Sporting World Cup 6 Everything Thread (Complete)

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

Sporting World Cup preview and schedule

Ozorkow, Republic of Prussia East - (NAP) The U-18 national team is heading to the Free Republics to participate in the Sporting World Cup 6, a cup organized by Sporting World, which has been banned in our glorious nation. Many in the Alpine Union are wondering why the Bisons are still participating in a cup organized by the Evil Republicans, and this year's edition is held in their nation. The Alpine Union is in group G and all games will be held at the Gem of the Oceans Stadium, the same place where our american football team lost 6-0 a few weeks ago. Other countries in group G are the well known Darmen, the impressive Commonwealth of Baker Park, who won the last edition, and newcomer Maryloupe. Darmen are always competitive and they will fight with Baker Park for the 1st place, while the Reprezentacja Alpejski will battle with Maryloupe for the 3rd place. It isn't worth saying that our chances to qualify for the playoffs are very slim.

This year, Radoslaw Kazimierczak will be our starting goalkeeper and he's a downgrade from Georges-Kévin Vainqueur who was the starting goalkeeper last year. Kazimierczak isn't expected to be as good as Vainqueur, nor are his backups Giorgia Ceccherini and Dior-bhorgàil Nic'IlleMhìcheil.

The defense is anchored by Ballou Béland-Hamel, who recently transferred from the Saguenay Dynamo to Real Manzanilla C.F. Ballou has been named the team captain and he's a beast on defense, you can't pass behind him. 17 years old left back Kacper Pietrzkiewicz is another player to watch. One of the fastest player on the field, you can't run faster than him and he can counter attack rapidly with his speed. Other starters on defense are Maoldònaich Ó Néill and Nacho. 16 years old Arkadiusz Krzykowski and Alessandro Mastroianni has made the team but you won't see them until late in the game.

The best player on the team is probably the attacking midfielder Sandrine Fontaine. She will lead the team on offense with her passing skills and she's aslo a good shooter. Vjekoslav Krklec, despite being a defensive midfielder, can also generate some offense. Grzegorz Wolsztynski on the left side will also support the offense with his speed and passing skills. Another starting midfielder is 17 years old Nico Windmüller. Ryder Koniarczyk or A.J. Woszczynski could be used late in the game.

Wladyslaw Kaczorowski will be the main striker on the team and most goals will be scored by him or Fontaine. 17 years old Zvonimir Kordic has great potential but at this time of his career, he's a little raw. If the team is trailing late in the game, coach Miroslaw Zielinski can bring in Elvedin Husejinovic as a 3rd atatcker.

Here's the Alpines schedule:

MD1: Maryloupe vs Alpine Union
MD2: Alpine Union vs Commonwealth of Baker Park
MD3: Darmen vs Alpine Union

[Free Republics]

This is your Matchday 1 Cutoff, brought to you by Nicholls Enterprises! Nicholls Enterprises: We Make Everything!

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Results

Nicholls Enterprises Group A
Equestrian States 1–4 United States of Devonta
Vettrera 1–3 Cassadaigua

  Nicholls Enterprises Group A  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 United States of Devonta        1   1  0  0    4   1  +3    3
2 Cassadaigua                     1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
3 Vettrera                        1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
4 Equestrian States               1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0

AllMart Group B
Filindostan 2–3 The Sherpa Empire
Oscioru 0–1 Krytak

  AllMart Group B               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire               1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
2 Krytak                          1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 Filindostan                     1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
4 Oscioru                         1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

Dixon Light Group C
Juvencus 3–2 Acronius
Latman 1–2 Neo-Romanum

  Dixon Light Group C           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Juvencus                        1   1  0  0    3   2  +1    3
2 Neo-Romanum                     1   1  0  0    2   1  +1    3
3 Acronius                        1   0  0  1    2   3  −1    0
4 Latman                          1   0  0  1    1   2  −1    0

RT&T Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven 0–2 Ravsol
Mercredi 1–3 Free Republics

  RT&T Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Free Republics                  1   1  0  0    3   1  +2    3
2 Ravsol                          1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
3 Mercredi                        1   0  0  1    1   3  −2    0
4 Greater Vakolicci Haven         1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0

FreedomCola Group E
Nagore 0–3 Abanhfleft
Mercedini 2–0 Cosumar

  FreedomCola Group E           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                      1   1  0  0    3   0  +3    3
2 Mercedini                       1   1  0  0    2   0  +2    3
3 Cosumar                         1   0  0  1    0   2  −2    0
4 Nagore                          1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0

Trudeau Firearms Company Group F
South Caleblan 1–0 Azadeshia
Razenthuria 1–5 Sharktail

  Trudeau Firearms Company Group F Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sharktail                          1   1  0  0    5   1  +4    3
2 South Caleblan                     1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
3 Azadeshia                          1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0
4 Razenthuria                        1   0  0  1    1   5  −4    0

BearOil Group G
Maryloupe 0–1 Alpine Union
Darmen 2–2 Commonwealth of Baker Park

  BearOil Group G               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Alpine Union                    1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
2 Commonwealth of Baker Park      1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
  Darmen                          1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1
4 Maryloupe                       1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

Olden Automobile Company Group H
Togonistan 1–0 Irwil
Ethane 1–1 North Prarie

  Olden Automobile Company Group H Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Togonistan                         1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
2 Ethane                             1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  North Prarie                       1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
4 Irwil                              1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

[Togonistan]

Togonistan U18 team starts Sporting World Cup with a banger!
By: Apikaila Madena

While the rest of the world has been sharing their hype for the international football tournament cycle for quite some time, now might be the right moment for all you footyholics at home to join the train as Togonistan is participating in one of them.

32 teams from all over the world have come to Free Republics for the 6th Sporting World Cup, an international U18 Tournament to make it clear who has the strongest and brightest young talent. Togonistan, having been drawn into Group H along with Ethane, North Prarie and Irwil played their first game against the latter, resulting in a 1-0 victory.

The match started with Togonistan taking a defensive role from the very first minute, allowing Irwil to run with the ball and look for a potential way through the Togonistani laid-back defense line. Their first opportunity came during the 12th minute, when Irwil's striker managed to break through a one-on-one situation with Alex Vavau, resulting in a shot on the goal. Luckily, Togonistani goalkeeper Jonathan Manu-Lavea was on guard and managed to block the shot, giving our striker Keyn Menetua an opportunity for a counter-attack. Sadly, Menetua's shot on Irwil's goal went just over the bar, and without much other remarkable incidents happening during the first half, both teams went towards the second half with a score 0-0.

The second half saw Togonistan upping their attack game and spreading more across the whole field. However, during the 56th minute, Irwil managed to get a long pass forward to their striker, who managed to get past our defense line and would've had a clear shot on the goal from 5 meters away if it wasn't for Jax Tugler's tackle which managed to save the day there. The breaking point arrived during the 73rd minute, when goalkeeper Manu-Lavea managed to give a long pass to captain Aleki Siosifa up front. Siosifa had a shot on the goal, which, however, was blocked by Irwil's defender, resulting in a corner kick for Togonistan. The corner kick, given by Keyn Menetua, ended up above midfielder Jonas Patrick's head, who managed to perform a spectacular bicycle kick and send the ball straight to Irwil's goal.

With having a 1-0 lead, Togonistan pulled back into defense. Despite having a small opportunity right in front of the goal during the 81st minute (which was quickly eliminated by defenders Rai Tavatula and Jax Tugler), Irwil did not manage to even out the odds anymore, resulting in a 1-0 victory for Togonistan.

Tuala-Faraimo (TGN) Toatele (TGN) (68')
Patrick (73')
Suega (TGN) Ianea (TGN) (87')

Match log

Meanwhile, another match in Group H between Ethane and North Prarie ended up in a 1-1 tie, making Togonistan, for now, leader of the group with three points.

Olden Automobile Company Group H Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Togonistan                         1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3
2 Ethane                             1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
  North Prarie                       1   0  1  0    1   1   0    1
4 Irwil                              1   0  0  1    0   1  −1    0

With 1 match played for all teams, Togonistan leading Group H with 3 points

[Acronius]

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.::FREE UNION OF ACRONIUS - OFFICIAL ROSTER FOR THE 6^TH SPORTING WORLD CUP::.

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TEAM INFORMATION

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NATION: Acronius
TEAM NICKNAME(S): Blue Boys
HEAD COACH: Ilan Trebuchet
ASSISTANT COACH: Laurent Prudhomme
FORMATION: 4-3-3
CAPTAIN: Thomas Gaspé
VICE-CAPTAIN: Swel Tilani
FREE KICK TAKER: Lyle Thorn
PENALTY TAKER: Arthur Dumez
CORNER KICK TAKER: Harry Sandford

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SQAUD

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#  	Pos.  	    	Name                    Age     Club  	  	          	  	    	  
1  	GK  	  	Michael ROWLAND  	18  	Concordians  	          	    	    	  
2  	LB  	  	Evan PLACEK  	        18  	Stade Défense  	  	          	    	  
3  	CB  	  	Hideo KASAHARA  	17  	TakiJump  	          	    	    	  
4  	CB  	  	Jack MORIN  	  	18  	Concordians  	          	    	    	  
5  	RB  	  	Abram MAXWELL  	  	18  	Concordians  	          	    	    	  
6  	CM  	  	Joseph FOXWOOD  	18  	Scunthorpe  	          	    	    	  
7  	CM  	  	Harry SANDFORD  	18  	Kingsmouth  	          	    	    	  
8  	CM  	  	Thomas GASPÉ  	 	18  	Stade Défense  	  	          	    	  
9  	LW  	  	Lyle THORN  	  	17  	Hytheford Palace  	          	    	  
10  	CF  	  	Swel TILANI  	  	18  	Stade Défense  	  	          	    	  
11  	RW  	  	Arthur DUMEZ  	  	17  	Hornchurch (EUR)  	          	    	  

12  	GK  	  	Gary STEELER    	18  	Lionsgate National  	  	          	  
13  	GK  	  	Jules LACASSE    	16  	Artesia Highlands  	  	          	  
14  	LB  	  	Haruki KANDA    	18  	Ishikawa Tenchi  	  	          	  
15  	CB  	  	Keegan WRIGHT    	16  	Astonbury  	  	            	      	  
16  	CB  	  	Yann CALVIS    	        17  	Azemont  	  	            	      	  
17  	RB  	  	Takashi KUROBE    	17  	Ishikawa Tenchi  	  	            	  
18  	CM  	  	William PARRY    	16  	Concordians  	          	    	    	  
19  	CM  	  	Roderick PRICE    	18  	Scunthorpe  	          	    	    	  
20  	CM  	  	James SEBAOUN    	18  	Stade Défense  	  	          	    	  
21  	LW  	  	Tom DRIES    	        18  	Artesia Highlands  	  	       	    	  
22  	CF  	  	Kamata MATSUMOTO    	17  	TakiJump  	          	    	      	  
23  	RW  	  	Sammy GENET    	        17  	Vovette  	  	          	    	  

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KITS

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(Note: All kits are a courtesy of Meski Sports.)

