3 - 3)
4/4: v. Aritian
4/5: @ The Inevitable Syndicate
4/6: v. Astograth
4/7: @ The Royal Barangay

4 - 5 - 1

Home Games Venues

*please note that all dates have been pushed back one day*


April 5, 2014
SUS v. Aritian
Five-Point Stadium

April 7, 2014
SUS v. Astograth
Stadium of Jackson

[Electrum]

Opinion Editorial Section - Centralis Herald - Greg McFearney

Govt should stop wasting taxpayers money with frivolous competitions

The 68th World Cup has taught us one thing - that we can not play soccer at all. Why on earth do I say this? I only need to point to the group table. Electrum is in Group 19 and is 7th out of 8 teams with 2 wins, a draw and 7 losses. Why on earth have they secured funding for the next few cycles of World Cups from the Department of Sports? The government must be accountable for their actions - and they need to be called out when millions of taxpayer money gets funneled into these side projects.

We had a particularly abysmal outing in the Winter Olympics this year. We had an ambitious goal in beating our record at last year's Winter Olympics in Liventia, with at least 3 medals. We only won a lone silver medal on the very last day of competition. I ask the Minister for Sport, Jack Hughes this, why do we not let our money go to a team that needs it more than a start up? It makes economic sense - fund teams that have the potential to win, not teams that could-possibly-win-but-most-of-the-time-not. There are better uses for our money you know.

The national sports are curling, sailing and tennis - all very cultured sports. How are we supposed to compete with other brutish countries in a primitive sport such as soccer? A sport where rules are flouted all the time, a sport where people on purpose trip for their own benefits, and a sport where fights and swearing is common. Is this an example we want to put to our children? That spitting, yelling, screaming and being a hooligan is all part of the fun that is soccer? The ECP's particularly distasteful guide in being a hooligan is an example of just how bad the supporters of soccer really are.

Let us now focus on how Electrum sits with the world in soccer. Electrum has only competed in two competitions - this cycle's Baptism of Fire and the World Cup. The Baptism of Fire - a competition of sorts for new startups - saw Electrum come in 3rd place overall in their group. This brings up another point I want to make which is that we can't even compete with smaller and newer countries. If we can't compete with these smaller countries, how is Electrum expected with their four-person team to beat the very best countries on the world stage? Not to mention the costs of flying them in and out of the country and throughout the multiverse.

There are also additional costs for hosting 7 matches in Electrum as a result of the World Cup. Electrum has had to build 3 new stadiums, especially the white elephant in Centralis. These cost to the tune of a few billion synergies. One shudders to think what would happen if soccer sprung up throughout the country. More land taken away from forests and cities to build stadiums which no one really uses or cares about. Rectangular stadiums are particularly useless in hosting other things - at least circular stadiums can host events and musical items. Not to mention that these stadiums can also play Aussie Rules, which is also one of the nation's top sports to play in.

Finally, the last and most important point I want to make is that soccer is not a particularly popular sport in Electrum. I have already stated what types of sports we are into. In fact, nobody really even heard of or played soccer in Electrum before these hullabaloo of the World Cup and Baptism of Fire came round. You can't just simply force the whole nation into assimilating in a foreign sport such as soccer if they haven't known of it previously. It just makes no sense at all that we should spend lots of money on a sport that no one really plays.

I would like to issue a challenge to the Electrum National Team and Mitch Blain. Prove that you deserve our funding. Or step aside and give up on soccer. There is really no point in this charade. The government should stop funding this team.

Greg McFearney is a common-sense talkback radio host. Greg is known for his unpopular views but he has a strong support base with his top rating 'Mornings with Greg' radio show. He writes for the Centralis Herald on Saturdays on contemporary issues.

[The Paradystopi Lymryk Isles]

No sooner had Dennis Barker entered the ofice of Filip Whoopsy he dropped his devilishly cunning disguise, revealing himself to actually be Señor Rábano Picante, the famous Lymryker superhero destined for great things. He had been scouring New Montreal States incognito for clues to the dangerous oomycete conspiracy but his trail had run cold and he needed to return to base.

'tis I, he orated dramatically. Señor Rábano Picante!

Everyone in the room cheered, then Filip Whoopsy told him to return to work in a rather brusque tone.

"Excuse me? We're trying to have a meeting here. Can the telepathic operator in the Lymryk Isles please return to work, please?"
"Eh wha?"

Daydreaming as a telepathic operator often had unfortunate repercussions.

[Mizuyuki]

MD 2 versus Saugeais - many thanks for the roster, Saug!

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Shirakiin Kurumi

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ShiFT Project Sports Arena

The rain fell with astonishing ferocity.

Five minutes after I had settled down in the dugout with a scarf, a warm mug of tea and a change of clothes, the pitch was waterlogged - despite my pestering the MFA and causing a hail of memoranda to be sent to them every single working day, they had never gotten around to maintaining the wretched drainage system - with the result that pools of water were forming on the pitch with alarming speed.

Any manager worth his salt knows that a pitch drenched in water is not conducive to short passing play. I could only watch on helplessly as the heavens opened; the puddles of water growing larger by the second.

'If the rain doesn't let up soon, our gameplan is literally dead in the water,' I thought, with more than a hint of grimness.

It was not a pitch fit for the Ifrit Spirit leagues - hell, I had seen U15 teams with pitches in better condition than the muddy, waterlogged piece of turf out there - let alone the bloody national team. I was only too painfully aware that the MFA's bureaucratic ineptness and meanness with their funds could now be the downfall of the national team that they prized above all else.

Despite my forlorn hopes to the contrary, the rain did not show any signs of stopping. If anything, it increased in both volume and intensity, hammering on the roof of the stadium like a wild beast as the spectators rushed to put up their cheap plastic umbrellas, trying in vain to shield themselves from the spray of rainwater. The sound reverberated throughout the ShiFT, jacking up the decibel levels another couple of notches as the mighty roar of the rain proved to be a potent accompaniment to the cacophony emanating from the stands.

Before too long, the mist descended - replacing the damp, sticky heat that had been prevalent thus far with a all-pervading cold that chilled one to the very marrow. An unearthly atmosphere reigned as the mist spread, wreathing the entire stadium in a white veil.

It struck me that the conditions were oddly incongruous for an international football match. I was more than aware that I held an opinion that was very much in the minority, but I honestly thought that a match of such import to be played under the very best of conditions; conditions which removed all other factors from consideration, in which the only element that would count for anything would be the talent, the ability, the competence of the players. Of course, such a match would undoubtedly be onerous to organise and execute, but the rewards would dwarf all that - a truly pure contest of football that would not; nay, could not fail to be a marvellous spectacle, even to the eyes of the uninitiated.

My contemplations were largely moot, though - as the rain poured down without a care for my aesthetic sensibilities, dampening the soles of my shoes as the damp crept up from beneath the soil and the rain seeped into the ground. This would be a battle of attrition if there ever was one, given the horrendous conditions - it was at times like this that I fervently wished that the match would be moved to the Equestrian States, where the fair weather was always conducive to our swift, free-flowing play. Fuck home advantage. Fuck familiarity with the pitch. All I wanted was for my team to perform at their maximum capacity for once, and they had about a snowball's chance in hell of doing that out on the sodden pitch of the ShiFT.

I watched as the fourth official marched onto the pitch, trying to keep up a facade of dignity even as the wind whipped his hair with impunity and the sheets of rain drenched him to the skin, and hesitantly stick his studs into the ground - trying to ascertain if the pitch was in decent enough condition for the game to proceed as usual - and then skedaddle back to the match officials' office while distractedly swiping his wet hair out of his face. In a sudden fit of spirituality, I beseeched Kirigiri to grant me her favour - please, please let the goddamned referee decide to postpone the bloody game - but apparently Kirigiri was off gallivanting in the Dreamed Realm or having a soiree with the Mitrin Vega, for barely five minutes later the blasted ref marched out from the depths of the stadium with the match ball firmly tucked under his arm, sporting a resolute expression on his face, as though bracing himself to do battle with the kami who had caused the rain to fall. The two teams trailed after the certifiable idiot in crocodile fashion, looking mighty sorry for themselves.

As the piercingly shrill whistle of the referee sounded, echoing throughout the ShiFT, I leaned back in my seat and put my hands over my eyes, the very picture of despondence and frustration - and at length let out a deep, tired sigh.

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Ten minutes later, I had composed myself sufficiently to return my attentions to the game. Not that my attentions did much good, anyway - I had near-perfect vision, but the rain and the mist conspired to keep visibility so low that I could barely make out the facade of the stadium from where I was standing. That being the case, then; I was lucky in that I had recourse to the commentary of Ruri and Himawari - the two most hilariously inept excuses for pundits that I had ever clapped eyes upon throughout my career - which admittedly did provide some insight into the match at hand.

