World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[Main Nation Ministry]

Kahe Island: The Showdown

The sky above the volcano of Kahe was darkening with clouds, as Shell could feel the tremors of the lava on the verge of erupting. In front of him was a large 2-storied building that seemed to be perched on the cliffside of the volcano. Shell got his gun ready, as he walked slowly towards the building. The entrance way was an old reception lobby, possibly to show that this could have been an abandoned research lab. Makes sense, seeing how the person who kidnapped the VIP is a disgruntled scientist. Entering a hallway that was littered with vines, Shell started to walk down the hall until he noticed a sight near the floor. A thin wire, suspended by two rectangles covered by overgrowth. A trap. So this place was being used after all, but for what purpose?

Shell nagatived through the hallway, making sure to avoid any traps he sees, until he notices a door with the sign nearby labeled, "Main Laboratory." Opening the door a bit, he saw that there was a mass of some sort of plant-like substance in a humanoid form on a folding chair. What was that thing in there. Curious, Shell entered the room to investigate the anomalous being, where he can hear something muffled coming from it. The room itself didn't look like a research laboratory, as the machines were cleared out when they shut down the place. There was what appeared to be a lone computer that has been set up, using a generator as power. They seemed to have made their own router to get some internet access without restrictions from the mainland. Shell went towards the being at the chair, where he can make out what was being said. "Help me.. Help me..." the creature said, where it's "arms" were wrapped around the back of the chair. Was this the VIP? If so, the Ministry of Science are going to need to find a cure for him.

Next, Shell investigated the computer, where a flash drive seems to be sticking out from a port. He started to browse through some files. Then, he found an interesting dialogue exchange by TrenchSea and what appeared to be Gilbert Samo. "Huh. A bit foolish to leave it here." Shell remarked, as he started to use the flash drive to transfer some incriminating date onto the drive, so he can take it back to the mainland as evidence. Now, all he needed to do was exit the place and radio mission control of his location. However, as he went to the door, he got a rifle butt to the face. Knocked down to the floor, Shell immediately grabbed the flash drive, while reaching for his gun. What happened next was a boot to the hand reaching for his gun. A mercenary was pointing his assault rifle directly at Shell, where Shell made a risky decision. Shell immediately grabbed the flash drive and tossed it into his mouth. "Boss, it's in his mouth!" the merc said, reaching down to prevent Shell from swallowing it, only for Shell to kick him in the groin. Shell knew that they were going to kill him, so they can extract the drive from his stomach, but he needed to escape somehow. After Shell swallowed the drive, he attempted to grab his gun to kill the merc. However, another merc came into the room and kicked aside Shell's gun.

"Not so clever trying to escape, are you?" the merc said, smirking as he delivered his foot at Shell's face.

---

When Shell woke up, he was tied up with rope to another folding chair, directly next to what was left of Ben Mitsuyoshi. Both of them were brought into another room that seemed like an empty storage room, where some dried blood was visible on the floor. In front of him, next to two mercenaries, wearing yellow and black combat uniforms, was Gilbert Samo. Gilbert was still wearing a lab coat, looking a bit annoyed at Shell for attempting to alert the Ministry. "Ah. You're awake. You do realize that you nearly ruined my plans."
"What-where is my watch? And where is my pill?!" Shell demanded, as his watch to communicate with mission control is gone and the fact that if they tried to interrogate him for information, he would have to prevent them from knowing by doing it the hard way.
"You don't need those from what is about to happen."
"Is the person next to me actually Ben Mitsuyoshi? Or let me guess. A test subject."
"You're correct on both. My objective for Mitsuyoshi was to test on if my newest invention was going to be used to clear my name!"
"So how was TrenchSea involved in this? For causing the oil spill on that oil rig, you managed to piss off most of Kahe Island and make it seems that most of Main Nation Ministry are clumsy. Coming from the mind of someone who is supposed to save the environment."
"Oh please. That was important for my plan. This wasn't about the money. This was about being the one who topples the Ministry of Science. If they had gave me more time in having the species be un-extinct, I wouldn't have to do this."
"I did check some info of yours. You immediately went straight to testing it out, without having permissions from the head scientists and without a permit. Your ego is the reason I came to kill you." Shell threatened Gilbert Samo, who seemed unfazed.

"Now, you're going to convince Kahe that it was me who did this? You're a fool. Sending a boy to go after my head and stick in on a straighten stick. You think you can just eat the evidence, even after I let you die, so the flames will wipe away your body?"
"There is a reason for everything. Why did you blow up the oil rig?"
"You see. I'm repaying the favor for the Ministry of Science. The substance I have injected into Ben Mitsuyoshi was just a strong dose. If you think my plan is to turn the whole island and nation population into trees, you're wrong. I'm simply going to be a weapon of biological purposes that will wipe out the Ministry of Science. You see, the serum isn't going to turn people into monsters, it was going to turn the whole world into green. When I take my chopper to the top of Kahe, I will dump it into the volcano, as when it finally erupts, it will blow up all of that ash into the atmosphere. Seeing how Main Nation Ministry are at bit of eco-warriors, I will embarrass them by making sure that effects reach the mainland!" Gilbert announced to Shell, explaining his plan.

"Now, I'm going to leave you for the eruption to erase you and Mitsuyoshi. Don't bother to escape, my men will make sure you and Mitsuyoshi don't make it out of here alive." Gilbert said, walking out of the room, where the two mercs started to head out of the room, also. It was suspicious, but Shell knew what they were planning to do, if he tried to escape. The rope they used to tie up Shell was strong, but Shell knew how to check for slack, even if he had to take off his own shoes with his feet to escape. Tiptoeing to where Mitsuyoshi was, he tried to undo the "arms" wrapped around the back of the chair. Damn, he's really on there tight. He need to drag him out of here, if the both of them wants to escape. Approaching the door, Shell immediately knew when to duck, as the merc tried to swing his gun again at him. Shell's response was leaping briefly in the air to give a kick in the chest at the merc. The merc tumbled back and ended up falling upon one of the tripwires that were set up at the hallway.

A blast of flames filled the hallway briefly as the tripwire let out the incendiary charges. As the merc started screaming in pain, as he was being burned, Shell grabbed the merc's assault rifle and started to drag the VIP from the chair out of the room and around the burning body of the merc. Whenever there was another tripwire in the way, Shell hoisted Ben over the tripwire, while making sure Shell didn't trip the trap himself. He saw the exit, in front of him. He can hear a chopper outside. It had to be Gilbert, planning on dropping the serum in the volcano. Dragging Ben Mitsuyoshi outside, he saw a small helicopter with a helitank was flying towards the central vent of the volcano. He needed to do something. At least, anything. "Come on! This better work!" Shell said to himself, as he raised the assault rifle to open fire at the chopper. The bullets were flying towards the chopper, where one of the bullets had caused the chopper to malfunction.

"Come on. Come on!" Shell said, as the chopper swerved away from the main vent, where rapidly going down the cliffside. It was going to crash at where the reservior was. He glimpsed at what appeared to be Gilbert that fell out of the chopper to end up falling into the water. The chopper crashed above the reservior, cracking the wall and causing an explosion. Several cracks started to form, where Shell can see the lava starting to spew out. Gilbert Samo resurfaced in the reservoir, only for a side vent to form, raining lava down onto him. Shell didn't have any time, he needed to get out of there. Dragging Ben Mitsuyoshi down the mountain, he can hear the muffled voice of Ben saying, "Thank you..."

[Mriin]

Maal Memoirs
Sports
Running up the score

Yon Kegant
Maal, Mriin

An exciting set of games have just come down through the pipes, even if it ultimately left the Group 11 table jammed as ever. A stark contrast to the drawfest we'd just suffered through, the top three teams scored a combined fourteen goals compared to four allowed. This is likely the virtually nail in the coffin for hopefuls Dreamplanet and Darkmania, who despite valiant and energetic efforts seem to be just a bit shy in the skill and experience to leverage that passion. Now six and nine points behind Jeruselem in third, it would take a stellar run of poor form from not one but two of Jeruselem, Abanhfleft, and Mriin for any of the junior sides to reach the playoff spot. While I wish them the best of luck in a prospective Cup of Harmony campaign, that leaves us with a laser-sharp focus on that group of three.

At the moment, and indeed for the past five matchdays, the standings have well-reflected the seedings. First in first, second in second, third in third. But all that could be changing rapidly soon--within the next few matchdays will be several potential six-point swings as the Reavers host first Abanhfleft and then Jeruselem. It's difficult to make a real prediction about these games when it seems all teams involved are in a good run of form, and while solid wins away from home in the first leg seem to support our edge it also brings worry about how much home field advantage is actually worth in this group. There's only one thing I can say for sure--these games will be tense, exciting, and will be the ultimate deciders in who gets to punch their ticket to either the Free Republics or Banija.

There was a certain pleasure to be taken from the relative dismantling of Darkmania, it must be said. While Neo-Romanum certainly filled the role of bogey-team for the Reavers this cycle, thus far Darkmania are the only ones who were able to fully claim the scalp of the fresh first-seeds. That loss on the third day of qualifying was a major blow to many fan's expectations--it was clear that the former minnows had improved greatly since our meetings in World Cup 79 qualifying, where we left with six points in hand. No expense was spared for the return leg, Haven once again seeing a full-strength complement of Mriinians bearing downfield at breakneck speed. Striking early and often, Solara set to work cutting up Yürang and Tërman for a brace within fifteen minutes. Credit where it's due, though; despite that inauspicious start, the Darkmanians rallied and had the game level before halftime, clever strikes from Tÿrn and Årdalberg carving up Geraard and Uhlon in a manner that uncomfortably reminded Mriinian fans of the first leg. But the visitor's resurgence was not to last, the Darkmanians flagging as the second half progressed--leaving a fresh Mako and a tireless Lasser to pummel Ërimär, who simply couldn't keep up with the barrage.

Mriin - 5
Vol 4’, 14'
Silanii 66', 84’
Rei 71’
Darkmania - 2
Tÿrn 34’
Årdalberg 42'

[Brenecia]

Al-Mumtaz 0 - 1 Brenecia
(4-1-4-1) 12 - Calhoun; 2 - Weaver, 5 - Heneghan, 6 - Ramsay, 3 - Levein; 23 - Alweather; 15 - Garrard (7 - Cheney 77'), 21 - Redweald (14 - Ruskin 68'), 13 - Wheeler, 16 - Keynes; 17 - Bremner (9 - Strider 60')
Goals: Cheney 81'

Brenecia 2 - 0 Oscioru
(4-1-4-1) 12 - Calhoun; 2 - Weaver, 5 - Heneghan (18 - Beath 72'), 6 - Ramsay, 19 - Prentice; 4 - Staunton (21 - Redweald 61'); 7 - Cheney, 14 - Ruskin, 13 - Wheeler (8 - Matheson 72'), 16 - Keynes; 9 - Strider
Goals: Ruskin 15', Strider 37'

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Reid's gamble on youth pays off
Laura Mulholland

The notion that Brenecia has no depth, no young blood coming through, did not survive the wins against Al-Mumtaz and Oscioru. With qualification not quite secure, but looking likely, Reid decided to go looking for alternatives for some key players. 180 minutes of football later, the job of picking that final 23 just got more complicated.

Even between the posts. Sure, Rostyn Calhoun is an old hand for the national team by now - he turned 29 between the two games, and is a regular for Wexax in Valanora - but increasingly assured and comfortable performances between the posts suggest Woodgate's imminent retirement won't leave them for dead. For all that Brenecia largely held Al-Mumtaz at bay, it still took a sharp save one-on-one to deny starlet Koharu a late leveller, and a powerful header from Osci defender Armati off a corner was brilliantly turned away by an iron calf in the third minute.

Ahead of him, Ava Ramsay slotted fairly comfortably into the defence, a tall and assured defender if, admittedly, incredibly slow. Enough has been said about Morwen Prentice that she doesn't really count as an up-and-comer anymore at national level, but Erica Weaver's first two caps marked her out as a star in the making. She played all 180 minutes, calm and confident. Promisingly for Reid, she offers something different to Broxham - stronger, more defensively-minded - but still able to swing in a cross or two, including the assist for the second goal against Oscioru.

Moving up a line, while Elysse Matheson continues to be carefully prodded into the national side, it was a huge day for Lauren Cheney and Claire Ruskin. For the winger Cheney, it was a chance to get people hyped up. Nominated for a Boldsport Galactico Youth award, Cheney's pace and power have lit up the A-League since her emergence, and she took to the Patriots like a fish to water - and, after her injection off the bench, set about Al-Mumtaz like a piranha on a film extra, ripping into the defence and ultimately being set up with a tap-in by Wheeler to break through. Ruskin, meanwhile, proved she could take a game by the scruff of the neck, as she did against Oscioru. She was everywhere, in command and control, and a thunderous strike off the underside of the crossbar set their way to victory.

