World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[Nephara]

Cheergirls 2 - 4 Nephara
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Swoboda; 18 - Kielseng, 5 - Konoval (c, 22 - Thorn 73'), 6 - Steelhenge, 19 - Close; 4 - Rowland (23 - Aschenbach 66'), 15 - Shone; 13 - Saroszi, 14 - Moxham, 16 - Staunton; 10 - Cathar (vc)
Goals: Moxham 15', Shone 31', Cathar 42' 76'

The HERALD Presents...
NEPHARA'S GREATEST XI - PART TWO
Karin Rietveld

Sure as night follows day. Sure as the Pope is Catholic. Sure as rightback is traditionally a problem position for Nephara. So perhaps it is fitting that the selection at rightback for Nephara was generally played as a leftback for her country, and often for her clubs. Scylla Vyntra was a player of unquestioned class, plucked from obscurity, and thrust into taking the most significant penalty in Nepharim history... and sending it calmly, confidently, beyond Terrazas, like she was kicking a ball past her own children in the backyard.

In the quiet Marcher town of Serpentine, along with Cypher, there's not much to do except be a border of sanity separating Parrhesia from the Laith. Vyntra was a difficult, headstrong child, the youngest of four, and would often slip away from her studies to focus on her football. With a population of around 53 thousand, it's not as much of a coincidence as it might seem that Vyntra and her famous partner down the left, Lienke Vesper, were close friends from the very beginning. They first met when Vyntra proved the only kid on the schoolground able to take the ball of the flashy winger. They quickly became inseperable. Vyntra was a stabilising influence for Vesper, who had a tendency to daydream - mostly about leaving Serpentine - while after a few years, Vesper was able to shame Vyntra into actually attending class every now and then.

Unsurprisingly, they found most of their structure at AFC Serpentine, the pride of the town, and it became clear that the Dragons had their hands on some very special property indeed. Thanks to some not-entirely-honest shenanigans - then-U18s manager Gerhard Cambridge, later assistant to the senior side, recalls convincing scouts from higher-profile Parrhesia United and Cypher Town that Vesper and Vyntra were two completely different players thanks to switching around some shirts, ensuring they went home thinking these rumoured prospects were actually crap - they kept ahold of the two long enough for Bronwyn Sadler, seeking an X-Factor, to promote them to the senior side as teenagers. They were both regular starters by 19, with the pace, power, energy and natural understanding down that left channel to freak out any rightback in the First Division. Promotion, as keystones of a physical, energetic side, soon followed. Amidst calls to replace them with more experienced players, Sadler held her nerve, and in Serpentine's first ever Premiership season they were both among the first names on the teamsheet.

To widespread surprise, the Dragons stayed up. Unfortunately, economic reality intervened. Treason picked Vyntra up as almost an afterthought in a spending spree of over 50 million pounds, throwing her into the deep end as a replacement for Osarian veteran Susana Grana. In Vyntra's absence, Serpentine went down, despite ten goals from Vesper. Treason immediately sprang for Vesper, and success soon followed. It was not destined to be under Monica Brightwater, who bought them both, but under Ben Randall they would win two Premierships and a CdC together. Vyntra would spend a full decade at the Stags - Vesper, eight years before a move to Crisisbless.

Unsurprisingly, Vyntra caught eyes for the national side, too. At the age of 23, she burst to prominence for the national side, impressing as Nephara won the Campionato Esportiva and then reached the Trindl Cup final. An increasingly liberated Theresa Riether was ready to throw off all the shackles by the World Cup, Vyntra joining relative unknowns in Malachite Scharner and Adnan Szalai as they nailed down their places in the team... and Lienke Vesper made the plane, as well. But of the many Nepharim who really stamped down a marker, it was Vyntra who played the tournament of her life, key in every knockout game. Vyntra with an assist and the decisive penalty against Ko-oren. Vyntra with the decisive assist for Ashdown against Quebec. Vyntra with the winning goal from seven against EUra n the semifinals. And, inevitably, it was another nerveless Vyntra penalty which won the shootout in the Final. Who honestly cared that Nephara hadn't kept a clean sheet all tournament?

Unfortunately, Vyntra's international career would not end as flashily - she won her last caps in the disastrous qualifying cycle eight years later that saw the Cormorants fail to make it to the World Cup, and Michael Brandon did not take the clearly fading force to the Cup of Harmony. She will forever sit on the agonising number of 97. So close - so far away. But she's never been one to look back with regrets. Now 34 and seeing out her career at Southfell United, Vyntra's still got one more season in her legs, though her international days are long gone and she's already preparing for life after hanging up her boots. She's started to get some coaching qualifications, and despite that early penchant for truancy, has signed up for a part-time university degree. She lives quietly in Southfell, now, and has adopted two children with her partner - not, despite rumours, Vesper. She's earned the peace and quiet. Her feats in the emerald shirt will never be forgotten.

Honourable Mention: Sasha Christener was actually starting at rightback that World Cup, one of the oldest players in a young squad at 28 years old. Christener was an attacking fullback per excellence, a tall, lean, darting player constantly on the move, excelling at linking up with the winger, and she scored five goals in her 116 caps. While best known for her international career, she also won a Premiership and a Globe Cup with the Moths, her hometown club, before winding down her career in her 30s with Coret Hawks and then Kelsy Merchants. She's returned back home, and is currently a youth coach with North Sabrefell.

[The Sherpa Empire]

----֎-֎-֎----‭

‭Zorawar Varman was sometimes effective, but he was never graceful. He was always huffing and puffing, awkwardly wiping the hair out of his eyes and sweating like a stuck pig. The way he held his arms when he ran made him look like a penguin. And yet he still managed to outrun the Hungarians as he ran the ball down the edge of the field. As the defenders came to cut him off, he slipped a pass over to Lakpa Mehta, who set up Srihatta to put the ball over the Hungarian goalie's head, giving the Sherpa national football team a 1-0 lead.

‭The Dragon King of Tibet, watching the game from the comfort of his cave, snorted with excitement and accidentally set his end table on fire.

‭Later on, Ding Zhang scored a 2nd goal making the final score 2-0.

‭The Dragon King was happy for the win, but something was missing. He looked over at the empty space on his couch. Sarki wasn't there because she was busy with her job. Watching football just wasn't the same without her...

----֎-֎-֎----‭

[Sargossa]

SSM | Sargossan State Media
International Edition - Sport



Corsairs On Crest Of A Wave


Blanco Borrayo reports;

Rarely has a World Cup draw thrown up so much mystery. The sporting fortunes of nations tend to ebb and flow with the tides, old nations exit stage left while newer countries emerge to take their place. This is just the way of things. But to even out the unknown there’s normally a shedload of Rushmori derbies, acting as a warm and comforting blanket. Not this time. This time it’s a group chock full of unknown quantities. Well, not entirely unknown. Casual watchers of international football know Kita-Hinode by reputation. And the Alpine Nation. And Siovanija & Teusland. Sangti too are a name from the past. But a Sargossan side has never locked horns with any of them. So thank whatever deity you hold dear for Thibaea. Lovely, familiar Thibaea.

In the previous two Copa Rushmoris Corsairs and Warlocks have collided. Four years ago Thibaea won their first ever Copa point in a 2 – 2 draw. Two years later they were on the wrong end of a 5 – 2 reversal as Rodrigo Defederico’s side started upon their path to the final. Admittedly that second scoreline was a touch flattering as Maurice Bonhomme typically has his charges well marshalled. His 3-6-1 system has been used for years, with each player knowing their roles to a tee. And this fixture was no exception, with The Warlocks holding their own against the higher ranked visitors. Until one defensive slip towards the end of the first half which enabled Matías Cáceres to spin away from his marker and plant a pinpoint cross onto the forehead of the in form Iván Mayoral, who steered it beyond the reach of Évrard Chappuis. Whose use of the squad number ‘2’ still faintly offends us, just FYI. The second half was a much more open affair as the hosts pushed forward, seeking out an equaliser. But as they pushed so too did the Corsairs counter. And sure enough the lead was doubled and Thibaea’s plucky resistance crumbled as Mayoral held up the ball before laying it back to Alfredo Valenzuela who hit a low, left footed drive across the keeper and into the net. 2 – 0 on the night and a fifth successive victory for Sargossa.

At this stage last campaign Sargossa had just suffered a humiliating home loss to Stetzra, an event that precipitated a change in management, and languished in sixth place on five points. Flash forward to right now and the Corsairs fifth win in succession means they have enjoyed their best start to a qualification campaign since World Cup 71, in which the side rattled off victories over massive names Gylias, Thatius, Sylvackia, The Vermark and Kazirstan. The sobering undercurrent to that fact is that Sargossa eventually finished third in that particular group and were sentenced to a spell in the Cup of Harmony.

Which is perhaps why coach Rodrigo Defederico made a point of cutting down a reporter who took advantage of the post-match press conference to ask the coach whether the excellent start meant he was now focusing on a fourth successive World Cup Finals appearance. ‘You’re as crazy as the people on social media!’, Defederico responded. ‘We’re five matches into an eighteen-game campaign and we have a three-point cushion. Three. We’re one bad result ahead of the rest. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell the history fans among you that traditionally this nation is a lousy frontrunner. So, no. Absolutely not. I’ll tell you what I’m focused on, Sangti.’

   Group 14                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Sargossa                          5    5   0   0    21    4  +17    15
 2 Siovanija and Teusland            5    4   0   1    17    9   +8    12
 3 Kita-Hinode                       5    4   0   1    11    8   +3    12
 4 Alpine Union                      5    3   1   1     9    6   +3    10
 5 Main Nation Ministry              5    3   0   2    17    9   +8     9
 6 Soute                             5    2   1   2     7    5   +2     7
 7 Altai Almas                       5    1   0   4     4   13   −9     3
 8 Sangti                            5    1   0   4     6   19  −13     3
 9 Thibaea                           5    0   1   4     4   11   −7     1
10 Raffiah                           5    0   1   4     2   14  −12     1

[Valanora]

Valanora Times
Möller Handed Ultimatum

For a side that has participated in as many World Cups as the Marauders have, they have certainly come to know the wondrous highs and the treacherous lows that come with the sport and the process of trying to qualify for the World Cup as a whole. For fifty-two editions now, the Marauders have taken to the field in different names, different kits, and with different personnel donning the crossed scimitars that is the shield of the kit, now adorned high with five stars. Across all that time, there has come a wisdom of knowing when to have patience and when to push forward with a no holding back attitude, be it in the style of play that the team is set to use, or now in the case of how the federation has chosen to address the concerns of the public regarding Tobias Möller' continued tenure as the manager of the Marauders following the worst start to qualifying that any one of this generation can remember, even worse than the start that the side had in the qualification that eventually ran sour and saw the team break their streak of consecutive qualifications.

With the growing uproar from both the casual fan as well as the numerous supporters' groups, with the Marauders suffering one of their heaviest defeats to a no name, sub two hundred ranked Polkopia side, everyone assumed that the Pasargan would be out of the job by the end of the month. However their was enough pull inside the VSC for Möller to be afforded an extension into the next international break, or at least enough of confusion on who could possibly replace the manager on such a short notice that the squad was able to get another game in. Much to everyone's relief, despite a very trying match against unheralded Rakivland, the Marauders would eventually pull through into a victory thanks to a goal by the blossoming Marie Skaar. The solitary goal was enough to prove the difference between the two sides and stem the bleeding for the Marauders as it were, with the side at least looking solid defensively for the first time through the first five matches of the qualifying process. While the margin of victory is far from what was expected in a match like this, the progress shown on the backend has given the foreign manager a bit of life yet.

That bit of life though is hanging on by a thread and the margin for error is razor thin, with the VFA giving the manager an ultimatum in order for the Pasargan to keep his job through the rest of the Qualifiers. While the VFA has not publicly acknowledged the goal, it has been confirmed by trusted sourced within the organization that the Marauders have been tasked with getting eleven points from the remaining fixtures in the first half of qualifying or the entire managerial staff will be sacked immediately. It is a tall ask for the team and Möller, given how poorly the team seems to be working together and how well the rest of the group is playing, something of a perfect storm coming right to bear on the Marauders' chances of not just winning the group, but now merely staying in contention for the qualification race. The fact that the team is in these dire straits and in so early into the qualification process is just a testament to how out of sorts and out of rhythm that the team has been playing, with the team having been predicted to have easily walked the group when the draw was announced at the start of the summer.

For Möller, it is about finding an eleven that can play well together and while it is terrible to even think so, that may mean that some of the hero quartet may need to be dropped to get the job done. With them being the last four elves remaining on the team, no longer are they the beacons that light the way for the rest of the squad, but they are the outsiders in a team that is far from their own and that helped win the trophies that have those stars upon the crests. Such a move would send shock waves across the Empire and perhaps through the entire sport, but it may well be the key to solving the riddle as to why this talented side has been playing like amateurs the last two and a half months. There is a lot of pride in both players and supporters of this country but pride must be put aside in order for wisdom to prevail, though the hurdles ahead grow ever larger while it feels as if weights have been saddled upon the ankles of this once glorious team.

[Abanhfleft]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Football Fallacies
with Graham O'Doherty

Ah, so the latest round of the World Cup qualifiers has finally arrived. Once again, our men's national football team is competing for a chance to book a place in the 81st World Cup, to be held in Banija and the Free Republics. We have been drawn in Group 11, alongside our APOC compatriots the Sultanate of Oontaz. We also have a fair few number of nations in our group that we at least have heard of; well, frankly, aside from this Neo-Romanum place, we've practically heard of every country in our group. And as of the time of writing, we've already played five out of, what was it again? Eighteen games? Yeah, that seems correct. Well, let's not dilly-dally over here talking about stuff. Let's get right down to it, shall we?

