World Cup 79 • CREDRAWK • RP Thread

[Taeshan]

Saying that the Purple Knights were well overmatched in their first game of the World Cup 79 qualifying campaign against quality opposition is a massive understatement. The usually well disciplined back four seemingly had never met each other as they played in Nephara against a seemingly unstoppable force. The immovable object was seemingly not on the field as easily Nephara scored four times with their talisman on the day Konrad Gosforth who had four assists, putting the key pass on every single goal for the Cormorants on the night. The Purple Knights are hugely downtrodden throughout the game and it showed.

The good news is the Purple Knights don't have long to wait before they can fight against those demons of the huge defeat to Nephara with a home match at the Atlantea Coliseum against Apox. Perhaps the biggest match of the young season a win here keeps the Knights in the fight for qualification. A loss or a tie and things continue to get out of hand. So far the top two sides of the group, Nephara and Eura, have rather easily pushed themselves to the top. Both perfect after four games, with 5 points between them and the trio of teams tied for second place. The Knights and the Apox side are two of those teams with Natanians and Nosts bringing up the rear of that triumvirate. If either of the teams hopes to even have a chance to qualify they will have to win this game, and the Knights should hopefully have the upper hand in the friendly confines in Atlantea.

[Somecoldwetislands]

The Island Shrieker
By Old Granny Sherry

Hello loves, it's me again. They say it's a funny old game football, but I'm not sure I agree there me dears. You see, there's nothing all tha' amusing about it is there? I mean, it just be people kicking a round thing around some grass for a while, there ain't much humour in that that I can see. Mind you me eyesight be wearing thin anyway. However, it is old, it was around before even when I was born, and that was me whole life ago, which is the longest time anyone on the island knows of for certain.

Anyway, football, we went an' played some of tha' we did. Against a team known as 'Qasden'. In fact, we played in Qasden, it were quite a way away, I managed three bottles of sherry on the journey back to get me off to sleep so that makes it a' least a days rowing away.

Now, the thing we were told about these Qasden fellas is tha' they've played a bit more football than we 'ave. In fact, they were playing at the las' world cup they were, they hant quite made it to the finals, but they won a 'Cup of Harmony' I thinks I been told, which sounds right nice and peaceful. So anyway we hadn't got any of them 'expectations' that I keep 'earing about, we jus' thought'd we'd 'ave a bit of a go.

Now in the first 'alf we had a bit more of the ball than we expected, but sadly those Qasden fellas proved a bit much for us an' stuck one past poor Obese William. After tha' I scuttled about tryna trip some of them Qasden lot up, I'm quite small so people don't always spot me. But they was sly, they kept their eyes on us lot which seemed to make it a lot easier for them to get forward.

Anyway, they lets us off the pitch for a bit 'alf way through, an I 'ears Friar Johnathan tryna get the team all inspired, an' he told us to make better use of the space. I took 'im at his word and crocheted a corner o' the pitch, I made a big blanket in case anybody be getting cold out there in the elements. Bu' the referee didn't seem much amused at my crocheting, 'pparently it disrupts play if you can't use the pitch. He showed me a red card I think an' everything after tha' was a blur. I remember swinging a handbag and a sherry bottle, I do admit I gets a little bit violent when I 'av me crocheting disturbed, so be warned!

Anyway, the match, I sat around crocheting so I don't rightly remember wha' quite happened, we lost I thinks, everyone seemed a bit down, which proves my point that it ain't a funny old game. Football is just a regular old game, nothing funny about it, theys don't even play in silly costumes.

[Ko-oren]

"So for next game, in the back line, I need five of you. Dalton right, Hisashi, Lacan, Benjamin central, and I want you guys to communicate. One of you is free to roam up ahead in possession, and I'm expecting a lot of pressure on Benjamin when he's got the ball, so it's up to the rest of you two to make sure he can get rid of the ball without going back completely to our goalkeeper. If we have a chance, Hisashi, I want you to make the break up ahead. One, they're expecting Lacan, and two, you've got the best pace to make it back in case we lose the ball. On the other side, left, it's Iorweth. Hard to argue with, great play last couple of games!"

Ko-oren's head coach, Katanmak Juliasterinthen, was pacing through the dressing room after the Wednesday afternoon training session. Focusing on quick breaks, preying on the Natanians and Nosts' slower paced midfielders, the team showed a lot of improvement. Timo Arevalo is the big motor on the team's offensive strategy, getting on in years but so far not losing a lot of speed yet. He's got Reizo Yokota waiting in the wings, a speedy box-to-box midfielder, and together they've made the defenders' training session close to hell. Dishing out passes through the middle of the defence, decoy runs, as well as the defenders down to four players instead of their regular five to make it more of a challenge, it was clear that the Ko-orenite defence had something to work on going forward. The coach, a national team player - a defender - just two years prior, had made his mind up on what to do with the defence. It was always Ko-oren's strongest line by far, but after a retirement and a benching, the line was down two three well-meaning veterans and two rookies. And he was about to take another veteran off for a third rookie, too.

"I'm sorry, Peter, but I'm leaving you on the bench. I want to keep five at the back at all times when they've got the ball. You're coming on next time we're facing small shifty forwards that like the space between our midfield and defence, you know that. I don't need to tell you anything, you've seen it all. I'm impressed with your play, but I'm going on a small gamble this week by leaving your experience on the bench." Fielding the youngster Ethan Benjamin instead of veteran Peter Morrow would be seen as a shocking move by the Ko-orenite press, who always love seeing the great defensive names on the team sheet, but Juliasterinthen was adamant. The team would need some changes, and this was only the beginning. A good place to start was to build up a new foundation, which would mean a renewed defence. Lionel Dalton, Hisashi Yamaoka and Gustave Lacan would be no-brainers, and Peter Morrow and Cadell Iorweth were two 30-plus-year-olds that were on the team just because. That's how it's always been done. In a way, Juliasterinthen himself only had the national team career that he had because of the mentality to replace players only when they retire. But there was one thing of the previous head coaches that he wanted to change most of all, and that was the ability to make situational changes to the team.

He'd only just finished explaining to his defence what would be needed of them to complete the next match, and ordered his team out for the day when a higher-pitched voice popped up. As members of the team walked out, it was Katherine Davenport who stayed behind. She was the one who spoke up just now. "You can't do this to Ethan just yet, he's simply not ready yet. Let him sit and watch Gustave, Peter and Cadell take this. I know you selected him, but it's not going to work out just yet". "Of course..." Katanmak thought to himself. There was one person on this team who'd speak to him like that, and he'd hoped that she'd let today's strategic lecture slip so Ethan could be a starter for the first time in his short career. Davenport and Juliasterinthen knew each other better than any other combination of team and staff members. After all, they formed the heart of the defence together for the last god-knows-how-long. "I know your position on this, Katherine, but Ethan's getting the starting job. Roll with it, just once. I've got an idea for this team. I know that the folks at home want the older players. I just can't do that in good conscience now. Have you seen the team we sent to the last few cycles? Average age was over 30! Just-" "I know, you know, we were both there." "We need some change for this team. I think we can take Natanians and Nosts. We can win this." "That's too much, too early. We have to avoid the loss, and build on steadily..."

[New Gazi]

Vannish Senate Blocks Aid Amidst Concerns

Senators from provinces across Vangaziland met after military intelligence released a report stating the operation in what is now South Covello, may just be a front for a land grab. Senator Tom Yohanesson of Central Vangaziland presented his point of view in a speech.

"The good of the people of today's South Covello has been fought for. They have been liberated. But not every nation involved has clear intentions." Nations were not specifically called out by name, typical with standard policy. "We must be careful of signing a blank check not to the people of Covello, but to a military coalition grasping at straws for power. This is true for the Vangazi, but also for other nations in the region."

Another senator, Judith Keld of Western Vangaziland, had even stronger words. "It is a disgrace to use the ousting of a dictator for a nonexistent, interregional cold war. Until we have evidence that the fish are not jumping from the frying pan into the fire, we must be careful. We cannot allow the proposed plan to pass."

Specific items drew attention and were signaled as the reasons for cancelling the plan as submitted. The fact that South Covello had carte blanche to scroll the list of supplies, which included armored ambulances and military grade construction equipment, caused many senators to vote for postponing The Order's aid plan.

"Revisions have to be made. Now is not the time to send in heavy equipment. Food? Perhaps. Medicine? Definitely. But be wary of eagles bearing gifts. It is also not the Vangazi way to be an eagle bearing gifts."

Vangaziland is an isolated collection of territories. The mainland is in the far North, thousands of miles away from Esportiva. The territory of Barnicea requested entry into the Vannish Empire after campaigning since 2014. They were officially accepted in mid 2017. In that time, Vangaziland has established 4 army bases, 2 airbases and 2 naval ports.

Barnicea was pushed ahead in it's application status after the 2014 Mirevian Crisis. Once a part of an alliance known as the IFC, a situation between former allies spiraled into an escalation which resulted in Vangaziland standing alone against one of the premier alliances of the time. An illegal, international blockade threatened the movement of ships to an allied nation.

Vangaziland reacted swiftly with strong rhetoric. Bombers were flown towards cities of one of the opposing nations, which shared a border with the Vannish territory. Submarines fired test missiles over the opposing nation. The response was for the opposing nation to mass along the shared border and threaten to shoot down any aircraft on course to their cities, even across the border.

So Vangaziland instead flew their bombers, later revealed to have actually carried nuclear warheads, up and down the border. Game. Set. Match. The fleet sailed through. Disappointed by supposed allies, Vangaziland would begin to withdraw from the region. The IFC was never the same and now the region attempts to disguise the history of what truly happened in Atlas, when one lone nation stood up to an alliance of nations which would call themselves superpowers.

The incident is one of many for the Vannish Empire which includes staving off a nuclear war between the United Regions & Turntry, a two year conflict in the desert and an ongoing sea campaign against pirates from the Svennish Isles, to Yohannes, and out to New Hayesalia.

"Now is not the time to commit to South Covello", said Senator Hector Santos, also of Western Vangaziland. "We do not need to become embroiled in something which can spin off into the next crisis. There are peacekeepers and aid workers in place. Surely they have the money to invest in the situation they helped usher in. We would do better to focus on Yanjin, Al-Khalifiya and expand into areas of Africa less fortunate than New Gazi."