"And there goes Plamondon for Saugeais ... rolling back the years with a cute stepover to foil Isshiki's attempt to win the ball from him; you'd never believe he was 30, the way he peeled away from her - he darts down the wing, skipping past Sato -"

I immediately dropped my thermos of green tea and feverishly shooed the staff milling about me out of the way, making my way down the tunnel into an enclave where there was a mini TV screen showing live footage of the match. Something was going to happen. I could feel it in my bones. As I struggled to push past the motley crew of officials, staff and whatnot out of the way, Himawari's amplified, annoyingly girlish voice carried through the air like a clarion call -

"- and he sends in a delightful cross! Tawaraya valiantly challenges for the ball with striker Deniau, but loses out on account of her height! Deniau connects with power - Takanashi just manages to get a touch, but she can't get it out of play, and the ball ricochets into the area! A goalmouth scramble ensues as both teams try to get a touch of the ball! Tawaraya recovers and desperately slides in for the ball in an ill-advised attempt to clear ... she almost ends up taking out both Richelieu and Saten! There it goes - long and high from Ishio, and Mizuyuki must be sighing in relief at that close call ... "

Giving up my vain attempt to make it to the enclave, I slumped backwards against the wall in very real relief - if Himawari was to be believed, we'd just managed to avoid conceding by the very skin of our teeth. I had known of the possible implications of fielding Tawaraya instead of Tachibana at centre back - her technical skills and above-average ball distribution allowed us to build from the back instead of hoofing it clear every time danger loomed. With some trepidation, I considered the very real possibility that I had made a grievous error in judgement by naming Tawaraya in my starting XI today - in my defence, the rain hadn't started coming down with a vengeance until I had submitted the finalised starting XI to the authorities, but I should have seen it coming. As a manager, I should have seen it coming.

There shouldn't have been any excuse. But come up with one I did, as if railing against the very idea that I could have made a mistake; if only to soothe my conscience.

'No. It doesn't make sense breaking up an established centre-back pairing simply due to a minor tactical consideration.'

'In any case,' I thought, 'nothing I can do about it now. No guarantee that the green Tachibana would have been able to make the step up and marshal the defence like Tawaraya does. I made the right choice.'

Yes. I made the right choice.

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The goal came just after the twenty-minute mark.

By that time, I had learnt my lesson and commandeered a portion of the enclave, where I set up my forward operating base - squeezing in with the television people - who threw dirty glances at me every now and then - while nursing my mug of tea. I wasn't about to make the long trip from the technical area every time Ruri and Himawari yelled like banshees up in the commentators' box. Luckily someone had managed to pilfer a set of walkie-talkies from the match officials' room, and I used this to communicate my tactical instructions to Yunokawa, who was courageously braving the rain in my stead. It was his bad luck that he was scheduled to go out to dinner with his fiancée after the game was finished and had dressed up in a suit, complete with a horribly ratty tie, for the occasion.

I peered intently at the miniature screen, not wanting to miss even a second of the furious action. Well, I say furious, but in reality the ball tended to get stuck in the massive puddles of water, and the players inevitably had to kick up a storm in order to retrieve it. It made for several humorous moments, no doubt about that - I laughed out loud when Pascal slipped and went head-over-heels, and was considerably less amused when Takanashi almost succeeded in pulling off the same trick just ten yards away from the goal-line - but it slowed down the play to such an extent that I went to the washroom and returned to find the same players fighting over the ball in the same bloody puddle.

In the midst of a pile of bodies - for the match had degenerated into a free-for-all, no-holds-barred kind of competition, which bore an uncanny resemblance to gridiron - a vividly coloured boot shot out and made contact with the ball, sending it looping into the air towards our goal. The gridiron scramble then became a footrace - every single player for himself as the Mizuyuki-jin and the Saugeains dashed madly after the ball; one team trying to get the ball away into Row Z, and so much the better if it landed on the roof of the ShiFT; the other doing their damnedest to stick a boot into it and smack it into the goal.

As I watched the pacier players peeling away from the rest of the chasing pack, my jaw dropped.

"Oh fuck."

Deniau was clean through on goal. Or at least he would be, if he could bring the ball down from the air. From the fuzzy live footage, I could see Takanashi hesitating - she could've made a dash for the ball, but she risked fouling Deniau and getting herself sent-off. Or she could stay on her line and hope that Deniau didn't have his shooting boots on.

I let out a soundless scream.

'Come out and boot the ball out of the park, you damnable fool!'

Of course, Takanashi didn't hear me. I had to watch her dilly-dally on the pitch, trying to make up her mind.

This is precisely why we conceded that unimaginably stupid goal against Turori in the last WC Finals.

On current evidence, it seemed more than likely that Deniau had made the correct choice of boots for the occasion. Under the difficult circumstances, three shots on goal were more than commendable, and Takanashi had been called into action for all three of them.

With a delicate touch, Amable Deniau brought the ball under his control; flicking the ball into the air once again as a boot - rapidly followed by a Mizuyuki-jin shirt - slid past his feet.

I watched, as if in a trance, as the ball fell. I watched as it hit the wet pitch, sending up a spray of water.

I watched as Amable Deniau swung his foot back, preparing to strike the ball.

With one hand, I shielded my eyes; I wildly ran the other through my hair, tousling it; it was still damp despite the towelling I'd given it earlier.

I couldn't bear to see what would transpire; indeed, I couldn't bear to see it happen.

I hoped against hope for the ball to careen wildly off target; I hoped against hope that Takanashi would pull off a miracle and save the shot destined for goal.

After an eternity, the stadium erupted in noise.

Gingerly, I removed my hand and opened my eyes just a crack, trying to see for myself what had taken place.

I needn't have bothered.

The walkie-talkie beside me buzzed.

"Kurumi, Deniau's just scored on us. We're down by one."

[Apox]

Forged in Fire - Part Ten

Sparks of Revolution
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six

Forged in Fire
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six
Part Seven
Part Eight
Part Nine

Annabel Harwood and Jack Greybold were conducting operations from Dwile, with links patched to all government units on the ground in Southern Apox. The revolution had been in progress for about 10 days by this point, and after making initial early gains, the rebel forces had slowed to a halt, with neither side making any significant breakthroughs in the last few days. They had heard that a former rebel commander, going by the name of Joe Carlton had been discovered and was being held for questioning elsewhere in Dwile. Jack had half a mind to go and speak to him in the near future, but he had men on extracting information. He didn’t like to know the full details of what the Agency of Intelligence got up to.

The rebels had congregated around the towns, with thin but well hidden supply lines connecting them, and the government forces had had to be careful in who they targeted, although he was told that intelligence was quickly infiltrating the rebel groups, and soon they would be able to act, quickly and decisively to destroy the command structure of the rebellion.

He was woken from his reverie by an aide tapping him on the shoulder.

“John the True on Line 1 for you sir.” Jack nodded, feeling glad to have a distraction from the troubles currently facing him. He picked up the phone and heard a familiar voice on the line at the other end.

“Jack! How are things going?” Jack grimaced,

“I wish I could say well, but we have a full scale rebellion going on here. How’s the country settling going?”

“It’s going alright, although there are obviously problems. We have quite a large influx of people arriving, both Old Guard citizens and Apoxians looking for somewhere to start afresh. At the moment people are many arriving by walking south from the cities, Urbanista and other affected areas, through the dangerous wildland. We haven’t been able to set up proper roads and checkpoints yet, though I think the volume of people is creating quite a path anyway.

People are mainly staying in tents, but we’ve cleared quite a large forested area now, and the first houses are beginning to go up. At the moment, my house is a little more than a log shed, although I’m letting other people stay in it at the moment, they need it more than I.” Jack was impressed by John’s lack of selflessness.

“Wow, that’s very noble of you John. I…” he was interrupted by Annabel tugging violently on his sleeve, “Look I’ve got to go, but update me fully tomorow, yeah?” John had barely agreed before Jack put the phone down and turned on Annabel.

“What?” he said, angrily. She pointed mutely to one of the television screens. It showed a man standing on the balcony of what looked like Barbury city hall, shouting to a noisy crowd below. The banner on the bottom of the screen read, “Uprisings in the North, Barbury falls to protesters.” Jacks mouth dropped open, and he sat down, rapidly.

“Shit.”

***

Jeff was walking through Urbanista, heading to an ONP rally, deep within rebel held territory. As he walked he saw many of his soldiers patrolling the streets, heavily armed. Some already had battle scars. Besides him, walked two of his bodyguards.

Upon reaching the back of the stage, he greeted Anna Speirs, who he had asked to help set up the rally, the two shaking hands warmly. He’d tried to get to know her since he’d met her when expelling Joe Carlton, he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to this woman. Even in the heat of war, his veins still ran thick with emotion.

“They’re waiting for you out there captain,” she said, grinning, nodding towards the stage where the sounds of the crowd were deafeningly loud.

“Wow, that’s a lot for an ONP rally,” he said, stunned, listening to the sounds.

“Well,” she said, “you’re kinda a big deal round here now,” winking to him as she stopped speaking. He smiled, feeling strangely relaxed in her company, despite the fact he was nervous about making this speech. A soldier ran down the steps to tell him that he was up, and he slowly descended.

Upon reaching the top of the steps, the crowd began cheering, and he waved back happily, feeling more like a musician or a celebrity than a leader. How did all these people know who he was anyway? He reached the microphone, and coughed, checking it was working before starting. The crowd fell silent.

“People of Olfa!” he proclaimed, to cheers, “We have today won a great victory in the fight for independence. We have taken back the South, we have driven out the government oppressors. We now pull the strings.

While the war is still very much raging on, and there are battles yet to be fought, I can tell you that it won’t be long before we have our freedom. For, at this very moment, people are rising up all around the country, taking back what was theirs from the hands of the government. The times of one united nation, of Apox are numbered!” He paused, and the crowd starting to cheer again. He bathed in the applause for a little while, before raising his hands for silence,

“Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated and will be recognised when the time of reckoning comes. Let us remember those who have died for this cause, and let us remember those who have fought bravely. We must carry on, in the way we have been going, on to victory!” He finished as the crowd erupted into furious cheering. He really had them in the palm of his hand, they’d lapped up all the lies and bullshit he’d just spouted. He walked off stage, and towards a beaming Anna Speirs.