Game One: Lycrabon vs. Abanhfleft (Unknown stadium, Unknown city, Lycrabon)

LYCRABON 0 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
               DAGEN (35')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Lycrabon: 51%
Abanhfleft: 49%
Shots
Lycrabon: 10 (3 on target)
Abanhfleft: 15 (7 on target)
Corners
Lycrabon: 3
Abanhfleft: 5
Fouls
Lycrabon: 10
Abanhfleft: 18

Our first game was away to Lycrabon. I know a lot of you out there will be familiar with this nation because I believe Cousin Dara has made mention of this nation while he's writing up about Abanhfleft's exploits in the World Bowl. They're also quite active in baseball but this is actually only the first time that I've heard of Lycrabon ever venturing into the field of association football (or soccer, or football, or footy, or whatever you want to call it). But credit to them, their inexperience in this particular field didn't really show. It took a flash of fancy trickery from Kareem Dagen to finally get us on the score sheet and get our campaign going, and while I'm not complaining about that (three points is three points after all), Lycrabon were actually much tighter on the defense than I would have thought. And that's actually impressive. Also impressive was the Lycrabon goalkeeper's save of Andrea Marilungo's free kick in the last few minutes of the game that could have killed it off for good. Marilungo's free kick was right on target too: it was headed for a very tiny gap right in the middle of the goalkeeper's glove and the near post and would have gone in had said goalkeeper not been able to apply a fingertip to the ball. Oh, well. You take what you can get.

Game Two: Abanhfleft vs. Darkmania (Stadium of the Southern Lights, Uranium City, Fleftic Antarctica)

    ABANHFLEFT 3 - 0 DARKMANIA
MARILUNGO (5')
 V. ZIMA (23')
   VIGER (86')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 60%
Darkmania: 40%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 12 (7 on target)
Darkmania: 9 (1 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 8
Darkmania: 3
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 20
Darkmania: 15

Ah, now we turn our attention to a team that has been on the minds of fellow footy fans like us for quite a long time now. Who can forget that moment in the qualifiers for the last World Cup when these Darkmanians defeated our girls on the field and put the final nail in the coffin that was Heinrich Wurzmann's time as manager of the Fleftic women's national football team? I certainly couldn't. That being said, the defeat still stings, even though we may have gotten our revenge on the return leg, thrashing them 5-1 on the back of an Alexandra Rousseau hat trick. But now it was time for the men's team to face Darkmania, and I do believe it's fair to say that the men have made a good accounting for themselves on their first meeting with the Darkmanians. Andrea Marilungo finally scored from a free kick after ten attempts in all competitions, among them that saved free kick against Lycrabon I talked about earlier. Getting this early lead emboldened our boys to go all out on the offensive in front of 30,000 fans at the Stadium of the Southern Lights in Uranium City, and the inevitable result of that was that was that Vitaly Zima nipped in behind the Darkmanian defense and slammed Rory Edwards' through-ball into the back of the net. Darkmania locked down on defense after that, but tired legs on their part and fresh legs on the part of Charles Viger allowed the AFC Langtree center back to leap highest over everyone else and head home the third goal to finish off any hope of a Darkmanian comeback.

Game Three: Dreamplanet vs. Abanhfleft (Estadio Quadrados, Dreamplanet)

█████DREAMPLANET 1 - 2 ABANHFLEFT
LUIS SILVA (81')       DAGEN (2', 54')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Dreamplanet: 45%
Abanhfleft: 55%
Shots
Dreamplanet: 10 (4 on target)
Abanhfleft: 15 (9 on target)
Corners
Dreamplanet: 7
Abanhfleft: 6
Fouls
Dreamplanet: 15
Abanhfleft: 19

Game three and it's against an opponent that, while we haven't faced them a lot (in football or in any other sport for that matter) we have heard about them. One of Dreamplanet's players, Paulo Figueiredo, spent some time in Abanhfleft, in the Premier League actually (I think it was for Ludogorets Markovsky, but I'm not entirely sure, so don't quote me on that!) but I think he now left to go back to his country. Well, he's had his time in the limelight here so why not go back to where he came from and spread his good luck on his countrymen? Not that they had a lot of it come their game against our boys. If every shot that had gone off the woodwork had instead been a goal in this game, this would have ended something crazy like 7-5 to Dreamplanet. They were that unlucky in front of goal today. And Carlos Cohen also did a good job of keeping some of those other shots out of the back of his net, so that's a good thing too. And it probably didn't help that yet another one of Kareem Dagen's crazy zipping runs put us in front with only two minutes gone, putting the Dreamplanet boys on the back foot almost immediately. And that's not good for any team, if I remember correctly. Or am I misremembering things?

Game Four: Abanhfleft vs. Mriin (IKEA Arena, Wanda City, Wanda Island)

███ABANHFLEFT 1 - 3 MRIIN
V. ZIMA (49')       VOL (29')
                    TALI'RAIA (59')
                    IARROW (86')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 51%
Mriin: 49%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 7 (3 on target)
Mriin:: 14 (7 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 5
Mriin: 7
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 21
Mriin: 15

Now onto Mriin, and our first ever defeat in the qualifying campaign. It wasn't a matter of which one team was markedly better than the other but rather which team wanted the win more than the other, and on this day it was Mriin who wanted the win more. To be honest, our boys got thrown around that pitch like popcorn in the microwave. Besides, who ever saw satyrs who were taller than even some of our very own basketball players? That Solara Vol girl really made life hell for our defense. It didn't help that Luke Edwards is really on the tail end of his career. It's also probably a reason why Rosenpfelblatz City have declined the way they have in recent seasons. We did get things level though, thanks to Vitaly Zima, who overcame being slapped around by Geraard Tavol to tap in a loose ball that these normally defensively astute Mriinians (is that the right word for them? It must be the right word for them.) somehow weren't able to clear away from the six-yard box. And that's all that he was able to do because he quickly resumed getting slapped around by Geraard Tavol after that. That dryad Tali'raia and midfielder Talia Iarrow then made sure that it was our guests who would walk away from the IKEA Arena with all three points, and that didn't sit well with the fans. But what can you expect? They were in Wanda City, and most of those fans were probably Wanda Island Wanderers fans when the league is going on. Those guys do not like defeats, I'll tell you that much. And I thought we had already given up our hooliganism but apparently not. Wanda Island, I'm looking at you!

Game Five: Crystalline Caverns vs. Abanhfleft (Tempest Nook, Mraz, Crystalline Caverns)

CRYSTALLINE CAVERNS 0 - 1 ABANHFLEFT
                          DAGEN (51')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Crystalline Caverns: 40%
Abanhfleft: 60%
Shots
Crystalline Caverns: 5 (2 on target)
Abanhfleft: 10 (7 on target)
Corners
Crystalline Caverns: 5
Abanhfleft: 5
Fouls
Crystalline Caverns: 18
Abanhfleft: 16

And finally we wrap things up with a visit to the cold and crystal clear Crystalline Caverns, filled with your ordinary and regular humans as well as crystal wolves (WTF!?). That team we faced there was as solid as the crystals around them and it took yet another piece of skillful magic for someone like Kareem Dagen to finally crack that crystalline defense and bag yet another goal as well as the three points. But that wasn't to say that we haven't been trying. No, no, on the contrary. We had lots of chances to score lots of goals against the Crystallines, but we didn't, because their defense was, as I have said earlier, tough as diamonds (which is a crystal if I remember correctly. Am I right or am I right?). We really could have won this game 5-0 or something crazy. But 1-0 is good enough, and that's the most important thing as far as I and the SFA are concerned.

Well, that wraps up things for me for now. I might come back with another article on Abanhfleft's progress through the qualifiers or I might talk about something else entirely. But remember, people of the multiverse: always stay classy! XOXO from Graham...

[Qasden]

Vans Rejuvenated Under Cralt-Nirlo

---

FYRE, QASDEN
by Stewart "Squidgie" P

---

To quote the words of fellow QADANS reporter, Ester T, "The battle may have been won, but the war, oh the war has just begun.".

Last time the Qads battled for the hopes of qualification, a heart-stabbing bitter defeat to Baker Park saw off our Vans with the departure of 2-time Cup of Harmony champion manager, Jon Merritt, from the association's chief team. Following the brief era of riots, U21 Manager, Boulevard Drucati, was given the role as interim manager in the nation's fights at the 72nd Cup of Harmony and 56th AOCAF, both of which resulted in brutal losses against Mercedini (QF) and Siovanija & Teusland (GS) respectively. Fans began to fear the future of the association, and with Merritt officially joining the Freeport Isles' National Team as an Assistant Manager, there really wasn't a way to go back from this.

Enter Cralt-Nirlo Fox, a decently experienced being from Qusmo that has so far made a great reputation serving as the Blue-Reds' head manager. Having previously served as the assistant manager to the National Team of Filindostan and managing a club in Pug Qusmyra, Cralt-Nirlo knows they're way across the field with a slightly heavier reliance on offense compared to Merritt. During their time in Filindostan, the team came within near micrometers of acquiring a playoff spot, but was ultimately shipped off to Vilita before finishing in the quarter-finals.

So now with that in mind, let's take a quick look back at the first 5 matches of the WC81 qualifiers with our rarely-ageing Vans.

Dormill and Stiura, Qad City

First up was Dormill and Stiura, a plucky new team from The Western Isles. Competing at the massive Baptism of Fire 68, the Republicans were able to clinch the top of their group with only 5 points. Impressive? Kinda? Either way, the matches were fierce, with a win over Greater Libertania giving them the boost they needed to advance. In the Round of 32, the Stars and Stripes were paired against Krenorus, whom took down D&S with relative struggle, securing a mere 1-0 win. Essentially, these guys aren't gonna be a cake walk.

At the first whistle in New Qad Stadium, the Reps and Vans went back and forth for a bit until headway was made by the Blue and Orange 18 minutes in. It was a nervous site at first, for sure, but with the introduction of Valentijn Munson and Owais Lumiere into the match, things started to lean our way. 34 minutes in, A two-person operation commandeered by the duo gave Lumiere and Qasden their first goal of the season. Later on, at 46 and 57 minute marks, the Vans were able to secure two more goals with the help of Ryan Xandreas, giving TQ a lead that not even another goal from D&S could save them, earning the Blue-Reds 3 points.

Illahee, Destiny

Next up to the mound was Illahee, another newbie that had their journey in Farfadillis/Semarland cut short. Despite a draw against Oscioru, the Sasquatch lovers were unfortunately plagued with 2 additional defeats to send them home after the group stage. But of course, the Vans couldn't cut them too much slack without flashbacks to last cycle.

Unlike the first match, TQ took a much stronger hold on the ball than Illahee, allowing them to score with ease early on (Foxtrot 12', Bostun 23'). Soon the blue and green regained control of the situation, but by then, the Qads already had a knot tied on this game. With one more swift goal by Munson, 3 more points were bestowed upon the Joint-Q team.

Olastor, Olastaryn

Now this match was interesting. While D&S and Illahee are pretty new to the World Cup, Olastor have been competing in this show far longer than even Qasden, though no qualifications in recent competitions. Still, they were a force not to be taken lightly, and with that thought in mind, the Vans knew they were gonna have to play tough.

The match at Capitol Stadium in front of 50,000 people commenced so intensely that it was actually pretty boring until the 2nd half, when all heck broke loose. Ryan Xandreas was able to snag goal #3 in this tournament in the 47th minute, only to be countered by an Olastorian forward a couple minutes later. Things started looking grim for the newfound hot streak until the 82nd minute, when collegiate player, Milkface, slid one into the net in a whole jumble a confusion following an animal running onto the field, a goal later capitalized by Icarus Darsten 6 minutes later to end the game, 3-1, keeping Qden on par with other giants.

The South Falls, Elder

TSF is another debuting nation that suffered a fate similar to Illahee at the Baptism of Fire, finishing only with a single point in a draw against Timmy's Tigers. Though acquiring an early, scoreless tie with 95X, the presumably beautiful nation lacked the manpower necessary to win their next two games, ultimately losing both of them. So, 9 points on 1.

This was a match that more or less had the media focused on Cralt-Nirlo and Sols rather than the actual match itself, so much so that the cameras actually missed a goal made by Onyx Foster 16 minutes in. Though a minor embarrassment, something tells me that Cralt-Nirlo knew they were gonna miss a goal on camera, probably exclaiming why the offense went all out against The South Falls, nailing goal after goal. With the frontrunners getting the goals and the defense performing superbly, TQ took home a drastic 4-0 victory, shooting them into 1st place.

Geisenfried, Dözel

Unlike the other matches, Geisenfried was an opponent that the majority of Qads seemed legitimately excited about playing. Just about 100 kilometers from the cities of Fyre and Destiny, the nation represents the 3rd time in history that Qasden will get to play a neighboring country, with the other two being matches against Tomikosan. Despite only having 1 point before this match, the Geisen squad showed no mercy against teams like the Qusmo-driven Qads.

To spare the details, excellent defense on both sides played key roles to the end result of the match, a 0-0 draw, staining the 4-0-0 record originally captured. The lack of 2 points kicked the Qads back to 2nd, a minor yet major worry.

So, with 13 points and a +10 GD, the Qasden Vans are so far pretty sharp in these qualifiers, struggling so far against only Geisenfried. Despite the hiccup, the Blue-Reds will need to get on their best game when they return to Qasden to play the group titans, Pasarga, at the Stade de Solis in Fyre. Pasarga, like TQ, steamrolled through their first 4 games, acquiring 12 points, and usurping a Top 2 position over the others. Between MD4 and MD5, the Qads had briefly taken the top away from the wanderers with a 2-goal difference. However, they quickly regained it following the Vans draw and their narrow victory over the Squornshelan Remnant States.

Can Qasden take down Pasarga in their 3rd meetup in 2 cycles? Will Cralt-Nirlo officially prove to be the superior manager against Jon Merritt? The stars will align tonight, so stay tuned, stay updated, and stay alert for our next report, live from the WC81 Qualifiers!

