World Cup 79 • CREDRAWK • RP Thread

[Banija]

Pair of Qualifying victories breathes life back into the Kadongo Kamu


Banijans celebrate goal by Flomo Osei(#14) in 3-1 away victory over the Kiaser Colonies

BWUBANZA CITY- The Kadongo Kamu lost three of their first four World Cup Qualifiers, all of them by one goal, to kick off the Qualifying Campaign for World Cup 79. Even though Matchday 3 saw the Kadongo Kamu deliver a 4-0 thrashing on home soil to Reuss-Lippe, Banija was largely very close, but no cigar. A 4-3 loss to kick off qualifying at home against Boring Paradise hurt, but it hurt even more to have the Kabaka travel thousands of miles to watch them play, and lose 2-1 on a header by the 41 year old Bostopian Adam Fletcher. It was not a fun opening to the tournament, but a 4-0 win made sure things did not go off the rails. Another close away loss, this one by a score of 3-2 to Eastfield Lodge, left a bad taste in the mouth of the national team.

Their visit to Parliament Stadium was not a good time. They went down 2-0 quickly, and then, after clawing a goal back thanks to subsitute Matthias Muhumuza scoring in the 67th minute, they responded just a few minutes later to give themselves a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead over the Kadongo Kamu. Kiggwe Mavuto score one more in stoppage time to make the score a respectable 3-2, but the gap was wider than that on the field. But the frustration was mounting for this team. 3 losses for this squad, all by one goal against higher ranked opponents only enraged players, because it made them oh so close, but yet, left them so far away from their goals.

But everything changed against Eshan. Yet another top 60 opponent made the trek to Banija- there were four top 60 opponents for Banija to face in this group alone. Even though Eshan was much favored, Banija played what was probably, rather, what was easily, their best qualifier to date. It was a 2-1 upset victory over the #34 squad in international football, and boy, was it a relief. Banija had actually opened the scoring in the 56th minute, with Mavuto from a free kick that stunned Eshan and gave the Kadongo Kamu the lead. Anthony Baudelio, who entered the tournament with 104 international caps at the ripe young age, of 25, equalized in the 70th. It was an ominous feeling for the Banijans- would they concede yet another ranked goal and fall, yet again, by one goal?

The Kadongo Kamu, however, found a way to flip the script. In the 79th minute, Elias Abate lifted a perfect cross to the middle, where George Wangolo, the team captain, whose own goal cost them the game against Boring Paradise, was there and sent the PG Arena into a frenzy, and it saw the entire arena explode. The Kadongo Kamu fans went crazy, as the stadium became deafening. The team held out for the last 10 minutes, and in a very interesting decision, no stoppage time was given as the final whistle was blown as soon as the clock went to 90. It was a 2-1 victory for Banija, and the nation was celebrating.

However, one win by itself always means nothing, and they had a tough trip to the Kiaser Colonies to follow up their upset victory over Eshan. However, they were in control of this game, and won, 3-1. They opened scoring in the 12th, with Isaac Georgiadis scoring, and then Okafor scoring immediately before halftime to give the squad a 2-0 lead at the break. Beau Brooker cut the lead in half in the 65th, but a devastating counter-attack saw substitute Flomo Osei put the finishing touches on the 3-1 away victory in the 87th minute. It is Banija's first away victory of the qualification campaign.

Now, of course, they have two home games. They are favored in their home game against Lambdasia, who are ranked 285th in the world. They must stay focused on their opponent, however, and beat them in Bwubanza City. Bwubanza City is always a hellhole of a place for opponents to visit, so Banija should be able to get 3. But then, they have a visit from a top 5 Chromatika. That will be an extremely tough game, as Chromatika have taken 16 out of a possible 18 so far. We'll see if Banija's return to the nation's capitol will be able to inspire this side to get at least a point against Chromatika.

But first! Lambdasia. They are in 9th place in group play, with only 4 points through 6 games. Banija, however, need the 3 points, and must execute their gameplan. The offense will go through Mavuto. We ultimately expect that the Banijans will cruise by a score of 2-0, before they welcome a top 5 opponent into the Mugisha III Memorial Stadium. Hopefully they will find a way to make it 9 points from the last 3 points, to keep the momentum going before the giants of international football pay their visit.

[Darmen]

Darmen enters match against San José Guayabal on 3 game winning streak
Darmen reverse Olympic scoreline against Abaja

Following its 4-1 victory over the Isles of Avon, Darmen defeated Amazonesta 2-1, in a rather straight forward match. Felix Lucanus scored his 34th all-time goal in the 33rd minute, and Zachariah Butler added another in the 68th minute to give Darmen the lead and victory.

Having lost to the Abajan women's national team in the Olympic Round of Sixteen, 3-5, it came as quite a shock that the scoreline of last nights men's match read 5-3, in favor of Darmen. The victory is the third in a row for the All Greens, coming at just the right time for the team as they prepare to face Group 15's top ranked team, San José Guayabal, in Johnho next Wednesday.

Now comes the real test however, as Darmen will host the Guayabalense at the 70,000 seat Stadio Rushmore in Johnho. According to Guayabalense records, this will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams. Of the previous seven matches, Darmen has won five of them, clearly dominating the rivalry. However, the situation has changed, with the Guayabalense now ranked inside the top 10, while Darmen is ranked 57th.

Furthermore, the two teams are tied in the Group 15 table, each having a record of 4-1-1 in its first six matches. Darmen is clearly the more offensively minded team, having scored 17 goals to the Guayabalense 10, but San José Guayabal has allowed only four goals so far compared to the 11 of the All Greens. A Darmeni victory would go a long way towards making Darmen a true front runner in the group. Currently, six of the ten teams in the group are within four points of first place, four of those teams are tied with first on 13 points. Besides the All Greens and Guayabalense, group leaders Jeruselem and Super-Llamaland all have a 4-1-1 record so far. While Group 8 is certainly the Group of Death (see Apox, Eura, Ko-oren, Nephara and Taeshan), Group 15 is certainly shaping up to be the most tightly contest group in these qualifiers.

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Lineup against Amazonesta: Campo - Messer, Abbey (Coghlan 82'), Porsche - Goldschmidt - Ó Cuilinn, Benbow, Butler, Gordon (Stafford 65') - Lucanus (Firmin 71'), Norton
Goals: Lucanus 33', Butler 68'

Lineup against Abaja: Campo - Messer (Virgo 72'), Coghlan, Porsche - Ramírez - Mac Pharlain, Parks (Benbow 72'), Byrnes, Gordon - Firmin, Russell (Blackwood 60')
Goals: Firmin 17' & 81', Blackwood 61', Benbow 77', Porsche 88'

Lineup against San José Guayabal: Campo - Messer, Abbey, Porsche - Goldschmidt - Ó Cuilinn, Benbow, Butler, Gordon - Lucanus, Norton (Available Subs: Abram - Virgo, Coghlan - Mac Pharlain, Winton, Stafford - Firmin)

[Ko-oren]

Katanmak Juliasterinthen was sat in his office at the national team's training facility. Looking out the window of his office, he had a perfect view of the training pitches just outside the association's facilities. Katanmak, being the head coach of the national team, has a lot of power, but there's forces even higher than him that could decide whether he'd be still the national team coach or just another washed up ex-player that tried to translate a successful playing career into a successful coaching career, but failed. Katanmak also knew that he'd still have a lot of credit with the media, being a successful player who'd just done away with his cleats a little over a year ago, and that his bosses were still happy with the performance. The media were expecting a qualification berth at the least, despite the fact that a lot of the core of the team that took Ko-oren to great heights had retired. The national association's bosses were a lot more lenient: they knew this and would give him some more time. And then there was a third big party he was very dependent on. The players themselves. Katanmak picked the team himself, a balance between young and old. Young players were always viewed a bit differently in the media, being unproven, they never got the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, if the players no longer believed in his methods, the other two parties would soon follow. Now, with experience with the Dragonflies he could probably land a cushy coaching job in the second division, or a risky stint with a daring first division team, or maybe just leave the archipelago for a little to try his luck in a foreign league. He'd thought a bit about that, but then resolutely shook those thoughts out of his head. It wasn't the time to think about that yet. Ko-oren has an unproven squad, that won't make the World Cup, could maybe lift them to a Cup of Harmony if lucky, and with time this team could achieve great things again. That's the focus, and a bad performance here and there wasn't hurting his chances too much. Yet. There was always that little doubt in the back of his mind, but he had always managed to keep that small voice to himself. At least... there was one that could hear and understand that quiet voice.

Looking out the window once more, his team walked on with the assistant coaches for the warmup. The youngsters, Yamaoka, Benjamin, Theshendan, Valente, Duchemin, Ensaunden and Pirastadhaunden. The patient veterans on the bench, Macedo, Davenport, Denis, Didier, and De Meester. Katherine Davenport... now she's given him hell for his choices earlier. On the pitch choices, she's lectured him about for nearly a decade and a half, and they were now in the strange position that they were equals for so long, sharing responsibilities in the heart of the defence. Now he was in an office, about to tell that group of 23 what to do, and she was on the pitch, mentoring rookies, actually playing the beautiful game. His thoughts wandered off again, and he shook his head once more, as if to physically shake the thoughts out of his head to make room for the task at hand. The plan for today, the plan for Rotztotzka, on the back of four points in two straight matches, versus Al Qurija and Taeshan. Especially the latter was a nice surprise, keeping the points home against a superior team... on paper.

Just a couple weeks prior, Katherine had told him off for his risky starting some rookies against Natanians and Nosts, and promptly lost the game. Katanmak switched to a conservative lineup versus Al Qurija, a bit on par with Ko-oren's play nowadays, and split the points. A loss and a draw for the team, but a small victory for Katanmak. Young or old, it didn't matter much. A conservative team against a beatable opponent made no difference. The veterans that the media liked to see on the team sheet couldn't make magic happen more than the rookies. Most of all though, it was Katherine that changed his mind on what to start and how to approach this team. Both were fundamentally defensive in style, but Katanmak's possession-based risky man-to-man defence wasn't always to Katherine's liking, who is used to a slow, strategic, counter-based defence. Katanmak had learned that he shouldn't change his tactics based on the opinion of one player. Katherine wasn't just a player, they always had to be on the same page on the pitch or else the Dragonflies were about to concede a goal.

The win over Taeshan was something different. He went with a combination of young and old players, 23-year-old Yamaoka between the 30-somethings Lacan and Morrow in defence. Yokota next to Arevalo on midfield. And that combination paid off.

Next game was against Rotztotzka. He was too proud to admit that his tactics had changed because of Katherine, but he will roll with the combination of young and old again. Not as risky and renewing as he'd like, but this was an opponent that they could make something happen against. As much as he pondered about his next coaching job in case the national team stint wouldn't work out, he hadn't exactly considered what he'd do if this next game would end disappointingly.

[Turori]

Cocoa-bo, an establishment taking its name directly from the beloved national animal of Turori, started as a small dessert shop in Kionao. However, it was only after they added chocolate topped drinks to their menu that their popularity started to soar. As more and more patrons scooped up their chocolate flavored pick-me-ups, demand for the Cocoa-bo product skyrocketed and soon new franchised locations were popping up all throughout Turori. Shifting to more of a social 'hang-out' then just a casual place to drop in, get a dessert, and leave, the new locations started adding small foods such as Bagels for the morning, Soups and Sandwiches for Lunch or Dinner and Salads for the entire day. Cocoa-bo has expanded outside of Vilita & Turori. Their first regional location was opened in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega and the company continues to explore avenues to further increase its image, expanding the company footprint across Atlantian Oceania and beyond.

Cocoa-bo has been taking its now-famous marketing campaign, "Everything's Better With Cocoa-bo" on the road along with the Turori National Team, bringing to bus stops, digital screens and social outlets the image of the host countries flag and backstory 'altered' to show how it would be "Better with Cocoabo"...


While they could simply take the Cocoa-bo campaign to the 9 nations that the Turori National Team would be competing against during the World Cup 79 finals, that prospect seemed both overly exclusionary due to the number of potential nations that would be left out in such a campaign, and somewhat fruitless, as some of the marketing dollars would not be well spent in the more uninteresting locales the Turori National Team, through no fault of their own, would end up during the Qualifying Cycle... such as U-62.

So the folks at Cocoa-bo decided to leave it up to a poll to see what the next nation that would be "Better with Cocoa-bo" would be!
[/i]

The first round of voting permitted participants to put forth as many nations as they wish for selection. Any nations which were not put forth as a future target for being Better with Cocoabo, as well as any nations which only received a single nomination for being Cocoa-bo'd were eliminated from consideration.

All remaining nations were once again put forth for re-distribution in a second round voting poll!

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

[ ] 95X

[ ] Aggrey-Fynn Land

[ ] Apox

[ ] Banija

[ ] Brenecia

[ ] Cassadaigua

[ ] Chromatika

[ ] Equestrian States

[ ] Eshan

[ ] Ethane

[ ] Farfadillis

[ ] Flindostan

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

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

[ ] Gregoryisgodistan

[ ] Juvencus

[ ] Kaboomlandia

[ ] Mercedini

[ ] Nephara

[ ] Northwest Kalactin

[ ] Pasarga

[ ] Schottia

[ ] Starblaydia

[ ] Turori

[ ] Valanora

[ ] Vilita

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

While one write-in candidate was received, Nukehavistan, it did not garner enough support to advance to the second round of consideration. The list of nations included in the second round of consideration reads much like a potential listing of nations which will ultimately qualify for the World Cup Finals with perhaps a few exceptions; Northwest Kalactin and Juvencus will be looking to upset the big names while upstart's Aggrey-Fynn land, Banija and Flindostan are also going to be in the discussions.

Some big names were left out of the consideration, however, including co-hosts Drawkland, World Cup Champion Electrum, The ever interesting Indusse and Darmen, a nation with a history of epic Turorian battles. Another surprising omission from the list was Sulsuland. While the sulsu did garner some support, it was not enough to continue on to the second round of voting for additional consideration.