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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FORMAL NATION NAME: Free Union of Acronius
DEMONYM: Acronian
GOVERNING BODY: Acronius Football Association
HOME STADIUM: Union Park, Lionsgate (max. 80,000)
TOP SCORER: Axel Aubry
MOST CAPS: N/A
STYLE MODIFIER: +3
NATIONAL KPB RANK: N/A
FIRST MATCH: Schottia 4-0 Acronius (SWC I)
GREATEST WIN: N/A
GREATEST LOSS: Schottia 4-0 Acronius (SWC I)
HIGHEST SCORING GAME: Schottia 4-0 Acronius (SWC I)
MOST LIKELY TO SCORE: Swel Tilani
MOST LIKELY TO COMMIT A FOUL: Abram Mawell
MOST LIKELY TO BE SUBSTITUTED OFF: Arthur Dumez
MOST LIKELY TO BE SUBSTITUTED ON: Sammy Genet
MOST LIKELY TO BE INJURED: Michael Rowland

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ROLEPLAYING PERMISSIONS

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I Give My Opponent Permission To:
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Choose My Goalscorers: Yes
Godmod Goalscoring Events: Yes
Injure Players: Yes (Max. 1)
Godmod Injury Events: Yes
Red Card Players: Yes (Max. 1)
Yellow Card Players: Yes (Max. 3)
Godmod Other Events: Yes
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[Greater vakolicci haven]

Vakolicci Haven and Celeria: Official u18 football team information

Head coach: Roman Rijic
Assistant Head Coach: Lucas Beltosi
Physiotherapests: Jacques Montpenie, Lauren Silver
Doctor: Olivia Brown
Coaches: Pierre Lescuri, Rufus Pilkings, Sara Krus

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National Colors: Red and Green
Nicknames: The 'red and green army,' Warbirds
Captain: Elmond Ravaskien
Style modifier: +4

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Official Roster
Starters are marked with a *
GK: Alphonse Brucha, age 16*
GK: Pietrei Losco, age 17
GK: Tiberius Colman, age 15
RB: Michael Brownlow, age 17*
RB: Celion Luscari, age 16
CB: Vanessa Betchings, age 17*
CB: Gilbert Razein, age 14*
CB: Olmer Rovaksi, age 17
CB: Paulo Mestrado, age 16
LB: Elmond Ravaskien, age 17*
LB: Tracey Gunn, age 16

RW: Louise Sinkretto, age 17*
RW: Melvin Benjin, age 16
CM: Nick Overready, age 16*
CM: Paulo Bentiti Olivier, age 18
CM: Isaac Roscko, age 15
LW: Mike Ray, age 15*
LW: Mary Tohandu, age 14
LF: Sarah Court, age 13*
LF: Emmanuel Bentricci, age 15
CF: Julien Saint, age 17*
CF: Ilumono Zeraki, age 15
RF: Theo Mensa, age 17*
RF: Stelios Renditis, age 14

RP permissions: Go wild, go crazy. I am not emotionally invested in any of these players, feel free to kill mame and torture them as you see fit. In fact, you're encouraged to.

[Razenthuria]

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Razenthuria
Razen Sporting World Cup 6 Roster Overview

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Va Xeza - The Lions

The nation of Razenthuria to many people is recognized as the former colony of Central Sunrise, as such, bow, a free peoples over seventy-five yers after decolonization, Razenthuria is a proud nation, with the hearts of millions beating to one drum. The Razen have looked to sport for excitement - particularly in football, and the League RZN - which has increased in importance in the last few years is the main provider of this, operating as part of the RFA's three-tier RazenLeague system, composed of a lot of youth players, the Razen line-up ahead of the Sporting World Cup is built upon getting youth up for the future in Christoper Tajo Mendez's RZNNT system up at the senior level. With many of these players in the academies, its not expected that they'll do much, this being their first appearance on the international stage, its expected they'll crash out of this tournament in record fashion, but still that doesn't take away from the future that they're building up. This team is an interesting bunch, mainly defensive, they're going to be the future players one day for the national team, and we've got to shine a line on them so you know who we're talking about. Some are well-known, but most are shrouded in secrecy.

The Razenthuria team, nicknamed the Lions on account of the national animal of Razenthuria, the gold-maned lion were to be undone as their dissipation was hastened by the events of the Razen Independence War which officially ended the colony of Afrenzia, Central Sunrise's pride of Esportiva - generally considered to be the predecessor-state of modern-day Razenthuria, since then, the nation has striven to rebuild and destroy the signs of division, and sport served as to create healing between the nation, united around the national team, the supports, the ultras who have been dubbed as the 6th Ward Ultras - in reference to the location of the national stadium within Razenthuria have gathered around the national team, known for their use of black, old and red, the 6th Ward Ultras are an impressive site, not akin to the culture of football in Razenthuria, seeing a sign of the 6th Ward Ultras is more-contributed to seeing ultras from football-crazy nations, like Nephara, Starblaydia even and also Cosuamr - not an African nation in Esportiva that has little pedigree.

The Crown Republic of Razenthuria is the successor-state of Afrenzhia, it is a constitutional monarchy with a crown republic in place. The monarch is R'Verzaka who has reigned since R-410. The capital of the Razenthuria and its largest city is Tynedale, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 14.3 million, Other major urban areas in the Crown Republic include the conurbations centred on Old Birmingham, Fullham, Reading-upon-Wychester, Marietta and Port Perrington.

Association football remains the most well-known sport in Razenthuria, much more popular amongst the natives than hockey which had been integral to the colony of Afrenzia, in Razenthuria, the highest-governing body of football within the nation is the Razen Football Authority - sort of like this all-knowing bureaucracy that has omnipotent powers do as it pleases in regards to the governing of football within the nation. Its top league is the Njiko RZN, there are two other leagues on the football table, being RazenLeague 2 and RazenLeague 3, the entire pyramid has a total of thirty-two teams. The League RZN has been dominated mainly by the old firm of Athletic New Victoria and Fullham Rangers, but in recent years, A.C. Stonehenge has emerged as a dominant side.

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SWC '6
Razen Sporting World Cup Roster

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_{Head Coach: Timothy McGraw (49)}

GOALIES        Name                    	   Age	          Club	
G              Anderson Carson             17              Razen Academy of Zenith Excellence
G              Moses Evans                 18              Cumberland Fire Soccer Academy 

DEFENSEMEN	
D              Devon Edgecomb              18              Kuzani Sport F.C. Academy
D              English Fencesmith          17              A.C. Stonehenge Academy
D              Knight Garden               18              R.A.Z.E.
D              Martin Greenfield           18              A.C. Stonehenge II
D              Jacob Reid                  18              R.A.Z.E.
D              Thomas Stoneman             18              Burnley Rovers S.C. Reserves
D              Xazax                       15              Martinville High School

MIDFIELDERS	
MF               Azra                      14              Kuzani Girls Club
MF               David Okata               17              R.A.Z.E.
MF               Vincent Omalu             18              R.A.Z.E.
MF               Easton Redbon             18              R.A.Z.E.
MF               Cable Xavier              18              R.A.Z.E.

STRIKERS	
S              Reden Omar                  16              Herzegovina City F.C.
S              Valexa                      18              R.A.Z.E.

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Tactics

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Captain: Reden Omar (S)

Schemes: Highly-defensive
Style Modifer: -5

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RP Permissions

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Choose my scorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod Injuries to my players: No
Suspend my players: Yes
Godmod suspension events: No
Godmod other events: TG me first

[Razenthuria]

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A look at the opposition:

Azadeshia

Azadeshia are the other most-notable nation to come out of the sporting world of India, the other being the well-established Northwest Kalactin, Azadeshia's prowess in footall isn't really well know. Of course, we can't count them out, but a 2-nil victory would be nice since they're...well. Nobodies? Azadeshia can't be discounted though, they can pull a surprise at any second, goals permitting of course.

Sharktail

Sharktail are...ah...interesting group of players, of course this is U18 competition so we would argue that you could take this with a grain of salt, however they did beat us 5-1 in their opener. But then again, we've played their national team senior side and fine-tuned them to a 4-nil defeat with mainly our bench, the non-starters, so, whatever you believe, Sharktail really isn't that good. Assuming we make it into the knockouts and we face off against them again, we'd probably saw them off with ease if needed. However, that 5-1 loss stings, da?

South Caleblan

Ah. An interesting name? We've never seen these people on the multiverrsal stage in any compeition, especially footballing - we're not expecting much from them, a nice 3-nil victory will dowse the sour we've got in our mouth after that 5-1 destruction from Sharktail. Look forward to better attacking from us in this game, not really much to see on display here.

[Razenthuria]

Amid Corruption, RFA Reboots

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_{Former Commissioner of Njiko RZN (ssn. 10-13), Wheelock named new RFA President, on the left at the RFA press conference. (Gaston North/Razen Sports Daily)}

_{PORT PERRINGTON} - A changing of the guards? Perhaps as Moishita Wheelock is named as the third President in the history of the Razen Footballing Association, completing a 6-month cycle since the end of World Cup 80 in Equestrian States and Starblaydia, now with Razen footballers officially back in the domestic season, now halfway thru it, the questions are answered as to who comes to helm the organization. The 55 year-old Wheelock, comes to the stage offering much for the RFA, having previously served as Commissioner of the RFA in seasons 10 thru 13, the latter of which he managed the transfer of Njiko RZN play to be on the same calendar and with the UICA cycles, in a move that was highly-praised by many. Wheelock comes in offering youthful vibrance and a departure from the two-term stale Presidency of Munachiso Uchechi, who has been plagued with his slowness of his Presidency, not offering much for the team as other advanced far past Razenthuria in international football. Razenthuria's footballing has steadily improved, with Kevin Kyrell selling for upwards of N$20 million to a Farf footballing club, and Yellis Eugene coming into his own at a club in Acronius, however, the Uchechi regime has been criticized for its ambiguous plans and overzealous attempts - most-notably the 13-0 vote for the Cup of Harmony, Razenthuria's single-handed biggest disgrace on the multiverses footballing scene. However, Wheelock now enters with an amibitous plan himself - Project 25/90 - a goal to hoist the Razen national side (senior) into the top-25 in the multiverse by World Cup 90, of course, he'll only be around likely for only ten years if he's even re-elected, but this forty-year ambitious plan calls for all hands on deck from him.

If what Razen football fans wanted was an outsider, they're sure as hell not going to get it - Wheelock is far from an outsider, former Commissioner of Njiko RZN and a member of the RFA Executive Committee which has been plagued with corruption scandals in the past, however, Wheelock distanced himself from opponents notably in the past two years. His biggest challenger, Findley Graves, the owner of Athletic New Victoria has been plagued with corruption charges, notably with the quiet transfer of Yellis Eugene for a price many claim was too high above his value to the Acronian domestic league, and of course he has denied this. However, the RFA, immediately following the election of Wheelock has said that Graves is to sell his ownership stake in the club, estimated worth at N$680 million, making it the second-richest club in Razenthuria - Graves has attempted to fight this, however was also banned from RFA and the football scene in Razenthuria altogether. This comes as Wheelock seems to be locked on cleaning up Razenthuria's footballing image and creating a Razen future powerhouse, he's already made big changes - Christoper Tajo Mendez got his temporary contract extended for another campaign, at worst, he'll be around until the end of WC 81 - after his initial offerings, we have high hopes fro the Devontan to lead Razenthuria into the World Cup soon. Hiring Timothy McGraw, the youthful manager of Razen academy side, R.A.Z.E. - Razen Academy of Zenith Excellence for managing the U18 side is another key step, as the Razen head man attempts to build a future contender for the World Cup, of course, Razenthuria's seen a big rise in the world rankings; from 280th in the world to now sitting at 108th, a rise that's taken place over two campaigns thus far. World Cup qualification is the ultimate goal, and after running thru two previous ill-prepared managers, Wheelock is hoping to make the jump by the end of his term.