[Brenecia]

Colonial Australia 0 - 1 Brenecia
(4-4-2) 12 - Calhoun; 18 - Beath, 5 - Heneghan, 22 - Grayndler, 19 - Prentice; 15 - Garrard, 4 - Staunton (23 - Alweather 87'), 8 - Drake (14 - Ruskin 78'), 16 - Keynes; 17 - Bremner, 10 - Kennedy
Goal: Heneghan 34'

"Hundred. Two hundred. Three hundred. Bada-boom. Bada-bing. And six. It's settled."
Marshall dusted off his hands and beamed at the cloud of smoke around Queen Moira's head. The crime lord did not deign to count the money herself, but raised up her hand, clicked her fingers, and one of her hulking goons went to check it out. And - yes, he could count to twelve whole 50-pound notes. He grunted.
"Well, well," the Queen murmured. "I'll be honest, Marshall, I figured you were just another loser off the streets like all the rest. But it seems your debt is..."
She clicked her fingers again. A scrivener cleared his throat, dipped a quill in ink and struck out a name in a giant, dusty ledger.
"Settled."
Yes! Marshall could've pumped a fist, but that would probably not have been the best look, and the shadows seemed to smile, feeding on his joy and sapping at it.
"And how did you come by these recent windfalls, Marshall?"
He opened his mouth, but a chiding finger cut through the darkness and waggled in front of his face. "And don't insult my intelligence. I know you've been dipping into the shadows, one way or another."
"Uh." Well, Marshall's father had always told him honesty was the best policy. "Me and a couple of my mates stole a bunch of things. My cut's always gone straight to you, ma'am, I promise."
"I see," the Queen said, in the kind of tone that implied, 'ma'am? Really?'. But then she chuckled. After all, she'd known Marshall had had plans, but... the idea of him having the guts to carry it out? But she knew, deep in those watery eyes, there was someone more scared of lying to her than of breaking the law. She was flattered.
Marshall took the silence as his cue to overexplain. "Me and my mate Bec, um-"
"Rebecca Clement. You've been seen together, yes."
"Yeah! It was pretty funny, I mean, I told her- we had this great plan at first."
"A-ha."
"We were gonna steal the World Cup, see? I mean, it's been done before, right? She talked me out of it, though. I mean, that'd be stupid. Stupid! So much publicity, and, well, it's, well it's just a trophy, innit? But one that's, you know. So high-profile it doesn't really need, I mean, you can't fence it, can you. I mean I wouldn't know. I know a guy, who knows, for me, that's, you know. I guess if I fence the stuff off to him and forget about it then he's the fence even if he wholesales to actual fences, huh? I guess I never thought about that. He's just Dave to me. I mean he said never to say his name. Shit. But. Uhm. Fuck, what was I tal-"
"Interesting."
"Eh?"
"Not you. Shut up. But you are dismissed, Marshall. I may have need of you later."
He left, bright enough to take his cue, in silence. Queen Moira drummed her fingers on the desk. It would be a bold move... but she had a bold pawn. And what better a trophy than the trophy?

[Geisenfried]

HATABU DANSO GRANTED ASYLUM
Banijan deputy enters political protection to much uproar

KÖNIGSEIFERT - As much attention has been drawn to Banija with the upcoming World Cup, it nevertheless behooves us to remember that not too long ago, the country was embroiled in the flames of war, led into a confrontation with the Equestrian States and the Commonwealth of Baker Park by the country's Katikkiro, or Prime Minister, Matthias Mutebi. In the aftermath of Banija's defeat, the ruling government was overthrown, and the question, still yet to be answered by the newly established Banijan regime, is what exactly to do with Mutebi and his supporters. But in a surprising turn of events, Mutebi's second in command, Hatabu Danso, has fled the country, applying for and receiving political asylum here in neighboring Geisenfried.

As Deputy Katikkiro, Danso was second only to Mutebi himself. And while he is under no official charges, and was not placed under arrest, his departure from Banija nevertheless raises questions of whether his self-imposed exile is a tacit admission of complicity with the currently imprisoned Mutebi, hoping to escape justice or whether he just fears retribution for his position in the administration. While his asylum will come with restrictions, preventing him from campaigning or rallying support for himself or Mutebi while on Geisen soil, the very fact that such a high figure within the Mutebi administration is now out of the hands of the current Banijan authorities may nonetheless prove to be a point of dispute.

In recognizing the situation, the Geisen Ministry of State confirmed that the asylum was granted under Geisenfried's long standing policy of neutrality in regards to both foreign countries and the internal politics of those countries, citing that if Mr. Danso sticks to the terms of the agreement and refrains from affairs within the political arena, he too has the right to live a life of peace unencumbered by the political situation in Banija. Furthermore it was emphasized that the asylum was granted due in part to the fact that Banija had yet to charge Danso with any official criminal activity, and that unless there was sufficient evidence of a non-political crime that would merit deportation, that Danso was free to immigrate to where he chose just as hundreds and thousands of Banijan refugees had already.

Official reaction from his homeland in Banija, as well as the countries of the Equestrian States and Baker Park, both of whom are responsible for the downfall of Mutebi's regime is still yet to be seen. Among the Geisen community of Banijan emigrants and descendants, however, there has been an upswell of outrage, as Mutebi's administration was particularly critical of emigrants from Banija - blaming (or scapegoating, depending on your point of view) them for a "brain drain" of Banija. There is, however, some signs of support for Danso among the more recent refugees, many of which had voted for and supported Mutebi's government before being displaced by the conflict. The full amount of fallout from this decision has yet to be seen, but given the long legacy of non-interventionist policy from Geisenfried, such an act is bound to stir up controversy both here and abroad.

Geisenfried 0 - 0 Qasden

[Barunia]

Visit Barunia
Sponsored by the Barunian Government Department of Tourism

Ch 4. What you need to know

English is Barunia’s official language, and is spoken throughout the country. Spanish is a national language, and Barunians across the nation will usually understand conversational Spanish. In the north of the country, such as the state of Tildos, people are generally more fluent in Spanish, and in the North Islands it is often spoken more than English.

Barunia is a broad-minded and open society, and generally speaking, if visitors are respectful of others’ rights and personal freedoms, they will not fall foul of the law. Some things that are illegal in Barunia include spitting in public, drinking alcohol in public (outside of an approved area such as the alfresco area of a restaurant or bar), and littering. Visitors are expected to comply with all laws, and penalties can range from fines to imprisonment.

Barunian Basics
Communications
Languages: English, Spanish
Internet TLD: .bu
International Calling: +68
Measurements: Metric
Road Rules
Drives on the Left
Speed in residential/unsigned roads: 60km/h
Maximum permitted speed: 120km/h
Currency
Currency: Barunian Tilda (BAUŦ)
Symbol: Ŧ
Sub-unit: Pence (100p = 1Ŧ)
Exchange Rate: NSD$1.50 - $2.50 (2018 estimate)

If you plan to drive in Barunia, you will need your nation’s driver’s licence. You will also need to have held your licence for at least two years, and the licence will need to be on the Barunian Department of Transport’s approved list. You can find the approved list, as well as a course on Barunian Road Rules, at http://www.transport.bu/international. It is highly recommended that you take the short online course, as it will familiarise you with Barunia’s road rules.

If you’re staying in a major city, it may be more effective to take public transport. Barunia uses an electronic ticket system called TravelPass, which gives locals a certain number of free trips each year. For visitors, there is TouristPass, which can be preloaded with a certain amount of money. To use TouristPass, buy a card from any major train station, some newsagents, or online from any of the rail authorities’ websites. When you buy the card, ask to load an amount of money on the card. When you pass through a ticket barrier, simply scan your card. When you leave the station, your card will track how far you’ve travelled, and deduct the amount accordingly. TouristPass can be used on all public transport across the country, although prices will vary across networks. Once your trip to Barunia is over, you can return your TouristPass card to the desk at any major station to receive a partial refund of the cost of the card.

Free public wi-fi is available in certain public places in Barunia. Known as BaruniaNet, the wi-fi hotspots can be found in libraries, parks, public transport stations, museums, and other civic centres. Many private companies also offer wi-fi services, either free or for a fee, at places such as clubs, restaurants, cafes, tour buses, and more.

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

STL|Serviços de Transmissão Lusitana
Sport | Football|
World Cup 81 - The Road to FR/Banija


Triumph at the Den of Dragons
New Lusitania 2-0 Jeckland @ Dragão, Porto

Falling back to fifth after two disastrous results, New Lusitania had the tall order of beating a nation one point off the top, who had started as well as anyone could have - Jeckland. Luckily, this time it would be at home, in Porto. The Invict City was always far from its name for the team, losing points constantly at the venue. However, superstition was put aside, and only hope was spread throughout the Northern Capital. A full house, with the starting eleven as good as it could: Patríce in goal, with the three defenders - Guerreiros, Dalot and Cédric, with Nevais further back than usual. Mário, Fernandos, Silva and Gama in Midfield with Silveira and Jota upfront. The first half was extremely entertaining with a lot of shots coming from both sides, testing the goalkeepers to the limit. At 42 minutes, the ball was given its marching orders by the Goalkeeper, with Fernandos handing it over to Silveira, who shot it from Inside the box to the top right corner. In the second half, Jeckland had to play catch-up, attacking more; leaving Santa Cruz to play Counter-Attack. One of these plays resulted in Jorge Mário passing to Fernandos, who shot it into the net from just outside the box. A two goal lead is twice as good as a one goal lead, and morale in the visitors side was affected, leaving the score as was
FULL TIME: 2-0.

POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS
I: Let's talk with today's man-of-the-match, Bruno Fernando. Comments on today's game?
BF: We played really well today, and so, we took the 3 points. We connected well between us and the ball, and so, I think the scoreline is fair. Jeckland played well, but Patríce was on top form as usual.
I: And your goal?
Well, I got a goal and an assist. I think I won't be forgetting this one so soon, it was for the National Team against a good side, and to score was great.
I: Thanks, Bruno.
(...)
I: And now, live here with the man himself, the coach, Victor Santa Cruz. Victor, any thoughts on tonight?
VSC: We came out hopeful and knowing it was a great side, we tried our best and managed to play really really well. It was good not only to see such great football from both sides but also to see the lads enjoying themselves at the end, celebrating the three points after the final whistle. We have a very tight-knit squad and I like to think that it will help the players on and off to pitch, even if they're rivals in the Primeira Divisão. It's still up for grabs, that qualifying and we ARE going to push for it.
I: Thoughts on the upcoming matches?
VSC: Ah, well, we're halfway across the first batch. Next we're away at Ndaku, we shouldn't underestimate smaller teams. We were once in that "Unranked" position and managed to pull some points against the big boys, so we're still playing to the best of our abilities. After that however, we are playing one of the best teams in the World, Truori, it'll be at home, so we're hoping to slow down their lead but it won't be easy. It'll be one of the lads' most difficult matches in this Group and we want everything that we can get, here and there. What we can't, under no circumstances, is start being too behind and lose touch with the leaders.
I: Thanks, Victor.

RATINGS, AWARDS AND OPINIONS
LUS Ratings : Patríce 8.5, Guerreiros 8, Dalot 7.5, Cédric Silva 7, Nevais 8.5, Mário 7.5, Fernandos 8.8, Silva 6.5, Gama 8.5, Silveira 8, Jota 6 . OVERALL : 7.5

Experts' Opinion: Yet again we are playing at the best of our abilities. Sure, the home crowd helps, but if we keep this up we still have that outside chance. The defence was solid today, Patríce doesn't show any signs of his age, and there's great talent upfront. Something good as well, is having multiple goal scorers, with no man with more than a single one, meaning it's harder for opponents to pick a "target man" between our Starting Eleven.

STATS (LUS/JEK)
Goals: 2/0
Shots: 11/8
Shots on Target: 7/5
Corners: 3/2
Fouls: 2/4
Cards - Yellow: 0/0
Cards - Red: 0/0
Possession %: 55/45

THE HUB
GOAL COUNT : Daniel Jota (1), Fransisco Gama (1), Nevais (1), André Moreira (1), B.Silva (1), André Silveira (1), Bruno Fernandos (1).

Assist Count: Fransisco Gama (2), Bruno Fernandos (2), André Silveira (1), Jorge Mário (1).

Playmakers' Average Index Top 5: Fransisco Gama (8.4), Rúben Nevais (7., Patríce (7.5) Bruno Fernandos (7.5), A.Silveira (7.1), A.Moreira (7)

Injuries: - A.Moreira (Back Injury: expected back in 1 Matchday)

Ref's Book: Cédric Silva (yellow - Michine)


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#LUSJEK
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MMXVIII

[Mercedini]

81st World Cup Qualification MD5
Vithuland vs. Mercedini
@ Vithuland National Stadium - Vithuland City, Vithuland

Good morning and welcome to Vithuland for the fifth match of World Cup Qualification, we're up early today thanks to the time differacne between Mercedini and Vithuland, so it will be a morning match in Mercedini as the night falls in Vithuland. Mercedini have only had a short period of time to acclimatise to the time difference and the climate of the nation, which could spell difficulty for the Golden Eagles against a team which may seem pretty simple on paper. Mercedini have had a great run thus far, and that could very well continue with this match being the first of three games against teams ranked lower than 200th. So, let's see whether Mercedini can keep pace with the group's top seeds and go five in five at the start of this campaign.

World Cup Qualification: Golden Eagles In The Quintuple Qlub

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FINAL SCORE

WCQ | MD5

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VITHULAND 0
MERCEDINI 3
Alotic 62', Pujanic 67', Billic 89'

---

Vithuland
Attendance - 6,199

The Golden Eagles do make it five in five, but were made to work for it as they had to score three goals in the second half to run out 3-0 winners in Vithuland to maintain their great run of form and keep them in the top spot on goal difference as they continue to go toe-to-tow with Vilita. A small crowd in the Vithuland National Stadium saw the action with much of the home crowd apathetic towards the qualifying match with the mixed form of the home side not drawing in the fans for the match, even with high ranked opposition and the potential shock win lingering over the stadium.

The small crowd inside the national stadium wasn't something that the Mercedinians were particularly used to. That combined with the fact that less Mercedinians would be watching at home due to the 9:45am kick-off time back in Mercedini would mean a large number of viewers would only get to see the ending of the match, or none of it at all, meaning they would have to rely on the highlight which would be broadcast later in television. The teams came out of the tunnel with Mercedini looking determined to land a fifth straight win of the campaign, eclipsing the record in the 77th edition of the World Cup when the team won their first four matches before losing to Vilita, they would then go on to qualify for the World Cup in second place, behind Vilita. Vithuland knew they had to stop Mercedini from scoring and they did that rather well in the first half by parking the bus and man marking both of the front two and both of the wingers, meaning none of those four experienced ny freedom on the ball during the first half. Lyndainium has opted for a number of changes in the line-up following Mercedini's 7-1 win over Tobiasia yesterday. Alotic and Billic were upfront for the Golden Eagles while Crasic and Pujanic took the reigns as the two wingers on the pitch. Callum Polasic was situated between the sticks, but it proved to be a rather uneventful day for the Cenial City goalkeeper, with Vithuland only recording one shot on goal throughout the entirety of the match. Chances were few and far between for both sides, with Alotic spurning the best chance of the game. When a defensive error leant the ball to the Pelethas striker, but a rush of blood meant the Mercedinian ballooned the ball over the bar, prompting jeers to was ever was left of the Vithuland crowd.