It might well be up front that marked the biggest sea change, though. Niall Bremner, unfortunately, just has that question mark of inconsistency. He was hauled off after an hour after a decidedly off-colour showing against Al-Mumtaz, missing a number of changes. On came Banshee Strider - tall, lean, uncompromising and, thanks to some enthusiastic elbowing, actually banned for the next match due to bookings in both games. She slammed into the Al-Mumtaz defence, was only denied a goal with her first touch by a scrambling save from teenage goalkeeper Riski, and did eventually get her just reward to kill off Oscioru - Weaver's high cross evading everyone but Strider, who powered a header past the veteran Ramires.

South Libertopia and Colonial Australia mean Reid's last real opportunity to experiment, and to rest his best players ahead of the World Cup that most likely beckons. After that, BoF champions Cobrio, the resilient Tinhampton and the overachieving Octinstine all demand the Patriots' best on-hand. But the job's never about a single cycle - Reid always has to look ahead, to who will come after. Give it four, five years, and Weaver, Matheson, Cheney and Strider might well be the first names on the team-sheet. It will probably be long forgotten that it all started in Al-Mumtaz.

BRENECIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 7
Goalkeepers: 1 - Cass Farrell (Northern Stallions), 12 - Rostyn Calhoun (Wexax United, VAL), 20 - Aidan Hartigan (Metropolis Alligators, VLD)
Defenders: 2 - Erica Weaver (North Hall), 3 - Brigid Levein (Marque), 5 - Cheney Heneghan (Ernesse Stahl, BYN), 6 - Ava Ramsay (Pikemouth), 18 - Chadwick Beath (Blue Coast 1981, PCR), 19 - Morwen Prentice (Westpike United), 22 - Garwyn Varney (Soldarian FC, VAL)
Midfielders: 4 - Roisin Staunton (Kingsgrove), 7 - Lauren Cheney (Kingsgrove), 8 - Meghan Hartsdown (Kings Park, SCT), 11 - Isidra Corvey (Kingsgrove), 13 - Elysse Matheson (Rozelle), 14 - Claire Ruskin (Southern Star), 15 - Cu Roi Garrard (Rene Skae, FFD), 16 - Cathal Keynes (Snowden River), 21 - Pagan Redweald (Northern Stallions), 23 - Catsidhe Alweather (Eastal Lunar, VIL)
Forwards: 9 - Banshee Strider (Lotus Park), 10 - Vesuvia Carrick (South Laithland, NPH), 17 - Niall Bremner (Westpike United)

SCHEDULE
Cassadaigua 0 - 2 Brenecia
Brenecia 1 - 0 Al-Mumtaz
Oscioru 0 - 1 Brenecia
Brenecia 2 - 0 South Libertopia
Colonial Australia 0 - 1 Brenecia
Brenecia 5 - 0 Cobrio
Tinhampton 0 - 1 Brenecia
Czarna Gora 0 - 3 Brenecia
Brenecia 1 - 0 Octinstine
Brenecia 6 - 2 Cassadaigua
Al-Mumtaz 0 - 1 Brenecia
Brenecia 2 - 0 Oscioru
South Libertopia vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Colonial Australia
Cobrio vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Tinhampton
Brenecia vs. Czarna Gora
Octinstine vs. Brenecia

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Missed opportunity raises stakes
Kristian Barnard
Daily Mail Soccer Writer

After a spirited display from the National Team of Innovian Indusse to hold Baker Park to a scoreless draw at MacIlwaine Park Stadium, there is a different composition to the Group 17 table. Darmen have pulled level on points with the Commonwealth, Coldfield & Taeshan each picked up 2 points extra, and are just 7 and 8 points respectively behind the joint leaders.

Although the single point was not enough to keep the visitors from being officially eliminated from contention, their performance against BP over the two legs of qualifying brought Pam Scott to praise them for their organization.
"The last two matches should be a lesson to everyone--it doesn't matter what you might think about a side that you know nothing about, they can rise up and bite you at any time. I wouldn't dream of disparaging these guys, or Timmy's Tigers; you know why? because they are where we were before the Baptism of Fire. Nobodies. It's easy to slag them off, pretend they don't have a chance. Nobody did that to us before the BoF or even before the last qualifying."

The Commonwealth still have the advantage of controlling their own destiny from here to the end and avoiding dropped points against their nearest challengers will likely see them advance at the top of the Group, provided that there are further surprises.

Scott responded to a question about Men's Manager Trevor Richmond's statement that there may be a cutdown of the rosters coming after the next matchday.

"I believe that's where we are headed, yes. I think the two of will lose a lot of sleep over the next several days, because we are realistically looking at getting down to one single group of 30 before the Coldfield match, and I'll tell you, it makes me sad because there are a lot of players who don't deserve to be sent home knowing their World Cup hopes are finished for this time, and possibly that their international careers might be over."

The next match for the national side will be away to St Saratoga, and that will mark the final match for the Black squad led by Richmond.

[Qusmo]

This RP is set sometime during the World Cup 80 qualifying campaign, shortly after my first domestic league season finished. I plan to make it a series. I’m not entirely sure how the story will flow or meander, but I’ll explore it as I go along; I hope it’ll be a good ride.

Expectations

Nirlo-Raxat Hal sat in their office, overlooking the city of Kolle & its one million residents. They had a dilemma. As the chair of KF Koflir, they were in a bit of an enviable position; they were the largest club in Kolle, & they would be the only Pug Qusmyra club in the city next year, after Kozon was relegated. They had great potential. But with that potential came great pressure to fulfill it.

Koflir had come close last season. They had nearly gotten to Vilita. They made it all the way to the final of Puk Zama last season, which carries with the trophy a nomination for international play. As long as the champion of Puk Zama did not already qualify for another international competition, they would be nominated by Fuzpon Qusma to play in the Vilitan Cove Invitational. Unfortunately, after five wins to reach the final, Koflir squandered a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 in the final. Instead of Koflir, KF Qastyr would raise the trophy. However, Qastyr also won Pug Qusmyra, meaning they would play in the UICA Champions’ Cup, not the Vilitan Cove Invitational, so the nomination would be passed down to the fifth-placed team in the league. Koflir finished sixth.

So Koflir’s fan base had been frustrated. They were so close - just a single team away - from earning a nomination to play in Vilita - not once, but twice. That made Kolle the only city among Qusmo’s largest six not to have a club play against international opposition. The people of Kolle were certain that they deserved better than that. They were certain that they ought to be getting their moment of glory against teams from across the multiverse.

But Nirlo-Raxat was certain that they didn’t have the roster to do that. & they were certain that the fans would not be happy if they could not break through to international fixtures. & they were certain who the fans would blame.

Truth be told, Koflir was lucky to have gotten where they did. In Puka Zama, they only played one fellow Pug Qusmyra club in their five matches in the leadup to the final. In Pug Qusmyra, their sixth-place finish was a distant one, as they ended six points back of fifth-place Rejin yet only one point above seventh-place Estraj & eighth-place Vlonz. They had gotten lucky, with all the breaks falling their way. That wasn’t likely to happen again next year, nor the year after. Likely, they would have a mixed record of luck going their way; if the pendulum swung the other way as far as it did in their favour this season, meanwhile, it would be even worse. But the fans didn’t care about the underlying statistics, or the quality of opponents they had faced. They thought that they were on the precipice of success, & they wanted to achieve it. & it would be Nirlo-Raxat’s job to do it.

They started to pore through their roster & possible transfer targets. Who was there? As much as the fans might not realize the true state their club was in, viewing Koflir through their rose-coloured glasses, Pug Qusmyra players would question just how reasonable it would be to settle down in Kolle. & they would not want to make that jump. Sure, there were bargain bin options available, but what player of the calibre Nirlo-Raxat needed would leave their clubs now - & even if they did, why would they come to Koflir? Nirlo-Raxat looked to be looked out of the market. They needed to find a solution, & fast.

Nirlo-Raxat put the last scouting report down on their desk, leaned back, & sighed. Koflir was working from an extremely limited talent pool, since Fuzpon Qusma restricted Pug Qusmyra players to those eligible to play for the Qusma national team. If only a player from somewhere else could join their team. They would have so many more options; they might even be able to manage to find a solution out of this mess.

They thought for a moment. Then, suddenly realizing it, they dialed their secretary as quickly as they could. “Get Fuzpon Qusma on the line. I need to ensure that Qusmo plays a friendly at Mastad Kolla. & after that, put me in touch with a lawyer. An immigration lawyer, to be precise.”

Group 9
Savalen 0–2 Qusmo
Axuva 0–2 New Gazi
Rakivland 2–3 Karulicja
Polkopia 1–0 Eastfield Lodge
Nuadh-Alba 2–4 Valanora

Group 9                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valanora                         12    9   1   2    33   18  +15    28
 2 Polkopia                         12    8   2   2    24   15   +9    26
 3 Qusmo                            12    7   2   3    19    5  +14    23
 4 New Gazi                         12    7   1   4    22   16   +6    22
 5 Eastfield Lodge                  12    6   3   3    22   13   +9    21
 6 Karulicja                        12    5   1   6    23   22   +1    16
 7 Savalen                          12    5   1   6    18   18    0    16
 8 Rakivland                        12    2   3   7    24   27   −3     9
 9 Axuva                            12    2   1   9    13   35  −22     7
10 Nuadh-Alba                       12    0   3   9     8   37  −29     3

QNT earns important win over Savalen to keep momentum
Savalen 0–2 Qusmo
Savalen City, Savalen

---

GK  Xynat-Evela Cuf
CB  Cunix-Betva Tla
CB  Zenon-Gerol Kal
68’ Lynul-Savar Mal
CB  Yelto-Alfan Ono
CM  Yamaj-Blonz Jok (13’)
CM  Ilinx-Kepex Zev
57’ Ozolx-Mazur Guv (64’)
AM  Gavax-Nenzi Abe
LM  Kynda-Sevet Pec
RM  Forzu Ralox Kal
SS  Paliv-Xilit Max
57’ Jralv-Nexev Pec
ST  Prant-Pertz Gor

[Banija]

Sometimes, people need to mind their own business... The term used by many in Uganda for that, is Kasepiki. So mind your own business as I cutoff for Matchday 13.

This travels, of course, to East Africa. Ironically, Uganda is the homeland of two World Cup 81 participants- one of whom is yours truly. The other one knows who he is

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

(House of Assembly Chamber, Belle Haven, the session is just commencing as the Sergeant at Arms proceeds with the Mace followed by the Speaker, who then takes up his seat)

Mr Speaker: "Be seated, the House will come to order. Thank You. The Prime Minister."

Rebecca Schoenlein: "Thank you Mr Speaker, I beg leave of the chair to make a short announcement to the House."

Mr Speaker: "without objection, so ordered."

RS: "I bring the attention of the House to the recent election of a new government in the Kingdom of Banija, which has come after a sustained period of direct rule by the Royal Family. By all accounts the vote was carried off peaceably and without trouble. The government wishes to extend our congratulations to Mr Kizza Makoni and his Collective Resistance Union Party for securing an outright majority of the seats in Parliament and we look forward to seeing what his proposed reforms of that nation may bring about. On that topic, Mr Speaker I am informing the House that at the next recess, I shall be making a visit to Banija to meet with Mr Makoni personally to discuss ways that we in the Commonwealth can aid the restoration of democracy. As per the tradition of the House, I will be inviting members from across all parties to accompany me, as to show our friends that we stand as a nation together with the Banijan people. Further details will be forthcoming shortly."

Mr Speaker: "Allan Arnold." (ed.--Leader of the Opposition)

AA: "Thank you Mr Speaker. I thank the Prime Minister for her update, and I am confident that those of us on this side are eager to extend our best wishes to Mr Makoni as well. I am in full agreement that it is important to show Banija that we are united as a nation in our support for them in the aftermath of the circumstances of the late situation regarding their drought and the military action that followed."

Mr Speaker: "Thank You. Order. Nathan Oliphant"
(resumption of regular business)

___________________________________________________________________________________

later the same day....

A meeting was underway in the Cabinet Room involving all of the opposition party leaders and the Prime Minister, along with Thomas Dixon, Foreign Minister and Hannah Delaney, the Secretary of State, as well as Larry Reid the Minister of Industry,Trade & Commerce and several other aides.

"We're going to have to walk a fine line here Rebecca. Going and making this big splash in Busukuma with their new PM and possibly the Isebantu and then just dropping in on the Busogans for a courtesy call." Dixon was increasingly anxious that they were going to make everyone involved have hurt feelings, instead of trying to show that Baker Park could be friends with both sides.

