Round of 16 LIVE MATCH FEED: Valanora vs. Cosumar Hello, I'm Cosumar National Team beat reporter Leela Jones updating you live from Urbanista where Cosumar are set to take on Valanora in a World Cup knock-out match! If you're reading this feed, I pity you -- because it means that you are unable to watch the match live for whatever reason. But I've got a nice suite here at Lime Ground overlooking all the action, which I'll be relaying to you as fast as my fingers can type!
About fifteen minutes to kickoff now.
Here we go! The two teams are lining up to sing their national anthems. Cosumar in their white chevron shirts, Valanora in their traditional navy. Steely gazes and heads held high for the Dragons as
Glorious and Majestic is sung. If they are nervous, they don't show it. The Cosumarites in the crowd are making their voices heard, not to be outdone by the equally boisterous Vanorians before.
That's it! The final note's echoes have faded away and the teams are making their way to kickoff positions. Some are jumping up and down and swinging their arms to get the blood flowing, others are stretching.
VALANORA XI: Galadirdren; Aldamiel, Toraandal, Lardireil; va Drake, Soldarian, Haerear, Lithvathar; Hawk; Fresco, Celetholtinu
COSUMAR XI: Winterfyll; Gorham, Nodtveit, Pandan, Serra; Sigler, Na'Noni, Lucassen, Öhman; Engström, Newman
Last-minute prediction? 3-2 just like the last two meetings between the these sides, with Valanora coming out on top.
. . .
1st minute: We are underway in Urbanista!
5th minute: Ole Öhman wins a free kick in the attacking third for Cosumar. The Dragon's have enjoyed the lion's share of the possession so far but are still feeling out the Vanorian defensive set-up.
6th minute: Darwyn Lucassen whips the ball in with pace towards the back post and Maynard Gorham manages to connect his head to it! But the ball sails wide for a goal kick.
7th minute: Good work by Öhman again. He drifted inside the box and set himself up nicely with a great first-touch off Sheldon Serra's pass. His curled right-footed shot was on-target (the first of the game) and forced Galadirdren to make a diving save at the post.
12 minute: Oh no...Vareza Na'Noni has fouled Dûrdur Celetholtinu just outside the box as the striker was holding up the ball. It's prime positioning for a Laborious Hawk free kick.
12th minute: Hawk's delivery was wicked, arcing over the wall and seeming destined to dip underneath the bar. Fortunately, Jakk Winterfyll was there to tip it over for a save.
16th minute: Goal Valanora! 1-0! It's Allandren Fresco! The elf who scored a hat trick against Cosumar earlier in the year has opened the scoring again! This time, he spectacularly drove in the rebound from 19 yards out after Winterfyll came forth to break up Hawk's run on goal.
21st minute: Espy va Drake wins a free kick off Jacob Pandan on the right wing during a scrambling counter. He takes the set-piece himself and goes for goal...but it loops harmlessly wide.
23rd minute: Soon after the goal kick, Anders Engström pulls up on a dime and launches a shot towards the bottom-right corner from 22 yards. Galadirdren goes to ground and is able to stop it with both hands.
25th minute: Penalty called on Valanora! The ref immediately points to the spot after having a good view of Rainyardil Toraandal holding Engström from behind on a corner kick. Cosumar will have a chance to equalize here midway through the first half!
26th minute: GOAL COSUMAR! 1-1! Engström steps up and buries the penalty himself! Cosumar level! Cosumar level! He drives it low and to his left, Aediron Galadirdren guesses the right way but he can't get to it! The Cosumarite captain has finally got on the scoresheet in the World Cup Finals!
29th minute: Attempt missed. Fresco's right-footed shot from the left side of the box hits the right post. Assisted by Ilglerdiriel Lithvathar.
34th minute: The first warning of the game is given to Darwyn Lucassen for a bad knee-banging foul on Faeron Soldarian.
39th minute: Poor Soldarian, he's been mauled again - this time by Ole Öhman. The referee has rightfully shown the yellow, and Öhman knows he is fortunate it wasn't a red. Cosumar can't afford to keep racking up cards on key players at this rate.
43rd minute: Attempt missed. Lucassen shot from outside the box takes a dangerous deflection but narrowly misses to the right.
45th minute: It's the winding seconds here...Hawk tries to thread a through ball to va Drake, but the Yuba United star is called offside. That will do it for the first half.
. . .
46th minute: The second half starts off with a bang, literally, as Revhil Lardireil knocks Ace Newman out of the air from behind and gets a yellow for it.
49th minute: Attempt missed. Lucassen sends a cross into the middle, and Ace Newman chests it down and spanks a half-volley wide right. It would've been an extraordinary goal - Galadirdren looked beaten.
56th minute: Cosumar once again starting the half on the front foot. Ace Newman just forced a save with a glancing header towards the upper-left corner off Engström's scooped six-yard pass. It didn't really trouble Galadirdren in the end though.