“You were fantastic Jeff, absolutely marvellous!” she beamed, pulling him into a hug, to his surprise. She pulled away pretty rapidly, feeling embarrassed, before making some excuse to leave. He grinned, this whole revolution thing could go better than he’d originally planned.

Apox 4-1 Milchama Roskorwell 31', 79', Kolo 34', Aurora 43'; #Milchamaz 50'
It was probably what was required, a good rout against the third seed. Milchama held up impressively until the 26th minute, at which point their centre midfielder basically karate kicked Armando Quillisi in the chest and earning him a straight red card. Quillisi also made way, just to be sure, Jack Demir trotting on in his position. However, with Milchama down to only ten men with 60 minutes to go, it looked like it was going to be a tough ask for them. Martin Roskorwell headed in a good ball off a Matthias Sindelar free-kick in the 31st minute, before Maxim Kolo scored a spectacularly solo effort only three minutes later - his first goal for the national side. Two minutes from time in the first half, Martin Roskorwell received the ball in the box, but was swamped by Milchaman defenders and was unable to make it work. He rolled the ball over to the rapidly approaching Kaj Aurora, who powered a thunderous shot into the back of the net.

With the game 3-0 up at half time, Fjelden made a couple of substitutions early into the second half, to allow key players to have some rest. Matthias Sindelar came off for Noel Amundsen, with team turning to a conventional 4-4-2 formation, and a couple of minutes later, Hans Nielssen trotted off for Ben Hatem. They did manage to pull one back, with Nicolas St Teath's mistake opening the goal up for the player, who only had #Milchamaz on his shirt. However, that goal was really against the run of play, and Martin Roskorwell returned a three goal advantage off a Kaj Aurora corner with 11 minutes to go. It was a vital, and confidence boosting win.

[Paradystopia]

"Welcome to the official boardroom."

After the general disorganisation of trying cram everybody into his modest office whilst trying to prevent a daydreaming otter from projecting images of green-clad superheroes into everybody's minds, Mr. Whoopsy had made the executive decision to relocate to the boardroom.

The room itself was originally designed for the loading and unloading of cargo when the building's previous owners had used it as a warehouse and cargo shipping depot for fittings and casings. Now it stood bare and empty barring a three-foot high podium of sorts fashioned of loose planks. The entire team clamboured labouriously atop it's unsteady form and sat cross-legged in a circle.

"I call to order this EGM. Who'll be taking minutes today?"

A bony older gentleman in a scuba-diving suit started the timer on his digital watch and gave Filip a thumbs-up.

"Good good good. Okay. So many of you may already know we have a new member in our ranks as of today. A bone fide expert in the field of horseradish surveillance from his native country, Mr. Travis Parker."
"Dennis Barker ... sir."
"Oh of course. Mr. Dennis Barkersir"

There was a polite round of applause halting Dennis from correcting his name a second time.

"So Dennis. You've already met our official Happy Scientist, Ms. Yuan who should be able to provide you with the full details of what we know about this tricky little oomycete as well as what we know about containing it. On to the rest of your team, there's ..."
"DEATH TO NEW MONTREAL STATES!"

A small podgy man in a bright-red and overly-tight ycra suit was bounding around the tower of wood staring maniacally at Dennis all the time.

"That would be Dave, he works in the mail-room."
"GREGORRRRRRYYYYYY!"
"... also known as Lord Almighty Gregory the Second."
"GGRRRRRRRREGORRYYY!"
"I think he likes you Dennis."

Dennis shot Filip a wild look. One of 'how on earth can you tell?'. Filip understood perfectly.

"I think he likes you because you aren't yet smeared with his excrement. Haha, remember your first boardroom meeting Karla?"

Karla, a middle-aged woman who had painted her entire skin a strident shade of turquoise and wore nothing but a transparent PVC poncho mustered a pallid smile and waved meekly at Dennis, all the time keeping one eye of the post-boy.

"There was shit everywhere! Good grief! There was also that period when he ... sorry, I digress. Your team Dennis. Yes okay, so you know Chanxi. Next, Herfaistus Mold. Herf is our expert undercover agent. If anyone can get up close to a horseradish plant undetected, It's Herf. A bachelor's degree in fashion and hairstyling, 4 years experience doing make-up in the adult entertainment industry and a working knowledge of swearwords in a variety of different languages."

Herf waved at Dennis in a manner in keeping with his attire. Bold, brash and without wanting to appear prejudice, 'gay' ... These were the fashion choices of somebody who'd decided long ago that 'camp' was just too introverted.

"... Dyuliett Spool. Dyuli is another field operative of ours. We'll be assigning you together for a while. You know, see how things go and all that. Dyuli's got a master's in horticulture and genetics and has successfully cross-bred horse and horseradish DNA to create the horsehorseradish. You may find this a little hard to hear and I apologise but the necessary genetic mapping required for this procedure has given us a greater insight into horseradish than ever before. She has 3 years experience in the field and a further 2 in a different field and is our most knowledgeable agent to date. Hopefully a collaboration of your minds will be the defining factor in this pressing issue."

Dyuli, with her elven features looked around fifteen years old. Her hair was unkempt and she was mostly buried by a huge, dirty, old woolen jumper. She gently puffed away on a small wooden pipe whilst emanating a calming gentle smile like that of a pragmatic botanist hopelessly lost in a crocodile-infested orchid grove. She said 'Hi' to Dennis and presented him a slightly damp sleeve to shake before commenting he had kind eyes and would she be able to have them should he die. Just to keep in a jar on her desk, nothing weird of course.

"... and finally, Jay Robinson. Our communications expert. He'll be your connection at base should you require assistance."

Jay was some sort of goose wearing a Barbury Town football shirt. He quacked in such a way Dennis wasn't sure whether it was a response or mere coincidence.

"So that's your team and I think it's time for a coffee break. Meeting adjourned until we've all had a hot mug of horseradish."

---

OOC: Having a few internet issues here. Hopefully it's sorted now but anyone involved in or wishing to get involved in this Paradystopi loony-fest, just go for it. You cannot possibly create anything too ridiculous. Feel free to consider that a challenge

Oh, and I search for 'Horseradish' when looking for which RPs require a response. Keep that in mind if you choose to reference Señor Rábano Picante or similar.

[Ko-oren]

Surviving Storm after Storm

The big guys, Sargossa and Filopines, have come and gone again, and resulted in 12 points for the Dragonflies. Nobody could have expected things to go this well for us, after we had to tone it down after last cycle's bad ending. We could say the Greenblues are back on the way up to the World Cup, preferably the second round, and the winning games against the Corsairs and the Apples have helped us back to an excellent position. In the National Stadium, with all seats filled, the fans saw Tokachi score the 1-0 after 84 minutes while the screen showed the 1-6 victory of Sargossa over North Arabia. A shot from the overpopulated box's semicircle went untouched past Nolder.

With a 6-point gap, The Sarian is our next opponent. The previous time we met them, they were doing poorly in the lower regions of Group 4, but since then they have found their form and are currently fourth behind the Filopines. Seven points is the difference between the two teams, so it is unlikely that they will clinch a playoff spot, but they still leave The Icemark, the strongly starting North Arabia, the somehow-still-seventh Agrincourt and Mastille behind. The Sarian's 4-1 victory over Agrincourt shows their potential and the danger to our team. After the next game, we only have The Icemark, Agrincourt and Mastille to worry about, so another good day might put us close to clinching the group. If Sargossa and Filopines tie each other, one win and a draw in the next four match days are enough to keep us in first place until the end of the group stage.

Matchday 10 was a bad day for most defending teams. There are still some teams with less than 10 goals conceded left, but almost all of them had trouble. The Sandwich Territories conceded 2 in a 2-2 draw, Audioslavia saw Vaugania double their number of conceded goals (from 2 to 4) in a 5-2 win, while Kandorith conceded three in the 3-5 win over Menukten in the same group. Even the Polar Islandstates were not safe, as Qazox put two into the net in a 5-2 win for the title holders. Group 15, with both Valanora and Taeshan, who together conceded just 5 goals until yesterday, now have a combined total of 11. That's more than they conceded in the previous 9 days combined, with Taeshan tieing Ratmo 2-2... where they could have put some pressure on Valanora who tied the Royal Kingdom of Quebec 4-4(!). Nova Anglicana are still going strong with just two goals in their net in the entire campaign so far. Their goal production is also suffering somewhat, but we cannot say much about that as we would not want to be the pot calling the kettle black: with 17 goals scored, the Dragonflies are the least scoring, group leading team.

---

The 14 separate committees for the other official languages of Ko-oren have decided to all publish a small booklet on their langauge's history in Ko-oren. With the grammar of Ko-oran hopefully hitting the shelves somewhere next year, the additional 14 booklets give information about all of those foreign languages that reached our shores between 1517 and 1648.

It is unnecessary to make grammars of these 14 languages (Dutch, English, German, Icelandic, Russian, Czech, French, Portuguese, Turkish, Mongolian, Japanese, Korean, Welsh and Mandarin Chinese), as there are enough of those already published abroad, and the differences between these languages spoken elsewhere and in Ko-oren are tiny anyway.

Work on the Ko-oran grammar is going nicely, with a focus on Ko-oren City Ko-oran rather than all different dialects.

The Ko-orenite Cartography Committee is considering capturing all this information into one complete Linguistic Atlas of Ko-oren, and seeks to include historic maps.

