World Cup 81: Roleplay Thread

[Dreamplanet]

DREAMPLANET EXPECTS

Do you remember the 60th Baptism of Fire? It was where it all started for Os Tricores, Dreamplanet would play their first match against Damukuni, it was only a slender loss, and we had our first controversy with João Souza stirring things up as captain, and as he was sent home, Luis Silva's legacy as captain started and with that, we went on to do the great escape, beating The Lee Islands and Shtiar Bakal, going through to the Round of 16, however it wasn't to be, Dreamplanet were eliminated by Eshan, Filipe Vaz wasn't happy to be chipped, and Dreamplanet went home.

Do you remember the 73rd World Cup? That was our first taste of World Cup football, we had our biggest loss against our former Worldvision friends Britonisea, being 6-0 down at half time. Our first win came in a 6-4 thriller against RealSquad, with us getting the 2-0 lead, them going 3-4 up, and us finally going 6-4 up, results were still losses, but narrower and narrower, and how could we forget the Doportedas Disaster, we took a 2-0 lead, they fought back, and despite the match being ugly, it got fatal, a horrible loss of life that should've been avoided. Dreamplanet finished 6th with only 3 wins, but it was just the beginning.

I think you remember the 74th World Cup, oh the oh so nears. We had a great start, however Rodrigo Vaz, holding the managerial spot at Super-Llamaland, was able to beat us 5-1, and things wouldn't get much better with losses with Pasarga and Sameba, however a 1-0 win against Ralatharan our World Cup hopes were still alive, all we had to do was beat Super-Llamaland, who were chasing a play-off spot aswell, they took a 2-0 lead and things seemed over, but you can never write Dreamplanet off, we came back to draw 2-2, and nearing the end, a draw was good enough for us, but it just wasn't to be, Jarred Nash dives as instructed by Rodrigo Vaz, Jorge Cardozo loses it and gets sent off, Penbrooke scores the penalty, players lose it, and the dream is cut short. We got 3rd, our best result yet.

Do you remember the 75th World Cup? Well, after the optimism from last season, we didn't do much, Rodrigo Vaz didn't do well at the World Cup either, losing all 3 matches and being fired, and honestly we absolutely dropped the ball, from World Cup nearly-men to 4th despite a bad start, failing to win their first 4 games, Dreamplanet seemingly had some problems and went absent from the 76th World Cup onwards.

And then there was nothing, the absence if you will, while we had to reorganise our football system and the national team, we went absent from many World Cups, resetting our coefficient to absolutely nothing. But we would be back, it was just a matter of time.

It's now the 81st World Cup, we had the bad start, we had 4 straight wins, we had a dip in form, and now we're here, taking on Darkmania for a potential makeorbreak match to start our unlikely charge to the playoffs, however with the losses of Abanhfleft and Jeruselem it became even more likelier, however we must beat Darkmania to stand a chance, and they will not be pushovers either, beating Jeruselem in the match that eventually opened the door for them and us, Mriin is our opponent after that, surely a tough match, but that doesn't matter right now, we must beat Darkmania, we've done it before.

Dreamplanet expects, don't let us down, we need the redemption from World Cup 74, we've been punching above our weight so far, we've beaten Darkmania, we can do it again.

[Tinhampton]

TFA MATCH STATPACK: Tinhampton 1-0 Czarna Gora
Venue: Tin Park, Tinhampton, Tinhampton

STARTING LINEUPS and their USED SUBSTITUTES:

• Tinhampton (Sweeper 5-3-2): 12. Julia ATHERTON (GK), 19. Aihlo VATUNSKA, 13. Evan MORRIS, 14. Nathaniel GEORGE, 15. Davina SALT, 16. Brian SMALL, 17. Steve CAMERON, 6. Michael YOUNG (C), 18. Jacob NORTH (↻ 73' POTTER), 11. Ian GRAHAM, 21. Simon FORD
• Czarna Gora (4-1-4-1; first names unknown, surnames Anglicised): 1. STOJANOVIC, 2. DRAGOVIC, 3. ATELJEVIC, 23. BOLETINAC, 5. SHEHU, 6. FILIPOVIC, 7. ZIVKOVIC (C), 8. GJONBALAJ, 9. IVANOVIC, 19. DIBRA, 11. ANTIC (↻ 73' MILIC)
  No players were unable to play today.

GOALS: Steve CAMERON 34'22'' (TIN)
CARDS: Yellow: Steve CAMERON 61' (TIN), GJONBALAJ 69' (Czarna Gora, trigram unknown), SHEHU 77' (Czarna Gora), ATELJEVIC 81' (Czarna Gora), Evan MORRIS 90'+2' (TIN - timewasting). Red: none.
INJURIES: None.
OTHER INCIDENTS: Michael YOUNG (TIN) missed a penalty at 82'22''. The National Football Team, as Czarna Gora refers to its FA as, has declined to give Tinhampton the full first names of their players.

---

Forays of Folly
Season 1, Episode 16: TINHAMPTON IN FLAMES!

---

On the 16th of September, not long after Phil Milliner's stabbing, a man identified as "Andrew Gerard" - the same Andrew Gerard who had played an influential role in the original Tinhampton Student Unity the previous year - had been arrested besides the docks, suspected of murder and possessing a butterfly knife. A trial has been scheduled for two weeks' time or so.
A day and a half later or so, come seven o'clock or thereabouts, no less than four converging rallies were organised around the city centre at the same time: One unofficial left-wing campaign event in support of Halston's policies, one by the tellingly-monikered Action Against Austerity!, another one that claimed that the various Tinhamptonian conflicts and hostage-funding was needed in order to make Tinhampton safer, and another smaller rally that stood against Gladom Newion.
Each one of these had several watchful eyes over them - the police force, willingly "loyal Tinhamptonians," and the dreaded CCTV. This was not a very good idea, especially at the Halston and AAA rallies, which had intensively crammed thousands of people everywhere from democratic socialism to die-hard communism to - most importantly - the remnants of the old "New" Student Unity. This was meant to be a more peaceful occasion.
But did the fact that Tinhampton could level the world champions on points with a win on their home turf change the fact that people were getting angry and outright pissed off at the state of their city? Did it fuck. The city had seen much worse before - take, for instance, the brawl at the Cyan Dragon after Tinhampton shipped a 94th-minute goal against Coldfield some four qualification cycles previously, which had taken the lives of two avid supporters - but not on this scale in the past ten or fifteen years.
The air was rapidly swirling orange - orange with incense against the seemingly unnecessary diversion of funds to support wars on totally different continents, orange with hatred at government funding cuts that had forced thousands of Tinhamptonians to choose between a full stomach or a working boiler, orange with anger at out-of-touch socialists who wanted to impose their unbalanced worldview on everybody else.
This was no ordinary division that manifested, oh no; it was ingroup turning on ingroup, friend turning on ally, very occasionally between a couple of enemies. One man threw a punch at another; in kind, he was responded at with a much lighter smacking, maybe an unpleasant strike if his identity had been mistaken badly enough. For an hour did it carry on like this, with the odd skirmish or two between kinsman and brother in arms, each to their own but mostly opting to remain silent, secure, supremely naive... if they had not fled.
This changed. Earlier in the day, one disgruntled and contrarily unknown denizen had seen fit to purchase several bottles of lemonade at an unrelated and significantly more existent Superb petrol station within the city centre. Hardly ideal car fuel, but, as we have already seen, put two and two together and you have a lot of chaos on your hands; by now, there was a rash of reckless and indiscriminant chucking, harshly enough to force the entry of the riot police. Nine had been injured at that point, and certainly not by squashed citrus fruits.
The heavy brigade had arrived in a swift fashion with guns in one hand and shields in another, facing off against stoicly passionate citizens that predominantly had stones in both hands - they were told not to arm themselves. Regardless, this egregrious shenanigans continued: civilian throws stone at policeman, policeman fires at civilian, another civilian throws stone at another policeman, policeman fires at civilian, and so on so forth until the end of time... by which is meant the beginning of Brenecia vs Tinhampton at ten o'clock the next morning.
Regardless, the flood of flesh and blood in the centre of Tinhampton was completely impossible to ignore. At least one hundred Tinhamptonians on both sides had been carted off to hospitals around the city by the time the dust settled, their feet being solemnly dragged by paramedics, good samaritans, and mad-as-hell samaritans to some dingy back-alley around the corner or to the well-lit posterior of an ambulance. In all that time, John Price's mayoral car, the number 56 bus servicing the mines, an entire row of shops on Fallon Street, and several dozen effigies had been inflamed out of sheer righteous indignation.
Hundreds of livelihoods were being destroyed - perhaps one in every thousand Tinhamptonians - as a result of anger spurred by Margaret-knows-how-many causes, from the new budget passing to Tinhampton's defeat at Oscioru to wars and hostages and "gun reform" and all of that other nonsense that had been widely ignored until now. Coldfield and Aggrey-Fynn Land had sparked punch-ups, yes, but only the Tin City could give itself the energy needed for mass civil unrest, seemingly without end or clear purpose.
Tinhampton was on red alert.

Peculiarity was abound even in otherwise-obscure government meetings between officials whose names but not necessarily policies are ever familiar. Why, for instance, would Saffron Howard crack her knuckles when she would normally never do so? Turns out that - as John Price so eloquently put it - "you're telling us we're about twenty-six, almost twenty-five miles away from reaching the capital of Socialista Whateveristan, and we've literally just increased their-the military's, erm, funding so they can do more offensives attackings like this? Are you fucking kidding me?"

[Sargossa]

SSM | Sargossan State Media
International Edition - Sport



The State Of The Groups


Blanco Borrayo reports;

You may have noticed that the path to the World Cup finals is hardly a pleasant Sunday afternoon stroll. It’s a long ‘ole slog through windy roads and across the most arduous of terrain. But eventually thirty nations will emerge from the crucible of qualifying to take their places at the most prestigious tournament in the sportiverse. And with just nine precious qualification points left to play for let’s take a look at the state of the groups.

It’s of little shock to find Turori at the top of Group 1. They may have dropped out of the sportiverse’s top ten but the Eels have a long and storied history. The bigger surprise is the decline of Valladares. The Rushmori juggernauts seem to be on something of a downward trend and their chances of a playoff spot are looking increasingly bleak. New Lusitania are the current nation in possession and have a big enough cushion to feel pretty confident of staying there. Little Beepee though may have other ideas.

Group 1                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Turori                           15   12   2   1    33    7  +26    38
 2 New Lusitania                    15   10   2   3    34   10  +24    32
 3 Beepee                           15    8   3   4    24   17   +7    27
 4 Valladares                       15    7   5   3    34   21  +13    26
 5 Michine                          15    7   3   5    15   17   −2    24
 6 Jeckland                         15    7   2   6    27   24   +3    23
 7 Petrovskia                       15    5   3   7    19   28   −9    18
 8 Ndaku                            15    4   3   8    32   38   −6    15
 9 Central Shaneville               15    2   1  12    11   34  −23     7
10 Gudalajara                       15    0   2  13     8   41  −33     2

Group 2 has shaped itself into something of a bunfight. The maths may not quite let Cosumar fans book their tickets just yet but an eight point lead with nine more to play for suggests The Azure Dragons will be taking their place among the elite thirty two. But it’s behind them where the fun is to be found. Juvencus are a talented outfit but are clinging on to a playoff spot by their fingertips thanks to a renewed charge from a resurgent Macabees and fellow old stagers Acapais.

Group 2                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cosumar                          15   13   1   1    41    8  +33    40
 2 Juvencus                         15    9   5   1    38   17  +21    32
 3 The Macabees                     15    9   4   2    27   14  +13    31
 4 Acapais                          15    9   2   4    29   22   +7    29
 5 HUElavia                         15    7   2   6    29   16  +13    23
 6 Saint Emelie                     15    7   1   7    32   32    0    22
 7 Anollasia                        15    5   0  10    25   36  −11    15
 8 Britonisea                       15    4   2   9    17   29  −12    14
 9 Tanzanique                       15    2   1  12     5   33  −28     7
10 Tasrailia                        15    0   2  13    11   47  −36     2

Not such issues in Group 3 in what is a straight up fight for top spot between Barunia and Drawkland. Barunia have a three point lead but with the Kick Corps breathing down their necks it’s not going to be a comfortable final three fixtures. Kavagrad and Omerica remain mathematically in the hunt but they’re hoping for snookers at this point.

Group 3                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Barunia                          15   13   1   1    37   14  +23    40
 2 Drawkland                        15   12   1   2    48   13  +35    37
 3 Kavagrad                         15    9   2   4    25   18   +7    29
 4 Omerica                          15    9   1   5    29   20   +9    28
 5 Natanians and Nosts              15    8   1   6    26   15  +11    25
 6 San Regada                       15    7   3   5    24   27   −3    24
 7 Kedroiqua                        15    2   4   9    18   25   −7    10
 8 Shayla                           15    3   1  11    36   43   −7    10
 9 Egyptosian                       15    3   1  11    15   47  −32    10
10 Mariarty                         15    1   1  13     8   44  −36     4

Experience is key in Group 4, experience and a healthy dose of parallel universes and all things cute and fluffy. The Holy Empire lead to the shock of no one and will be confident having survived a fierce Apox onslaught in the final fixture between the top two seeds. But for Apox it might be a nervous run-in with Filindostan, narrowly behind them in the rankings and even closer in the group table, on the charge. Yuezhou have plenty of points but perhaps lack that killer touch, while Romaian have been one of the surprises of the campaign.

Group 4                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 The Holy Empire                  15   11   3   1    47   20  +27    36
 2 Apox                             15    9   5   1    34   13  +21    32
 3 Filindostan                      15    9   3   3    28   20   +8    30
 4 Yuezhou                          15    9   2   4    24   22   +2    29
 5 Romaian                          15    8   4   3    31   20  +11    28
 6 Acheia                           15    5   2   8    18   27   −9    17
 7 Joshenia                         15    5   1   9    25   28   −3    16
 8 The Frozen Forest                15    4   4   7    25   23   +2    16
 9 Miznan                           15    2   2  11    20   38  −18     8
10 Halfdansodal                     15    0   0  15     9   50  −41     0

Talking of surprise packages, here’s Adab. Ranked at 260 coming into this campaign they were expected to be a mere footnote in a group positively dripping with historical significance. But there they are, in third place, and just a win behind World Cup veterans Audioslavia. For their part The Bulls are four shy of top seeded Starblaydia and are relying on an uncharacteristic slip-up from The Purple Peril.

Group 5                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Starblaydia                      15   11   3   1    36   19  +17    36
 2 Audioslavia                      15    9   5   1    22    6  +16    32
 3 Adab                             15    9   2   4    29   18  +11    29
 4 Kalumba                          15    7   5   3    29   20   +9    26
 5 Petroslovania                    15    8   2   5    38   27  +11    26
 6 Melbergia                        15    6   3   6    22   20   +2    21
 7 Guriguay                         15    5   2   8    25   28   −3    17
 8 Bellarona                        15    3   1  11    12   32  −20    10
 9 Brittany Normandy Aquitaine      15    2   2  11     7   27  −20     8
10 Andwell                          15    0   5  10    11   34  −23     5

There’s only three nations left standing in Group 6, with the major shock being that third ranked Farfadillis are not yet on the plane to the Finals. In fact a surprise defeat to Indian side Indusse has seen their lead eroded to just two points going into the final three fixtures. No one would have expected such a strong showing from Indusse and they may now fancy their chances of overhauling the Farves at the top. Super-Llamaland are the other team in the mix but require other results to fall in their favour.