As 380 delegates gathered inside of McCallum Pavilion in Pert Perrington, Wheelock faced a mighty challenge from Findley Graves - owner of Athletic New Victoria and Razen footballing legend, Thunder Rivers - the 86 year-old came in third on the original ballot, only gaining 12% of the ballot, meanwile, Graves and Wheelock were both closes with the remaining 84% percent - Wheelock garnered 45% and Gaves took 39% of the voting; while on the second ballot, Wheelock clearly emerged as victor, with 58% to Graves 42%. Now, with the leader of the organization clearly determined, there's a lot of work left to do - Razenthuria is expected to debut in the Campianto Esportiva, and a new team is liely to be drafted, with Christopher Tajo Mendez saying that a new team should be drafted. Many players of the first era of Razen international footballing are reaching the end of their careers - Victor Parks, the captain since World Cup 79 qualifying has announced this will be his last season and has retired from international footballing. Wheelock is now charged with building together a new national side, he's recently toured the facilities of the academy sides and has said an Academy division will be set up for the RazenLeague pyramid, calling for it to contest of twelve teams in order to build up the youth players, those 21-and-under who are attempting to find their way onto senior teams. The academy teams have mainly functioned as amateur teams, however, Wheelock has already approved the transformation of a national division for the academy sides. Wheelock has emphasized increased UICA competition and making big steps in both WC play and the Campianto Esportiva, of course, he hints that a deep run could be achieved if the proper things are put in place. He also calls forth the lions, discussing the meteoric rise of the Razen national side, saying, "anything with effort is achievable."

Is he the answer? We don't know. Could he be? Definitely.

Reporting live from Port Perrington.

[Neo-Romanum]

Le Aquile emerge victorious in Petrograd
By Timotheus Victus

14 June 7526 AM/2018 AD

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The under-18s of Neo-Romanum came from behind with a late winner to beat Latman and open a dramatic first chapter of the country's international footballing adventure at the Soccer Palace in Petrograd.

The Eagles fell behind early on when Latman's [ERROR] beat the offside trap to slot them into the lead.

Walter Tzetzes powerfully headed home a historic goal from Theodoros Karatzaina's corner just before half-time to equalise and send the traveling contingent of Roman fans into raptures.

Nicholas Gepping had a fantastic chance to give the Romans the lead immediately after but scuffed his shot wide of the post after good work by Amastan Jabri down the right.

[ERROR] almost scored for a second time in a similar fashion to the first but this time was denied by the onrushing Ioseph Niçart as both sides pressed for a winner.

But it was the Eagles who found it three minutes from time. Hassan ibn Bakr was fouled to the left of goal and Karatzaina took command to score a brilliant curling free-kick from 25 yards and give the Empire a historic win.

With tough games still to come against Acronius and Juvencus, the two favourites to progress in Group C, Jerome Manambeys and his team have given themselves the best possible chance of making it to the second round after a fine opening performance against fellow minnows Latman.

Roman U18 boss Jerome Manambeys: "If you think that is good then you should see what Theo does in training! There was a lot of nerves in the camp before this one which is to be expected considering the occasion, but we have shown fantastic character to win it especially after coming from behind. It's a fantastic moment to win your first ever official game so I'm very happy we have done that."

• Ioseph Niçart (goalkeeper) 8
  Had no chance with the first goal but made a fantastic save around the 60 minute mark to deny Latman a second goal. Grew in presence as the game went on and was commanded his box well.
• Dulcitius Zonoras (right-back) 7
  Looks to be forming a good partnership with Jabri. The two linked well and allowed the him to get behind the Latmanian defence on the overlap. Came close to laying it on a plate for Ben Moshe only to be denied by a last-ditch challenge.
• Walter Tzetzes (centre-back) 8
  A domineering defensive display from the under-18s captain. Grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with a powerful header to level things up. The Empire's first ever official goal and he fully deserves the landmark.
• Ben-Barekbaal Rhodanus (centre-back) 5
  Was caught napping for the Latmanian goal as he played his man onside. Looked uncomfortable at times and needed the more experienced Tzetzes to cover for him.
• Iacoumus Alonso (left-back) 6
  A quiet game from the Spanish left-back. Looked hesitant to roam too far forwards due to how shaky Rhodanus was beside him. Made one strong tackle in the first-half to break up an attack from Latman but otherwise had little influence before suffering a knock.
• Amastan Jabri (right-wing) 8
  Always looked dangerous and had the beating of his man every time. Brilliant work to set up Gepping's chance in the second-half and is unlucky not to have an assist to his name. Put the Latmanian defence under real pressure with his crosses.
• Teom Ben Moshe (central midfield) 7
  Neat and tidy display from the Roma midfielder to keep things ticking in the middle of the park. Will be overshadowed by his midfield partner Karatzaina but this was a good performance.
• Theodoros Karatzaina (central midfield) 9 MOTM
  The magic that can come from his left boot was on display for all at the Palace today with a fantastic inswinging corner to set up the equaliser and then a breathtaking winner from the free-kick. Was the danger man for Rome, always looking to bring the ball forwards and run past his man while never being afraid to put in a tackle. His yellow card will be a worry. Has a bright future ahead of him.
• Hassan ibn Bakr (left-wing) 7
  Not as effective as the man on the other side of the pitch but looked to make things happen and was fouled by his the right-back leading to the Empire's winner.
• Nicholas Gepping (forward) 6
  Should be doing better with the chance he got but plenty of positives to take. Always on the move and got into some dangerous positions. Dominant in the air.
• Adão de Cilpes (forward) 5
  Looked isolated up front with Gepping often dropping deep to collect the ball and never really got into the game. Anonymous.
  

  ---

  
  Substitutes
• Abraam Debbane (for Alonso, 52 minutes) 6
  Solid defensive performance. Done his chances of starting no harm if Alonso is not fit for the next game.
• Kostas Kritikos (for de Cilpes, 70 minutes) 6
  Held the ball up well and looked to bring others into play.
• Claudius Macricus (for Ben Moshe, 84 minutes) No rating.
  Not enough time to get involved in the game.

Group C after matchday 1

	Team	PD	GD	Pts
1	Juvencus	1	1	3
2	Neo-Romanum	1	1	3
3	Acronius	1	-1	0
4	Latman	1	-1	0

[Cassadaigua]

(Spacebook chatter)

Brooke Sutter: I’m here. Who else is here?

Brooke Sutter: Anyone?

Tiffany Nelson: Hey Brookie, I was watching clips of my awesome saves. Love to watch them

Rachel Schanke: Hey there guys!

Brooke Sutter: What’s up captain?

Rachel Schanke: Not much!

Tiffany Nelson: Do you think its weird that I like to watch myself after a game? But to like, admire stuff?

Brooke Sutter: Not really, I mean whatever works!

Meghan Wolcott: I’m here, what I miss?

Rachel Schanke: There is nothing weird about it, Tiffany. In watching those clips and seeing what you did right, you are more likely to do the right thing again.

Brooke Sutter: Good idea.


Rachel Schanke: Hey Meghan!

Tiffany Nelson: That really makes sense.

Preston Newfeld: Ha! I’m here you couldn’t keep me away!

Meghan Wolcott: Hey hot stuff!

Rachel Schanke: I think some really good goalkeepers have watched a lot of themselves. Don’t only focus on what you did wrong when a goal is scored on you, but know what you did right when you make a big save.

Preston Newfeld: Blah blah Rachel. Anyway, I got good news, want to hear it?

Brooke Sutter: What?

Meghan Wolcott: Tell us!

Preston Newfeld: We are in room 316 now. We sabotaged room 407 deliberately so we wouldn’t have to be next to the coach. Only team room on the third floor. Time to have some fun! Meghan can be my first guest!

Rachel Schanke: You sabotaged a room? Seriously?

Meghan Wolcott: Heck yessss!

Brooke Sutter: What did you do to the room?

Preston Newfeld: Travis and I dumped a ridiculous amount of toilet paper into the toilet, flushed it, then let it overflow with the clog, causing a flood on the bathroom floor. So of course, they had to move us.

Tiffany Nelson: What if the coach moves too?

Preston Newfeld: She won’t. Now, we’re just looking at how to get some alcohol in the room. It’s the party room now.

Rachel Schanke: You think I am just going to sit here and not tell the coach your plan. This is a disgrace, Preston. You need to take this seriously!

Brooke Sutter: Or Rachel will send you to the Salvation Circle.

Preston Newfeld: The what?

Rachel Schanke: Preston wouldn’t like the Salvation Circle. All the more reason to get him signed up. How far is Malfornia from here?

Meghan Wolcott: I have no idea what you are talking about Rachel. Stop trying to act like you are the queen of the team just because you are the captain.

Brooke Sutter: Rachel is a good captain.

Preston Newfeld: How old are you, Rachel?

Rachel Schanke: Meghan and Preston what you do in your personal life is none of my business but I want to win this championship. We are here to play soccer, not smuggle alcohol into a room that we had moved into because we flooded the bathroom of our initial room.

Rachel Schanke: I am 16, why?

Tiffany Nelson: I bet you boys messed up too and probably flooded it too badly.

Preston Newfeld: Why Tiffany?

Tiffany Nelson: Well water can travel. And cause a moldy stench. A stench that may also bother, you know, your neighbor, and mean they have to move too?

Preston Newfeld: Nah I don’t think its that bad. Rachel, that’s right you are 16 not 40. Act your age, I feel like I am talking to a teacher.

Meghan Wolcott: Rachel thinks just because her grandma was a star that she is the queen of all of us. Let’s just have some fun here, too.

Brooke Sutter: You are guys are awful to her. You should be grateful to have Rachel on this team.

Preston Newfeld: Look Rachel, I know this is tough but you’re grandma had fun when she was 16, too.

Tiffany Nelson: Are you there, Rachel? She got quiet. Hope you two are happy.

Brooke Sutter: Tiff and I don’t share their thoughts, Rachel.

Rachel Schanke: Yeah I’m here.

Meghan Wolcott: We’re just messing you with, Rachel.

Rachel Schanke: Yeah. So you think that’s all there is to me, huh? I am only here because of my grandma? Well I just want her to be proud of me.


Brooke Sutter: She is very proud of you.

Tiffany Nelson: Yes she is proud of you!

Preston Newfeld: Of course she is proud of you, but when she was 16, she wasn’t acting 40, I guarantee it. Be a teenager, Rachel.

Meghan Wolcott: I’m gonna go. 316 it was, Preston?

Preston Newfeld: Yeah! I’m gonna go, too.

Brooke Sutter: They may be gone, but we are here for you Rachel.

Rachel Schanke: I want Preston Newfeld off this team.

Tiffany Nelson: I agree.

Brooke Sutter: He sets a bad example, I wish we could be an all-girl team.

Rachel Schanke: I don’t mind boys on the team, really. But Preston is just an ass, and has been an awful influence on Meghan.

Tiffany Nelson: If Preston goes, Meghan has to go. On the field, they have good chemistry. Both midfielders. She seems to be crazy for him off the field too. Her game would suffer greatly.

Rachel Schanke: I think we take the chance.

Brooke Sutter: How do we do this?

Rachel Schanke: All we have to do is talk about the deliberate trashing of their hotel room.

[Abanhfleft]

CRESCENT NEWS NETWORK
SPORTS CHANNEL - OFFICIAL WEBSITE
ABANHFLEFT • PRIDNESTROVIA • OONTAZ DERT LI NG • COPPER CUPRUM • TRENDSTART • FHULGHAMOUS PENINSULA

SPORTING WORLD CUP 6: NAGORE VS ABANHFLEFT
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Karamoko Bakayoko celebrates scoring his second goal against Nagore in the 6th Under-18 World Cup. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

WORTANA, KERONAMA, FREE REPUBLICS - Abanhfleft got off to a flying start in the 6th Under-18 World Cup with a decisive 3-0 victory over opponents Nagore.

Karamoko Bakayoko opened the scoring for the Young Young Revolutionaries in the 15th minute with a thumping strike from outside the box before the Uranium City Radiation forward doubled both his and Abanhfleft's goal tally eight minutes from half time with a strong looping header from Angeline Cranford's cross.

Abanhfleft also had a handful of chances to add to their score in the second half, most notable among them Lucile Alligood's attempt after she had beat the Nagore keeper, but the ball rolled painfully wide of the target to the groans of the Fleftic fans and the blessed relief of the Nagore faithful.