[Jeruselem]

Princess Amy and Princess Melody in Razul

Amy: This is Princess Amy for Naked News in Razul. I'm with the coach Princess Melody for another qualifier for the World Cup 68.
Melody: Good evening viewers
Amy: We won there 1-0 but at a cost, because we lost Isabella to injury in the first half
Melody: Yes, she was tackled but they took her out instead of the ball
Amy: It didn't look terribly good
Melody: It turns out she's snapped some knee ligaments

Amy: So who's the team leader now?
Melody: Well girl, it's time for you to show your pedigree.
Amy: I guess someone has to takeover and finish the job
Melody: Sadly for Isabella, she's not going be able to get the finals if we get there
Amy: Is this career ending?
Melody: She's at end of her career, and I think it's her last cup now

Amy: It's a pretty sad way to go
Melody: She's served her country well, and it's not the best way to finish your international career
Amy: I'm sure she'll be back as part of the management
Melody: She'll make a great coach if she wants to
Amy: Our rivals Starblaydia and Ossidiacqua played out a draw 2-2 leaving us at the top of the table
Melody: We still have Ossidiacqua to play so we can't rest

Amy: Alexanderburn drew 1-1 with Vietnam and Hutanjia beat an embrassing Kemballia 2-1
Melody: It's interesting we have three teams on 13 points, behind Ossidiacqua
Amy: But they need to make up like two wins on the top 3, who won't be losing a lot of games
Melody: Yes, given the top 3 have 5 losses between themselves
Amy: Group 14, and Polar Islandstates 5–2 over Qazox
Melody: Yes, I think Qazox are done. PIS is too good, and doing so well

Amy: Jeru FC keep on winning 6-1 against Nyucia in Nyucia but are only 3rd
Melody: They are only 3 points behind United Gordonopia so they can give Group 1 a big shake
Amy: The other big two in group 1 also won so it was no change from last round
Melody: Yes, but it's only 1 win difference.
Amy: I'm gonna say something about Saintland
Melody: Well, I'm gonna agree with her

Amy: King Petrus XX is their new king, and the first thing we see of his authority is women getting whipped in public. In Jeruselem, we look at people for what they do and not just what say they will do. I'm sure it's not an everyday event but to me it was pretty awful.
Melody: Yes, I don't know if the new king was asserting his authority in public or showing he was in charge by showing what he could do.
Amy: I'm sure the women of Saintland don't get that treatment because ones whipped were feminists who Saintland regard as terrorists but it's a red flag to me.
Melody: I see having a new leader as a chance to build new relationships and trying fix problems from the past.
Amy: So what I see is things aren't changing
Melody: Let's hope this was a show for the public and not reality.

Amy: I'm saying this because my fans want me to say something about it. They are shocked to see such an event in this day and age.
Melody: It's not something we expected
Amy: That's it from me
Melody: See you all later

OOC Jeruselem queens and princesses are literate in English, French, and Latin

[Jeru FC]

Princess Katy and the Jeru FC coach Andre in Nyucia ...

Katy: This is Princess Katy for Naked News Jeruselem. We're in Nyucia, and this is the Jeru FC coach who's a busy man.
Andre: Thank you Katy, yes I am
Katy: 7 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Not bad and third, one off the leader. Today a 6-1 win.
Andre: Yes, we're racking up big wins and it might help should we be on the same points as our rivals
Katy: A draw against the top team recently
Andre: It shows we aren't weak defensively when we're at our best

Katy: The start wasn't good but then you keep on putting on wins
Andre: You can't make finals without wins
Katy: You done anything special to push the boys to do special things?
Andre: I don't think so, they are really self motivated
Katy: So you're not pushing them hard
Andre: I tell them it's not about me, it's about them

Katy: Still, they need you to show them the right way
Andre: 11 players on the field are what do the job, we give them the tools and they use them
Katy: There's rumours they use illegal means to improve
Andre: They don't have the money anyway
Katy: Can the boys do better than just qualifying?
Andre: They can do as well as past teams if they keep up this effort

Katy: They are reaching football retirement age, can they keep going?
Andre: It's not up to me. I don't pick my team
Katy: It must be hard to not being able to pick your team
Andre: Yes I can't pick players, I'm stuck with what I get
Katy: Isn't that the case with teams picked armed services
Andre: I suppose, you get what they give you

Katy: But this lot seem to do be doing the job
Andre: I'm surprised they are still alive given their jobs away from football
Katy: Yes, mine clearing is one of those jobs
Andre: I'm just glad I'm not them
Katy: They did join the armed forces on their own accord
Andre: Bravery or bravado?

[Mizuyuki]

MD 2 versus Saugeais - a continuation.

---

Shirakiin Kurumi

---

ShiFT Project Sports Arena

"Kurumi, Deniau's just scored on us. We're down by one."

If I'm to be completely honest, I don't really know what I expected to hear from Yunokawa. I leaned back in my chair, in a daze, as the fans roared - the Saugeains celebrating wildly in their exultation; the Mizuyuki-jin hurling abuse at Takanashi for not getting stuck in and for not booting the ball away from danger.

1-0 down at home after only 20 minutes. It wasn't a good position to be in.

I put my head in my hands. Frankly, given the terrible weather conditions there was very little I could do to affect the match short of making substitutions, which I was averse to doing this early in the match. I could only hope that the players' drive and determination would sustain them. A draw wasn't out of the realm of possibility, and hell, if Kirigiri managed to return in time to bless us perhaps we could even stage a smash-and-grab for the three points.

Looking at them now, though; you wouldn't have thought that Mizuyuki were ranked 24th in the entire damn multiverse. They looked more like preschoolers trudging home dejectedly after being absolutely thrashed at football by men; and professional footballers at that. Real pros who knew how to retaliate when the chips were down; real pros who knew how to mount a comeback against all the odds.

"Mizuyuki on the attack - Ishibashi makes a penetrating run into the middle of the Saugeain defence, looking for the pass. Uryuu has possession out wide, but she's marked tightly by Renault, who's after her like a bulldog. Uryuu has no choice but to take the simple option - passes the ball square to Saten ... aaaand she immediately loses it to Didier Bernard, who loses no time in setting up the counter with a 40-yard-pass upfield to Pascal. Mizuyuki rush to defend, but can't reach Richelieu in time - that's A. Richelieu, by the way - and he fires off an absolute fizzer of a shot towards the top left ... it cannons off the upright! Mizuyuki are just about hanging in there ... "

Maybe there was a sliver of truth to what the press had been splashing over their pages for the last couple of weeks. For a top team, Mizuyuki were certainly astoundingly lacking in the mental department.

If this sorry state of affairs continued, words would have to be had at half time.

I had abandoned my mug and was now angrily pacing the tunnel, occasionally popping my head into the enclave to ensure that I was not missing out on anything important. In any case, Ruri and Himawari's shrill voices carried well enough, if nothing else; I could easily hear them even though I was some distance from the pitch.

"There's an interruption in play after Tawaraya takes on Deniau and takes his legs out from under him with a scything two-footed challenge. That certainly has to be a foul - yes ... the ref blows on his whistle and jogs over to have a word with Tawaraya - she could receive her marching orders for this - "

I felt an irrational urge to hurl my mug of tea against someone's mug. Someone. Anyone. If the Chairperson of the Decimvirate had come strolling down the tunnel in the flesh, I wouldn't have thought twice about cracking the mug over her head.

" - the ref decides to be lenient on this one! Tawaraya gets off the hook with a caution, and she can count her blessings for not getting a red card brandished at her ... while the Saugeais players furiously protest the decision. The ref is unmoved, and he motions for play to continue. The Saugeains may get their names taken down if they refuse to let the issue drop ..."

"It appears that Tsuchimikado has put the period of down time to good use, as she has all the Mizuyuki players in a group hug - to what end? Perhaps she's trying to motivate the team into performing, given that their play thus far has been nothing sort of abysmal ... "

Yes, it had been abysmal, and thank Kirigiri Tawaraya didn't get a red card. It was hard enough trying to get one back against a top team like Saugeais even when we were at full strength; doing it while being a man down would be nigh impossible.

I sat down on my chair and pondered my half-time team talk. If Tsuchimikado's little impromptu speech didn't get them firing on all cylinders ... I doubt any words of mine could. I had chosen her as my captain for a reason. She had the charisma, the ability to lead - and I knew that in the team hierarchy, Tsuchimikado was only second to me. That was how much the players looked up to her.

I could only hope that Tsuchimikado could weave her magic and get the players performing, for I was more than aware that when tactics and fancy stratagems fail, you can only rely on three things - mental fortitude, inherent ability, and the desire to win.

[Greater Watford]

Joe Davis-GWFA Head office.
I was tidying up my office, moving all of the files into the right place. On my computer screen, a half-finished speech was open. I had decided that I was to resign as head of the GWFA after World Cup 68 and the end of the domestic season. I had lost the enjoyment of the job. I picked up a folder, that contained a few press clippings from the week I took charge. I remember those days, the GWFA starting up, and me organising the domestic league and national team, promising some great football for the unified nation. How optimism fades so quickly. I admit I enjoyed most of my time at the top of the GWFA, but the last few weeks had got to me.
Just then, a secretary walked in, holding a DigiPad. “So Mr Davis, the GWFA selection committee understands you intend to resign at the end of the World Cup cycle.” She said, in a well spoken manner.
“Yes, that is true. I have expressed my reasons, and will publicly announce them in the coming days”, I responded, slightly relaxed.
“We at the selection committee ask you to maintain your high level of integrity at work, until such a time as we can elect a new leader. We are hoping that elections will occur and be finalised before the final game of the World Cup cycle”, she responded.
“Well I understand of course. I’d take an advisory role after the World Cup, but will not be making the big decisions. If I may ask, who has expressed an interest in running for head office?” I asked
“We aren’t sure yet, but rumours of a promotion from within, a few ex-footballers and some sports businessmen are on the cards.” I heard her say.
“As long as they are competent, it’s fine by me”. I saw her turn and leave the room, and I continued to sort out my filing, moving loose sheets back into where they belong.