Group 6                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Farfadillis                      15   12   1   2    38   13  +25    37
 2 Indusse                          15   11   2   2    34   18  +16    35
 3 Super-Llamaland                  15   10   2   3    44   21  +23    32
 4 Semarland                        15    7   3   5    31   19  +12    24
 5 Aggrey-Fynn Land                 15    7   2   6    29   23   +6    23
 6 Santa Rafa                       15    7   1   7    21   20   +1    22
 7 Kelssek                          15    6   3   6    27   30   −3    21
 8 Tobria                           15    3   1  11    21   40  −19    10
 9 Tarper                           15    2   2  11     8   32  −24     8
10 Ceskaar                          15    1   1  13     5   42  −37     4

No surprises in Group 7 where it’s very much ‘Eura Victor’, the former champions with just one defeat among their otherwise perfect record and a place at the Finals all wrapped up. Behind them though is a much murkier picture. Mattijana hold the playoff spot but Acronius and North Prarie are just a point behind. Mytanija too are a talented side and will be looking to take full advantage of any dropped points above them. Mattijana host Acronius on the final matchday in what could be a winner take all encounter.

Group 7                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Eura                             15   14   0   1    45   13  +32    42
 2 Mattijana                        15    8   3   4    48   36  +12    27
 3 Acronius                         15    8   2   5    32   27   +5    26
 4 North Prarie                     15    7   5   3    39   32   +7    26
 5 Mytanija                         15    7   3   5    15   16   −1    24
 6 Blaneu                           15    6   4   5    38   29   +9    22
 7 The Sherpa Empire                15    5   6   4    35   28   +7    21
 8 Hertisiana                       15    4   1  10    16   32  −16    13
 9 The Hungarian Nation             15    0   5  10    11   34  −23     5
10 Comind New Islands               15    0   3  12    12   44  −32     3

Ethane may need to adjust their difficulty settings, as they’ve burnt through the competition with consummate ease. Their only concern now is maintaining their 100% record. Damukuni should have enough about them to hold on to the playoff spot ahead of Devonta, the only other nation in contention.

Group 8                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Ethane                           15   15   0   0    47   10  +37    45
 2 Damukuni                         15   11   2   2    41   22  +19    35
 3 Devonta                          15   10   1   4    32   17  +15    31
 4 Maryloupe                        15    7   4   4    37   32   +5    25
 5 Mapletish                        15    7   2   6    25   25    0    23
 6 Competitive Solitaire            15    6   3   6    37   37    0    21
 7 Zeleny Hrebenia                  15    4   4   7    18   27   −9    16
 8 Unified Hispania                 15    4   3   8    15   24   −9    15
 9 Leodomum                         15    1   0  14    16   43  −27     3
10 Palmeria                         15    0   1  14     6   37  −31     1

With two defeats to their name this could be considered an uncharacteristically sloppy effort for the Marauders of Valanora but there shouldn’t be any issue in the final three games that would deny the Elves their customary World Cup berth. Behind the pointy eared ones there’s a mouth-watering showdown ensuing between Polkopia and Qusmo who are separated by just two points and are due to meet during the final round of matches. Regional success has rarely been repeated on the wider stage for Eastfield Lodge and the former Rushmori champions are way off the pace.

Group 9                            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valanora                         15   12   1   2    45   20  +25    37
 2 Polkopia                         15   10   2   3    30   20  +10    32
 3 Qusmo                            15    9   3   3    27    9  +18    30
 4 New Gazi                         15    8   2   5    26   20   +6    26
 5 Eastfield Lodge                  15    7   4   4    31   21  +10    25
 6 Karulicja                        15    7   1   7    31   26   +5    22
 7 Savalen                          15    6   1   8    19   23   −4    19
 8 Rakivland                        15    3   4   8    26   31   −5    13
 9 Axuva                            15    2   1  12    16   48  −32     7
10 Nuadh-Alba                       15    0   3  12     9   42  −33     3

Six points separate the top four teams in Group 10 but with plenty of tournament experience and a relatively straightforward run-in The Equestrian States should stay the course. Second seeds Saltstead will likely hold off the twin challenges of Garifunya and Northwest Kalactin.

Group 10                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Equestrian States                15   11   3   1    29    6  +23    36
 2 Saltstead                        15   11   2   2    27    7  +20    35
 3 Garifunya                        15   10   2   3    23   14   +9    32
 4 Northwest Kalactin               15    9   3   3    30   14  +16    30
 5 Lochario                         15    7   2   6    18   12   +6    23
 6 East Belzaria                    15    6   4   5    19   20   −1    22
 7 Sharktail                        15    3   5   7    20   29   −9    14
 8 Sorrentopia                      15    2   3  10    13   23  −10     9
 9 South Batoko                     15    0   5  10     3   29  −26     5
10 Penguinland                      15    1   1  13    11   39  −28     4

It’s not mathematically assured yet but Mriin are all but there in Group 11. Abanhfleft are much less assured and a messy campaign has left them looking over their shoulders where a tricky Darkmania side and veterans Jeruselem lurk. With Abanhfleft and Jeruselem yet to meet this race still has ground to run.

Group 11                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mriin                            15   12   2   1    49   16  +33    38
 2 Abanhfleft                       15   10   1   4    29   17  +12    31
 3 Darkmania                        15    9   2   4    40   30  +10    29
 4 Jeruselem                        15    9   2   4    33   24   +9    29
 5 Dreamplanet                      15    8   2   5    33   30   +3    26
 6 Sultanate of Oontaz              15    6   3   6    18   26   −8    21
 7 Crystalline Caverns              15    5   3   7    18   24   −6    18
 8 Mareibat                         15    4   0  11    20   31  −11    12
 9 Neo-Romanum                      15    1   4  10    17   35  −18     7
10 Lycrabon                         15    1   1  13    12   36  −24     4

Group 12 is all over bar the shouting. Nephara have once again breezed through a qualifying campaign while Eshan in second hold a huge lead over third placed Cosneolta.

Group 12                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Nephara                          15   14   0   1    36    9  +27    42
 2 Eshan                            15   12   1   2    48   14  +34    37
 3 Cosneolta                        15   10   0   5    32   24   +8    30
 4 West Angola                      15    8   1   6    31   22   +9    25
 5 Euran Oceania Territories        15    5   4   6    26   29   −3    19
 6 Ancharmunn                       15    5   1   9    23   42  −19    16
 7 Busoga Islands                   15    5   1   9    26   33   −7    16
 8 Cheergirls                       15    4   2   9    20   33  −13    14
 9 Bongo Johnson                    15    3   1  11    21   38  −17    10
10 Greater Libertania               15    1   5   9    16   35  −19     8

It’s a similar sight in Group 13 where unbeaten Vilita hold sway. Their lead is just four points but two comfortable looking fixtures should ensure top spot before their big clash with second placed Mercedini. For their part Mercedini’s eight point cushion should guarantee a playoff place at worst.

Group 13                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Vilita                           15   14   1   0    51   13  +38    43
 2 Mercedini                        15   13   0   2    54   18  +36    39
 3 Tobiasia                         15   10   1   4    40   26  +14    31
 4 Anthor                           15    6   3   6    32   31   +1    21
 5 Kernovi and Rewgwlas             15    6   2   7    28   35   −7    20
 6 Rannoria                         15    4   5   6    23   30   −7    17
 7 Oberour Ar Moro                  15    4   5   6    30   38   −8    17
 8 Vithuland                        15    4   2   9    19   27   −8    14
 9 Swibia                           15    2   1  12    13   47  −34     7
10 Kilaguni                         15    2   0  13    15   40  −25     6

Naturally Group 14 is far from simple. Second seeds Kita-Hinode led, three points clear of top seeds Sargossa but the Hinodejin travel to Soluca in their next match, a fixture that could re-ignite the fight for the qualification spot. Or kill it off completely. Behind them Siovanija and Teusland are starting to fade after a strong showing but the Main Nation Ministry are on something of a charge. Essentially any of the top four could still finish in either of the top two places. But The Alpine Union have probably left themselves too much to do.

Group 14                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Kita-Hinode                      15   11   3   1    41   24  +17    36
 2 Sargossa                         15   10   3   2    45   19  +26    33
 3 Main Nation Ministry             15    9   3   3    40   23  +17    30
 4 Siovanija and Teusland           15    9   2   4    40   25  +15    29
 5 Alpine Union                     15    8   3   4    30   23   +7    27
 6 Soute                            15    5   3   7    20   21   −1    18
 7 Sangti                           15    4   4   7    17   33  −16    16
 8 Thibaea                          15    3   3   9    29   39  −10    12
 9 Altai Almas                      15    3   1  11    18   37  −19    10
10 Raffiah                          15    0   1  14    10   46  −36     1

Just across the water it’s been a much easier ride for Pasarga. A win in Torgos over nearest challengers Qasden will ultimately see The Wanderers through to the Finals. Qasden too will have their opportunity via the playoffs. Returning World Cup royalty the Squornshelan Remnant States and fellow veterans Geisenfried can be pleased with their respective efforts.

Group 15                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Pasarga                          15   14   0   1    46   21  +25    42
 2 Qasden                           15   11   2   2    41   19  +22    35
 3 95X                              15    8   3   4    26   24   +2    27
 4 Geisenfried                      15    7   3   5    22   19   +3    24
 5 Squornshelan Remnant States      15    7   2   6    20   13   +7    23
 6 Vakolicci Haven and Celeria      15    6   4   5    25   20   +5    22
 7 Olastor                          15    7   1   7    26   25   +1    22
 8 The South Falls                  15    3   2  10    15   32  −17    11
 9 Dormil and Stiura                15    2   2  11    16   33  −17     8
10 Illahee                          15    0   1  14    13   44  −31     1

Brenecia may be world champions but that’s clearly not the guarantee of a World Cup place that you’d expect. A disappointing draw at minnows Cobrio has seen Tinhampton move to within three points of the champs ahead of the much anticipated clash between the top two. Tinhampton’s run-in doesn’t end there, with former champions Cassasdaigua in town one game later in what is sure to be a crucial evening at tiny Tin Park.

Group 16                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenecia                         15   13   1   1    32    6  +26    40
 2 Tinhampton                       15   12   1   2    24    4  +20    37
 3 Cassadaigua                      15   11   1   3    38   19  +19    34
 4 Octinstine                       15    9   2   4    27   15  +12    29
 5 Cobrio                           15    7   2   6    19   21   −2    23
 6 Oscioru                          15    6   0   9    20   27   −7    18
 7 South Libertopia                 15    5   2   8    18   22   −4    17
 8 Al-Mumtaz                        15    4   0  11    20   33  −13    12
 9 Colonial Australia               15    2   0  13    11   45  −34     6
10 Czarna Gora                      15    1   1  13     8   25  −17     4

Two Rushmori heavyweights went head to head in Group 17 but it’s the Atlantians of Baker Park who could emerge at the top. They are neck and neck with Darmen and all eyes will be on the penultimate round of matches, a winner takes all clash at Keller Field. Much, much further back the Taeshani campaign is on its last legs.

Group 17                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Baker Park                       15   12   2   1    38   14  +24    38
 2 Darmen                           15   12   2   1    42   21  +21    38
 3 Taeshan                          15    9   2   4    23    8  +15    29
 4 Coldfield                        15    8   3   4    27   23   +4    27
 5 Freeport                         15    7   2   6    39   34   +5    23
 6 Timmy's Tigers                   15    7   2   6    30   26   +4    23
 7 St. Saratoga                     15    6   2   7    26   27   −1    20
 8 Innovian Indusse                 15    3   2  10    13   25  −12    11
 9 Kwesiland                        15    1   1  13    17   43  −26     4
10 South Caleblan                   15    1   0  14    12   46  −34     3

There’s a final day shootout looming in Group 18 as Ko-oren host South Covello. But the top seeds will be hoping their rivals drop points in the games leading up to that showdown at the Stade sur la Baie in Aminey. Flardania will turn their focus to next time.

Group 18                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 South Covello                    15   13   2   0    32    3  +29    41
 2 Ko-oren                          15   13   0   2    26    6  +20    39
 3 Flardania                        15    9   4   2    30   20  +10    31
 4 Krytenia                         15    9   1   5    35   23  +12    28
 5 Bostopia                         15    7   3   5    19   18   +1    24
 6 Alenburg                         15    5   3   7    21   24   −3    18
 7 Togonistan                       15    4   4   7    12   23  −11    16
 8 Carloso                          15    3   1  11    30   39   −9    10
 9 Routcher                         15    2   2  11    10   26  −16     8
10 Star United States               15    0   0  15    10   43  −33     0

The top two in Group 19 remain unbeaten but it’s draws that have been anathema to Savojarna’s hopes of an automatic spot at the World Cup. Chromatika have been quietly going about their business and now hold a near unassailable eight point advantage. Much depends on the next round of games, in which third placed Nova Anglicana travel to Savojarna. A win will see the third seeds leap into a playoff place while defeat will all but guarantee the Savojars second place.

Group 19                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Chromatika                       15   14   1   0    49   18  +31    43
 2 Savojarna                        15   10   5   0    31   13  +18    35
 3 Nova Anglicana                   15   11   0   4    43   28  +15    33
 4 South Toronto                    15   10   1   4    39   21  +18    31
 5 Krenorus                         15    6   1   8    31   31    0    19
 6 Pink Floyd FC                    15    4   4   7    41   40   +1    16
 7 Shofercia                        15    3   4   8    15   25  −10    13
 8 Torisakia                        15    3   3   9    26   38  −12    12
 9 Huffingshire                     15    2   3  10    14   40  −26     9
10 Corindia                         15    0   2  13    10   45  −35     2

[Oberour Ar Moro]

The foundational myth of Oberour Ar Moro was that the Kings and Queens of Azoria were immoral and failed leaders, who were in charge of a immoral and failing kingdom. In contrast, the leaders and people of Oberour Ar Moro was moral and successful. It is important to separate this thinking from what has been called “prosperity theology”, where God rewards “faith—and hefty tithing—with financial blessings”. In practice, in Oberour Ar Moro prosperity was a very separate aspect of a person, group, or industry, than from their morality or faith.

In practice, this led to what Iarnuuocon Tanet described in his work “The Aesthetic of Victory: Behaviors and Attitudes of Oberour Ar Moro” as “Performative Accomplishment”. As Tanet describes, it was not enough in late Oberour Ar Moro to succeed, but to succeed publically and visibly.

Some success in Oberour Ar Moro was over ephemeral opponents, such as when a family grows or when a business expands. Other successes were implicitly over others, such as a promotion in a workplace or within the regime. Athletic competition was where Performative Accomplishment reached its fullest, and darkest, potential. Victory in a competition for one meant defeat in a competition for another. This can particularly be seen in the most popular sport in Oberour Ar Moro: Football.