The others--especially the opposition leaders--were still in a bit of a shock from the announcement that the Prime Minister made from the outset; "Ladies and gentlemen, I want your word to not repeat any of this to anyone until it's already underway. We are going to go and have talks in Banija and then we are going to make an 'unscheduled' stop in Lakiska where we will pay our respects to President Razav of the Busoga Islands, under the pretense of having talks with them and Equestria about their joint military venture."

She acknowledged Dixon's concern. "It's going to take a bit of finesse, but I think it can work. Hannah, let's go through your part of the trip first."

Hannah stood, which was unusual for meetings in the Cabinet Room but she was more comfortable talking while standing and she passed around to the others a sheet of paper with a prospective timeline.

"We will make it perfectly public knowledge that I will be going to Busoga to have a meeting with the Foreign Ministers from Busoga and Equestria. I have gotten the Equestrian FM to agree to a meeting for discussion about joint military cooperation--maybe an sort of training exercise, although they aren't that keen on having a military pact with us, because they don't believe they can be beaten in a straight fight, but I told him we understand that--and we may drift into discussions about other issues. The flight will drop me off as a sidetrip before the rest of you go on to Banija. At that point, you'll have to come and pick me back up afterwards, and we can have a brief meeting between the President and the PM, and if they were to say, please come and be our guest for a few hours, we can't really refuse, can we?"

"Bec, can you give us a little further background on why all of this is really necessary?" Colleen Albertson was the leader of the Social Democratic Party, which was a relatively minor player politically, but they did have a history of supporting the majority Federalists on a lot issues, and she and the PM had a good personal relationship through they years they had both been in Parliament.

"Sure, because I know some of you just don't know how far this goes back. Let's put it this way, we are the mutual friend of a couple who've just gone through a very nasty divorce. And one of them already has a new partner, while the other one is still trying to get over the breakup. So of course they both want us to choose sides, and we'd just as soon try to have a good relationship with both of them. In a nutshell that's what this is."

Several of the others around the table nodded their heads and some smiled at the metaphor. It was the Leader of the Opposition's turn for a question. "We've got a good commercial relationship in Banija, what sort of opportunities are there in Busoga?"

"Larry maybe has a better handle on this, but I'll offer off the top of my head--infrastructure improvement, financial, consumer goods. You have to understand this a small country that was physically separated from the rest of a nation in which they were a distinct minority, a nation that wasn't all that highly developed outside of their largest cities. So Busoga has a lot of catching up to do now that they are on their own. And the Equestrians are giving them a huge amount of support, but they are still a completely different species on the whole. The Busogans maybe would like to have some human friends to rely on every once in awhile."

Reid, the Trade Minister spoke up. "Allan, I could get you all the info you wanted--and the rest of the leaders as well--in no time if you wanted to look it over."

Arnold nodded. "Thanks Larry. I'd appreciate that."

Schoenlein spoke up again. "Yes, there's a line we're going to have to walk. We've got the advantage that we have the ear of the Crown Prince, and we aren't going to blindside him by just hopping over to the Islands willy nilly. We've been completely upfront with him from the start, and we aren't going to doublecross him or his father and family now. Discretion is the key. Ok, please submit one of your party to go on the trip to Tom by Thursday afternoon. I'm sure you all want to go, but it'd be nice to have some backbenchers as well. That's your issue and I'm not questioning whatever decision you make. Any other questions? Thank you all for your time."

___________________________________________________________________________________

The Prime Minister had discussed the response with Dixon and Delaney and thought about what she wanted to convey. As was her peculiar habit, she wrote out in longhand her reply that her assistant then would transcribe.

To: Dr Eveneet Dudi, Minister of Foreign Affairs
From: Rebecca Schoenlein, Prime Minister (rms)

Dear Dr. Dudi,

I am honored to receive the invitation of President Razav to visit your nation. We feel a great affinity for the Busogans and it was with no hesitation that we made the decision to defy the Mutabi regime to send aid directly to the Islands. We would do it again, for you or for any people who suffer in time of need or want.

I hope you will indulge me for a moment so I can explain in brief why I am making a proposal that is a departure from your generous invitation. As we received your communication, we were in discussions with the Kingdom of Banija regarding an official visit from myself to meet with the Katikkiro-elect, Mr Makoni. I hope that you appreciate that we have always stood by the principle that we had no quarrel with the citizens of Banija, only with the Mutebi regime. We have given that assurance to Kabaka Albert on numerous occasions, and we affirm it today.

I'm sure you can understand the delicate situation we find ourselves in; we have no desire to offend Banija, nor do we have a desire to offend you. What I am proposing is a slight of hand, if you will. My #2, Secretary of State for the Commonwealth Hannah Delaney, would come to have a meeting with yourself and the Foreign Minister of the Equestrian States, in Lakiska. We would drop her off on our way to Busukuma and she would be available to discuss any topics you may choose to undertake. You can be assured, Secretary Delaney would have full authority to speak officially for the government of the Commonwealth.

Following those talks, and the conclusion of my trip to Banija, we of course would need to retrieve Mrs Delaney and if there happened to be an invitation from President Razav extending his hospitality to our party for a brief time once we were on the ground, we certainly couldn't refuse his invitation. It would be problematic to call it an "official visit" but there would be no objection to styling it as a courtesy visit.

We are certainly eager to have closer ties with your nation, and we shall immediately send a proposal for the establishment of official diplomatic relations with the Busoga Islands.

Please do not hesitate to contact myself, Mr Dixon our Foreign Minister or Mrs Delaney if there is any questions or concerns. I truly believe that there will be an opportunity in the near future, once we have established we have clear official diplomatic relations with the Busoga Islands, for myself, or our Head of State Michael Gregson to come for an Official State visit and/or to receive President Razav here in Belle haven.

Please convey my respects to the President, both personally and on behalf of the citizens of Baker Park. I look forward to making both of your acquaintances very soon.

Sincerely

Rebecca Schoenlein.

[Beepee]

Beepee 5–3 Ndaku

Scorers
1-0 Sam Veera ('17)
2-0 Carlo Bannan ('22)
2-1 Sajjad Duha ('30)
3-1 Niklaus Malade ('42)
4-1 Chris Patterson ('49)
4-2 Wekesa Fabron ('62)
5-2 Carlo Bannan ('77)
5-3 Sajjad Duha ('89)


Beepee's first team rattled up a strong 5-3 win over Ndaku.

Beepee who performed well winning their last match against Jeckland. This togethet with the strong 5-3 away win ober Ndaku meant most Beepeeps had expectations of a good home result.

With the teams entering Pinewood Stadium, an expectentant hush fell over the crowd as the anthems were played.

The Ndaku head coach, Chiebuka Ndukaku, and Beepeean head Coach Coleen Yu, briefly chatted on the sidelines; the mood was cordial. However, both teams were seeking a result which would bolster their standings. Prior to the match starting Beepee sat in 4th and the visitors 7th.

In bright sunshine and the hottest day of spring so far (32degrees celecius), Beepee kicked off.

In end to end play, David Michelle wrestled the ball from Wekesa Fabron near the edge of the Beepeean box. Some quick passing saw Beepee counter and push forward. The ball somehow found itself with Dirk Bolt over on the left wing. Who bobbled the ball into the box, where in-form Sam Veera guided the ball past Kyle Morgan to complete a lovely team move in the 17th minute.

It took only 5 minutes more for a long ball to meet the head of Carlo Bannan to make it two-nil.

Sajjad Duha made it two-one after 30 minutes. Duha scored from a free-kick just outside the box.

In the 42nd minute. Niklaus Malade fired the ball from 12feet out.

At half time, the score was Beepee 3-1 Ndaku.

During the half time Coleen Yu, spoke of the need to keep a calm head and continue to pressure on Christian Albert whom had had a shocking first half.

The advice seemed to work, with Beepee heading 4-1 up in the 49th minute after a free-kick was nudged into the bottom corner of the goal by Chris Patterson.

Ndaku looked competent in attack and scored their second when Wekesa Fabron poked the goal past Shep after some good team build up in the 62nd minute.

Beepee scored their 5th in the 77th minute. With a second for Bannan.

In the 89th minute, Captain Sajjad Duha scored a consolation 3rd for Nduka.

The result lifts Beepee to third place on goal difference after other results went in their favour. However, its still unlikely that Beepee will manage to qualify from this difficult group.

[Indusse]

Group 6
Aggrey-Fynn Land 4–0 Ceskaar
Indusse 2–0 Tobria
Super-Llamaland 1–1 Semarland
Santa Rafa 2–1 Farfadillis
Tarper 2–6 Kelssek

Group 6 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Farfadillis 13 11 1 1 35 11 +24 34
2 Super-Llamaland 13 9 2 2 40 16 +24 29
3 Indusse 13 9 2 2 32 18 +14 29
4 Semarland 13 6 3 4 28 18 +10 21
5 Aggrey-Fynn Land 13 6 2 5 28 20 +8 20
6 Santa Rafa 13 6 1 6 20 19 +1 19
7 Kelssek 13 5 3 5 24 27 −3 18
8 Tobria 13 2 1 10 20 39 −19 7
9 Tarper 13 1 2 10 7 31 −24 5
10 Ceskaar 13 1 1 11 5 40 −35 4

Indusse defeats tobria again

Yesterday indusse defeated tobria 2-0 in banjia. This is the restarting of indusse winning cycle. Tobria showed great effort in defeating us but they weren't able to. The coach of indusse was inspired by the goalkeeper of tobria and how he saved many shots. He also gave the tobria tickets to visit indusse. The two goals by bechun by the Olympic goal technique.

TOBRIA 0-2 INDUSSE
- BECHUN 65' : 68'

[Krytenia]

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 6.5
Episode 7
Episode 8

DI Wyatt-Holmes left Rami Niblick's office somewhat perplexed. The entire time he was in there, he had a gut feeling. Something was...off, somehow. Like Rami knew more than he was letting on, or claimed to remember anyway. He'd often been told to trust his gut feeling about people, but there was a second voice telling him to hold fire. He'd read the file on the Krytenian before he left for Emberton, and he knew this was the mark of the man. He had a superiority complex when it came to information; he always wanted people to think he knew more than them, regardless of whether they actually did or not.
"There's something not quite right here, Betsy. Just can't put my finger on it."
"It's Rameses Niblick the Third. He's famously not fond of our kind."
"Coppers?"
Betsy sighed. "Audioslavians." She shook her head. "You've probably got our Jezza to thank for that one, though."
"Still, I think there's some more digging to be done on the man. I don't think he's exactly culpable, but perhaps we can find a route to get some more information. I'm going to give HQ a ring, see if they can get some additional info from the Emberton police service. Can't hurt, anyway; all we have for leads right now are a couple of semi-immortal Krytenian journos, and that's not a great position to be in."
Betsy nodded in agreement, and the pair headed back to their hotel.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Through the smoked glass of his office at the Cy'un, Rami Niblick watched the two Audioslavian police officers disappear down New Road, before getting into a car and driving off. Rental, he noted in his brain. He'd managed to control a wince when the name Joe Ojosangel had been mentioned; he'd not been fond of the guy, and neither had Rubio. Or Jeremy for that matter...

Jeremy. Of course!

Rami picked up the phone, selected a number saved under "Cockbasket", and dialled. At the other end, Jeremy Jaffacake answered.
"Rami!" he exclaimed with a barely-concealed false joy. "I would say to what do I owe the pleasure, but, y'know, it's you calling."
"I would say skip the pleasantries, Jeremy, but you've never had any." One-all, thought Rami, still keeping a mental score after all these years. "Don't worry, I won't keep you long, I know those penis-replacements won't drive themselves, but there's something you need to know."
"Get to the point, twatwaffle."
"Who's Next. Track eight." And with that, Rami hung up.

[Nephara]

Busoga Islands 1 - 2 Nephara
(4-3-3) 12 - Swoboda; 18 - Kielseng (2 - Sanger 81'), 5 - Konoval (c), 6 - Steelhenge, 19 - Close; 15 - Rosenthal (8 - Brandtner 81'), 4 - Rowland, 14 - Moxham; 7 - Fanaiyan, 9 - Hawke (10 - Cathar 67'), 11 - Strongbow
Goals: Fanaiyan 24', Cathar 79'

THE HERALD
FORMATION SWITCH MAY SHOW WAY FORWARD FOR MOXHAM
Karin Rietveld

We owe the Busoga Islands a fair bit. They're a decent side, who could perhaps have been a dark horse for a playoff push this cycle and are certainly better than their 7th place suggests. They pushed Nephara hard twice, and have done a real favour by holding Eshan to a scoreless draw. And now they may well have found the key to unleashing Chimera Moxham.