Gianpedro Dominico-68 Halefort Drive
I was at home, not attending the game. I’d receive a ban for my actions at the last game. Chucking several water bottles onto the pitch and breaking a dugout panel is a bit of an overreaction I guess. The GWFA and my coaches also seemed unimpressed with my leadership and behaviour qualities. I questioned why I was even manager now. I knew that if we weren’t 4th in the group or above, I’d most likely be fired, but I didn’t want that. Another loss or two, and I’d resign immediately. I didn’t feel like managing a side where morale was low, and we underperformed. It was too frustrating. Call me selfish, but I didn’t see the point in leading the national side anymore.
Alessandro de Rosso was taking over the side for this game. He personally told me he was in a tough position. He was a close friend of mine, but worried that he couldn’t do his job if he was seen in league with me. I guess I’ll find out soon who my true friends are then. If I do quit, then I’d think he could be a good replacement, but he might bail out of taking over. Besides, if the rumours of Joe leaving the GWFA are true, a big shake up could occur anyway.

Mario Mannetti-3 minutes Darvale 0-0 Greater Watford
It felt odd, playing without Gianpedro with us. Without him we felt less on edge, but less guided, like he had no leader. I mean for sure Alessandro seemed OK, but it’s hard to adapt to a sudden change. Nevertheless, we were playing bottom team Darvale. We definitely had to win, not for honour, but to have a realistic chance of making the Top 3. An early goal was needed, but Darvale were in possession now, on the edge of the box. I looked for some space on the halfway line. As I did, the ball was cleared downfield by Vincent Warthon. I saw a Darvale player chase it down, but he was out of position. Instinctively, I challenged him, and took the ball, knocking it forward to 25 yards out, I saw the goalkeeper rush me down. But he was too far of his line. With a smooth flick of the foot, the ball sailed high over his arms, and took a great dip, as it bounced across the line.
Rushing over to the fans, I felt relief. Finally, I’d broken my scoring duck, and we were leading. It was like a cloud of sadness was lifted off the team. I was grabbed and hugged by my fellow peers, as a small section of the crowd, the away supporters cheered in celebration. It was only 3 minutes, and it was only 1 goal, but my good did it feel good. Now, we could look to the future, with optimism.

[Vettrera]

Part 5

Beatrice was done reflecting. Putting all the horrific details of her life back on replay was a task that she simply could not do any longer, because it simply made her sad. Remembering and recataloging those emotions that she had suppressed for years, and that she was on track to suppress for years to come. But Beatrice couldn't do that any longer. She couldn't do this any longer. Spend her time with a national team that was in disarray, and who to be honest would never amount to anything. Losing to Arab Country? No.....Beatrice couldn't deal with this any more. The dumbass refs, the politics of it all. She would never get any respect in the community, and she would never get the recognition that she truly deserved. Dealing with that pain in the ass, Xavier McLeary. Dealing with the Council. Hell, dealing with all these other self-righteous and egotistical nations every damn time that something went wrong

Now that, that was the worst of it all. Beatrice could let go of the domestic issues, she could forget about everything that was going on inside her nation with PUSh, the VSA, the VCSA. All of that could be forgotten. But when Beatrice has to get called out by other representatives in the international community? That's when shit becomes to much. When people question Vettrera's ability to host the U15 World Cup, when people question Vettrera's allegiance within the international community, when people question her votes, when people question her efforts, when people sabotage her teams...Honestly, Arab Country? Really?


Then again, this shouldn't have come as a surprise to Beatrice. Anything can happen in Group Twelve.....Yeah. Anything. Not the optimistic type of anything though, not the type of anything that keeps hopes alive. It's the type of anything where certain teams benefit, and certain teams are purposefully pushed to the wayside on the race to the top. But Beatrice wasn't accusing anyone of anything of course. She had no evidence, she had no proof. It just all seemed odd to her. Extraordinarily odd. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to in this group, and Beatrice wasn't just talking about Vettrera. From the jump, things seemed to be off. Things seemed to be running in a preset way, like a movie that you rewind and then play back again, over and over. Things seemed to be off....

Beatrice had gotten a cold reception from the Saintland officials a few days prior to the cup...they were very condescending if anything, and to be honest, Beatrice didn't think anything of it at the time. But for some reason, at this moment, it sent Beatrice through a whirlwind of emotions and sent her over the edge, at least in terms of her career.

Vettrera had been chastised and criticized for the entire time that she was leading PUSH. Whether it was the international community, or the domestic one. Beatrice would never get the respect she rightfully deserved, and she and Vettrera would always be treated like shit. They were the butt of the jokes, they were easy to mess with, and they were the ones with no political standing in the community. Anyone could screw over Vettrera, and nobody would care...




Beatrice's secretary had informed her that she had a call from the president, coming through now.
Beatrice grabbed her phone and picked up the call.

"Hello Ms. Parker"

"McLeary, hello"

"Listen. I've got something that I need to say"

"Well go ahead then"

"When I reinstated PUSH, I expected to see results, I expected to see everyone achieve more than they had in the previous incarnation of the program. Vettrera's brand would grow, and their international standing would as well. But for some reason, you aren't giving me that. At least, that's not what the records tables say. Saintland first in group (Beatrice rolled her eyes), Vilita second, Kernansquillec third, Bears Armed fourth, Vettrera fifth. Ms. Parker, if I don't see results in the near future, from these sports, especially soccer, then I'll have no choice but to reallocate
PUSH's budget"

"Are you done?"

"what do you -- yes, I suppose"

"Good! So I just have two responses to what you have to say"

"Alright, that's great."

"Kiss my ass. Oh, and I quit"

Beatrice hung up the phone immediately, and took out her address book.

"Who else do I need to talk to?" she thought.

[The Archregimancy]

EVERYBODY PRAY UP
The Backstreet Monks Feat. MC Monky L-Man

Backstreet Monks
Everybody pray up singing
1, 2, 3, 4, monks will make you prostrate now
(x2)

MC Monky L-Man
You gots to keep it real
You gots to keep it raw
I'm lyrically blessed
So don't try to ignore
We be beatin' Chiata
Scoring two goals an'
Keep the prayers tasty
Like St. Paul my reaction
Pray I'm addictive
Better lock heathens in
Coming to you area
Ya don't know what you're missin'
Go tell your heretics
Here comes the opposite;
We their Orthodox remedy

Backstreet Monks
Everybody pray up singing
1, 2, 3, 4, monks will make you prostrate now
(x2)

Keep it prayin'
Keep it prayin on'
(x3)

MC Monky L-Man
I'll be the resident hieararch
I'm the 5th element
St. James fly snooka stone
Cold is how I'm
Hittin' em' better get together
Put your hands in the sky
Stick em up punks
Lift em high to heaven now
Now I'm the monk
That you invite for liturgy
Got all my manners
Cos I cross with three fingers
Our monks uplift the neighbourhood
And hounds of the demon-cursed will be up to no good
So come on, come on
Everybody keep checking us
Coming with the funk
Bring it on wickedness

Backstreet Monks
Everybody pray up singing
1, 2, 3, 4, monks will make you prostrate now
(x2)

Keep it prayin'
Keep it prayin on'
(x3)

MC Monky L-Man
Everybody better recognise
We got the funky rhymes
Keep it together, baby
Don't even try to organise
We be the Orthodox
Our concept: no sinnin'
We here to get down
And make sure that you're prayin'
So everybody, anybody, somebody
Put your hands together
Represent like Monky Man
Paragraph of the Gospel for truth
To the day of Armageddon
Hit em with the heavy class
I'm bugging
Hitting with the Orthoox bam!
I know I wanna stand-up
So baby jump!

Backstreet Monks
Everybody pray up singing
1, 2, 3, 4, monks will make you prostrate now
(fade to close)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZUn-KtTNmA&feature=kp

[Zenic]

Are the Survivors on their last gasp?

What is happening in the locker room? A tie with the last place team followed by a loss to the 6th place team in the group has left us one game away from elimination with tons of doubt about the team and their ability.

A lone goal by Paredes was the highlight of the game as the defense allowed two easy goals slip by them to lose the game 2-1 to a team nowhere near as accomplished as us. With this loss, we trail West Angola by 3 points and barely lead Swyftlandre by a single point. Anything other than a win against Praxeologicalia here in the Empire eliminates us from making the playoffs and renders the rest of the qualifiers moot, no matter the result. Should we draw or lose, our best hope is for an invitation to the equally as prestigious tournament known as the Cup of Harmony. If we fail to even receive an invitation to that, the Ministry of Sports and the ZFAF will have to take a hard look at what can be done to transition the success of the Baptism of Fire campaign into the bigger competitions.

I truly hope that Sanders and his staff are able to bring this team back to form and give us a glimmer of hope, no matter how faint it may be.

