WC 82 RP Thread

by **Apox** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:27 pm

Here Be Dragons

Who will still be in the mixer after these set of scores? Time to find out.

MD2 Cutoff for Groups E-H

by **Mriin** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:47 pm

A pair of satyrs wound their way through narrow Urbanista alleys, drawing less attention than you'd expect as the one leading drew knowing nods from passersby.

Reina squinted at a couple of the... characters... hanging about and started to have second thoughts. "You're sure this is the way?"
"You don't trust me?" Aldo made a shown of gasping and clutching his heart. "Do you think I'd spend this many years here and not know the best dives?"
"No, I believe you, I just..." she shifted to a whisper, "I haven't heard the greatest things about Apoxians since I moved to Brenecia."
He guffawed back at her, getting a little jump out of her. "No fucking shit you have. Esportivan rivalries run deep--ask any Sunrisian, if there's any left--and in case you've been living under a rock, Brenecians have a lot of reason to look anywhere but inwards right now."
"That's a bit of a blunt way to put it," she said with a slightly-more-than-mock punch to his side.
"I'm going through the trouble of finding us a nice spot and this is the thanks I get!"
"Don't tell me you don't need a drink after that," she rolled her eyes.
"Fuckin' everyone does, even the Covellans. It's goddamn heartwrenching we don't get shit after being the better team for eighty-five minutes, but they'd be just as fucked up from taking that long to deal with a third seed."
"Are you really pulling out the 'both sides' shit already?"
Aldo pulled up and looked around, realizing their voices had gotten away from them. Luckily the locals seemed nonplussed. "Forget all that; we're here, let's just get shitfaced and move on."
With a sigh, Reina nodded. "That's the first good idea you've had all day."

by **Equestrian States** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:13 pm

-WORLD CUP 82 - MATCH DAY 1-
Ponies Off To The Races
Aiza strikes early as Equestrians top Mercedini, seize pole position in Group A
by Steve McNotapony

Mercedini 0-1 Equestrian States
at The Garganaut in Dwile, Apox
Attendance: 50,224
Scoring:

Aarón Aiza '7 (B. Hamilton)

DWILE, Apox - At World Cup 81, the Equestrian States was drawn into a qualifying group with Saltstead and won both matches against the Stallions en route to the finals. Then, in the group draw for the World Cup, the Ponies and Stallions again landed in the same group, but this time the Saltsteaders pulled off the upset and complicated the Equestrians' path to the second round, though the Ponies did ultimately advance with a final day victory over regional rivals Chromatika. Thus, when Equestria was drawn into Group A with Mercedini after beating them twice previously during qualifying, Ponies supporters were understandably wary of a repeat of last cycle.

Saltstead pulled off their upset of Equestria in part because they were able to recalibrate their strategy against the Ponies during qualifying and find a path to victory in time for the finals rematch. Fortunately, manager Pearly White and the Ponies were able to prevent Mercedini from making similar adjustments, or at least achieving similar results, in their World Cup opener last night in Dwile. During qualifying, the Equestrians were hobbled by injuries to a number of key players, preventing the Ponies from fielding a full-strength team for much of the campaign, thus denying the Golden Eagles the opportunity to test themselves against the best Equestria could offer. Last night, that full-strength squad was on the pitch at the Garganaut, the first time that Pearly White had been able to field her entire first choice lineup in a competitive fixture since the Third Place Playoff at the AOCAF Cup.

It was only a couple minutes before the Ponies' elite were showing off to the multiverse what they are capable of at their best. The Mercedinians barely got a touch of the ball in the opening five minutes, the Equestrians forcing three saves from goalkeeper Daniel Hosset in that time. When the Golden Eagles did finally have a spell of possession, it ended in disaster. In the 7th minute, Brix Hamilton stole the ball from midfielder Ross Presic and raced down the touchline, spearheading the Equestrian counterattack. Hamilton fired off a long cross towards the box, where Aarón Aiza timed his run perfectly, breaking through the Mercedini defense and expertly volleying the ball past Hosset to give the Ponies an early 1-0 lead. Just like that, the Equestrians were ahead of the Mercedinians, and they wouldn't look back.

The Golden Eagles fought back when and where they could, but were clearly the second-best team on the pitch, as the Ponies chased a second goal for much of the first half. Gentle Breeze was only called upon to make a save once during the first 45 minutes, when forward Daniel Dostalok fired the ball straight into her chest in the 38th minute. The second half was marginally better for the Mercedinians, as they finally had sustained periods of possession and a few more shots on target, though the Equestrian defense and midfield smothered most attacks without Gentle Breeze's intervention.