The move comes despite earlier words of support from Vannish Prime Minister Hank Goodsen and Prince Fritz of Vangaziland. President Malcom Ibori of New Gazi also had news to break.

"Surface Group 2, including the cruiser NGS-28 'Imoju' will set sail for Esportiva for a long term naval training exercise. We will be joined by a surface group from Wrexwic and allies from outside of The Empire", said President Ibori. "They will coincide with joint air and special forces exercises."

He did not speak more on The Order, but analysts believe the statement is related.

"New Gazi will also begin building a military presence in Esportiva."

A flurry of military activity could occur as a chain reaction due in part to the arrival of forces from outside of the region.

Prime Minister Hank Goodson released a brief statement saying, "This increase in safety is going to require a tax increase on Esportivan Vangazi in Barnicea. It will result in a safer Barnicea and a safer Esportiva."


A Vannish J11M bomber conducts training south of Heske, Barnicea as senators meet.

[Mattijana]

World Cup Round-up: Matchday 4

MFO Sport

Mattijana in entertaining 4-4 draw

Mattijana escaped New Gazi with a point from their 4th World Cup qualifying match, as an 88th minute equaliser from Sofiane Bisrali earned Dusan Vukoja's side a 4th point of the campaign.
New Gazi took the lead in the 12th minute of play when captain Amare Contee turned in a cross from Uffe Diya, but Mattijana hit back swiftly. Andreas Weiss had a drive from the edge of the box well-saved by a diving Talib Mensah before getting his reward, linking up nicely with Mathilde Lekarisa before clipping a deft finish over Mensah and into the New Gazi net.
Any theories that the match would calm down after the equaliser were shortly quashed as New Gazi moved forward again down the left, with full-back Baako Iwu whipping in a series of brilliant crosses that were well defended by Burnisevic and Crajasovic in the Mattijanan back line. Shortly after however, it was only the woodwork that saved Mattijana as another Iwu cross was hit first time by Alanso Niang at the back post, who smashed a shot against the bar with Handanovic stranded.
Despite the period of pressure, Mattijana started to get some of their own time on the ball with Jakupovic and Hojbjerg doing well to switch the ball between wide areas. A long Hojbjerg ball was eventually collected by Jessika Struna on the right wing, who played a pass to Dominik Illisevic on the overlap. The right-back's cross picked out Weiss at the back post, the centre-forward cushioning the ball down into the path of Lekarisa who was given too much space to volley home.

Mattijana held on until the half-time break, but didn't last much longer as a nicely-worked move once again stretched the Mattijanan back line, giving Ifeatu Jamuike space to whip a curling shot into the bottom corner.
Another Mattijanan goal was on the cards in the 60th minute though. Mattijana used the width well again as Sofiane Bisrali squeezed through a couple of New Gazi challenges to make the by-line, cutting a ball back for Marko Hojbjerg to sweep a cool finish past Mensah.

At 3-2 up, Vukoja was left with the choice to either shut up shop or try and earn an insurance goal with New Gazi still looking dangerous. However the choice was taken out of his hands as a pair of successive New Gazi goals swung the match back in New Gazi's direction.

With time running out, Vukoja brought on Mattias Hoffman for Katarina Jakupovic and Sophia Velezia for Jessika Struna. It was Hoffman who made the immediate impact, feeding Mathilde Lekarisa. Lekarisa's deft through ball picked out a brilliant instinctive run from Bisrali, who beat a tiring offside trap and slotted a low shot past Mensah.

Mattijana held on for a good away point in the tricky New Gazi atmosphere. They have now played 3 of the top 5 teams in group 12 and have another, 56th ranked Soltsteed, in their next fixture at the Stadijo Nasinal. The stallions beat 4th-placed Platerdam 3-1 to go 3rd in the group and are unbeaten from their first 4 games.

Filindostan Continue To Impress

Debutants and Baptism of Fire champions Filindostan have made a massive statement in their first full-international tournament, taking a 4th victory from 4 against Savojarna.
Filindostan have already beaten higher-ranked opponents in Islana Lunigo (2-1), as well as lower sides Underat and Jabok.
Willy Gurnawan's side have been impressive defensively, frustrating many of the sides they have faced before counter-attacking effectively with good wing play. The results have of course impressed many in Mattijana, who are mainly 'a bit jel' that Mattijana couldn't acheive a similar fate in their first (or indeed most recent) qualifying campaign. However, the tactics used have been divisive, with some saying they are fair enough for a team in their first cycle and some saying they're a bit of a typical newbie cop-out, particularly with the potential of some of the players.
Having said that, they're winning games and should they continue their current form, Filindostan could make history as the first debutants to make the finals in a very long time.

South Covello: Mattijana sends good karma

With the messy bit of the fall of Greg seemingly over and done with, fresh-faced leaders of the Republic of South Covello have begun the legal process against former members of the Gregist regime. Charges pressed include over 100 million counts of murder, around 84 million counts of crimes against humanity and 120 million counts of slavery. The charges seem to add up to a near-infinite number of life sentences, but the death penalty will not be in operation, a decision praised by the Mattijanan government.

With the situation seemingly resolved, to a point, Mattijana has sent its 'best wishes' and offered to set up trade deals and provide advice for the new government. As Mattijana was never directly affected by Gregoryisgodistan, Mattijanans will not be testifying at the trials, but Mattijanan media and civil services will be keen to keep an eye on events in Freedom City.

On the pitch, the South Covellan team has seemed unruffled, taking 10 points from a possible 12 and tucking away a list of minnows with relative ease. They are expected to qualify for another set of World Cup Finals in Ceni and Drawkland.

[Amazonesta]

The Amazonian Observer
Amazonia City's Largest Newspaper

Amazonesta falls again at home, this time by a score of 3-1


34 year old Leonardo Rosalez celebrates his 56th minute equalizer

AMAZONIA CITY- Amazonesta was facing Super Llamaland, and they put up a fight. However, just like their home match against Jeruselem, they were never going to have a legitimate chance of winning this game. It was clear that the class of the visitors would overcome Amazonesta from the start, as the group leaders kept pace atop the group at Estadio Nacional, while the Amazonestans fell and now find themselves in 8th place out of 10 in the group. While Amazonesta was hoping to finish mid-table, this is an extremely poor start for the team. Combine this with their shock draw away from home against Pays Den Haut, and Amazonesta is definitely not going to the World Cup Finals. The Cup of Harmony, however, is undoubtedly and absolutely still a realistic goal for this squad.

The first half was actually very evenly matched. Both teams had a few good looks, and both goalkeepers made some excellent saves. It looked as if Amazonesta would go into the break level. Sophia Trevelyan, however, had other ideas. In the first minute of stoppage time, of which there was only one minute given of stoppage time in the first half, she struck a beautiful volley from 15 yards to make the score 1-0 in favor of the group leaders, and that was the score going into the half. An awful time to concede, this goal tested the mettle of this squad.

Did they respond? They absolutely did. In a shock move, maybe to jolt this team, veteran Leonardo Rosalez was brought onto the field at halftime, to replace Luciano Rodrigues. After the match, Jehan Blair told reporters that "Rodrigues has played every minute of the first 3 qualifiers- but we're all human." Leonardo Rosalez then decided to do quite a lot. He played inspired football, and gave this team a pyschological boost. He led a beautiful counter attack in the 56th minute, and Fabio Justo laid it off to him, and he buried it to make the game 1-1, and to give this stadium life.

However, the talent of the visitors was simply too much to be overcome. A 75th minute header by Adrian Lindberg off of a corner kick saw Amazonesta trailing again, this time by a score of 2-1, with just 15 minutes to go. And then, of course, Axel Korborg put the nail in the coffin in the 82nd minute, with the game's third goal burying the game and it's result, and securing all 3 points for the visitors. This meant, of course, that in 2 attempts at home, Amazonesta had taken exactly 0 points, and they had their third straight game upcoming against a top-60 opponent, Darmen.

"This team simply needs to execute better". Said Jehan Blair. "All credit to Super Llamaland- they executed their gameplan, and the talent is all there. There is a talent gap between Super Llamaland and Amazonesta right now, there is no denying that." And that is right. There is a reason that we are not group leaders. But there are plenty of games to go. There is still 14 games left in qualifying, and that is more than enough time for this squad to be able to turn around their fortunes. And, of course, for Omar Falcone to attempt to try and find the last 8 goals necessary to get to 50 before he retires at the end of the World cup cycle.

[Bostopia]

---Fort Boston Park, Fort Boston---

The Emperor was still in a jolly mood when he spotted some local children (he assumed they were local, as there were parks all over the place. He then realised he was contradicting himself as nobody lived in Castle and Park Ward apart from him, which is how he managed to declare war on Daehanjaeguk that one time and how he always gets a seat on Fort Boston City Council) – “perhaps” the Emperor thought “they are not local children in the sense that they live nearby, but some children local to Fort Boston who have been brought to the park to enjoy themselves on the expanse of grass. So long as they ddn’t get too close to the lake. While it is fine to swim in, some of the banks aren’t the easiest to get out of. Hmm.”

In any sense, the Emperor noticed them playing football, which spurred one or two of his remaining braincells into action and he decided to head off toward the nearest internet-café, which was a short five minute walk away. While most Bostopians did have a high-speed internet connection at home and in the office, there we still some people who weren’t fond of the surveillance state who preferred to do their internet browsing where everyone could see them, let alone the security services - who monitored internet cafés a little firmer than regular internet users. Plus, they served foreign visitors and workers well, who didn’t want to pay the punitive roaming charges their phone companies charged. While Fort Boston Park didn’t host any rounds of the Formula 1 anymore, the Bostopian Super Touring Series still used the circuit to close the season and it used to attract a lot of foreign motor sport fans before the country was largely shut off to the world, though a couple dozen hardcore fans still managed to turn up.