Xavier Magnusson is one of the oldest and most respected sports writers at the Leinz Herald. Having 32 years of award-winning journalism and experience covering both domestic and international association football competitions, it is only appropriate that he would be the one to cover the Empire’s first ever international tournament. Magnusson will also be attending and covering the 55th Baptism of Fire, 68th World Cup and any other subsequent international association football tournament Zenic enters for many years to come.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

Gregoryisgodistan issues death warrant for Joshua Kevin

Lord Almighty Gregory has declared a death warrant for Nexxus Drakko poet Joshua Kevin, who wrote a poem that was highly insulting to Lord Almighty Gregory and the state. This poem made national headlines in Kevin's country. As a result, Lord Almighty Gregory has been forced to declare a death warrant against him. This means that any Gregoryisgodistani citizen who kills Kevin and proves it will receive 10 million greggygodbucks as a reward. Alternatively, they can bring Kevin to Lord Almighty Gregory alive and receive a 5 million greggygodbuck reward, at which point Kevin will be executed.

According to Lord Almighty Gregory, "This sinner read and wrote a horrible poem about me that is full of lies, and it was highly publicized. He must be executed for his sins. Nexxus Drako is lucky we are not adding them to our enemy list. Fortunately for them, this was all the act of private citizens and not the government, so it is not necessary to add them to our enemy list at this time. However, I have put out a death warrant for Mr. Kevin and encourage any and all Gregoryisgodistanis to try to kill him and reap the reward. Death to Joshua Kevin! Death to all those who blaspheme my glorious name! May they all be punished for eternity in the Land of Eternal Punishment!"

Already, several Gregoryisgodistanis have traveled to Nexxus Drakko to try to kill Joshua Kevin and reap the rewards. They did not disclose their names for fear of arrest by the authorities there. We will keep following this breaking news story and let you know when we know more.

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

The Fishy Dreams of Mr. Robert Percival

Number 5: the lung fish

I am a fish that breathes air!

For I am a lungfish!

More specifically I am a marbled lungfish, Protopterus aethiopicus.

My extraordinarily complex genome has 133 billion base pairs; imagine that.

I wonder if there are any other entities of extraordinary complexity who are adapted to live in multiple environments? Who might make excellent members of a World Cup seeding committee? Whatever that might be...

Another lungfish swims by; instead of a dark slate-gray mottling, it has a unique gold and red colouring; the mottling almost seems to spell out the letters "Juan Tzimisces".

Is this a message?

If it is, I do not know how to interpret it, for I am but a simply lungfish.

<the dream ends>

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Cometupelo,

Thank you for your second letter.

Your commitment to the arcane Ordinary Reality art form of letter writing is commendable, especially given the lack of a postal service here in the Holy Empire; however, I am duty-bound to point out that it is not typical of Ordinary Reality correspondents to tattoo their letters onto the hides of miniature violet winged elephants. I would recommend that you not use this technique if communicating outside the Dreamed Realm (in fact, outside the Holy Empire; this medium might not be welcome in the Archregimancy, either).

I note that you continue to express anger towards Mr. Whoopsy-Daisy and the other Paradystopians who have crushed your erotic horseradish-based dreams. I would stress, however, that this is a personal issue, and not something with which the State Bureau of Imperial Security would become involved.

Most particularly, we are forced to resolutely refuse your suggestion that Paradystopia "be turned into Stilton". While you are quite right to point out that this is wholly within the powers and capability of the Empire, his Imperial Majesty has personally ordered that we not undertake this sort of extreme action against Ordinary Reality nations.

I suggest that you revert to your previous plan of throwing wasabi paste at the Paradystopia national football team; though you will have to do this in Ordinary Reality, and without splitting yourself into 80,000 rapid imperial football fans, since most mundies are usually expected to retain existence as a single entity. As with the elephants, it's best not to draw attention to yourself.

Sincerely Yours,

Nicholas Lecapno
Basilikos Mandator
State Bureau of Imperial Security

[Republic of Vietnam]

*THVN Sport Intro music starts off the broadcasting*

"Welcome back to THVN Sport News with Thanh Truong, Leyna Nguyen, and Nam Le . We will start where we cut off yesterday and continue to the newest match." said Thanh.

"So, on Match Day 7, we face off Starblaydia. They are one of the best team in Group 22. They were pretty good on defense and attacking. The final score was 0–1. I think it could be a lot worst if our team wasn't focusing on defense." said Leyna.

"Yes, it could have been. Meanwhile in Group 22 on Match Day 7, Kemballia faced of Jeruselem, with the final score of 2–1. In Hutanjia, they faced off Ossidiacqua, with the score of 1–3. While in Alexanderburn they wreaked Razul with the final score of 5–0. Here is the chart with the place of each team on Group 22." said Nam.

Group 22 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Starblaydia 7 5 2 0 16 7 +9 17
2 Jeruselem 7 5 0 2 19 10 +9 15
3 Ossidiacqua 7 4 1 2 18 12 +6 13
4 Republic of Vietnam 7 4 0 3 14 11 +3 12
5 Razul 7 3 0 4 11 16 −5 9
6 Hutanjia 7 2 1 4 11 18 −7 7
7 Alexanderburn 7 2 0 5 8 7 +1 6
8 Kemballia 7 1 0 6 7 23 −16 3

"On Match Day 8, we faced off our old rival that defeated us badly on the first day of World Cup 68. That was Jeruselem and this time they still beat us with a close score of 1-2." said Thanh.

"Meanwhile, in Group 22, Razul faced off Starblaydia with 1–1 as the final score. In Kemballia, they faced off Ossidiacqua, with the final score of 1–2. Hutanjia faced off Alexanderburn, with the final score of 0–2. Below are the placing chart of Group 22." said Leyna.

Group 22 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Jeruselem 8 6 0 2 21 11 +10 18
2 Starblaydia 8 5 3 0 17 8 +9 18
3 Ossidiacqua 8 5 1 2 20 13 +7 16
4 Republic of Vietnam 8 4 0 4 15 13 +2 12
5 Razul 8 3 1 4 12 17 −5 10
6 Alexanderburn 8 3 0 5 10 7 +3 9
7 Hutanjia 8 2 1 5 11 20 −9 7
8 Kemballia 8 1 0 7 8 25 −17 3

"On Match Day 9, we went against Ossidiacqua who defeated us just like how we defeated them. The final score was 0–4, with Ossidiacqua winning." said Nam.

"In Group 22, Jeruselem faced off Starblaydia, winning 3–1. Alexanderburn faced off Kemballia, ending up with the score of 2–0. Hutanjia played with Razul, ending up with the score of 3–1. In ranking, after that match, we drooped down to 5th place. Here is the ranking chart." said Thanh.

Group 22 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Jeruselem 9 7 0 2 24 12 +12 21
2 Ossidiacqua 9 6 1 2 24 13 +11 19
3 Starblaydia 9 5 3 1 18 11 +7 18
4 Alexanderburn 9 4 0 5 12 7 +5 12
5 Republic of Vietnam 9 4 0 5 15 17 −2 12
6 Hutanjia 9 3 1 5 14 21 −7 10
7 Razul 9 3 1 5 13 20 −7 10
8 Kemballia 9 1 0 8 8 27 −19 3

"Now lets get to yesterday game. We got some good news and bad new. The good new is we lost. The bad news is we didn't win either. We were against Alexanderburn. We tied with them, with the score of 1-1 at the end of the match." said Leyna.

"While we were facing off Alexanderburn, Razul faced off Jeruselem, with the final score of 0–1. In Starblaydia, they tied 2–2 with Ossidiacqua. Kemballia lost 1–2 to Hutanjia. Below is the updated ranking chart for yesterday match." said Nam.

Group 22 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Jeruselem 10 8 0 2 25 12 +13 24
2 Ossidiacqua 10 6 2 2 26 15 +11 20
3 Starblaydia 10 5 4 1 20 13 +7 19
4 Alexanderburn 10 4 1 5 13 8 +5 13
5 Republic of Vietnam 10 4 1 5 16 18 −2 13
6 Hutanjia 10 4 1 5 16 22 −6 13
7 Razul 10 3 1 6 13 21 −8 10
8 Kemballia 10 1 0 9 9 29 −20 3

"So, Nam, what do you think was the key to our defeat in the past 5 games?" asked Thanh.

"I believe the key our defeat was overconfidence. We were so confident that we were going to win, that we left major flaws in our defense. Like when the 2 defenders were on the left side of the field, while 3 Razul players came through the open gap." said Nam.

"And how do you think we could stop this?" asked Thanh again.

"Well, it is simple. Don't underestimate your opponents and always stay on alert." said Nam.

"Thank you Nam. Leyna who will we face off tomorrow?" asked Thanh.

"We are facing off Hutanjia today and Kemballia tomorrow." said Leyna.

"Thank You, Leyna. That was THVN Sport News on Channel 7. Next is Nightly News. Thank You for watching. Stay safe." said Thanh.

*THVN Sport Intro music finishes off the broadcasting*

[Sangti]

WORLD CUP 68 QUALIFYING
The Royal Barangay shocks The Inevitable Syndicate to jump into second
by Edric Conciso

FLIGSIVE, THE INEVITABLE SYNDICATE - Finally.

The Agilang Dilaw managed to beat the Syndicatians 4-1 in the Flynn Arena here in Fligsive. Robin Linsangan managed to score a hattrick, while Daren Corsiga added another goal as the Barangayans scored their fourth win in a row and sixth win overall - they haven't been beaten since Astograth gave them a 4-1 beating at the Grand Duke's Stadium. which was also the last match where the team failed to score four goals past their opposition. The win gives them the second spot as a direct consequence of the result, but with the crucial match against Olibondeka up next and the gap between second and fifth at four points, it will be crucial for the Agilang Dilaw to get a decent result against the Group 18 leaders.