Football has been described as “much, much more important” than mere life or death. In a country like Oberour Ar Moro where success was already of life or death importance, this could become a toxic combination. Ultras culture and “bad blood” between teams and individuals developed quickly in the Oberour Ar Moro Football System. Every goal gained or conceded created paroxysms of ecstacy or anger, and a team’s standing on the table and goals scored in a campaign defined their value above any other metric.

This effect could be multiplied in the "cultural encounters" between nations on the field of sports. The clearest example of this is in the multiversal World Cup football competition. The brew of “Performative Accomplishment” mixed with the strong Nationalism encouraged by the Oberour Ar Moro regime was a heady one.

This could be highly problematic, and one strong example of this could have been seen during the qualifications for World Cup 81. Oberour Ar Moro was unranked going into qualifying, and their mid-table finish in their group would not be considered a great surprise to an average observer of football.

An example of this could be seen on the broadcasts of Antenne Sports. Antenne Sports, the all-sports channel run by the Ministry of Information, had the exclusive coverage of National Team games, with pre-and-post-game shows. On the “Final Whistle” post game show, they included commentary by Kadvael Heault.

Heault was then the manager of Regium Immortal but would later serve as manager of the National Team himself, began his early commentaries giving positive reviews of the teams play. As the results started to slip, Heault slowly became more critical. First this was in contrast to the image the Regime wished to portray, but as his segments increased in popularity he was given more freedom to speak his mind. This culminated in Heault describing National Team manager Daric de l’Amie “overmatched” and the team’s roster being “poorly constructed” after the teams Match Day 15 loss to Vilita.

It was through steps like this that even criticizing an organ of the regime, playing under the nation’s name, normalized criticism of even that for failure...

...It is interesting to note that after the Post-Tumults Parliament, it was discovered in the records of the former Ministry of Culture (MoC) that the Football Management Committee (FMC) had secretly commissioned polls of average citizens to get their thoughts on the National Team qualifying effort for World Cup 81. The results were eye-opening, both to present day researchers, and to MoC and FMC officials, as notes between them recorded.

Survey participants were asked to grade individual matches on a 1-5 scale, five being the best. Matches like the 4-3 victory over Anthor and 4-0 victory over Vithuland were highly rated. What was surprising was that matches like the 6-3 loss at home to Vilita and the 2-3 loss to Mercedini on the road were surprisingly rated highly as well. Publically, online and on television, these results were scorned. However, it seems that individual citizens seemed to appreciate and enjoy two teams playing at a high-level, even if the results were ultimately not in Oberour Ar Moro’s favor. The idea that Oberour Ar Moro was not invincible, and yet this was acceptable, would not find full purchase for many years.

From "The Melancholy of the Dragoons: A Perspective of National Success, National Failure, and National Identity" by "Margeria Édouard" from "Oberour Cultural Quarterly"

[Mattijana]

TujineBuro Mattijanska, Central Petrovijanka

Like most of the government buildings in Petrovijanka, the TujineBuro (or Department of Tourism) was an imposing stone building. Stately and cold from the outside, the offices had a more modern and friendly vibe on the inside with a brightly coloured interior decked out in the colours of the Mattijanan flag. There were even a few domesticated marmots roaming the lobby to complete the package.
The TujineBuro is one of the biggest government departments in the country. Tourism is Mattijana's biggest industry and the office's many employees handle everything from regulation to management and promotion of the country's famous destinations. The department is also responsible for providing advice to members of the public planning on travelling abroad.

The majority of them considered the TujineBuro a pleasant place to work, but one of them was about to have their bubble of optimism burst.

Marko Østergaard, the director of the foreign advice section, was rather like the building he worked in. He was not the biggest man, but himself had an opposing and official air around him that slowly wore off as you got to know him. He could however be rather stern, particularly when something bad had happened.

On this occasion, something bad had happened...and the person who had caused all the trouble was about to know about it. At that moment, there was a knock on the solid wood door in front of the solid wood desk in front of him.

"Come in!" Østergaard's voice was booming and hearty. The sort of voice that made you feel either better or worse depending on what side of him you were on. The door slowly opened.

The man who slipped through the newly-formed gap between door and wall was right to look nervous. He had neatly-cropped dark hair and a pair of eyes that were jumping around the room like a hyperactive kangaroo.

"Ah Jakob" mused Østergaard. "Take a seat please."

Jakob did just that. He got the impression things weren't friendly and wasn't going to hurt his chances of getting out alive even further. Østergaard reached below his desk and took out a piece of paper with a snap of his wrist. It was a printout of the page that Jakob had helped to write advising against travel to a few particularly unsettled or indeed unsettling nations.

"Did you write this?" questioned Østergaard, pointing at the paper like it had just eaten a bowlful of garlic and was now breathing it back out over his face.

"Umm...yes," replied Jakob, a little quietly. Østergaard made a deep hurrumphing noise.

"And did you in particular write the section about South Covello being in political turmoil?"

"Uhh...yes, I suppose you could call it that."

Østergaard nodded, but it wasn't the sort of nod that made Jakob feel particularly positive.

"Let me show you this," continued Østergaard, whipping out another piece of paper and plonking it forcefully on the desk in front of Jakob. It was a document from the South Covello Bureau of Tourism refuting everything written on the page.

"Read it" continued Østergaard. "Then read the news out of South Covello in the last few years. Then think about how you mixed up reports from the Gregist overthrowing with the removal of John Green to create this mixed up mess."

Jakob decided it was best to keep his mouth shut. In the scheme of things, this was a wise decision.

"I'm sure you'll be aware that as a powerful country in the same region as us, South Covello could be useful allies for us. A government department producing something comparing their country with the multiverse's greatest shitholes might completely ruin our chance of some lucrative deals. You even ranked it worse than Northwest Kalactin. You actually said it was more dangerous than a country where a perfect English speaker can be transformed to a gibbering wreck. Unbelievable..."

Jakob's silence couldn't last forever.

"But the reports all spoke of riots...and violence."

"Well you've obviously been pulling reports out of the same part of your arse this came from." Østergaard brandished the papers furiously. "They have fields of llamas for goodness sake! Fields of happy llamas skipping around and you put them on the same page as Farfadillis. Everyone here loves llamas! If anything you should have put South Covello on that other actually decent publication we did with all the good places on it."

More silence. Østergaard knew he was on top and was about to go in for the kill.

"You're probably wondering what's going to happen now. I'm not going to fire you, that would be the easy thing to do. As you may or may not have seen, the South Covello government have offered to show some of our representatives around. As the one who got us into this mess, you're going to get us out of it. Oh don't worry, you'll be going with Marina to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Marina Kovac was the head of the TujineBuro. Not ideal company for any kind of trip let alone one like this.

"You'll get a briefing soon. Until then you're suspended from work. Go and make some biscuits or mow your lawn or whatever you do in your free time. Now get out of my office."

Jakob would rather have been fired.

[Kita-Hinode]

[Cassadaigua]

Wake up, Brenecia!
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

We will start this way. Brenecia, wake up! I don’t know why you are conceding goals all of the sudden and not picking up maximum points, but you better get on your game before you play Tinhampton. We are counting on you to win that game!

Alright so here we are, another game of qualifying down, and the nitty gritty is upon us. This is when fans feel their heart rate pick up a notch, as all the games are critical now. For Team Cassadaigua, there is a lot more to worry about first before Tinhampton comes to Concord Heights Stadium. The Sargossan State Media stated that we would be on the road for that match, but we already had our fun in Tinhampton, and that was before it was in flames! Otherwise, that was a fascinating read! In fact, there’s no point in us going through our own group by group preview as well, just read what they put together. As far what we have to take care of first, it is a home match against Colonial Australia, then away at Cobrio. For Tinhampton, it’s away at Brenecia (again: WAKE UP, BRENECIA!!), and home to Octinstine. By the way, Octinstine, you are the reason we are in this damn mess. Why don’t you make some amends for that and get a shock result against Tinhampton, too. Right before the big game, those matches against Cobrio for us and Octinstine for them have a lot to say about the situation we will be in for the final match. It will be exciting, for sure.

It’s been a crazy campaign, but all in all, I am happy with the way the team has played in all aspects of the game. Kristen Speller won’t be confused with Mathis Woodgate (By the way, Mr. Woodgate, are you feeling ok? What’s going on? You were doing so well but ever since Hannah scored on you, you’ve been slipping. Let’s see the old Mathis Woodgate, the one getting clean sheets, against Tinhampton!). As I was saying, Speller won’t have the gaudy numbers of keepers that play in defensive systems, but she has done a pretty damn good job. Not quite as good as her run in World Cup 79, but definitely an improvement over the last Cup. The veteran defenders Jessica Curran and Chelsea Blake have been rocks. Lupe Enriquez has played clean and impressed in her rookie debut with this team. The other spot saw Carlos Martinez be over his head, but Hannah Shanley has locked down that spot ever since being named as the starter.

In the midfield, Sierra Mattison is the unsung hero of this team, and may actually be the team MVP right now. She is scoring goals, but also setting them up. Sierra has developed great chemistry with Hannah Ranucci at first, but that has spread to also be with Caitlyn Mayer. Zack Pierce, since the midway point especially, has been great. If you wanted to a good example, and not just the negatives of adding men to the team, then Pierce is the poster child for that. It seemed as though that Ranucci and Pierce were a little off as a unit initially, but that has changed big time, now. Up front, Ranucci is having the best World Cup qualifying campaign of her career, and Caitlyn Mayer is producing very well.

The team, really, is doing what is expected of them, the problem is, they have not raised their game. Games against Brenecia saw two defeats, including one by four goals. They also could not defeat Tinhampton on the road earlier. Beating everyone else, except Octinstine, has not been good enough. That still must happen, though. No room for a let down, as even these group minnows have the team chemistry of a long campaign to be spoilers.

And in case I need to say it again: Wake up, Brenecia!!!

[Farfadillis]

Things in Farfadillis hadn't been going well for almost ten years now, ever since the Rulandese revolution. For those not in the know: the Rulandese began an uprising, which was stopped by brutally destroying all Rulandese cities, leaving a death toll of roughly a third of the state's population. After that, acts of terrorism became an everyday thing, product of the tension between the Rulandese and the rest of the country. Over time, the more southern states began becoming more sympathetic towards Ruland, bolstering terrorist groups there and increasing the number of acts of terrorism in the north, specially in the capital of Ferdullaele. Particularly heinous acts of terrorism, including the most famous, perpetrated by the now-infamous "Burner of Ferdullaele", made the state turn towards very oppressive measures. But the government just couldn't fight every problem that arose: the Rulandese drug business had heavily proliferated; while it had always put a huge dent in the state, it was now affecting most of the northern states, almost as if it were an active act of sabotage. The rise to power of Alex Terán, an eccentric, aimless, dictatorial character with only contempt for those that could take him from power, which includes the Rulandese, made matters worse. What's more, the uranium industry, the main in the country, was running out of uranium. An enormous amount of uranium had been found in Ruland, which spurred on plans for a new, gargantuan mine... but the attempts to set up a new mine only deepened old wounds and destabilized everything further.

Now, that's quite a lot of information to process. Things were obviously far more complicated, but that was the gist of it. With this context in mine, I'm going to tell you a bit of the series of mistakes I made that completely destabilized my home state of Szoirsia. There were dire consequences for the country as a direct result of my actions.

The setting for this story is, obviously, Szoirsia. I was the most powerful man there. Even more powerful than the President. I could get anyone there killed, if I so desired. I could make and break careers. I could sway public opinion. All of that from the shadows, however. On the outside, I looked like one of the many powerful men in the country, but I was far more than that. I was supposedly "only" the president of René Skaé, the only relevant football club in the state. In a way, that was true; there really wasn't much else to me. But in a country like Farfadillis, where the president of a club can have more power than anyone except Alex Terán himself, that meant a lot. Furthermore, I had a lot of contacts. Contacts for anything you could imagine. You needed someone killed? Call good old Christian Killin' Martínez. You needed soap? I had a contact for that too. The one contact I now regret to have made was with Ânkîs, the biggest drug lord in Farfadillis, who slowly but surely completely undermined my authority in Szoirsia.

I had made a deal with this Ânkîs person. I knew very little of him, just the most important things: he was dangerous, powerful and Rulandese. He had come to me with an offer to turn René Skaé into a footballing powerhouse in exchange for loyalty. It took some thinking from my wife, but I accepted. The better René Skaé were, the more powerful I was. I guess I never considered this would make Ânkîs more powerful by extension. But, you see, my mistake wasn't really becoming a drug lord's pawn. At least, it wasn't the only one.

As a rich man that came from a rich family, it can sometimes be hard to understand the common man, specially so in times of needs. Yes, I could sway public opinion by bribing a few journalists and talking to the right people, but I still didn't know what made the public happy and what didn't. I only knew what I liked the public to think. Let me elaborate on that by telling you about my first big mistake.

At the time, René Skaé's best players were Faragó rue Cazade and Cu Roi Garrard. Faragó was loyal to the club to an unhealthy degree, so keeping him wouldn't be a problem. Cu Roi, however, had just won the World Cup with Brenecia out of left field. He had only been a substitute; I don't even remember if he had gotten playing time. But this engrandized his ego. He demanded a new contract after having just signed a new one. Furthermore, he demanded his wages be tripled. Before making the deal with Ânkîs, I was caught up in a few (now unimportant) problems that rendered me incapable of funneling money into the club to pay so much for a player like Garrard. Curuá, as my fellow Szoirsians affectionately called him, had dropped the matter after I had made it clear I didn't have the money.

Two weeks after making the deal, however, the pesky Brenecian asked for another meeting with me. He told me he had offers from different Brenecian and Nepharim clubs that were willing to pay as much as five times what I was paying him. To this day, I do not know if that was true, but I couldn't risk it. The transfer window was about to close, and I had opted not to invest in the team for that season, instead going for more money for the academy and the scouts, as well as better infrastructure as a whole. I would spend heavily the following window, I figured.

You see, I couldn't let Garrard go. He wasn't even close to being the best player in the league, but he was extremely important for us. Without him and with some bad luck, we could be facing relegation, which would make us lose promising young players, among them rue Cazade, who could easily bring us ten million. So, amidst the desperation, I made the first big mistake. I told Garrard I'd be paying him sixfold. He did not accept. "Tenfold or bust." He said. Tenfold it was.

Szoirsia had been recently hit by a record-setting heatwave. It had had a devastating effect on the population, causing a bit of a crisis because of the state's dependence on agriculture and the State's complete neglect because of the Rulandese matter. To me, it had just been a couple of months earning one less zero. After news of Garrard's new wage broke out, there were protests. At first, they were minor. They were protesting a footballer's wage, after all. But things snowballed from there after the police heavily repressed the protest. Farves never pass up on a good reason to set things on fire, and they were given just that. After that one protest, many more began springing up. We were not quite Ruland yet, but we were on the way there, and the government wouldn't have any of that.