The Emperor pushed a B£1 coin into one of the machines and the monitor attached to it suddenly brightened up, the internet café’s gaudy homepage flashing up with all the creativity of a seven year old who had been feeling energised all day after his parents accidentally let him drink four sugary orange drinks when they weren’t keeping tabs on what he was up to, so decided to put him in front of the computer and have him design his Uncle’s internet café website with only a copy of Painter and text boxes to help him along. Unfortunately, this Uncle was a cheapskate, so decided to roll with it rather than get anything professional done.

Once the Emperor’s eyes had recovered from what could only be described as a fuchsia terror he hadn’t seen since the day he washed his Starblaydia kit on the completely wrong setting (“Who knew that mixed fabrics would do such things? It was a sad day”), he found the search bar and typed in ‘World Cup’, discovering the usual plethora of information, before finding the home page of the World Cup Committee, who were announcing that the 79th World Cup was shortly coming up and they were accepting entries.

Oh, how the Emperor was excited! “Oh, how I am excited!” The Emperor exclaimed, causing people in the café to shush him and one or two imply that he should watch smut in his own home. He quickly signed into his e-mail account and fired off an e-mail to the WCC. ‘Dear Sirs. This is Emperor Boston, Empirical Majesty of Bostopia. I hereby wish to tell you that we have opened the gates and will be sending a team to the World Cup. Though don’t ask me who. I don’t know that much yet. I’ll do a competition! Yes! A competition!

Right.

Must be off.

Yours,

Emperor Boston

(Bostopia)”

[Bonesea]

.

[Darmen]

Ahenobarbus announces retirement
Darmen defeats Isles of Avon following offensive explosion

Ahenobarbus' last save.

KINGSVILLE - Marcellus Ahenobarbus announced his retirement from international football just days after being dropped from the Darmeni national team. The 32 year old goalkeeper for MTK Kingsville, was cut from the team by Manager Godefroy Abascal after losing three-nil to Super-Llamaland, knocking Darmen down to the middle of Group 15.

Ahenobarbus earned 53 caps with the All Greens, and plans to continue playing domestically with MTK for at least the next three seasons. After that, his contract will expire, and he has stated that he plans to reexamine his options at that point. Ahenobarbus has helped MTK to league championships in each of the three preceding seasons, but that streak of winning football will come to an end this season, as with only two games remaining, MTK is nine points behind Series A leaders Tempala United Saints and in fourth place.

Ahenobarbus' deselection has paved the way for young 19 year old Hyman Campo to take over the starting role in goal, and so far, he has done a decent job. In Darmen's only match since, a 4-1 victory over the Isles of Avon, Campo's only goal allowed came on a penalty, which went to his left as he lept to the right.

Those four goals scored by Darmen were all part of an explosive offensive attack in the second half, putting Darmeni fans at ease after the first half penalty. The first goal was scored by Grayson Benbow in the 53rd minute, and was quickly followed by another goal a minute later by Daniel Norton. The relentless Darmeni attacks, coming in wave after wave, quickly caused disarray in the Avonian defense, and Darmen capitalized by scoring twice more against an extremely leaky defense (reports that one of the Avonian defenders peed himself during the match can not be confirmed). Brian Firmin, coming on for Felix Lucanus in the 61st minute after the latter picked up a bruised knee, scored moments after coming on, heading in a corner. Alberich Goldschmidt capped the game off with his ninth goal in an All Greens uniform, dipping a free-kick below the cross bar from 27 yards out in the 75th minute. Jean Virgo and Jacob Coghlan made substitution appearances in the 78th minute to provide freshness at the back, eliminating any chance of an Avonian comeback.

Darmen will use the same lineup against its next opponent in Amazonesta that it used against the Avonians.

[Savojarna]

Savojarna finally schedules new elections

Sjoedrhavn - Much has happened recently in Savojarna's political scene. The stronghold of the KPS has largely been broken after the party had splintered in the aftermath of the Enemy Crusher Bigmac Fatfrize case during the WCoH in Savojarna. The AP and the left, more idealistic wing of the KP have taken away confidence from the Carlsen government thanks to its plans to absolve Fatfrize of quadruple murder charges. The decision, however, had come too late to keep Fatfrize from leaving the country. The newly elected government under the guidance of Chairman Jussi Revalainen, the first Finn to assume the Chairman post, is unique in its support structure. Unlike previous governments, which would be reformed quickly after a brief period of brokering agreements, the Revalainen government is supported by a broad majority with the explicit task of setting up re-elections as soon as possible. Now, the government has in fact announced the elections to take place in six weeks, right after the World Cup Qualifier match against Undarat.

For these elections, a previously unseen amount of uncertainty is in the air. The Communist Party (KPS) has never before gone into an election that unstable, issues ranging from internal quabbling to a sex scandal surrounding Vice Party Secretary Janne Ränström. They pledged to put themselves on more stable feet, but in many constituencies, this failed as the KPS has not been able to resolve its clash between a more idealistic, left wing and a more "pragmatic", authoritarian wing that carries the fame and praise from the Revolution Days. On the other side, a new faction emerges, seeing the traditionally free and democratic order of Savojarna threatened. They have inofficially labelled themselves the Idealists, or KPS-I, opposing the "traditional" KPS called the Pragmatists or KPS-P by commentators. To add onto the mess, the traditional opposition party of the country, the SAP (Savojar Worker Party, usually shortened to AP) who used to serve as the left-communist conscience of the KPS, is set to achieve its best ever result.

The true threat to the stable KPS-led structure and the Revalainen government comes from new parties. While neither of the KPS factions truly wishes for a split of the party and the AP chairwoman Kristina Nygard has already signalled her willingness to continue the AP's traditional role, the new parties emerging on the national stage seem unwilling to do so. First of all, there is the Syndicalist Union, an AP-spinoff under the leadership of former AP leader Artyom Nurayev and the leader of Savojarna's Union Congress, Mikael Söder. They are expected to draw support of unions who traditionally supported the KPS, and used to shun the AP for its foundation in intellectualism and what they called "white-collar communism". Polls show the SU in third place. With the new-found strength in social movements thanks to the unification of the Greens, the Progressive Party and the New Ecologist Movement into a common block, these could be set to snatch some seats off the left block as well. On the right, the LKPS seems set for further collapse, while the fringe bourgeois parties seem to remain at their stable 10% share. At this point, polls cannot predict a stable majority for the KPS, but the unique voting system of Savojarna makes it likely nevertheless.

The National Council, the nation's main legislative bodies, is elected in local constituencies with a runoff election, but the People's Assembly gets elected in nationwide assemblies of workers. In the People's Assembly, which has a veto power, the KPS always had a strong presence thanks to its strong union support, but the SU is threatening them there - and the SU is questioning whether or not it will enter a coalition with the Pragmatist Wing. There is a high chance Savojarna ends up being near ungovernable except through a broad coalition, something that Savojarna never experienced as a necessity so far. The previous coalition governments always were decisions made by the KPS leadership and could have been unilaterally ended by this leadership if required, but this time, a coalition seems to be necessary to have a government majority for any party. As the KPS remains needed for any successful government - unless it incorporates the Leninists or the Capitalists - its leader Revalainen remains the key figure of coalition-forming.

Revalainen stated that every party willing to govern needs to be willing to submit to the ideals of the Revolution as well as their practical implementation. This rhetoric was widely interpreted to be an attempt to bridge KPS ridges, but it likely also is set to exclude the SU and its anarchic ideas, something that commentators believed to be highly risky thanks to the power the SU and the unions of Savojarna have in the People's Assembly. With Savojarna being on the edge concerning its ideological future, many high-ranking KPS figures and elder statesmen of Savojarna urged Revalainen to take a clearer stance, something he has been unwilling to do so far. Former Chairman and influential KPS-P representative Lars Rolfrsson stated: "Jussi Revalainen needs to take a stance on an issue that this election will be won on. He can't promise the gulag to the Leninists and promise Utopia to the AP and the SU. The ways Revalainen takes are set to drive the KP into irrelevance and broken promises".

EXPECTED SHARES OF PARTIES (national poll, +/- 3%):
KPS (Communist Party of Savojarna) 48.5% / -3 since last poll
SAP (Savojar Worker's Party) 20.5% / +2
SU (Syndicalist Union) 12% / 0
LB (Liberal Block) 10% / +1
GFBS (Green and Progressive Movements of Savojarna) 5% / +2
LKPS (Leninist-Communist Party of Savojarna) 3.5% / -2
RMP (Russian Minority Party) 0.5% / 0

[Yue Zhou]

Fu Xi dribbled past two defenders with a sudden acceleration, slalomed past a third, and delivered a gorgeous through-ball to Ren Delan...who fumbled before sending his wide-open shot off the keeper's palms and out for a corner. As Fu trotted over to take it, he couldn't help but think Yuezhou would have retaken the lead if Jiawei Sangu were there instead. But looking up at the royal-blue stands reminded him that Jiawei couldn't be joining them.

They were playing in Nangang, one of the most anti-Sangau cities in the nation. More specifically, they were playing in Nangang just days after the assassination of Ge Enlai, an action largely attributed to the Sangauese Nationalist Movement (SNM) that Jiawei and Wen Xiaoli had both previously been a part of. Cartwright was a Llamanean, but even he knew that putting the two key attackers on the field would be diplomatic suicide. So it'd been Quan Zedong on as the attacking midfielder and Ren Delan on as the striker, two replacements that had utterly failed to integrate into the attack.

Although Fu Xi had managed to put the Red Dragons ahead with an early goal, Donner Land had equalized within five minutes, Han Ruoyang looking uncharacteristically sloppy in possession and paying the price for it. Now, with ten minutes left in the half, it remained one-all.

Fu took the corner, sending it into the mix; Quan Zedong went up for it and collided with a defender, immediately falling back to the floor. Suddenly, Quan was becoming off and Yuezhou had a penalty - and Alex Cartwright was bringing on none other than Wen Xiaoli. The boos started immediately, only stopping when local favorite Zhang Zhenya buried the penalty to put the Red Dragons up two-one.

Donner Land restarted fairly quickly - but as soon as they had kicked off, Wen Xiaoli stripped the opposing striker of the ball, ran fifteen yards upfield, and lobbed the keeper. As the stunned keeper picked Yuezhou's third goal out of the net, Wen ripped off his jersey to reveal to the world a T-shirt saying "FREE SANGAU" and ran up to the home support, daring them to respond.