Rick Martinez named his strongest in-form eleven in the match, and it looked like to be at vain in the beginning, with TIS controlling the possession and created chances that caused trouble for Marty Balido. Luke Mitchell however, gave the hosts the lead in the 11th minute, after a flurry of passes that culminated into a beautiful lob pass that caught the back four off guard - upon controlling the ball, the forward hit a beauty of a strike into the top left corner, which was impossible for Balido to save, and with 79 minutes still remaining, the game could have been another struggle for the visitors. However, thirteen minutes later, it all changed.

A beautiful through ball freed up space for Adrian Magacleng, but defender David Tavel upended the forward, who seem to be all by himself at that point, and as he was the last man from goal, he was given an early bath by the referee. The resulting free kick was taken by Linsangan, whose first shot was blocked by the Syndicatian wall, but the second strike was well over them, and flew beyond Joseph Lloyd into the back of the net, and suddenly, it was the Agilang Dilaw on the attack with the man advantage. However, they failed to add to the goal haul, and the first half ended, 1-1.

Martinez made a change at half-time, with Christiann Sanchez replacing Adrian Magcaleng, the Agilang Dilaw played a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Corsiga up front, and the change paid dividends early on. Three minutes upon kickoff, and Linsangan doubled his tally for the night, after Corsiga's shot inside the box was initially blocked by Andrew Watson, who replaced Jacob Pratt early on. With Lloyd reacting in that initial shot and the ball made its way to the feet of Linsangan, all he had to do is to tap the ball into the net, and he did. The pressure continued from that point on, and nine minutes later, Corsiga got the goal he deserved, after a cheeky backheel from a running Erick Khan, the striker from Tiknonsens Palace allowed the ball to bounce to the front of his foot, and he volleyed the ball past Lloyd for a 3-1 scoreline.

The attacks from the Agilang Dilaw subsided from that point on, and with the remaining substitutions being made, the scoreline looked to be set, but at the eightieth minute, Linsangan completed his hattrick. After Erick Khan was fouled before entering the penalty box, Linsangan had his free kick curled into the back of the net, 4-1, with ten minutes plus added time to go. Man parity was restored in the eighty-sixth, as Vic dela Vega was sent off for his second yellow, but it was all too late for the Syndicatians, who now face Caralus for third spot.

Martinez was satisfied at the result, despite the red card. He is expected to name the same squad for the encounter with Astograth.

TIS - 1 (Mitchell 11')
Lloyd; Tavel (sent off 24' - straight red), Baker, Sutler; Birch, Allen (Hurst 66'), Willis, Robinson, Cotrell; Mitchell (Powell 76'), Pratt (Watson 24')

TRB - 4 (Linsangan 25', 48', 80'; Corsiga 57')
Balido; dela Vega (sent off 86'), Docdoc, Arceo, Bautista (Pablo 78'); E. Khan, Magsombol, K. Khan, Linsangan; Magcaleng (Sanchez 45'), Corsiga (Escuro 82')

[Barunia]

Kitty was ready. She had her wire microphone secreted under her clothing, and the recorder was strapped to her thigh. She could control it by placing her hand in her pocket and operating the switch through a small hole in the fabric. It was a set-up she'd heard about from a colleague in the cafeteria once. Kitty knew she was relying on skills she'd picked up from other journalists more skilled in this than she was, but Kitty was determined to see this through herself. After all, this was related to football, and no-one in Barunia's press could dispute that football was Kitty's domain.

Her driver was an old native, who seemed to be as tired and weathered as the beaten-up ute he drove. Like most of the locals, he spoke Marroset creole, a language that was a cross between the indigenous Marroset tongue and a provincial French patois. Not speaking it herself, Kitty found conversation impossible. Thankfully Piers, her contact in the Marroset underworld who had put her onto Rodolphe, knew the language and had explained where the man was to take Kitty before sending her off.

The old vehicle bounced it's way up the rough dirt track, deep in the forest. Shadows flitted by as the tall trees on either side blocked the sunlight. Kitty found herself beginning to enjoy the journey. Then the car turned a corner, and a fallen log was blocking the track. Kitty, thinking they would stop to shift it, was surprised by her driver. "Merda!" he swore, and wrenched the wheel to the side. The ute shot off into the undergrowth, and Kitty heard the sound of gunfire. An ambush? But Kitty had little time to think as she hung on for dear life as the ancient vehicle bounced through the forest, weaving through trees and tearing through bushes. Kitty could hear another vehicle in pursuit, and occasionally a few bursts of gunfire could be heard behind them. Her driver was scared, but said nothing as he tried to escape from his pursuers. But luck was not on his side. Coming over the crest of a small hill, they went airborne for a few seconds, before crashing down with a bang. The driver lost control for a few seconds, and before he could recover the vehicle hit a rock. Such was the speed that the ute mounted the rock before coming down heavily and breaking the floor, neatly sticking the vehicle in place.

The old man swore again and said something to Kitty in his native tongue. She guessed his meaning, and swung open the door. But she had barely time to step out of the cab before there was the roar of an engine and a 4x4 came over the hill. Two men in the back armed with assault rifles leapt out and pointed their guns at Kitty and the driver. Kitty had no choice but to slowly lift her hands and place them on her head.

Kitty had been forced into the back of the 4x4, which drove off, leaving her driver alone with his damaged vehicle. He'd been unharmed by the armed men, which probably meant that they weren't ordinary bandits. Kitty was beginning to get really worried. Who were these people and what did they want with her?

The vehicle stopped, and Kitty was dragged out of the vehicle. She took a quick look at her surroundings, and was dismayed. It was a campsite, nothing more than a few measly tents, surrounded by forest. Even is she could escape, where would she go? She no longer had any idea of her bearings. The armed men led Kitty into one of the tents, and pushed her into a chair. She was facing another man, blonde and fair-skinned, dressed in army camo like the rest. He smiled at her. "Greetings, and welcome to our humble establishment. It's not often we have such an esteemed guest here, Ms Smith."
Shit, thought Kitty. he knows my real name. I'm in big trouble.
"You look surprised. Really though, it wasn't hard. You really should have used a fake identity to buy your airline tickets."
Well, that explains it. But how did they know she was coming?
"You really should have stuck with the World Cup gig. You just missed the game against Gyatso Kai. Two-one by the way, in favour of the Suns."
Finally Kitty found her voice. "What? You didn't bring me in here to talk about football. Who are you?"
"Just a football fan, Ms. Smith. I brought you her because the boss doesn't want you upsetting his plans."
"Who's this boss? Take me to him at once."
"Now then, Ms. Smith, that's not how it works. I ask the questions, and I give the orders. Now, you are going to sit here nice an quietly for a few days until the boss wants to talk to you. That's an order."
After a brief pause, he added. "I'm afraid you'll miss the game against Crystal Ponies. A pity. Who knows what else you'll miss?"

[Zwangzug]

The Kerlagrad Courier
Zwangzug win out in hairy encounter

Zwangzug's national football team shut out McKleigh, 3-0. According to our calculations, this secures at least a playoff spot for team Zwangzug, although with 72 teams advancing to at least the playoffs this might not be saying much. What the game also proved, according to reserve defender Nadine Roark, is that absurdly long hair need not be a deterrent to competition at the highest levels.

"I have the utmost respect for the longevity of these guys," said Roark. "Only one addition to all their starting lineups, over the course of these qualifiers--that's a long time to be playing together. But that pales in comparison to the fact that some of them have been around since World Cup 55. I mean, I'm wondering if some of them haven't seen a barber in about that long, but whatever."

Roark mentioned that this had been a point of contention between her and Matilda Kratochvil at Excelsior Slogda. "She's always telling me to, you know, raise my game and maybe someday I could be playing alongside Patricia [Eliot] or Martina [Ruan], and I think the implication there is if I lost my ponytail it would come faster. Of course I never really considered that she'd be the one making the call...Vera [Woredann]'s sweet but she just kind of goes along with things, I try to tell her to stand up for herself a little more, show off her own style, but I guess she's never really cared." Woredann did manage an assist on an Arlo Rais-Sonnen goal, with Tullio Schi and Maya Coelho also scoring.

"It is a little nice not to have the most impressive hairdo on the field," Roark admitted, "with some of these national teams, it gets boring day in and day out. But I mean, some of those guys...Blangalamala getting exchanged to train in the Equestrian States? Because he could probably cut it, if you know what I mean." Upon being informed that, in fact, the McKleigh training program was being limited to Patistan, Roark amended that "well it's probably for the best, never mind whether they're on the edge of internal conflict or not, anyone who can rock those styles can survive anything."

Kratochvil was unavailable for comment, but in a press conference immediately after the game had said "let's just say we demonstrated who the better team was."

[Kandorith]

Victory With Against Goals

By Lisho Yaru

Group 11                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Audioslavia                       10    7   3   0    18    4  +14    24
2 Kitsunia-Deesse                   10    6   3   1    23   15   +8    21
3 Kandorith                         10    6   2   2    25    9  +16    20
4 Vaugania                          10    5   2   3    24   17   +7    17
5 The Paradystopi Lymryk Isles      10    4   4   2    22   21   +1    16
6 Menukten                          10    1   2   7    12   25  −13     5
7 Costa de Ouro                     10    1   2   7     6   21  −15     5
8 Springmont                        10    0   2   8    12   30  −18     2

A 5 - 3 victory against Menukten kept Kandorith firmly in third place, still competing for second and first. With the recent win, the team is right on schedule to once again try and snatch a World Cup Play-off match. If the team can do it this time, depends on the upcoming matches which will be crucial. If the Red Dragons can keep up the wins, they will surely secure the second place, but prayers will remain in place to see Kandorith ascend to the group winner's position. Confidence among the fans is at an all-time high while the team keeps performing well match after match, there are no signs to stopping the brilliantly balanced Kandorese team. Although the match against Menukten showed possible defensive weaknesses; Head coach Xíanjí ensured the press these weak points would be taken care if in the next training.