Bakayoko also squandered his chance to score his first international hat trick when another one of his headers looped over the head of the Nagore keeper and then over the crossbar as well.

It would be Bakayoko's replacement on the field, Princess Gonzales, who would finally score the third goal that Abanhfleft's performance in the game had warranted but not really gotten, with the Keephall Valkyries forward applying the finishing touch to Dario Frigo's free kick with three minutes left in the ninety.

It wasn't all smiles for the Young Young Revolutionaries all the way though; Tiera Walrath was lucky to have conceded only a free kick in the early stages of the game with the score still tied at 0-0, and Nagore did score from a free kick awarded for a dangerous tackle by Sibusizwe Kiggwancha but it was chalked off because a Nagore player in an offside position had touched the ball before it flew into the net.


Abanhfleft national under-18 team manager Rashad Dammam: This is the dream start to the tournament

Abanhfleft national under-18 team manager Rashad Dammam: "This is the best start that any team could hope for in a tournament. It's a dream start. A great game by your players, a score that properly reflects your dominance, it's the stuff of dreams. The players are all getting along well. We are like a well oiled machine. Hopefully we are a well oiled machine that can go all the way to the final and finally win the tournament."

Abanhfleft's next opponent will be Cosumar. Both teams will stay at the MilaneseDome in Wortana, Keronama for this game.

NAGORE 0 - 3 ABANHFLEFT
             BAKAYOKO (15', 37')
             GONZALES (87')

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 1 Riney
RB: 2 Yarnall
RCB: 4 Kaba
LCB: 5 Walrath █ (Solovyova - 52' █)
LB: 3 Goodlett
RM: 6 Sibusizwe █ (Hamman - 71')
LM: 8 Frigo
RW: 7 Cranford
CAM: 10 Alligood
LW: 11 Cortese
ST: 9 Bakayoko (Gonzales - 80')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Nagore: 43%
Abanhfleft: 57%
Shots
Nagore: 5 (2 on target)
Abanhfleft: 20 (14 on target)
Corners
Nagore: 4
Abanhfleft: 9
Fouls
Nagore: 15
Abanhfleft: 14

[The Sherpa Empire]

----o-֎-o----

Slick J Wrongbaba was dismayed to discover that he would have to pay for everything by credit card because the currency exchange counter would not take Sherpa rupees. It wasn't really that unusual, people being reluctant to accept rupees as currency. A lot of businesses in the Sherpa Empire only used them because they were worried about the tax audits that large transactions in foreign currencies would attract. But it was still annoying, even more so because the clerk at the currency exchange didn't speak a word of Sherpa, Punjabi, or Gan dialect. Slick J had already run out of patience and gotten angry enough to start yelling by the time Saron found someone who was able to translate, and even then, she got a someone that spoke a different dialect of Chinese, making it a slow and painful process to translate. Slick J would say something in Sherpa; Saron, Haoshou, or Paolai would translate it to Gan dialect; then they would go back and forth with the guy who had stopped to help them, clearing up the confusion caused by their different dialects of Chinese; and finally if they were lucky, their new friend would translate it into English for the clerk. Then they had to go back the other way. And even when they got back to speaking Sherpa, that was something Slick J had learned as a second language and didn't really like to use.

The next debacle came at the car rental counter, where Slick J was informed -- after another herculean struggle with the language barrier, this one resolved by a translation app on someone's cell phone -- that he couldn't use his driver's license because all of the text on it was in Sherpa without an English translation. The clerk at the car rental counter offered to call a taxi to take Slick J and the girls to their hotel, and he could apply for a local driver's license in the morning if he didn't want to rely on taxis for his whole stay in the Free Republics. "Do taxis take credit cards?" Slick J asked grumpily. The clerk was doubtful that a Sherpa credit card would work, even where people did accept credit cards, so she recommended using an ATM to get a cash advance. That way if it didn't work, at least they'd find out before running up a cab fare. (I'm assuming getting a cash advance would work because it depends on whether Slick J's card will accept charges in thalers, not whether anybody wants payment in rupees.)

Checking into the hotel was episode three of the Republicans Don't Speak Sherpa Show, but this episode was less dramatic than the previous two because Slick J had been smart enough to book rooms online and bring the reservation paperwork. He was past the peak of his career and money didn't go as far in the Free Republics as it did in the Sherpa Empire, but he was still a wealthy man, and he had booked nice lodgings -- a spacious suite for himself and Paolai, and a smaller, but still pleasantly furnished, double room for the other girls.

Slick J was grouchy and tired and hungry. He didn't want to go out again, but he couldn't read the room service menu. Haoshou tried downloading a translation app like the one that had helped them through the ordeal at the car rental counter. It took annoyingly long to download and even longer for her to pick her way through copying the unfamiliar letters into the app, since she was not used to the Latin alphabet, but eventually, they managed to figure out what they wanted. Haoshou then had to bring the menu down to the lobby, tell the desk clerk what they wanted by using the app on her phone and pointing to items on the menu, and the desk clerk called room service to relay the order.

After dinner, Slick J went in the jacuzzi to unwind while the girls went down to the other room to watch TV and chatter about how exciting it was that they were actually in the Free Republics and they would be there to watch Kumar play and cheer him on. They were much less put out than Slick J was about the challenges of navigating an English-speaking country. That was all just part of the experience and the novelty. They didn't even mind that the TV was in English. They still thought it was interesting to look at the imagery and listen to the funny-sounding advertising jingles. Saron still had some reservations about how much they could really trust Slick J, and how safe it was to travel so far from home without any other adults; but the others said she worried too much.

----o-֎-o----

Slick J wasn't actually very interested in football, especially not children's football, so while Haoshou and Saron went to the game, he took Paolai and went to try and get a driver's license he could use in the Republics. Explaining what he wanted and communicating with the guy that administered the test was a challenge -- and then, after all his trouble, Slick J failed the test by driving like a reckless slob. Paolai passed, though.

Haoshou and Saron decided to walk to the stadium rather than deal with the hassle of navigating public transportation or talking to the locals. It wasn't THAT far from the hotel, and the big glass dome was the sort of thing you could see from a distance when you needed to figure out if you were going the right direction. They didn't rush, but they still arrived early enough to walk down to the edge of the pitch and talk to Kumar. He was all smiles when he saw them. "I can't believe you're actually here!" he said. "This is so cool!"

They talked for a couple minutes, but then the coach called Kumar away for a team meeting and a pre-game pep talk. Saron blew him a kiss as he walked away.

"Who was that?" Kumar's teammate Yulha Lu asked him.

"My girlfriend Saron and her friend Haoshou," Kumar said. He beamed with prides as he added, "They came from Nanchang to cheer me on."

"I wish my girlfriend was here," said Yulha.

"I wish I had a girlfriend," said their back-up goalie Jagdish Nabi.

"My girlfriend is here," said Chepal Jones-Dan. It was clear from his tone that he took this for granted, and if the others couldn't take it for granted, then that just proved they were lowly peasants. Chepal's father was a star player for the Xiamen Islanders, and Chepal thought that made it his God-given right to be a star as well, and to be treated like one. Kumar thought he was obnoxious, but didn't say so. Obnoxious or not, they were still on the same team, and winning was more important than fussing over Chepal's egomania.

So they went out and they won. Chepal might have been spoiled rotten, but he still scored the winning goal.

----o-֎-o----

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Daily 2018
U18's open with draw against Darmen
by Fiona Devlin
Staff Soccer Writer

The Commonwealth Under 18 National team kicked off their camapign in the Sporting World Cup 6 with a share of the points as they drew 2-2 with Darmen at the Gem of the Oceans Stadium in Republica.

Garth Mulvaney and Desmond Garvey were the scorers for BP while Walter Skinner and Darnell Halle were the scorers for Darmen in a match that saw plenty of first match jitters but in general two sides content to move the ball up and down the pitch at will.

to be continued

[Mercedini]

Sporting World Cup MD1
Mercedini vs. Cosumar
@ FreedomCola Stadium - Borotia, Free Republics

Bonjour, Guten Tag, Privyat and welcome to the Free Republics for the start of the 6th edition of the Sporting World Cup. Mercedini begin their fourth campain at this specific tournament have enjoyed decent runs at this tournament with a bronze and a gold at Sporting World Cups 3 and 4 respectively. A quarter final placement at the previous tournament has been the nation's worst finish at this tournament so far, with hopes high that they could go deep at this tournament if they can escape what is arguably the most difficult group to escape ever seen at the Sporting World Cup with the calibre of teams present in the group. Mercedini kick off their tournament against Cosumar, so let's see whether the Young Eaglets could kick off their tournament with a win or will they have work hard in their final two games to make up the deficit.

Sporting World Cup: Surprise Result Takes Eaglets Top

---

FINAL SCORE

SWC | MD1

---

MERCEDINI 2
Kostov 56' (P), Vacek Jr 88'
COSUMAR 0

---

Borotia, Free Republics

The Young Eaglets got off to the perfect start to their Sporting World Cup campaign with a hard fought 2-0 win over Cosumar in the second game of the day in Group E following Abanhfleft's 3-0 win over Nagore earlier in the day. The win leaves them second in the group on goal difference with the possibility of both Abanhfleft and Mercedini wrapping up qualification to the knockout stages if Abanhfleft can beat Cosumar and Mercedini can take all three points against Nagore during match day two. For now, they can focus on their remaining two games in the group to spend just a little while longer in the Free Republics.

The match started with all the fanfare you would expect from a Sporting World Cup with the FreedomCola Stadium recently clearing and being readied for the second match of the group following the first featuring Abanhfleft and Nagore. Some of their flags were still being cleared from the stands as fans from Mercedini and Cosumar began filtering into the arena, with two distinct shades of blue beginning to gather in their respective sides as the numbers grew inside the 78,000 capacity stadium. Mercedini and Cosumar knew where they stood when it came to results with the Fleftic side already setting the bar with their earlier victory, but Mercedini and Cosumar have been performing well at the senior level, with expectations high from both nations to perform well. Cosumar had been waiting for a good run in the tournament with the amount of talent from their nation on show, and they could give their fans of Cosumarite youth football something to cheer about.

The match kicked off with the twenty thousand or so fans in the stadium cheering on their respective nation, with the top stands around the arena closed due to lack of spectators travelling to the stadium for the group's second match of the day. With the atmosphere still decent for a match of the stature, as both sets of fans from Cosumar and Mercedini urging on their team to an opening victory. It was clear from the start that the talents of both teams were clearly on show, with a number of passing and running moves working well for both sides as the youthful energy and enthusiasm ruled the day early on. Technique on some of the passes were lacking due to lack of experience, with long balls and first touches lacking throughout the first half of the match, something which sets the tournament apart compared to more senior levels of football. The first chance of the game came from Cosumar's Samothias Odwyk who cut inside before unleashing a low shot, but the ball went safely wide of the post and didn't trouble Vorsini in the Mercedinian net.

The best chance of the half also came from Cosumar when Cathal Turner was put through with a tremendous through ball by Dane Pridgeon from midfield. With only one player to beat, Turner decided to run with the ball which may have been the wrong thing to do as the pacey Joaquim Santorino closed in on the Cosumarite centre-forward took out most of the pace with a block, before rolling to Vorsini who collected it, ending what could've been a dangerous attack. Mercedini's chances were lacking that threat, with their closest chance coming from a corner where Estograd got his head to the ball but could only direct it high and wide with territory coming few and far between for the Mercedinians as the first half ended goalless in what were good defensive displays from both sides. After 45, it remained 0-0.