Moxham is a strange player. She's also a very good player and, demonstrably, a difficult player. Moxham clashed with coaches at AFC Treason, a club that cultivates a culture of deference to experience and authority, as to the amount of freedom she needed. That was more than the Stags' rigid 4-4-2 would allow, and thus she moved on to Kirk Patrick to be the star.

But her position in Gosforth's place in the 4-2-3-1 has been... not quite right, either. Sure, she's done a professional job of it, and has been remarkably... well, relatively not headstrong towards Michael Brandon in training, by all reports. But she isn't a static player; she needs space to run, and she's more than happy to track back for the ball. She's not quite a box-to-box player, and her instinct will always be to rove forward in possession, but she needs space to run.

She got that here, on the left of a three-man midfield with the wingers pushed up. It seemed to suit Rusalka Klein as well, giving her the freedom to really unleash the afterburners going forward, while Monica Rowland's shown she's more than capable of playing a more anchoring role. And Strongbow and Fanaiyan, who still pulled back or cut inside where it suited them, seemed more liberated, too.

The mixture isn't perfect, yet. This wasn't a 4-0 pasting, after all, but the first goal was essentially Moxham's creation after Klein dispossessed Barbarossa and slipped over the ball, letting the young, mercurial talent race forward, past the elder Abeselome before skimming a beautifully weighted pass between Kinteh and Eyob. Fanaiyan followed faster than either of the veterans could react, took one touch to get the ball under control and then rifled it past Kasekende.

After an oddly quiet performance from Hawke - fed less by the midfield, who more often aimed to hit the wingers instead - Nevaeh Cathar came off the bench and made a near-immediate impact. After a Busogan attack broke down and was thumped upfield by Steelhenge, she took the clearance on the chest, turned Abeselome, sprinted past Kinteh and lobbed a stranded Kasekende, showcasing exactly why she's broken into proceedings of late.

The Islanders kept the score down thanks in large part to some great saves from Kasekende, but their endeavour going forward did merit a goal. Perhaps that's a cautionary tale for Brandon, as the inexperienced rightback Anita Sanger dithered when a ball bounced nearby, perhaps expecting Fanaiyan to track back for it. In the event, Paramartha took it past her, hurdled her clumsy hack and crossed for the lively Ikshu Amitabh to hammer home.

But that won't live too long in the memory. Sanger looked stricken, but Konoval - not usually noted as a soft touch - pulled an arm around her, and indeed a brilliant sliding challenge from her blindsided Amitabh in injury time and may have stopped an equaliser that would have flattered the hosts. Creed teammate Mordecai Brandtner probably won't play too many tournaments for the Cormorants, but was forceful and assertive in his cameo. Most importantly, though, the three points - and with it, perhaps the clearest idea yet of how to get the best out of Moxham.

[Vilita]

Jungle Cats lose Attacking Bite as Qualifying Resumes

Brentinsportva Stadium, Kayanewl, Rewgwlas Province :: It was a difficult first career World Cup Qualifying start for 17 year old Kiiarana City goalkeeper Vernasa Sanamun at the Tivali Ring Stadium in Alikki-Corra for the opening match of World Cup 81 Qualifying against Kernovi and Rewgwlas. Confidence building, sure, but Sanamun didn't make it the full 90 minutes after having to come off injured in the second half and being replaced by the Jungle Cats #1 netminder Mako Canopii.

The Vilita National Team training staff encouraged Sanamun to take things slow and ensure they were ready. After going through exercises Sanamun was declared match fit ahead of the big match against Mercedini though was not included in the squad. Due to the players familiarity with the opposition, however, it was decided that the gloves would be back on for the Kiiarana City youngster when the Jungle Cats travelled to Kernovi and Rewgwlas to kick off the second half of World Cup 81 Qualifying. The environment may not have been what either Sanamun or the Jungle Cats were expecting, however, as for unknown reasons - perhaps anticipating potential defeat against higher ranked opposition and not wanting to expose their fans to such a result - or perhaps looking to make the visitors as uncomfortable as possible in the hopes of stealing an unexpected result, the Kernovians had selected one of their smallest stadiums out in the chilly Rewgwlasian capital to host the matches against their two most staunchest of opposition, Vilita and Mercedini.

This time Sanamun went the distance, pitching a second career shutout in just their second start. Unlike the World Cup 81 Qualifying opener, however, Sanamun did not get a ton of support from the attack as it was a lone goal from the substitute Sipke Tarala that was the difference on the day, extending the Jungle Cats winning streak to start the qualification campaign as the Vilita National Team continue their quest for their first ever 18-0-0 campaign.

Vilita [1] - [0] Kernovi and Rewgwlas

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 65' Sipke Tarala

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 58% :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 9

:: Kernovi and Rewgwlas Statistics :: :: Possession: 42% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 4

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Kernovi and Rewgwlas ::
[GK] Vernasa Sanamun, [D.] Monner Vileai, [D.] Arocki Tadalek, [D.] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [ML] Cavuna Aquafek, [MC] Jurzen Devmiko, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MR] Ikala Mravedii, [FC] Kiliko Riazen, [FC] Berali Tzufarei, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso
BENCH::
[FC] Nuola Brenzil, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [M] Purapal Eskiiy, [M] Tripate Falcon, [U ] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [D] Rojara Tiones, [GK] Nikki Tzimas

---

Tivali Ring Stadium, Alikki-Corra, Vilita :: For a team that had been the second highest scoring team in the qualifiers and highest of all Group leaders during the first half of the World Cup 81 Qualification campaign, it seemed as if a switch was flipped and all of a sudden the Jungle Cats were in protect mode, hesitant to push forward with the same energy as they had through the first 9 games.

After narrowly escaping Kernovi with a 1-0 victory the Vilitan National Team returned home to the Tivali Ring Stadium in Alikki-Corra to square off with Tobiasia. While they had defeated Tobiasia comfortably on the road at the start of the qualification campaign, the 49th rank socialist republic had put together a strong recovery and is leading the 'best of the rest' in Group 13 behind runaway group leaders Vilita and Mercedini.

As they had struggled in the final third in Kernovi and Rewgwlas, however, those struggles on attack continued in front of the home fans at the Tivali Ring Stadium and even drew out one or two misplaced and unfortunate "boo"s as the players returned to the locker rooms through the tunnel following the half time whistle with the scoreline knotted at zero.

Luckily for the Vilita National Team, a moment of brilliance from Eastal Lunar phenom Nii'arala Milaaso just after the restart got the Jungle Cats on the board and would ultimately be all that they would need to carry them through to the full time whistle, squeaking out their second consecutive 1-0 victory. Still, it showed a sliver of weakness from the team that remained atop the overall World Cup 81 Qualification table. Through the first eight matches of World Cup qualifying the Jungle Cats had not been held to anything fewer than 3 goals scored in a single match. Now, for three straight matches, Vilita had been held below that line with two against Mercedini and one a piece in each match since then. The Coaching staff will likely be pleased with the continuation of the winning streak but emphasis would be placed on the training ground and turning possession back into shots like the Jungle Cats had been doing throughout the first half of the qualification campaign.

Vilita [1] - [0] Tobiasia

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 46' Nii'arala Milaaso

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 54% :: Shots on Target: 3 :: Corner Kicks: 3

:: Tobiasa Statistics :: :: Possession: 46% :: Shots on Target: 2 :: Corner Kicks: 3

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Tobiasia ::
[GK] Cilamara Issah, [D.] Rintala Sekagaya, [D.] Mileke Drokasorna, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [ML] Jurzen Devmiko, [MC] Cavuna Aquafek, [MC] Westii Yahaya, [MR] Purapal Eskiiy, [FC] Fishtii Blikala, [FC] Nuola Brenzil, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso
BENCH::
[FC] Kiliko Riazen, [FC] Linvoi Warazil, [M] Polaox Torerun, [M] Tripate Falcon, [U ] Ikala Mravedii, [D] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [GK] Mako Canopii

---

The Vilita National is looking to determine what truly is the most interesting matchup of World Cup 81 Qualifying. While every Group in World Cup 81 Qualifying will ultimately evolve and form a critical meeting between two teams fighting for a place in the playoffs or the World Cup Finals perhaps creating new rivalries and bad blood between teams that may have never played each other before, but what matchups have already been circled on the calendars, long before the standings were taken into account?

Of course, the Vilita National has already covered the massive pairing between Vilita and Mercedini. Having already been familiar with head to head World Cup Qualifying battles, Vilita and Mercedini fought tooth and nail during World Cup 77 Qualifying, ultimately both advancing to the World Cup 77 Finals where they still could not escape each other, doing battle once again in the World Cup Finals. WIth both nations being the reigning champions of their regional level competition and with Mercedini having earned the honor of "Best of the Rest" being crowned champion of the most recent Cup of Harmony hosted in none other than Vilita itself, the matchup between these two teams is juicy both on paper and in the stands.

The same could be said for another can't miss matchup in Group 5 where long time foes Starblaydia and Audioslavia will duke it out for supremacy in Group 5, a rematch of the World Cup 63 final and the only such matchup in the qualifiers that involves two former World Cup Champions who have further contested a World Cup final against each other. Audioslavia will have been bitter at losing the Cup of Harmony to Mercedini but will it be enough for them to keep things interesting against the Five time champions? The Vilita National wants to know, what is the Most interesting World Cup 81 Qualifying matchup?

Other potentially interesting matchups highlighted by the Vilita National include the Group 4 clash between Apox and the Holy Empire pitting the two hosts of the 69th World Cup against each other with only one guaranteed place in the World Cup 81 finals assured from the Group. In Group 1, Turori and Valladares square off in a meeting of two of the most consistent performing non World Cup Champions with Valladares having reached the final of World Cup 75 and Turori having the most all-time World Cup Quarter Final appearances without having ever reached a World Cup Semi-Final.

Group 15 puts forth a few mildly interesting pairings with Cats on a Bus as Qasden and 95X square off while Geisenfried takes a trip into the past when they do battle against Squornshelous. Finally, in Group 8, the pride of Esportiva battle as the Sporting Region's current delegate nation Damukuni and its previous and second longest serving delegate, Ethane, clash on the road to a potential World Cup 81 Finals place and a chance to supplant Brenecia as the regions top team. - Cast Your Votes Now! -

---

[Blaneu]

The Cape Chronicle

---

Blaneu Held At The Death

Blaneu saw their dreams of qualifying dissipate last night in a crunch encounter with North Prarie, a game in which Blaneu fought doggedly with the team currently sat second in the group and a game in which they looked like they might pull off a shock to jolt their campaign forward into the end stretch of qualifying.

The atmosphere was electric heading into the game in Merion, the Bayside Ground was filled to capacity and fans were raucous in their support on both sides. The weather itself contrived to a pathetic fallacy, the sky was thick with cloud and the humidity was high enough to make the air cling to the skin. Beads of sweat coated most faces and nerves seemed to ripple through the crowd. Blaneu would be interested to see if they could pull off a shock here at home, their previous encounter with North Prarie had ended with a one-all draw away and the return of Ojo Navarro had injected more verve into the side.

The early action was cagey, neither side made an sustained attempt to press the opponent into their own half and defensive solidity was winning out. The only exception in the first half an hour was a North Prarie corner, whipped in by Amerigo, Schmitz got on the end of it, towering over a mistimed jump by Vernon, but his effort was just about palmed over the bar by O'Brian.

Eventually, the game started to become more active, and with their near superfluous attack they pressed forward on Blaneu's slightly creaky defensive line. The goal came courtesy of a move by young Prariean gunslinger Bradley Francis, his pace and dizzying footwork made mincemeat of Vernon and Hollands, eventually, when in the box, Dyfed Elron seemed to find a solution to bring him to a stop. Unfortunately his solution was knock him clean off his feet, conceding a penalty and being lucky to receive only a yellow card. Matthew Oliver duly slotted the ball home to make it one-nil. Conceding so close to half-time is a dangerous position to be in, but the home crowd seemed to rally Blaneu. Before long Starkey put a long pass in to Davis, after drawing out the defenders to his side he switched it to Navarro, who glided through the open space before thundering home to leave things level at the halfway mark.

Going into the second half Snellbridge decided to stick rather than twist, some may then question his judgement in not bringing MacDaffyd off at this point after a fairly anonymous first half. North Prarie put Blaneu under the cosh straight away with Blaneu stuck in their own half and off the ball. This paid off fairly rapidly, a scramble in the box after the cross saw Hollands attempt a clearance, this was unfortunately picked up by Tran, who struck from long range, sending the ball quickly and flatly into the top corner.