The Red Dragons were back.

[Soltsteed]

De Köninglikhaase Soltsteedes
Van die skreivborde Hier Majesties

The Royal House of Soltsteed
From the desk of His Majesty

---

My fellow Soltsteeders and dear citizens of the world,

On behalf of my Government, I join the numerous world leaders who have commemorated the bravery and valour of those who have fought to bring democracy and freedom to South Covello. I celebrate the capture of leading figures of the Greg régime and welcome their trials. I believe firmly in the institution of justice and respect the wishes of the interim South Covelloan leadership to see it carried out on their terms. And I want to affirm my commitment and the Soltsteedish nation to what I hope may be a robust friendship between the Soltsteedish Commonwealth and Republic of South Covello.

I recognise that the Greg régime has left dark scars on South Covello that will take generations to heal. The systematic abuse of the South Covelloan people has been jarring. The lust of the régime for total control over its populace has for generations dumbfounded the world. My prayers go to all the victims of the Greg régime and the people who have died in the name of freedom and democracy.

The easy work is now done and the hard work begins. The democratisation of a nation that has suffered from generations of authoritarianism will be a difficult and painful task, one that will undoubtedly require skilled statesmanship and political bravery. It will take leaders who have the courage to do what may not necessarily be popular, but rather that which is right. It will take leaders who are willing to foresake that which may be in their short-term interest in favour of that which benefits their people in the long-term.

I am the proud grandson of His Majesty William VII, the second son of the Duke of Castlefort, one of the most heinous dictators Atlantian Oceania has ever seen. Like myself, my grandfather was never expected to come to the throne, but did so at a young age. His wisdom and his vision of a new Soltsteed of freedom and acceptance, one where every person had meaning, inspired so many people. Despite giving up so much power, he had such a profound effect on Soltsteedish society, almost single-handedly reinventing the country. His political tact and acumen very much saved the Soltsteedish nation and held our people together in the face of incredibly dark days. All of this from the son of one of the most heinous war criminals in human history.

The story of my grandfather shows that history shapes all of us, but that we also cannot let it define ourselves. In the tragedies of the past are lessons to be learned. When we put our minds to it, we humans are capable of incredible things. With a little effort, anything is possible and any hurdle can be overcome. The strength and resilience of Soltsteeders and the friendship and humanity of its people have always been known. Our nation broke the vicious cycle of militarism, religious persecution and genocide to become a nation that has embraced those who live within it in open arms with acceptance and love, seeking to rebuild itself as a beacon of hope to those who today face many of the same challenges.

And let us remember the fact that so many people on this planet today unfortunately suffer through the same pains Soltsteed wrought decades ago or the Greg régime wrought until just recently, the shadow of our old selves has not truly left this world. We still see nations where the rights of women are repressed, where people of different races, religions and ethnicities are forceably removed from their homes and where people of different sexual orientations and gender identities are killed for the fact of who they are. These are scathing abuses that must offend the dignity of all humanity.

The international community cannot sit back and pray for the best as South Covello seeks to rebuild. We must offer our support and the lessons of our historic experiences so that the people of South Covello can construct a new house in which to live, one founded on the basis of popular sovereignty, universal human rights and the rule of law.

The Soltsteedish nation pledges our efforts to assist the people of South Covello in these difficult times. I hope that this successful revolution marks a new era in relations between our two nations and a stronger appreciation of each other as we attempt to traverse these times. Thank you and God bless the people of Soltsteed and South Covello.

Wie sent en skal senten. We are and shall be.

[signed]
William Thomas
King of the Soltsteedish

[countersigned]
Claudie Marie Michälssen Aleksandre mid Jorgenssen
Chancellor of Soltsteed

[United States of Devonta]

Devontan Sports Central

---

Devontan's seek long time revenge against WC 70 foe
Devontan National Team plays to a 1-1 friendly draw with former WC 70 WCQ foe
Terry R. Smith (@realterrysmith)
^{11/24/2017, 3:15 PM | Equestrian States}

---

    United States of Devonta 1 - 1 Equestrian States
         Adams (27')                   Thunderlane (68')

Equestrian States
GK: Gentle Breeze
LD: B. Hamilton
CD: Flitter
CD: Molovi (28')
CM: Rainbow Blitz
DM: R. Tyler
DM: Cloudchaser
RM: Apple Cobbler
LM: Krystal
ST: Thunderlane
ST: Pristine Shine

United States of Devonta
GK: Bradley Cooper
LD: Jose Alvarez (Johnson Brooks - 63')
CD: Martin Benton
CD: Daniel Kindred
RD: Brayden Liam (Mathew Creasmen - 85')
DM: Marco Hernandez
LM: Anthony Crox (63')
RM: Julius Washington
OM: Tyrell Owens (Salomon Bundy - 90')
ST: Gerald Johansen
ST: Lamar Adams

---

Match Statistics:
Possession
Devonta: 52%
EQS: 48%
Shots
Devonta: 11 shots (6 on target)
EQS: 10 shots (7 on target)
Pass Accuracy
Devonta: 86%
EQS: 86%
Corners
Devonta: 6
EQS: 7
Offsides
Devonta: 4
EQS: 3
Fouls
Devonta: 11
EQS: 9

World Cup 76 Qualifying Schedule

Friendly Matches:
Devonta 1-0 Savojarna
Equestrian States 1-1 Devonta

World Cup Qualfying: Group 4
MD1: Devonta vs Darkmania
MD2: Great Pie vs Devonta
MD3: Devonta vs Kel Assuk
MD4: Devonta vs Pasarga
MD5: Moorish Land vs Devonta
MD6: Devonta vs Razenthuria
MD7: Mrinn vs Devonta
MD8: Devonta vs Maryloupe
MD9: Port Christopher vs Devonta

Mid-Qual Friendly: TBD

MD10: Darkmania vs Devonta
MD11: Devonta vs Great Pie
MD12: Kel Assuk vs Devonta
MD13: Pasarga vs Devonta
MD14: Devonta vs Moorish Land
MD15: Razenthuria vs Devonta
MD16: Devonta vs Mrinn
MD17: Maryloupe vs Devonta
MD18: Devonta vs Port Christopher

Author: Terry R. Smith

---

More top news stories

• Devontan prepare for WCQ 12,422,342 views
• Devontan's Advance to RO16 in Basketball Championship 7,538,265 views
• Devontan's win first pre-WCQ match 5,354,335 views
• Devonta enters the realm of water polo 2,323,225 views

---

Comments:

By Tyler 452 - Just now

Boring game, loved the ponies though!

---

989 Likes | 37 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Brony45 - 3 mins Ago

Devonta sucks! Lets go Equestria!

---

2,329 Likes | 6,789 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Tommy_Howl - 10 min Ago

How do horses play soccer tf?

---

Likes 3,444 | 4 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Donny_Little - 28 mins Ago

Can't wait till WCQ!

---

435 Likes | 21 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

[Ethane]

ENTV

---

Explosive Sports News
Football - World Cup 79

[Home] [Cricket][Baseball][Basketball][Tennis][Other Sports]

Shaky Or Strong Start?: Why The National Team Shouldn't Be Celebrating Yet
by Danny Alexander

With only 4 matches completed so far in the qualifying campaign, you wouldn't expect an overwhelming optimism and celebratory attitude amongst a team's management and players. You would expect people to focus on the next game and the next game, not looking at who they've beaten but who they still need to beat to qualify. You'd expect this even more from a team which consists of only a few older players, but also a large contingent of the next generation of younger players who are debuting in this world cup.

Yet this is not the case in the Ethanian camp. There is an extreme euphoria running through the Red Kites right now all because of their results so far in this campaign.

4 games into the qualifying campaign and the Red Kites are already out at the front of the pack in the group. They've won all 4 of their games so far, separating themselves from Coldfield, who had also won all their games so far, by a 2-1 victory against them yesterday; a successful result consolidating the position at the top of the table. The fact Ethane have won all 4 games isn't necessarily that surprising, considering the ranking of the Red Kites - they are ranked 21st, and the second seed team in the group. However, what is surprising is the teams that Ethane have beaten in those 4 games.

Ethane's first match provided a narrow victory against Acronius. The team knew it was going to be a tough game. Acronius are a fairly decent team (ranked 55th), and they had the home advantage. The Red Kites always performed slightly worse when away from home, and so they knew they were going to have to work hard to obtain the win they wanted, and probably needed, here.

And on the day, the team turned up. Actually, both teams turned up. It was actually a very closely fought match, with neither side really dominating, but despite being away from home, the Red Kites did have a slight edge which gave them the narrow victory. It was one of the new players, Declan Smith, who scored the winner, after being substituted on for Wilmer Jaurequi, providing optimism in Ethanian football's future.

The second match Ethane played was at home, against Adab. The Red Kites always perform better on home turf, and against a newcomer to the World Cup, albeit one the team knows through the WorldVision Song Contest, they were expecting to win easily. This was not the case, and played into the narrative of a shaky start for the Red Kites. Ethane were only able to get 1 goal past Adab's keeper, suggesting the 2 main strikers for the Flames - Samuel Mitchell and Wilmer Jaurequi - were just not in form at the moment. If they weren't, that would be a real worry for the Red Kites as that would mean the team would have to completely rely on debutants such as Declan Smith and Scott Burgess who, despite their good seasons, were still not quite up to the task of leading the attacking effort for a world-class international team in a very highly prestigious international tournament.

It was the third match that the Red Kites played that completely blew that 'shaky start' narrative out of the water and about 10 miles downstream. Ethane had a very tough 3rd fixture. They had to play the top seeded team in the table, Valladares, away. Not only were the Red Kites up against the best team in the group, they were also facing them with the home advantage against the Red Kites, and with the 2 Ethanian strikers appearing to not be in the best form after the shaky start Ethane had begun the qualifying campaigh with.

Yet, they delivered when they needed to against all expectations. Two screamers from the Ethanian strikers gave the Red Kites a notable 0-2 victory, while the defence - which used to be notoriously solid but has weakened with the move to an attacking setup - held up against the attacks from one of the best teams in the world. This result really shocked not only Valladares, but also the Ethanian team and public who hadn't seen this victory coming any time soon. Yet here they were. Victorious. Away from home.