58th minute: Hawk drives to the baseline around Jacob Pandan and cuts it back for Soldarian's unmarked run through the middle. It should've been a simple finish from 10 yards, but Soldarian sends the ball into orbit. Hawk is visibly displeased by the bungled chance.
67th minute: Back-to-back saves on both ends in a wild sequence! First, Anders Engström craftily redirected Mauricio Sigler's pass towards the bottom-right corner from the center of the box, but it was snuffed out by Galadirdren's save. The Valanora goalie then flashed his distribution skills by finding Laborious Hawk waiting on the left wing. Hawk then used his pace to get behind the reeling Cosumar defense. It was a 2-on-1 break, with only Jon-Perohlin Nodtveit between Hawk and Celetholtinu and the goal. Nodtveit was forced to commit to the ball, and Hawk timed his layoff perfectly. Celetholtinu slammed a left-footed shot on frame with all his might from 12 yards, but Jakk Winterfyll came up with a heroic, one-handed diving stop! There are very few goalkeepers in the world who could've done that.
72nd minute: GOOOAAAL COSUMAR! 2-1! Beautiful play by Cosumar to take the lead for the first time in the contest! Clinical passing and flowing movement around the box. Several players were involved with the build-up, but Mauricio Sigler provided the final pass. Darwyn Lucassen supplied the cracking finish, in off the woodwork off the outside of his boot from the top of the box.
73rd minute: Substitution for Cosumar, their first one, as veteran Cazadores defender Arndu Farsgaard jogs into the fray to replace the goal-scorer Lucassen. It's a decidedly defensive switch, with the fifth defender morphing Cosumar into a 5-3-2 to protect the lead.
73rd minute: Valanora are making a substitution too. Vanauraiiel Nardironel counters Ramsey's defensive move by bringing on more attacking firepower in the form of Galasgoldas Tathtauré. Ilglerdiriel Lithvathar takes a seat.
78th minute: Attempt missed for Valanora. Fresco tries a shot from a tough angle near the right baseline, but it hits the side-netting harmlessly. Many here in the stadium thought it was a goal though.
80th minute: Substitution for Cosumar, as Gethin Ramsey looks to switch fatigued center back Jon-Perohlin Nodtveit for his younger, higher-flying counterpart on the bench: Peter Svensson. They are
really taking their time here...but can you blame them? Every tick of the clock takes Cosumar closer to the Quarterfinals.
82nd minute: GOAL VALANORA! 2-2! Oh no! The resistance is broken! The elves have equalized! The substitute Tathtauré is responsible, getting between two Cosumarite defenders and bodying Fresco's cross over the goal line.
87th minute: Valanora have really been running the show since their goal. No clear-cut chances, but they've been peppering our box with crosses and free kicks for about five minutes straight now. Every Cosumarite is on the edge of their seat just yearning to make it to extra time.
90th minute: Espy va Drake nearly steals it at the death! He latches on to Caeltimyonan Haerear's lovely through ball in the box, maneuvers around Gorham and Nodtveit, and fires a close-range shot at the right post! Fortunately Winterfyll is able to block it and fall on the rebound. The referee should blow the whistle after the goal kick and send this party to extra time.
. . .
91st minute: Aaaand the first half of extra time is underway. What will the next 30 minutes hold?
92nd minute: Ole Öhman has a promising window on goal courtesy of Engström, but his hasty shot is blocked by Revhil Lardireil before it could trouble Galadirdren.
96th minute: Substitution for Cosumar, their final one, as Öhman is replaced in right midfield by Kit Kvanderwyk. We all knew this move was coming eventually, Kvanderwyk has been Cosumar's bona-fide super sub all cycle. We'll see if his energy can take advantage of tired Vanor legs here in the next 20+ minutes.
97th minute: Yep. Right away, Kit Kvanderwyk makes his presence felt. He's never been especially pacy, but he'll outwork you. With his first touch, he got around Lardireil and forced the Valanora defender to take him down. It'll be a free kick from the right side of the box.
98th minute: GOAL! GOAL! GOLAZO COSUMAR! 3-2! Defender Jacob Pandan is the unlikely hero! It looks like they drew this set-piece up just for him, creating him a pocket of open space near the penalty spot as Kvanderwyk lofted the free kick straight to him. Pandan showed why he played striker at the youth level, lashing the ball off the top of his foot into the roof of the net on a twisting volley! The Cosumarites are jubilant!
102nd minute: Cosumar have had their foot on the pedal so far in extra time. Ace Newman thought he had landed the death blow when he turned off of Toraandal and rifled a left-footed shot towards the far corner, but it rolled just inches wide.
105th minute: Cosumar again pressing forward. This time it is fullback Sheldon Serra going for a shot from distance. It was on-target, but straight at the keeper. That will do it for the first half of extra time.