From this point Blaneu remained on the back foot for a solid ten minutes, seeming only to break forward through kicking and rushing. However, after much shouting by Snellbridge, and the replacement of the struggling MacDaffyd with Gethin Powell, Blaneu seemed to settle down somewhat. Eventually an equalizer materialized, out of the blue and against the run of play. After a quick break forward Davis won a free-kick about 40 yards out. He swung it in, where it surprisingly connected with the head of Red Vernon, Prariean goalie Eriksen looked as if he was going the right way, but his legs seemed to fall from under him as he went and the ball scraped over the top of his glove. Clearly, one of those goals that is likely undeserved in the scheme of the match and is in itself pretty fluky, but Red Vernon still gets his second international goal.

After the goal the whole mood of the match seemed to shift, the wind was up Blaneu and the momentum shifted decidedly their way. Gethin Powell, in particular, seemed to gain a new lease of life, pressing hard on the opposition and causing all sorts of problems along the back line. It will perhaps go down as his best performance in which he didn't score. Both sets of fans were now in full song, North Prarie's fans are among the loudest to have visited Blaneu, although the buoyant home crowd gave them a run for their money. Blaneu's pressing paid off eventually, Starkey earned a free kick after a particularly egregious shove from Girard (who received a yellow for his troubles). The free kick went to Navarro, palmed off to Apnest and then passed through to Sparks, who sat just outside the 6 yard box and managed to turn it in through a throng of defenders. The tension seemed to break in the stadium, Blaneu looked like they might be on to chase qualifying!

Blaneu continued to hold the ball well for the next two minutes and it looked like they might just seal up a very important result. However, Blaneu's earlier goal against momentum was about to receive its karmatic pair. A long ball floated over much of Blaneu's defense, but Hollands went out to collect it, no real danger. Just as this happened Francis popped up again, bursting onto the ball he was suddenly in acres of space, the rush back began. It was too late. He thundered forward, and as O'Brian came to close him down a cheeky flick earned North Prarie back the draw. The home crowd went flat, and as the final whistle blew only the Prarieans could be heard chanting. Their chances of qualifying remain high, Blaneu's have rapidly faded.

Blaneu 		3–3 		North Prarie 
40', 71', 80'				38', 49', 83'		
North Prarie

Eriksen
Girard █ 
Olson
May
Mack
Schmitz
Bret
Tran 49' 
Amerigo
Oliver 38' (pen.) 
Francis
Blaneu

O'Brian
Jones 
Vernon 71'  
Hollands
Elron █  
Sparks 80'   
Starkey █
Gwent - (Apnest - 85')
Navarro 40' 
Davis 
MacDaffyd - (Powell - 62')

Subs

Aled
Sketty 
Driscoll
Apnest - (Gwent - 85')
Powell - (MacDaffyd - 62')

***

Merion Gazette

---

Merion Regis University's New Sports Plans Raise Eyebrows

Merion Regis University has announced a series of redevelopment plans, and a new strategy for its football club the Old Regisonians that have many reeling. The plans include the redevelopment of the much loved Regis Stadium in Sarntreff. Half the land is going to be sold to developers, in a move the university say will raise key money, and the other half will be redeveloped into an indoor sports centre for use of university staff and students.

The Regis Stadium has long been a fixture in Blaneu, built in 1911, it celebrated 75 years of use just last year. It was built for the university, which had been built just two years previously, with the chancellor of the university of the time envisioning it being used to host student sports to provide entertainment for when students were not studying. Old Regisonians became the tenants of the stadium in 1937, opening up their tenancy with a game against current staff and students, a match that has been played once a year ever since. In the last few years Old Regisonians have been one of the bigger amateur clubs in Blaneu, and this year joined the top division for its inaugural season. Most games sell out, with many students happy to spend their Saturday afternoons taking in a game with discounted tickets and alcohol.

Current chancellor of the university Glenn Mathers has long been known to oppose the stadium and its current use. He has long been believe to view it as illogical that a team not fully affiliated to the university gets so much use out of its facilities. He is also believed to view games as a distraction that have driven down performance among students. His long running opposition has made this move less surprising than it would otherwise be, but the Student Union has sports societies have responded in outrage nonetheless. Ire has particularly been drawn by the fact that, whilst the funds from the sale of half the land are being reinvested into the university, most of the profits seem to be heading toward Mathers and his cronies. A freedom of information request made by us here at the Gazette show that each member of the board of governors is receiving at least a 30% pay rise over the next two years, with Mathers pay to treble.

The Student Union president Bryn South has stated his intention to "fight Mathers all the way on this", including through the organisation of protests outside the Chancellors office, as well as occupying the playing field such as to make redevelopment impossible.

[Audioslavia]

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 6.5
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 8.5

Rory
Evening Constable
19:36

---

Hey Jetsetter! What news from foreign shores?
19:41

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Rory
Short conversation. Could have had it over the phone really.
19:41

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…and?
19:41

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Rory
Nice guy. Helpful. Krytenian pies leave much to be desired.
19:43

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…AND?
19:43

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Rory
You want the news

Our man Ojosangel was Audioslavian, despite living and working in Krytenia
19:44

---

Ooh. Did we find out anything juicy about him?
19:45

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Rory
Rami wasn’t exactly fond of him. Sounded like he wasn’t popular at work. Probably not unpop. enough for someone to want to kill him.
19:48

---

Juicy indeed. Wat now?
19:49

---

Rory
I’ve got a flight in a couple of minutes. Boarding now. Can you find out the whereabouts of Jeremy Jaffacake and Rubio Sanchez?
19:53

---

Oh god. Are we going to speak to Jeremy Jaffacake?!!>!!>>!
19:53

---

Rory
Looks like it. If we can find him
19:54

---

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Whos Rubio Sanchez
19:55

---

Rory
Former workmate of Jeremy. Retired.
19:58

---

Another immortal?

I’m checking now.
19:59

---

Rory
Looks like it.

You’re still at work?
20:00

---

Yup. Got it up on the computer here. Jeremy Jaffacake is in Kjeligsted. Can we go to there?
20:01

---

Rory
Damn. No. Devolved police force. They wouldn’t give me permission. Rubio?
20:00

---

Via di Aringhe Rosse, Puerta Cruz. An hour on the train.

I could go now?
20:01

---

Rory
Don’t worry about it. We’ll do it on Monday
20:04

---

K

*Can* I go though?

I can do it. I want to do it.
20:04

---

Rory
Now? It’s 18:05.. yeah I suppose that’s not too late. People aren’t their most talkative at night.

Go ahead.

Be nice. Be friendly. Don’t scare him.
20:07

---

YES. Heading out now. Speak soon.
20:08

---

Rory
Heading down the runway now. Good luck.

Wait it’s 6 o’clock Krytenian time. What time is it where you are?
20:14

seen

---

It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening by the time Betsy arrived outside Rubio Sanchez's house in Puerta Cruz. Via di Aringhe Rosse was a long street heading north, just off the main drag, and it had taken her a half hour to walk it in order to get to Rubio's house. Betsy took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, hearing the sound of a female voice upstairs. Rubio was married, then? Fair enough. If you're immortal then you have more than enough time to snag a wife or two. Betsy glanced down at her own clothes as she waited for the door to open. She'd gone for the black suit jacket and a long black skirt again. Perhaps she should have stayed in her police uniform? The wife might initially be perturbed by the sight of a young woman at her door wanting to see her husband. She glanced behind her as she waited. The houses at the other side of the road, numbers 1092 and 1094, seemed to be empty. The door opened.
"Hello?" came a voice. Betsy turned round to see a tall, angular woman in a pair of jeans and an over-sized jumper. Someone ready to retire for the night. Perhaps she had come quite late. This could probably have waited for tomorrow.
"Betsy Aarden. Constable Betsy Aarden, Cathair City Guard. Do you have a moment, Ms..."
"Sanchez-Dysos" said the angular woman. "Call me Sue. You're from the police? Good lord... has something happened?"
"Not to worry, Ms Sanchez-Dysos, there's nothing immediately pressing. I could come back tomorrow if you're busy, or..."
"It's fine" said Sue, in words if not in body language. "Come in. Tea?"
"Erm, no no, that's fine" said Betsy, wondering why she'd said no.
"Well I'm having one" said Sue. The pair walked through to a kitchen, where Sue moved a stool out from under a central table. "Take a seat", she said, going over to the sink to fill the kettle. Betsy had a quick glance around the kitchen, revealing nothing. Sue produced a mug from a cupboard.
"You sure you won't have tea"
"Oh go on then" said Betsy. "Thank you". Another mug was produced, one with the club crest of a football team that she didn't recognise. Sue pressed the button on the kettle.
"So what can we do for you, Ms.. sorry your name has gone"
"Call me Betsy" said Betsy. "It's actually your husband that I was looking to speak to. Rubio Sanchez?" Betsy realised, far too late, that she hadn't actually established whether or not Rubio was in, or whether he lived here at all. Sue shook her head.
"He lives here, yes, but he's not around at the moment. He's at a hotel in Cathair. He's been working today" said Sue, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh.." said Betsy, trying to disguise a grimace. A ridiculous mistake to make. "I, erm, I thought he was retired"
"He largely is" said Sue, pouring water from the kettle into the two mugs, removing the teabags and passing a mug to Betsy, "though he still covers football games. Only in Cathair. He stays overnight when there's a late game."
"Right" said Betsy. "Shamrock were playing tonight. They beat Cazadores, according to my phone"
"I know" said Sue, grimacing. Betsy looked at Sue's cup. There was a red crest with a golden lion and 'CAZADORES' written beneath. "Is there anything I can help you with?" asked Sue.
"Oh... I don't know. Erm.."
"Can you at least tell me what this is about?"
"Well, put simply, a body has been found. A long time dead. A century or so. We've found it's someone your husband used to work with"
"Oh good lord" said Sue. "Who?"
"Joseph Ojosangel" said Betsy. "An Audioslavian reporter who was at the Cy'un in Emberton. Your husband was around at the same time, we hear from Rami Niblick that the two worked together"
"The Cy'un" said Sue, nodding. "I don't know this Ojosangel guy, but surely Rami Niblick should know him better? He'd have been his boss"
"Yes" said Betsy. "My associate interviewed him today"
"And he told your 'associate' to talk to Rubio?"
"Yes"
"Well if you call him tomorrow you can arrange an interview with him. Tomorrow. He'll be in bed right now. As I should be" said Sue. Betsy nodded and took a sip of her tea.
"Did you know Rubio at the time?" said Betsy. She appreciated Sue was probably trying to get her out of the door, but there were questions she needed to ask.
"A century ago?" asked Sue, cocking her head to one side.
"Oh, sorry. Of course. You probably weren't alive back then" said Betsy. Sue smiled.
"I have CCI myself. Didn't know until I was already sixty years old wondering why I still looked forty. You're right though. I wasn't around a century ago. Well, I might have been a kid. When exactly was this?"
This would have been 100 years ago. Definitely after the end of World Cup 58" said Betsy. Sue nodded.
"Aye. I was a kid. I didn't know him at all back then. It'd have been weird if I had"
"Of course" said Betsy. "And Rubio has never mentioned anything about a Joseph Ojosangel?"
"If he has, I haven't remembered it. They can't have been close"
"They may not have been" said Betsy. "I would like to know who was close to him. I may need Rubio's help"
"Of course" said Sue. "Well I'll write down his number for you and you can contact him tomorrow"
"I will" said Betsy, standing up and taking a few more sips of her tea. "I won't keep you, Ms. Sanchez-Dysos. I appreciate it's late, and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me"
"Not a problem. I'm just glad nobody is in trouble. I hope you catch him. Or at least, find out who did it"
"Thanks" said Betsy.
The pair walked towards the front door. Sue opened it.
"Just one more thing" said Betsy, cringing at the cliche. "Jeremy Jaffacake. Are you familiar with him?"
Sue raised her eyebrow.
"Am I familiar with the most famous man in Audioslavia?"
"Oh. I mean.."
"Yes" said Sue, with a wry smile. "I worked for him. I was a journalist for a few years. He's exactly as you'd expect"
"Right" said Betsy, now outside of the front door. "And has he ever mentioned..."
"Honestly, you'd have to talk to him. Goodnight constable" said Sue. Betsy nodded and saw the door close in front of her.

It took until Betsy reached the train station before she realised what it was Sue had said that had confused her. I hope you catch him, Sue had said. Catch someone? Had she even mentioned the idea that it might have been a murder?