This victory really encouraged optimism and euphoria amongst the Ethanian camp. Not only had they beaten the best team in the group, but they had beaten them playing away. This means, with the home advantage, the Red Kites believe they really do have a chance of winning the reverse fixture, and winning the group, potentially even winning the group without losing a game if they continue with their current form.

It was the fourth match that really set the euphoria off and really encouraged hope amongst the Ethanians. After 3 matches, the Red Kites were not the only team that had won all 3 games. Coldfield - a decent team in their own right - had also won all their games, and were looking to be a threat to those at the top of the table. In fact, because of their superior goal differential, they sat top of the table.

Ethane had a chance to push them back down though and show them who is boss. In the fourth match, the Red Kites found themselves playing at home up against Coldfield, who were looking for some fresh meat to barbeque. Victory here, in New Sarum, would have been really encouraging for Coldfield, and spurred them on in their hunt for qualification. They came fairly close to it as well. The Flames were really put under pressure by the visiting team, who wouldn't let up on their constant attacks. However, spurred on by the home crowd, it was Ethane that was able to deliver the final knock-out punch and leave victorious, albeit with a nervous 2-1 victory.

This euphoria and optimism amongst the Ethanian camp is based on decent victories. However, don't you think it's a little too soon to be celebrating victory yet? The start to this campaign, other than the victory against Valladares, hasn't exactly been self-assured, and it could speak to a confidence issue amongst both the top seeds.

The start has been a tale of 2 narratives for the Red Kites. You have the narrative of optimism and success. Victory against Valladares is no easy feat, especially when you are in their territory. Yet the Ethanians managed victory, and a resounding one as well. This team was the main obstacle to winning the group, and this has half dispatched them to the margins of second place, still a threat but now a lesser one.

However, despite the claims that the victory against Valladares showed the team was self-assured and had a confident start, the start has been everything but. The start of this campaign has been very shaky for Ethane. The team has looked nervous on and off the pitch, and much of this is likely to do with the influx of new players. This can't be avoided. Teams need rejuvanating, and the older generation have just moved on, so newer players needed to be brought in. However, the victories against Acronius, Adab, and Coldfield were all very narrow - 1 goal margins gave the Red Kites the advantage. With the attacking mindset that the team supposedly has, they should be scoring a lot more goals. If we were to have 1 slip up in defence in our current state, we could find ourselves drawing these games rather than winning them. These are games we should have been winning easily - especially against Adab - and until we begin to score a lot more goals, we're going to have problems just over the horizon.

The team shouldn't be so optimistic and celebratory yet. Hopeful? Yes. Of course. Ethane are currently top of the group after 4 matches. They have worked hard to get there at this stage, and they will need to work hard to stay there. There is a real chance that the Red Kites could finish this campaign top of the group. Yet victory against Valladares does not validate the celebratory atmosphere in the camp, nor does it confirm Ethane as victorious in the group. The team needs a reality check - there is a long way to go in this campaign yet.

[Chromatika]

Chromatika in World Cup 79 Part 5: A Moment to Shine

Westerholt City Stadium
Westerholt City, Reuss-Lippe

As the team walked outside of the visitors' tunnel, one Chromatik's heart was beating considerably faster than the others. He couldn't believe that it was finally his turn in the spotlight.

For one Lin Moon, aged twenty-six, from Pùr, Chromatika, being overshadowed was a norm. His brother, Jon, was the better student, better athlete, and better son growing up - Jon earned accolades in three sports in high school (football, baseball, and basketball) and got straight A's. Lin was more of a problem child, getting in trouble left and right and almost brushing up against the Chromatik Party's wrong side before finding himself through football.

When he played in high school, at Pùr central, he was always overshadowed by one Trenn Rien. When Trenn left and Lin was a junior, he broke his left ankle and couldn't play, and then by the time he returned his senior year, there was Kendrick Lamarde.

At Z'ai'ai University of Technology, he suffered through losing his older brother and lost his passion for football in his freshman year. It took some work and reconciliation before he took the pitch for his junior year, and that was when he really started to shine - and then he declared to join the Chromatik League.

In Felswyr? Everyone knew the true striker was Lorriane Deleon. Moon was more of a decoy, an also-ran that would take some attention off of Deleon and score if needed, if the other team couldn't be bothered off of Lorriane. Not that Deleon acted superior or anything; it was just the way things were.

He was firstly surprised when he got the call to join the team, after his trade to Jinja City of Banija had been established. He was secondly surprised when Deleon didn't make it. Though he hadn't asked neither Williamsen nor Parker, he truly wondered why she wasn't here, and he was. He was lastly surprised when they told him he would start against Reuss-Lippe.

Start. For the black and white, the Chromatiks. Him, one Lin Moon.

He wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste.

Fifteen minutes in, a through ball from Sybill hung in the air forever before he trapped it with his chest, bounced it off his left foot, and hit it just right with the right foot - past the hands of Kappel.

For insurance, twenty minutes later, he ran past Kipiani and beat Kappel to the post.

And for once in his life, Lin Moon shined on everyone; the brightest in his life.

---

Reus-Lippe 0-2 Chromatika
Chromatika: Moon '15, '40
Starting Lineup: Nier (C); An - Sorendai - Ilya; Thorben - Hellion - Sybill - Liam; Rien - Moon - Niro. Subs: Ilya -> An '53, Kelly -> Rien '68, Han -> Liam '78
Summary: Jillian Nier's first start of the campaign went off swimmingly as the Chromatiks were never threatened by Reuss-Lippe and coasted to a victory, led by Lin Moon's brace. The midfield had a field day getting the ball to the previous Frost striker, who made the most of his opportunity. Reuss-Lippe had a total of three shots on goal, all saved by Nier rather lazily. It will be interesting to see if this match will be looked back at as a warm-up, or a match that let down the team's intensity.

Matcday 5: Eastfield Lodge vs. Chromatika @ Lodger City Memorial Stadium
Predicted Starting XI: Nier; Morningstar - Aart - Ellen; Kelly (C) - Montague - Sybill - Dragana; Victoriane - Andisori - Niro.
The first real test for the Chromatiks, on the road against the third seed of the group. Eastfield Lodge has been around for ages, and although they haven't qualified often, they've always been notable. The entire Starting XI will be sent out, as Parker is not pulling any punches. Expect Hellion to make an appearance, and Xe to be an impact sub; other than that, expect the unexpected when Parker plays against a tougher opponent. This match and the next should be a great barometer to see where this team is at at this point.

---

---

Operation New Hope: The Aftermath
Part 4: Gerald Henderson

When Angel and I had received our orders from the Colonel, they had been clear: Commit fully to the task at hand, but if the opportunity presented itself, figure out more about Venom and whomever was behind him. I had intended to follow the order to the letter. I had looked forward to seeing how we would handle each other without interference; but when we stepped in that Jungle, everything went out the window.

The story that Nirdasil had stated was deeply troubling, but deep down I knew it to be true. I had grown up with the old saying that you trust your gut. My gut and my brain agreed, that this outlandish story told to us by some being that we had just encountered was just crazy enough to be true. The impact of that truth would be what truly mattered.

We needed solid evidence to take home. Not just this movie that we had seen explaining it, but documents, artifacts, video footage, pictures, something. The Chromatik populace wasn't going to take our words and eat them up - I know our country to be more than that, especially after the Revolution.

I was surprised to see that everyone was believing what they were taking in. That was weird - especially with five foreigners in tow. I knew that Lani and Tilda knew enough about Chromatik history - they were the type to thoroughly study before signing on for such a journey - but wasn't sure about Justin, Grugel, or Clarissa. Grugel wasn't going off on a tangent, Clarissa wasn't swearing up a storm, and Justin just looked like a soldier.

Nirdasil led us to a room where there were maps of Atlantian Oceania. Some countries were labeled and clearly visible - Audioslavia, Cosumar, Starblaydia. The maps were of Northeastern Atlantian Oceania, but then that was where Chromatika was, so I guess that was what mattered for this. Three maps awaited us.

One was labeled "One hundred years ago." There was no land where Chromatika used to be.

The second was labeled "Eighty years ago." And there was Chromatika's land, with the Party's flag.

The third said plainly, "Today."

"Why is it that these maps of previously don't exist in our country?" asked Jill the Professor.

"They have all been altered. It is only due to Zaiden that we have this true one of the past. To you, to the rest of the world, Chromatika and its peoples have always been here. But that is not the case. There was no land there one hundred years ago. It only happened about eighty years ago when Nocturne, Meurte, and Pandemonium created it with its peoples and its fake history. Yes, this is the truth - the history that you've known is fake."

Let me make one thing clear to you guys. You can fool people like Kerri, Kelly, or even Jill, but you can't fool Angel, me, or Mara. We've been trained against mind control by the Chromatik Party and then against them. You can't trick us.

And we weren't being tricked. It really was true.

Were we ready for this? Was I?

[Omerica]

---

The streets of Port-des-Saints
MD5

---

“Want to hear a joke?” a young man asked of his companion.

“Sure,” the tall man walking next to him replied.

“The Incorrigibles.”

Both men started chuckling, not noticing Morgan passing by.

Barzetti simply rolled her eyes and continued on her way. Passing by a newsstand, Morgan couldn’t help but look over.

“Omerica flounder in qualifiers”, La Romainbourgeoise wrote. “Michelakis own goal dooms Omerica to defeat”, the Royale du Philibiscostal proclaimed. “Incorrigibles on track to be Cup of Harmony fodder”, the Capital Express declared.

Morgan walked away without saying a word, sighing as she proceeded to the tube station. As she made her way down the steps, she got her card ready and proceeded to the turnstiles, touching the card to the pillar in what had become a ritual to her. Morgan made her way down to the platform and waited for the train to the Place du Sport.

A flood of people came bursting out as the train arrived, followed by a trickle of people going in.

Morgan took a seat on the bench opposite the door, perched next to an older lady with bulky black glasses, greying red hair and salmon pink splotches across her arms, which were extended out holding a copy of the Express. Morgan placed her elbows on her knees, slouching and throwing her hands in front of her.