Alas, an uncharacteristically dull half for Mercedini as they went into the half-time interval drawing with Vithuland following a goalles first forty-five minutes. Mercedini were proportionately well represented in the stands with around 900 visiting fans in the Vithuland capital to see their team play their fifth qualifier, with many fans spontaneously booking their flights at the last minute following their drubbing of Tobiasia at home. It was proving to be a special campaign for Mercedini, especially so considering the best three second placed sides also qualify directly for the finals, so they wouldn't have to go through a playoff even if they get beaten out of top spot by Vilita, they just needed to get the results right against those teams ranked lower than them to amass enough points to land in those top three 'second-placed' spots.

The teams came back our for the second half with Lyndainium speaking to Billic about potential rearrangements of the team which could combat the vicious man-marking tactic which had been so useful in the second half for the home side. Vithuland kicked off the second half and practically hogged the ball for the opening ten minutes of the half, with the fans and the players left severely frustrated by the supposed narrowmindedness of the home team's tactics. Rash tackles from some of the midfielders which warranted the referee to hand out yellows to Pujanic, Santa-Corvani and Johnny Markus it what was a frustrating beginning to the second half.

However, Mercedini eventually got their way and put that poor start behind them when Charlie Alotic broke free of his marker to be threaded through by Markus. He took a single touch before dinking the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper in what was a rather classic Mercedinian rushing move. Alotic went to celebrate in-front of the visiting supporters with the rest of the team tens of yards behind him, it was a good couple of seconds before Billic and Markus finally caught up to him next to the corner flag as Mercedini finally broke the deadlock, 1-0!

Vithulandic heads dropped following that opening goal as their tactics had ultimately failed to stop the Golden Eagles from scoring, and that started a period of one-way traffic in the Vithuland National Stadium, with Pujanic doubling the scoring less than ten minutes later. It was another counter attacking move which came from a Vithuland corner. Polasic threw the ball long to Alotic who used his pace and strength to muscle his marker off the ball and kick the ball clear for himself and the closing defenders to chase. Alotic raced away in what looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, but this time his dinked shot was beat away by the rushing goalkeeper and out of the box. However, Pujanic was in supprt at the time and scooped up the ball as the goalkeeper was returning to his goal. The Hoventon winger lobbed the ball over the keeper and into the centre of the net, beating the stretched leg of the Vithulan defender to nestle into the back netting of the goal.

There, the match seemed pretty much won from there as Vithuland rarely threatened the Mercedinian goal. the match was wrapped up with a Billic thunderbolt from the edge of the box which capped off a decent second half performance from the Mercedinians. It has been their lowest goal scoring haul in a match thus far of three, although the hardest part of it all was trying to score against a defensively minded team, rather than trying to outplay them by scoring and keeping them out. It was a strenous but fairly simple trip to Vithuland, with Mercedini coming out as 3-0 winners.

That's all from us, we'll be back in Mercedini tomorrow for another qualifying match at the Sports City Stadium. For those of you just waking to the resultin Vithuland, we hope you have a great day ahead of you, but for the rest of you plus our international readers. Goodnight!

[Farfadillis]

Yes, it was only matchday five, but this was probably the most important match of the qualifying stage. Both teams had mostly soundy beaten their opponents at the very least; Farfadillis in particular had even only conceded a goal in those four matches, making some believe they could break the dreaded "least goals conceded" record. This did not mean the offense wasn't firing on all cylinders, though; they'd scored fourteen in four. Still, those results had been achieved with moderately rotated squads. This match was serious enough to warrant a full-strength starting eleven.

Íüé Tgô, Mârtín Básá, Kósa Bajnok, Ezequiel Marchiondo, Somuele der Pros, Lüí Wçêíl, Lázár Eleonóra, Groaré Sasca, Fôrté Wínrouge, Xíxì Êns and Oskar Holsteiner would take the pitch that day. Holsteiner was on five goals, Êns on seven assists (and three goals), and the midfielders had looked extremely threatening whenever on the pitch. The defense had remained largely the same throughout those four matches. Nobody, not even Tíbürçìó, was going to fiddle with what, for once, looked like a competitive defense.

At the beginning of the match, Super-Llamaland, perhaps encouraged by their status of home team, went all out in an attempt to surprise la Vherderoja. They got reasonably close to doing just that, specially with a shot from Ansel Penbrooke that grazed the right post of Íüe's goal. However, the Farf team soon hit their stride and their domination of the match commenced. As the minutes went by, Super-Llamaland got less and less close to scoring, with Farfadillis actually defending solidly, and Farfadillis started prodding the Llamanean defense. While Farfadillis usually looks desperate to attack, it is true that they sometimes take their time to look for an opening.

After a few of Lázár Eleonóra's runs down the flank caused considerable trouble to their leftback, Luke Svensson, the team smelled blood and quickly pounced. After breaking off a Llamanean attack, a quick succession of passes lead to Wínrôuge picking up the ball on the center of the pitch, then immediately connecting a very precise through pass to an already-prepared Eleonóra. The Szoirsian man outran his marker and ran down the flank. With a lot of time and space, he crossed towards a properly-positioned Oskar Holsteiner, who headed the ball towards Bernholm's left post and left the stadium momentarily silent. This happened a quarter hour into the match.

The three points were extremely valuable for Farfadillis. They wouldn't be exactly safe or anything from the disaster of not qualifying, but at least they'd be rather comfortable. Super-Llamaland had proven one of the better teams, and they were beating them at their own turf. However, despite the importance of those three points, the team never stopped looking for more goals.

The Tigers valiantly looked for an equalizer for the rest of the first half, but Farfadillis gave them very few chances with which to get that precious goal. Penbrooke, once again, caused trouble, but he couldn't find much help from his teammates, who had been largely neutralized by a well-organized Farf defense that hadn't looked like itself since conceding eight to Vilita & Turori in the AOCAF Cup semifinals.

Luke Svensson seemed to settle into the game so, while Farfadillis continued trying to exploit the right flank, they stopped getting enough results to justify exhausting Lázár's energy reserves. They came close to a second goal in two occasions before half time: one when Êns chipped the ball over Bernholm, with the ball ending up sitting comfortably at the top of the net, and another when a powerful from outside the box by Sasca had to be punched out by the Llamanean goalkeeper. The first half was otherwise a dull affair.

After half time, however, a sense of urgency seemed to hit, strangely, both teams. The Llamaneans obviously started playing more aggressively in an attempt to get something out of the most important match in their schedule. The Farf team, on the other hand, seemed frustrated at having scored only one goal, much like they felt frustrated against Tarper in their one-nil win.

The first ten minutes were the most entertaining of the game, with both teams getting two clear-cut chances. Axel Korborg wasted a one-on-one against Tgô by sending the ball wide, Luke Svensson almost redeemed himself for the first goal by hitting the crossbar with a powerful header, Êns hit the left post with an uncharacteristically-powerful shot from the edge of the box and Wçêíl almost scored a wondergoal from a solo run, but the goalkeeper ultimately denied him possibly the best goal of his career. A wonderful match for the neutrals without a doubt.

However, after those ten minutes, Super-Llamaland's offense seemed to fizzle out, specially when Zsolgar Zsase replaced Somuele der Pros. The Szoirsian midfielder completely controlled possession along with Sasca, and Farfadillis completely dominated from that point onwards. Attack after attack came from the Farves, pushing back the Llamanean team, which at that point wished they'd capitalized on some of their earlier chances.

The ball seemed intent on no longer entering the goal at first: Holsteiner skied a perfect chance over the crossbar, Wçêíl once again got denied by Bernholm, a Zsase header was stopped by Svensson right on the line and Wínrôuge's two shots from outside the box, while dangerous, hadn't had that little bit more of precision to make them goal-bound.

On the eightieth minute that changed, however. Cruelly, it happened just when Super-Llamaland was getting back into the game. What looked like a possibly lethal counterattack by the Tigers ended up being cut short by Marchiondo, who punted the ball up the pitch to Wínrôuge, who dribbled past two and sent Êns through. The cheeky youngster dribbled past Svensson and slotted the ball in, as if he had had all the time and space in the Multiverse. In reality, he had displayed his technique to its fullest extent; few if any players would've managed to score that goal from that position.

After the blow to the Tiger's morale, Farfadillis went back to utter domination. They had two more clear chances, until they scored the third close to the ninetieth minute. Those last few minutes might've looked confusing to a neutral just tuning in. Farfadillis were the team looking like they were two goals behind and desperately needing to score. Anyway, the defense eventually broke for a third time, after fouling Wínrôuge a meter from the edge of the box, after he'd dribbled two again. The Rulandese midfielder went on to place that free kick well beyond the keeper's reach, and that was that.

Farfadillis had really looked like a well-gelled machine, for once. All of this despite Tíbürçìó Çötàvíê's recent dementia diagnosis. He had still looked as sharp as ever, so the players weren't too bothered by the thought that their manager was not just Farf-insane, but clinically-insane.

[Vilita]

Milake Returns to National Team in Lunar Park Shutout

Lunar Park, Seraai, Vilita :: The Vilita Jungle Cats continued their strong start to the World Cup 81 Qualification Campaign with a trio of lopsided results against Kilaguni, Anthor and Rannoria. Things got started off at Lunar Park in Seraai where former Vilita #1 goalkeeper Zelkki Milake made an unexpected start for the Jungle Cats in front of his home fans. There had been some whispers going into the match that an appearance from the likes of Milake was possible but it would have been difficult to predict as the former Astronaut-in-training was now on the wrong side of 35 and had not recorded a victory in a match at the internationstatal level since a barely-noteworthy 1-0 victory recording against 285th ranked Jabok on the second matchday of World Cup 79 Qualifications. Since then, all of Milake's starts for the National Team have been disappointing giving up an average of 3 goals per game and having only recorded a single point in their previous five starts for the Vilitan National Team.

That would all change at Lunar Park against Kilaguni. Perhaps it was a bit of a planned move against the 272nd rank side in the multiverse, perhaps there was a hope that Milake would recover - and if this were to be the final chapter of a storied international career, at least it would end on a happy note. And of course, it did. Zelkki Milake kept a clean sheet for the first time since that Matchday 2 victory near the start of the World Cup 79 qualification campaign and got goalscoring help from Tenziki Kulakao, Tripate Falcon and Sipke Tarala to secure all three points for the Vilitan National Team.

It was a dominant opening hour of play for the Jungle Cats with Kulakao's goal coming after a through ball fed in from Cavuna Aquafek, lighting up the Park. Tripate Falcon doubled the Vilitan advantage in the 41st minute with a free kick 25 yards out that was awarded once again through the work of Aquafek who was hauled down in a move that earned the Kilaguni defender a yellow card.

As is often the case for National Team matches, the nearby Seraai Launch Base offered a spectacle at half time, Launching a small sounding rocket sized mission perhaps containing a small satellite or other sensors for low atmospheric data collection or low orbit sensing. Those unfamiliar with the tradition may have had quite the unexpected thrill while using the restroom or waiting in line for pies!

Lonngeylin Coast's Sipke Tarala finished the scoring in the second half with a bullet of a strike from the top of the 18 yard box. As the full time whistle blew, there was a standing ovation, not just for the National Team and its quality 3-0 result over Kilaguni, but also for the local goalkeeper, Zelkki Milake - who if this was their last appearance for the Vilitan National Team - made it a good one in front of the home fans.

Vilita [3] - [0] Kilaguni

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 13' Tenziki Kulakao :: 41' Tripate Falcon :: 53' Sipke Tarala

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 64% :: Shots on Target: 7 :: Corner Kicks: 3

:: Kilaguni Statistics :: :: Possession: 36% :: Shots on Target: 4 :: Corner Kicks: 2

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Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Kilaguni ::
[GK] Zelkki Milake, [D.] Rintala Sekagaya, [D.] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [D.] Arocki Tadalek, [D.] Jirijii Januaa, [ML] Westii Yahaya, [MC] Tripate Falcon, [MC] Cavuna Aquafek, [MR] Ikala Mravedii, [FC] Tenziki Kulakao, [FC] Sipke Tarala
BENCH::
[FC] Nuola Brenzil, [FC] Berali Tzufarei, [M] Polaox Torerun, [M] Jyuola Mtalata, [U ] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [D] Mileke Drokasorna, [GK] Mako Canopii

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[Free Republics]

Designed by 3WD of Vilita

This is your Matchday 6 Cutoff brought to you by All-Taiyou Pro Wrestling! All-Taiyou Pro Wrestling: Emperor of Sports!

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Scores

[Banija]

Banija starts national tour during World Cup 81 Qualifying


Banijan players celebrate equalizer against Eshan in friendly

HOIMA, ANKOLE- As many of us know, the Kingdom of Banija is not participating in World Cup Qualifying, due to the fact that they are co-hosts for the 81st World Cup Finals. Therefore, the Royal Banijan Soccer Association put together a tour of Banija, going to each different region, and visiting 10 different stadiums that will not be hosting World Cup matches. Many of these stadiums, of course, the Banijan national team is visiting for the first stadium- all part of the plan for the RBSA to "allow people from all reaches of the country to view their national team" and part of the plan to "ensure that the country is firmly united behind the national team" when the multiverse's most prestigious tournament hits Banijan shores.

For the tour, the Royal Banijan Soccer Association is commissioning special jerseys for each match, moving away from the traditional colors of green and orange that the national team wears. The RBSA Chairman, Adama Sowe, explained the decision to us when we asked for comment. "This decision is to ensure that the whole country feels represented by the Kadongo Kamu. While, of course, for the FInals, we will go back to our traditional colors, the jerseys we wear for this tour will reflect the region that the team is playing in. It will give the fans a greater connection to the team." The decision, of course, did not go without criticism. Many fans have said that the national team should have stuck with their traditional colors, and that this "gimmick" was simply a money grab from the RBSA, as they pour money into World Cup 81 celebrations.