---

Once the policewoman's footsteps had disappeared, Sue went upstairs and opened the door to the master bedroom.
"You were right" she said. "It was a plainclothes copper"
"Thought so" said Rubio. "What did she want?"
"Never mind that. Why did you stay up here and let me deal with it?"
"Something Jeremy taught me" said Rubio. "Never answer the door to a copper"
"Right" said Sue.
"What did he want?"
"Joe Ojosangel" said Sue. Rubio blinked.
"Hmm"
"His body turned up in Cathair the other day."
"Right" said Rubio, expression still blank. "That might explain why Jeremy Jaffacake called me earlier asking about the song Behind Blue Eyes by The Who. I had no idea what he was talking about. I think I do now"

[Barunia]

Visit Barunia
Sponsored by the Barunian Government Department of Tourism

Ch 10. West Barunia
Part 2. Secret Valley and the Cooke Region

Things to See – Secret Valley
East of Woodborough is the Secret Valley region. This region is famous for its heavily wooded valleys, and the most well-known is Secret Valley itself. Take the road to the township near the valley, then hike up to Valley Viewpoint to take in the views of this spectacular valley from the top of the hill. Or hike down to the floor and get in touch with nature. There are also plenty of other walk trails in the region.

There are also a few caves worth exploring in the region. The most well-known is Aladdin’s Cave, with its crystalline stalagmites that make the cave look like its full of treasure, and Ballroom Cave, with the incredible chandelier formation. Both caves are available for self-guided walkthroughs, although guided tours are available every hour from both sites. The caves cost Ŧ9.95 to enter, and are open Wednesdays to Sundays, except on public holidays.

Things to See – Cooke Region
The Cooke region is named after the Cooke ranges, a range of steep hills that divide West Barunia from Havenia. Experienced hikers might want to walk the Cooke Ranges Trail, which goes from peak to peak over the hills. At the southern end of the range is the Herschel River. This river is well-known among Barunians as the best place in the country for white-water rafting. Every year, around June-July, the Herschel River White Water Challenge takes place here. Thousands gather to watch people shoot the rapids here in all sorts of craft as they compete for the title. If you want to get a taste of the excitement, White Water Adventures takes people down the rapids on inflatable rafts. You’ll find them near the town of Tom’s Landing, at the top of the rapids.

The river flows down into Lake Herschel. This last leg of the Cooke Ranges Trail comes through here, and is a popular day walk. If you hear any explosions on your walk, don’t be alarmed: the path passes not far from Pierswood Military Academy, which all soldiers must pass through to enter the military. The College is located in nearby Pierswood, a small town which has fully embraced the college. Visitors to the town are treated to several military-themed pub names and roads. While much of the college is off-limits, the College Library and Museum is outside the campus and is open to the public. Its well worth a look if you are interested in militaria. The college is also open several times a year, usually at the start and end of each semester (which are February to July, and August to December).

[Tinhampton]

TFA MATCH STATPACK: Tinhampton 3-0 Colonial Australia
Venue: The boardrooms of the Colonial Australian FA

OTHER INCIDENTS: Match awarded 3-0 by default to Tinhampton due to the refusal of the Colonial Australian Football Association to field a starting lineup of any description (OOC translation: Colonial Australia has no roster). Also, it turns out that YOUNG's (TIN) earlier injury was, put lightly, not even that serious.

---

Forays of Folly
Season 1, Episode 14: Wait, Did Somebody Say "Boardrooms?"

---

In lieu of any sporting action, a good two weeks of Assembly action had been and gone prior to the Budget, the single biggest political event of the year... well, it had to be, the election was next March. Ballot Measure 7¹ was set to be re-organised, no other business at the ballot was necessary, an attempt to revert the new 2% threshold² by half was emphatically thrashed, the government was considering a law mandating the display of the Barrier Islands³, the right to contest a divorce was one Mayoral signature away from being irreversibly cremated and having its ashes scattered across the front lawn of John Gordon⁴, and - put simply - a fair bit of unimportant stuff happened, as it so often seems to do in Tinhampton.
Nowhere was this lack of importance more pre-eminent then in the otherwise microscopically grand and pompous office of the greying and 65-year-old Mayor, John Price. Whilst hardly dark and dingy, it was certainly vacated, for in one particular corner of the room were stuck and stacked tens upon hundreds upon thousands of policy papers, proposals, and proscriptions, most if not all subject to the rule of his "[OUTDATED!]" stamp: "How can Tinhampton best sanction those who infringe international legislation?" - outdated. "War avoidance strategies cf S Covello" - outdated. "No-Fault Divorce: How It Can - And Will - Bring Tinhampton into the Modern Age" - outdated in all but name.
No, where the action was really happening was a couple of doors down and across at Victoria Byrne's Ministry of Finance, who had the aforementioned and imminent Budget to be dealing with at that point in time. Whilst, to no avail nor surprise, no details have been released yet and we were unable to nab any from those in power, a few open secrets were certainly known - take increased police funding, take decreased health service funding, take paying the hostage fees to let three key allies out of Transarid - that has to be a bit ironic, hasn't it?
"Well," noted Byrne herself, "that probably isn't the case when we already have a thriving private sector in healthcare but a lower demand in other major emergency services, add to that the larger-than-necessary budget surplus we have and we'll have enough to---"
"And this means we're promoting Mondial Services even though they don't even have a proper board!" wailed Daniel Steer, doubly ironically the Minister for Business Standards. "I'm all for the private sector, yes, but even the Tinhampton Libertarians have the retention of free healthcare as a policy. Either we give everybody social health insurance or you're going to smear somebody in one of the papers one day talking about what they'd do if they had to pay $150,000 to get rid of a brain tumour!"
"Yet if this nonsensical proposal goes through," pestered Foreign Minister Kevin Wright, "you are going to force Tinhamptonians to pick up the tab to free a few very, very unwise people from some admittedly awful king's palace in hell-if-I-know-where! The only thing I can think of more ridiculous than this is having to force them to pay reparations to slave owners because some rich bloke's feelings might be upset at the thought he won't get more government subsidies, thank fuck we don't have to do it anymore but both of them are ideas which can suck on---"
"And what is to be done about our education service?" wondered Education Minister Vanessa Davis, whose husband had triply ironically won a fifth of the vote when Azadistani police chiefs elected a Lord-Chief Constable for Munkchester just weeks earlier. "A poorly-educated population means an unwise population in general, never mind three people who... to put it in a better way, really should have known better. If you don't chunnel funding into our service, a little birdie tells me that our teachers could be going down the same route as railway guards."
Military Minister Saffron Howard was a bit more succinct: "What about our... other conquests, then?"
At that instance, Byrne told the angry right-wing crowd to settle down and brew themselves a cup of tea upon getting home, for "Tinhampton needs this budget to pass or else we will collapse under the yoke of those socialists". End of story... or not.
Somebody, somewhere in that room, decided to pipe up once and for all not long afterwards. "OK, guys, and now we have a few less critical issues to be dealing with. First and foremost, how many of you think that David Barnsley could have a place in the future of the Tinhamptonian national team...?"

That said, in the boardrooms of the Tinhamptonian Football Association, now with 20% less pristine facade than a couple of days previously, David Barnsley sat, facing the general direction of an empty and even more dilapidated chair and with absolutely nothing to do in all senses of the word. He was originally in line to take that fateful penalty which would have handed the Tin City Rejects second place in the first Megaleague⁵, but was fatally held off in favour of Chris Richard. Neither had recovered from that incident, especially since they only ever played two more games each, against Olympique Chuckio of Darmen in the 43rd Cup Winners' Cup.
Was that humilating? It would have been if anybody could have foreseen what would have come next. Come on, even Dave flipping Winner's now a shelf stacker! Where were David Junior and Crezza and all the rest of those would-be Tinhamptonian football megastars-except-not-quite everybody had been told would burst onto the scene for World Cup 79? Well, one of them was here looking for a job, the other was at the Employment Centre a mile or two away looking for a job, and the manager had been foisted onto managing Tinhampton City's main team. Who was in charge now was a question that was impossible to answer.
It can be safely said, however, that Suzanne Hammond was merely the TFA and City press secretary of upwards of 13 years. In no way, put simply, was she meant to be responsible for running the team in any way beyond hyping up their image for multiversal public relations, eight words that were only ever associated with Tinhampton's national football team in this post-Marlson era. Without further ado, she took the chair meant for a "MR. I. NTERIM (WHILST MARLSON IS OUT OF OFFICE)" and told Barnsley "Apparently you might deserve a callup soon if you carry on like this..."

Meanwhile, Tinhampton was on the verge of collapse, in some description or another. The Tinhamptonian dollar, in April worth 1.7 Multiversal Standard Dollars, was perilously close to passing the MSD2 mark for the first time in 35 years. The TFA headquarters might well have been shaken by the blast at the Superb service station. Nobody liked the government. Three people had already been hospitalised as a result of protests that were meant to stem from Tinhampton's 2-1 defeat against fucking Oscioru... not that Brenecia's reverse against the barely-there black-and-gold bikinis by the same scoreline helped very much. It was about time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOOTNOTES ON TINHAMPTONIAN HISTORY:

1. Ballot Measure 7, 2017, which would have proposed more stringent gun control measures "in the wake of a large series of devastating terror attacks across the multiverse," was defeated by a 3-to-2 margin last March. Its successful reproposal by the Assembly in the past few days might have contributed to widespread conservative distaste with the powers-that-be, and could have the potential to lead to widescale unrest.
2. Refer to the newspaper article attached to Forays of Folly, Series 1, Episode 11.
3. On maps, more precisely, although that this is already happening with government-issued and private maps alike makes this issue a moot point for anything other than Social Democratic point-scoring amongst the Barrier Islands.
4. John Gordon (SDL) remains, to this day, the only Mayor to have divorced... or rather, to have been divorced. That Amanda Gordon's lawsuit for "irrational behaviour necessitating grounds for a divorce" passed successfully in November 2000, just months before the election that saw him out, might have given the UCP a bit of a helping hand appears to have been an undeniable component in the eyes of many political analysts.
5. Refer to Forays of Folly, Series 1, Episode 13.

[Dreamplanet]

WIN KEEPS OS TRICORES ALIVE

Dreamplanet cheat death once more.

Despite having the impossible mission of getting top 2, Dreamplanet got a win to keep the mathematical hopes alive, Miguel Benedito got his first ever goal for Dreamplanet with a tap-in from a corner after Aaron Hungar headed it down for him, however the lead wouldn't last because Dan Castellini once again scored from a penalty in the 34th minute, keeping it 1-1. Dreamplanet were on the back-foot most of the time, with the home team having the most chances, but Filipe Vaz kept the home team out.

)

The Crystalline Caverns decided to go full defensive to keep the 1-1 result, as a consequence of that, Dreamplanet were able to grow back into the game, and that culminated with Luis Silva getting Dreamplanet the deserved lead after a great pass from Antonio Luis was able to give him a good shot on goal. Dreamplanet would see the game out, with their first win in 4 games coming, now Dreamplanet seems to have an easy route until they play Mriin in the last game, if Dreamplanet could keep a string of wins, the World Cup dream might not be over after all.

Crystalline Caverns 1 - 2 Dreamplanet
(Dan Castellini 34' - Miguel Benedito 19', Luis Silva 78')
Tempest Nook, Crystalline Caverns

Saturday September 1st - MD1: Dreamplanet 1-2 Jeruselem
Sunday September 2nd - MD2: Lycrabon 1-1 Dreamplanet
Monday September 3rd - MD3: Dreamplanet 1-2 Abanhfleft
Tuesday September 4th - MD4: Dreamplanet 2-1 Crystalline Caverns 
Wednesday September 5th - MD5: Mareibat 3-4 Dreamplanet
Thursday September 6th - MD6: Dreamplanet 6-2 Neo-Romanum
Friday September 7th - MD7: Darkmania 1-3 Dreamplanet
Saturday September 8th - MD8: Dreamplanet 1-4 Mriin
Sunday September 9th - MD9: Sultanate of Oontaz 2-2 Dreamplanet
Tuesday September 11th - MD10: Jeruselem 3-0 Dreamplanet
Wednesday September 12th - MD11: Dreamplanet 4-1 Lycrabon
Thursday September 13th - MD12: Abanhfleft 4-0 Dreamplanet
Friday September 14th - MD13: Crystalline Caverns 1-2 Dreamplanet
Saturday September 15th - MD14: Dreamplanet vs Mariebat
Sunday September 16th - MD15: Neo-Romanum vs Dreamplanet
Monday September 17th - MD16: Dreamplanet vs Darkmania
Tuesday September 18th - MD17: Mriin vs Dreamplanet
Wednesday September 19th - MD18: Dreamplanet vs Sultanate of Oontaz

Group 11                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                            13   10   2   1    44   16  +28    32
 2 Jeruselem                        13    9   2   2    32   19  +13    29
 3 Abanhfleft                       13    9   1   3    26   14  +12    28
 4 Darkmania                        13    7   2   4    33   26   +7    23
 5 Dreamplanet                      13    6   2   5    27   27    0    20
 6 Sultanate of Oontaz              13    5   3   5    16   23   −7    18
 7 Crystalline Caverns              13    4   3   6    15   21   −6    15
 8 Mareibat                         13    4   0   9    18   26   −8    12
 9 Neo-Romanum                      13    1   4   8    13   29  −16     7
10 Lycrabon                         13    0   1  12     6   29  −23     1

Qualified for World Cup
Qualified for Playoffs
Eliminated

[The Macabees]

LOLITA, CH. 14

"Your friend has one hour to call us back," said Laurens. "Or you're dead."