“What’s wrong?”

Morgan perked up. She looked around confused before turning to the lady.

“What’s wrong?” the lady asked again in the same curious, but non-judgemental tone.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a small problem.”

“It doesn’t seem so small. What is it?”

Morgan found it somewhat odd that a stranger on the metro would be asking this question. Usually the people on the metro just did odd things that no respectful human would dare be caught doing, not striking up polite, if not uncomfortable, conversation.

“Just having some trouble at work.”

“What’s the matter? Difficult project?”

“You could say that,” Morgan said with a chuckle.

“What’s the problem? Something not working? Hit a roadblock?”

Morgan thought over it for some time before responding. “My boss really wants results and we’re not getting them.”

“And the stress is getting to you, isn’t it?”

“It’s hard to let the nation you love down at something you love.”

The woman looked at her puzzled.

“But you love what you do, right?”

Morgan looked back at her, surprised that the woman didn’t recognise her. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then isn’t that the reward?”

Morgan had to think about it. Surely this stranger was right. The pressure to achieve victory was getting to her head, clouding her judgement. The spark was slipping away.

All of a sudden, as the train stopped, a man walked past the two, knocking the lady’s newspaper out of her hand. The man continued on his way as Morgan and her seat-neighbour retrieved the periodical.

Some people are too rude, Morgan thought to herself.

She turned her attention back to her conversation partner, only to find the lady staring at the paper. It took the lady switching her attention between Morgan and the paper to figure out why: she was holding the sport section.

“I see what’s wrong,” the woman said. “You’ve been losing some games, haven’t you?”

“I thought you would have known earlier,” Morgan sheepishly admitted.

“I don’t usually pay attention to that kind of thing,” the lady said, pointing out the blatantly obvious. “People get too into that kind of thing and it drives them crazy.”

Morgan wondered where the lady was going with this.

“But winning isn’t everything,” the lady continued. “You said it yourself: you love what you’re doing. And more importantly, you’re out there doing it. Winning is just a bonus.”

A feminine voice came on the intercom, announcing the train’s stop at the Place du Sport.

“This is my stop,” Morgan said. “Thank you for everything,” she said as she waved over to the woman.

Morgan saw the woman wave back as the doors closed. Now it was just the matter of getting to practice. Today would surely go better. How on Earth could it possibly go wrong?

[Ceni]

Here's a quick cutoff.

[Taeshan]

It was a big match for both sides as the Purple Knights faced off against strong opposition in a similarly ranked squad in Apox. The teams were both ready to attempt to keep pace with a perfect top 2 and keep themselves from falling off the pace any more than they already had. With the Knights playing in front of perhaps the most hostile international crowd for any visitor in the Atlantea Coliseum. With much of the nation in attendance, and a chance to push for the lone third spot in the group the whole country was ready for an exciting match.

Boy did they get an exciting match. From start to finish it was a back and forth affair that really had everyone in each country on the edge, as well as many neutrals. With the Knights scoring first off a fantastic header from Miles Snavely it seemed that the home team was ready to make their impact. But Apox proved more than willing to fight back taking a lead before half with 2 impressive goals. The Knights however did not hold their heads in shame as they pushed the envelope in the second half. Aleksandr Denisov would make it a tie game shortly after halftime with an impressive volley. But it seemed after that that both sides seemed rather unable to capitalize on their chances and it seemed that maybe both sides would end the day with slightly less than they had hoped for.

But there was a decisive goal and it was for the home side. With the time coming close to an end for a winning goal Janson Jewsbury proved to be in as good a form as any getting his 4th assist of the qualifying campaign with a nice chipped through ball that found the feet of substitute Johnson Salazar who scored his first international goal in perhaps the mecca of Taeshani football. Just a few minutes later the whistle blew, and the crowd got the result it wanted. With Eura on the schedule in two weeks it seems the Knights could be looking ahead, but hopefully they don't look past an interesting matchup with Ko-oren a feisty squad with some history, who while the Taeshan team has never played them in soccer before they have met in various other sports.

[Eshan]

Rosaria Daily Herald | Sporting Section
Hiccup Hiccup

Rolling into matchday four, Eshan was looking to turn all guns blazing to The Kaiser Colonies and smash them at home and continue their perfect winning start to the World Cup qualification campaign. Alas, it was not meant to be. Alexio del Nieran sent out the good old lads of the Echani national team with the standard starting 11 and told them to attack.

And to their credit they honestly they did a good job of that, controlling the match all ninety minutes, and playing with the usual Echani attacking style right from the first whistle. And it paid off early in the first half when Artemis Montanari was fouled near the center-circle for a free-kick, which Jean-Marie Bentacur took, lifting it towards the golden zone around the penalty spot. It fell, fell, aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd…….fell to Anthony Baudelio’s powerful head, bashing it past the Kaiser Colonies goalkeeper to make it 1-0 in the fourteenth minute.

Despite coming back time and time again in elegant attacking movements, it was the opposition that scored the next goal. We had a nice spell of attacking possession which came to an unlucky end when Samper Markovic misplaced a long pass to one of their midfielders. From there, he dribbled up the field and he managed to get past Artemis Montanari before playing the ball out wide to his teammate on the right wing. He knocked the ball up the wing, a fake pass, and then a cross into the center which was blasted home with a fantastic volley from the Kaiser Colonies striker to tie it up 1-1 in the 37th minute.

And that was a scoreline that held until halftime, with Eshan looking good in attacking possession and all the more likely to score despite a momentary hiccup with the goal in the 37th minute.

Yet it took a while for anything to really get going, with Montanari pulling up short with a pulled hamstring in the 53rd minute the required Brutus to be subbed in for him in an injury replacement. And then in the 59th minute, it all came together when Darren Tran hacked down one their players in the box, was lucky to escape with a yellow, and gave away a penalty kick which was hit beauuuuuuutifully up into the upper right hand corner, seriously great kick, that’s exactly how you do it right there. Jerks. 1-2 to The Kaiser Colonies.

Magnum came in for Marshawn Mercury in the 67th minute, while Jean-Pol Roland came in for Jean-Marie Bentacur in the 71st minute. Time was running out, and we needed a goal. Steven Tadeo chased down a long ball with a couple of seconds left in the 78th minute, and dribbled it upfield for a little bit before passing the ball to Samper Markovic, who quickly slide it up through to Jean-Marie Bentacur when he became open. The 30 year old sliced and diced past two opposing players before passing to Roland, who hit a nice one time ball up to Anthony Baudelio, who hit a through ball for Marco van Ciavatinni. One touch, two touch, shot annnnddddd…. saved! Oh no! Oh wait! Saved right into Anthony Baudelio’s path, with the powerful striker smashing it so hard into the back of a beautiful, unprotected net from 13 yards out that the net seemed close to breaking.

Despite a frantic last 15 minutes of time with Eshan attacking attacking attacking like waves crashing into rocks except the waves are crocodiles and the rocks are water buffalo except the crocodiles are killer whales and the water buffalo are actually seals stranded on a piece of ice except the killer whales are the Echani players and the seals stranded on a piece of ice are actually seals stranded on a piece of ice because the Echani players can play against anything and anyone!

But yeah in the end we didn’t score h (six minutes later) a (six minutes later) h (six minutes later) a (six minutes later) h (six minutes later) a (six minutes later) and the game finished 2-2 so now we’re tied for first but sit in the second with ten points from 12 heading into the fifth matchday so, let’s go lads!

---

---

The situation in South Covello was continuing to unfold and it certainly seemed as if Lord of nothing Almighty to no one Gregory was well and truly contained and would be struck forever from this world. The Covellans could breathe easier with their maniacal tyrant gone for good, and the realm as a whole could look to the future with hope.

Thank god Gregory had been removed from power, he represented a dangerous force to just about everyone and the world was far better off with him gone. And seeing his soldiers march through South Covello and watch Echani tanks blow past opposition and just the sheer joy of victory, that was pretty sweet too. But now things had settled, and the euphoria of war was rapidly fading as the next stage of things came closer to setting in motion. And it was damn boring for Revan. With the trial of Gregory inching closer to getting underway, the Echani Republic had been forced to take a few steps back, which wasn’t entirely the worst things as it allowed the coalition forces to regroup and enjoy their success and maintain the peace. As Gregory never threatened his country, Eshan was never insulted or thrown on the enemies list or had any Echani killed or anything of that variety at all, so President Revan and Eshan had no part to play in the trial in testimony, so for now the Echani would continue to keep things safe and orderly. Nothing to do but sit around and maintain a military presence in South Covello and wait until the next stage of the process, when the national building process began, and that’s where Eshan may be of more use. Revan wanted a faction that was pro-Eshan and were hopefully good little regulated capitalists who would buy Echani products, and it did remain to be seen what the Covellans intended to do with all the excess military hardware. Which begged the question, would the Covellans retain all those nukes and everything and have the same powerful military they used to have but were now at least morally decent? Would they split up into a bunch of states or split or be commies or capitalists or greenies or who knows what. So much was yet to unfold, it was very exciting to be a part of. Much remained to be seen and he was happy to wait for the right moment.

His thoughts turned towards Lucorias, the Echani colony and economic powerhouse thanks to the plentiful labor provided by the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. It had come to produce a substantial amount of income for the Republic of Eshan in the near two years since Revan had negotiated its purchase in the name of Eshan and took his first step in spreading the sweet, sweet tender love of Eshan throughout the world. Due to that economic power, Lucorias was a very valuable and strategic asset; it was certainly well defended to be fair, but it also had strategic value as a bargaining chip. And it was with that in mind that he had offered partial investment to the Sporting Principality of Qasden for just a nominal fee and small percentage of profit.

It was a good looking move for him and the Republic of Eshan especially with the increased attention being given to foreign affairs by citizens around the realm thanks to the noble fight in South Covello and Gregory’s impending trial; the image of Eshan sharing some of the sweet love back home with Qasden back home in Atlantian Oceania was sure to be well received. Plus, the very real economic benefits that the Sporting Principalities investment would bring to their nation would be of some boon to them as well. Eshan looks good and draws another nation into their sphere of influence, always a good day. Atlantian Oceania was without a doubt the best realm in the region, and anything Revan could do to further that a task worth doing.