The end of the interval was marked with cheers from around the stadium as the teams entered the pitch for the second half of the first matchday. The result so far was all playing into the hands of Abanhfleft who would go two points clear of their nearest rivals if the result stayed as it was, so both sides wanted to get that win to give themselves the best chance to advance to the knockout stages. The second half began with Mercedini massively on top and peppering the goal with shot after shot from all angles, testing Victor Von Kuler in the Cosumar goal. Although the Wyrmlings were holding firm for the time being, much to the delight of the Cosumar fans behind the goal.

However, good things come to those who wait, and Mercedini had to wait for a long time for a good chance in this game, but the golden one reared it's head just past the ten minute mark in the second half as Christian Vacek Jr was bought down in the box, after a late tackle by one of the Cosumar defenders. The referee took a while to deliberate with his linesman before pointing to the spot, with midfielder Evan Kostov standing over the spot kick with the weight of an expectant nation on his shoulder. A short run up was taken as Kostov slotted the ball coolly down the middle as Von Kuler dived to his left. The Mercedinians found themselves one-nill up as they celebrated in front of the Cosumar fans, Alistair Devidov looked on as his team started the second half perfectly, as he looked to build one their title won two editions ago.

From then on, Mercedini dominated most of the possession and the chances as the Wyrmlings seemingly fell away due to exhaustion, which gave Mercedini the opportunity to ramp up the action against their tiring opponents, with Vacek and Estograd taking the initiative and faceting chances for themselves, turning the screw on an opponent which on-paper should be a more even opponent than previous nations faced in this competition.

The Young Eaglets then made the points safe a couple of minutes from time when Mercedini converted another set piece from a Cosumarite foul. This time is was Vacek who netted from a spectacular free-kick on the edge of the box for a second Mercedinian goal. Vacek curled the ball over a substantial wall created by the opposition, and even though the placement wasn't perfect, it was enough to the left of Von Kuler's glove to nestle in the net, sending the several thousand Mercedinians wild at the other side of the arena as Vacek rustled some of the opposition fans with a cheeky celebration. Mercedini had got off to the perfect start with a solid win over their main rivals in the group.

The referee blew his whistle for the end of the match with the Young Eaglets celebrating their opening win of the tournament. It had been a great advertisement in not only youth football in Mercedini, but also for the lower leagues of Mercedinian football where all but a handful of players are playing for clubs in either National League 1 or National League 2. The win against Cosumar was a landmark moment for both of these leagues as they finally had proven quality to compete on an international level. It is just the first step on this group's journey, but they have made an excellent start as they beat a very strong Cosumarite squad by two goals to nil

---

There we have it. Mercedini have made the perfect start to the group stages following their opening day victory. They can pretty much put their name in the knockout rounds if they can beat Nagore tomorrow. Nagore is currently ranked bottom on goal difference following their loss to Abanhfleft, who can join Mercedini if they beat Cosumar as well. Plenty of surprising results on opening night with unknown names beating the odds and recording victories. We can assess the runners and riders in the competition following the conclusion of the group stages. We hope you will be able to view the second match of the Young Eaglets' run in the Sporting World Cup. From Borotia, goodnight!

[Free Republics]

This is your Matchday 2 Cutoff, brought to you by AllMart! AllMart: Our Prices are Always Low!

---

Results

Nicholls Enterprises Group A
United States of Devonta 0–1 Cassadaigua
Equestrian States 2–0 Vettrera

  Nicholls Enterprises Group A  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                     2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6
2 United States of Devonta        2   1  0  1    4   2  +2    3
3 Equestrian States               2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
4 Vettrera                        2   0  0  2    1   5  −4    0

AllMart Group B
The Sherpa Empire 5–0 Krytak
Filindostan 2–4 Oscioru

  AllMart Group B               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire               2   2  0  0    8   2  +6    6
2 Krytak                          2   1  0  1    1   5  −4    3
3 Oscioru                         2   1  0  1    4   3  +1    3
4 Filindostan                     2   0  0  2    4   7  −3    0

Dixon Light Group C
Acronius 1–0 Neo-Romanum
Juvencus 1–0 Latman

  Dixon Light Group C           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Juvencus                        2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Acronius                        2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Neo-Romanum                     2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Latman                          2   0  0  2    1   3  −2    0

RT&T Group D
Ravsol 2–0 Free Republics
Greater Vakolicci Haven 1–0 Mercredi

  RT&T Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ravsol                          2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
2 Free Republics                  2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
3 Greater Vakolicci Haven         2   1  0  1    1   2  −1    3
4 Mercredi                        2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

FreedomCola Group E
Abanhfleft 1–2 Cosumar
Nagore 0–2 Mercedini

  FreedomCola Group E           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mercedini                       2   2  0  0    4   0  +4    6
2 Cosumar                         2   1  0  1    2   3  −1    3
3 Abanhfleft                      2   1  0  1    4   2  +2    3
4 Nagore                          2   0  0  2    0   5  −5    0

Trudeau Firearms Company Group F
Azadeshia 0–1 Sharktail
South Caleblan 0–1 Razenthuria

  Trudeau Firearms Company Group F Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sharktail                          2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Razenthuria                        2   1  0  1    2   5  −3    3
3 South Caleblan                     2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Azadeshia                          2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

BearOil Group G
Alpine Union 3–2 Commonwealth of Baker Park
Maryloupe 1–0 Darmen

  BearOil Group G               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Alpine Union                    2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Maryloupe                       2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
3 Commonwealth of Baker Park      2   0  1  1    4   5  −1    1
4 Darmen                          2   0  1  1    2   3  −1    1

Olden Automobile Company Group H
Irwil 0–1 North Prarie
Togonistan 1–0 Ethane

  Olden Automobile Company Group H Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Togonistan                         2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
2 North Prarie                       2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Ethane                             2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
4 Irwil                              2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

[Neo-Romanum]

Brave Romans Beaten by Acronius
By Timotheus Victus

16 June 7526 AM/2018 AD

---

Neo-Romanum's under-18s suffered a setback in their efforts to make the second round of the Sporting World Cup with defeat in their second match to Acronius.

In a tense and cagey affair with chances few and far between Swel Tilani nodded the Blue Boys in front just before half-time after beating Iacomus Alonso in the air.

Despite coming from behind to win their opening match against Latman the Eagles seldom looked like repeating their heroics from their opening match. Theodoros Karatzaina tested Acronian 'keeper Michael Rowland once from distance and Teom Ben Moshe struck the outside of the post late on but otherwise this was a relatively comfortable victory for the team from the Renegade Islands, who came close to doubling their lead when a cross by Lyle Thorn took a wicked deflection of Walter Tzetzes and had to be palmed around the post by Ioseph Niçart.

The English have a saying of "after the Lord Mayor's show" and this game smacked of that. After last game's heroics versus Latman the players seemed less sharp, more fatigued, all against a better opponent. Le Aquile can have no real complaints with their loss in a game where they rarely looked capable of finding an equalising goal once they had fallen behind.

The loss is devastating for Neo-Romanum's chances of reaching the last 16, with Acronius to face winless Latman next. The Empire's youth needs to beat group favourites, the undefeated Juvencus to stand any chance of progressing. They need to beat the group leaders by two goals to finish ahead of them or better whatever result Acronius achieves vs. Latman, lest they be eliminated on goals scored.

Hope is not lost but chances are certainly slim. Regardless there have been many positives to take from the Roman Empire's footballing debut and Jerome Manamberys and his boys can leave the Free Republics with their heads held high regardless of the result against Juvencus on Sunday.

Roman U18 boss Jerome Manambeys: "In the first half Acronius were the better team and we made too many mistakes and obviously one of them led to a goal. We grew into the game and upped our sense of urgency in the second half but we need to be doing that from the start of games. We had some good chances in the game and another other day we would have taken one or two of them. That's football and sometimes you get unlucky like that. But I'm still very proud of the lads for their performance and the positive way they reacted to going one down."

Group C after matchday 2

	Team	PD	GD	Pts
1	Juvencus	2	2	6
2	Acronius	2	0	3
3	Neo-Romanum	2	0	3
4	Latman	2	-2	0

[Cassadaigua]

As much as Rachel Schanke wanted to tell the coach about Preston Newfeld’s intentional trashing of his hotel room, she never did. She was greatly frustrated by hearing him, and then Meghan Wolcott talk about her grandmother, and claim that she is the only reason that Rachel is on the team. While Rachel knew that was a bunch of garbage, and that she had earned his role, it was getting to her a little bit. Her grandma, the great Jessica Schanke, was now 88 years old and not able to make the trips to Free Republics due to health reasons. Otherwise, she knew that Jessica was watching her and supporting her. She wanted to speak to her, and tried to call her, but could only leave a message.

Before the game against United States of Devonta, the normally vocal leader of the locker room was very quiet.

“Is everything ok?” defender Brooke Sutter asked of her.

“Not really, Brooke.” Rachel said, “I hate it when Grandma can’t answer the phone. It makes me worried that something has happened, even though I know she is ok. I just wish she could be here to see me.”

“Is what Preston and Meghan said on Spacebook still bothering you?” Brooke asked.

“It was hurtful, Brooke. I mean, just because I try so hard to be a leader and a captain in here they complain that I am not acting like a teenager.” Rachel replied.

Nearby, fellow striker Maria Lanning overheard, and gave Rachel a hug. “We need you Rachel, you are a true leader, don’t listen to what people say. Spacebook is stupid anyway. All it does is cause problems for people these days. Its why I quit it years ago.”

“We need you to be on your game, Rachel” Brooke answered, “We all love you. You are great and your maturity is amazing.” After a pause, Brooke asked, “Did you tell coach about that room?”

“No. I mean, I want too. But, I mean, I don’t. I, I... I just feel like such a snitch if I do.” Rachel replied, struggling to find the right words. Soon enough coach came in and gave the team an inspiring talk before the game against Devonta.

The game was frustrating for Rachel. Cassadaigua had dominated possession, and Rachel had several strong opportunities, but she could just not finish them off. Her shots were going wide, or she was simply taking off the ball too easily by the Devontan defense, especially Zachary Manning. Manning seemed to enjoy the success he was having over her, and began to increase a level of trash talk as the game went on. In the 35th minute, Schanke received a great pass from Meghan Wolcott, but clanged one off the goal post, a shot that she would make 99 times out of 100. As it went off the post, Wolcott waved her arms in frustration, disappointed that a great play she had made had been squandered by Schanke. Despite dominating the first half in terms of possession, the game was scoreless at halftime.

At halftime, Meghan Wolcott walked by Rachel Schanke, softly saying, “Grandma makes that shot,” then walked by as they walked to the locker room, placing her arm around the neck of Preston Newfeld. Schanke didn’t respond to Wolcott as after all, she knew she was right. She despised Meghan’s arrogance in making the comment, but knew it was true. She took her phone out of her locker and breathed a sigh of relief to see a text message from Grandma. “You’ll make the next one!” She smiled, first in knowing that everything was ok, and there was no reason to worry about why she didn’t answer the phone the night before. It made her start feeling a little better, and she realized she should probably acknowledge to Meghan that she screwed up the great chance that she had given her. After all, this area of the locker room was the one spot where she would be separated from Preston Newfeld. She hated doing this, but she knew she was the captain, and had too.

“I’m sorry Meghan, that was a great play, sorry I messed it up.” Rachel said, hating that she had to say it.

“Sorry for saying what I did after, Rachel. I didn’t mean it like that.” Meghan replied. This was the side of Meghan she liked. Meghan was always a lot more modest and humble when Newfeld wasn’t nearby or in the same chatroom. They gave each other a quick hug, and things were seeming better. Until the coach walked in.

“Rachel, I think I am going to sit you for the second half. You are not yourself today, you could have a hat trick by now and that kid Manning is owning you.” coach Kellie Ashford ordered, “Scott Bridgewater is going to start the second half in your place.”