Regardless, the team has played four matches so far on their tour. Their first match, of course, was a friendly against Eshan at St.Sava Park. These teams have history, with Eshan eliminating Banija from World Cup 79 Qualifying, and then Banija returning the favor when we knocked Eshan out of the ensuing AOCAF Championships, on penalties. Before this match, of course, the teams had played four times, and there had been two wins for Eshan and two for Banija. The Banijans, of course, as pictured above, wore yellow for the match. The Echanis scored first, but Toyuwa Okafor equalized in the 62nd minute, to earn a 1-1 draw. A solid start to the tour for the Banijans, against the higher ranked Echanis.

The second match, of course, was against Baptism of Fire semifinalists, the Freeport Isles. Interestingly enough, they got applauded when they entered River Corizova Stadium- Freeport Isles, we will remember, eliminated the Busoga Islands in the Round of 32 of the Baptism of Fire. Shows that, of course, there is still some bad blood between the Banijans and the Islands. Hatabu Danso, Matthias Mutebi's deputy, actually represented this small town in the Lukiiko, so there's that as well. The Banijans, however, took Freeport apart. They rotated the back, but with the front trio of Afolayan, Katara, and Okafor, they were on fire. Those three at the front each scored twice, with Yitebarke scoring once and an own goal from the Freeport Isles, to clinch an 8-0 victory. A massive, stunning win in the intimate venue of River Corizova, with a capacity of just under 9,000 spectators.

The third match of the tour saw the Banijans host Turori. Now, of course, there's history there as well. Banija and Turori were placed in the same World Cup 80 Qualification group. While in Turori, the Banijans fell by a goal, when the return leg happened, forced to play in Montreal, Royal Kingdom of Quebec due to the Banijan-Equestrian War, the Banijans, on a large winning streak at the time, had what was their biggest win of that campaign, as the 1-0 victory catapulted them into a playoff spot, which the Banijans then used to qualify for their first ever World Cup Finals. ANd then, of course, in the last AOCAF, the combined Vilitan and Turori squad eliminated Banija in the quarterfinals of that tournament, 1-1(3-1 AET), en route to them becoming the champions of Atlantian Oceania. That match, of course, was at the Olympic Stadium in Hawabark, Buganda. This upcoming season, of course, the stadium's tenants, the Hawabark Boulders, will make their debut in the Banijan Soccer League. This match saw Turori get the better of the Banijans again, with a 3-2 victory for Banija's first loss of this tour.

And then, the last match of the tour saw the Banijans host Qusmo. This was a tight, hard fought, defensive battle. Qusmo, of course, is chasing hard after a spot in the Finals, and 1/3rd of the way through World Cup Qualifying, they find themselves in a tight race with New Gazi and Eastfield Lodge for a playoff berth. At Hoima City Park, the two teams clawed and battled. It was a surprisingly physical match for a friendly. However, there was some unfortunate luck for Qusmo. A bad back pass from one of their defenders went out for a corner kick, and then Assefa Yitebarke came off the bench and buried home the header, to give the Banijans a 1-0 victory. Hard fought, but well earned.

That leaves the Banijans with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss on this tour. A solid record, as they've played some tough teams, with Eshan, Turori, and Qusmo all making serious bids to be back in Banija, or go to the Free Republics, for the World Cup Finals. What comes next on the tour? Well, it will be Filindostan making the trip to Phoenix Stadium, and then, of course, in the mid-qualifying break, Banija taking a flight out to Montreal to play Darmen. The only game of the tour not in Banija, it will serve as a thank you to the stadium that hosted two of Banija's biggest ever World Cup Qualifiers in their first ever trip to the World Cup Finals.

Of course, this will leave Marcus Waters with much to think about. They are constantly evaluating players, and trying to figure out which 23 they want to bring to the World Cup Finals. The competition is especially fierce this time around- it is, at best, a once in a generation opportunity to play in a World Cup on home soil, and it is likely the only chance of the lifetimes of many of these very same people. Marcus Waters, then, will have some decisions to make. Trying to form squad unity while getting various players enough playing time to evaluate them is a tough task, but Waters said that he will certainly have more squad rotation in the upcoming friendlies, and by the end of qualifying, he will have his final 23 selected.

For the four matches I've RPed, I will PM the people who I played my squad lists for their matches, so they have them if they want to RP them.

[Krytenia]

Krytenia: A Football Primer

Our good nation is one that's been around...a while. Exactly as long as Turori, and slightly longer than Starblaydia, to be precise. But we understand that there are the young and ignorant among you, so we have here a guide to the Krytenian national team and their fans.

1. We were in the Baptism of Fire before it was cool
Look at the BoF nowadays. It's a huge machine of a competition, pitting a host of newbies against each other in spirited competition. Back when Krytenia competed? Not so much. Just eight teams competed in the second edition of the tournamant, but astonishingly, 25% of that number still compete today. Krytenia's third (and last) game in the competition was against none other than their near neighbours to the west, Turori. Long before the Eels began experimenting with cocoabo footballers, it was an entirely human team that drew one-all with the men is sky blue. As an aside, BoF II was the first such competition to contribute towards the KPB ranking system, meaning ourselves and Turori have the longest period of ineligibility for the competition out of all active nations.

2. Uttering the words "Javis Wilson" will likely get you killed across the Beck
We assume we don't need to explain to you the rivalry between Krytenia and Starblaydia. There have been doctoral theses less wordy than the tomes that have been produced regarding the animosity between the two sides. Probably the most (in)famous chapter of said rivalry, though, is almost certainly their meeting in the quarter-final of World Cup XXIX. The refereeing, from an impartial viewpoint, was questionable at best, provided as it was by Krytenia's co-hosts Casari at a time when both nations had the Starblaydi government - and more specifically its leader, Lady Viannor - firmly in its crosshairs. The aforementioned Mr Wilson was the man with the whistle, and his allowing of a blatantly offside Krytenian winner caused rioting in the streets of Jhanna, an escalation of "anti-the-other-guys" sentiment on both sides of Lake Beck (or Bekk, if you're Starblaydi), and not so much a chip on Starblaydia's collective shoulders as an entire potato crop. It would take almost a decade for political relations to resume, by which point Tiberius Starblayde had returned to power on the east side of the lake.

3. Destined to fail? Confident of long-term superiority? Complete embarrassment? There's a phrase for that
Not one, but three local idioms have come from Krytenia's escapades in the beautiful game. "Sarzonia on penalties" is a phrase used to describe a venture or decision which seems certain not to succeed; it has its origins in the days when Sarzonia made a habit of making the Dragons their bitch. In reality, the Stars only beat Krytenia on penalties twice, but the fact that those were in the first two meetings between the two sides, and the added bonus that Sarzonia would record another five wins on the spin before Krytenia finally managed to beat them, has solidified the sentiment behind the saying. The other has had a few variants along the way, with "The Starblaydi will always win in the end" and "You beat us, we're still better" being the most well known two. It stems from the fact that although Krytenia are generally the equal of the Starblaydis when the sides meet, their rivals have been better at converting that into long-term dominance (current score on the World Cup wins front: 5-0 to the Men In Mauve). Finally, and speaking of Starblaydi dominance, there's "Eight Past Ibanez". This one's actually cribbed from our "friends" across the Beck, who after a memorable eight-nil win over Krytenia coined the joke "What's the time? Eight past Ibanez". (Ibanez, by the way, was the name of the Dragons' keeper that day. It ended up being his last international cap.) Our own people have since re-appropriated the punchline, and something or someone being described as "eight past Ibanez" denotes something completely and irredeemably embarrassing has happened.

4. Think our fans are loud? They've calmed down
If you come to a Krytenia home game, expect noise. Like, a whole cacophony of noise. The Cyan Army are devoted, loyal, and never shut up. It's a wall of noise that can put the fear of Insert Relevant Deity Here into opposition fans and players alike, and some point to it as a big factor in their Cinderella run in World Cup LXXII qualifying. Believe it or not, though, it used to be far worse. The "Casaran Job" game mentioned above, and the World Cup XVI qualifying win over Squornshelous, both had winning goals celebrated so hard that the Emberton Seismology Centre's records treat them as minor earthquakes. The most extreme moment for the fans, meanwhile, had actually come four years earlier, when Cyan Army members, drunk and enraged after an ill-tempered defeat to Tadjikistan, rioted in the streets causing millions of argentals worth of damage and causing the destruction of a number of buildings (mainly through arson). All this, despite being the away fans; the city in question was the Tadjik capital of Dushanbe. By the way, there were clearly no hard feelings between the two nations after, as within months the Dragons would have legendary Dushanbe-born manager Karim Isserson at the helm - you know, the guy the national stadium is named after.

5. We really don't hate Audioslavia
You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Bulls had replaced the Stars as Krytenia's other rival. In reality, that particular rivalry is reserved for Valanora - we respect the elves, sure, but that doesn't make us want to give them a metaphorical thumping into the ground any less. In fact, the Krytenia-Audioslavia rivalry can be best described from the Krytenian end as "a rivalry on paper". The two most well-known (we'd say respected, but there's too much mud slung on both sides for that) journalists in the multiverse hail from Emberton (via Nova Mercia) and Cathair respectively - namely Rami Niblick and Jeremy Jaffacake. The two either hate each other, hide a secret love that has inspired some truly squicktacular slash fiction, or have grown so accustomed to their role as each other's pantomime villain that it's just easier to keep up the charade. Possibly all three. Whichever is true, though the Audioslavians nowadays project their Squornshelous-hate towards the Krytenians, it simply doesn't travel in the opposite way. Krytenia simply see Audioslavia as a worthy opponent with an thoroughly unworthy mouthpiece.

We hope this little guide helps you understand the Krytenians a bit more. You never know, on current form they mey even end up on their way to the World Cup LXXXI Finals...

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

Three Things
Salwan Mynhier
One for the History Books, Two to Forget About

For the first time in 80 years (that phrase is really getting a workout the past several weeks, isn't it?), A Squornshelan team has won a World Cup match on home soil. It was also a meeting of teams with storied history, as our opponent was Geisenfried. The retrospective articles practically write themselves, so I'll skip over that to say that the important part is that we've still never done anything but win against the Geisens.

The storyline of the match has to be the superb showing by Vrenz Tambura. I'm not sure what he's been eating and drinking since he was benched during the Baptism of Fire, but every other young footballer should get on that diet. He seemed to be everywhere, combining with Ulcviecel to make runs down the flank, and sliding inside to provide a passing option for Damot and Strepol, or pick up flicks from Ajao. Finally Tambura has displayed the form that carried AC Damogran to the League 2 title on the national stage. We can only hope he keeps it, since it has been formally announced that Eyob Zonde suffered a high ankle sprain against The South Falls and will be out for 4-6 weeks. He is not expected back until after the mid-qualifying break.

Our match against Pasarga is a decent result for a match away to the group favorite, but it was a sloppy, undisciplined showing from the Black-and-Reds, and cast serious doubt on our ability to do anything more than park the bus against highly ranked teams. Pasarga, as one would expect, were in control throughout, and as our players grew increasingly desperate to take the ball off them, cards began to accumulate. The first was a yellow for Rakstov 12 minutes into the second half, with a straight red for Ystrad 8 minutes later. The center back was guilty of dragging down Ingþór Auðbjörnsson to prevent him from beating Munib to a loose ball in the box. The veteran striker finished the ensuing penalty kick with aplomb, sending Munib the wrong way and slotting the ball deftly into the bottom corner. Daror brought on Jzvanic to try to kick start the attack, providing a passing option between Damot and Ajao, but the Black-and-Reds were simply outclassed, and the massive disparity in possession numbers proved impossible to overcome.

Against 95X, we looked much better, if not necessarily in control, and Damot's screamer before the half actually gave us the lead. The visitors clawed back even not long after the break, but were largely frustrated by our defense, playing of course without Ystrad who was suspended for one match. Tkermec looked good playing in place of the usual starter at right center, and it took a stoppage time miracle for 95X to escape with full points. As the home fans jeered and Lopal Daror gestured emphatically to his wrist, a last minute corner soared in and the referee, as if satisfied with the goal, blew for full time immediately after.

Three Things to look for from the rest of Qualifying:

The hard part has begun
We knew our lofty position at third in the group was unlikely to last, and the past two matches have done a lot to bring our hopes back down to earth. The next three matches are crucial. We face voyages to 70th ranked Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, as well as Dormill and Stiura before coming home to face current group leaders Qasden, who are riding high after upsetting Pasarga. I'll say that we need to come away from these matches with 5 points at the very least to keep any hope of qualification alive. While the team has not looked terrible, and all three losses have been by a single goal, we need to find a way to starting earning 1 point from those matches, instead of going home with nothing.

The defense needs to stay good
After letting in two against The South Falls, the Confederate defensive corps rebounded, posting a clean sheet against Geisenfried, to give Munib his fifth in international competitions. Despite not looking our best, we also managed to hold Pasarga to a single goal, and conceded our second against 95X only in the dying minutes of the match. Discipline against more skilled teams is looking like it might be a problem, but Tkermec's performance against 95X is heartening, and Oleb remains a rock at the center of the defense. This absolutely must continue if we are to stay in the top half.

Even if qualification is a pipe dream, this is a lot of fun, isn't it?
Is this how our great grandparents felt? I guess they were probably a little less nervous, since we were nearly always a top 15 team in the old days. It makes me feel positively patriotic though. Also, it's a good thing I'm blogging full time now, because I can tell you, I would be getting a lot less done at work this month if I weren't. Even so, the temptation to watch highlights instead of writing up the match is very strong. Wish me strength everyone, and hopefully I can keep writing.

Until next time, I'm Salwan, you're not. Keep reading.