[New Lusitania and the Algarves]

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


THREE POINTS MORE
New Lusitania 3-1 Ndaku @ Estádio do Algarve

New Lusitania received Ndaku in the sunny Algarve in another World Cup Qualifier. A full house, the Lusitanians opened the tab with a header from Silveira, a beautiful corner kick left the goalkeeper with no chance. Ndaku managed to equalise at thirty minutes, leaving it level during the first half. In the second half, Silva passed it to Gama, who scored a quality goal putting the home side ahead once more. A final goal came in, courtesy of substitute, Breu, and an assist by Fernando.
FULL TIME: 3-1.


POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS
I: Thoughts on the match?
VSC: Well, I think the team responded well to necessity and we won well today. Another three points for the tally.
I: What about coming matches?
VSC: We have to play Turori next, the ultimate challenge, so it could be an invitation for Beepee to shorten the distance but we want to come out with points.
I: Indeed, thanks for your time Victor.

RATINGS, AWARDS AND OPINIONS


LUS Ratings (vs. Ndaku) : Patríce 8, Guerreiros 8, Dalot 7, Cédric Silva 7, Nevais 7, Mário 8 (Breu 7), Fernando 8, Silva 7, Gama 8, Silveira 8.5 , Jota 7 OVERALL : 8

STATS (LUS/NDK)
Goals: 1/0+4/1
Shots: 7/4+8/5
Shots on Target: 5/6
Corners: 5/2/3
Fouls: 4/3/5
Cards - Yellow: 0/0/0
Cards - Red: 0/0/0
Posession: 45/55+65/35


THE HUB
GOAL COUNT : André Silveira (7), Fransisco Gama (5), Bruno Fernando (5), Nevais (4), Daniel Jota (4), André Moreira (2), B.Silva (2) Breu (2), Guerreiros (1), Jorge Mário (1), Luz (1).

Assist Count: Bruno Fernando (7), Jorge Mário (3), Fransisco Gama (2), André Silveira (3), Breu (3), B.Silva (3), Cancela (1), Nevais (1), Moreira (1), Dalot (1).

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

Callup Changes: Domingos Armilar [CAM] (<=> Dias (CB))
Sérgio Azinheira (CDM) (<=> Rui Esgaio (CDM -> vs. Valladares)

-----------------------------------
Matchday: Internationals
coverage of the best from qualifying
STL1 21:00 GMT
-----------------------------------
World Cup 81 Qualifying
The best of the action on STL
-----------------------------------
#stl #forçaselecção #WC81Quals #LUSNDK
----------------------------------
STL in association with FLF
MMXVIII

[Alasdair I Frosticus]

The Tale of the Fluffy Bunnies and the Apox Cuddle Party

The fluffy bunnies did so like playing against Apox.

Whenever the two top teams in Group 4 got together, you could be sure of happy hi-jinks and friendly cuddles.

This had been true of the first match, when the mean and stinky referee man had so misunderstood the friendly cuddles that he'd shown three red cards (imagine!).

It also turned out to be true of the second match.

It was perhaps the first match in World Cup history to feature eight penalties!

The bunnies and the Apox players were so busy running, and laughing, and jumping, and cuddling that they hardly noticed the referee, who wasn't quite as mean and stinky as the referee in the first leg, but certainly came close.

Why, when Patches kneed his bestest new friend Townsend in the groin for the first penalty, the referee didn't seem to realise that this was a traditional bunny way of saying 'I love you very much, and want nothing better than for us to be bestest friends forever'; though Patches did admit that it must seem funny to silly mundies that such a nice way of saying hello left your bestest new friend writhing around in unconscionable agony for several minutes.

Hey-ho; bunnies know best, though.

Still, when Spitfire hauled down Prince Fluffles for the second penalty, pulling him down by the ears, it was clear that Apox loved the fluffy bunnies just as much as the fluffy bunnies loved Apox.

Back and forth, to and fro, came the cuddles and love, with Palmisano stretchered off after a particularly loving cuddle from Whiskers left the Apox captain with a broken nose; purely from being hugged too hard, you understand. Then Twix had to come on for Snuggles when the fluffy bunny forward was left with a black eye following a particularly lovable bout of enthusiastic cuddling from Menheniot.

Why, by the end of the match, six more penalties had been handed out, three more each to both teams, as both sides became just a little bit too carried away with the love and hugs and cuddles.

At least the referee didn't hand out any red cards, though by the end of the match every single player - including the substitutes - had received a yellow card; which must also be some kind of record.

The fluffy bunnies enthusiastically declared the second match against Apox to be the funnest and bestest match they had ever played in.

As for the poor referee man, he never quite recovered from the experience, even years of expensive psychological therapy.

But that's what he gets for being mean and stinky to bunnies, and trying to ban cuddles.

Hippity hop, hippity hop, into the burrow.

[Mercedini]

As Mercedini edge closer to qualifying for the World Cup, attention turns to their other competitive escapades across the multiverse, with Mercedini also in action in the World Hit Festival, hosted by the coastal city of Polumisec in in Izmedu for it's 41st edition. Today was a match to forget for the Golden Eagles as they fell to a spirited Vithuland side by a single goal away from home to mark their second defeat of the campaign, placing their automatic qualification spot in jeopardy, with fourth place in the 'runners-up' table now a single point behind Mercedini, who somehow hold onto their top spot in that table, even if they are now four points behind Vilita in the main qualification table. Headlines aside from those revolving around the World Cup have been few and far between as the nation gets wrapped up in football fever from the Free Republics and Banija, with many hoping for a decent performance at the World Cup, considering their recent triumphs at the Cup of Harmony and the Independents Cup, which could give the nation both a morale boost and an economic boost for the rest of the footballing cycle. Many a time have Mercedini gone the distance with some of the multiverse's most prestigious nations and then fell just short, so with the form the Golden Eagles are currently on, many hope that they could make a second appearance at the most prestigious cup of them all.

We take a break from our regular World Cup schedule to bring you some important news regarding the Mercedinian representative for the 41st World Hit Festival.

Mercedini finally confirm their participation in the 41st World Hit Festival in Izmedu as ShebPop star Helena Malakhina returns to international song contest after placing in the top five at the WorldVision Song Contest with her Shebyazyk-language song 'Groncha'. This time, she heads to Polumisec with a song in English, written by previous World Hit champion Daniel Alishkaerni and one half of Rhythm DMZ, Mateo Dommazoni. Mercedini have been ever present in the top ten of the previous contests they have participated and survived a scare in the previous edition with Rachel Nollov making it through a strong semi-final to ultimately finish in sixth place in the final, giving Mercedini a 100% qualification record from semi-finals.

However, Mercedini have had three attempts since M'folo Asante's win in Gralicna, with ENM's three previous attempts never scratching the top three, even if Mercedini have never earned lower than 7th since that victory. Malakhina and ENM hope they can make it a hattrick of wins in Izmedu, with Mousiki and Gralicna the previous venues for their wins. A winning formula could have been reached with the lyrics and music written by well known Mercedinian artists, although World Hit voting sequences have been unpredictable as ever in recent editions as ENM take nothing for granted as they throw everything at the performance to bring home a third World Hit title.

Many will be watching back in Mercedini, especially the six million or so in Shebnatsiya where Malakhina hails from. She may not be singing in her native language, but it brings the best of Mercedinian-Shebnatsiyan culture together into one three-minute song on stage. Helena finished within the top five in her outing at the WorldVision Song Contest, and is hoping to repeat that performance in some capacity on the night. Staging details have been kept under wraps for a short while, but all will be revealed when she performs on stage in Polumisec.

The World Hit Festival is a competition of which Mercedini has a great pediggree in, winning the contest twice and never falling out of the top ten in any of the contest that Mercedini has participated in. Mercedini have never hosted the contest, despite winning nations afforded the first refusal of hosting duties, ENM have always gone on to favour other projects instead. There's hope to complete the hattrick of victories in Izmedu, where the won their previous two World Hits. This edition could see record low viewership if Mercedini qualify for the World Cup for rather obvious clashing reasons, although Mercedini's high chances have since fallen back into the pack for the remaining three matches. It might be a tight squeeze in both compeitions for Mercedini, however these stores develop by the day with suck quick turnarounds between the matches in the World Cup, and the performances of the World Hit Festival. Mercedini reputation on the international stage is put on show during these kids of events, meaning many hope for a good result at the end of it all.

[Squornshelan Remnant States]

The interrogation was proceeding frustratingly for everyone involved.

I suppose it was unrealistic to expect them to believe me so quickly, but I had hoped they would have at least called in some sort of higher-up by now. She had been speaking to the same two Confederate police lieutenants for the past two hours, and had lost count of the number of times she had been called up on to repeat her story.

"How many times must I say it? Very well, I will tell you again, my name is not Irina Polokov. I am Tshiunza Aarud, and I have been an SIO operative for 21 years. I am the station chief overseeing a cell charged with causing the Confederate national team to lose. The chosen method was poisoning with a custom biological agent designed to cause severe gastrointestinal disruption for 5-7 weeks. Everything I have told you will be verifiable based on the members of my cell that you have already taken into custody, and the others you will capture if you move quickly. If you have followed up on any of the information I have provided then you know that I am telling the truth."

Tshiunza, who had been Irina for so long, reminded herself inwardly that the two men in the interrogation room with her were not the only ones involved in following up on what she was providing. They did not even need to leave the room, as their superiors were watching through the unblinking eye of the camera in the corner. She took yet another deep breath and prepared to repeat herself for the last time.

"Get someone in here who can talk to me about asylum and protective custody. Until then I'm done talking. Follow up on what I've told you and see that I'm not making anything up, but rest assured you wont get anything else out of me without some promises that are above either of your heads to make."

Before either officer could respond, a knock at the door drew their attention. One exited the room, presumably conversed briefly with someone outside, and then reopened the door to beckon his companion. After a minute or so, the door opened again, and a familiar face entered. "Captain Ruoho, I never thought I'd say this but it's good to see you. it appears I'm finally getting somewhere."

"I'm afraid you have the advantage of me Ms. . . Polokov is it?"

"Aarud actually, though it was Polokov for a long time. I must apologize for underestimating you Captain. You made my job quite difficult."

"I guess the fact you know who I am lends some credibility to what you've said here today. I'm here to figure out whether you really are who you say. If your story checks out with what I already know, you'll be taken into protective custody by the CSA for a full debriefing. What kind of deal you can cut with them depends on the value of the information you can provide."

"Naturally Captain, where should I begin?"

"What can you tell me about the man who was arrested before the first match against Olastor"

"Anatoliy Sorokin, alias Aatu Perchkov, posing as a photojournalist with the Brantid Post. Their personnel and payroll records were altered to provide a cover against any routine checks of his identity. He was added to the team only a month ago and there was not time for a more thorough job. He was to be limited to reconnaissance tasks only. To be frank, I'm not entirely sure how he managed to blow his cover. He had a very simple assignment."

"He wasn't very subtle about the way he was reconnoitering my team."

"Idiot. His capture set the plan back by weeks while we enacted contingencies to keep ourselves safe in case he talked."

"Far as I know he hasn't said a word since he realized we knew he wasn't with the Post."

"Headquarters would be so proud. The next two you picked up were Petr Haakelund and Gregors Kolkhin, aliases Hervi Pahlsson and Arvil Husdal, the caterers. A combination of bribes, blackmail and good luck got them hired at the new company you'd switched to. We knew sending the two of them in again was a definite risk, but it was determined to be an acceptable one." Tshiunza paused, "We threw them away just to get another shot at the team."

"Ms. Aarud you are incredibly well informed about this case. I have to admit that you are probably who you say you are." Farid's tone was one of amazement. "You're taking the biggest risk of your life here. As soon as you're overdue for your extraction the SIO will be trying to kill you."

"I know it better than anyone Captain. Let us both hope it is worth it."

[Sargossa]

JV: ‘Welcome back to SargoSport 1, your home for live World Cup action. We have very much reached the business end of proceedings and that long and winding round towards the World Cup Finals is coming to an end. Ten nations started this journey in Group 14, five remain in contention but only one will take that automatic qualification place. The Hinodejin Empire currently occupy that spot but by the end of the evening it could be an entirely different story. Right now over on SargoSport 2 we’ve got live action from The Ministry Of Regions as The Main Nation Ministry host the Alpine Union. And on the blue button service there’s your choice of all the other Group 14 encounters. Thibaea are in Altai Almas, Sangti host Raffiah and Siovanija and Teusland take on Soute. You don’t have to miss any of the action.’

‘But now it’s that time. We are in the capital for what is going to be a big one, it’s Sargossa versus The Hinodejin Empire. Sargossa, looking to take back top spot in this group, The Hinodejin Empire hoping to take a huge step towards the Finals. Taking you through all the action it’s Matías Montiel and first Carlos Acuña. Good evening gentlemen.’

CA: ‘Good evening Javi. Good evening everybody. Welcome to Soluca, welcome to the Estadio Generalissimo Joaquín Delgado, the home of Sargossan football. The city has stopped for the night, the country has stopped. All eyes are focused on this. This is a huge match that could very well determine which nation will be on that plane. And if the first match between these sides is anything to go by we’re all going to be in for a treat. Ten goals were shared in Tentai City but just one will do tonight. In recent years though, home form has been Sargossa’s Achilles Heel. In fact both defeats this campaign have came upon these shores, in Maturín and Mercada, does that worry you at all Matías?’

MM: ‘It is perhaps a little bit of worry in truth, there clearly is some kind of mental cloud that comes over some of the side when they play at home. Perhaps it’s the pressure? The expectation? Who knows. But we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that our overall home record is pretty decent, we’ve won far more fixtures than we’ve lost. We’ve put three past Thibaea and Soute, four past Raffiah and eight past Altai Almas in home games in this campaign so there’s no need to get overly concerned just yet.’

CA: ‘The entire campaign could potentially hinge on this one fixture, which always adds another layer to the pressure. How do you think Rodrigo Defederico and his side will handle that?’

MM: ‘I think they need to remember that they are this Group’s top seeds for a reason. Three successive World Cup qualifications. Copa Rushmori finallists. We’re riding the crest of a wave at the moment so there’s no reason at all why they can’t go out there and win this one. Look at the stats. Sargossa are this group’s top scorers and we have the stingiest defence. This side is a class act and it’s about time they proved it to the rest of the group.’

CA: ‘The players are in the tunnel and Rodrigo Defederico takes his place in the dugout. It’s a big night for him in what is his first full campaign at the helm. He steered the nation away from trouble two years ago but can he steer them back into contention tonight? Here are the lineups. First, The Hinodejin Empire.’

MM: ‘It’s a young side for the Empire here, Seinosuke Yoshihama in goal is the only player the wrong side of thirty. The defence is particularly youthful and we saw some of their naivety back in Tentai when they conceded five goals. But they scored five too so we know the attack is dangerous. Iori Saitou will again be the focal point while Suijin Minami has a habit of popping up right where she is needed. And watch out for the captain Hyong Hye-Young pulling the strings from out wide on the left. Given time and space she becomes a very dangerous customer.’