Nations will once again be able to make multiple selections to be put forth to see if a majority winner can be found and the Cocoa-bo confectionary train could steam on in to that nation and show the citizens of that nation that everything really is better with Cocoa-bo!

[Yue Zhou]

MATCHES RELOCATED, WEN SUSPENDED AFTER NANGANG INCIDENT

YINCHENG CITY -- After what YFA President Gong Wen called "an inexcusable, embarrassing display of violence and hatred from the fans" at the Yuezhou national football team's recent match against Donner Land in Nangang, the YFA announced it would be relocating the remaining two matches set to be held in Nanhai to other cities. Additionally, in a separate announcement later that night, the YFA declared that controversial midfielder Wen Xiaoli would be suspended for two national team matches. After scoring a goal against Donner Land, Wen removed his shirt to display an undershirt that read "Free Sangau" in Yue. As could be predicted, the home crowd reacted by booing Wen, attempting to invade the pitch, and throwing flares onto the field.

"After the violence of the Nangang fans, we do not feel comfortable hosting further matches in stadiums in the People's Republic of Nanhai," YFA President Gong declared during his first announcement. "As such, we will be relocating the MD11 and MD16 matches set to be held in Nangang City to two other locations. Although we have decided that the MD11 match will be held in Jiangdong City, we still have not found a location for the MD16 match." In the second press conference, however, he attempted to address the other side with his one-game suspension of Wen Xiaoli. "Although the crowd was wrong to react the way we did, provocative behavior such as that shown by Mr. Wen falls far short of the high standards we set for our Red Dragons. As such, we will be suspending Wen Xiaoli two games without pay."

The move has sparked controversy from residents of Nangang, who claim that they are being unfairly penalized by the anti-Nanhai government. "If they really cared about Nangang City, they would try to find a way to make the crowd safer, not just relocate," outspoken Nangang Royals manager Kang Guilin declared in an emergency press conference. "The consequences of Wen Xiaoli's foolish actions are being taken out on the people who simply showed their patriotism." Hundreds of fans who gathered outside a local government office to protest seem to agree. On the other side, the Sangauese National Movement, who counted Wen among its former members before the midfielder left to play abroad for Brenecia's Lotus Park, have declined to comment on the issue.

Lineup for the next two matchdays (4-4-2/4-4-1-1): Wei; Fan, Jin, Han (C), Lin; Guo, Zhang, Hong, Xie; Fu; Jiawei

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

Dear Nations of Ordinary Reality

Please do not be alarmed at the ongoing spread of Contagious Rotting Necrosis within the Holy Empire Football Team. The situation is under control (mostly), and within the boundaries of our own nation shall not spread beyond our football team. Unfortunately, we can't make a similar promise about other nations, what with your inability to manipulate the fabric of reality, etc.

At the beginning of qualification, our greatest concern was that our squad would want to engage in pillage and rape following every away match, what with the team consisting of intergalactic space pirates known for engaging in the latter activities.

Instead, we find ourselves more concerned with a team increasingly interested in 'braaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnnsss' rather than 'aaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrr'.

We understand that you may not want your team - or your nation - to become infected with a highly contagious and virulent zombie plague that would turn not just your national football team but your entire nation into a horde of cannibalistic brain-consuming undead. Just think of the paperwork.

Now that three four members of the Imperial football team have become infected, you may believe that you have cause for concern. We recommend that you follow the below sensible precautions:

1) In any match taking place in the Holy Empire itself, your team will be immune from the impact of Contagious Rotting Necrosis; so if one of our infected undead zombie players bites one of your players during the course of one of our home matches, there's absolutely nothing to worry about! Promise.

2) In all other circumstances, we recommend that you keep at least a metre's distance between your players and any members of our team who may be infected.

3) The Holy Empire Football Association cannot be held responsible for the outcome of any situation in which one of your players has failed to keep the recommended distance from one of our infected players during a match which has taken place outside the Holy Empire.

4) You may request that any of our infected players wear muzzles during a match taking place in your nation; we shall not, however, muzzle our players unless so requested.

5) Any vaccine against Contagious Rotting Necrosis must be developed in your country without additional assistance from the Holy Empire or its designated representatives; you may, however, request unofficial assistance in developing said vaccine from a suitably qualified imperial scientist by contacting them directly rather than going through official channels. But how did you get contact details for a suitably qualified imperial scientist anyway?

6) The rest of our team remain lovable but potentially bloodthirsty intergalactic space pirates; arrrrrrrrrrrrr.

We hope that this clarifies matters during this temporary situation, and that the above guidance will be taken in the necessary spirit of goodwill during any forthcoming matches between your cute little mundy nation and the Holy Empire during World Cup 79 qualification.

Sincerely Yours,

The Holy Empire Football Association

[Equestrian States]

There are few athletes in the history of the multiverse who have lived up to the title of "legend": Juan Tzimisces, Laborious Hawk, Alan Belmore, Urk, Ari Smith, and - of course - the one and only Simeone Di Bradini. However, if there is any one player in the last two decades who has earned his place among such distinguished company, it must be Val Kylx, "The Slembanan Superman", "The First Minute Wonder", "Mr. Clutch", scorer of countless goals and layer of babes. His presence has been made known in many nations over the last 20 years, and it is high time that we examine his story completely. This is:

Part 1: A Legend is Born

Chindival “Val” Kylx was born on August 3, 1995 (Slembanan Calendar) to Trey and Jadyn Kylx at the Erivita Medical Center in Bafilo, Slembana. The youngest child in a family of five, young Val's family was one with a history of athletic success. His mother and older sister, Louise, were both successful runners in Slembana; his older brother, Jyvx, was basketball star; and his father was a footballer and coach for the Esportivan nation's most successful club: Bafilo United.

Surprisingly very little is known about Val Kylx's early childhood. Val came to despise his given name at a young age, frequently growing extremely angry at his friends and classmates who called him by it. Kylx would take out his anger on the playground's football field, where he excelled, even from an early age. It wasn't long before the young Val joined the academy at Bafilo United, his father excitedly bringing the child prodigy into the fold before his sixth birthday. There, Val was given the nickname "Wonderboy" after quickly proving his natural talent and knack for goalscoring, dominating Slembana's youth circuit alongside his teammates at Bafilo United Juniors.

By age 14, in 2009, Kylx was the brightest young star in the country and made his professional debut for Bafilo United and saw immediate success, scoring twice in his first match. In his first season as a professional, Val Kylx won the Slembanan Player of the Year, the first of seven consecutive such awards. The Slembanan star was a living legend before he'd even reached secondary school, and he'd barely begun. In 2012, the Slembanan Football Association formed a national team for the first time, and - of course - the 16 year-old Kylx was among the players selected to that very first squad, scheduled to make their debut at the King James Invitational Cup. The multiverse was about to meet Val Kylx.

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OOC Note: This RP is the first part of a series I'll be writing on the history of Val Kylx, partially based off of Slembana's old RPs, other people's writings on the infamous striker, and my own inventions. If you see anything that contradicts a previous RP that you have read or written on Val Kylx, please let me know via TG. Additionally, if you had any history with Val Kylx or Slembana and have an idea for an event that I might write about, feel free to drop me a TG or PM on the IRC, provided that it doesn't contradict established canon in which Slem's old RPs take precedence. I see Kylx as a shared character among the NS Sports community, so any contributions you make will be happily considered and appropriately credited if they are used. The next part of this series will likely deal with Val Kylx's earliest experiences in international football with Slembana.

[Ethane]

ENTV

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Explosive Sports News
Football - World Cup 79

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Dominant But Disappointing
by Danny Alexander

The Red Kites remain top of the group after a comfortable victory at home against Northwest Kalactin, but the goal total highlights concerns with the Ethanian strikers.

The game against Northwest Kalactin - at New Sarum of all places - was supposed to be a walkover for Ethane. At home, one of the best teams in the group was facing one of the worst teams in the group - the outcome was clear from the start. Ethane would dominate.

And in essence, the Ethanian team did dominate. They secured victory. 2 goals scored against Northwest Kalactin's 0. They dominated in terms of statistics. Ethane held 67% of the possession. Ethane had a 87% pass completion rate to Northwest Kalactin's 72% pass completion rate. Ethane had more shots. More shots on target. Less fouls. More corners. More set pieces. More chances. More of everything. In every statistic, and in practically every measure in football, the Ethanians dominated Northwest Kalactin.

We should celebrate that. We really should. Our 5th victory in 6 games. Top of the group. We've beaten Valladares (Ethane away), and therefore hold the advantage over them as it stands heading towards the second stage of the qualifying campaign. Our defence has been pretty strong; we've only conceded 4 goals. We appear to be heading towards qualification, and at this stage, appear to be heading towards the top spot in the group.

Yet, when looking at this specific match, and the wider context of Ethane's qualifying campaign so far, we should not shy away from where there are problems. At this stage, we should celebrate our victories. But we should not grow complacent. We should not grow confident and smug. And I believe that, after the result against Northwest Kalactin, we should in fact be doing the opposite. We should be looking at making changes, at improving the team. And also potentially worry about our strikers.

2 goals is just not an acceptable number of goals to score against such a poor team as Northwest Kalactin. Considering our team is led by 3 strikers heavily focused on scoring, and considering the amount of chances we had in the match against Northwest Kalactin, our victory against them could and should have been so much more.

Northwest Kalactin have the likes of Gibson Fernandez and Señde Folpu in defence. Not to degrade their team too much, but these aren't international-calibre players. The whole team isn't of international calibre. Let me put it into context of a game I play - RLFootSim. The match between Ethane and Northwest Kalactin wasn't like the standards of Germany vs France or Argentina. It was more like Germany vs Gibraltar. Ethane should have been scoring not 2 goals against Northwest Kalactin, but 6 or 8 goals. For an attack-focused team, 2 goals is just not enough.

Most of the games so far this campaign have also been won by narrow margins. A 1 goal difference in most of them. This just isn't good enough. We are relying on our defence to carry out team. Yet our defence isn't our strong point. It is our attack - our strikers - who should be carrying us, but it seems that our established strikers (Jaurequi and Mitchell) just aren't scoring enough goals. The explanation for this escapes me. But it must be dealt with if we want to succeed in this campaign, especially if we get to the actual world cup.

Let me put this into context. In the World Cup 78 qualifying campaign - just after Comi was brought in to manage the team - Ethane scored 41 goals across 16 matches. That's an average of 2.56 goals per match, arguably a little lower than you would hope for, considering the tactic had just been introduced. However, so far in this campaign, Ethane have scored 10 goals across 6 matches - that's an average of 1.66 goals per match. That is a lot lower than the previous campaign, and considering this tactic is no longer new to the team, you would expect a much better performance than that.

Yes, you do have the issue of the new generation replacing the old; we did lose famous Ethanian strikers such as Dewayne Boivin and Thomas Peone. However, we all thought that Samuel Mitchell and Wilmer Jaurequi would be able to pick up where those guys left off and that the new strikers would be able to come in, learn off, and replicate the best strikers Ethane has. Yet the performance from Mitchell and Jaurequi has been substandard, and the performance of the newcomers has suffered because of it. The importance of a role model - a mentor and guide - to new players on the international scene is integral to the success of a player, and the lack of a role model in the striker position who is leading the team and scoring the goals is harming the younger players.

Maybe I am being a little too harsh towards Ethane's strikers. It isn't totally their fault. Some blame must be placed on the midfielders. But they are not the key issue - the chances are being made. It's just that we're not finishing off those chances; the blame for that lays solely on the strikers, and particularly Jaurequi and Mitchell. Against Northwest Kalactin we had 27 chances where we could have scored a goal. From these 27 chances, we had 17 shots and 7 shots on target. That's an awful accuracy rate and an awful conversion rate. And that needs to be improved.

I just hope that Jaurequi and Mitchell can step up. And if they can't, I hope that the newer players, despite having very little or no international experience, can make the leap and score the goals needed to boost Ethane. For I fear if we don't start to score more, we may lose our top spot in the group, and possibly our qualification position. We can't just rely on our defence forever.

Ethane may be performing well and dominant in the statistics. But until we see that convert into goals - more goals than currently, and comfortable rather than narrow victories - we cannot be certain of anything. In fact, we should be worrying.

[Super-Llamaland]

It wasn't just his incredible reflexes - although it was his incredible reflexes, combined with the unexplained ability to just sense where the ball was going, that made him so naturally talented at stopping these. Nowadays, he was also aided by statistics and video - for instance, he knew Palacios loved to experiment with penalties, always trying to score the most ridiculous, beautiful goals possible, but also that he was probably going to go to Sheffield's right. Marco Palacios was looking menacingly in his direction, and he could hear the screams of the passionate home fans all around him, but Markus Sheffield didn't even feel afraid anymore. Maybe a younger him would have, back when he played in Chromatika and was still very prone to shakiness, but now? He was at his peak, and when Markus Sheffield was in the right mood, nobody was getting a penalty past him.

There were still ways to get by him, mostly centered around him getting too aggressive with the ball. For instance, just twenty minutes ago, he'd gone out to collect a long ball that missed its mark - and ran into Adrian Lindberg. Luckily for both of them, Lindberg stayed upright and coolly cleared it away. And there was...also what had happened three minutes ago, where he hadn't been as lucky, and instead sent Kevin Santos sprawling and Palacios to the penalty spot. So, with twenty minutes to play in a game still scoreless - although not for lack of trying - Markus Sheffield would have to make up for his mistakes. But that was okay. He was still in the zone.

The whistle blew. Palacios took a few steps up to the ball, Sheffield went right and...watched helplessly as Palacios decided to go with a panenka. But the striker had erred with the placement a little, also sending it towards Sheffield's right - more specifically, his right leg - and he lashed out and connected. And then he was on the ground, and the ball was safely in the possession of Adrian Lindberg, who was once again there to clear it out.

They were fifteen minutes from getting a hard-fought point away to the ninth-best team in the world. And, even if his contributions had stemmed entirely from his own mistakes, Markus Sheffield knew he'd been the reason why.