Matchday 4:

Squornshelan Remnant States  2 - 0  Geisenfried
Tambura 37' (Ulcviecel)
Ajao 56' (Tambura)

Man of the Match: Vrenz Tambura

SRS: Munib; Geladi (Dzarkhin 74'), Raktsov, Oleb, Ystrad, Ulcviecel; Vladcik, Strepol, Damot, Tambura (Djanetic 90'), Ajao

Matchday 5:

Pasarga              1 - 0  Squornshelan Remnant States
Auðbjörnsson 66' (PK)

Man of the Match: Istaro Munib

SRS: Munib; Geladi, Raktsov(Y 57') (Tkermec 78'), Oleb, Ystrad(R 65'), Ulcviecel; Vladcik, Strepol (Jzvanic 80'), Damot, Tambura; Ajao

Matchday 6:

Squornshelan Remnant States  1 - 2  95X
Damot 44' (Tambura)                 Striker #10 57'
                                    Defenseman #3 90+3'

Man of The Match: Striker #10

SRS: Munib; Geladi (Dzarkhin 45), Raktsov, Oleb, Tkermec, Ulcviecel; Vladcik (Jzvanic 68'), Strepol, Damot, Tambura; Ajao

Squornshelan Remnant States Qualifying Schedule:
MD1:  Illahee 0-1 Squornshelan Remnant States
MD2:  Squornshelan Remnant States 1-2 Olastor (Chalesm, Megabrantis, SRS)
MD3:  The South Falls 2-3 Squornshelan Remnant States
MD4:  Squornshelan Remnant States 2-0 Geisenfried (Brantisvogan, Megabrantis, SRS)
MD5:  Pasarga 1-0 Squornshelan Remnant States (Stade de Torgos, Torgos, Pasarga)
MD6:  Squornshelan Remnant States 1-2 95X (Damogran, Algolia, SRS)
MD7:  @ Vakolicci Haven and Celeria (70)
MD8:  @ Dormill and Stiura (252)
MD9:  v Qasden (27) (Traal, East Flania, SRS)
MD10: v Illahee (307) (Han Dold City, Han Dold, SRS)
MD11: @ Olastor (110)
MD12: v The South Falls (307) (Zarss, West Flania, SRS)
MD13: @ Geisenfried (UR) (Wilhelm-Rohm-Stadion, Darnesmark, Sudgoeke, Geisenfried)
MD14: v Pasarga (11) (Viltvodle, Megabrantis, SRS)
MD15: @ 95X (50)
MD16: v Vakolicci Haven and Celeria (70) (Yassaca, Sivolvia, SRS)
MD17: v Dormill and Stiura (252) (Lutenblag, Molvania, SRS)
MD18: @ Qasden (27) (Hotchskarth Cabin, Destiny, Qasden)

[Cassadaigua]

(Prior to the match)

Starting midfielder Zack Pierce, who was one of the top players for the men’s team in the Baker Park Open Cup, meets up with captain Hannah Ranucci as he has overheard some rumors floating around the locker room.

“Hannah, can I have a moment of your time please?” Zack asked, “We haven’t talk that much this qualifying, and I think it would be good if we did a little bit.”

Ranucci, not exactly being eager to begin this conversation realizes it is the right thing to do, since she is the captain, and tells Pierce, “Sure, go ahead.”

Pierce doesn’t point fingers, but tells Ranucci, “I can’t help but notice that there are several players who don’t want to talk all that much to me, and that they are the same players who don’t talk a ton to players like Carlos Martinez, either. It almost seems to me that there is a divide that is becoming part of our team between certain players and others. I couldn’t help but notice that when I scored my goal, the team didn’t have the same reaction as other goals from other people. That’s fine and all, but I really just want to know if you are noticing this kind of thing too, and what you think of it?”

“It’s not you, Zack,” Hannah replies, “Do you think Carlos Martinez is a better defender then Hannah Shanley?”

“Why are you asking me that?” Pierce asked, “Carlos is a friend of mine, and I guess Shanley is one of those people not talking to me, but I never really compared them all that much. Hannah has had a better career, but you know, Carlos won the Baker Cup, why not go with the person who is hot?”

“Do you think you would have, well, nevermind. How about we just agree to disagree?” Ranucci diplomatically tried to answer.

“Hannah, I was part of this team last Cup. A reserve, but I was part of it. I know what we did and didn’t do in the last Cup. It was not only a disappointment for Cassadagan soccer, it was probably one of the biggest disappointments in the history of Cassadagan sports. How can the coach simply give the same starting spots to all of the same people? We gave up too many goals, and a defender like Shanley is entitled to start again in the next one? We were already going to have to replace Brittany Byers back there, and Lupe is a great fit, but why should Shanley just get that spot? Maybe if we weren’t realistically eliminated to qualify for the last one by halfway.” Pierce emphatically replied.

Ranucci really didn’t want to answer, but would, “And we came back to finish third in the Cup of Harmony, with Shanley in the starting lineup. Even if not Hannah then, why not Ashley Crocker?”

“Because, again, coach is going with the hot hand,” Pierce answered. “Why didn’t you warn Carlos that the ball was coming before he got hit?”

“I didn’t see it until it was too late, and just reacted to get myself out of the way of it. Why?” Ranucci questioned.

“I don’t know, but anyway, why do you and Sierra Mattson really only use me as a decoy when I have a great scoring chance?” Pierce asked.

“Because using someone as a decoy can be a good thing. It’s not only you, relax.” Ranucci replied, “I’m gonna have to run. Peace!”

Pierce shook is head, not particularly impressed with the replies that he was given.



Sharp effort in fourth straight win,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

After the initial pain of losing the first two games of qualifying, Cassadaigua has responded well and picked up their fourth consecutive win, coming at home over the nation of South Libertopia, by the score of 4-0. The win puts Cassadaigua up to fourth on the table with their twelve points, which is still obviously not good enough, but it could be a lot worse. They are behind both Brenecia and Tinhampton, who are each 6-0-0. Note that Tinhampton has only played the six lowest teams on the table so far, so in fairness, they have not been thoroughly tested as of yet. Brenecia, however, is simply doing the expected ass kicking of the group, and still has not conceded a goal. Octinstine also still their Brenecia match to go, so perhaps we’re not in as bad of a spot as it might seem as long as we continue to play as we are now. That’s the key of this whole thing, because if we’re not doing our part, there is no point in looking at how the other teams in the group are doing.

There was one interesting change to the lineup for this match, with coach Sweeney announcing that, just for this game, she was going to employ a 4-3-3 instead of the typical 4-4-2. Therefore, Shelby Martin was out of the starting lineup and replaced with Chelsea Monroe. Sweeney told us that, “Chelsea is an important part of this team, and it is important for her to have as much chemistry as possible with both Hannah (Ranucci) and Caitlyn (Mayer) up front, as well as giving her more time playing with the regular midfielders. Shelby will get playing time in the match as a substitute, but when you make this kind of a change, someone will miss out in the numbers game. There is no other reason for it, Shelby is perfectly healthy."

Early in the match, the team showed a desire to get Chelsea Monroe scoring opportunities, and after a couple of decent threats, Chelsea would get her second goal of qualifying in the 16th minute off a pretty feed from Caitlyn Mayer. While many feel that Mayer and Monroe should be more of dynamic duo, it did not play out that way in the game that Ranucci missed earlier. Cassadaigua continued to dominate play, and scored two more times in the first half, with Ranucci extending her games with a goal streak to four, picking up her 6th total in the 29th minute, and then Zack Pierce added his second of qualifying in the 35th, being in the perfect spot to knock in a rebound of a Caitlyn Mayer shot that deflected off the post. In the second half, the game was 3-0 for a while, and Shelby Martin eventually got in the game in the 62nd minute, replacing Rachel Brenner. Also getting playing time here as a substitute was Eddie Malone, who replaced Mayer in the 70th minute. Seven minutes later, Hannah Ranucci used the wide open Malone as a decoy and had the keeper sure that she was going to pass when she instead shot the ball, and fired it home for her second of the match, and 7th overall. The final score of 4-0 gives Kristen Speller her first clean sheet of qualifying, though some will say she should have three by now. Speller had it easy, only needing to face two shots on target for the entire match.

The Dagans next play Colonial Australia.

[Adab]

KickTheBall.com
Bringing you the latest in Adabian football news

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Adab triumphs 4-1 over Guriguay in latest World Cup qualification match

The Adabian national team has won 4-1 against Guriguay in their sixth World Cup qualification match, a resounding victory which keeps their hopes of securing a podium finish on Group 5 and making it to the finals alive.

The team had won their first group match against Brittany Normandy Aquitaine, then drew 1-1 against Kalumba, won against Bellarona, and lost two consecutive matches against Petroslovania and Audioslavia. Topping the group after the first match, the team soon dropped to sixth.

This latest victory means they are now currently in fifth place with 10 points, with just three points separating them from current group leader Starblaydia.

Coming into Adab City Stadium following two straight defeats, the Adabian team was bent on making up for their subpar performance in the previous two matches. As in previous matches, the team played in a 4-3-2-1 formation, relying on a strong attack and constant pressure with forward Enlilbani Yargab trusted to put the finishing touch.

The team's aggression forced Guriguay's players on the backfoot from almost the very beginning of the match, as the Adabians - fueled by anger and a desire to win - launched wave after wave of attacks on their opponent. Their short, lightning-quick passing left the Guriguayans at times scrambling to even touch the ball. Yargab spearheaded the attacks, aided by wingers Adanirari Uhwan and Shamsuiluna Zambiya, and indeed it was he who scored the first goal of the match, with a chipped cross from Uhwan in the 13th minute converted into a kick right past opposition goalkeeper Ruben Pinto.

The Guriguayans had entered the match with a 3-2-2-3 formation, hoping to apply pressure on Adab, however they simply could not overcome the Adabians' fluid movement, as they easily zigzagged their way past the Guriguayan midfield to deliver the ball to the wingers and Yargab, who once again scored in the 27th minute, with Zambiya sending the ball right over Currito Ferri's head and onto the young forward, whose header was too quick for Pinto to respond to.

Now down 2-0, the Guriguayans' playing took on an even more aggressive nature for the rest of the first half, at one point coming within three feet of the Adabians' goal and forcing their defenders to form a line right before the goal, only for the ball to be kicked away in the chaos.

Defense was the name of the game in the second half, as the Adabian players, under the guidance of manager Saad Kaykali, found themselves retiring more often to their side of the pitch. Kaykali instructed his players to prioritize maintaining their lead and avoid a third consecutive defeat. The Guriguayans were not successful in breaking down their defense, and a daring counterattack in the 60th minute - uncharacteristically for the Adabian team, it was dominated by long passes between the midfielders and wingers - culminated in a third goal, with Zambiya, noticing an opening in the Guriguayan defense, promptly slammed the ball home to raucous cheers from the home audience.

Guriguay could find solace in their only goal in the 79th minute, as a pass from Tauro Toscani was nicely turned into a goal by Leandro Li Fonti, but by then victory was effectively out of the question for the visitors. Adab once again counterattacked and completed their triumph in the 89th minute, as Taymour Frangieh placed the ball in the top-left corner of the goal.

Kaykali: 'A great victory'

Manager Saad Kaykali hailed his players' performance at the post-match press conference. "It's a great performance, a great victory, and one that we all can be proud of," he said. "This is the kind of performance that I want my players to show every time we play a match."

"The two previous defeats served as some kind of a wake-up call to all of us. Not just the players, but also me and the staff. But even then we're determined to push onwards with grit and determination, and that's what made us win tonight."

As usual, he did not neglect to offer words of praise for the opponent. "Guriguay has a bunch of great players," Kaykali said. "It's great to play against them, and I hope they too derive pleasure from playing against us. Looking forward to playing them again in these qualifiers."

See also:
The revival of the league system is underway, but how long must we wait?
Our interview with national team assistant manager Inimabakesh Thulus
Said Ali Murzam Football Academy set to open in Damascus: reports

[Mytanija]

Let's take a look at Gazeta Mytanija's lead story:

VIOLENCE MARS DEFEAT AGAINST RUSHMORI RIVALS EURA.


Mytanar hooligans were photographed attacking Euran supporters in Vaclav Square ahead of today's game.

by Viktorija Srsen

Mytanar politicians hoped that the headlines regarding the country’s World Cup qualifier against Eura would be dominated by the action on the pitch. Sadly, their worst fears were recognised as violence before, during and after the tie was directed against the travelling Euran support, with some Euran fans believed to have been left with potentially life-threatening injuries.

Even the most optimistic of Mytanar football fans would have known that an upset against the #2 ranked national team in the world was an unlikely result. However, many felt that if Mytanija could cause such an upset, it would be against the Eurans – a nation with which our history is so tightly intertwined. In the end, it was a routine victory for the away side as they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win in Prizren.

The game will be remembered for the action off the field, though, with Mytanar hooligans targeting Euran supporters before the game around Prizren’s famous Vaclav Square and attacking them viciously and repeatedly. The violence was organised and different groups appeared to have coordinated themselves so that when the Euran fans attempted to escape, their escape route would appear viable until a different group arrived to block it off and continue the assault.

It was a scale of violence not seen since the Mytanar national team’s heyday, when Mytanar ultras and hooligans were condemned across Rushmore and further afield due to repeated violent clashes and this event could see Mytanar fans banned from travelling to away games in the remainder of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

A Policija spokesperson said that the Euran authorities had been ‘warned and advised about the potential for violence’ and that the official Mytanar policing position had been to encourage the Eurans to warn against their supporters travelling to the game. This was after Mytanar police intelligence had indicated that hooligan groups with nationalistic and right-wing tendencies (believed to be including but not limited to 1923 Esca’s Odeljak 1-11, Crvena Zvezda’s Ultras DRCZ, Energija-Nuklearna’s Grolija and FK Magevskaya’s Ultras Magev), had agreed a coordinated and fully-cooperative plan to attack Euran supporters throughout the day of the game if they travelled to Mytanija to support their team.

The police presence in Prizren was strong and visible, with riot police present in large numbers at the Westfalenstadion in the Liria neighbourhood of the city. There was also a large presence around the city centre, but Vaclav Square was one area the police decided not to staff. When asked why this was the case, the police spokesperson explained:

“We [the Policija] made a decision not to post a riot police unit to Vaclav Square due to the fact there is already a large ordinary police presence in that area, this is because it is a popular tourist area and we felt our resources could be better used in the Liria neighbourhood where Westfalenstadion actually is. We also paid particular attention to transport hubs to ensure there was no violence around those. In normal circumstances, the ordinary policing units around Vaclav Square should have been equipped to deal with a violent event. The extraordinary circumstances that pertain to yesterday’s events and the numbers involved simply meant that our ordinary policing units were not equipped to deal with what happened.”