So for now, Eshan waited. But with Gregory looking set to go behind bars for…well……pretty much for the rest of the lifespan of the universe and then some, things were looking bright for the realm as the forces of good triumphed over the meanie Gregory!

[95X]

/me cannot into politics.

The usual cast of characters was at the SC Oceanside administrative offices in Oceanside, 95X. Located in a mid-rise building overlooking the ocean, the private suite was accessible only by private elevators, and had other security. As such, a meeting that had a little more to do than just sports business was taking place in a well-furnished conference room. A small, standard definition TV sat in the corner of the room and was on at a low volume, though nobody was paying attention to it.

"I dunno," Bo Foureleven commented while lounging on a comfortable loveseat. He'd gotten in shape since finding his way back to 95X, but still too weak to play competitively. "I set out to become a sports player instead of a politician. I just want to do other things in life than running a country."

"It's not all that difficult," Floyd Grey, former player, business owner, and current SC Oceanside technical manager, commented. "And a lot of things like showing up everyday and being part of a team aren't all that different."

"Well," Jason Ninetyfivex added, "we are the most internationally-known people in the country. For some of us, someone wants it done and we can make it so. And this is the right time. Nobody is forcing us to make this announcement. We're just 'concerned members of the community stepping up to make a difference.' That sounds a lot better than an official title doesn't it?"

A door opens quickly and slams shut.

"How dare you!" Xi Foureleven commented angrily, after reading through the brief document. "I cannot imagine why this discussion is taking place! We should just appoint someone and handle it that way!"

Everyone in the room stared blankly at her.

"That's what we're doing," Ninetyfivex replied. "And 'just make the decision' is actually a valid decision-making policy."

"That does not mean I like the idea!"

"I don't like it either," Ninetyfivex responded to her. "But it does work. I do the same when making big decisions."

"Everyone," Chrystal Grey, Floyd's wife and at his side, cautioned. "We're all in on this. And we all have other resources we can tap into."

Sounds from a cell phone broke the serious nature of the meeting, causing everyone to look at the person who used it.

"It's all good to me," Britny Sierra, SC Oceanside's online media coordinator, joined the bandwagon. "I just take cute pictures and post them online."

"I've always wanted to ask," Bo Foureleven inquired, "how does that help a bunch of former soccer players that are about to form a new national government?"

"I can make you look good," Sierra commented with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

As she said that, someone noticed something on the TV and turned up the volume. The image on the screen was a man with black hair and a beard seated at a desk, with several 95X flags behind him, and two mercenaries in full body armor and automatic assault rifles on either side.

"I am James Sixsixtysix," the seated man announced, "I have secured control of several key facilities in Pacific City, 95X, and as Pacific City is the capital, I hereby declare myself President of the country and all its territories! Those who disagree shall have declared war and shall face a televised war tribunal!"

Jason Ninetyfivex facepalmed and responded, "crud, we're too late."

[Banija]

Mujaguzo, Busukuma, National Capitol Region, Banija

Mujaguzo. The palace of Kabakas since independence in 1906 from the Royal Kingdom of Quebec. Kabaka Albert III was back from his visit to Bostopia, his very first visit as the monarch to a foreign country. And, of course, the first Banijan monarch, inheritor of the Chiefs of the Kisanke Tribe, had felt that his trip had gone extremely well.

"Honey, I think the Emperor liked us. He certainly enjoyed the leopard skin I gave him- a very personal gift. It was a great game that we got to watch! Even though, most unfortunately, the Kadongo Kamu lost." And the words of the Banijan monarch rang true. Even though the Emperor had a weird twitch thing going on with his eye- Albert III had privately wondered if it was a medical condition, but that wasn't something he would dare ask a fellow head of state- they did seem to get along quite well. He was given a nice gift about the Royal House of Bostopia, which was a topic that had fascinated Albert III.

"Al, you've got to learn a proper handshake." Said the Luguba. She was the only person in the country who didn't have to say your majesty before talking to him. Perks of being his wife. But that was only in private- when there was company, she said 'Your Majesty' as well. The Kabaka was a figure that could be pushed around, and his wife knew all the right buttons. "You can't let foreign leaders crush your hands like that! That's embarrassing for you, for the Royal House, for the country. People won't respect you for it. Now, if you just-"

"That's enough!" Said the Kabaka. "I am the Kabaka- nobody cares about a handshake. My subjects bow before me, and my equals don't care about a handshake. Besides, you know how bad it would look if the Kabaka were to learn a handshake from a woman? I'd get run out of town!" And it was true. Banija, a deeply socially conservative society, would frown upon that. But who would know? They were husband and wife, and she certainly wouldn't tell anybody. If he was no longer Kabaka, she would be relegated to Queen Mother. "OK, my Luguba, you can teach me." Said the Kabaka. "But we'll go over it later."

She sighed. "OK, Your Majesty. Now, of course, here's the other issue I wanted to discuss- the Kyabazinga. Specifically, your youngest sister. Did you want to marry her off to the Emperor? You can't do that! She is an independent woman. You have to let her make her own choices!"

"Yes, I know!" Shot back the Kabaka. "But I wanted to form an alliance that will bind Bostopia and the Kingdom of Banija. What better way to form an alliance then to marry her off? We'll have to write a letter to the Emperor though, to try and figure out those details. Even if he isn't directly interested, I am sure there are princes who would want a wife. She is single, she is of royal blood, and she can't be called back to Banija as she is not eligible for the throne herself. What more could you want?"

"How many of our people have married a white man?" Asked the Lubuga. "You're going to give her off to a white man? It hasn't happened for a royal in how long? Not since the days of the Quebecois colonization of this great land. Banijan royals have always married locally, have always married Mormons, for hundreds and hundreds of years, bar the time when we had pretenders. Banijan royals have always lived here, in Banija. Married the sons and daughters of clan leaders. Now, we're going to send her off, to marry some foreign royal? What about her child? Would her son, Kagere Seninde, be eligible for the throne of Bostopia?"

"Kagere Seninde won't be eligible for any throne, my love." Said the Kabaka. "He is not of Bostopian royal blood- he'd simply be adopted. I haven't studied foreign royal marriages, as that is something Banijans haven't traditionally done, but why not? It's done literally everywhere else. We need to pull this nation forward. We need to globalize this country. We aren't a rich people, but we have culture! But I'll write a letter to Emperor Boston, inquiring about his interest, or the interest of any members of his house."

"You aren't going to ask the Kyabazinga??" Luguba Iriama was fuming.

"She'll be fine! She'll say yes!" Replied the Kabaka. "Plus, you know the ancient rules of this House. The marriages of all members of this house go through me, regardless. I have the power of coercion. Now, leave me in peace- let me get this letter written." Luguba Iriama, angry, did the tiniest of curtsies, and stormed out of the room. The Kabaka sighed. He would have to deal with his wife later. But for now? The research.

He had the book just sent to him by Emperor Boston. He scanned through the family tree- he looked at a person named Prince Michael. He seemed the same age range of the Kyabazinga. HRH Matthias, The Duke of Drangmorie. He looked at the biography, and quickly decided that he liked it. He would send a whatsapp message to his sister, telling her to come as soon as possible to the Mujaguzo. He had important news to deliver that would change her future....

[Mriin]

"...what the hell are you doing?" Solara cocked an eyebrow at Hilda, who was standing in front of the restroom mirror while holding a thin paintbrush to her forehead.

"I heard this thing where humans think dæmons look kinda like us, mostly the horns, so I got the idea to make myself up like one!"

"So you're using face paint?"

"Yeah, they've got all these shapes that are used for evil things, like blood sacrifices and stuff like that." Hilda turned and showed off the red-and-black inverted cross just above her nose. "Pretty scary, right?"

"If you think so," Sol chuckled, "I might've joined you if we weren't about to be streamed to millions of people."

"Aw, you're no fun."

---

If the Christopherians were intimidated by Hilda's getup, they certainly weren't showing it. Is she laughing at me?! The Dæmons midfielder glared daggers at Rachel Del Arro across the line. I'll show that twerp.

But it wasn't to be--at least not yet, as Del Arro seemed to be preferring her right, and doing so effectively. There was a stable back-and-forth as the teams traded possession back and forth for the first few minutes, but Del Arro consistently pushed a little farther than Joren could, and the patented Christopherian defense kept the strikers well-covered. Between the trio of Pirates--a proper well-oiled machine--and Michael Campbell's experience against Solara in the Sabrefell derbies, if there's any defense that could keep Mriin clammed up, it'd be this one.

And eventually, Joren took a risk and tried to get the ball to a dangerously deep Aldo, figuring even if it goes wrong it'll set back the next drive a bit. But when Tomas Nazario-Silva cut it off with a head bash, and sent it over to Rian Corrella, the latter wasted no time belting it downfield. Whether it was a brilliant pass or just a lucky clear, we'll never know, but it found Del Arro nonetheless and left the Mriinian midfield feeling very out of position. Uhlon tried to come down hard on her, but she nimbly ducked past the lumbering back and neared the box. Gerard managed to contest her more effectively, but she took the slim window of opportunity while the midfield was still collapsing in to cut backwards, freeing up just enough space to lateral it for Aurora Quiñones, who found herself on the correct side of Reina and immediately sent it into the red zone. Zilia threw herself to the right, but was off-balance from expecting an offering for Del Arro--it passed just below her outstretched arm, and the Christopherians had an uncharacteristically early lead.

For the next kickoff, Hilda moved with a plan--as did the rest of the team, quickly pressing forward with Lasser on the ball this time, prodding to see if the winning side would have their guard down for even a moment--though before they really got an answer to that, Hilda made a show of tripping over herself and toppling onto Del Arro. They didn't go down particularly hard, but with nearly a foot and a half between them there was no question that they were going down, prompting Lasser to kick it out just in case. While Hilda pro-offered a hand to help her up, the ref was giving a stern look--not quite having been watching close enough to determine intent and whip out the yellow, but a very clear "you're on thin ice." The fallen-on got up shortly thereafter, taking the hand, but looked a little worse for wear--extra disheveled and glancing warily up at the satyrs towering over her. Hilda waited for that ref to turn around again and “threw the horns” (another quaint human mysticism she’d found) to the Mriinians who’d made their way to the Republic of Port Christopher, and they just ate it up.