“I will be better in the second half, I promise!” Rachel replied. “Everyone has a bad start to a game once in a while, and its not like we are losing.”

“Don’t talk back to me, Rachel.” Ashford replied.

Just then, an unexpected voice offered support. “You are making a big mistake if you sit Rachel Schanke for the second half. Don’t you know that its in her blood to come back and fight off adversity. Starts like that just make them stronger.” pleaded Meghan Wolcott, “She is our captain, and I want her out there!” Getting louder, “Right everyone? We want Rachel out there because she is an awesome soccer player!”

Everyone who heard voiced their support, leaving Ashford, who is coaching a national team for the first time to realize that maybe she should leave her in just for the sake of not disrupting the team chemistry. Schanke would remain in the game. Rachel thanked the coach for the change of heart, but those words coming from Meghan Wolcott meant so much to her, and made her realize that may she was overreacting a little bit to things that were said on Spacebook yesterday.

Before the boys were allowed to join the girls in the locker room, Schanke went to her, and thanked her.

“We’re a team, Rachel.” Meghan said, “We look out for one another.”

“That’s right, it meant a lot to me to hear you say that, thought.” Rachel replied.

“My pleasure, we have each others back, you know. So, maybe don’t tell coach about what Preston did.” Meghan said with a smile.

Rachel looked into her eyes, smiled before saying, “I won’t!”

The second half saw Devonta be a lot more competitive with offensive chances, but the game remained scoreless for quite a while. In the 71st minute, Schanke began an offensive attack, but was being double teamed by both Zachary Manning and Iko Zuko. She was determined not to let them get the ball from her, and from the corner of her eye, she saw a pink jersey charging down the wing, open thanks to the space vacated by Zuko, with a potentially great angle to shoot from. She had no idea who it was, but made the behind the back pass right to the player, hitting them in stride. That player would be Preston Newfeld, who received the pass, and fired it past the keeper to give the Dagans a 1-0 lead. It wasn’t until the ball was in the net that she realized that it was Preston who had scored the big goal. As they rushed to celebrate, Preston sought out Rachel, screaming in jubilation, “Damn Rachel, not even your grandma could pass like that! That was sweet!” Rachel smiled, and for the first time, gave him a friendly hug. “Thanks, Preston!”

After holding onto the lead for the win, they made their way back to the hotel room in celebration.

“Rachel, you know, if you want to have a little of what we have in the party room, you can.” Preston said with a smile, with Meghan standing right beside him, also smiling.

Rachel grinned, and for this moment, the teenager inside her, and not the person who was trying to do too much would speak, “Drink in honor of the coach who wanted to take me out? I think I that sounds pretty good! To my teammates!”

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Weekend 2018
U18s on the brink as final day approaches
by Fiona Devlin
Staff Soccer Writer

The Commonwealth U18 National Team will need to dig deep to find a way to progress out of the group stage at the Sporting World Cup 6, following their defeat to the Alpine Union 3-2 at the the Gem of the Oceans Stadium in Republica in front of 68,000.

The loss marked the end of an eight match unbeaten run for Baker Park in the competition, and pushes them into a winner take all showdown against Maryloupe. The BP side will need to win the match outright and hope that Darmen do not win their match against Alpine Union--who have qualified for the knockout round--by a larger goal difference.

U18 Manager Zoe Montgomery had a harsh verdict for her side following the come from behind victory for Alpine Union. "Inexperience and lack of awareness cost us tonight. And that includes me. Now we will need a monumental result against Maryloupe, which I don't know if the younger players just think will happen by wishing for it. Did we play poorly as a side? I don't think so over the entire 90 minutes. I just think there were points where some players lost concentration, and again that's experience. We're going to need a total effort to advance now, Congrats to the Alpine Union, fair play and good luck."

[The Sherpa Empire]

----o-֎-o----

After their second game, the players on the Sherpa national football team had some free time to go out and see the sights. Their coaches told them they were free to do whatever they wanted, but they should be back at their own hotel by 11 PM. Brian Jones-Dan, who spoke fluent English, offered to play chaperone and translator for his son Chepal, and any of Chepal's teammates that wanted to go out as a group. Several players took him up on the offer. Most of them probably would have taken him up on the offer even if he didn't know English, just because he was a popular football player back home, a celebrity that they looked up to.

Kumar was tempted because it was handy to have someone around that could help him deal with the locals, but he wanted to spend time with Saron and he didn't want their conversations interrupted by Chepal crowing about how he and Lanye Chen had run circles round the Krytak defense. There was plenty to brag about after the 5-nothing walloping they had given Krytak, and Kumar could have easily joined in with something about his role in helping the Sherpa team keep possession for most of the game, but he was in the mood for a quieter evening.

Kumar invited Jagdish Nabi to come to dinner with him, Saron, and Haoshou so that there would be someone to keep Haoshou company later if he wanted some private time with Saron. "I want to go dancing later, and Haoshou will need someone to dance with so she doesn't get lonely," he explained.

"Do you think she'd like me?" said Jagdish.

"Why not?" said Kumar. "She came to see us play, didn't she?"

"I'm not from Nanchang and I don't know any Chinese," Jagdish said.

"So what?" said Kumar. "Everybody speaks Sherpa."

Jagdish looked at the people who were still milling about around the stadium, many of whom were Republican or Krytak. Kumar followed his gaze and said, "Not them, but you know what I mean. You won't have any trouble talking to Haoshou."

Jagdish didn't think this was any more accurate than the statement that everybody spoke Sherpa. He always had trouble talking to girls -- but he agreed to go to dinner with Kumar, Saron, and Haoshou anyway.

They wandered around looking for some place with reasonably-priced food and a menu with pictures on it so they could order by pointing. Jagdish was so nervous about being in the company of two pretty girls from the far side of Empire, he stumbled over his words every time he said anything, even basic things like introducing himself or pointing out a restaurant he had spotted a little way up the street. Haoshou laughed at his awkwardness, but at least she didn't find him intimidating or repulsive. Eventually they found their way to a nice hearty meal at a tavern where the menu was covered with mouth-watering pictures of sizzling steaks, char-grilled pork, and thick-cut fries.

After dinner, Haoshou wanted to go back to her hotel to change clothes and put on make-up before they went dancing. Saron was less concerned about it, but she agreed that they'd look better if they went back to the hotel to freshen up. There, they met Slick J and Paolai, and the whole group decided to go to a nightclub together. Slick J went ahead and bought drinks for everyone, even though he had no idea what the local drinking age was, if there was one. Everyone was 16 or older, so it would have been legal for them to go drinking together in the Sherpa Empire, and that was good enough for him. They danced for a while and Paolai told Jagdish -- much to his dismay -- that he was a terrible dancer. "Hey, cut him some slack," Kumar told her. "He's from a small town, and he's probably never been to a club like this."

"No, I've never seen anything like this," Jagdish said. He was from a sleepy village in rural Uttarakhand that had absolutely no nightlife.

"You still look silly," said Paolai. "It's like..." She did an exaggerated impression of Jagdish's clumsy dancing.

"It's not that bad!" Jagdish protested.

"I think it's funny," said Haoshou.

Around 10, Slick J suggested that they go back to his suite, where they could drink some more and smoke some weed. "We have to be back at our hotel by 11," Jagdish said.

"Oh, come on! Live a little!" said Haoshou.

"What are they going to do if you're late?" said Paolai. "Bench you? You're already a second string guy!"

"We can go for a little while and then go back," said Kumar.

Jagdish reluctantly went, but once they were in Slick J's suite, he insisted that he didn't want any more to drink and he didn't want to try marijuana. The others tried to prod him into taking a hit from a bong, but he insisted he didn't want to. Kumar and Saron left and went down to her room, saying they had had enough to drink and smoke, and they wanted to have some time alone. Jagdish became increasingly uneasy as 11 o'clock drew near, the others didn't show any sign of getting ready to break up their little party. When Slick J pulled out a bag of cocaine that he had smuggled from the Sherpa Empire, Jagdish excused himself and emphatically insisted that he had to return to his own hotel. He didn't care how much of a geek they thought he was -- he was not going to try cocaine or stay out past his curfew to watch other people snorting it.

Around 11:20, Jagdish stumbled up to the door of the hotel where the Sherpa national football team was staying and found his coach waiting outside. "You're late," the coach
said.

"I... I know," Jagdish said miserably. He was ashamed of himself for giving in to peer pressure and staying out as late as he had, and he felt filthy for getting himself dragged into a party where people were using cocaine, but he didn't want to talk to the coach about all that. He just wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible. "I lost track of time," he said. He knew it was a lame excuse, but it was all he could come up with. It would have been one thing if he was a party animal that just didn't care for rules, but this wasn't him. He was embarrassed that what the coach was seeing was different from who he wanted to be.

"I thought Kumar was with you?"

"He's not here?" said Jagdish.

"No, he's not here," said the coach.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," said Jagdish. "He knows he was supposed to be back by 11."

The coach eyed Jagdish suspiciously. "Have you been drinking?"

"I drank some beer, but I'll be fine," said Jagdish. "I just need some sleep."

The coach could see that Jagdish was genuinely tired and looked ready to go to bed, so he said, "Okay, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Do you know where Kumar is?"

Jagdish gave the coach the name of the hotel and explained that Kumar was there with a girl he knew from back home in Nanchang.

----o-֎-o----

Haoshou went back to her room around midnight. Kumar was gone by then. He wanted to get back to his own hotel before anyone got worried enough to call the police, and he needed to get some rest before his next game. Saron was on her way to bed.

Meanwhile, Paolai and Slick J had the suite all to themselves. Paolai's head was swimming, but she was still vaguely aware that there was something weird about the way Slick J was looking at her. "You're a beautiful girl, you know," he said, and he reached for her, running his fingers through her hair.

"Okay?" said Paolai. She really didn't like the way he was looking at her. She had seen that look before, and it wasn't any way for a father to look at his daughter. She pushed his hand away.

"You know I'm not your father?" Slick J said. In his mind, he planned for Paolai to say that yes, she knew, they would pull each other close, and then...

Instead, she looked disgusted and pulled away from him saying, "What? What are you talking about? If you're not my father, then why did you bring me here?"

"You're a beautiful girl," Slick J said again, and this time there could be absolutely no doubt that he had his mind in the gutter. He moved toward her, but she backed away. Paolai was seriously grossed out.

"But what if you're wrong?" she said. "What if you are my father?"

"I'm not," said Slick J. "I'm not Chinese, and you don't look mixed-race. Your father is Mengzui Tong. You can even do that thing like he does where you can smell when it's going to rain."

"You're still old enough to be my father!" Paolai protested. "You're older than Mengzui Tong!"

Slick J reached for her again, but she pushed his hand away. "Age is just a number," he said.

She shook her head, horror in her eyes. "No, you're too old! I don't want you like that!"

Slick J was annoyed, but even in his warped and drug-addled mind, he knew he had crossed a line and it would be wrong to press further. "Okay, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do," he said. "You know what? It's late. Let's just go to bed and forget this conversation ever happened."

They went to bed -- in their separate beds -- but Paolai didn't get any sleep. She spent the whole night tossing and turning, feeling disgusted and filthy and scared and betrayed. How long had Slick J been scheming to get her alone somewhere out of her parents' reach? How could he DO this? When she thought back over the course of their relationship with the benefit of hindsight, she realized that it had changed once she was old enough that he no longer had to worry about facing criminal charges for getting too close. Saron and Kancha and Sunyan had been right about him, but she hadn't listened. Why had she been so stupid not to see what they saw? And what would she do if he made another pass at her? He was still so close by, and they were planning to stay another couple of days. It seemed like an eternity now. She wanted to call her parents and tell them what happened so they could comfort her and take her home, but at the same time she was so embarrassed about the whole thing, she had to make sure they never found out. She cried into her pillow until the pillowcase was all soggy.