106th minute: Valanora make their second substitution. Filwame Omasas is entering the game for an exhausted Espy va Drake to start the second period of extra time. Omasas' fresh legs will be a danger for Cosumar down the right wing.
108th minute: GOAL VALANORA! 3-3! The Elves won't go down easy! Magnificent goal against the run of play! Omasas crossed it to the far side from the right. Tathtauré was there to head it back towards the middle only five yards from goal. The ball hung in the air tantalizingly for several seconds. Winterfyll and Pandan were paralyzed ball-watching. But not Dûrdur Celetholtinu. He rose up for the short-range bicycle kick and timed it perfectly. Fantastic from the Telecontarë striker.
114th minute: Oooooh, that was very nearly a crazy, crazy goal for Valanora. Soldarian caught Winterfyll out of position from 40 yards out with a rainbow of a long ball. Winterfyll scrambled to get back to his line, but it bounced onto the top of the netting.
115th minute: Vareza Na'Noni tries a right-footed shot from about 20 yards. It looked dangerous at first, but it didn't dip like he wanted and ended up soaring high.
120th minute: Tathtauré nearly scores
again. Hawk picked out the Myrmidon elf in the middle of the box, and he managed to pop a header towards the upper-right corner despite Nodtveit and Farsgaard draped all over him. Winterfyll barely manages to tip it out and avoid catastrophic collapse.
120th minute: The ensuing corner came to nothing...and that does it for extra time. Two hours have been played tonight and nothing is able to separate these two fantastic Atlantian sides. In all three of their battles this cycle combined, the score is 8-8. But there must be a winner and there must be a loser. So we go to penalties. Valanora will shoot first.
. . . . . . . . .
Filwame Omasas has volunteered to lead off, and promptly smashes it high-center past Jakk Winterfyll. Valanora 1, Cosumar 0. Engström goes first for Cosumar and converts with a hard shot to the bottom-right corner! No moment too big for Captain Andy. Valanora 1, Cosumar 1. Tathtauré now for Valanora with a simple shot down the middle...good. Winterfyll had already lunged left. Valanora 2, Cosumar 1.Ace Newman trots up and beats Galadirdren to the bottom-left corner with a smooth right-footed shot! Valanora 2, Cosumar 2. Soldarian coolly slots home mid-right, befuddling Winterfyll. Valanora 3, Cosumar 2.Sheldon Serra's run-up up is shaky, but he manages to glance the shot in off the left post. Valanora 3, Cosumar 3.No misses yet. Excellent penalties all around, I must say. The next couple kicks will be critical.
Lardireil is next up, and the versatile defender pummels it into the upper-left corner. Winterfyll had no chance. Valanora 4, Cosumar 3.It's Vareza Na'Noni's turn to bear the burden, and he easily dispatches it past an early-leaning Galadirdren. Valanora 4, Cosumar 4.Do any of these guys ever miss? It's looking like whichever goalkeeper makes the first save will win. Which one will step up?
Laborious Hawk confidently strides forward and immediately rockets the crucial turn into the top-right corner. Valanora 5, Cosumar 4.On brink of sudden-death, all depends on Maynard Gorham...and he barely chips it in! Galadirdren had it! Valanora 5, Cosumar 5.Five rounds, five sets of perfect penalties. Into sudden-death we go...
Morlaithan Aldamiel rifles a right-footed shot to the top-left corner. Valanora 6, Cosumar 5.Kvanderwyk nearly skies it disastrously! But it deflects under the center of the crossbar and in. Valanora 6, Cosumar 6.The tension in the stadium is unbearable - in the best way. Both teams are clinging to each other arm in arm, anxiously awaiting their fate. Even the neutrals at Lime Ground are standing, hands wringing. No matter what happens, this will go down as a modern World Cup classic for both countries.
Allandren Fresco has tormented Cosumar before...and he does it again! Powerful shot down the middle. Valanora 7, Cosumar 6.Can Arndu Farsgaard keep it going...? Yes he can! His composed shot to the right sent the keeper the wrong way. Valanora 7, Cosumar 7.MISS! MISS! MISS! Caeltimyonan Haerear chokes! He clips his left-footed shot off the left post! Valanora 7, Cosumar 7.Lime Ground is going berserk! Cosumar will now have a chance to win it! The Vanorians can't believe it.
Mauricio Sigler steps forward. Galadirdren stands in his goal, long arms spread wide as if daring Sigler to just
try and beat him. The referee blows his whistle, but it is barely audible over the all-consuming buzz of the crowd. The young Real Atlantea star springs into a gallop towards the ball before slowing down with some fancy stutter-steps, eyes locked on Galadirdren all the while. Finally, he shoots...