Play started back up with the ball getting sent back to Zilia, and the whole drive started over again--Joren making a note to trot past Hilda with a “really?”--and going a bit smoother this time, finding the passes to keep things moving forward, eventually finding Solara close enough to rip off a shot and forcing the tip-over for a corner. Joren sent it right into the mass, not even trying to outsmart the Christophian defense, where with a mighty leap Campbell managed to rob Solara of her header, but also could only send it well high over the net and out of play.

But he didn’t land quite right. And before the ball found its way back to Joren for the throw-in, a tight-lipped Jim Reid motioned for Aris Villaloba to take his place as he limped off the field. Reina smiled and waved as her Mayana Islanders teammate came on, and then elbowed Malia--“she’s playing out of position, pass it along.”

Right away, the balance seemed off with the impromptu substitution. Joren threw it in to an inexplicably wide-open Lasser, who in turn turned and crossed it right back into the box for Solara to get another shot. And while she got her horns on it, it wasn’t the most solid--came off a little slow and gave Scott Torrance a second to get in front of it… but at an angle that he couldn’t get his hands on it, and it banged off his arm and right back to Solara. With Torrance’s momentum still carrying him, Solara just had to tap it back over the line.

Despite the early lead for Port Christopher, the momentum had already gone well out of their favor. But they held on and managed to stem the bleeding; the next fifteen or so minutes was basically a solid block of Mriinian possession in the Christopherian half, but Torrance was putting in his marks and making save after save, while Rian Corrello and Liam Goncalves put even more into their game to keep the wings locked down so Villaloba could focus everything on keeping Aldo at bay. But the casters across all the broadcasts echoed a similar thought--it was only a matter of time before something slipped and the draw broke. And of course, it took until stoppage time for Corrello to lose track of Lasser for just a moment, giving him space to rear back and blast one into the top-right corner and sending the Mriinian contingent into a frenzy.

As half-time was called, Maas wandered up to Don. “Talk about adding insult to--oof!” The dragon gave an appreciative nod to Janna, who had taken Maas into a sleeper hold. Better than being on fire, right?

But, alas, Hilda had gotten to complacent with the wide berth Del Arro had been giving her in the first half. A straight-up challenge caught her off-guard, and the Mriin backline just disintegrated at the sudden and immense pressure of the Christopherians rushing forward to try and get a point back; after chaotic scuffle Magnus Kellur was in the right spot at the right time to slot one past Kalia.

But, alas, this just pissed Hilda off even more. And not even the normal punchy pissed, but the I’ll show you pissed. Hilda made a show of her charges being reckless, sparking very satisfying flinches from whoever happened to be standing in front of her, but with a pinpoint focus on never being head-on and turning clear with well enough space to keep the refs happy. The rest of the Mriinians caught on pretty quick with how much ground she made, and joined in on the bullrush, sending every else onto the back foot, leading to a conglomeration in the back-center in an unplanned attempt to park the bus--leaving Malia wide open on the right side fire an uncontested laser.

The Christopherians were spent at this point. After all the extra effort trying to patch up the hole in their formation, and even featuring multiple extra-aggressive drives that worked, they were still behind. The final goal was far less dramatic than the five that had preceded it--Thomas Sanchez badly lost a scuffle with Aldo, freeing up the latter to serve it up to Solara, who then just ran past a huffing Nazario-Silva to put the nail in the coffin.

[Flardania]

The Aincrad
Akihabara |Kirishima

---

The sound of a whistle three times meant on thing, the end of the match. Miguel Tamayo looked up at the score board and frown while wiping sweat with his shirt. The score line read Kirishima 5 and Sulsuland 3. A score that was too close for comfort considering the team's previous matches against this squad...perhaps he was just more self-conscious because of their previous loss to Electrum. As Miguel looked over towards the manager, he saw Seong Mi-Soo already walking off the field into the tunnel waving from behind. "Oh yeah Mi-Soo was pretty pissed the day after we beat electrum.

*Flashback*

Mi-Soo: "Damn them!" Mi-Soo yelled in the conference room of the Hotel where a team meeting was suppose to be held. She was holding a copy the Centralis Herald in her hands.

Miguel walked into the conference room holding a protein shake looking confused.

Miyoko Hojo: "Honestly, you win one World Cup and you get a massive ego" Miyoko stated shaking her head.

Miguel: Uhh what's going on?

Ako Izumi: "Well um looks like we were looked down upon by the local media and relegated to a one sided rivalry when we don't consider Electrum to be a rival at all."

Mi-Soo: "Like hell we are! We haven't played them in Goddess knows when and these pricks think we care about them! The pretentious bastards that's all this dump of a nation is good for!" Mi-Soo continued ranting in Japanese

Miguel: "Uh I get that I mean the personality change....I never seen her this....angry before...

Ako: *Giggles* Oh yeah this is only your second cycle on the team. Well Mi-Soo used to be a tough yanki who used to be in a gang before finding football....she even used to be an enforcer back in the day. She has mellowed with age but....

Joseph Yabuta: But stuff like this sets her off. So now is the worst time to slack off in practice *laughs*

*End Flashback*

Miguel felt a pat on his back and looked to see Ako Izumi.

Ako: Don't worry about her, she just needs some time to herself before she talks to the press. Now lets go line up and thank our fans for coming! Ako stated with a smile. Miguel nodded and headed over with the rest of the team.

"Sure we gave up a lot of goals but a win is a win....let's keep it up!" Miguel thought as the team lined up and bowed. It was still early in the campaign after all.

Later at the Press Conference:

Mi-Soo: "Well our opponents pushed us and tried to break us. They were aggressive and sought to overwhelm us. I can respect that. We were like that when I still played on this team. We stayed calm and dug in and ultimately we pulled out the win. That is what matters, we wanted 3 points and we got 3 points. Now that doesn't mean we don't care how sloppy or not the performance is...we always have to see our flaws and improve. It's just that at the end of the day whether it's by 1 0r 7 a win is a win and so long as we win we don't need to worry about a tie breaker based on goal difference down the line....Next question.

Reporter: "Can you give us your thoughts on the Centralis Herald...

Mi-Soo: Mi-Soo felt her eyebrow twitch. "No it is irrelevant, we played them and we lost. If they want to focus on our record so be it they have that right but the fact of the matters is we are not rivals. Infrequent meetings with predicable outcomes in all but the last match is not a rivalry. Valanora....that's a rival, Cosumar, Acronius, Devonta, Armeia, Anglatia, etc. Those are rivarlry. Tough match ups with storylines, interest, and plainly put competition. No more questions.

[Pasarga]

Torgos Tribune ~ Is Pasarga Football Progressing?

For a long time, there has been a belief that despite a decent national team side, that Pasarga football as a whole had become stagnant or even began to decline, as the SuperLiga seemingly just did not measure up to other leagues among the footballing powers. While it was always a decent league, there was no real thought that it was anywhere near one of the best leagues in the world, and the UICA results of Pasargan clubs so often failing the preliminary rounds or during the group stages seemed to echo this idea. However when Tani won the Cygnus Cup two years ago and Stein-los Turkish made the Final two years before that, it seemed to have started a shift for not just those two clubs but for the league as a whole. This seems to have been punctuated this year when Tani made it all the way into the Semifinals of the Champions' Cup and then CAP won the Copa de Campeones, defeating one of Nephara's best clubs in the process. That is some feat for a club and league that was seen as something of just a middling bit when compared to what is supposed to be one of the best clubs in the best domestic league in the world.

However at the same time that the domestic clubs are seemingly getting better, attracting national team players from all across the world to the SuperLiga, the national team has seem to taken a dip in its fortunes with having lost multiple chances at taking the Copa Rushmori home on home soil and the results in the World Cup not having been to the same standard when they made three Finals in a row. While an inevitable dip in form from those six wonderful years was expected, as the golden generation began to age out and retire from their playing careers, the fall nearly being a second seed in the Qualifiers was something that few would have expected after that meteoric rise for the Wanderers. While the national team has an (in)famous history for massive inconsistency, it had over a decade seemingly banished those foes and rewritten the tradition of the national team, replacing inconsistency with a high standard of both play and success, with young players who seemed up to the task of taking over for their elders given the Young Wanderers' exploits in the Di Bradini Cup.

Thus we must look at the recent to truly get a full grasp of the situation and to answer the lingering question is if as a whole, is Pasarga football back on the ascension or has it stalled or even began to decline back towards mediocrity? It is true that the Wanderers somehow were able to progress out of their group from Cosumar-Bonesea, but were then humiliated in the knockout round of last World Cup. The defeat to Eastfield Lodge in the Copa Rushmori in Pasarga in the Final was another stinging blow to the ego and pride of the Wanderers, though the squad had seemingly come together under the new management team and produced a good style of football, with that extending to the DBC, where the Young Wanderers played well but were ultimately short of the required skill to win the competition. This all seems to suggest that the Wanderers have stagnated though the club results seem to suggest that Pasargan football is indeed once more on the rise.

So we come then to the very recent and how the national team is playing right now in the Qualifiers and the start of the campaign was not great with the draw against Port Christopher, one of the sides that was highlighted as being the largest threat to Wanderers' chances of advancing to the Finals from their qualifying group. However three wins from the other three matches, including a trip into Devonta in the most recent where the Wanderers escaped with a very hard earned three points seems to show that the squad is handling expectation and smoothing out the edges of the squad. So on the whole, Pasargan football seems to be on a slow ascension though a good run in this World Cup, where qualifying out of this somewhat difficult group would still be expected, such a trip to the Quarterfinals could change that view to a solid uptick. Either way, ascension is easier to do than it is to maintain, as the turover at the top of the rankings, including the rapid rise of the likes of Schottia and Chromatika, shows in great detail. The Wanderers and the SuperLiga now have made their strides forward, but they must yet continue forward and maintain the pace they have set before them.

[Drawkland]

When your results come late because you decided you'd relive your childhood and the game decided to pull the largest amount of bullshit ever created

im salty here's your cutoff and results