----o-֎-o----

[Abanhfleft]

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SPORTING WORLD CUP 6: ABANHFLEFT VS COSUMAR
By Malik Qazizadah


Abanhfleft's Dario Frigo throws up a foot while defending against Cosumar in the 6th Under-18 World Cup. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Andros Tasasa)

WORTANA, KERONAMA, FREE REPUBLICS - Abanhfleft suffered late heartbreak in the Under-18 World Cup as the Wyrmlings of Cosumar snatched all three points from the jaws of a draw thanks to an 83rd minute penalty from Cathal Turner.

It was the proverbial game of two halves, as the first half of this game saw timid and careful play out of both teams before things finally opened up in the second half, mostly thanks to Samothias Odwyk's strike from just inside the box that bounced off the crossbar and just beyond the goal line that gave Cosumar the advantage and, most importantly, the first goal of the game.

In actuality though, Odwyk and Cosumar could have opened the scoring way earlier in the first fifteen minutes of the first half when the Eastal Lunar striker bundled the ball over the line following a corner kick goal scramble, but the goal was chalked off due to the referee calling a Cosumarite foul on a Fleftic defender.

Abanhfleft had at most a handful of chances in the first half, and of those chances, the one that could have convinced onlookers that the Young Young Revolutionaries were really serious about winning the game was Karamoko Bakayoko's attempted chip over the Cosumarite keeper after the Uranium City Radiation striker had been played through on goal by a threaded Lucile Alligood pass.

It would be Alligood who would turn in the rebound off of another saved shot from Bakayoko and score the vital equalizer for Abanhfleft, and it was because of this goal that the flagging Fleftic offense was finally revived and had the confidence to go for a second, potentially game-winning goal.

A Fleftic breakthrough nearly resulted in the Young Young Revolutionaries' second goal of the game when Cosumarite substitute Theris Flaksenhaar went down for a sliding tackle too quickly and allowed Lucile Alligood all the time in the world to tee up a shot at the Cosumarite goal, and only the swift reflexes and huge hands of Viktor Von Kuler prevented the ball from finding the back of the net from both Alligood's initial attempt and Tien Goodlett's rebound shot.

Things then fell apart for Abanhfleft when Wilton Kaba noticeably pushed Cathal Turner inside the box, and the Sfaxspor defender should count himself lucky to have seen only yellow in this game. Turner stepped up to take the penalty kick himself and calmly dispatched the ball past Cadence Schmitt to win the game for the Wyrmlings.


Abanhfleft national under-18 manager Rashad Dammam: This was a nightmare and a heartbreaker

Abanhfleft national under-18 manager Rashad Dammam: "In just one game, the dream has turned into the nightmare. The penalty against us in the 83rd minute was a sucker punch. It completely broke our hearts and I am sure it broke the hearts of the fans. Now we must strive for the win against Mercedini if we are to have any hopes of advancing to the next round. We are in a competition with 32 other teams; this means that finishing third will no longer be any sort of saving grace for us. We must strive for second place or else all of this will be for naught."

    ABANHFLEFT 1 - 2 COSUMAR
ALLIGOOD (67')       ODWYK (54')
                     TURNER (83' pen)

COSUMAR
GK: 1 Von Kuler
RB: 2 Tidesson (Zajonic - 80')
RCB: 4 Y. Flaksenhaar
LCB: 5 Omenihu
LB: 3 Oakenfour
RM: 7 Tibrewal
RCM: 8 Pridgeon
LCM: 6 Samstag (Jödegaard - 65')
LM: 11 Rao █ (T. Flaksenhaar - 70')
SS: 10 Odwyk █
CF: 9 Turner

ABANHFLEFT
GK: 13 Schmitt
RB: 2 Yarnall █
RCB: 4 Kaba █
LCB: 5 Walrath (Solovyova - 74')
LB: 3 Goodlett
RM: 6 Sibusizwe (Hamman - 53')
LM: 8 Frigo
RW: 7 Cranford
CAM: 10 Alligood
LW: 11 Cortese
ST: 9 Bakayoko (Gonzales - 85')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 51%
Cosumar: 49%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 10 (4 on target)
Cosumar: 13 (5 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 4
Cosumar: 5
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 18
Cosumar: 16

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

OOC: imgur has made some changes and the image I was using for my header is now too large.

Gazeta Pomorska

The Alpine Union beat the defending champions!

Republica, Free Republics - (NAP) The Alpine Union have done the unexpectable (well they should've do that in the world bowl too), they beat the defending champions, the Commonwealth of Baker Park 3-2. The Alpine Union, being the "home" team wore their green and white uniform. Instead of using their white away uniform, Baker Park was wearing black and yellow. Baker Park attacked at the 17th minute when Anna Porter passed the ball to Garth Mulvaney who dribbled and made a cross to Lainey Wadsworth who shoots and scores. The Commonwealth of Baker Park is leading 1-0. At the 38th minute, Baker Park attacked when Lainey Wadsworth passed the ball to Daniel Prior but he's tackled by Ballou Béland-Hamel. It was a clean tackle, no card there . Maoldònaich Ó Néill passed the ball to Kacper Pietrzkiewicz and the Bisons are counter attacking. Kacper Pietrzkiewicz dribbles with the ball and passed to Sandrine Fontaine who dibbles with the ball and passed to Wladyslaw Kaczorowski who dribbles and kicks the ball right into the net and the game is tied at 1-1! Baker Park attacked again at the 44th minute when Darren Flowers made a long pass to Junior Ngoba who dribbled and passed to Daniel Prior. Prior shoots but the ball is tipped by Radoslaw Kazimierczak and goes behind the net. It's a corner kick for Baker Park. Junior Ngoba takes the kick, he kicks the ball into the penalty area, Anna Porter jumps and heads the ball into the net and Baker Park takes a 2-1 lead at the halftime.

At the 65th minute, striker Elvedin Husejinovic enters in the game and plays alongside Sandrine Fontaine. Maoldònaich Ó Néill subs out. 8 minutes later, Ballou Béland-Hamel passed the ball to Vjekoslav Krklec who dribbled and passed to Grzegorz Wolsztynski who dribbled and passed to Sandrine Fontaine who battles with defender Pryna Rasanamira. Fontaine turns her back to the net and uses her heel to shoot the ball behind her and the ball is in, the game is tied again at 2-2! Baker Park attacked at the 81st minute when Lars Putnam passed the ball to Lainey Wadsworth who dribbled and made a header pass to Desmond Garvey who heads the ball right into Radoslaw Kazimierczak's arms. At the 87th minute, Nacho passed the ball to Ryder Koniarczyk (who subbed in for Nico Windmüller at the 77th minute). Koniarczyk dribbled and passed to Sandrine Fontaine who shoots. The ball touches Alan Wiseman's arm and it's a penalty! Zvonimir Kordic takes the penalty, he kicks the ball and it's a goal, the Reprezentacja Alpejski are leading 3-2! This is the final score, the Alpine Union, who were trailing 2-1 at the halftime, comes back for the victory!

What an unexpected win by the Alpine Union against the defending champions, the Commonwealth of Baker Park. The Bisons are 1st in group G, sponsored by an evil capitalist company, which we will never name, with two wins in two games. Maryloupe is 2nd with 3 points and Baker Park and Darmen are last with one point each. Surprisingly, after two games, both Baker Park and Darmen don't have a single win. On matchday 3, the Bisons will play against Darmen while Baker Paker Park will face Maryloupe in a match for the 2nd place. Darmen, who play against us, can still finish 2nd if they win and Baker Park wins but after two games, we can't think of Darmen beating the Alpine Union. Darmen didn't play well against Maryloupe. Props to Maryloupe by the way, who lost 1-0 against the Reprezentacja Alpejski and won 1-0 against Darmen.

BOXSCORE
17th minute: Lainey Wadsworth assisted by Garth Mulvaney
38th minute: Wladyslaw Kaczorowski assisted by Sandrine Fontaine
44th minute: Anna Porter (unassisted)
73th minute: Sandrine Fontaine assisted by Grzegorz Wolsztynski
87th minute: Zvonimir Kordic (penalty)

YELLOW CARDS
Alpine Union: Vjekoslav Krklec
Commonwealth of Baker Park: Alan Wiseman

RED CARDS
Alpine Union: None
Commonwealth of Baker Park: None

[Mercedini]

Sporting World Cup MD2
Nagore vs. Mercedini
@ FreedomCola Stadium - Borotia, Free Republics

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the Sporting World Cup, hosted by the Free Republics for the third time in six editions. We have passed opening night at this tournament with Mercedini setting out their stall early with a 2-0 win over Cosumar in their opening match which put them level with Abanhfleft on three points. Since then, there has been some developments in the squad with training and press conferences since then, and the team look all set for their second match of the group. We have already had one match of the day which saw Abanhfleft drop points for the first time as Cosumar converted a late penalty to claim all three points for the Wyrmlings, giving the Young Eaglets a chance to go clear at the top of the table with one game to play. If they beat Nagore, they could all but lock up a place in the final sixteen if they avoid defeat or other results go their way. Let's see whether Mercedini could take a big step toward escaping the group of death in their match against Nagore.

Sporting World Cup: Knockouts Within Touching Distance

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FINAL SCORE

SWC | MD2

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NAGORE 0
MERCEDINI 2
Vacek Jr 8', Santorino 37'

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Borotia, Free Republics

Qualification to the knockout stages is firmly in the hands of the Young Eaglets as they claim all three points in their second game at the 6th Sporting World Cup with another comprehensive 2-0 win, this time over Nagore. The win sees them sit three points clear at the top of Group E with six points out of six, and remain the only team in the group left to concede with four goals scored, no goals conceded and consequently a +4 goal difference. They aren't out of the woods just yet at results could still conspire against them which would result in the Mercedinians heading out on goal difference, with an Abanhfleft and Cosumar win combining to send those two nations through. Plenty of positives from this match though, so let's see how they did it as we run through the action of our second match day.

It was the final match of the day in Borotia, with Mercedini once again having to wait for the conclusion of the earlier match to find out where they stood in terms of results and parameters. With Cosumar's victory against Abanhfleft, Mercedini couldn't not wrap up a knockout berth with a win, but could put themselves in a good position if they could hold onto a win against Nagore. The players entered the stadium for the second time in this tournament, looking to please their fans for the second time. The attendance at the match was somewhat larger than the first match with several thousand more than the previous match with the capacity rising above the 30,000 mark, but the top stand remained closed in the seventy-thousand capacity stadium, giving the match a more intimate feeling between the fans and the teams on the pitch. Mercedini went into the match full of hope and momentum following their first match, and looked to get off on the right foot in this match in front of about ten thousand travelling fans.

They got off to the perfect start with less than ten minutes on the clock as Anglatian born Christian Vacek Jr continued from where he left off in the last game as he converted from close range to open the scoring for Mercedini, giving them the perfect start to what was thought to be an awkward second match. It started with a dangerous Nagore attack breaking down on the edge of the box which instigated a Mercedinian counter attack which began with a long ball forward by Vorsini which was controlled well by Estograd before the Acoflosa youngster let loose Vacek Jr towards the goal. Nagore were caught short at the back which allowed Vacek Jr to advance into some space inside the box. A number of Nagore defenders were inside the box covering the angles but the Rozzy North End striker cut inside and fired low inside the near post to open the scoring. It was all too easy for the Young Eaglets to move upfield and get the ball into the net, with the team in blue and black on the front foot with not even ten minutes on the clock.

That put the wind in the sails of the former champions who were hungry for a second goal, with the upfront pairing of Vacek and Estograd pulling the strings of the Nagore defence. With the two of them combining well to facet a plethora of chances for their team, keeping them a cut above their opponents in the opening sequences of the game. Nagore did create a chance against the run of play with their number nine cutting inside and releasing a curled effort towards the far post, but Vorsini was competent enough to get two hands and parry the ball away to relative safety.