"I don't think he knows that," said Bernie.

Guus pushed the gun forward, toward Bernie, and said, "Well, he better get some telepathic powers pretty fucking soon."

This was about to a very uncomfortable hour, especially because Bernie doubted Lakén was going to call again in the next hour. He knew the guy very well, had been friends with him since early childhood. Right now, Lakén Yori had just put down the phone, picked up the bong, and sedated himself to just avoid the whole situation until the next morning. That is what happened. It was a good thing he didn't have to pee, because Bernie may have very well pissed himself right then and there. I mean, really, who cares? He was about to die anyway.

Then, suddenly, that sales instinct came to him. "Why are we even here?" he asked. "What is it that got us to this point? A wholly unproductive point, I might add. I mean, what do you really gain from killing me? Henrrek," he looked back to the body, "well, Henrrek was a criminal, so that a job well done. Good job, guys. But I'm a law-abiding citizen of the empire. Much like you two."

Guus and Laurens looked at each and laughed.

"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," said Lolita, from her corner.

"Indeed," added Laurens. "I don't know why my daughter chose you of all people, but you hurt her. You...you...gah, it pains me to even say it...you slept with my daughter and then you ignored her. The smart cookie she is, she wasn't going to have any of it, so she decided to stab you and twist the knife. Had it stopped there, we would have never come to this point. But you disrespected her, you disrespected me, and you disrespected the family by coming to our town and trying to assassinate my own daughter. That is how we got to this point."

Shifting his look from Lolita to Laurens to Guus, Bernie said, "Woah, woah, woah. That was all Henrrek's idea. I let your daughter go, don't you remember? She'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

"Henrrek didn't take my heart, Bernie." That was Lolita.

"Your heart? Your heart? You slept with me so you could sleep with Lakén!" exclaimed Bernie.

She stepped forward and pointed. "No! I might have said that. But I really did think you were cute and that's the truth. I went home with you because I thought you were different. Then you abandoned me, like every other guy. Why would I sleep with a guy I didn't even like? Why, Bern?"

"To get to a multi-millionaire who plays football for the national team!" yelled Bernie.

Guus stood, gun still directed straight at their bait. "Did you just shout at my niece?"

"No, no, no. I was just excited, I would never yell at your niece. I apologize," answered Bernie, frantically. He slowed down. "Look, I understand I did you wrong, Lolita. I apologize. I didn't think you were cute, I thought you were beautiful. You are definitely one of the hottest chicks I've ever banged, guaranteed."

"Oh, wow, so sweet," answered Lolita, rolling her eyes.

Laurens was rubbing the ridge right above his nose as if he had a headache. If he did have one, it was probably the conversation. He said as much, "This is very, very stupid. It pains me to hear that this is why we are here today. Because of two idiot children. But the fact remains you tried to kill my daughter, whether you pussied out at the end or not."

"Let's just kill him now," said Guus.

"Wait, wait," pleaded Bernie. "Look, I might not be as rich as Lakén now...yet...but I work for an important brokerage firm, I do well, and I'm moving up the ladder quickly. With my football connections and with my new Guffingfordi connections, I'm sure that rise could be made a lot faster. I'm sure there's some value in there for you."

Laurens shook his head. "Ten million ríokmarks, that's what I asked for."

"Okay, I get it," replied Bernie. "I really do get it. But Lakén is probably not going to call you in the next hour, or ever really. I don't think he has ten million ríokmarks, and if he does his financial manager is never going to allow him to use it. I mean, you really are asking for more than what he has. You know as well as I how bad ballers are at managing their money."

Guus, who all the while had seemed like the hardest man of them all, weighed what he said and replied, "That's true. I've seen it on TV."

"Exactly," said Bernie, pointing at Guus and nodding. "Everything seen on TV is true."

"Except those fucking hanging tomato plants I bought once," remembered Guus.

"A mere outlier," Bernie reassured him.

Laurens looked at them both. "Oh shut up, both of you, for goodness' sake. I can't even think." He stopped for a second and waited for the silence. Then, "Let me get this straight. Lakén is not going to call back, even though supposedly you two have been friends since like forever. He really cares about you, but not ten million ríokmarks worth. Maybe he thinks this is a joke or we really won't kill you. We will, by the way. We're the mafia. We'd dump your body in the Alkoben sewers and nobody would ever even care to look for it, trust me. But what you're saying is that it's better to be a little rich than it is to have no money at all and two dead bodies, and I think you're right."

"We have brokerage firms moving our money already," said Guus. "We don't need another one."

Laurens nodded. "That is true. But he's going to do it for cheaper and in greater bulk."

"Do what now?" asked Bernie.

"You see, Bern. As a highly respected international mafia, the van Graat family is involved in crime throughout Greater Díenstad and even inter-regionally. We're a pretty big deal. And while most of what we do...most... is legal in the empire, it's not necessarily legal elsewhere, so when we move money from the empire to those countries we need to mask it. That's where financial institutions like your own come into play. We're going to come to a deal and it's not going to require ten million ríokmarks from Lakén...yes. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to work for us, we're going to help you buy out the firm you work for, and you're going to wash the blood off of our money. I also want you to set up a meeting between my brother and I and Lakén Yori. Does this sound better to you?"

Bernie nodded and nodded. "Yep, that sounds like a plan."

"Wait," Lolita said, stepping forward. "But he still disrespected me."

Guus was about to put down the handgun, but then he locked it back into place. Damn it. Damn it all to hell. It was going so well and Lolita had to fuck it up again. Bernie acted fast, too fast, and said, "I would love to take your daughter on a second date, sir. If Lolita would have me, of course."

She stopped in her tracks and looked at her father. Bernie still couldn't tell if she was for real about the one night stand or whether this was still all a charade. But, she smiled and said, "I would love to go on a second date. Our first, really, because what happened at your flat was hardly a date."

"Oh, shut up the both of you," said Laurens. "Stupid ass kids. Get out of here! Get out of here!"

But before Bernie could slip into the lift, with Lolita besided him, Laurens shouted, "And bring me Lakén here by next week, or this agreement is off and you'll be dead Bernie!"

[Jeruselem]

Princess Cassie in Neo-Romanum for world cup qualifier match 13.

Hello, I'm Princess Cassandra Elisa Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem. We're in Neo-Romanum, never been here before! Well that applies to a lot places we got to actually. In some case, we travel that place just once.

We're here for match day 13 in qualification of world cup 8 or LXXXI. Yes another away game. We did win but it was like 4-3. The good news we are scoring away and home goals, which is why we win games. The bad news is we are conceding far too many goals. We conceded three and two in the last two games. Today we conceded three. So our goal difference is going be just a bit on the low side. The local team did play well as it was a home game but our quality at the back needs to improve. We cannot be conceding 3 goals against our rivals! We'd lose. We did lose 4-1 in a home game so that means we have a lot work to with our defense. But we're scoring loads of goals, so I guess it's better than not scoring goals. As long as we score more goals than our opponents. Our earlier games had low goals and better defense. I guess, we just need to fix that defense.

Other group 11 games. Darkmania beat Sultanate of Oontaz 5-1 at home. Mareibat beat Lycrabon 3-0 at home in a game of no consequence to who's qualifying. Dreamplanet scored a valuable 2-1 win at Crystalline Caverns to keep the dream on the thread. Yes the BIG GAME of the day.

Mriin hosted 2nd placed Abanhfleft. HUGE game in terms of what happens. If Abanhfleft wins, they would lead the group. If they lose, then they lose ground to 3rd place - us. Mriin lead but it's so tight, they had to win this one. Mriin scored a decisive 4-0 win and stayed top. The net result is they move to 32 points, Jeruselem take 2nd on 29 and Abanhfleft back to 3rd on 28. Well I guess for us, we did want Mriin to win.

Darkmania and Dreamplanet are 4th and 5th. They can qualify, but that gap between the top 3 and them is still huge. Sultanate of Oontaz and Crystalline Caverns aren't eliminated but they pretty much need to win everything which isn't going to happen based on results so far. The three eliminated teams stay bottom 3.

People ask questions about young Katya Dallas, the one who looks like me. She's part of the non-royal of our family meaning she cannot become ruler. She's an ordinary citizen and she's not exactly rich. Her employer isn't the highest paying football club either. So she's an ordinary person with ordinary problems particularly money. Yes, she's in our football which qualifies as an higher paid person but she's not be rich even if we qualify. Playing in the world cup does not automatically make one rich, players get paid differently to each other. She's a really attractive girl so I think she won't have trouble getting a boyfriend.

A lot of people who visit our country may have noticed, everything seems rather expensive. Unfortunately our currency seems to have more zeros than we really want. It's not really expensive, it's just your currency is probably worth more than ours just due to inflation. We're have some inflation issues which is making the currency more worthless over time. The fiat system is such all currencies will revert to their true value ... zero. Yes, all fiat currences will be replaced because they degrade to zero.

That's it from me here. See you all in Jeruselem.

Mriin 4–0 Abanhfleft
Darkmania 5–1 Sultanate of Oontaz
Neo-Romanum 3–4 Jeruselem
Mareibat 3–0 Lycrabon
Crystalline Caverns 1–2 Dreamplanet

[Kita-Hinode]

[Sargossa]

SSM | Sargossan State Media
International Edition - Sport



Campaign Wobbles


Blanco Borrayo reports;

On paper it had always looked a tricky part of the campaign, with four fixtures out of five away from home, but it wasn’t deemed tricky enough to derail the whole gosh darn campaign. But that may well now be the case. Tough away draws at The Alpine Union and Main Nation Ministry might have been slightly more palatable had the Corsairs not then dropped their only home match of the run, a defeat to the resurgent Siovanija and Teusland. An early goal from Iván Mayoral, who’d torn the Goldhorns apart in the reverse fixture in Stelburg, had looked set to send Sargossa on towards a double over Siovanija and Teusland. But the Goldhorns have been growing inexorably in strength as the campaign has gone on and they deservedly levelled in Mercada through Krasimir Kynev.

Normal service would be temporarily resumed courtesy of a smart finish from Matias Caceres before the game changing moment in the second half. It was Kynev’s quick feet that draw out a clumsy challenge from Fabián Parra. Down went the Olympia Borograd striker and off went the Dínamo Maturín defender, the recipient of a second yellow card. Kynev dusted himself down and rattled in the equaliser from the penalty spot. Now the visitors could sense blood and poured forward in search of a famous win. And they’d get it too, through an exquisite piece of skill from Ivo Romanov. Romanov had looked a class apart all night so when Thorsten Kramer played him clean through there was only ever going to be one outcome. Ríos charged out to face him, but Romanov kept his composure and placed a beautifully weighted chip over the onrushing keeper and into the back of the net to silence the Petro Dome crowd.

The defeat saw the top seeded Corsairs drop down into fourth place in the Group Fourteen table. Fortunately the fixture list next served up a trip to Altai Almas, who had been mostly awful all campaign. Last time the nations met Sargossa’s finest struck eight passed their hapless round twelve hosts. The reverse fixture wasn't quite so comprehensive but Rodrigo Defederico’s side were more dominant than the 3 – 1 scoreline suggested. Miguel Marí was particularly lively, scoring twice and laying the third on a plate for substitute Fabián Guzmán. It was a helpful tonic but, thanks to results elsewhere, the side remained in fourth.

The final match in the sequence was the trip to Raffiah, whose tally of just one point from twelve fixtures was among the very worst in the whole tournament. Fabián Guzmán, rewarded for his goal against Altai Almas with a starting spot, was clearly in the mood to make hay while the sun shown as he bagged a brace, one in each half. A towering header from centreback Sebastían Vegas, in for the suspended Fabián Parra, completed the victory late on. Elsewhere Sangti held Main Nation Ministry to a goalless draw in Atlantian Oceania, meaning Sargossa jumped above the men in red and black and into third place.