[Mattijana]

World Cup 79 Roundup: Matchday 6

MFO Sport

Mattijana Battle Past Celts

Mattijana scraped through their 6th World Cup qualifying match against the United Celtic Peoples 1-0, with a goal from Jessika Struna the difference between the two sides.
Weather conditions in the north-eastern city of Snezn were hardly conducive to an open game of Football, with a biting wind and lashing rain that at time bordered on sleet.
The visiting Celts seemed pretty happy with the atrocious conditions as they set up camp in their defensive third and let the Mattijanans frustrate themselves with a mix of quality as inconsistent as the winter mix bombarding down on the players at the Stadijo Snezn.
A gloved Jessika Struna and Sofiane Bisrali were Mattijana's main attacking outlets in the first half, stretching the Celtic defence. Yet the telepathy that was on show in previous matches between the wingers and the central midfielders was not there and the Mattijanan attacks generally ended in swinging crosses that were hacked and headed clear by a packed back line.

With a concerningly drab first half ending goalless, Dusan Vukoja decided to switch things around at the break, replacing Katarina Jakupovic, who didn't have one of her better games, with Mattias Hoffman and opting for a more direct approach through the middle.
The fresh tactics seemed to have a positive effect on the team, with Marko Hojbjerg playing a give and go with Hoffman before lashing a shot against the base of the post. Bisrali was looking more lively too with extra options in the box, clipping a delicious ball into the box that trimmed the head of Andreas Weiss before being bundled wide by Struna at the back post via a deflection.

It was Struna who broke through at last however, cutting inside off a ball from Helena Neumann, beating a couple of defenders and dragging a finish low across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the net.
With the weather unrelenting and the celts seemingly unbothered about being behind, Mattijana were unable to push on, but saw out an easy victory, just not one of their most exciting. The team face Romaian next, a match where a sizeable win is imperative, but not a massive one so the team and supporters are able to make it out of Constantinoupoli alive.

Goals Galore in Group 15

If Snezn was not the place to be, group 15 very much was. Traffia and Jeruselem beat Pays den Haut and Fampakania 6-2, whilst the match between the Isles of Avon and Amazonesta went one goal better, with the home side winning 5-4. Abaja and Darmen were involved in a third eight-goal game, Darmen winning by 5 goals to 3.
The most keenly-awaited game of the day will likely be last on the higlights reel however. San Jose Guayabal hosted Super-Llamaland in an Esportivan derby, the scoreline invariably ending 0-0.

[The Kiaser Colonies]

2 Up, 2 Down

Zane Pollard claps to the home fans after a hugely frustrating loss to Banija

The Kiaser Colonies unbeaten start to the World Cup qualifiers is now just a long forgotten memory. After managing to go on a two game winning streak, they are currently on an equally long losing streak. The rip-roaring start that saw Glen Jackson's men pick up a full compliment of 6 points and the top seat at the table now pales in comparison to the single point haul in the last four matches. This poor run now sees the Kiasers languishing in 7th place.

Following the disappointing performances at World Cup 78 and the Copa Rushmori, Kiaser football fans across the nation were hoping for bigger and better things now that the young crop of players that were in development then had gained significant experience. And it looked just like that was going to be the case with the first game. The Kiaser Colonies had the visit of Bostopia (returning to their first World Cup campaign since the 70th edition) to look forward to. With the entirety of the Highroyds City Stadium filled to capacity, the stage was set for what could be a campaign defining opener.
Inside 10 minutes, the Kiaser Colonies got the opening goal through a rapid counter attack. After dispossessing a Bostopian winger, Ryan Marx was quick to regain his feet and send the ball up the line to Brodie Laycock. A one-two with striker Toby Osman set Laycock in behind the left back with plenty of space to run into down the right. After making his way to the edge of the box, Laycock fixed the defender with a step over before jinking right to deliver a low cross to the onrushing Beau Brooker who dispatched the first time shot into the top left corner.
Celebrations were short lived however, as the Kiaser Colonies fell victim to every teams least favourite statistic - that you're more likely to conceded a goal after scoring. Only 43 seconds later, attacking midfielder Mark Lampsworth had a long range effort blocked by Ben Raws, with the ball rebounding forward to Cooper Sail in acres of space. Sail was quick to react, putting the shot past Jaxon Meredith before he had a chance to adjust fully.
The Kiasers did manage to regain the lead minutes before the end of the half when Ryuu Abe was on hand to poke in a breaking ball from a corner. The 2-1 scoreline at the break was mostly seen as sufficient. In the course of the second half, the Kiasers found another gear to move from fruitless good play to goal scoring efficiency. A direct free kick from Laycock, a second for Brooker and a solo effort from replacement Chang Inman saw the Kiaser Colonies out to a much deserved 5-1 lead with only injury time remaining. With the last kick of the match, Bostopia gave the Kiaser Colonies defensive team something more to work on when Richard George put Ernest Gosford in behind the defenders with a threaded through ball. Gosford chipped over Meredith coolly to leave the final score at 5-2 to the home side.

The Kiaser Colonies then made a similarly impressive start to their away form when they took on Reuss-Lippe at the Westerholt City Stadium. With the veteran Dylan Horsfall replacing Ben Womack as the only change, the Kiasers set about the job of collecting 3 points from their 235th ranked opponents. The Black Eagles fans offered little to really trouble the Kiaser Colonies, who clearly had gone to great pains to correct the two obvious losses in concentration in the opener. Thanks to an Osman header and a trademark Brooker finesse shot, the Kiasers made short enough work of the game, winning 2-0 and holding their place at the top of group 3 for one more round. Glen Jackson's goal of coming into the Eastfield Lodge game with all 6 points had been ticked off the list.

Despite the strong start, the expectation was that the Kiaser Colonies would find it hard to compete in the game against Eastfield Lodge, even with the home advantage of a sold out HC Stadium behind them. Coach Jackson refused to accept that his side were simply hoping to do a damage limitation job to keep their positive goal difference in tact over the next two games. True to his word, the Kiaser Colonies kept to their usual attacking formation and game plan, creating several chances and even more half chances. The pick of the lot came in the second half when substitution Adam Wanganeen found himself one-on-on with keeper Korbin Harvey and saw his effort tip onto the middle of the upright by an outstretched stud. But Eastfield Lodge were always the better looking team and got the goal they deserved in the 54th minute when a long ball to Crimson LaRosso gave her the opportunity to chest the ball down, get into the box and slot the ball into the far bottom corner with a low driven shot. The 1-0 scoreline certainly left the Kiaser Colonies fans the happier with the quality of the performance giving fans hope of a strong campaign to follow.

The team came into the away trip to unbeaten Eshan in relatively high spirits, and showed it in their most impressive performance til that point. Eshan were overwhelming favourites to win the game, but were unable to find a winning goal. Eshan made the initial breakthrough when a long Jean-Marie Bentacur free kick found the head of Anthony Baudelio and was put into the net in the 14th minute. 23 minutes later, the Kiaser Colonies capitalised on some loose Eshan play to break their attacking pressure and go on one of their own rare efforts. Reily Gersbach's interception was the catalyst for the move. A weaving run through the defence gave Gersbach the chance to spread the ball wide to Zane Pollard. His fake pass to beat the opposite man, and then cross into the centre found Brooker on hand to bag his fourth of the campaign with a stunning volley. The Kiasers sticky wicket first half performance sent the two sides to the break level at one goal apiece despite being largley dominated by the hosts.
However, it was the visitors who struck next. After weathering the first half storm, the Kiaser Colonies again found that higher gear from the Bostopia game and made real in roads into the game. In the 59th minute, a beautifully measured aerial through ball from Abe had Brooker in behind the defence. With an almost certain goal on the cards, Brooker swung his leg back to pull the trigger and was tripped by a kick from Darren Tran. The penalty was awarded and Tran given a yellow. Brooker was given the opportunity to finish the job and did so with a textbook penalty, drilled into the top right corner. The Kiaser's were in Wonderland, leading 2-1 against group leaders Eshan away from home.
Good Kiaser defending kept the lead in tact for the next quarter of an hour, but Eshan always looked likely to score with the number of chances they had. Finally, after some very good passing and team work, Marco van Ciavatinni had a shot well saved by Meredith, who was unable to regain his feet before Baudelio smashed in the rebound ahead of the lunging challenge of Ben Womack. With the game tied up, the Kiaser Colonies dug in once more to hold on for a very impressive away draw and a valuable point.

The momentum did not carry over to the next match back in Highroyds however, as the Kiaser's floundered to a 2-1 loss against Lambdasia. The visiting side had already conceded 16 goals in four games and had only collected 1 point from them, so the Kiaser Colonies were understandably looking for another 3 points against the lowest ranked side in the group. This was not the case however as they failed time and time again to connect the final passes to Brooker and Osman. After conceding 2 first half goals, a late flurry was only enough to see replacement Conrad Jones nod in a single consolation goal. The disheartening loss is exactly the kind of missed opportunity that the Kiaser Colonies may well look back on with huge regret at the end of the campaign. They held onto 5th place, but now dropped out to 6 points behind the leaders Chromatika and 4 behind second place Boring Paradise.

The situation got even worse this week as the Kiaser Colonies suffered yet another loss. The visiting Banija team were on the up after beating Eshan in the previous round, while the Kiasers were desperate to turn their home form around after losing the last two games at home. The two were the closest ranked teams to each other so a tight finish was the one predicted by many. It was not to be the Kiasers day though. It took only 12 minutes for Banija to take the lead through Isaac Georgiadis, and they went in 2-0 up when Toyuwa Okafor headed in a corner. Brooker was again the form Kiaser, but will be frustrated that his 6th qualifying campaign goal was not enough to save the Kiaser Colonies. The Kiaser cake was well and truly iced in the 87th minute when Flomo Osei added insult to injury with his breakaway goal as the Kiaser Colonies pushed hard for an equaliser.

Glen Jackson's men now head into the clash with table topping, unbeaten Chromatika with qualification now almost certainly off the cards. The opponents don't come much bigger or better than the number 4 ranked team in the world, and away trips are seldom as daunting as those to the 144,000 seater Capitalizt Dome in Chromatk City. Expectations are low heading into the game which could see the gap between the two sides extended to 12 points. The only solace heading into the game is that the Kiaser's have proved to be relatively strong in their away performances and are yet to be beaten outside Highroyds City Stadium. This does very little to inspire confidence in the Kiaser faithful, as nothing short of a win will do for the national team. Changes to the line-up for the game see the old-heads of Dylan Horsfall and Alex Hyett starting together in the centre of defence together for the first time this year, Lincoln Baynes in for Lucas Deane at left back, Adam Wanganeen takes the left midfield position from Zane Pollard and Joshua Goldbern replaces Toby Osman in attack.

[Eura]

Part 1

A little under a year ago...

I've been made leader of this country with a healthy mandate. The baggage that comes with it encompasses too much complexity to be boiled down easily but by and large it means needing to deliver on lofty expectations. If someone was to summarise that for my government, it would specifically mean three interlinked things - make war, make peace and make money. Making war was politically the easy part. Sameba will give in eventually. We've taken the core cities south of the middle line and with it half their heavy industry and agriculture. And if I run into problems, then war could be a good way out of them. Making money is something that's going to take more than the weeks I've had in office but we're already doing pretty well as the shock of the conflict wears off. Euran markets are on the rise again. Making peace? That is something else entirely. Something you can't just tell the people is going to come along any day now. That doesn't resonate. Especially if the obvious route to it is joining the Rushmori Union in all but name.

One thing has been associated with my politics more than anything else - pan-Rushmorism - and you can see it in the anger and fury that the most regressive parts of society in this country have for me. 'Yarley the Rushmori'. To them admitting as such is tantamount to being a traitor; you're Euran, Endemian at a push, but Rushmori? There's no such thing outside of geography. If you're not a nationalist, then you still believe I'm a traitor, a class traitor who is selling out the gargantuan Euran working class to the money men and power players of the deep state and international markets. Deep down I know this will always be true of the Euran way of thinking. How can a country so steeped in internal paranoia, with a society as populated as a continent but as diverse as only a small country, ever truly be part of the great liberal internationalist project that has titillated out of touch do-gooders from places like Liventia and the Valhallan Union for decades? Sometimes you have to accept that base instinct can't be educated out of people.

That sounds bad doesn't it? Like I think the Euran people are below me or don't understand what's best for them. Of course that isn't true, because I tell them otherwise and sound convincing doing it. But the average human being in a democracy is going to pay attention to politics for five minutes a day at most, if that. More like fifteen in a week realistically. Their instincts drive decisions much more than a logically determined process of reflection. This is especially so during a time of national trauma like the one this war has inflicted upon us. Either that or they base decisions on perceived immediate self interest. Therefore if I couldn't reason with the people I had to provoke them into an unplanned reaction.

Bless him, Michael never truly understood this. His methods were always somewhat restrained by that pesky thing we called a moral compass. I didn't appeal to reason to persuade Eurans to favour Euran entry to the “Common Rushmori Community”. I appealed to the weakness of those bleeding hearts who wanted peace by tearfully telling them how a more united Rushmore could have prevented their loved ones being thrown into the hellish meatgrinder to the north. Those of a more right wing bent were sold a partially but not critically contradictory narrative that peace is only guaranteed through power, and that the CRC could be the ultimate augmentation to Euran strength. Dominate the CRC and no-one can dominate you. The left were told that fascism couldn't exist in a structure like the CRC, meaning a long term victory well worth the interim neoliberal purgatory. Millions didn't get swayed by our strategy as you might imagine. Who cares? Millions more did, and now Eura is joining the Rushmore love in, like it or not.

[Mercedini]

Kablan Formula To Be Reformulated Ahead Of Budget
@ Mercedinian Parliament - Zoloroni, Mercedini

Mercedini and Cosneolta have always had a close diplomatic, cultural and economic bond with each other, with many citizens and businesses setting themselves up in the small island nation, mainly for taxation purposes. Cosneolta has been aided greatly by tourism and business from Mercedini with the Mercedinian government giving the nation of 400,000 approximately ¥800 Million in funding for the small nation which acts as economic aid to the nation and takes the stress off the populace with lower taxes but still keeping the high quality of life that the Islanders have. However, this years budget could see a redrawing of the boundaries when it comes to the relationship between the two nations, with the Kablan Formula reportedly being recalculated to reduce Cosneoltan dependence on Mercedini and to reallocate the money freed up by the reformulation to fund the nation's own public services.