CA: ‘How dangerous remains to be seen. Here’s Sargossa…’



MM: ‘Two enforced changes for Sargossa. Espina and Guerrero are suspended following yellow cards against Sangti so in come Camargo and Vazquez. Camargo slots straight into the back three, that’s a straight swap, but Luís Vazquez is a more defensive option than Sergio Espina. Bustamanté or even Amaro would have been more creative options so the coach is obviously weary of The Hinodejin Empire attacking strength. There’s also a tactical switch on the left, with Germán Montero in for Alfredo Valenzuela. Again that is a defensive option brought into the midfield. I think we can expect to see a slightly less expansive attitude from the Corsairs today.’

CA: ‘As is often the case when campaigns like this reach their latter stages. Now, that roar indicates that the players are coming out onto the pitch. Sargossa are in their familiar dark blue while The Hinodejin Empire are in their first choice kit of white and black. We are mere moments away from kickoff, it’s time for the national anthems. Starting with the national anthem of Sargossa…’

[Blaneu]

The Cape Chronicle

---

Younger Side Dispatch Comind New Islands With Ease

A young Blaneu side faced off against the Comind New Islands in the Cauldron last night, and despite a rough start managed to dispatch them with ease. The stadium was packed out, and as with Defi Rovers matches the atmosphere was immense.

Perhaps at the start of the match this atmosphere was too much for the younger players making their first start, they looked initially tentative. The performance was reminiscent of 'Defi syndrome', where the big home atmosphere seemed to intimidate Defi Rovers more than the visiting sides. However, in a side with so many changes, and lining up in a new formation (2-3-1-2-2 (yeah don't ask)) it is perhaps a bit churlish to pin it on the atmosphere alone. Regardless, Blaneu's initial shonkiness was punished, with a goal squeaking past Aled after a goalmouth scramble. Blaneu continued to look vulnerable for much of the first half, but the nerves were eventually stilled as John Pottinger took his first ever international goal just shy of half time. A true poachers goal, a shot by Powell was spilled back out by the goalkeeper, and he managed to tap it past them to level things.

Snellbridge's half-time team talk seemed to have the desired effect as Blaneu took control of the game at the start of the second half. Powell was the one to put Blaneu ahead, just 3 minutes into the half, receiving a long pass over the top of defense from Starkey, he managed to plant the ball past the goalkeeper. Blaneu kept the pressure up from this point onward, and they were eventually rewarded. Owain Davis doubled the lead in the 60th minute with a fantastic freekick, and John Hartson snatched a goal in the box 71 minutes deep. Overall, Blaneu looked fairly assured despite not playing a full-strength side.

Next up and Blaneu face the Sherpa Empire, a game that will likely decide the order in which these two sides finish now that they've fell some way back of those fighting for play-off spots. Playing away should provide the side with more of a challenge than in this fixture and it will provide a better opportunity to blood the younger members of the side. Snellbridge is likely to maintain the approach of only two centre-backs for this game, with the wing-backs more likely to drop a bit deeper to provide defensive cover.

[Starblaydia]

Toroin Halatyion, President of the SFA
World Cup 44 Champion and
World Cup Hall of Famer

Tororin Halatyrion was the President of the Starblaydi Football Association. A former international player for his country, the elf had risen through the administrative ranks of the SFA after retiring from several human lifespans of on-field action. It wasn't the football itself that he had loved as a player; the World Cup 44 winner's medal to his name sat proudly in a bell-shaped glass display case in his SFA office was there to remind him, and show the world, that he was a winner.

His playing career, both for Starblaydia's traditionally elven club Telecontarë and the international side, was not exactly the stuff of legends, WC44 medal notwithstanding. But he hadn't cared about that. Halatyrion had put up with the rain, the mud, the sweat and the physical contact with an excessively wet, muddy, sweaty bunch of life forms he had to face as opposition over the years in order to prove that his iron will to win was something to go down in history as legendary. His name would be first among the great innovators of the Starblaydi game, the focal administrative point of the resurgence that was bringing Starblaydia ever closer to their destiny - #wewantsix. Halatyrion hadn't come up with that asinine tag himself, of course, that had been one of his social media lackeys at whom he always had to shout, owing to their collective terrible attitude. Social media was a plague to be endured and the so-called opinions of the unwashed, uncultured masses were now, for some reason, supposed to be taken into account by people who were in charge and knew what they were doing, at least on the surface.

Not a single post of the SFA twii.tur had been made at his direction, not even the ones that had gravitas and the deftest of common touches that were signed ' - TH'. That was all some charming idiot in his team scribbling platitudes to the sheep. That was not for him. He'd carefully built and maintained a public persona over the years, one that he wasn't going to give up for anything. He only wanted more, striving with his ambition as far as it would go. He was trying to make Starblaydia the greatest footballing nation in history under his stewardship, but now there was an opportunity to do more. Even more. It was common knowledge now that the SFA would be able to nominate one of their own for the upcoming election for President of the World Cup Committee, to face off against Mumau Atla-Siioai of Vilita (or was it Turori?) and Princess Candace of Equestrian States.

He knew Princess Candace fairly well, of course, having presided over the various draws for the 80th World Cup with her, four short years earlier. Some dog and pony show that had turned out to be, pulling balls out of a velvet bag in a lowest-common-denominator pantomime to the true nature of random number theory. The Vilitan candidate, well, they were just a disorganised colletion of vowels and consonants arranged in an unhelpful manner to make something close to, but not entirely unlike a given name, like most Vilitans and Turorians were guilty of, thanks to their parents. Perhaps they picked letters at random from a velvet bag at the time of a child's birth, too, that would surely explain some of the names on their teamsheets through the years.

He slid his slimline black keyboard out from its discreet hiding place on his desk and began to type. The words flowed from his long, elegant elven fingers like honey drizzled from a spoon until he was quite proud of the press release he had written about himself. It covered all his key acheivements and accomplishments in his long career in that certain verve that only an elf can truly carry off. He knew that it would shortly be ripped apart, dumbed down and generally made unreadable by one of his junior staffers, but if unreadable was what the rest of the world wanted, then unreadable was what they were going to get. At least he'd been able to capture the essence of his persona into the version he'd written - that was the one that would be going into his memoirs, after all.

As ever, he was faintly disgusted with what they'd turned his words into, when he finally got them back from their ireedemable excuse for a copywriter. It would have to do, however, there was a deadline to meet, as the Presidential vote would be held in the same session used to decide the next Cup of Harmony co-hosts.

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release to all agencies.

From: The Starblaydi Football Association, Jhanna, Starblaydia

The SFA is delighted to announce that their nomination for the upcoming World Cup Committee election for President will be the current SFA President Tororin Halaytrion.

Halatyrion, a World Cup winner with Starblaydia in the 44th edition and a more-than worthy recepient of Starblaydia's recent three person World Chall of Fame induction, has been the President of the SFA for many years and, under his leadership, both Liga Starblaydia and the Starblaydia national football team have been renewed and reinvigorated to consistently improving performances on the global stage,. showcasing his dynamic and successful approach to leadership of the association.

At his direction, the administration of Liga Starblaydia at an operational level was successfully put out to tender, the contract won by a Vanorian company, while his appointment of Azewyn Feanaro as national team manager has been an unqualified success, returning Starblaydia to the top 16 in the world for the first time in decades, making three successive World Cup finals appearances, with a fourth currently on course for the 81st World Cup.

Halatyrion himself co-led the bidding process, organisation and adminstration of the 80th World Cup, a remarkably successful event in the history of the game, bringing in billions of Starblaydi Credits of tourism to the country, and unprecedented levels of both international interest and grass-roots funding to the national sport of Starblaydia.

The SFA believes that Tororin Halatyrion is a highly qualified individual with unmatched experience in organising and administering the world's favourite sport at an international level, who would be an excellent choice for the voters of the World Cup Committee to take the game forward to new heights from World Cups 82-84 and beyond.

The entirety of the SFA, and Starblaydi football at large, is proud to nominate Tororin Halaytion for the next WCC President.

*** ENDS ***

They hadn't even put in the part where he'd referred to himself as 'your next glorious and benevolent World Cup Committee President'. The amateurs.

[Nephara]

Cosneolta 0 - 1 Nephara
(4-2-3-1) 12 - Swoboda; 2 - Rafford, 5 - Konoval, 6 - Steelhenge, 19 - Close; 4 - Rowland, 8 - Klein (15 - Rosenthal 67'); 7 - Fanaiyan, 21 - Gosforth (c), 11 - Strongbow (16 - Staunton 80'); 9 - Hawke (10 - Cathar 70')
Goal: Hawke 7'

THE HERALD
NARROW WIN OVER COSNEOLTA AS CORMORANTS CONTINUE TO GLIDE
Geneva Schwarzer

Seven minutes into a crunch match against Cosneolta, Estrella Hawke took Fanaiyan's pass on the chest, turned her marker and powered home the only goal of the game. And that... was pretty much all that happened, all match, as the Cormorants yet again got the job done, away against the standout third team of the group.

That's been the story of qualifying. It hasn't really been that interesting, a straight two-horse race at the top that's starting, touch wood, to turn into a one-horse race after a couple of Echani slips left the Cormorants a five-point lead. Ancharmunn and the EOT are both potential banana skins, but left to be faced at home. Really, the Cormorants should close out the job with relative ease.

It bodes well for the campaign... probably. MIchael Brandon's always been a qualifying specialist - since taking over in the wake of the second Tveidalen Incident, his qualifying record reads a faintly terrifying 51-2-3. But do the Cormorants peak too early? For all his successes, Brandon is yet to win a World Cup knockout match, defeated by a hosting Ceni on penalties and an avian Turori in 90 minutes.

It's just two isolated matches - too soon to see a pattern, or push an agenda. Those calling for the marathon Premiership season to be shortened might well be right, but most Cormorants play abroad anyway, so burnout can't be wholly to blame. And those that claimed Nephara was no longer a tournament team were surely shut down by a convincing Copa Rushmori legacy which has, in turn, preserved Brandon's as a whole.

But the fact remains; qualifying breezily guarantees nothing for the tournament itself. When Nephara won the World Cup, they had to navigate a playoff. Perhaps it's struggle that best brings out the mongrel in the Cormorants. To Brandon, that's just superstitious self-myth, and he'll continue to put his faith in a well-rested, well-rotated and well-blooded 23.

[The Macabees]

LOLITA, CH. 16

Paquat was a smaller city, for new imperial standards, that sat on the northern coastline of New Empire. It was once even smaller, but after the civil wars that scorched its radiated surface, it grew under the bloat of refugees. The city dug downwards to fit more and more people seeking safety below ground, and what a good fortune this was for the city for it would allow it to dominate the smaller cities nearby when the old Union collapsed soon after the War of Golden Succession. Now, after almost ten years of independence, Paquat sat once again within a greater Union and this time under the supervision, and protection, of the Golden Throne.

Bernie and Lolita landed there the day after speaking to Coach Valooh. Most cross-regional airliners offered high orbit flights which took hours instead of days. They took a self-driving taxi all the way to their hotel, where they checked in, and took the lift up to their room to drop off their luggage. They hadn't brought much with them, expecting to be here only a few days at most.

The room was spacious, even though their hotel was several thousand feet below ground and Bernie did not like that one bit. Lolita was more accustomed to the subterranean lifestyle, and truth be told this area of Paquat was very different from Alkoben and some of those Fedalan neighborhoods. Safer.

Of course, the police in the city were emboldened by the presence of the imperial garrison on the surface. It served as a headquarters for an enormous field army that was deployed along the northern arc of the frontier with Lyras. The whole city was teeming with soldiers wearing imperial badges and uniforms, and many more who walked around in civilian clothing. They ate at the local restaurants, visited the strip clubs and brothels, and did all the usual things soldiers did. Many of Paquat's residents disapproved, but many more made a profit from it all and kept their mouth shut. Anybody who made trouble was willingly put down by city law enforcement and when the resistance became violent the imperial army was simply marched down to restore order to the city. Such was life in Paquat these days, with a sense of normalcy being restored only slowly and through tedious effort.

After dropping off their stuff, the two of them took into the city streets. It was just as noisy as any other city, although not necessarily anymore. Dampeners helped to reduce echo and any other forces that served to augment the sound level. Most of the natural rock around the area had been covered or blocked in some way, anyway. Concrete and steel beams traveled along most of the ceiling, and giant columns erupted from the ground as support.

Paquat was known for its fisheries, operating a massive fleet that trawled the waters north and west of New Empire most especially, but all over the region as well. It was the city's original purpose, although it diversified considerably since the great migrations of the nuclear wars. Now there were banks, factories, and sports teams.

Including Paquat IFK, a member of the newborn UCS Premier League. The UCS standing for United City States.

Their stadium was in the city's heart, its geographic center. Lights of different colors spun, flashed, and painted its walls. Around it, it was very much the same, with restaurants and bars, boutiques, and other storefronts competing just as fiercely with brilliant lights of their own. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people walked up and down the broad sidewalks and over pedestrian bridges that went across the city streets. Traffic flowed almost seamlessly. Autonomous cars had become cheap here again with the deluge of imperial money and goods.

They took one of these to the team's training facilities, only four kilometers from the stadium. Lolita had asked her father for help on locating the runaway football player, but as it turned out Laurens van Graat had found Lakén rather easily. The idiot had used his cash cards to purchase things, although truth be told that money was so traceable these days that Lakén Yori's folly had probably only accelerated his discovery.

Bernie and what he supposed was his new girlfriend knew exactly when the team would begin practice and what gate they would leave through when it ended.

"Over there," she said, when they neared the gate's location.

"I see it." Bernie instructed the vehicle to pull over to the side. The car opened its doors and a freezing cold swept through leaving both of them frigid as icycles, so he abruptly instructed the vehicle to close the doors again. But then it started moving because some of these vehicles apparently are not equipped with the latest AI that allows the computer to understand when the damn passenger just wants to chill in the damn car. After a few more stops, door openings, and harrowing mini winter storms, Bernie just said feck it all to the infernal fires of Jar'Telemesna, God of the Underworld. He told the doors to open one last time and just decided to step out, Lolita promptly following him after the car started to throw a fit.

"Shit, Bern, you see what you did? You passed a driverless car off. Driverless, Bern. There's not even a human in there, and you still manage to drive it crazy. Imagine that." Lolita was rubbing her arms furiously in vain hope of staying warm. She looked at him just as furiously while doing it.

Startled, he said, "What's been up with you lately?"

"Are you saying I'm being a bitch?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

He raised his hands. "Wow, that's not even what I said at all. Calm down."

"Don't tell me to call down," she spat back.

"No really, what's your problem?" he asked. "I just want to understand."

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't think we were just going to go straight to talking to Lakén. I didn't know you were in such a hurry to get back to the provinces. I thought maybe we could enjoy a little vacation while we're here, since, you know, neither of us have ever been here. Maybe even just one day, the first day, a half-day really, if you think about it."

"Woah, woah, woah," he said. "I was just getting this out of the way so we could get to that, baby."

"Oh, okay," she said frowning. "Let's go talk to that mother[*bleep*]!"

But by then, facility security had overheard the argument and five men were approaching them. They were heavily armed and wore all black uniforms, much of it military gear. Private security had militarized here as well, it seemed. The one in the lead yelled at them, "Hey you! There is no loitering around Paquat IFK property. You must leave immediately!"