With five games to go the fight is well and truly on in Group Fourteen. Third place is not exactly where a top seeded side hopes to find itself but the Corsairs have historically been better at chasing down the sides above them than leading the way. And chase they must as it’s Kita-Hinode that lead the way on thirty-two points. That’s a four point lead over Siovanija and Teusland and five points over Sargossa. The Goldhorns are just a point ahead of the Corsairs in the sole playoff spot. So every game now is crucial as Sargossan hopes rest on the sides above them to slip up. Next up the Sargossan roadshow reaches the capital for the very first time in this campaign. It’s the Rushmori derby with Thibaea, who are both out of form and contention, and who will no doubt be looking now to ruin the chances of some of the sides above them instead.

Group 14                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Kita-Hinode                      13   10   2   1    37   21  +16    32
 2 Siovanija and Teusland           13    9   1   3    39   23  +16    28
 3 Sargossa                         13    8   3   2    40   17  +23    27
 4 Main Nation Ministry             13    8   2   3    35   20  +15    26
 5 Alpine Union                     13    6   3   4    25   21   +4    21
 6 Soute                            13    5   3   5    20   17   +3    18
 7 Sangti                           13    4   3   6    16   30  −14    15
 8 Thibaea                          13    2   3   8    24   36  −12     9
 9 Altai Almas                      13    2   1  10    10   31  −21     7
10 Raffiah                          13    0   1  12     7   37  −30     1

[Darkmania]

ÖRKENDREM PAPERS

"The Dream Is Not Over!"

Discusion article written by: Wëstner Därmersr

---

RËSBYR, DARKMANIA
The Darkmania- Sultanate of Oontaz match might be a sign that the qualification dream to the world cup is over, as the results ended in a 5-1. Sure, SoO is 93 ranks below Darkmania, but when you are a country on the edge of qualifying and you are 5 points to a spot to the World Cup, then its something that may be gold for the national team.

"The dream is not over!". Words that the DaTV football commentator Reübens Särtbërnt now is spread like wildfire in darkmanian social media. Darkmania has a bad track record in the qualification to the Worldcup, as the national team came 7th in Group 4 for WC79 and 8th in Group 2 for WC80. A 4th place as of matchweek 14 is something "Tell everyone. Darkmania is close to qualifying. We still have matches to play. Don't give up!". There have been a morale boost for the darkmanian populous and the replacement stadium for the darkmanian team hasn't had an empty seat since matchweek 3. Now, Darkmania still has chances to fail to do so, but with a nation behind 11 plus substitutes might get a new love for a sport where we see sweaty men/woman/ponies/aliens/whatever kick balls for 90 minutes plus more. Truly one great sport.

[San Regada]

Is there still hope for San Regada?

In another sudden turn of events, the Super Eagles were yet again able to produce another promising result in their qualifying campaign, forcing Kavagrad to a 2-2 tie, pushing San Regada into 4th place in Group 3. With Omerica facing a major unexpected upset losing 4–3 to Shayla - who are already knocked out of the group - and Natanians and Nosts losing 2–1 to Mariarty - another team that is already going home - San Regada's win has bumped them up to 4th place despite being tied with Kavagrad on points, thanks to the amount of goals they have scored (21) compared to Kavagrad (20). The Super Eagles are just 2 points behind Omerica and with 5 games to go, the spirit of the nation appears to have been lifted as many rally behind the national team once more. From riots in the streets to loud chants of praise and support for the Super Eagles, many are slowly beginning to ask the question, 'is there still hope for us to qualify?' Some have come to terms with the expected reality already; With just 5 games to go and Drawkland on 31 points, it would require nothing short of a miracle for San Regada, currently on 23 points, to beat them and clinch a spot on the playoffs, however, this has not deterred others from demanding nothing short of victory from the Super Eagles. It appears that the riots have not deflated the national team or destroyed their momentum, but rather, lifted their spirits and edged them on to perform above and beyond, managing to hold Drawkland to a 1-1 draw on Thursday. Despite Omerica's slack performance against Shayla and Natanians and Nosts surprising defeat at the hands of Mariarty, many Regadans are bracing for a tight game and probable defeat despite their hopes. Combined with the current powerhouse in the group, Barunia, showing no signs of weakening or letting up, it is still too early to determine whether the Super Eagles could pull of a spectacular come back (assisted by some luck that would produce what would most likely be the biggest upset in the qualifying stage, if not, this entire World Cup), or whether this World Cup Qualifying campaign will end in yet another defeat. One thing is for certain however; Regadans have never been this hopeful before. It's going to be a good week.

[Cassadaigua]

(Prior to the match)

“Coach, I want to leave the team.” Stated Carlos Martinez as he walked into the coaches office, “This has all been one big debacle for me, some of my own doing, but I am not welcome here. I wish to leave.”

Stephanie Sweeney looked up at her former starting defender, “I’ll get you back in the games. You just have to work on things in practice. I really do not wish for you to leave the team. You were included on the team because you are a man of tremendous character. You have had some tough matches lately, but you are also a champion!”

“Just look at the way the team has rallied around Hannah Shanley. I never had that.” Martinez replied, “That is why I just do not want to be here. If I had to be a substitute with support of the team, I could stay, but the time has come for me to go.”

“I’ll try to get you into this next match. Depending on how things go. It might be a good spot, against one of the lower teams on the table, and on the road.” Sweeney replied.

“Don’t put me in, I haven’t really done any scouting of them, because I was planning on coming in here and telling you I am leaving.” Martinez said.

“Why have you not gone over the game tapes? I still have you listed as a substitute, so I would need you to be ready.” Sweeney asked in a puzzled manner.

“Like I said, I am planning on leaving.” Martinez replied.

“I didn’t think you were a quitter.” Sweeney answered.

“I am not a quitter.” Martinez replied.

“Then what are you doing now? Telling me you want to go home? If you haven’t been watching the game tapes, then no, I am not going to put you in, and I think I will list you as a reserve instead of a substitute. But when I named you to the team, it was because I felt you were a player of high character, and not a quitter. And don’t tell me otherwise. I have never in my history of coaching the national team ever had a player come in here and tell me they wanted to leave prematurely. Even when we struggled through qualifying in the last cycle, we still stuck together as a team.” Coach Sweeney pleaded.

Martinez began to reply, but Sweeney continued, “If you think the home press is on your case now, what do you think it will be when they find out you quit the team? Stay here, and study the game tapes.”

Martinez looked at her and smiled halfway, before saying, “Fine, for now I will stick around”.


Five Spot In Al-Mumtaz,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Things were clicking for Cassadaigua on rival turf as the Fillies cruised to a quick and painless 5-1 victory over Al-Mumtaz at National Stadium. It was another sold out crowd, this time because the fans probably remember who we are a little bit. Al-Mumtaz was active on the scene in the early World Cup 50's, a time that corresponds to our championships and general most successful period. However, as they return from their hiatus, the fans saw a Cassadagan team that yearns to return to those glory days. Things have been quiet from Al-Mumtaz media though, and the young roster has struggled to produce. There are a couple of players over 21, but for the most part, it looks like a Di Bradini Cup roster. As such, they have struggled in qualifying, going just 3-0-9 heading into this match, and sitting 8th on the table while seeing their name highlighted in “eliminated red”. Would this team have a moment of greatness against us? Not exactly.

Right from the get-go, Cassadaigua took over the match, and fans were just getting into their seats when Caitlyn Mayer scored from the top of the penalty area to put the pink and black in front by the score of 1-0, coming in just the third minute. Ten minutes later, Emma McKee, getting a chance to start in place of Zack Pierce, who is out with a red card suspension, snuck in behind the defense on the right side, and fired home a shot from a tough angle to make it 2-0 in favor of Cassadaigua. In the 35th minute, you just knew Hannah Ranucci would get on the score sheet, and at this time she would. A few minutes later, she had smacked a shot off the crossbar, but quickly got revenge here. She was set up well by Sierra Mattison. After intermission, the goals continued for Cassadaigua, with Shelby Martin’s 61st minute goal and Ranucci’s second, coming in the 82nd minute, sandwiching the only moment of joy for The Holy Phoenix, when Koharu Mitsuko, at just fifteen years of age, slipped a low shot by Kristen Speller. Probably one that Kristen would like to have back. She had been on a bit of a shutout streak ever since her shove of Carlos Martinez. Martinez by the way was not even listed as a substitute for this match, instead that would be Brooke Sorrentino, and Sorrentino would play from the 78th minute, onward.

Up next for Cassadaigua will be the dangerous team from Oscioru. When we last saw them, there was not much that was concerning about them, as the Fillies scored a 3-1 on the faraway planet of Sonnel. That game was the “Matthew Donegal” game, the game in which the Dagans had the 3-0 lead until very late, until Donegal, getting an unexpected start, misplayed a pass from goalkeeper Kristen Speller, and saw it go in the net for an own goal. Donegal has not played since. Oscioru fell to 0-0-5 after the match with a goal differential of -9 (3 for, 12 against). Let’s fast forward to now. The team has won five of their eight games since then, improving to 5-0-8, and have improved their goal differential up to a -7. They have advanced to seventh on the table. In that stretch, they have scored victories over Tinhampton, which we all loved to see, as well as Octinstine. Heading into qualifying, Oscioru manager Glauco Serafini declared that his team would have a change in their style of play, and perhaps that took a while to actually implement. The players may have just needed some time to get comfortable with the new system, and now they are playing exceptionally well. They are not going to qualify for the World Cup, as they are already officially eliminated, but this is not going to stop the team from playing spoiler. They have done it with Tinhampton already, and would love to also show us what they can do, and get put balls in the net by themselves and not need the benefit of an own goal. This is a dangerous match, and the team must be prepared for what they are going to face. They should be, though. So far, the Fillies have done a good job since the Octinstine loss of getting three points where three points were an expectation. Captain Hannah Ranucci said of the upcoming match, “We are aware of the improvements that Oscioru have made. They are a much better team now, so we can’t expect the match to be as smooth as it was for us when we made the intergalactic trip to Sonnel to play them. This time, they come to Concord Heights, and that will be good for us.” It is the first home game back for Cassadaigua after a couple of road matches saw them earn six out of six points.

[Geisenfried]

Do or die
Scoreless draw with Squornshelous sets up elimination scenario

DARNESMARK - You'd be forgiven, at the outset of World Cup 81 qualifying if you discounted die Steinadler's chances of reaching it to the Free Republics or Banija. They were an unranked team, nearly twenty cycles removed from their last attempt in World Cup 64 - they'd only shown the slightest glimpses of potential at AOCAF, losing handedly to the Equestrian States before giving up a heartbreaker to Banija, and finishing out with a draw to Sangti. You'd be even further forgiven after the first few matches, managing only two draws in five games and looking every bit like a raw team that was years away from doing anything of note. But in the eight qualification matches since, the Geisenfried team has looked like a group that might be able to carry the legacy of days long past - if not the team that pushed a Bettia team that would win the championship to the very brink in World Cup 33 knockouts, at least the later version that would send Andossa Se Mitrin Vega home early beyond all expectations in World Cup 62 qualifying. Eleventh ranked Pasarga was too much to handle, and like their predecessors, they still can't beat Squornshelous, even with their opponents depleted, but their 6-1-1 mark over that time period sits behind only Pasarga in group play and equals their next opponents, Qasden.

Yes, despite all the focus on the western border to Banija, it'll be a trip to our northern neighbors that'll determine our World Cup fate heading forward. A loss eliminates Geisenfried outright, putting them 14 points behind with only 12 available. A draw merely delays the inevitable - Qasden would have to lose every match for Geisenfried to pick up the slack. Even with a win, chances remain slim, but it gives Geisenfried much needed breathing room. The schedule for Geisenfried lightens considerably after this match - they face the bottom four teams of the group, all already eliminated, and in the first round of qualifying the Geisen squad swept the lot of them. Meanwhile Qasden's schedule takes a harder turn, with top-ranked Pasarga on deck and matches with the 95X, Vakolicci and Squornshelous squads still to go. But Qasden is still the 27th ranked team in the world and will be favored in most of those matches - die Steinadler are going to need every point they can muster if they truly hope to defy all odds and expectations and reach the qualification playoff stage. They've managed to reach that point twice before, though neither saw them through, as WC37 saw them fall to - who else - Squornshelous, while they pushed the Mytanar squad 120 minutes before falling in extra time in WC62. Still, even if third time's the charm, they're going to have to everything on the line out at Stade de Solis in Fyre if they have any hope of catching Qasden off-guard. At Alterschloße in Dözel, die Steinadler managed a shock scoreless draw, but they're going to need even more, in a hostile environment. This, more than any other match so far, will be a test of how far the Geisenfried team has come - and how far they still have yet to go.

Geisenfried 0 - 0 Squornshelan Remnant States