It is seen as a bold move by the Exchequer as aid was recently give to South Covello, utilising a portion of the foreign aid budget in the process. Many politicians and Cosneoltan officials have criticised the move by the Mercedinian government, stating that it could threaten the special bond the two nations have while simultaneously tightening Cosneolta's own budget, potentially leading to fewer public services and higher taxes for it's citizens. Government officials have defended their action, stating that Cosneolta shouldn't be reliant on funding from another nation and should begin to stand on their own two feet, it will be a source of revenue for the government who hope to garner additional funding to reduce taxes of their citizens and fund further development of the nations as a whole.

Mercedini has been interacting more with other nations in recent weeks including collaborations in South Covello with the native population aswell as fellow nations who have helped with development of the region. The nation will obviously have to make difficult decisions to put themselves their own population before those of others, and that will include cutting subsidies and support for viable nations, and entering lucrative trade deals with nations across the multiverse.

World Cup 79 Qualification MD6
Equestrian States 2-4 Mercedini @ Wild Grounds - Everfree, Equestrian States

Starting XI: Hosset • Aznelik - Ossun - Dosic - Park • Crasic - Jackic - Nymark - Presic • Billic - Dostalok
EQS Goalscorers: Shine 27', Cobbler 42'
MRC Goalscrorers: Dostalok 56', 66', 84' (P), Presic 75'

A spectacular comeback from the Golden Eagles meant that they kept their spot at the top of the group, ahead of Abanhfleft, The Holy Empire and the Alpine Union following a 4-2 victory away in Evergreen to Equestrian States. The hosts were marred by several suspensions after some of the players were caught horsing around with the Kalactanian referee following a slew of poor decisions in their match against Indusse. Despite the Equestrian management making several changes in the squad before the match, the States managed to have their noses 2-0 in front following a series of intricate passing moves from the Ponies. Pristina Shine finished a quick break forward and managed to lash the ball into the net after Thunderlane found space in the box to pull it back. Then, a free kick routine straight from the training ground was originally blocked by Hosset on the line before Apple Cobbler turned it in on the rebound. As the half-time whistle went, Mercedini were staring a first loss square in the face as they needed to fins at least to goal to get something out of the match.

Goodness knows what Lyndainium said to the players during the half-time interval, because Mercedini came out as a totally different side in the second half and played for their lives to keep their unbeaten streak running. Handon United striker Daniel Dostalok got himself on the scorsheet with a scrappy goal coming from a long ball forward, a defensive mix-up between the defence and the goalkeeper which meant Dostalok was through on goal to round the keeper and slot into the net to halve the deficit. Dostalok would go on to score two more goals to complete his hattrick, the goal which completed it was a penalty after Billic was pulled back in the box, but the pick of the bunch coming from a sweetly struck 25-yard strike beating the dive of the Equestrian goalkeeper. The Mercedinian fans were enjoying themselves after a miserable first half performance, but Mercedini weren't done there as the Golden Eagles completed a four goal smash-and-grab with a converted free kick from the edge of the box by Ross Presic. The blue and black nation dodged a bullet with their second half performance, but they continue their fine run of form in qualification as the enter a tricky sequence of result. In Everfree, it finished Equestrian States 2, Mercedini 4.

Up Next: The Holy Empire at Home

[Kita-Hinode]

CHAPTER VI - DANGER (Part 1)

St. Margot High School
Monday, 3:55 PM

A woman waited patiently in the front of the school.
She had finished recording for a show and was fairly tired, but still, she figured it'd be a fun little moment to catch her little girl from school.
And seeing what their weirdo was up to would certainly not be a bad idea itself.
She heard the school's bell ring.
Soon enough, an avalanche of students went through, of all ages.
Among these, however, she found the two familiar faces she was looking for.
[Qasden] - MOM!

The girl dashed towards the fox-eared woman, being embraced in a tight, loving hug.
Kitsunia had a fair smile, looking at her adopted daughter with happiness.
Not too long after, she heard someone puffing.
[Chrom] - Phew... Man, you're fast...
[Qasden] - It's a rule of any school, students are always faster than teachers!
[Chrom] - Oof... Oh, hey, Kitsunia.
Kitsunia laughed a bit.
[Kitsunia] - Not very used to this, ain't you?
[Chrom] - Well, it was my first day here.
[Kitsunia] - Qasden, did he do a good job?
[Qasden] - Yeah! He battled Mr. Audio and it was great!
[Kitsunia] - ...Battled him, eh?
[Chrom] - W-well... It is an obligatory class!
[Kitsunia] - Hmpf. If you two say so. Figured I'd take you two back home.

The three walked their way through the streets, checking the sights.
They heard something approaching them, however.
It was then that Qasden realized it.
It was a limo.
One of its' windows opened and from there, they could see...

[Katsu] - Heya!
[Qasden] - Oh, for crying out loud... not you again.
[Kitsunia] - Who's the... kid?
[Katsu] - Katsu Asakawa, millionaire heir.
[Qasden] - And regular knob.
[Katsu] - Look, I just figured I'd drop by. I imagine it's a long walk home...

Qasden sighed.

[Qasden] - If you're here to try and convince us to sell you the gym, the answer is no.
[Kitsunia] - Oh, this was the guy that wanted to buy the gym?
[Katsu] - Y-Y-Yeah... B-but I'm not here to convince any of you of anything.
[Chrom] - ...
[Qasden] - That doesn't sound like you! Spill it... what's the catch?

Han-Myeong peeked from another window.

[Han-Myeong] - I'm actually the one who suggested that.
[Chrom] - Huh... Are you his brother?
[Han-Myeong] - I'm his bodyguard. In fact, his sister, the one who hired me, is aware of Katsu's little... scuffles with you lot and decided to have me follow him more often.
[Katsu] - ...
[Qasden] - Heh. Suits him. At least we know Han-Myeong is way better a person than him.
[Katsu] - No need to rub it in, you...
[Han-Myeong] - Asakawa Katsu!
[Katsu]- Grrr...
[Kitsunia] - Well, what's your offer?
[Han-Myeong] - We want to give you three a lift. I'm sure you could use that, right?
[Chrom] - Guess that'd be handy.
[Kitsunia] - Well... Qasden?
[Qasden] - Hmmm... If he says that's all, I guess we can believe it. Let's go.

Meanwhile
City Bus 383
Margravine - Commerce Heights (Sonnel route)

[Electrum] - Uh... mate.

Electrum poked Ceni's shoulder, then pointed to three unusual people sitting in front of them.
After a proper inspection, he noted that they were the Moonstar Squadron.
The two chose to approach them after the bus stopped briefly.

[Ceni] - Hey, you're those three goons for Katsu, aren't you?
[Jolyne] - We prefer the term "independent contractors".
[Jonathan] - As in Boss doesn't have to pay our medical bills or anything of the like...
[Suzie] - If our parents were still around, they'd scold us really bad for messing up this bad!
[Electrum] - Oof... I'm sorry for that, lads.
[Jolyne] - Don't worry. They died to save us, anyway... We can't really complain about how Boss took us in so easily.
[Ceni] - Wait... They saved you from what?
[Suzie] - Our parents researched this really scary mask that they happened to find at the Pyramids of Geese.
[Ceni] - I'm certain you meant Giza.
[Jonathan] - No, those are other pyramids. They found the mask at the Pyramids of Geese.
[Jolyne] - They had to dodge a bunch of staff-wielding henchmen, even.
[Suzie] - Yup. It's a good thing they were pretty good fighters themselves.
[Jolyne] - Shame they couldn't really handle one of their colleagues being turned into a Geese from using the mask.
[Jonathan] - They did kill him via falling off a huge place, but the injuries proved themselves too much.
[Ceni] - ...
[Suzie] - The person that informed us about the rendezvous said that his final words were cough cough THIS IS SO PREDICTABLE!
[Electrum] - I'm having a really hard time believing that, mate.
[Jonathan] - Well, it's the truth.
[Suzie] - Yup!
[Jolyne] - In the end, the Boss' family visited Stuartland and took us in as servants.
[Jonathan] - It's only now that the Boss seems to insist we work. He really wants that gym, apparently.
[Ceni] - You mean Sunrise's Gym?
[Jolyne] - I guess... The boss told us to take the bus home because he wanted to use the limousine to sort of kidnap them and force them to sell the gym.

The two Rushmori did a double take before looking back at the three.

[Electrum] - HE DID FOOKIN' WHAT?
[Ceni] - That's ILLEGAL!
[Jonathan] - Is it? It was pretty legal back at Stuartland.
[Jolyne] - ...Uh-oh.
[Suzie] - That's... not good at all!

The three sighed.

[Jolyne] - We're sorry...
[Jonathan] - We didn't know!
[Suzie] - Is there any way we can help?
[Electrum] - Well, I know this police department we can stop at.
[Ceni] - I just hope we have enough time...

[Bostopia]

---Still before WC qualification---

---Corridor, 2nd Floor, Fort Boston Castle, Fort Boston---

A man lay on his back on the floor, bleeding, staring up at the lights on the ceiling. They swirled around him as fast as the room was spinning, the energy draining out of his body as quickly as the blood congealed while he reached one arm slowly into the air above his body, his fingers reaching out in vain toward some unseen object.

‘It’s a fucking papercut.’

‘Sorry?’ The Emperor’s response, while still lying on the floor, was one of shock and confusion as the brusque female voice cut through the silence in what was otherwise a rather impactful dying sequence. He had just been about to yell out ‘My country…’ before slowly drifting off into death. ‘Though’ the Emperor thought, ‘perhaps “pecked to death by a flock of angry geese” wouldn’t be the best thing to read on my epitaph. I’d much rather it was something heroic like “died defending the country from an enormous flock of ang-“’

‘Are you even listening to me?’

‘Urr… yes…’ the Emperor said, stammering slightly as he got back up to his feet.

‘So you’ll tell me who I am?’ the lady said again. The Emperor thought he had best look at this mad woman, perhaps she had a bout of amnesia and had wandered into the Castle looking for some fruit or veg. ‘Perhaps I should start a market stall?’ the Emperor thought. ‘This lady has clearly wandered in here looking for some fruit and veg after taking a bump on the head like I did that one time.’

The Emperor was now back on his feet. ‘ARE YOU OK?’ he said, loudly. ‘DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?’ He looked quizzically are the now obviously angry lady. She looked like she was in her mid 30s. Pretty, but in a sort-of rough… no, tough looking way. Definitely from the north of West Isle. It looked like she could survive hardy winters, though this seemed to be a projection of inner fortitude more than anything else. Though there was strength in the woman.

‘I know where I am and who you are, Emperor. My name is Sofia Firgard and I AM YOUR DESTINY.’

The Emperor squealed and ran off down the corridor fearing for his life, leaving Sofia bent double laughing, managing to get the words ‘stupid bell-end’ out somewhere in the laugter.

---State Office, Fifth Floor, Fort Boston Castle---

‘So talk me through it again, Emperor? You managed to heroically escape the flock of angry geese-‘ ‘-who weren’t a death metal band!’ the Emperor interjected ‘-who weren’t a death metal band,’ Haelwen confirmed, ‘while you suffered a vicious wound to your pinky finger?’

‘Yes!’ the Emperor prodded his heavily bandaged finger toward Haelwen, who grimaced slightly and recoiled ‘A vicious wound to my pointing finger!’

‘And then a lady showed up glowing pure red whilst you were on the floor, injured, clinging onto life, and began demanding answers of you, except you couldn’t hear her because you were too busy analysing the situation for escape routes so you could continue serving the nation and definitely not psycho-analysing the glowing woman in front of you?’

‘Absolutely. That’s absolutely what happened.’

‘And then she screamed at you ‘MY IMMORTAL BEAST BEING IS YOUR DESTINY’, at which point you managed to escape and flee here?’

‘Exactly! Right down to a tee.’

---Shortly before Match Day 1, Littlehom Training Ground, Reamontry---

‘So talk us through it again boss,’ Harry Peters said, whilst lacing his boots on the edge of the pitch, ‘the Emperor is actin’ like he’s dyin’ ‘cos he got a papercut, after being chased out of a room by a bunch of angry geese, an’ you scare the crap out of him?’

Sofia turned around, still laughing at the memory of it while pulling a sack of balls over her shoulder. ‘You know it Harry. Man’s a twit. I went there to tell him the BFA were sorting out the team for qualifying and to introduce myself and there he is playing out a fantasy death scene amongst the state ornaments. Whole corridor’s full of them!”

‘’E hadn’t arranged ‘em had ‘e?’

‘Oh Christ no. How he avoided them as he ran off screaming I’ll never know.’

[Bonesea]

.

[Brenecia]

Donner Land 0-1Brenecia
(4-2-3-1) 1 - Woodgate; 2 - Carrack (19 - Hamilton 68'), 18 - Heneghan, 6 - Szubanski, 22 - Cattalock; 4 - Gryphon (c), 8 - Hartsdown (16 - Drover 61'); 15 - Crowther (7 - Trevelyan 77'), 11 - Balliol (, 10 - Ashbrown; 14 - Charnwood
Goal: Charnwood 23'

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
A-League finds room for consolidation after rank sinks to 15th
Laura Mulholland

With the news now confirmed that the A-League is now ranked 15th in the UICA list of the world's leagues, it is tempting to give in to despair. Perhaps the days of Brenecian sides punching above their weight are over? Perhaps, as Kingsgrove dominate locally, the league's balance is permanently out of key?

But it is important to keep perspective, as always. Yes, Brenecia's coefficient is a far cry from its peak, but a league's worth is not just measured in that. When the coefficient was in the top six, Union, Kingsgrove and Rozelle may have been thriving, but those below were as sick as anything. Smaller sides, especially outside the top tier, were run on shoestrings, while many A-League sides simply could not spend to the degree necessary to be competitive with the top sides. It was very clearly stratified - Kingsgrove and Union at the top, Rozelle and North Hall below, a scrum of much poorer sides scrapping over the last Globe Cup places and some genuinely terrible sides vastly out of their depth - the infamous three-point South Rathia campaign springs to mind.