Mercedini made their dominance count as the first half was drawing to a close when Joaquim Santorino came all the way from left-back to help with a dangerous Mercedinian attack. A quick one-two exchanged with Estograd put Santorino through down the line, with the Blue Strike Zoloroni defender lashing a shot first time high into the roof of the net for an empathic second goal. It came from an unlikely source but Santorino was rewarded for his efforts with goal, with Mercedini in the clear and it wasn't even half time. The Young Eaglets held out until the half-time whistle which Mercedini well on their way to another victory at the Sporting World Cup. At half-time, it stood at Mercedini 2, Nagore 0.

The Mercedinians were enjoying their time at the FreedomCola Stadium with Mercedini making their mark along with three other nations revolving around Borotia over the recent week has really mixed into a clash of nations and cultures, providing the locals with something to enjoy as the Sporting World Cup visits their community. The teams came back out to the limited cheers of the thirty-thousand or so in the stadium, with Mercedini in the driving seat and Nagore trying to get themselves back in the game, or just to save face. Nagore kicked off the second half with it all to do, and quickly went for the jugular to try and get back in the game with a goal. The Mercedinian players who have all featured for their respective NL1 and NL2 clubs, defended well for the opening period against their opponents as they chipped away the time that Nagore had to score the two goals they needed to snatch a point from the former Sporting World Cup champions.

Mercedini were doing well to hold up their opponent when defending and to keep the ball when in possession and in attack. Devidov had very obviously ordered his players to hold the ball, during the half-time , with Estograd and Vacek Jr falling back to aid their midfield counterparts, gelling the attack and midfield together with six players working in harmony with each other to see the game out. Chances were few and far between due to the Mercedinian tactics, with the Nagore fans as well as the neutral fans booing and jeering the Young Eaglets for slowing down the play to an almost infuriating stop. Nagore tempers were beginning to flame, with a number of rash tackles being flung in which resulted in numerous yellow cards and delays due to injuries and treatment.

Nagore did get one chance before the end of the match, which came in stoppage time with the game all but wrapped up for the Mercedinians at this point. An early cross was whipped in with pace and was flicked on by a Negoran striker who had make a late dart for the ball. It dramatically deflected off the post and back into open play before being cleared by Santorino to send their opponents back to square one. Mercedini had surrendered all chance of a third goal at this point with defending their first half lead the only thing in the minds of those in blue and black, and they saw out the match with expert ability.

The referee blew his whistle for the end of the match, prompting many celebrations from the players, management and the fans in the stands with their second consecutive group stage win at this tournament. It has been the literal perfect start to the tournament, with two wins out of two and no goals conceded so far. They have toughest opponents to play for their final group stage game as last edition's runners up Abanhfleft are the final team to play in the group. La Flefta surprisingly lost their second game of the tournament to Cosumar leaving a whole host of things up in the air, with no one eliminated or qualified from the group just yet. Plenty of parameters will be at stake tomorrow, we hope you have your fingers crossed for the team tomorrow. From a rather windy Borotia, goodnight!

[Togonistan]

SWC6: Togonistan U18 advances through the group stage!
By: Apikaila Madena

Togonistani youth team has done it again. With 1-0 victory against Ethane, the debutantes secured their way through the group stage. The match started out with Togonistan's Keyn Menetua scoring a goal against Ethane from Aleki Siosifa's pass during the 2nd minute, quickly setting up a lead. From there on, it was all down to defense. Ethane showed some really strong pressure against Togonistani defense line for the rest of the first half, though none of their attempts ended up being successful. Perhaps one of the most dangerous situations happened during the 34th minute, when Jax Tugler had to clear out a long ball aimed right at Ethane's target man under the goal. However, for the most part, first half consisted of Togonistan doing defensive work, playing it out on potential counter-attacks.

Second half showed Togonistan keeping the same track with having eight players parking the bus while keeping two strikers ready to receive any long passes and perform quick counter attacks. The situation took an interesting turn during the 83rd minute, after defender Manuia Palamo joined in as a substitute and made a foul, resulting in a penalty kick for Ethane. However, the shot got saved by Jonathan Manu-Lavea, who kicked the ball away with fists, giving a chance for Togonistan to counter-attack which resulted in Jonas Patrick's shot going right over the bar. Without much more notable incidents, the match ended up in 1-0 for Togonistan.

Menetua (2')
Suega (34')
Vavau (56')
Tui (TGN) Ianea (TGN) (77')
Tavatula (TGN) Palamo (TGN) (82')

Match log

With having 6 points in table, Togonistan is already granted a spot through the group stages. Having lost both of their matches so far, Irwil can no longer qualify and thus is out of the game, leaving the last available spot for either North Prarie or Ethane. However, the latter would need a straight victory against Irwil in their last group stage match, increase their goal count during that as well as hoping for Togonistani victory, making the situation really difficult for them.

Olden Automobile Company Group H Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Togonistan                         2   2  0  0    2   0  +2    6
2 North Prarie                       2   1  1  0    2   1  +1    4
3 Ethane                             2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1
4 Irwil                              2   0  0  2    0   2  −2    0

[Free Republics]

This is your Matchday 3 Cutoff, brought to you by Dixon Light! Dixon Light: The Beer that Makes Love Happen since 1836!

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Results

Nicholls Enterprises Group A
Vettrera 0–1 United States of Devonta
Cassadaigua 1–0 Equestrian States

  Nicholls Enterprises Group A  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Cassadaigua                     3   3  0  0    5   1  +4    9
2 United States of Devonta        3   2  0  1    5   2  +3    6
3 Equestrian States               3   1  0  2    3   5  −2    3
4 Vettrera                        3   0  0  3    1   6  −5    0

AllMart Group B
Oscioru 2–3 The Sherpa Empire
Krytak 2–2 Filindostan

  AllMart Group B               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire               3   3  0  0   11   4  +7    9
2 Krytak                          3   1  1  1    3   7  −4    4
3 Oscioru                         3   1  0  2    6   6   0    3
4 Filindostan                     3   0  1  2    6   9  −3    1

Dixon Light Group C
Latman 1–6 Acronius
Neo-Romanum 5–2 Juvencus

  Dixon Light Group C           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Neo-Romanum                     3   2  0  1    7   4  +3    6*
2 Acronius                        3   2  0  1    9   4  +5    6*
3 Juvencus                        3   2  0  1    6   7  −1    6*
4 Latman                          3   0  0  3    2   9  −7    0

RT&T Group D
Mercredi 1–2 Ravsol
Free Republics 5–3 Greater Vakolicci Haven

  RT&T Group D                  Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Ravsol                          3   3  0  0    6   1  +5    9
2 Free Republics                  3   2  0  1    8   6  +2    6
3 Greater Vakolicci Haven         3   1  0  2    4   7  −3    3
4 Mercredi                        3   0  0  3    2   6  −4    0

FreedomCola Group E
Mercedini 3–2 Abanhfleft
Cosumar 4–1 Nagore

  FreedomCola Group E           Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Mercedini                       3   3  0  0    7   2  +5    9
2 Cosumar                         3   2  0  1    6   4  +2    6
3 Abanhfleft                      3   1  0  2    6   5  +1    3
4 Nagore                          3   0  0  3    1   9  −8    0

Trudeau Firearms Company Group F
Razenthuria 0–0 Azadeshia
Sharktail 0–0 South Caleblan

  Trudeau Firearms Company Group F Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sharktail                          3   2  1  0    6   1  +5    7
2 Razenthuria                        3   1  1  1    2   5  −3    4**
3 South Caleblan                     3   1  1  1    1   1   0    4**
4 Azadeshia                          3   0  1  2    0   2  −2    1

BearOil Group G
Darmen 3–4 Alpine Union
Commonwealth of Baker Park 1–0 Maryloupe

  BearOil Group G               Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Alpine Union                    3   3  0  0    8   5  +3    9
2 Commonwealth of Baker Park      3   1  1  1    5   5   0    4
3 Maryloupe                       3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3
4 Darmen                          3   0  1  2    5   7  −2    1

Olden Automobile Company Group H
Ethane 0–1 Irwil
North Prarie 0–3 Togonistan

  Olden Automobile Company Group H Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Togonistan                         3   3  0  0    5   0  +5    9
2 North Prarie                       3   1  1  1    2   4  −2    4
3 Irwil                              3   1  0  2    1   2  −1    3
4 Ethane                             3   0  1  2    1   3  −2    1

*Neo-Romanum, Juvencus and Acronius split their respective HTH meetings 1-0-1. Neo-Romanum finishes 1st with HTH goal differential of +2. Acronius finishes 2nd with HTH goal differential of 0. Juvencus finishes 3rd with HTH goal differential of -2.
**Razenthuria advances over South Caleblan due to 1-0 HTH win.

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Round of 16

Cassadaigua vs Krytak @ Olympic Stadium, Baseton, Amolotopia, Free Republics
Neo-Romanum vs Free Republics @ AllMartDome, Reco, Jolarus, Free Republics
Mercedini vs Razenthuria @ Soccer Palace, Petrograd, Plymouth, Free Republics
Alpine Union vs North Prarie @ IslandDome, Toakameau, Falatulu, Free Republics
The Sherpa Empire vs United States of Devonta @ FreedomCola Stadium, Borotia, Iodara, Free Republics
Ravsol vs Acronius @ MilaneseDome, Wortana, Keronama, Free Republics
Sharktail vs Cosumar @ Gem of the Oceans Stadium, Republica, Free Republics
Togonistan vs Commonwealth of Baker Park @ Olden Stadium, Falkamore, Nejax, Free Republics

Third party scorination will be required for the match between Neo-Romanum and Free Republics. If interested, please TG me or @/DM me on Discord.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

© Sporting Times Daily 2018
"Late Game" pulls U18's through to the Round of 16
by Fiona Devlin
Staff Soccer Writer

Coming into this year's Sporting World Cup Under-18 World Championships, Lainey Wadsworth found herself in a different position from the previous squad.
"Last time I was mainly a sub, so everyone called me 'Late Game Lainey', but now I'm a starter, and a co-captain so I have to be more responsible and do whatever I can to lead."

Wadsworth showed her leadership mettle as she smashed home a 70th minute goal--the game's only tally--to see the Commonwealth U18s advance from Group G with a 1-0 win over a brave Maryloupe side that would've settled for a draw to see them through.

It was a cruel end for the debutantes, who had shown the ability to neutralize the Baker Park attack through much of the match. The buildup to the Ridge Raider's strike was one of the few excellent stretches of possession that the Black & Gold produced.

"I don't know how many more good chances we might have gotten after that 5 or 6 minute period. They were playing excellent defense", a relieved Manager Zoe Montgomery said in the post-game interview. "Lainey did the one thing you try and tell players not to do in that situation, which is force something that's not there. Give Garth (Mulvaney) and Anna (Porter) credit for the interplay, but when Lainey got the ball, she was going to make something happen."

Kelsey Vickers kept her first clean sheet of the campaign, although she was only called upon to make 3 saves. The BP defense played a solid game, but were not troubled too much by Maryloupe's attack.

The Commonwealth finished runners-up to the Alpine Union--who defeated Darmen 4-3 to help Baker Park advance--and will now play against the winners of Group H, Togonistan in the round of 16, the match taking place at Fakenmore, Nejax. That will be an advantage to the group winners, as they have played their group matches there. But Montgomery doesn't think just the change of venue will be the biggest hurdle.

"They (Togonistan) have yet to allow a goal in their 3 matches, in a pretty low scoring group. So we'll have to get some better consistency in our passing if we are going to have any chance of advancing."