With the Kandorese team being firmly third and increasing the lead on the fourth place, the only way to look is towards the first and second place. Xíanjí made a promise to the Football Association and the Kandorese fans, who won't take an early elimination lightly. While success seems to be fairly guaranteed, the Kandorese team needs to keep up their game in the upcoming matches for sure. The last matches of the qualification campaign might prove to be some tough ones for Kandorith as they need to give all they got before being able to say 'we made it' Fans and press are holding their breath every match now, as the Kandorese success could return to them as it did in the last World Cup campaign. Will the Kandorese team hold up to their recently gained status? All we can say is Jiayou Kandúo.

[Ossidiacqua]

"Come on, lads!" shouted Vega from the touchline, "Play through the pain!"

Velasquez and Fibonacci looked at each other and shrugged. He had a point. There was no way they were going to improve as a team if they spent all their time moping about the loss of their country whilst they were on the pitch, particularly not when they were still a goal behind with three minutes left. Starblaydia there for the taking, after all, and this would be the perfect opportunity to get some points on the board and pressure on the team at the top of the group, Jeruselem, who wouldn't have been expecting anything from i Senzatetti today.

Nor had Starblaydia, judging by the gap in the midfield they left for Fibonacci to sit and dictate play from. Whipping a pass across the face of the box to Nicolo Gardella out on the left. He cut inside and sent a devilish cross into the area with the outside of his boot, only to see defenders rise to cut Finiguerra out of the pass and sent the ball looping high into the air on its way out of the box.

Who was underneath it however? None other than Emmanuel Velasquez. A Velasquez he may have been, but that clan didn't get to be national team captains in perpetuity without earning it first. Tracking it with his eyes all the way, he ran back towards his own half as the ball dropped over him. Then, at just the right moment, he jumped. He didn't stick a foot out and trap the ball delicately. Nor did he volley a perfectly balanaced pass back to a teammate to start the attack anew. No. He leapt high, and flipped backwards. Making contact with the sweet spot of his laces as he brought his right boot over his head, he had just enough time to remove himself from the crumpled heap on the turf to see the ball go flying into the top corner before he was mobbed by his compatriots. Two-all.

He kissed his signet ring and sent a defiant punch in the air the way of the handful of Acquan fans in the stadium. The ring had once belonged to his father. And to his father before that. All the way back through the generations until you came across the first Velasquez, Martin, a white Oasirican, to be captain of CA Conquistadores and his country at the same time. Of course, that was a long time before the team had entered major international competitions, or the Pause Time for that matter. But he had been the first, and Emmanuel would be the last. CA Conquistadores, however they existed right now, would never see a Velasquez captaining them ever again. Emmanuel was outside of the time wall, and so was his only son. His infant son, so lucky to have avoided the wall, might even one day captain this team of outcasts, but never CA Conquistadores. The lineage was broken.

Emmanuel shared an emotional embrace with Ezekiel Fibonacci as he walked back to his own half for the restart. He'd seen his father do some remarkable things on the football pitch, but never an overhead goal from outside the area. Even the Starblaydis in this massive arena had appreciated that. Not that that should have been a surprise; if ever there was a nation to appreciate good football even when it was against them, it would be the Starblaydis.

He wondered what his father was doing right now. Still in the nation, he was sure he was playing football somehow. Time wall or no time wall, there was no keeping the Velasquez family from playing football. Even outside of the direct lineage, even, yes, even if it wasn't for CA Conquistadores or Ossidiacqua, you couldn't keep them down. With that in mind, Emmanuel had accepted the offered contract from Lac-Drouin St-Pierre to play in Sicoutimont alongside Angel Capobianco - who'd been there a while and never had anything other than praise to sing of the set-up there.

He'd still be playing football. He owed it to his father. He owed it to the name on the back of his shirt. Just like the whole team owed it to the name on the front of their shirt. He kissed the badge on his chest and held up his fist once more, knowing the 'telly-visual' cameras would pick it up as he got a better understanding of how these technological doodads worked. He shook his head and pumped his fist on his chest to get himself worked up, chasing the ball from the very start as the Starblaydis got the final few minutes of the game underway. Yes, through football, through the Velasquez name, Ossidiacqua would live on. Always.

[Kalumba]

The Herald
Sport Today
Report by Bruce Mtwetwe

As it approaches crunch time the Kudus have started to find some form after disappointing against their main rivals for a qualifiying spot, losing to highly ranked Paradystopia and near rivals Horusland, before recovering against minnows Serebro and Nassau-Hessen with a pair of comfortable if uninspiring victories. In the last two games though George Davies finally got the team playing the football expected of them and we saw two dazling displays leaving Torisakia and Ditka trailing in our wake after putting six goals both of them.

This run of form is timely indeed with our next three games against the three top seeds; The Holy Empire, who have been banned from bringing any fans to Kalumba or performing any religious ceremonies in public, and Paradystopia are run away leaders of the group and look certain to qualify. Davies and Kalumba would be happy to pick up a point against either of these superb footballing sides but in all likelyhood we can write off achieving anything from these two matches and should instead focus upon the match against Horusland.

Ranked just twenty places above us in the world standings, here lies our best chance of an upset and thus of claiming third place in the group. In our previous encounter we lost by a single goal, but with the advantage of being at home one would hope that Kalumba can pull off a win and hopefully finish an impressive third in a difficult group. However we musn't write off our final game with Serebro as already won and the team has to maintain their focus for that match.

The biggest problem facing George Davies is how he should approach the next two games, against the top two seeds in the group. Kalumba currently sit third thanks too their superior goal difference over Horusland, but the open football which brought big wins against Ditka and Serebro also leaves the Kudus exposed at the back. Now we all want to see the team making a go of it againt the top sides in the world, but should Davies be pragmatic and play a damage limitation game to try and maintain our superior goal difference?

This does however bring the risk of a negative attitude creeping over the team and adversly affecting them for the games againt Serebro and Horusland, and may well cost us third place. So will Davies be brave and bold or will a pragmatic attitude take hold? We await with baited breath for the next few games and will reasses where Kalumba sit.

In other news the Kalumban Football Association have announced that the veterans of the Baptism of Fire winning side will face Mizuyuki in this years edition of The Captain's Cup, giving us a final chance to see such a superb side in action. Being held in Mizuyuki due to security concerns at home this promises to be an exciting sideshow from the qualification campaign and hopefully a final chance for those proud veterans to life a piece of silverwear again.



The sun beat down upon the men of Greyhound Company, and despite being natives to the land they ssweated like tourists upon an exotic beach. Perhaps there was something in this climate change theory? Perhaps it really was getting hotter, or perhaps the days out on patrol were just taking their toll. After calling in their success in the skirmish the men of First Platoon had set out in pursuit of the remains of the terrorist band. And they had been in pursuit for three days now with no resupply and no sign of their quarry.

Wilhelm was feeling it worse than the others, he had been on the border for the past two years with just a months leave in that time. He was beggining to doubt if the war would ever be won, or even if it wwas worth fighting. So many good men dead, so many innocents killed and what for? He just didn't now anymore, he was now just fighting for survival. To go home. To live. As he tried vainly to push these thoughts from his head he saw something on the horizon and signalled a halt.

Raising his field glasses he picked out the shape of a woman and her child returning to a small kraal. Waving the men on, he lowered the safety from his SH-72 and shook some life into his tired arms. there was no apparent threat but a veteran of this terrorist campaign Wilhelm had started to smell danger around every corner.

As the sodliers entered the kraal they were met by the headman who offered them a seat at his fire, and they looked to their Lieutenant for approval. A warm meal and cool drink seemed like paradise to them after the long march. But Wilhelm did not signal assent, instead he raised his assault rifle and fired a short burst into one of the mud huts which filled the pitiful kraal. Screaming filled the air as weapons began to reply to his burst and the men of Greyhound Company went to work.

With grenades and automatic fire they swept rapidly through the kraal, firing on anything which moved. It took just a matter of minutes and the whole kraal was ablaze and filled with the dead and dying. Only a handful of the inhabitants survived the fierce fight which had occured and the men of First Platoon rounded them up into one of the few huts which had survived the battle.

"What do we do with them Sir?" one of the men asked Wilhelm. But got no response, for the Lieutenant was silently weeping sat atop his helmet by the small gate in the stockade which surrounded the remains of the kraal.

"Sir?" the man asked again.

"Torch it" the men turned in shock, and saw Friedhelm with a burning bough in his hand. The were not just shocked at what he suggested, but that it was him who had done so. War brings out the worst in all of us he had once said, and was proving it true.

"They harboured the terrs, and tried to lead us into an ambush. Peterson is dead, burn them all" Friedhelm continued and the men reluctantly complied, barring the door of the hut and setting it ablaze.

As they marched off the screaming started and Wilhelm almost joined in. This war was getting to him, and to see his younger brother; innocent, young Friedhelm turned into a machine of death was driving him to breaking point.