Granted, the current league dynamic appears to have narrowed two and a half horses down to one. Kingsgrove have been utterly dominant since the Incident, no other team really able to lay a glove on them. At the other end of the table, Sharrow proved a cautionary tale, a genuine shambles behind the scenes as well as on the pitch, and their future looks to be in the balance.

But look beyond that and you will see a far healthier ecosystem than ever before. Clubs are no longer overextending past their means, and the chasing pack in between Kingsgrove and the total no-hopers is thriving more than ever. Some clubs are paying the price for stagnation, most notably Falkner United, while the bold plans of others make for a shifting landscape at the top, most obviously the Northern Stallions' success.

Recruitment has gotten better, too, and after the findings of the Steiner Report, there is much more emphasis on finding the right fits abroad rather than spare parts and filler, relying on the academy to refresh aging squads. The days of the A-League musical chairs game for genuinely mediocre players seems to be over, as teams will now look to bring new talent through rather than look to abroad. The benefit of that youth policy is obvious, looking at any Brenecia roster. The days where Brenecians had to wonder where the next name was going to come from are long gone, as the national league suddenly seems fit to bursting with young players being handed opportunities early on.

Arguably most important of all, a new, more even TV deal that had to be cut in the wake of Union's departure is allowing even small teams to finally have decent stadiums and squads. There is now an appreciable gap between the bottom of the top tier and the top of the second tier, rather than the old, awkward blend, and it means as a result that even Sharrow's ill-fated stint in the top flight leaves them with enough money to hopefully sort themselves out rather than crashing and burning into the semi-professional levels.

Northern Union, as ever, will shift the dynamic further when they almost certainly achieve their third straight promotion. They will find the A-League vastly different to when they left it - full of strong, stable teams with established names from abroad and built on strong foundations off the pitch. A coefficient doesn't tell the whole story, because right now, in this period of enforced consolidation, the A-League's future looks brighter than ever.

BRENECIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 4
Goalkeepers: 1 - Mathis Woodgate (Myrmidon, CEN), 12 - Rostyn Calhoun (Cenial United, CEN), 20 - Rosalind Buchanan (Lunas FC, PAS)
Defenders: 2 - Brun Carrack (Bengtsmark IF, BYN), 3 - Gethin Quill (Revolutionaries, EUR), 5 - Rostyn Bradden (Lajuno, EUR), 6 - Niko Szubanski (Rozelle), 18 - Cheney Heneghan (Ernesse Stahl, BYN), 19 - Vaila Hamilton (Lotus Park), 22 - Brigid Levein (Marque)
Midfielders: 4 - Pagan Redweald (Northern Stallions), 7 - Squire Trevelyan (FC Endeavour, APX), 8 - Meghan Hartsdown (Kings Park, SCT), 10 - Tiferet Ashbrown (Kings Park, SCT), 11 - Sander Balliol (Tanrisal, PAS), 13 - Isidra Corvey (Kingsgrove), 15 - Brae Crowther (Kingsgrove), 16 - Elsie Drover (OAS Royal FC, COS), 21 - Corby Wheeler (Rozelle United), 23 - Catsidhe Alweather (Eastal Lunar, VIL)
Forwards: 9 - Griffin Riordan (Klyde, COS), 14 - Angharad Northstead (Lotus Park), 17 - Aelfwynn Bannion (North Hall)

SCHEDULE
Brenecia 3 - 1 Krytenia
Pridnestrovia 3 - 2 Brenecia
Brenecia 2 - 0 Damukuni
West Angola 1 - 3 Brenecia
Brenecia 1 - 0 Yuezhou
Empire of Donner Land 0 - 1 Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Garifunya
Brenecia vs. Gangnam
EEC vs. Brenecia
Krytenia vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Pridnestrovia
Damukuni vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. West Angola
Yuezhou vs. Brenecia
Brenedia vs. Empire of Donner Land
Garifunya vs. Brenecia
Gangnam vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. EEC

[Free Republics]

Nicholls Enterprises Building - Baseton, Amolotopia, Free Republics

Consul Robert Nicholls was a very busy man these days. Since his Junior Consul Kyle Bolton spent much of his time being a famous celebrity married to a popular female wrestler rather than the co-leader of the free multiverse, Consul Nicholls was left running the Free Republics on his own while also running Nicholls Enterprises and functioning as the commander in chief in the war against the Confederacy of Leftist Republics. The war just kept getting worse and worse by the day but on this day news arrived of a victory on the Malifornia front where Republican forces had seized part of the breakaway Republic with the help of local ranchers. The Confederate leaders had foolishly decided to restrict the private possession of firearms by requiring all firearms owners to obtain permits and register their weapons with the Republic government. Infuriated by this and by new policies adopted by the rebels in the name of protecting the environment, a number of ranchers burned Confederate Consuls Pearl Wideman and Rose Sellheim in effigy as they rose up in open defiance of Confederate law.

By some coincidence, Consul Nicholls had scheduled a meeting for that very same day with the Reverend Delmar Lavallee, leader of the Salvation Circle. The Salvation Circle was a radical Christian movement that had formed out of the wreckage of the Kulseth regime which embraced a sola scriptura theology that rejected priesthoods, monasteries, convents and all the other trappings of the so-called True Church but otherwise subscribed to a similar interpretation of the Bible. The charismatic Lavallee quickly built a following composed primarily of disillusioned former true believers in the Kulseth regime but both of his attempts to be elected Consul of the Free Republics had ended in defeat. The Reverend had come to realize that God had no plan for him to become Consul of the Free Republics but nonetheless he had received a revelation from God, or so he believed, revealing the Almighty's plan for his life. He walked into Consul Nicholls's office and greeted the Consul in his normal fashion:

Delmar Lavallee - Hallelujah Hallelujah, Praise the Lord for he hath made this blessed day!

Consul Nicholls - Hallelujah, Reverend Lavallee. I imagine the Lord told you to visit my office today.

Delmar Lavallee - Absolutely correct, Brother Nicholls. I have received a revelation from the Lord. He hath told me to visit thy office on this wonderful day to discuss a most wonderful opportunity to bring salvation to those lost souls who hath not read Romans 13.

Consul Nicholls - I apologize Reverend Lavallee but I've forgotten what Romans 13 says. Could you please remind me.

Delmar Lavallee - Yes, I can, Brother Nicholls. Let us turn to the Book of Romans, Chapter 13. And it is written: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."

Consul Nicholls - I see, Reverend. It is most unfortunate that the leaders of the 32 Republics currently in rebellion against the Federation ordained of God were unaware of the fact that they shall receive unto themselves damnation because they have resisteth the ordinance of God. What can I do about that?

Delmar Lavallee - Well, Brother Nicholls, I have received a revelation from God. He hath asked me to go to thy office and requesteth from thee a charter to govern the Republic of Malifornia as an autonomous "charter society" subject to the Free Republics.

Consul Nicholls - I see. Is a "charter society" by any chance similar to the concept of a charter school.

Delmar Lavallee - Yes, it is, Brother Nicholls. Just as a "charter school" is a privately run school that is funded by a Republic's government and subject to some oversight from that Republic, so is a "charter society" a separate society within the Free Republics with its own laws, its own charter that supersedes the Federation Constitution and its own unelected government that cannot be removed from power except through the wishes of the Federation Government.

Consul Nicholls - You know Reverend, I thought you were completely full of shit, to be polite about it, but I have to admit you have a great idea and I'd love to borrow that from you and propose it in my speech tonight.

Delmar Lavallee - Go right ahead and do exactly that, Brother Nicholls, for thee wouldst be doing the work of the Lord.

Consul Nicholls - I don't know about that but I think granting your organization a charter to run Malifornia however you wish is a wonderful idea and I fully trust in your ability to save their souls and teach them that resisting the authority of the Federation Government is a sin not only against the powers that be in this multiverse but also against Almighty God which will lead to their well-deserved damnation if they do not repent.

Delmar Lavallee - I know thee would see things my way, Brother Nicholls. Thank thee for everything thou hast done.

Consul Nicholl - Thank you Reverend and please encourage as many of your followers as possible to move to your charter society of Malifornia as soon as the Lord grants us victory on the battlefield.

Delmar Lavallee - I will do exactly that, for it is the Will of God that we save Malifornia from the damned.

---

Consul Nicholls's Speech to the Free Republics

My fellow Republicans, as you have likely heard by now, our nation achieved a major victory over the rebels today, securing 65% of the territory of the Republic of Malifornia. I do not believe it appropriate to focus too much on the details of military operations in a speech that will be broadcast throughout the multiverse so I shall instead focus on my plans for improving the Free Republics after this bloody war is over. We simply must put an end to the violence and madness that has plagued our nation over the past decade and we will!

Let's start by acknowledging that the Free Republics has had a major problem in recent years with political extremism. From the Nat-Gres of Senator Izmailov to the Holy Party of Consul Kulseth to Consul O'Reilly to the Progressive "anti-fascists" who have launched a rebellion and formed a terror state calling itself the Confederacy of Leftist Republics which is responsible for many heinous acts throughout the multiverse. These are scum who have built a reputation on throwing bombs into crowded streets, beating up people who are trying to peaceably discuss their mainstream political ideas and engaging in large-scale property destruction whenever they decide to throw a riot-tantrum because they didn't get their way. Rest assured: All of these things are utterly unacceptable and I will stop at nothing to not just defeat the rebellion but to actively destroy this evil political movement once and for all. The Free Republics will not rest and we will not relent until this evil ideology has been utterly annihilated and its adherents brought to heel before the blue and the white.

However, when we win this war, and we will win this war, I believe we must not squander this golden opportunity to put an end to political extremism in the Free Republics once and for all, allowing the vast majority of our people to live under mainstream, fairly moderate government that secures our freedom and otherwise leaves everybody alone to live our own lives and pursue our own dreams. Therefore, I am proposing an amendment to the Federation Constitution that will permit the legislative branch to designate any Republic that engages in rebellion against the legitimate Federation Government of the Free Republics a "charter society" and hand over the government to an autonomous political entity that will have full authority to govern the Republic as they see fit. Under my proposal, these Charter Societies would be permitted to enact any laws they wish and would be run by a single political organization without permitting any opposition. In addition, I propose that residents of the Republics currently in rebellion against Federation authority be prohibited from leaving such Charter Societies unless they can prove their past loyalty to the Federation of Free Republics rather than openly or tacitly supporting the illegal regimes responsible for starting the ongoing war. For now on, I will regard a refusal to actively resist the so-called Confederacy of Leftist Republics and their many minions as active support for this regime and will see to it that such active support for the criminal rebels will be suitably punished. Simply put, you are either with us or you're with the thieving, murdering rebel scum!

As I was saving, the Charter Societies of the future will function as containment zones for extremist political movements which will permit them to ruin a small portion of Republican territory in exchange for keeping themselves out of Federation-level politics. All individuals living in a Charter Society will be prohibited from voting in Federation elections of any kind. In the interest of permitting Charter Societies with particularly small governments to not only exist but flourish, those living in Charter Societies will pay their Flat Tax at a rate equal to half of their society's highest tax rate or 5%, whichever is less. Charter Societies will be a public-private partnership which must be purchased by private entities on terms acceptable to the Consuls of the Free Republics. They will provide a refuge for political extremists of all kind and, hopefully help restore stability and moderation to our political system. Thank you and may God Bless Republica!

[South Covello]

Basic South Covellan Constitutional Principles Established, Full Constitution to Follow

The South Covellan Constitutional Covnention has established several Constitutional principles as basic rules of law. A full written constitution is expected to follow. The principles are as follows:

• The death penalty is hereby irreversibly abolished forever, in an effort to prevent any more terror such as that caused by the Gregist regime.
  No more shall people be put to death arbitrarily for crimes such as saying the word "coconut" or writing a poem about killing your neighbor's pet dinosaur.
• All criminally accused defendants shall be guaranteed the right to a fair and speedy trial by a jury of their peers, including the right to a competent attorney, the right against self incrimination, and the right to remain silent. Warrantless searches and entry into private property shall also be strictly forbidden except in emergency circumstances.
• All citizens 18 years of age or over may vote in all elections. The right to vote shall not be denied to anyone over 18 for any reason except for conviction of treason or high-level unrenounced affiliation with the Gregist regime.
• All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech, the right to practice any religion they want (or no religion at all), the right to enjoy a free press, the right to protest the government, and the right to petition it for political change. This may not be denied for any reason.
• The government shall not violate anyone's right to life, liberty, or property without due process and just cause. Nothing in this Principle shall be implied to allow for the death penalty, which is strictly forbidden forever under all circumstances.
• In an effort to avoid past issues, the government shall be committed to full transparency and all government documents shall be published in a public and easily accessible database in a timely manner. This includes all documents from the previous Gregist regime which still remain,
  although many were destroyed by the Gregists in their last days.
• In terms of elections, the country shall be ruled by a President elected by popular vote every four years and a legislature consisting of 300 districts of as equal population as possible, to be determined by an independent commission without regards to demographics or political affiliation. To ensure a smooth process, this information shall not be available to the commission when they draw up the lines. Each district shall elect one member to the singular legislative house, to serve six year terms at rotating two year intervals, 100 per year. In the first election, all 300 seats shall be up for election and then each member shall draw lots to determine which Class they shall enter. Class I will be up for election again in two years, Class II in four, and Class III shall serve the full six year term. Any person over 18 who has never been convicted of treason and was not a high-ranking official in the Gregist regime may run for office, as may the latter group provided they publicly renounce that affiliation under oath.
• Each previous Ward shall be considered a town. Geographically adjacent towns may opt to consolidate with each other by means of a popular vote in both towns. A consolidated town shall be known as a city, but shall otherwise be functionally equivalent to a town.
• By default, towns shall be ruled by a council and mayor, but they may choose a different process if they so choose provided it is democratic and does not violate these National Principles.
• Each new town shall adopt a new name by popular vote within 12 months, but this may be postponed if there are pending merger votes to take place.
• The capital city shall be Freedom City and shall consist of all wards of the Capital District consolidated into a city. The legislature shall meet in the legislative building, the Supreme Court in the Supreme Court Building, and the President shall reside in the Presidential Estate for the duration of his term.
• The Supreme Court shall consist of nine members who shall be learned in law. The initial nine members shall be members of this Convention who wish to serve and shall be elected by the people at the next scheduled election. They shall serve for life unless recalled (see below). Should a seat be vacant due to death, resignation, or recall, an election shall be called to fill the vacancy, with all of the usual provisions applying.
• Any member of the Supreme Court or Legislature, or the President, or any member of a town or city government, may be made the subject of a recall election by the people should a petition be signed by at least 5 percent of the voters for that position in the most recent election. Thereafter, a recall election shall be called no less than 30 and no more than 60 days hence, and if either two thirds of actual voters or a majority of eligible voters vote to remove the official from office, they shall leave office immediately and the position shall be vacant.
• Should the Presidency or a Legislative seat be vacant, a special election shall be scheduled subject to the same provisions mentioned above. Local governments may make their own provisions, but these shall apply by default.
• Any law, to be passed, must be passed by a majority vote in the Legislature and signed into law by the President. Should the President veto it, the Legislature may overrule him with a two-thirds vote.
• The legislature shall have the power to recall the President via three-fourths vote, this shall be known as a "Vote of no confidence" and a new election shall be held subject to the above provisions. The previous President may run as a candidate, and if he wins, may not be subject to another vote of no confidence for at least one year, though he may be recalled by the people during that time.
• The Supreme Court shall have the power to review whether any law passed by the national or local government violates these Principles. If such a law is found to violate these principles, it shall be struck down and declared null and void.
• For the purposes of this constitution, "person" means any sapient being.
• These Principles may be amended or repealed through any of the following processes, except that no rights shall be stripped from the people without their unanimous consent: A legislatively referred Amendment - three-fourths vote in the legislature followed by approval of either a majority of eligible voters or two thirds of actual voters. An amendment by petition - upon petition of at least 10 percent of the voters in the previous national election, an amendment vote shall be called for the public and must be passed by two-thirds if actual voters or a majority of eligible voters. However, the standards to pass a law by initiative shall be significantly lower and discussed below.
• Upon petition of at least 1.5 percent of voters in the previous national election, a law may be proposed via the initiative process, which if approved by a majority of voters, shall become law subject to the same requirements as any other law. Local governments may allow for initiatives but are not required to.

[United States of Devonta]

Devontan Sports Central

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Two losses in a row for struggling Devontan team
Devonta falls 2-0 away to unranked team from Moorish Land
Bradley Manz (@thebradmanz)
^{11/31/2017, 7:00 PM | Moorish Land}

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United States of Devonta 0 - 2 Moorish Land
                                (Unknown 21', 32')

Moorish Land
UNKNOWN (x2) (55', 78')

United States of Devonta
GK: Brandon Kowalski
LD: Johnson Brooks
CD: Coby Rice (Martin Benton - 65')
CD: Daniel Kindred
RD: Mathew Creasmen (37')
DM: Isaiah Russel
LM: Mohamed Abdullah
RM: Julius Washington (Alexander Jones - 72')
OM: Tyrell Owens
ST: Noah Hill (Gerald Johansen - 72')
ST: Lamar Adams

---

Key Events:

UNKOWN (Goal - 21'): Despite, being in a away match Devonta seemed to be in control of the passing and tempo of the game. Although the young offensive duo of Devontan strikers Hill and Adams seemed to struggle to break through the Moorish defensive line. The opposing side was more then happy to sit back and go on the counter-attack. In all their last games, Moorish Island had lossed or drawn. In one such counter, a unknown Moorish defender managed to strip a bad pass meant for Adams from Hill and lob the ball up the field, catching many Devontan players off guard. The resulting run from a Moorish striker resulted in a thunderous kick from just inside the penalty box that deflected off of the out stretched legs of young Devontan defender Rice and pass the Devontan goalkeeper Kowalski. 1-0 Moorish Land.

UNKNOWN (Goal - 32'): The early goal by the Moorish seemed to knock Devonta off their game. It almost seemed as if it crushed Devontan hearts when they scored. The Devontan's looked to play with lack of resolve or urgency, maybe - just maybe - wanting to wait for new found momentum in the 2nd half of the game like the found for a short time against the Pasargians. Devonta had multiple chances which ended in shots of the post or almost impossible saves by the unknown Moorish goalkeeper. Despite this, misfortune would again hit the Devontans. After a fast counter-attack by the Moorish caused Devontan defender Kendred to kick the ball out for a corner the Moorish found the back of the net again. This time from a luck header that hit the woodwork and bounced just past the goal line. The Devontan's challenged the match officials, but the score call stayed. 2-0 Moorish Land.

Mathew Creasmen (Yellow Card - 37'): Frustration was obviously building up in the Devontans. It was clear Devonta had underestimated the minnows from Moorish Land. In a act of frustration, young Devontan defender Creasmen made a hard tackle on a counter-attacking Moorish player and was shown the first yellow card of the game. First of Creasmen's career too.

UNKNOWN (Yellow Card - 55'): Finally in the early minutes of the second half, it was clear Devonta wanted points. Rather it was the realization of loosing to a unranked team or a chewing out by their head coach Tajo Mendez - or both - the team was on the right track. The Devontan created many chances but could not find the goal they needed. In the 55th minute Devontan striker Adams was taken down with a dirty slide tackle in the box and a penalty was called. It looked to many as a chance for the visiting team. Adams to the penalty but it bounced of the goalies diving feet and was cleared by a Moorish defender.

Defensive Sub (65'): Veteran defender and starter Benton replaced Rice in the center-back position. Coby was one of the bright spots on the Devontan defense today, although the scoreline did not show it.

Offensive Subs (72'): It was clear Devonta needed more speed and creativity on the field of attack. In response, Devonta's captain and highest goalscorer Gerald Johansen was called up to substitute fellow striker Hill, while Alexander was called up to replace right midfielder Washington. It marked Alexander's first cap in this WCQ cycle.

UNKNOWN (Yellow Card - 78'): Johansen brought new energy to the team, but it was not enough to level the game. In the 78th minute, Devontan striker Johansen fresh on the attack, quickly retrieved a through ball from Devontan midfielder Abdullah and managed to get passed the Moorish defender marking him. The defender reacted by pushing Johansen to the turf, just on the penalty box line. The Devontan's cried for another penalty kick but it was determined to be a free kick and yellow for the Moorish defender. The resulting free-kick was easily saved by the Moorish goalkeeper. This would not be the last chance the Devontan's had in the game, but faith would side with the Moorish.

Final Score: 2-0 Moorish Land.

Match Statistics:
Possession
Devonta: 59%
Moorish Land: 41%
Shots
Devonta: 12 shots (8 on target)
Moorish Land: 13 shots (5 on target)
Pass Accuracy
Devonta: 84%
Moorish Land: 83%
Corners
Devonta: 7
Moorish Land: 4
Offsides
Devonta: 3
Moorish Land: 1
Fouls
Devonta: 8
Moorish Land: 9

Current Group 4 Standings:

 # Group 4                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                             5    4   1   0    14    6   +8    13
 2 Pasarga                           5    3   2   0    10    5   +5    11
 3 Port Christopher                  5    3   1   1     8    4   +4    10
 4 United States of Devonta          5    3   0   2     7    5   +2     9
 5 Kel Assuk                         5    2   2   1    11    9   +2     8
 6 The Great Pi                      5    2   0   3     8   10   −2     6
 7 Moorish Land                      5    1   1   3     6   10   −4     4
 8 Darkmania                         5    1   1   3     7   12   −5     4
 9 Razenthuria                       5    0   2   3     1    5   −4     2
10 Maryloupe                         5    0   2   3     5   11   −6     2

World Cup 79 Qualifying Schedule

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

World Cup Qualfying: Group 4
MD1: Devonta 2-0 Darkmania
MD2: Great Pie 0-2 Devonta
MD3: Devonta 2-1 Kel Assuk
MD4: Devonta 1-2 Pasarga
MD5: Moorish Land 2-0 Devonta
MD6: Devonta vs Razenthuria
MD7: Mrinn vs Devonta
MD8: Devonta vs Maryloupe
MD9: Port Christopher vs Devonta

Mid-Qual Friendly: Devonta vs Flardania

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: Bradley Manz

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• Devontan's plays a thrilling match at home 8,455,243 views
• Devonta suffer its first loss in WCQ! 5,243,134 views

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Comments:

By Marion_T - Just now

The beginning of the end! It was fun while it lasted!

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21,989 Likes | 147 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Manuel - 3 mins Ago

We should beat these rookies 6-0 home or away! WTF!!!

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879 Likes | 46 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Cassey111 - 10 min Ago

Being a Devonta fan, I'm used to the constant let down. Thanks team!

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Likes 254 | 32 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

By Kyle145 - 28 mins Ago

It's not the first time we failed to qualify...

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232 Likes | 21 Dislikes

Reply | Like | Dislike

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Devontan Sports Central

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Devonta stops downward spiral in World Cup Qualifying
Devonta fights to a 2-0 home victory over 280th ranked Razenthuria
Isaiah Bristol (@IsaiahBristol)
^{12/01/2017, 8:00 PM | Devonta City, United States of Devonta}

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United States of Devonta 2 - 0 Razenthuria
        Johansen (27')
        Adams (88')

Razenthuria
GK: Lord Pullman
LD: Jarren Gaisley (13')
CD: Ellis Piedmont (58')
CD: Marcus White
RD: Victor Parks
MF: Frank Peaflower
MF: Gabriel Baker
MF: Peter Ingram (78')
ST: Ashton Garret
ST: Peter Falparn
ST: Ethan Bruno

United States of Devonta
GK: Bradley Cooper
LD: Johnson Brooks
CD: Martin Benton
CD: Daniel Kindred
RD: Brayden Liam
DM: Marco Hernandez
LM: Mohamed Abdullah (Tony Phillips - 76')
RM: DeMonte Edwards
OM: Tyrell Owens (Salomon Bundy - 76')
ST: Gerald Johansen
ST: Lamar Adams (89') (Condor Madrid - 90')

---

Key Events:

Jarren Gaisley (Yellow Card - 13'): The attack minded Razenthurians were put of the defensive by the much higher ranked Devontans. Devonta seemed to have more control of the games tempo and play, unlike their two previous matches, which ended in two embarrassing losses. Including one to unranked team Moorish Land. The Devontan's hoped not to underestimate the Razenthurians. Devontan midfielder Abdullah managed to receive a high long pass from fellow teammate Kindred. Abdullahs fast movement forward, took Razenthurian defender Gaisley by surprise. With no other options Gaisley pulled on Abdullah's jersey and brought the Devontan midfielder down. He was shown a yellow, the first of the game.

Johansen (Goal - 27'): Throughout the first half, Devonta came knocking of the Razenthurians door with chances. Many of the Razenthirian attackers were forced to fall back to defense and play in their half, as Devonta took control of the midfield. It looked like it would be only a matter of time till Devonta scored. In the 27th minute the break through occurred. Young Devontan striker Adams sprinted forward and garnered a through ball from Devontan midfielder Owens. Adams then crossed the ball to Devontan captain Johansen who easily tapped the ball into the net, do to Razenthurian goalkeeper Pullman being positioned to stop a shot from Adams. 1-0 Devonta.

Ellis Piedmont (Yellow Card - 58'): Better luck was not found for the Razenthurian team in the second half. Devonta continued to dominate the field. In the 58th minute, Razenthurian defender Piedmont executed a late tackle on earlier Devontan goal scorer Johansen, just out side the penalty box. The reckless move earned him a yellow.

Midfield Subs (76'): With Devonta in charge of the game and in the lead it was time to put fresh legs into the midfield. Devontan coach Tajo Mendez, selected Phillips to replace Abdullah and Bundy to replace Owens.

Peter Ingram (Yellow Card - 78'): Another Razenthurian was booked with a yellow in the 78th minute. In a rare counter-attack by the Razenthurians, striker Ethan Bruno managed to strip Devontan midfielder Hernandez of the ball and lob it long range to fellow attacking teammates. In the scramble for the long ball, Razenthurian midfielder Ingram shoved his hands into the face of Devontan striker Adams.

Adams (Goal - 88'): The game was almost over but Devonta continued to push for a goal. Razenthuria had seemed to have given up and set back at this point and the Devontan were more then glad to keep attacking. In one such attack, young Devontan striker and U-21 captain Adams moved solo through the midfield from a intercepted pass from Razenthurian midfielder Ingram to Bruno. The young stiker looked up and seen that Razenthurian goalkeeper Pullman was off his line. Adams expertly lobbed the ball towards the goal. The flying ball swore above the jumping goalkeeper and smashed into the back of the net. A 33 meter chip from Devontan striker Adams. 2-0 Devonta.

Adam (Yellow Card - 89'): After the young Devontan scored Adams took of his jersey and ran infront of a group of Razenthurian fans and flexed. Adams was swiftly given a yellow card, although well worth it.

Final Score: 2-0 Devonta.