The spokesperson also outlined the fact that there will be an investigation into the Policija’s planning procedure ahead of yesterday’s game, with potentially wide-ranging ramifications for the way in which the Policija actually organise their units ahead of large-scale events. This is probably reflective of the Government wanting the focus to be on the on-field action and not football hooliganism as it so often has been in the past. The current Government has made its intentions clear regarding modernisation and normalisation and yesterday’s events are nothing other than a hark back to the past, when Mytanija was known for its football hooliganism perhaps more than anything else.

A Kalinina-induced hangover

For those ignorant of Mytanar history, this attack may seem random, they may choose to blame it on Rushmori footballing rivalry or another relatively trivial reason. Naturally, it is a lot more complicated than that and the reason Eurans in particular were targeted is related to the fact that over 500,000 Euran troops were deployed in Mytanija during the excessively bloody Mytanar Conflict.

Some around Mytanija still believe that the deposed Natella Kalinina is Mytanija’s rightful head of state, despite the fact she is rotting in a Euran military prison and has been held responsible for one of the most chilling and brutally murderous mass genocides in history.

Tomas Skirupcic from Prizren’s reputable Kavka University pointed out why some Mytanars may hold such a belief:

“it is a Kalinina-induced hangover, she created a hegemonic position within Mytanija for Zentrians, Magevs and Vojoviticans, naturally some that were privileged within Kalinina’s society would quite like to go back to those days and see the Eurans as responsible for destroying ‘their’ society.”

Of course, Kalinina’s society was responsible for the mass murder of millions of Thessian and Rauchik people, with the real figures likely to never be truly discovered. The Euran military played an important role alongside the Mytanar resistance, the Otpor in liberating the country from Kalinina’s vice-like grip.

Contradictory viewpoints?

A poll commissioned by Kavka University asked a focus group of Mytanar people from all over the country to describe their feelings towards Eura (on a scale of ‘mostly negative’, ‘negative’, ‘neutral’, ‘positive’ and mostly positive’). The poll indicated a slightly positive view of Eura overall. However, when asked their view regarding Euran involvement in the Mytanar Conflict the majority viewpoint was ‘mostly negative’.

Tomas Skirupcic explained why this was the case:

“When talking about the Euran involvement in the Mytanar Conflict it is important to note their role in both the Conflict and the immediate aftermath. Euran military involvement in the Conflict was absolutely necessary and without it the Conflict would have gone on for a long time, with the Otpor limited to guerrilla tactics to attempt to disrupt Kalinina’s regime and her military’s movements.

Most Mytanar dissent towards the Euran involvement in the Mytanar Conflict actually focuses on what they did and didn’t do in the immediate aftermath of the Conflict. The Euran military were ill-equipped to deal with the very specific problems the post-Conflict landscape presented: they did not know how to deal with the enormous levels of Mafiya gang crime; they failed to help in the establishment of unified institutions which exacerbated the political and social dislocation engendered under Kalinina’s dictatorship and the Mytanar populace soon turned against the foreign military that they came to see almost as an ‘occupier’, some described it as going from ‘the frying pan and into the fire’. From Kalinina to the Euran military.”

It is rumoured that a high-level politician, upon seeing yesterday’s violence asked: ‘Do these animals not know what the Eurans have done for us?’ They were referencing the large-scale infrastructure building projects the Euran military conducted following the Mytanar Conflict in an attempt to rebuild and normalise the country.

Two things are clear: first, that those who took part in yesterday’s violence are going to be pursued vehemently by the authorities and dealt with accordingly as everybody from politicians to the Policija has fiercely condemned the violence. Secondly, those that were involved in the violence yesterday are unlikely to care what the state does or doesn’t do in pursuit of them due to their beliefs surrounding both Mytanar politics and history and Euran involvement in it.

[Ko-oren]

Uproar and strikes in Ko-orenite camp

Very rare scenes at the national team's grounds in Gehrenna yesterday: after a short discussion between defender Dennis Lampshire on one side and head coach Juliasterinthen on the other, seven defenders walked straight off the practice pitch. Relations were already strained earlier in the campaign, with Juliasterinthen facing tough questions, often off-topic, during previous press conferences. Those questions were fueled by actions and words from Lampshire, but his back line colleagues Ethan Benjamin, Ingmar Linderood and Peter Hellegeland supported him visibly through this.

At the root of this lies the benching of some players which shone through great, crucial performances in the most recent AOCAF and Cup of Harmony. Juliasterinthen was then accused firstly of failing to establish a core group of players to build the team on, and later of losing the group's goodwill and motivation. Especially the defence was hit by this, an extremely valuable position to win. Defenders are what playmakers are in other nations - without a good one (or two or three), it is almost impossible to achieve decent results. Captains are almost exclusively defenders, for example. The Ko-orenite national team has lived and died with the quality of its defensive line for the last several decades. Losing the support of that position has been the end of coaches before. Juliasterinthen, an ex-central defender himself, is more aware of this than anyone else.

All of those factors came together during the argument. Few words were heard from the press area, but it was clear that it was a heated argument. And that means it is a gamble from both sides. If Lampshire wins, Juliasterinthen could get sacked, and if Juliasterinthen wins, Lampshire and his closest supporters might not get picked for the national team for the remainder of his tenure. Knowing the Ko-orenite Football Association, that might just be a very, very long time. Though losing the defence might just put both sides at a significant disadvantage.

About an hour after training ended, there finally was a reaction from the group of players: they will be unavailable for the upcoming fixtures. For as long as Juliasterinthen does not issue his vision on the future of the team and the aforementioned core group of players, the seven players will remain unavailable. The KFA immediately replied that they have faith that a peaceful resolution can be found that leaves both sides intact at the national team before the end of qualifying. The strike could not have come at a worse time: the Dragonflies have started the qualifying campaign better than ever before at five straight victories. Juliasterinthen is now tasked with fielding a team on very little preparation and without 5 of the 10 selected defenders.

With Ingmar Linderood and Peter Hellegeland, two starting defenders will not be playing, as will the substitute defenders Ethan Benjamin, Dennis Lampshire and Oridhin Hergulauthen. Joining the five defenders are midfielder Samuel Ulysse and striker Samou Vallotton. Samuel Ulysse is unhappy with not playing after a good season, and Vallotton is extremely disappointed not playing, after having scored more goals and having assisted more than starting striker Duchemin. That said, Antoine Duchemin has scored 5 out of 7 Ko-orenite goals so far, and is unlikely to give up his starting spot.

---

Juliasterinthen announced adjusted line-up at short notice

The Dragonflies will be playing in a makeshift formation on just two days' notice. A slightly defensive 3-4-3 is all Juliasterinthen can field in faith after seven players left training ereyesterday.

Theshendan will be guarding the goal as per usual. The defence will consist of the remaining starters: Dalton, Van Schelven and Varela. The extended midfield will be defensive midfielders Yokota and Dominique, playmaker Odell, and creative attacking force Longchambon. The attack consists of three players for the first time in a decade with Vaugrenard and Duchemin joined by Ko-orenite Top League topscorer Gelereth Pirastadhaunden.

---

Dragonflies win 4-0, largest margin since Golden Generation

A drastic line-up, caused by dramatic actions by seven players left the Dragonflies with few choices, other than overhauling the formation and going for a more attack-minded strategy. This has paid out spectacularly after Duchemin and Pirastadhaunden score two goals each over Togonistan. Goalkeeper Fujima Sumiteru was defeated on two chances before half time, and two chances after, with Ko-oren shooting on goal every five and a half minutes on average - the fewest average time between shots since Juliasterinthen took over as head coach. What's more, the 4-0 win is the largest margin since Juliasterinthen's playing days with a Cup of Harmony-winning squad. What started as a move out of necessity, turned into a goal fest, giving us the first win by more than a single goal. This puts Ko-oren at six wins, second in the group behind South Covello, who have yet to give up a goal.

Heading into the final third of qualification before the break, the Dragonflies have yet to play South Covello, Flardania, and Carloso. The first two will definitely show how good the Dragonflies really are, and we need a reliable defence more than ever. Juliasterinthen will have a huge task in bringing the seven back before next match - if not, he will be pushed to drastic measures like today, and probably not with a happy end this time around.

(OOC: I had this planned since the start of the cycle... and Denmark goes and does exactly this.)

[Apox]

Goalkeeper
Centre Defender
Centre Defender

Apoxian All-Time XI - Right Defender

Jack Forster
106 caps
3 sub caps
8 goals
2 assists
International Playing Career: BoF 48 (WC61) - CoH58 (WC66)

Another roll of the dice and we come to... right defender! There was only one choice, albeit a choice many of our international readers may not have heard of and that is Jack Forster. Jack was a mainstay of the international team from almost the start of the teams history - being behind Sam Lowe for the Romili Cup (our first international tournament) before usurping him as the undisputed starter during Baptism of Fire 48.

And there he stayed as the indisputed starter, really, until his retirement after the historic run in Cup of Harmony 58 which has already been mentioned several times in this series (it really seemed to be the exchange point between two generations of players). Forster wasn't the most flashy of players though during his time (although he remains the highest scoring defender in the international teams history), being a dependable presence on the right flank.

With the Apoxian international team initially employing a bold 3-4-3 formation, Forster tended to have quite a lot of freedom to roam - a tendency which could lead to him being a little overstretched at times in the early years, before greater discipline and knowledge from his playing times improved his positioning. He was a pacy player though, and his link ups on the wings with Olim Benzari became legendary - with it being a classic Apoxian attack strategy of, "ball out to Forster from the goal kick - Forster unleashes Benzari on the wing - Benzari crosses in to the striker (usually Dravid Scott or Chris Maarsden) - They score". Simple but effective.

He became just the second Apoxian to reach 100 caps (behind Olim Benzari) during the qualifiers for World Cup 66 - at which point he announced it would be his last tournament - a good run for the ageing Forster at this point.

Domestically, he played entirely for Dwile Warriors - the club he had supported as a boy growing up in the Docklands district. In the UICA years he accumulated 240 appearances for the club (and an impressive 21 goals) although that number rises by about 50 appearances (records weren't kept very well) if you include the pre-ANL competitions the club participated in. In that time, Dwile Warriors set their precedent as the alpha team in the league, winning three of the first five titles and generally acting like the big boys of the league. Forster played on domestically for a season after his international retirement, before heading off to get his coaching badges.

Midway through taking his badges, he became obsessed with climate change - specifically combatting oceanic climate change - dropped out of the coaching course and enrolled at the University of Urbanista at a course in Oceanography, graduating in 576 with a first, and he has since carved out a name as a prominent climate change and sea pollution activist, founding and working for Clean Oceans Apox, where he still works today, aged 56. He lives in Urbanista with his wife, Nancy, and youngest child, Alastair (17). His two oldest children are currently studying at university, with Ricardo (25) completing his doctorate in Oceanography (it runs in the family) at Metropolitan University Dwile and Felicita (22) finishing her Masters in Biology at Barbury Crown University.

Honourable Mentions
Jack Lerryn (83 caps, 2 goals, [WC66 - WC72])
Eneko Treloquithack (58 caps, 2 sub caps, 2 goals, [WC69 - WC78])

Apox 5-0 Yuezhou Palmisano, L. 4', Ephraim-Garza 16', Palmisano, L. 33' (p), Menheniot 67', Arrowsmith 80'
APX: Spitfire -- Beck, Scott, Jekyll, Belgrave -- Menheniot (Puffin 77'), Townsend (Llangolan 58'), Palmisano, J. (c) -- Ephraim-Garza, Palmisano, L. (Arrowsmith 77'), Vladimirescu
YZH: Not supplied

Apox powered to victory against fourth seeds Yuezhou in a dominant performance all over the pitch - with the front three of Clarissa Ephraim-Garza, Lucan Palmisano and Titan Vladimirescu causing carnage throughout the opposition box and the likely starting midfield of Bryton Menheniot, Imriel Townsend and captain James Palmisano pulling the strings in midfield. Things started strongly with a Lucan Palmisano powered header past the Yuezhou keeper to open things up shortly after kick-off, before the pace of Clarissa Ephraim-Garza, running onto Imriel Townsend's through ball, split open the opposition defense. Lucan Palmisano was dragged down in the box during a corner kick by the desperate Yuezhou players, leading to a converted penalty and three goal advantage going into half-time. It was more of the same in the second half, with Bryton Menheniot powering a magnificent shot in from far out, before being withdrawn with Lucan Palmisano, both players having picked up slight injuries, before super sub Winston Arrowsmith headed home a fifth near the end to complete the rout. We can look forward to the game against The Holy Empire with confidence therefore!

The Holy Empire 5-2 Apox Fluffles 2', Whiskers 6', Snuggles 11', Palmisano, L. 36', Twitch 55', Gandhi, A. 72', Wiggles 79'
THE: Snowball -- Patches, Cinnabun, Bunny -- Whiskers, Twitch (Hopper 69'), Wiggles (c), Muffin (Popcorn 81'), Bogart -- Fluffles, Snuggles
APX: Spitfire -- Fox, Scott, Jekyll, Redmond -- Mormentor, Townsend, Palmisano, J. (c) -- Oakstone-Sandoval (Blake-Tatum 79'), Palmisano, L. (Gandhi, A. 69'), Quintero (Vladimirescu 66')
Confidence which was rapidly dashed by a group of bunnies which - conversely to their appearances - seemed more interested in playing the players (that is kicking and biting the everloving carrots out of them) rather than playing the ball. Which is a good thing, as otherwise the scoreline might have been even more severe, with the match ending with three players being sent off. The Holy Empire came out of the blocks like you wouldn't believe - racing to a three-nil lead almost upsettingly fast, before their game plan unravelled a little - First Purifier Snuggles being sent off for the ironically dirty takcle which brought down Wizzard Mormentor (who struggled with the overfull midfield all game), to receive a straight red. Later on, with the score at 4-1 (the Apoxian one coming from a penalty after Lucan Palmisano was brought down in the box for the second straight game), the bizarre occurrance of a full on fist fight happened, with Lord Space Admiral Bogart and Imriel Townsend being sent off for their starring roles, before Alpha Gandhi briefly brought the differential down to two goals, with an absolute thunderbastard, audibly screaming and cursing at the Imperial crowd (who having hosted the 69th World "Cup for Chaps" with Apox, were comprised primarily of men in waistcoats, top hats and monocles. How ungentlemanly indeed. The team will have to pick themselves up after the next match, and go again.