"Yea, yea, we will leave right now," shouted Bernie. They were still a ways away.

Lolita, however, screamed back. "We're just two tourists in Paquat! Is this how the city welcomes its guests? With thugs?"

"Silence, woman," said the guard in the lead. They were masks around their heads so you could not see his eyes, except for two red dots that illuminated its face plate. His heavy armor did not seem welcoming and neither did the cuddle in his hand. "You must leave immediately!"

"Yep, yep," said Bernie, frantically. He was panicking. "I'm hailing a cab now."

A red vehicle darted out around the corner a few minutes later. It could not come soon enough. The five soldiers were upon them and surrounding them, uncomfortably close and impeding almost every movement until it was time to walk to the car. Bernie looked behind as they drove away. "I suppose we weren't meant to speak with Lakén today after all," he said, looking at her. "Let's go do something fun."

[Polkopia]

Mordavia FC is a club which plays in the Polkopian Premier League. At the end of the last season, the eagles finished in 1st place and continue to play in the top flight of Polkopian football for the upcoming season. The team currently plays in the city of Restnov, and their home ground is the Abofok Arena, which seats up to 40,221 spectators.

History:

Mordavia FC was founded in 1950 as a birthday present from Mikhail Carlevaro, Restnov's governor, to his son, who was an adamant fan of FC Valinkova - a team who played in the city of Valinkova, Polkopia, during this time. In the time of its founding, there were only 10 teams, and Mordavia FC did not have sufficient funds to play in the Premier League, so for its first season, Mordavia FC played in the Second Division, but qualified a year later - the first and only Polkopian club to have been promoted a year after its founding. The club was relegated in 1956 and wouldn't participate in the Premier League until 1960.

In 1963, the club transferred ownership to Janko Carlevaro after the death of his father, Mikhail. Janko still owns the club today and is currently holds the record for the longest timeframe for a man to hold a football club. In 1966, the club won its first title, though it was highly controversial. Mordavia FC tied Polkopian club Peeto Gordost' at the end of the season in points, goal differential, and head to head results, something that had never before been seen throughout Polkopian football. At the time, the Premier League only had these tie-breakers to determine the victor, but in this case, since all three were equal, the two clubs played a single game at the end of the season to determine the winner of the 1965-66 Premier League, which Mordavia FC won 2-1.

In 1973 Olympik Restnov was founded, making Restnov the third city in Polkopia to host two Premier League teams. The teams shared one stadium, however, something that had been previously unknown to the league, and the implementation of this proved to be not only costly, but difficult to manage for the PFA. For instance, the PFA had to reschedule the League on two separate occasions due to conflicts between Mordavia FC and Olympik Restnov's home games.

The club would go on to win two more titles in 1990 and 1993, and throughout the 2000's, would break into the top 5 of the Premier League by the season's end. Today, the club boasts one of the largest fanbases in all of Polkopia and many Polkopians point to the Restnov Derby as the football match that they look forward to every year. Viewing figures show that the matches between Mordavia FC and Olympik Restnov in the 2017-2018 season had the highest viewers by over 17,000.

In 2015, the club was disbanded, along with the other Polkopian clubs, due to a large-scale corruption scandal across the entirety of the PFA. The club was reestablished the following year and Mordavia FC participated in the 2017-18 Polkopian Premier League, finishing 1st out of 16 teams.

Squad:

##       POS.        NAME.                                                   
#1       GK       Danko Vilar
#2       GK       Arman Prescott
#3       GK       Manuel Di Sica
#25      DEF      Franko Vlasić
#70      DEF      Leon Goranov
#50      DEF      Mikhail Vardanyan
#52      DEF      Petya Stefanović
#68      DEF      Mitya Kostov
#36      DEF      Alyosha Viktorov
#15      MID      Filip Markov
#20      MID      Sašo Romano
#7       MID      Celio Dragović
#12      MID      Yozef Tamaro
#10      MID      Vitomir Favero
#22      MID      Alvise Antonov
#11      FWD      Denis Vinsović
#9       FWD      Aleksandr Popov
#30      FWD      Grigory Miltov
#13      FWD      Doriyan Panosyanak

[Brenecia]

Cobrio 1 - 1 Brenecia
(4-1-4-1 / 4-4-2) 1 - Woodgate; 2 - Broxham, 5 - Heneghan, 6 - Szubanski (c), 3 - Quill; 23 - Alweather (4 - Staunton 86'); 7 - Crowther, 21 - Case (10 - Carrick 64'), 13 - Wheeler, 16 - Keynes (11 - Ashbrown 78'); 9 - Riordan
Goal: Carrick 81'

THE ROZELLE OBSERVER
Laidlaw calls for calm amidst vandalism and Cup theft by Communist paramilitaries
Corwen Rourke

Prime Minister Merric Laidlaw refused to declare a state of emergency, but declined to rule out the possibility of military action if the recent raid on the Parliament building is just the start of a greater insurrection.

In an hour-long press conference where he stood alongside Opposition Leader Fenwick Lawrence in condemning the vandals, Laidlaw reiterated that Brenecia would 'stand strong and unite', and that critics of the current government would regret the 'strong rhetoric' that had lead to extremists taking such violent action against the state.

However, Laidlaw stumbled under hardball questioning from journalists that implied he could do far more to unite the country. Laidlaw pointed to his economic record and recent foreign policy success in Nephara, but Lawrence remained pointedly silent. The Progressives have constantly accused Laidlaw of pushing the divide between rich and poor beyond repair, but have distanced themselves from recent far-left protests and the latest attack.

Two nights ago, the Parliament building was broken into by armed, masked rebels. The security feed and alarm system were compromised, two security guards were killed and five wounded. They ransacked the place, replaced the Brenecian flag with a red and black one, ripped the House of Representatives up to a state where Parliament can no longer sit and are believed to have stolen the World Cup.

A mysterious organisation known as the 'Coaldust Uprising' has taken credit. They are a Communist faction that are believed to have spread up around thirty years ago, in the wake of violent force used by strikebreaking police in the Long Strike as the country more or less stood still for a week. The Observer has declined to print their statement. Interestingly, they make no mention of having stolen the Cup.

At a time of mass civil unrest, particularly in the industrial centres of North Hall and Falkner and the major port of Marque, the Patriots' key qualifying fixture against Tinhampton looms as an opportunity for Brenecians to unite... or, possibly, for the fractures in our society to be broadcast on the global stage.

[Vilita]

Dream ends as Jungle Cats held by Rannoria

Arena Perla, Franerik, Rannoria :: The Vilitan National Team had hit a bit of a slump as the toll of a long World Cup qualification campaign began to show its ugly teeth. The coaching staff had tried to manage against such a slump by rotating players throughout, with many of the starters and backups sharing time including co-primary netminders in Cilamara Issah of Lonngeylin Coast and Mako Canopii of the Yeaddin Owls. The forwards were on regular rotation with contributions across the board and top goalscorer Berali Tzufarei rested regularly.

Despite this, something was holding the Vilita National Team back. Either the long campaign was acting as an equalizer between the Vilitan Squad and their Group 13 opponents or the nerves of chasing perfection and their own chapter in the Vilitan World Cup Qualification history books were proving too much for this generation to handle.

With thirteen consecutive victories, Vilita were on the verge of the ultimate winning streak: 14-0-0. Of course, the World Cup 81 Qualification campaign would last 18 games so even if the Jungle Cats were to secure their 14th consecutive victory it would not ensure a perfect qualification run. "Fourteen Zero Zero" is, however, the measure by which the Jungle Cats are measured from season to season as the standard issue World Cup qualifying performance litmus test dating back to the early days of the Vilita National Team's participation in the World Cup when a typical World Cup Qualification campaign involved teams divided into groups of eight contesting a home and away series over a fourteen match qualification campaign with a best achievable record of 14 Wins, 0 Draws and 0 losses.

Perhaps if the match had been at home, things would have bee different for the Jungle Cats and the home fans might have been able to will the Vilitan National Team to victory just as they had at the Arcticala Electrical Stadium against Anthor when the crowd lifted the Jungle Cats at the start of the second half despite the fact that Vilita had conceded a late first half equalizer to Anthor, seemingly squashing all of the momentum they had built over the course of the opening 45 minutes. The crowd seemed to will Polaox Torerun's effort into the back of the net as they desperately sought to see their side take a perfect qualification record to Mercedini for an exciting final matchday battle for historical immortality.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a home match. The Vilitan National team had traveled way outside the realm of familiarity to the city of Franerik, home of the Rannorian National Football Team.

Ranked at #230 in the world it meant that Vilita entered the match 224 places above their opponents in the World Rankings. Of ranked nations in Group 13, only Kilaguni was lower and they sat firmly at the bottom of the group table. As such, on paper, the Jungle Cats were certainly favored. Having already all their opposition from the top 200 in the World Rankings bar Mercedini, it seemed certain that Vilita would cruise through to the final matchday unblemished and then it would all ride on the result in Mercedini to determine which side topped Group 13 and whether one of them, namely Vilita, would do so with a perfect record.

Unfortunately, no one told the Iron Swordsmen that they had already been beaten. While the Jungle Cats held the majority of the early possession it was the home side, much to the delight of their supporters, that was producing the better of the chances - forcing Mako Canopii into difficult saves on at least two occasions in the opening fifteen minutes. From their the Vilitans began to find their footing a little better and take control of the match but a mistake in the 29th minute from the youngster Limu Katarakhna turned possession over to the Iron Swordsmen while the Jungle Cats were in the midst of a full press attack. It left the Vilitans in an odd numbered situation in defense as Kwuimekki Hentetii had pressed forward leaving only Jirijii Januaa and Ibekira Ajhabekk to cover as a trio of Rannorian attackers sprinted forward.

Group 13                           Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Vilita                           14   13   1   0    45   10  +35    40
 2 Mercedini                        14   13   0   1    54   17  +37    39
 3 Tobiasia                         14    9   1   4    39   26  +13    28
 4 Anthor                           14    6   3   5    32   30   +2    21
 5 Kernovi and Rewgwlas             14    6   1   7    27   34   −7    19
 6 Oberour Ar Moro                  14    4   5   5    27   32   −5    17
 7 Rannoria                         14    4   4   6    22   29   −7    16
 8 Vithuland                        14    3   2   9    16   26  −10    11
 9 Swibia                           14    2   1  11    12   44  −32     7
10 Kilaguni                         14    1   0  13    14   40  −26     3

The Vilitan defenders played zone instead of man marking the free players and waiting for the hard working Torerun to rush back and cover the ball leaving the Rannorians just enough space to play a perfectly weighted ball that was tapped just out of the reach of a sliding Canopii and into the back of the net by Can'xhan Dynasty forward Susanto Kader. The Vilitans were left with hands on hips and arms in the air as they tried to figure out what happened, trailing to a team over 200 places below them in the rankings. They played shell shocked for the next 10 minutes before they began to find their rhythm again but by that point the half time whistle had blow and Vilita were trailing at the break for the first time during the World Cup 81 Qualifying campaign.

The half time interval actually served well for the Vilita National Team who were able to rest and re-gain their composure, looking more confident and determined than the dejected and despaired side that entered the tunnel before the break. The confidence paid dividends moments after the re-start as Linvoi Warazil showed a flash of the as yet unfulfilled promise the 26 year old occasionally unleashed to earn a contract at Jungle Strike FC, firing home a 20 yard blast past and unsuspecting Karsak Malak to level the scores. Unfortunately for Vilita it would be all they could manage on the night. Scores of Vilitan supporters back in Atlantian Oceania looking for their National Team to reach the elusive 14-0-0 mark for the first time in their life time would be sent off to sleep disappointed knowing that they would have to wait at least one more cycle for the Jungle Cats to take another shot at the mark having squandered perhaps their best chance of the modern era dropping their first points of the World Cup 81 campaign to 230th ranked Rannoria.

Vilita [1] - [1] Rannoria

:: Vilita Goalscorers :: :: 46' Linvoi Warazil

:: Vilita Statistics :: :: Possession: 57% :: Shots on Target: 6 :: Corner Kicks: 11

:: Rannoria Statistics :: :: Possession: 43% :: Shots on Target: 5 :: Corner Kicks: 10

---

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Rannoria ::
[GK] Mako Canopii, [D.] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [D.] Jirijii Januaa, [D.] Inbekira Ajhabekk, [ML] Polaox Torerun, [MC] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [MC] Limu Katarakhna, [MR] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [FC] Tenziki Kulakao, [FC] Linvoi Warazil, [FC] Sipke Tarala
BENCH::
[FC] Berali Tzufarei, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [M] Jurzen Devmiko, [M] Tinjus Mngomeni, [U ] Kaivel Illatara, [D] Monner Vileai, [GK] Cilamara Issah

---

With the draw, the Jungle Cats would find themselves just a single point clear of Mercedini at the top of the Group 13 table. It didn't really change much as far as the automatic qualification places were concerned as either way, it would still come down to the Matchday 18 fixture in Mercedini where the all-but-assured top 2 sides in Group 13 would meet head to head with the winner moving on to the World Cup 81 finals in Banija and the Free Republics and the other awaiting other results to determine if they would be one of three teams to qualify as a Group Runner-Up or if they would have to suffer through the uncertainty of playoff matchup against another of the world's top sides.

While the Jungle Cats still held a slight advantage - enough to ensure that a draw against Mercedini on the final matchday would be enough to send them on to Banija and the Free Republics, they had now erased all their margin for error. A second non-winning result over the remaining matches could not only place them behind Mercedini in the Group 13 table but could also put the Jungle Cats in a far less desirable position should they lose the clash with the reigning Cup of Harmony and Independent Associations Cup champions who themselves are only narrowly ahead in the table of second place finishers for considering advancement to the World Cup Finals.

[Equestrian States]

Pups on the Pitch Ends in Disaster for Ponies
by Steve McNotapony

South Batoko 0-0 Equestrian States
at a Stadium in a City, South Batoko
Attendance: Lots and lots of dogs
Scoring:
None

SOMEWHERE, South Batoko - The Equestrian States entered their match with unranked South Batoko with good reason to be confident of victory. The Batokoni were at the bottom of the table and winless in their first 14 games, the Ponies comfortably winning 2-0 in their first meeting. However, it would be a ruff night for the Equestrians as a promotional event organized by the hosts resulted in a truly chaotic match that has thrown the Ponies' qualifying chances into jeopardy.

First, let's provide some context. South Batoko has not had a good World Cup qualifying campaign. They were the first team in Group 10 to be eliminated and have generally been a pushover even for some of the group's lower-ranked sides. All four of their points entering the match with the heavily-favored Ponies came from draws. Finally, making matters worse, the Batokoni have been utterly inept offensively, scoring just three times on the campaign, all of which came in their two losses to Northwest Kalactin in which they allowed a combined 10 goals. This has resulted in the Batokoni national team being dubbed one of the most boring sides to watch this World Cup cycle and understandably led to a steep decline in home attendance as their campaign winds to a close.