Match Statistics:
Possession
Devonta: 61%
Razenthuria: 39%
Shots
Devonta: 14 shots (9 on target)
Razenthuria: 8 shots (4 on target)
Pass Accuracy
Devonta: 89%
Razenthuria: 81%
Corners
Devonta: 8
Razenthuria: 3
Offsides
Devonta: 4
Razenthuria: 2
Fouls
Devonta: 9
Razenthuria: 7

Current Group 4 Standings:

 # Group 4                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                             6    5   1   0    17    6  +11    16
 2 Pasarga                           6    4   2   0    13    5   +8    14
 3 United States of Devonta          6    4   0   2     9    5   +4    12
 4 Port Christopher                  6    3   2   1     9    5   +4    11
 5 Kel Assuk                         6    2   3   1    12   10   +2     9
 6 Darkmania                         6    2   1   3    12   14   −2     7
 7 The Great Pi                      6    2   0   4     8   13   −5     6
 8 Moorish Land                      6    1   1   4     6   13   −7     4
 9 Razenthuria                       6    0   2   4     1    7   −6     2
10 Maryloupe                         6    0   2   4     7   16   −9     2

World Cup 79 Qualifying Schedule

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

World Cup Qualfying: Group 4
MD1: Devonta 2-0 Darkmania
MD2: Great Pie 0-2 Devonta
MD3: Devonta 2-1 Kel Assuk
MD4: Devonta 1-2 Pasarga
MD5: Moorish Land 2-0 Devonta
MD6: Devonta 2-0 Razenthuria
MD7: Mrinn vs Devonta
MD8: Devonta vs Maryloupe
MD9: Port Christopher vs Devonta

Mid-Qual Friendly: Devonta vs Flardania

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: Isaiah Bristol

---

More top news stories

• Devontan's role pass World Cup opposition 12,342,434 views
• Devontan's plays a thrilling match at home 11,536,323 views
• Devonta suffers its first loss in WCQ! 8,125,543 views
• Two losses in a row for struggling Devontan team 4,144,434 views

---

Comments:

By Wendy101 - Just now

Back on track! #Ibelieve

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2,929 Likes | 982 Dislikes

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By Cody_Miles - 3 mins Ago

Eh not impressed. They will choke like they did against Moorish Land.

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1,279 Likes | 256 Dislikes

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By Jigga - 10 min Ago

Way better performance then yesterday!

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Likes 836 | 22 Dislikes

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By Patty_Fortuna - 28 mins Ago

So scared to play Mrrin tomorrow, we're not ready!

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672 Likes | 98 Dislikes

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[United States of Devonta]

Devontan Sports Central

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Two losses in a row for struggling Devontan team
Devonta falls 2-0 away to unranked team from Moorish Land
Bradley Manz (@thebradmanz)
^{11/31/2017, 7:00 PM | Moorish Land}

---

United States of Devonta 0 - 2 Moorish Land
                                (Unknown 21', 32')

Moorish Land
UNKNOWN (x2) (55', 78')

United States of Devonta
GK: Brandon Kowalski
LD: Johnson Brooks
CD: Coby Rice (Martin Benton - 65')
CD: Daniel Kindred
RD: Mathew Creasmen (37')
DM: Isaiah Russel
LM: Mohamed Abdullah
RM: Julius Washington (Alexander Jones - 72')
OM: Tyrell Owens
ST: Noah Hill (Gerald Johansen - 72')
ST: Lamar Adams

---

Key Events:

UNKOWN (Goal - 21'): Despite, being in a away match Devonta seemed to be in control of the passing and tempo of the game. Although the young offensive duo of Devontan strikers Hill and Adams seemed to struggle to break through the Moorish defensive line. The opposing side was more then happy to sit back and go on the counter-attack. In all their last games, Moorish Island had lossed or drawn. In one such counter, a unknown Moorish defender managed to strip a bad pass meant for Adams from Hill and lob the ball up the field, catching many Devontan players off guard. The resulting run from a Moorish striker resulted in a thunderous kick from just inside the penalty box that deflected off of the out stretched legs of young Devontan defender Rice and pass the Devontan goalkeeper Kowalski. 1-0 Moorish Land.

UNKNOWN (Goal - 32'): The early goal by the Moorish seemed to knock Devonta off their game. It almost seemed as if it crushed Devontan hearts when they scored. The Devontan's looked to play with lack of resolve or urgency, maybe - just maybe - wanting to wait for new found momentum in the 2nd half of the game like the found for a short time against the Pasargians. Devonta had multiple chances which ended in shots of the post or almost impossible saves by the unknown Moorish goalkeeper. Despite this, misfortune would again hit the Devontans. After a fast counter-attack by the Moorish caused Devontan defender Kendred to kick the ball out for a corner the Moorish found the back of the net again. This time from a luck header that hit the woodwork and bounced just past the goal line. The Devontan's challenged the match officials, but the score call stayed. 2-0 Moorish Land.

Mathew Creasmen (Yellow Card - 37'): Frustration was obviously building up in the Devontans. It was clear Devonta had underestimated the minnows from Moorish Land. In a act of frustration, young Devontan defender Creasmen made a hard tackle on a counter-attacking Moorish player and was shown the first yellow card of the game. First of Creasmen's career too.

UNKNOWN (Yellow Card - 55'): Finally in the early minutes of the second half, it was clear Devonta wanted points. Rather it was the realization of loosing to a unranked team or a chewing out by their head coach Tajo Mendez - or both - the team was on the right track. The Devontan created many chances but could not find the goal they needed. In the 55th minute Devontan striker Adams was taken down with a dirty slide tackle in the box and a penalty was called. It looked to many as a chance for the visiting team. Adams to the penalty but it bounced of the goalies diving feet and was cleared by a Moorish defender.

Defensive Sub (65'): Veteran defender and starter Benton replaced Rice in the center-back position. Coby was one of the bright spots on the Devontan defense today, although the scoreline did not show it.

Offensive Subs (72'): It was clear Devonta needed more speed and creativity on the field of attack. In response, Devonta's captain and highest goalscorer Gerald Johansen was called up to substitute fellow striker Hill, while Alexander was called up to replace right midfielder Washington. It marked Alexander's first cap in this WCQ cycle.

UNKNOWN (Yellow Card - 78'): Johansen brought new energy to the team, but it was not enough to level the game. In the 78th minute, Devontan striker Johansen fresh on the attack, quickly retrieved a through ball from Devontan midfielder Abdullah and managed to get passed the Moorish defender marking him. The defender reacted by pushing Johansen to the turf, just on the penalty box line. The Devontan's cried for another penalty kick but it was determined to be a free kick and yellow for the Moorish defender. The resulting free-kick was easily saved by the Moorish goalkeeper. This would not be the last chance the Devontan's had in the game, but faith would side with the Moorish.

Final Score: 2-0 Moorish Land.

Match Statistics:
Possession
Devonta: 59%
Moorish Land: 41%
Shots
Devonta: 12 shots (8 on target)
Moorish Land: 13 shots (5 on target)
Pass Accuracy
Devonta: 84%
Moorish Land: 83%
Corners
Devonta: 7
Moorish Land: 4
Offsides
Devonta: 3
Moorish Land: 1
Fouls
Devonta: 8
Moorish Land: 9

Current Group 4 Standings:

 # Group 4                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                             5    4   1   0    14    6   +8    13
 2 Pasarga                           5    3   2   0    10    5   +5    11
 3 Port Christopher                  5    3   1   1     8    4   +4    10
 4 United States of Devonta          5    3   0   2     7    5   +2     9
 5 Kel Assuk                         5    2   2   1    11    9   +2     8
 6 The Great Pi                      5    2   0   3     8   10   −2     6
 7 Moorish Land                      5    1   1   3     6   10   −4     4
 8 Darkmania                         5    1   1   3     7   12   −5     4
 9 Razenthuria                       5    0   2   3     1    5   −4     2
10 Maryloupe                         5    0   2   3     5   11   −6     2

World Cup 79 Qualifying Schedule

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

World Cup Qualfying: Group 4
MD1: Devonta 2-0 Darkmania
MD2: Great Pie 0-2 Devonta
MD3: Devonta 2-1 Kel Assuk
MD4: Devonta 1-2 Pasarga
MD5: Moorish Land 2-0 Devonta
MD6: Devonta vs Razenthuria
MD7: Mrinn vs Devonta
MD8: Devonta vs Maryloupe
MD9: Port Christopher vs Devonta

Mid-Qual Friendly: Devonta vs Flardania

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: Bradley Manz

---

More top news stories

• World Cup Seventy-Nine Opening Victory 13,212,234 views
• Devontan's role pass World Cup opposition 10,246,123 views
• Devontan's plays a thrilling match at home 8,455,243 views
• Devonta suffer its first loss in WCQ! 5,243,134 views

---

Comments:

By Marion_T - Just now

The beginning of the end! It was fun while it lasted!

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21,989 Likes | 147 Dislikes

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By Manuel - 3 mins Ago

We should beat these rookies 6-0 home or away! WTF!!!

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879 Likes | 46 Dislikes

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By Cassey111 - 10 min Ago

Being a Devonta fan, I'm used to the constant let down. Thanks team!

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Likes 254 | 32 Dislikes

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By Kyle145 - 28 mins Ago

It's not the first time we failed to qualify...

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232 Likes | 21 Dislikes

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Devontan Sports Central

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Devonta stops downward spiral in World Cup Qualifying
Devonta fights to a 2-0 home victory over 280th ranked Razenthuria
Isaiah Bristol (@IsaiahBristol)
^{12/01/2017, 8:00 PM | Devonta City, United States of Devonta}

---

United States of Devonta 2 - 0 Razenthuria
        Johansen (27')
        Adams (88')

Razenthuria
GK: Lord Pullman
LD: Jarren Gaisley (13')
CD: Ellis Piedmont (58')
CD: Marcus White
RD: Victor Parks
MF: Frank Peaflower
MF: Gabriel Baker
MF: Peter Ingram (78')
ST: Ashton Garret
ST: Peter Falparn
ST: Ethan Bruno

United States of Devonta
GK: Bradley Cooper
LD: Johnson Brooks
CD: Martin Benton
CD: Daniel Kindred
RD: Brayden Liam
DM: Marco Hernandez
LM: Mohamed Abdullah (Tony Phillips - 76')
RM: DeMonte Edwards
OM: Tyrell Owens (Salomon Bundy - 76')
ST: Gerald Johansen
ST: Lamar Adams (89') (Condor Madrid - 90')

---

Key Events:

Jarren Gaisley (Yellow Card - 13'): The attack minded Razenthurians were put of the defensive by the much higher ranked Devontans. Devonta seemed to have more control of the games tempo and play, unlike their two previous matches, which ended in two embarrassing losses. Including one to unranked team Moorish Land. The Devontan's hoped not to underestimate the Razenthurians. Devontan midfielder Abdullah managed to receive a high long pass from fellow teammate Kindred. Abdullahs fast movement forward, took Razenthurian defender Gaisley by surprise. With no other options Gaisley pulled on Abdullah's jersey and brought the Devontan midfielder down. He was shown a yellow, the first of the game.

Johansen (Goal - 27'): Throughout the first half, Devonta came knocking of the Razenthurians door with chances. Many of the Razenthirian attackers were forced to fall back to defense and play in their half, as Devonta took control of the midfield. It looked like it would be only a matter of time till Devonta scored. In the 27th minute the break through occurred. Young Devontan striker Adams sprinted forward and garnered a through ball from Devontan midfielder Owens. Adams then crossed the ball to Devontan captain Johansen who easily tapped the ball into the net, do to Razenthurian goalkeeper Pullman being positioned to stop a shot from Adams. 1-0 Devonta.

Ellis Piedmont (Yellow Card - 58'): Better luck was not found for the Razenthurian team in the second half. Devonta continued to dominate the field. In the 58th minute, Razenthurian defender Piedmont executed a late tackle on earlier Devontan goal scorer Johansen, just out side the penalty box. The reckless move earned him a yellow.

Midfield Subs (76'): With Devonta in charge of the game and in the lead it was time to put fresh legs into the midfield. Devontan coach Tajo Mendez, selected Phillips to replace Abdullah and Bundy to replace Owens.

Peter Ingram (Yellow Card - 78'): Another Razenthurian was booked with a yellow in the 78th minute. In a rare counter-attack by the Razenthurians, striker Ethan Bruno managed to strip Devontan midfielder Hernandez of the ball and lob it long range to fellow attacking teammates. In the scramble for the long ball, Razenthurian midfielder Ingram shoved his hands into the face of Devontan striker Adams.

Adams (Goal - 88'): The game was almost over but Devonta continued to push for a goal. Razenthuria had seemed to have given up and set back at this point and the Devontan were more then glad to keep attacking. In one such attack, young Devontan striker and U-21 captain Adams moved solo through the midfield from a intercepted pass from Razenthurian midfielder Ingram to Bruno. The young stiker looked up and seen that Razenthurian goalkeeper Pullman was off his line. Adams expertly lobbed the ball towards the goal. The flying ball swore above the jumping goalkeeper and smashed into the back of the net. A 33 meter chip from Devontan striker Adams. 2-0 Devonta.

Adam (Yellow Card - 89'): After the young Devontan scored Adams took of his jersey and ran infront of a group of Razenthurian fans and flexed. Adams was swiftly given a yellow card, although well worth it.

Final Score: 2-0 Devonta.

Match Statistics:
Possession
Devonta: 61%
Razenthuria: 39%
Shots
Devonta: 14 shots (9 on target)
Razenthuria: 8 shots (4 on target)
Pass Accuracy
Devonta: 89%
Razenthuria: 81%
Corners
Devonta: 8
Razenthuria: 3
Offsides
Devonta: 4
Razenthuria: 2
Fouls
Devonta: 9
Razenthuria: 7

Current Group 4 Standings:

 # Group 4                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                             6    5   1   0    17    6  +11    16
 2 Pasarga                           6    4   2   0    13    5   +8    14
 3 United States of Devonta          6    4   0   2     9    5   +4    12
 4 Port Christopher                  6    3   2   1     9    5   +4    11
 5 Kel Assuk                         6    2   3   1    12   10   +2     9
 6 Darkmania                         6    2   1   3    12   14   −2     7
 7 The Great Pi                      6    2   0   4     8   13   −5     6
 8 Moorish Land                      6    1   1   4     6   13   −7     4
 9 Razenthuria                       6    0   2   4     1    7   −6     2
10 Maryloupe                         6    0   2   4     7   16   −9     2

World Cup 79 Qualifying Schedule

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

World Cup Qualfying: Group 4
MD1: Devonta 2-0 Darkmania
MD2: Great Pie 0-2 Devonta
MD3: Devonta 2-1 Kel Assuk
MD4: Devonta 1-2 Pasarga
MD5: Moorish Land 2-0 Devonta
MD6: Devonta 2-0 Razenthuria
MD7: Mrinn vs Devonta
MD8: Devonta vs Maryloupe
MD9: Port Christopher vs Devonta

Mid-Qual Friendly: Devonta vs Flardania

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: Isaiah Bristol

---

More top news stories

• Devontan's role pass World Cup opposition 12,342,434 views
• Devontan's plays a thrilling match at home 11,536,323 views
• Devonta suffers its first loss in WCQ! 8,125,543 views
• Two losses in a row for struggling Devontan team 4,144,434 views

---

Comments:

By Wendy101 - Just now

Back on track! #Ibelieve

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2,929 Likes | 982 Dislikes

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By Cody_Miles - 3 mins Ago

Eh not impressed. They will choke like they did against Moorish Land.