[Tinhampton]

TFA MATCH STATPACK: Tinhampton 1-0 Czarna Gora
Venue: Stadion Podgoricom, Podgorica, Czarna Gora

STARTING LINEUPS and their USED SUBSTITUTES:

• Tinhampton (4-2-3-1): 1. Josh SMITH (GK), 2. William POTTER, 3. Harry PORTER, 4. Jamie VALLEY, 5. Peter WRIGHT, 6. Michael YOUNG, 19. Aihlo VATUNSKA, 7. Ian JONES (C), 20. Reece FORD, 9. Fred BALL, 11. Ian GRAHAM
• Czarna Gora (4-1-4-1; first names unknown, surnames Anglicised): 1. STOJANOVIC, 2. DRAGOVIC, 3. ATELJEVIC, 23. BOLETINAC, 5. SHEHU, 6. FILIPOVIC, 7. ZIVKOVIC (C), 17. KOVAC, 9. IVANOVIC, 19. DIBRA, 11. ANTIC
  Unable to play: GJONBALAJ (Czarna Gora, trigram unknown - slight pre-match injury), Mohamed al-KHAZR (TIN - injury more serious than thought)

GOALS: Reece FORD 77'19'' (TIN)
CARDS: Yellow: Aihlo Vatunska 56' (TIN), ATELJEVIC 67' (Czarna Gora), BOLETINAC 68' (Czarna Gora), Harry PORTER 68' (TIN), Peter WRIGHT 81' (TIN), ZIVKOVIC 84' (Czarna Gora), FILIPOVIC 87' (Czarna Gora), Fred BALL 88' (TIN). Red: none.
INJURIES: GJONBALAJ, pre-game, see above (Czarna Gora) and out for one game.
OTHER INCIDENTS: The National Football Team, as Czarna Gora refers to its FA as, has declined to give Tinhampton the full first names of their players.

---

Forays of Folly
Season 1, Episode 7: The Four Horsewomen of the Tinpocalypse

---

Meanwhile, in the present day, you could be forgiven for thinking that Mayor John Price had dropped his common sense down the back of the settee in order to read the latest women's fashion magazine. What he was actually doing, however, was immediately losing his will right in front of Tinhampton's (only) four serving female cabinet ministers - Finance Minister Victoria Byrne, Military Minister Saffron Howard, Education Minister Vanessa Davis, and "Secretary for Skyscrapers" (whatever Margaretforsaken position that was) Nadine Irvine - in order to stare mindlessly... anywhere except their faces, really. Was this a coincidence? Doubtful; he had been summoned to a "Meeting of the Justice Commission" - which was also non-extant - a few days earlier.
First up was Davis, opening: "Did you, or did you not, authorise the removal of funding from the Education Ministry to fund your illegal war?" Mayor Price refused to answer. Her second: "Did you, or did you not, authorise the removal of funding from the Education Ministry to fund your illegal war?" Mayor Price still refused to answer. Her third: "Are you going to answer my questions or return to nodding off?" Perhaps ironically, this seemingly spurred the Mayor into action.
"That war was not illegal, I gave permission for it earlier and it is my strong belief that this also implied permission for further involvement in it. We did promise to send aid and forces to the rebels, and we are effectively the democratic side of the conflict right now, which therefore surely further validates my decision making." Silence. Total and utter nothingness.
Howard shook her head. "You did not, under any circumstances, give me permission or anything other than a pre-written statem---" "No, but you did allow me to do so to supply aid, but I thought I was also OK to---" "I've been through this enough to know that consent must be given in each insta---" "Which you did give, in the form of later-to-be supplied aid and such of t---" "Must I load up the generic laughter? Or perhaps stuff the trusty handbag with a few orders from the local mason?" "YOU COULD GET DONE FOR THAT, SAFFY! NOW DON'T SPEAK TO ME, OR RISK PISSING ME OFF!" Silence. Total and utter nothingness.
"I'm afraid we're in a... safe zone, or whatever they bother to call it these days. This means no arrests and certainly no angry, shouty threats of arrests," noted Irvine. "Now, what is your opinion on the situation in Transarid?"
"I've already been told, seventy-five million per year until we get 'em out, although we need to prioritise Lydia before dealing with anybody else." "So what you're trying to tell me, Mr Price, is that you're trying to pay Transarid an equal amount of money for each hostage before releasing Lydia first and foremost?" Silence. Total and utter nothingness.
Byrne was, however, quick to ask about "Why exactly, in spite of all the furore about Transarid and the war, are you willingly allowing yourself to be subjected to condemnation for "usurpation" and failing to deal with inappropriate orders towards the Mayoral Office? Is there anything you plan to do about Lydia's status in the Assembly? Who, or what, is motivating your attempts to crack down on certain fellow cabinet ministers? Could you..." Silence. Total and utter nothingness.
Irvine attempted to provide a few last potshots. "Perhaps you could offer us an explanation as to why you've allowed Simon Phillips to be offloaded to Azad---" Silence. Total and utter nothingness.
The Mayor had inexplicably slinked away from the meeting to open an explicitly Cwierczakiewiczowa-free copy of Sporting World. "Johnny" had been humiliated - not for the first time, not for the last time, certainly not the worst time, but definitely the most influentially fatal time.

[Taeshan]

It can only really be described as the game that will likely mean in a few months time that the Purple Knights of Taeshan have once again failed to qualify for the World Cup. The big home fixture against Baker Park had the Knights fans filling the Atlantea Coliseum hoping to upset one of the leaders of the group, still undefeated, and stake a claim for a playoff spot. A win putting them within two points of their opponents and meaning they had a chance and kept place with other hopefuls Coldfield as well, but it was clearly not meant to be.

The group looked to set up to be perhaps the group of life for anyone wishing to qualify for the world cup. Now 6 matchdays in and it seems like it is merely the group of life for the two high seeds. While Taeshan and Coldfield would have fancied the chances of pushing towards competing with the likes of a low high seed in Darmen, and a relative newcomer in Baker Park, neither has really let themselves fail in their games thus far. The Knights spent 85 minutes down at home, against Baker Park, pressing the ball as much as they could and they failed to get a second shot on goal after a 30th minute corner attempt. The continued lackluster showings against side at or above their caliber is alarming, and will likely continue for many years.

[Audioslavia]

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

The owners of the Supreme Court had requested that all parties keep the skeleton under wraps. Not literally, of course. That would be a mummy. The club didn’t want the press to get wind of the fact that someone had uncovered an ancient skeleton rotting in the fifth floor basement of its building, and that was absolutely fine with Detective Inspector Rory Wyatt-Holmes. The fact that there was no real need to go on an immediate hunt for a possible cause of death, and any murderer would presumably be a skeleton themselves right now, meant that Rory got that much-needed day off he’d been clamouring for. Five of them in a row, to be exact. He enjoyed himself by watching Audioslavia play football on the television, if such a thing were possible. The national team scratched and clawed their way past a Petroslovania side that deserved much better than the zero points they got for that game.

With autumn being largely quiet at work, Rory found he could take in more and more football matches, including following his beloved Shamrock Cathair’s scintillating league form. It took the national team’s awful zero-all draw with Brittany Normandy Aquitaine to make him realise that he actually preferred solving murder mysteries than he did watching football. The game reminded him of the case of the skeleton in the cellar, if only because Audioslavia’s opponents’ trigram was ‘BNA’, which he kept reading as ‘boner’.

The next Tuesday at work, Rory called in to the station’s doctor.

“You remember that skeleton we brought in a couple of months ago?” asked Rory
“Remember him? I had to put him together myself” replied the doc. “I’ve been doing this shit for forty years and I’ve never seen anything like it plopped onto my table for examination”
“What was your diagnosis?”
“Dead on arrival, unfortunately. Gave him an aspirin but he didn’t perk up” replied the doctor. Doc Larrena had a sarcasm that couldn’t be turned off. Rory let it wash over him.
“Any idea how he died?”
“His skin fell off” said the doctor. “Though probably a bit after he died, I’d imagine. There was very little we could glean. He’d broken his arm at some point in his life, though it’s doubtful that’s what killed him. Awful teeth, which explains why we couldn’t identify him via dental records. Probably caucasian, ate meat, flat-footed, around 175 centimetres tall and died at the age of forty or so somewhere between 80 and 250 years ago”
“You can tell all that just by looking at the skeleton?” asked Rory.
“No, I asked him, and that’s what he said” replied Doctor Larrea.
“Right” said Rory, sighing. “Is anyone on the case?”
“The woman” said the doctor. Rory cocked his head.
“You’ll have to be more specific”
“Oh, you know. The dark one. Nice veins. Aarden”
“Nice veins?” asked Rory
“A lifetime of injecting people gives you a taste for them” said the doctor. “You could sail a dinghy down her arteries. Absolutely delightful”

Rory found Constable Betsy Aarden in the first floor office that the regular blue-suits used. She narrowed her eyes at his approach, before beaming into a smile.
“You here about Mr. Skeltal?” she asked
“It’s been a quiet week” said Rory. “We’re going to have a crack at finding out who this guy is.”
“I’ve been doing some work on it already, actually. Not so much during work hours, you know, too many young lads nicking bikes, but here and there. What I’ve come up with is…” Rory stopped her with a raised hand. “Not here. Coffee first.”
“Right you are” said Betsy, getting up. The two made their way to the canteen. Upon arriving there and procuring coffee, Betsy put her walkie-talkie onto ‘silent’ mode, for Audioslavia has near-future tech and the walkie-talkies coppers have totally have silent modes.
“I knock off in half an hour. It’ll be fine” said Betsy, seating herself opposite Rory, who was rummaging in his jacket pocket for sweeteners for his coffee.
“I remember having to carry one of those around” said Rory. “Anyone could get hold of me wherever I was. Nightmare”
“You don’t have a phone?” asked Betsy, raising an eyebrow.
“Aye, but that’s different. You can just choose not to take the call. People start getting antsy if you don’t reply on your walkie-talkie”
“True. And you don’t have to wear your uniform either”
“This is my uniform” said Rory, looking down at his grey suit. It had seen better days. For example: it used to be black.
“Better dressed than our skeletal friend, yes” said Betsy. “Though actually, we took it for testing and they found out the suit had been bought in Osarius so, y’know…”
“Interesting” said Rory, “and did they find anything else on his clothes?”
“You mean apart from all his remains and all the damp? He kind of dissolved into his own clothes over time. Not pretty. I dunno, though. Give it a few years and it’ll be the height of fashion. All the kids will be doing it.”
“I do hope not” said Rory, cringing into his coffee. “Our skeleton then. Expensive taste in suits. Doc tells me he died at forty something and gave me a bunch of information that just pointed to ‘average Joseph’. Tell me you got more than that” he said. Another beaming smile from Betsy.
“I did a fair bit of digging. You remember the paper we found in his pocket? I got it analysed at the laboratory. All that faded writing came right back up once you jiggle a few microscopes around, it appears.”
“He had a train ticket” said Rory, leaning forward in his chair.
“Indeed he did. 7:45am from Cathair International Airport to Grand Forum Station, July 17th 2144”
“Well that’s something” said Rory, nodding, looking away, as if trying to work something out.
“No passenger lists” said Betsy, getting ahead of the Detective Inspector. “Well, I mean, there was a list of names, but only a short one. You didn’t have to give your name when buying a ticket back then, you just got one from the ticket machine and on you went”
“They had ticket machines back then?” asked Rory, frowning. Betsy looked aghast.
“They’ve had mobile phones since around 1998 and trains since the early 19th century, security cameras everywhere since around the 1970s, so what makes you think that wouldn’t have had ticket machines only 90 or so years ago?”
“Yeah, fair point, I suppose” said Rory. He frowned again. “Security cameras..”
“Checked”
“And?”
“And I definitely saw him. Only he was amongst around six hundred other people and we don’t know what he looks like, so there’s no way of picking him out.”
“Assuming he actually got the train in the first place” said Rory. “We don’t even know if the ticket is used”
“It hardly matters” said Betsy. “Without a name, it’s a dead end. Just this word ‘angel’ on the other side”
“On the bus pass” said Rory, remembering. “They ran the tests on that in the lab, right?”
“They did” said Betsy, “or at least they say they did. They said they found nothing. It doesn’t stand to reason. How can they get all the information they needed from the train ticket but not that bus pass?”
Rory shrugged.
“Do you still have the ticket?”
“It’s filed away. We can get it and have a look?” she suggested. Rory nodded in agreement. Betsy looked down at the table, blushing slightly. Turning, she produced a plastic wallet from her bag. Inside was the card.
“That should be in the evidence room, should it not” said Rory, grinning and reaching over to take it from her hands.
“It should” said Betsy. “I’ve been meaning to put it back. I just…”
“The trail ran cold, you couldn’t let it go” said Rory, nodding.
“You get that too?” asked Betsy.
“First thing they train out of you when you get to my level” said Rory. “I’d have gone mad thrice over if I’d kept up with every single case I’d ever had.” He opened the plastic wallet and carefully removed the bit of card. The victims smudged, blurred face stared back at him though a smear of whitish-blue eyes.
“There’s definitely at least two stuck together. Maybe three.”
“I think there’s three” said Rory, handing the card to Betsy to inspect. “A bus-pass on one side, a train ticket on the other and in between… well who knows. Library card. Another train ticket. Maybe a hey don’t do th…
He was too late. Betsy had grabbed a corner with both sets of finger and thumb and had torn a split right down the middle of the card, making two cards. Rory stayed sat, teeth clenched, like he’d just seen his cat push his favourite mug from off of a tabletop. He could only watch helplessly as Betsy inspected the previously hidden parts of both cards”
“Huh” she said, eventually.
“What is it?” asked Rory
“This” she said, “is… or rather was… a press pass”