To combat the decreased domestic interest in the national team, the South Batoko Football Association decided to organize a promotion surrounding their remaining highest-profile match against the Equestrian States, which they dubbed Pups on the Pitch. The idea was simple enough: fans could bring their pet dogs to the stadium with them and would even have a chance to let them play on the field following the game. Before the match, it appeared that the promotion had been a huge success, the stands were packed with fans and their beloved canine companions. However, all hell broke loose when the whistle blew to start the match.

As if under the control of a collective hive mind, nearly every dog in the stadium (estimated to be at least a couple thousand, if not more) swarmed onto the field. Attempts to regain control of the situation by ushers failed. Faced with either postponing the match or pitting the two teams against the exuberant pack of puppies, the referee in charge of the match decided on the latter. Predictably, this did not end well for the Ponies, locked in a narrowing race for the group's allocated finals berth and needing a win to keep a comfortable lead on Saltstead and Garifunya. Instead, the Equestrians spent much of the game trying desperately to force the ball through the wild tangle of terriers to no avail. For their part, the Batokoni basically gave up after a few minutes and spent the 90 minutes watching the Ponies struggle to wrest the ball away from the entranced swarm of dogs.

The match ended in a 0-0 draw.

   GROUP 10                       Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts        MD15 Results:
 1  Equestrian States (17)      15   11   3   1    29    6  +23    36         East Belzaria 2–1 Lochario 
 2  Saltstead (38)              15   11   2   2    27    7  +20    35        @ Belzarian Command Complex in Command, EBZ
 3  Garifunya (67)              15   10   2   3    23   14   +9    32         South Batoko 0–0 Equestrian States 
 4  Northwest Kalactin (87)     15    9   3   3    30   14  +16    30        @ Unknown Venue in Unknown City, SBK
 5  Lochario (135)              15    7   2   6    18   12   +6    23   E     Sorrentopia 0–1 Sharktail 
 6  East Belzaria (UR)          15    6   4   5    19   20   −1    22   E    @ Sorren Stadium in Sorren, SOR
 7  Sharktail (230)             15    3   5   7    20   29   −9    14   E     Northwest Kalactin 5–2 Penguinland 
 8  Sorrentopia (207)           15    2   3  10    13   23  −10     9   E    @ Gold Coast Stadium in Gold Coast, NWK
 9  South Batoko (UR)           15    0   5  10     3   29  −26     5   E     Saltstead 4–0 Garifunya 
10  Penguinland (272)           15    1   1  13    11   39  −28     4   E    @ King William VII National Park in Ashwell, SAL

Elsewhere in Qualifying Group 10, Saltstead massacred Garifunya 4-0 to move within a point of the Ponies atop the table while Northwest Kalactin kept their campaign alive with a 5-2 win against Penguinland. The Equestrians still control their own destiny and face a relatively friendly final stretch with their most difficult remaining fixture being a visit from 135th-ranked Lochario, so the Ponies will still be favored to earn Group 10's finals berth, but it's no longer as certain as it seemed not too long ago.

[Cosumar]

Matchday 15 Player Ratings:
Viablaine sparks second half turnaround, Mokumdarian yanked

T A N Z A N I Q U E -- It took longer than expected for what was very nearly Cosumar's best possible squad against the second-bottom nation in Group 2. The first half was troubling, with the surprising pressing tactics of the home side stymying the undisciplined Vanquishers, but eventually they found some answers in the second half and ran out 2-0 winners.

It was important that Alexander Pearce's key players work through those answers together as a warm-up for the crucial final three matches of Qualifying that remain, having not all shared the pitch together in awhile due to rotation.

So substantial was the improvement after Pearce's adjustments at the break that we almost feel obligated to give each player separate ratings for each half. But here are our best approximations of each Cosumarite player's holistic performance against Tanzanique. Ratings are on a scale of 1-10, with 6.0 being your typical "average, solid, decent" performance.

***

G o a l k e e p e r

GK SHJEGRZH NA'KEFIR 6.5
Made a few good saves when called upon. Comfortably collected the multitude of set pieces launches his way even if the quality of service was lacking. There were still moments of uncertainty in possession due to the Tanzanique pressing, but they weren’t as frequent or notable as in previous cases. That said, I’m still 100% sold on Na'Kefir as Cosumar's bona-fide #1 for the future. He didn't do anything wrong in this match, but neither did he do anything to convince us that he's definitely a better option than Vance Commerford or Hansi Weschler, who have also been very solid in their chances. But Alexander Pearce appears prepared to keep rolling with the Handon United Vloo until given a reason not to, and that's fine with me.


D e f e n d e r s

RB VILLE PAKKANEN 6.0
Not the problem in the first half, but didn't help fix it. Appears unable to create much forward momentum himself if the team isn't already rolling on all cylinders and opening up the space for him. More useful in the second half once Cosumar started finding their away around the press. Even then, Pakkanen didn’t get forward as well or as loosely as he had been recently (he assisted Valgard goals in the prior two matches to tie the team lead in Qualifying with four assists), but neither was he exposed on the other end. Not his most inspiring performance, but Pakkanen performed his basic fullback tasks dutifully.

CB KURT WOLFF 3.0
Oof. Just as he was starting to really give Pearce some food for thought about a starting role at World Cup 81, Wolff had some really, really questionable moments in this one. He wasn’t downright bad persay, but there were several instances where he just made some weird decisions or actions. A failed clearance when he slipped mid-kick. Two particularly nervy moments in possession that could've been disastrous against Juvencus or another quality opponent. A few odd headers into dangerous spots. Jorgensen rescued his junior partner on these occasions, but Kurt is veteran enough to be above most of these avoidable errors. Very weird.

CB TORBJÖRN JORGENSEN 7.5
The best defender on the day, and by some distance. I still have some qualms regarding his distribution range — he made a few very wayward attempts at long passes — and his overeagerness to win the ball back, sometimes leading to him abandoning his position completely. But this is just who he is as a defender, and today (and most days), he was very good at it, working hard to clean up the mistakes of others and winning the ball 90% of the time. Organized the back line astutely as Pearce continues to rest up 34-year-old captain Peter Svensson.

LB BACARY NA'KALE 6.0
Very much like Pakkanen, he wasn’t the problem in the first half and wasn’t the reason the game changed in the second half. Not bad, but not exactly a vintage Na'Kale performance either. He was just fine. Which, by his standards, is a step down. Na'Kale has been doing this international soccer thing a lot longer than his counterpart on the right. We know Na'Kale does have it in him to be a lot of more of a galvanizing figure than we saw tonight. Berk Lechjakr has stepped up to provide Na'Kale with plenty of rest games here in the second half of Qualifying, but the veteran still looked lacking in energy or initiative from the opening whistle. Against opposition of Tanzanique’s quality, that doesn't hurt us. Against better teams, both full backs will need to give more.


M i d f i e l d e r s

CDM KAI-KAI MOKUMDARIAN 3.0
Not a good showing for Mokumdarian. Despite his athletic prowess and unique ability to take players on making runs from deep, he made Cosumarite fans long for the tactical discipline of Stig Söderquist in this one. He really showed his inexperience, especially with his positioning when Cosumar had the ball. Routinely chose the wrong times to vacate his anchoring position to get forward or push to the right behind Tidesson, leaving no easy options for Jorgensen or Wolff to play forward to and forcing an isolated Serafino to cover for him. I’m happy to chalk this one down to growing pains, because Mokumdarian will certainly be a big part of Cosumar's plans this cycle and beyond, but today's team looked much better once the young Rexnori was hooked at half-time.

LM BELLEROPHON SERAFINO 7.0
Like Mokumdarian (or perhaps because of him), a really poor first half. Covered a ton of ground as usual, but didn't offer good angles to play into midfield or forward into the final third, slowed the play down to a painful tempo when he had the ball, and didn’t create any sort of attacking impetus (partially because he was actually playing Mokumdarian's position half the time). When Viablaine came on at half-time to be that solid foundation at the base of midfield, Serafino completely changed. He was able to play much more unburdened. Suddenly, he was spraying passes all over the pitch and helped create the second goal with a delicate cut-back to Riise. Oh yeah, and he scored the first with a thumping free kick under the wall after they bit on Sibučić's fake. His box-to-box effort and versatility continues to be indispensable to Alexander Pearce.

RM BRYGER TIDESSON 4.5
Another lackluster performance from Bryger. I don’t think he’s played particularly well yet since the mid-qual break. The Bryger Tidesson that contributed all those goals and assists early in Qualifying has been quietly missing for awhile now. Alexander Pearce needs to work quickly to figure out how to get one of his best attacking assets back to full effectiveness. Perhaps the defensive responsibility he's tasked with in this 4-1-3-2 system is wearing him down? He's used to being a bit more free in the Real Azuris 4-3-3 and his best games early in Qualifying came in the 3-4-2-1 as a free-floating playmaker drifting in and out from wide rather than as a true wide mid.

CAM ISLA SIBUCIC 6.5
She did score the second goal with a nice, calm finish after Riise's saved shot was parried back into the box, but she was largely anonymous for much of the game hitherto. Struggled to get on the ball because of the Tanzanique press and, once she did, had some uncharacteristically loose touches that squandered those opportunities. You can blame the unfamiliar surface and Tanzanique strategy of fouling her every chance they got, but you still expect much better from a player of Isla's skill. Still, the goal was nice and will hopefully put a spring in her step moving forwards.


F o r w a r d s

ST ARON RIISE 7.5
Hard working and industrious but lacking ideas in the first half, Riise’s quality improved drastically in the second. His spatial awareness excellent, his hold-up play neat and tidy, and his deadly first-time flicks to running teammates showed us something new from him in a Cosumar shirt. A little unfortunate not to have scored, but Isla finished his saved shot off for him, crediting him with an assist. In his second international start, Riise looked the part again, squashing arguments that his big debut performance against Saint Emelie was a fluke.

ST ROMIKK VALGARD 5.0
Valgard has carried the Vanquishers with goals in the last three consecutive matches, including the winner against stubborn Britonisea, but for once he wasn't able to make a big impression on the match this time. He, like the rest of the team, improved in the second half, but even then Valgard was more passive than usual. He was actually too unselfish on a couple occasions, looking back to combine with Riise rather than taking clear scoring chances. Definitely not something you usually see from him. Deservedly substituted for Neptune midway through the second half. No reason to be concerned though. He’s a damn good goalscorer and has otherwise had a great Qualifying campaign. You can't argue with 10 in 11. But this wasn't an outing he'll be happy with at all. After a long string of starts, don't be surprised if Pearce rests Valgard next match to make sure he's back in proper sorts for HUElavia and Juvencus.


S u b s t i t u t e s

DM VIABLAINE 8.0
It feels somewhat wrong to give "Woman Of The Match" to a substitute, but if there was ever a game that warranted such an action, this was it. The game turned on its head after she was introduced for Mokumdarian at half time, and it's hard to argue that the disparity wasn't at least partially due to Viablaine. She changed the game by playing simple, fast, hard-nosed football that suited her teammates. She matched the intensity of the Tanzanique press, freed up her teammates with her positional understanding and put them in good spots by playing simple balls forward immediately after winning it. Her touches and passes weren't perfect, but she made the game simpler for everybody. Things come so much easier when the game feels simple. Especially when dealing with an opponent whose only strategy is to make things as hard on you as possible. There's never been a match that proved this more.

LM LORELEI NEPTUNE 6.5
Played the last twenty minutes and showed some nice touches here and there, including one fantastic cross that was inches away from getting Riise his goal. Her presence does make this team somewhat more direct and less inclined to play through the middle (their bread and butter), but she is clever and creative and dynamic out wide, which does deserve chances to take effect. Still, a regular starting role looks beyond her with Serafino and perhaps even Mehmet Curwyk better fits for Pearce's preferred systems.

FW CHARLES DYER VRY 7.0
Put a really good energetic shift in for the last fifteen minutes or so. Hounded defenders, applied pressure all across the front line, dropped back to track runners, lunged into challenges and still made the effort to make runs in behind the Tanzanique back line (even if no one was finding them). Should have been more aware when Riise slipped him through to tee up Sibučić in stoppage time, but Dyer Vry seems to be excellent player to bring on late in games and close them out. If he wants to make the World Cup plane, this might need to be the role that the versatile Cassandra City striker sells Pearce on.

***

Besides Cosumar staying a perfect 6-0-0 in the second half of Qualifying, the big talking point from Matchday 15 was undoubtedly Pearce's early withdrawal of 22-year-old midfield phenom Kai-Kai Mokumdarian.

After the match, the Cosumar boss dismissed implications that he was displeased with Mokumdarian or that his newfound first-choice status will be under threat going forward.

"It was a purely a tactical switch. Kai-Kai, Viablaine, Stig, Dexter... our center mids each have their own special abilities and strengths," Pearce said. "One that Viablaine brings is balance on the pitch with positioning. I thought we needed more balance in the second half to deal with the press, and it turns out I was right. But I am very happy with what both players have given me."


What's Next?

Next up for Pearce's side is The Macabees, a tough team that is currently closing in behind Juvencus for 2nd place. Readers may recall the Vanquishers escaping The Macabees by the skin of their teeth on Matchday 7 thanks to Hakki Ojala's solo run and finish in the 89th minute. Cosumar will have the familiarity of home this time, but it should still be a high-quality match.

The Vanquishers will be hoping to clinch qualification in front of their fans and, so close to a surprise shot at the World Cup themselves, their 121st-ranked visitors will be desperate for any points possible. Don't take Cosumar's seventh consecutive win for granted. Líam Jer'Voos might be the most impressive goalkeeper in Group 2 so far, and Karl Varis and Snider Jun have made names for themselves in the Macabees defense. A surprisingly technical midfield also has the ability to control the game if allowed.