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1,279 Likes | 256 Dislikes

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By Jigga - 10 min Ago

Way better performance then yesterday!

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Likes 836 | 22 Dislikes

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By Patty_Fortuna - 28 mins Ago

So scared to play Mrrin tomorrow, we're not ready!

---

672 Likes | 98 Dislikes

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[Eshan]

Rosaria Daily Herald | Sporting Section
Kill Me

Well things have gone from great and fantastic for the Echani team, picking up nine points from the first nine for taking in their World Cup qualification attempt, before sputtering and choking in their next two matches against The Kaiser Colonies and Banija, taking one point from those six. And then we went into the match against Chromatika, one of the best teams in the world, in poor form and needing a win. Aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd we didn’t get the win. We lost. Eshan has now taken just one point from their last three games, and now we have dropped from alone at the top of the group to fourth place in it. A travesty, a national disappointment, everyone was wondering just WTF had happened to the Echani team, why was our swagger off? WTF was going on. Either way, here’s a breakdown of the game and how the Echani team lost ಠ_ಠ

Going into the game, the Echani team lined up in an obviously more defensive lineup, with Varsaly Marenzo coming in for Aretmis Montanari as a much more defensive-minded midfielder, and Willian Luc Villaview came into the heart of our defense for Eric Bambic in the right centerback slot. A far more defensive minded line-up, totally un-Echani in nature but you had to respect the fourth best team in the world; they were there for a reason, the same reason so many, if not all the best teams were. Rand(). What? Anyways, we definitely kept our men behind the ball, but we exploded forward well on the counter with that high powered attacking passing that Alexio del Nieran has drilled into the squad.

And honestly we played halfway decently for the first 14 minutes, butttt then we got scored on so that was pretty shitty. We’d really been threatening too, having two solid shots on goal that were saved well, but we let our concentration drop for a second and Chromatika punished us, when Montague sent Andisori through on goal with a perfectly weighted pass, and one way or another the ball went into the net I’ll tell you what! 0-1 to them, really not the start you want to make, even more so with all that hung in the balance, like qualifying for the World Cup and all that.

We did ourselves just moving on from there, absorbing pressure well and bouncing back at Chromatika with urgency, cause we were losing you see. So the Echani who lived all over the world had something to celebrate in the 28th minute, when Samper Markovic won a goal kick out of the air and proceeded to zing it out wide to Marshawn Mercury. The lightning fast dribbling showboater blew past his defender to reach the touch line before sending a cross into a packed box; the ball was deflected back out to Samper, who hit it through the defensive line with a brilliant one-touch pass. Marco van Ciavatinni sliced through the defense to run onto the ball, take a touch, and chip it up and over the keeper and the to-capacity 125,000 Estadi Echani in Rosaria exploded as the golden man made it 1-1. Fuck yeah.

We were forced to sit back and defend up until the 40th minute as our dangerous opposition sought to reclaim their goal advantage before half-time. Despite being tested many times, Luc Villaview, and to a lesser extent Darren Tran, put in a brilliant showing to close down and deny the side from Chromatika to keep Eshan in the game and the score level. In the last couple minutes until halftime, it was the Echani team that was controlling the game and looking more dangerous to score, but unfortunately the number four team in the world happens to have a good defense, so we were unable to break through. The referee blew his whistle for half-time, and the Echani team ran off the pitch into the tunnel. 1-1.

The first half had certainly been more in favor of Chromatika, that was undeniable, but at the same time the Echani had been strong in their defensive positioning, teamwork and communication, and overall pressing and general defensive effort. Plus we’d done well in attacking, creating chances, not entirely the best chances, but efforts at goal nonetheless. If we could turn the dial up, another goal wasn’t out of the question and we could yet emerge from the arena with three points.

And we started the first eight or nine minutes of the second half on the right foot, with Marco van Ciavatinni coming agonizingly close with a curling effort that smacked against the bar in the 52nd minute. The tide started to burn back to Chromatika as they settled into the flow of the half, and were rewarded for the efforts with a free kick conceded by Eric Bambic in the 58th minute. Up stepped Hellion, who hit an absolute screamer of a free kick past a diving Aurélian Gautier to make it 1-2 to the visitors. FML.

The next twenty minutes were pretty back and forth and even to be honest, with Eshan giving a great account of themselves as they matched Chromatika punch for punch. Alexio del Nieran made his first substitution in the 66th minute, bringing Artemis Montanari on for Varsaly Marenzo in an attacking change hoping to get Eshan that goal they desperately needed. With it failing to materialize, Magnum Cerelius came in for Marshawn Mercury in the 72nd minute to bring another goal scoring threat onto the field. In the 77th minute, Eshan was enjoying a nice long spell of possession, passing the ball between our extremely talented midfield and out over to Marco van Ciavatinni and back down and all over the place, it was great ball and all we needed to do was take the ball and relocate it to the interior of the net, and Jean-Marie Bentacur hit a nice and lovely chipped ball up and over Chromatika’s defensive line, desperately pushing forward in for an offensive trap. But with Anthony Baudelio timing his run perfectly to Bentacur’s perfect pass, there was nothing they could do as the clinical striker for Phalanx FC in Ceni cooly smashed the ball into the net to make it 2-2, helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll yes!!!!!!!! Game on, a point perhaps saved, and maybe we could even escape with three!

82nd minute we were playing well, but Chromatika was putting on the pressure, forcing us back onto our heels, so Alexio del Nieran brought in Brutus Aurelianus for Jean-Marie Bentacur, removing our exhausted creative spark in favor of a defensive minded athletic beast who used to captain our under-21s but hadn’t quite managed to break into the starting rotation for the national team.

The dying minutes of the game saw Eshan desperately pushing forward to try and win the match, and that was something you really had to give credit to the lads for not being content to sit and defend a draw, Alexio del Nieran was pacing furiously up and down his manager’s box, urging the team forward. And then it all fell apart when, with literal seconds left of the game, they hit us on the counter with Victoriane assisted by Dragana to make it 2-3, final time. That’s all I want so say about that.

We really are in a do or die situation, and it’s absolutely bizarre how we find ourselves there. We’re the second best team in the group, we beat the third best team in Eastfield Lodge, won our first three and topped the group, and yet now we sit in fourth, six points behind Chromatika in first and four behind Boring Paradise in second. And two behind Eastfield Lodge. WTF was this bullcrap? A horrible run of form, one point from nine, terrible deal folks, absolutely terrible. A match against eighth placed and 74th ranked Buyan lay before the Echani team; a loss here really would be catastrophic and raise questions about just what the hell to do if qualification started to slip away.

---

---

Things had picked back up for the Echani Republic, not in the realm of South Covello and the trial of Gregory, but elsewhere. That’s not to say that matters there were resolved, no far from that. There was still a country to be built, still vital foodstuffs, water, medicine to be distributed, Echani engineers and experts worked on rebuilding critical infrastructure, Eshan’s military sat ready to put down any outbreaks of violence; things were certainly going well there, with the constitutional convention inching closer and closer. No, the area where Eshan was headed to next was Rushmore.

It was far from the Republic’s first foray into the region, after all Revan had purchased South Yerfilag nearly two years ago, a great acquisition for the Republic it must be said. All those rare earth metals, telecommunications expertise, an unfortunate love of baseball found from Praetor’s Point to Heelje and everywhere in between, they were Revan’s first footsteps into Rushmore, and they had given him a large presence in the region, which proved to be useful almost immediately.

The situation in Nuevo Caracas was extremely volatile, with conflict erupting on the open street. The nations of San Jose Guyabal and our great allies The Royal Kingdom of Quebec were already involved with the fight on the side of the anti-Immadurans, and had shown the good sense to come to the Echani first for help on the matter. Always eager to get involved, Revan had helped form the Joint Quebecois-Echani Force for Action and Safety, JQE FAS, and Eshan joined the conflict. From accepting and relocating refugees to providing funding and weaponry for anti-Immaduran forces to target airstrikes and ground maneuvers against strategic targets, the Echani had flung themselves into the effort. It had been a great success, and the Echani forces were able to pull out almost as quickly as they had jumped in, and this winning success would serve as invaluable experience when Eshan helped free South Covello two years later.

But now, they were headed back to the nation that sat just northeast of Valladares and east of Szavoda on the peninsula in Terrania, Rushmore. The JQE FAS backed anti-Immaduran forces had won the war and control of Nuevo Caracas, but now the time had come for the stabilization of the state; there were several small pro-Immaduarn uprisings against the new, ill-prepared government, as well as general insecurity, so it had fallen to Eshan to return and install order.

Not that Revan was upset with that burden, far from it. It was Eshan that was asked to help, and that made him proud. Not some other nation sailing off, but Eshan, and that was further evidence he was making progress with his goal of raising the Republic to heights the Echani had never even dreamed about before. Nations were coming to him for help with their problems, and that made Revan smile. Nothing like being strong, nothing like having power, nothing like being Atlantian Oceania’s representative on the world stage as they rwarcrushed, the usage of that word reminding Revan to check on Starblaydia in the aftermath of Lord Protector Julius Starblayde’s death, the forces of evil and helped good to save the day. And it was extremely easy and convenient for his forces to reach Nuevo Caracas; with the Echani Colony of South Yerfilag nearby in Rushmore, as well as Echani forces passing through on the return from South Covello, it was an easy matter to divert and deploy military assets in the state.

Already Echani forces had deployed to the capital city Caracas and secured the city, and now were fanning out city to city to act as peacekeepers and help stabilize the state. Eshan was required to be strong and stable and bring order to the nation as it started to rebuild itself, a similar situation as that in South Covello Revan noted to himself. And that was totally fine with him, playing peace keeper, ensuring the peace, and helping to rebuild these nations were great tasks for Eshan. We get to steamroll weak military opposition which made Echani citizens do backflips out due to patriotism, play a role in international affairs, helping stabilize and rebuild nations brought great international press and recognition for the Republic, all of these were good things.

And looking back towards South Covello, Covellans had recently released their constitutional principles, with a full written constitution to come. To Revan’s eye, it was a pretty good if standard constitution, with good, basic freedoms being granted to the citizens. Supreme Court, President, two-year long terms for the legislature, good recall ability on the Pres, all good stuff. A full constitution would be very telling, political parties and ideology amongst the Covellans would be interesting to see, all sorts of fun things lay in store for the nation and Revan would be watching them unfold extremely closely.

So how did that leave things for the Echani Republic? Well Revan still had Eshan engaged in South Covello to help keep the peace, rebuild the country, and try to gain rapport with the Covellan government and turn them into a pro-Echani ally. And now on top of that, Echani forces were deployed in South Caracas and engaged in extremely light and rare combat against occasional pockets of armed rebel resistance. Two very, very easily managed fronts, Revan wasn’t worried about a thing. Not even fronts, that implied aggressive war, just peacekeeping operations. Easy stuff.

[95X]

"Political Breaking News will not be roleplayed tonight, so we may present to you this autotuned debate."

(OOC: Pretend this is an exerpt performance from a songwriting/performing competition and the writer is pandering to 'RL theory' believers, which is something in-character 95Xers associate with the craziest of conspiracy theorists.)

Rankcoasting (To the tune of Sailing by Christopher Cross.)

It's not too long to cutoff
And time has escaped me
If the numbers' right you can take a pass
And reach victory

Oh the subroutine is on your side
You have half a chance
Really

It's not long until it's all over
No sense to begin
If the numbers' right you can take a break
No writing tonight

Oh the subroutine is on your side
You have half a chance
Really

Rankcoasting gives me the time to do almost anything else
Just the rank and the rand to ferry me
I hope I earn a win

Ideas
Always escape me
When rankcoasting

Thoughts go through my consciousness
They come in and they go right out
Yes, really

Rankcoasting gives me the time to do almost anything else
Just the rank and the rand to ferry me
I hope I earn a win

Even less time until cutoff
Storyline's rather thin
If the numbers' right you can rankcoast
Right along with me

Oh the subroutine is on your side
You have half a chance
Really

Rankcoasting gives me the time to do almost anything else
Just the rank and the rand to ferry me
I hope I earn a win

(Applause)

[Ceni]

Chop, chop, cutoff.

[Mriin]

Aldo rubbed his head, and looked around the Haven locker room. "Did... what happened yesterday?"

Reina looked at him blankly. "I... can't remember, now that you mention it. We were flying somewhere recently, weren't we?"

"I definitely remember being at the airport a few days ago," he nodded, "but how can we not know where we were going?"

Joren shuddered awake off to the side, pulling off the newspaper that was draped over his face. "Argh, my back is killing me."

Reina got up and picked up the scattered broadsheet. "Maybe there'll be something about us in the sports section?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," nodded Aldo, "if we were flying out and we're back now we must have played a game... somewhere."

"...looks like we played... The Great Pi? And we beat them three-oh! Wait, I scored a goal?!"

Joren tried once more to shake his sleep daze off, and looked at the back sideways. "Yeah? We had a great counter-attack going and I saw you were open in a pretty good position, it was a great shot. How'd you forget?"

"It was all a blur, honestly. Do you like, remember who we were playing against?"

"Of course, like you just said, we were in The Great Pi and were playing them. And... wait, who was on their team?"

Aldo snorted. "Now you know what we're talking about. Didn't you even do scouting reports on them?"

"I did! And I know I went over our strategy to take advantage of their weak spots, which definitely worked with that scoreline. But... this is fucking weird."