GOAL! GOAL! GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL! OH MY! Fearless penalty! Hit with power into the right side-netting! Valanora 7, Cosumar 8!Mau Sigler places The Fiefdom of Cosumar amongst the best eight teams in the world for the first time ever!
Vanquishers! Quarterfinals! Unbelievable! Who could have foreseen this after World Cup 72?
After nailing the penalty and sending Lime Ground (and billions watching on television) into an uproar, Sigler turned toward his on-rushing teammates and unleashed a savage yell of pure triumph. The players have now amassed in a tangled heap in front of the goal. Gethin Ramsey and the staff are hugging on the sidelines while all-time Vanorian greats like Laborious Hawk look around in resignation.
This is truly the greatest moment in the history of Cosumar football. Enjoy this, my countrymen and women. We've been waiting for this for decades.
As amazing of a moment as this is, surviving such a crazy extra time and penalty shoot-out, another win in a few days might top it. Winning in the quarterfinals would guarantee us a chance to play for a medal. San Jose Guayabal does not have the history and aura of prestige that Valanora does, but they might just be playing the best football in the world right now. They have won all of their games in Apox so far by a combined score of 10-3. Their collection of scalps includes Polar Islandstates, Schottia, Farfadillis and Kandorith.
Conquering Rodolfo Zelaya, Real Azuris' Sean Fraser and a seemingly invincible La Selecta would be an accomplishment beyond the likes of which this country has ever seen before. Do the Dragons have any more magic hidden in their den, or will they go the same way as the Red Dragons of Kandorith? It will be decided in Dwile at The APX Sports Stadium - tune in to CSBN at 8 p.m. Cosumar-time to witness it yourself or just follow my live feed again.
Cosumar Goal-Scorers Tally
Ace Newman (17)
Anders Engström (12)
Ole Öhman (8)
Darwyn Lucassen (6)
Belarmin Worsaw (5)
Mauricio Sigler (4)
Aziz Senturk (4)
Vareza Na'Noni (4)
Kit Kvanderwyk (3)
Tevin Lilley (2)
Augen Wittevrongel (2)
Jacob Pandan (2)
Jon-Perohlin Nodtveit (1)
Kyron Everdale (1)
Cosumar Assists Tally
Mauricio Sigler (10)
Anders Engström (9)
Darwyn Lucassen (6)
Vareza Na'Noni (5)
Ace Newman (4)
Sheldon Serra (4)
Maynard Gorham (3)
Tevin Lilley (2)
Kit Kvanderwyk (2)
Kyron Everdale (1)
Jacob Pandan (1)
Augen Wittevrongel (1)
Substitute Appearances Tally
Kit Kvanderwyk (14)
Tevin Lilley (9)
Belarmin Worsaw (7)
Aziz Senturk (7)
Kyron Everdale (6)
Tiffany Elam (5)
Augen Wittevrongel (5)
Arndu Farsgaard (5)
Tomasso Tenebrosa (4)
Senter Senterekoesima (3)
Peter Svensson (3)
Olaf Womack (2)
Cosumar's World Cup 73 Cycle
Pre-Qual Friendly: Cosumar 1-1 Super-Llamaland
Pre-Qual Friendly: San Jose Guayabal 6-2 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 1: Cosumar 2-0 Hodife
Qualifying Matchday 2: The Fallenmark Islands 0-3 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 3: Cosumar 5-2 Wazekia
Qualifying Matchday 4: Alpha Gamma Kappa 0-2 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 6: Cosumar 2-3 Valanora
Qualifying Matchday 7: Taeshan 1-0 Cosumar
Mid-Qual Friendly: The Royal Kingdom of Quebec 5-4 Cosumar
Mid-Qual Friendly: Cosumar 4-2 New North Aqmuland
Qualifying Matchday 8: Hodife 2-7 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 9: Cosumar 4-3 The Fallenmark Islands
Qualifying Matchday 10: Wazekia 1-3 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 11: Cosumar 4-0 Alpha Kappa Gamma
Qualifying Matchday 13: Valanora 2-3 Cosumar
Qualifying Matchday 14: Cosumar 4-0 Taeshan
WC Qual. Playoff 1st Leg: Crystal Empire 1-0 Cosumar
WC Qual. Playoff 2nd Leg: Cosumar 4-1 Crystal Empire
Post-Qual Friendly: Super-Llamaland 6-5 Cosumar
Post-Qual Friendly: Cosumar 4-4 Nephara
World Cup Matchday 1: Ceni 3-4 Cosumar
World Cup Matchday 2: Cosumar 4-2 Free Republics
World Cup Matchday 3: Eura 2-0 Cosumar
World Cup Round of 16: Valanora 2-2 (3-3 AET, 7-8 pen.) Cosumar
World Cup Quarterfinals: Cosumar vs. San Jose Guayabal (@ The APX Sports Stadium, Dwile)
Blue: Draw
Green: Victory
Red: Defeat
Home team listed first