Pearce better hope he didn't damage Mokumdarian's confidence by pulling him early against Tanzanique, because he might need the youngster's unrivaled ability to kickstart attacks against the staunch defense of the Golden Throne.


by Julie Nicholson
Courier Sports Editor

---

Anollasia 1-5 Cosumar
Sibučić 10', Zeale-Riddick 31', Zeale-Riddick 42', Sibučić 69', Tidesson 89'
Assisted by Targaryen, Pakkanen, Sibučić, Tidesson, Tidesson, Targaryen
Selection: Na'Kefir; Pakkanen, Jorgensen, Svensson, Na'Kale; Söderquist; Tidesson, Sibučić, Serafino (Mokumdarian); Targaryen (Neptune), Zeale-Riddick (Blaylock)
Matchday 1 | @ James Anoll Stadium, Jefferton

Cosumar 5-0 Acapais
Tidesson 33', Pakkanen 37', Valgard 40', Own Goal 45', Wolff 61'
Assisted by Valgard, Valgard, Tidesson, Mokumdarian
Selection:Na'Kefir; Chaumancer, Jorgensen, Wolff (Na'Duha); Pakkanen, Mokumdarian, Serafino, Na'Kale; Tidesson, Sibučić (Sjunitsson); Valgard (Dyer Vry)
Matchday 2 | @ Fire River Arena, Ramusok

Saint Emelie 2–3 Cosumar
Svensson 10', Valgard 61', Targaryen 80'
Assisted by Serafino, Targaryen, Hemeyer
Selection: Commerford; Bale, Svensson, Jakoljevic, Na'Kale; Mokumdarian (Hemeyer); Tidesson, Heher (Neptune), Serafino; Targaryen (Kahlor), Valgard
Matchday 3 | @ Saint Emelie

Cosumar 5–0 Tasrailia
Zeale-Riddick 27', Sibučić 46', Own Goal 51', Targaryen 61', Targaryen 69'
Assisted by Na'Kale, Neptune, none, Sibučić, Mokumdarian
Selection: Na'Kefir; Chaumancer, Jorgensen, Wolff; Pakkanen, Mokumdarian, Couturiaux, Na'Kale (Neptune); Sibučić (Antúnes), Curwyk; Zeale-Riddick (Targaryen)
Matchday 4 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

Britonisea 1-0 Cosumar
No Scorers
Selection: Na'Kefir; Karigomu, Svensson, Jorgensen (Pakkanen), Na'Kale; Mokumdarian; Tidesson (Valgard), Sibučić, Serafino (Yucob); Targaryen, Ruhl
Matchday 5 | @ The DEXTER Burgendore Stadium, Wickam

Cosumar 5-0 Tanzanique
Jorgensen 20', Valgard 24' (p), Valgard 31', Valgard 39' (p), Marsteller 58'
Assisted by Ojala, none, none, none, Valgard
Selection: Weschler; Svensson, Jorgensen, Na'Duha; Ojala (Karigomu), Mokumdarian, Couturiaux, Na'Kale; Sibučić (Tricklebank), Marsteller; Valgard (Heher)
Matchday 6 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

The Macabees 1-2 Cosumar
Valgard 54', Ojala 89'
Assisted by Targaryen, none
Selection: Na'Kefir; Pakkanen (Bale), Chaumancer, Wolff, Lechjakr; Viablaine; Tidesson (Ojala), Sibučić, Serafino; Targaryen (Marsteller), Valgard
Matchday 7 | @ The Macabees

Cosumar 1-0 HUElavia
Tidesson 72'
Assisted by Pakkanen
Selection: Na'Kefir (Commerford); Svensson, Jakoljevic, Wolff; Pakkanen, Mokumdarian, Serafino (Viablaine), Na'Kale; Tidesson, Sibučić (Curwyk); Valgard
Matchday 8 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

Juvencus 1-1 Cosumar
Valgard 35'
Assisted by Na'Kale
Selection: Commerford; Pakkanen, Svensson, Jorgensen, Na'Kale (Brill); Söderquist; Tidesson (Ojala), Sibučić (Dyer Vry), Serafino; Valgard, Zeale-Riddick
Matchday 9 | @ Vinceti Catedral, Pomena

Free Republics 0-6 Cosumar
Yucob 7', Ruhl 23', Yucob 28' (p), Mokumdarian 73', Antúnes 78', Marsteller 82'
Assisted by Hemeyer, Weschler, Ruhl, none, Brill, Brill
Selection: Weschler; Pakkanen (Bale), Chaumancer, Na'Duha (Wolff), Brill; Yucob (Sjunitsson), Antúnes, Hemeyer (Söderquist), Mokumdarian, Neptune (Curwyk); Ruhl (Marsteller)
Mid-Qualifying Friendly | @ Church of Technicology Stadium, Tarita

Cosumar 0-0 Qasden
No scorers
Selection: Commerford; Karigomu, Jakoljevic, Wolff (Chaumancer), Lechjakr; Sjunitsson; Tidesson (Ojala), Kahlor (Couturiaux), Neptune; Dyer Vry, Blaylock (Targaryen)
Mid-Qualifying Friendly| @ The Amphitheatre, Cassandra

Cosumar 1-0 Anollasia
Serafino 52'
Assisted by Yucob
Selection: Na'Kefir; Bale, Jakoljevic, Svensson, Lechjakr; Söderquist; Yucob (Marsteller), Mokumdarian, Serafino (Curwyk); Targaryen, Ruhl
Matchday 10 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

Acapais 0-1 Cosumar
Ruhl 47'
Assisted by Curwyk
Selection: Na'Kefir; Karigomu, Svensson, Chaumancer; Tidesson, Tricklebank, Söderquist (Antúnes), Lechjakr; Heher (Mokumdarian), Curwyk (Yucob); Ruhl
Matchday 11 | @ Acapais

Cosumar 5-1 Saint Emelie
Valgard 3' (p), Riise 15', Sibučić 29', Riise 49', Chaumancer 89'
Assisted by Riise, Sibučić, Valgard, none, Sibučić
Selection: Commerford; Bale, Jakoljevic (Jorgensen), Chaumancer, Lechjakr; Viablaine (Söderquist); Marsteller, Sibučić, Serafino (Neptune); Valgard, Riise
Matchday 12 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

Tasrailia 1-4 Cosumar
Valgard 35', Serafino 39', Tidesson 76', Zeale-Riddick 90+1'
Assisted by Pakkanen, none, Na'Duha, Tidesson
Selection: Na'Kefir; Na'Duha, Wolff, Jorgensen; Pakkanen, Serafino (Antúnes), Couturiaux, Na'Kale (Lechjakr); Tidesson, Valgard (Neptune); Zeale-Riddick
Matchday 13 | @ Tasrailia

Cosumar 1-0 Britonisea
Valgard 60'
Assisted by Pakkanen
Selection: Na'Kefir; Wolff, Jorgensen, Na'Duha; Pakkanen, Söderquist, Mokumdarian, Brill; Marsteller (Tidesson), Curwyk (Antúnes); Valgard (Blaylock)
Matchday 14 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

Tanzanique 0-2 Cosumar
Serafino 48', Sibučić 57'
Assisted by none, Riise
Selection: Na'Kefir; Pakkanen, Wolff, Jorgensen, Na'Kale; Mokumdarian (Viablaine); Tidesson (Dyer Vry), Sibučić, Serafino; Riise, Valgard (Neptune)
Matchday 15 | @ Tanzanique

Cosumar vs. The Macabees
Matchday 16 | @ Leviathan Arena, Kaldukosic

HUElavia vs. Cosumar
Matchday 17 | @ HUElavia

Cosumar vs. Juvencus
Matchday 18 | @ Crowley Memorial WC Stadium, Ramusok

Goals
Romikk Valgard (10)
Isla Sibučić (5)
Vega Zeale-Riddick (4)
Bryger Tidesson (4)
Ragnar Targaryen (3)
Bellerophon Serafino (3)
Semyon Yucob (2)
Sen Marsteller (2)
Airik Ruhl (2)
Aron Riise (2)
Ville Pakkanen (1)
Kurt Wolff (1)
Peter Svensson (1)
Torbjörn Jorgensen (1)
Hakki Ojala (1)
Kai-Kai Mokumdarian (1)
Hidalgo Antúnes (1)
Horatius Chaumancer (1)
Own Goal (2)

Assists
Ragnar Targaryen (4)
Romikk Valgard (4)
Isla Sibučić (4)
Bryger Tidesson (4)
Ville Pakkanen (4)
Kai-Kai Mokumdarian (2)
Bacary Na'Kale (2)
Ivan Hemeyer (2)
Alexis Brill (2)
Aron Riise (2)
Bellerophon Serafino (1)
Lorelei Neptune (1)
Hakki Ojala (1)
Hansi Weschler (1)
Airik Ruhl (1)
Semyon Yucob (1)
Mehmet Curwyk (1)

Appearances
Hidalgo Antúnes (5)
Tevreness Bale (5)
Dakota Blaylock (3)
Alexis Brill (3)
Horatius Chaumancer (7)
Vance Commerford (5)
Wiill Couturiaux (4)
Mehmet Curwyk (6)
Charles Dyer Vry (4)
Alora Heher (3)
Ivan Hemeyer (2)
Torbjörn Jorgensen (10)
Tomi Jakoljevic (5)
Tofer Kahlor (2)
Ambrose Karigomu (4)
Berk Lechjakr (6)
Sen Marsteller (6)
Kai-Kai Mokumdarian (12)
Kadija Na'Duha (5)
Bacary Na'Kale (10)
Shjegrzh Na'Kefir (11)
Lorelei Neptune (8)
Hakki Ojala (4)
Ville Pakkanen (11)
Aron Riise (2)
Airik Ruhl (4)
Bellerophon Serafino (11)
Isla Sibučić (10)
Karlus Sjunitsson (3)
Stig Söderquist (7)
Peter Svensson (8)
Ragnar Targaryen (7)
Bryger Tidesson (12)
Dexter Tricklebank (2)
Romikk Valgard (11)
Viablaine (4)
Hansi Weschler (2)
Kurt Wolff (9)
Semyon Yucob (4)
Vega Zeale-Riddick (4)

[Main Nation Ministry]

Machine of Death: The Deal

The Leader wanted to find Tim Peridot, the man who made the original design of the Machine of Death at the Ministry of Science. In his own private lab, The Leader found him working alone on a smaller version of the Machine of Death. "Peridot? Even though, we have you make one, you still wish to make more?" The Leader demanded for a question, as Peridot finished adjusting a screw. "I'm simply going to make the Machine of Death better than just a bulky version. I feel like what I did has already changed the way we live." Peridot said, where the Leader frowned. "What that machine has done is cause widespread paranoia. I don't see the so-called positives of it. People are trying to already using the influence of it to exploit it for manipulation! I understand that your invention was supposed to predict the future and what not, but you did the job too well."

"I knew it would, however due to the state of the technology and society that we have, I made a hypothesis that a past and former past of the multiverse had created a device with a similar purpose. After it has influenced the society for that memory, an apocalyptic event had the machine fall into obscurity. At one point, several archaeological digs found the machine and discovered it's true purpose, either starting the cycle or breaking it to prevent the same effects from happening. The latter takes years or perhaps centuries for it to reappear. I caused it to appear by having the same idea that I believed many past individuals have learned." Peridot said. "So, what are going to do about that? There are people who are still afraid to death. If you create a society where death is a common occurrence, where someone can casually discuss in full detail, the way someone had died, you have crafted up a place where everyone feels no remorse for their actions, so they know that they can do whatever they wish, knowing that whatever that gotten will be the only way they can die." The Leader said.

"I want you to head to the mall tomorrow. After it is closed to the public. We will head to where the Machine of Death is, where I want you to do something." Peridot started a bet, which sounded risky.
"Go on."
"Both of us will use the machine. I already what my prediction is.."
"Wait, you want me. The Leader. The one who can simply kill you now. You want me to use the machine?" The Leader sounded a bit unsure, if he wished to proceed.
"Mine is OLD AGE. My bet is that if you are to die by something that will most likely never happen, it will show that your fate will be enough life to live your life to the fullest. Like me. I only have to die by old age."
"And if it says that I am to die by an assassination, I win?"
"Correct. If I win, you are to allow me to expand the amount of machines, so that any nations who are near us can have the chance to experience their deaths. Their opinions will shape everything."
"And if I win, I'm taking this machine of yours to a secluded place with a whole bunch of other dangerous things. Including having your research notes go up in flames."
"Deal. Make sure that it's the two of us in that mall. Have several guards make sure no one comes in. Don't disappoint me."

The Leader left the lab, wondering if breaking Jones promise would solve anything. The Leader lied before, but what he was about to do might be dangerous. Because the only person who is going to know how the Leader dies will be Tim Peridot.

[Turori]

:: twii.tur Development News

twii.tur is a short message communication service based in Turori allowing users to exchange content of 140 characters or less. The service originated as a way to allow officials to receive alerts and key information such as incoming weather notifications, major events and the ability to stay coordinated during a time of crisis but was under-utilized and doubts were raised as to whether the overhead of the infrastructure was worthwhile to maintain.

As capabilities of interconnected and handheld communication devices improved, the Turorian Weather & Information Interchange (Twii) was adapted into a public facing service where users could sign up to create their own twii nodes where users would sign up to a twii group to receive all the twii messages delivered by members of that group.

Ultimately, as demand grew, a fully public release of twii came at the connected location twii.tur where all users can participate in the public twii, selecting which messages to receive by adding individual users, groups or topics to their twii.tur feed.

Now twii.tur is looking to expand its reach as far as its reach will expand - or at least for as long as deemed relevant. Looking for new ways to attract new members, accounts and sources of funding, twii.tur is currently beta-testing the introduction of a new service tentatively titled 'quick bang' where users will be able to enter a quick bang into their twii.tur feed in order to provide themselves updates on a topic. For instance, a quick bang of "!weather" would begin writing weather updates for a users location to their feed while a quick bang of "!scores" would begin providing score updates for sporting events local to the user or for which they have configured in their user profile. While quick bang would be trialed as a subscription based service, twii.tur would also be looking to partner with entities to enable certain quick bangs for public use fitting within the terms of their agreement with the messaging service. One area which twii.tur organizers are supposedly interested in pursuing would be a relationship as the official messaging service of the World Cup. Such an arrangement would allow the World Cup organizing committee to offer a free quick bang to everyone in the general public such as "!WC81" which they would then be able to control content over such as draw and score related updates. twii.tur is also considering commercializing the service whereby companies would have to pay for a quick bang that would then be offered to the general public or perhaps pay for multiple quick bangs which could be used for things such as instant contest subscription. The quick bang service offered by twii.tur has not yet gone active but if initial feedback from the alpha and beta teams is anything to go off, everyone on twii.tur could have a quick bang in their future.


:: twii.tur trending

Princess Cadance for #WCC President? What does she know! Might as well elect a #Cocoabo !!! #Cocoabo4prez

Is Toroin Halatyion an Elf or a Vampire? Re-twii for Elf; Star for Vampire!!!

Hey does this tag still work? #WC80

---

It does!! Awesome!! #WC80 #WC80 #WC80 #WC80 #WC80 #WC80

What happened to the #Cocoabo squad? Lost to Beepee? #CitizenSquad has this in the bag!

[Kelssek]

Guillotine falls on Kelssek’s World Cup journey

Kelssek have been definitively eliminated from World Cup 81 after a 3-2 loss against Super-Llamaland, a development which surprises few yet disappoints many who believe in miracles.

With its games against the group's highest-ranked teams now in the rearview mirror, pressure will if anything increase as many fans now have greater expectations which may not have existed in the beginning.

Captain Ruslan Demetriev said the team needs to remain positive and focus on winning Kelssek's remaining games, noting manager Kirk McDonagh's objective of outperforming the team's record from the first half of the qualifying campaign.

"We played our hearts out tonight and you know, full credit to the boys. The coaches have been so great to make sure we have the right atmosphere to excel."

Demetriev also shed some light on reports of the team adopting a "dialectical materialist tactical philosophy", which has been the subject of much speculation.

"When you play a well-organized team like this, tactically speaking, it's all about from each according to their passing ability, to the strikers according to their need for through balls."

Patrice Langelier, who scored both of Kelssek's goals and was named man of the match in the losing effort, said that McDonagh's approach let the team play without fear.

"Yeah, we respect a lot the tradition, you know there were some great teams to wear the Kelssek shirt. But Coach McDonagh told us we can't allow the great teams of the past to eat our brains. And also something along the lines of, we have to do the communist revolution by ourselves. That was very inspirational."