As the match went on, the trailing Golden Eagles grew increasingly desperate for an equalizer, but found themselves unable to get more than a couple half-decent chances. The most noteworthy event in the final ten minutes of the match didn't even come from a Mercedinian attack, but rather an Equestrian counterattack where the long-time Ponies captain Cloudchaser and fullback Callum Aznelik collided while battling for a header and the veteran pegasus was forced to come off the pitch with an injury to her right wing. The Golden Eagles were kept quiet through the final few minutes of play, and the final whistle blew to end the match a 1-0 victory for Equestria.

  WORLD CUP 82 - GROUP B        Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts        Match Day 1 Results:
1  Equestrian States (9)       1   1  0  0    1   0  +1    3         Mercedini 0–1 Equestrian States 
2  Juvencus (28)               1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1        @ The Garganaut in Dwile, APX
   Vilita (1)                  1   0  1  0    2   2   0    1         Juvencus 2–2 Vilita 
4  Mercedini (29)              1   0  0  1    0   1  –1    0        @ Ground of Champions in Wofford, APX

Meanwhile, in Wofford, the top-seeded Vilitans were held to a draw against Juvencus, as the Jungle Cats were forced to battle back from a 2-0 deficit against the gli attaccanti just to avoid a humiliating - and potentially tournament-ending - defeat. The results leave the Equestrians in firm command of their fate, as another three points from either of the Ponies' remaining fixtures would secure them a spot in the second round. Against Vilita, the Ponies will be looking not only to wrap up a knockout berth with a match to spare, but also to earn their first win against the Jungle Cats since Cup of Champions III prior to the 69th World Cup. The fixture also presents the Equestrians with an opportunity for a huge statement win, and - more practically - potentially eliminating the defending World Cup champions as a threat before the knockout rounds.

World Cup 81/82/83/84

© Sporting Times Weekend 2025
BP looks to bounce Bongo on Day 2
by Mindy Cartwright, National Soccer Writer

The Commonwealth National Team look to put themselves in position for a final day showdown to advance, when they line up at the River Exe Ground for the match against Bongo Johnson.

Having escaped with a point against the Free Republics in their previous contest, a 2-2 draw made possible by a penalty in time added-on, which Jamari Bozeman converted, both sides sit behind the hosts Apox, who were victorious.

Trevor Richmond will stick with his plan to rotate the squad against the Bongos and would like to be able to develop a bit of a cushion in the goal difference column if possible. "We need to not get all worked up about what's going on in Dwile until we actually go there (for the final match against Apox). It's imperative that we focus on our business and the things we can control, like our performance. It's time for us to get an attitude that we've proven ourselves and we should be favored in these last two matches."

lineup vs Bongo Johnson--Pelletier; Brown (C), Vasillias, Stephens; N Haller, Westmoreland, Taborn, Navarro; Patton; Sandoval, Jones
________________________________________________________________________________

meanwhile, back in AO, but not at the World Cup:

The group from Baker Park who were there to assess and consult on the initial phases of tapping into the recently discovered oil reserves in Banija had traveled to the northeastern area of the country to have a site inspection. After they had spent the better part of the last 12 hours pouring over maps of the area, Stephen Komibizi and Charles Newlove, the engineer and manager of the project, respectively, had an idea they thought might be a good course to follow from the start.

Part of the brief was to find ways to minimize the impact of drilling on the environment and on the habitat of the residents of the region. They both felt that if the first group of wells to be drilled were in areas farthest away from the settlements and villages, those could be used for extracting the oil from areas that were environmentally fragile by means of horizontal exploration.

The team criss-crossed the region working out ideas on practical problems, i.e, infrastructure, site potential, etc. When they gathered enough information, they returned to Busukuma to face the Omugabe and Andrew Mavuto once again.

by **Valanora** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 7:41 pm

Here Be Dragons

Who can still resist and bite?

MD2 cutoff for Groups A-D

by **Jeruselem** » Sun Apr 07, 2019 11:20 pm

Princess Cassie with Jeruselem coach Kaz Sallad after Jeruselem lost to Mriin 4-1 in the 2nd group game

Kaz: Well ... that went well as last time, only the oppositon scored one more goal
Cassie: Something is wrong with that scoring table
Kaz: Like what
Cassie: There's no mathematical way for us to make the 2nd round with us on zero points, we're in the same position as Bongo Johnson which cannot mathematically make the 2nd round. The table should show South Covello as Q and us as E. It doesn't.
Kaz: Maths isn't my strong point
Cassie: The table shows South Covello on 6, Mriin and The Holy Empire on 3 and us ... zero.

Kaz: OK got that
Cassie: South Covello have 6 points, they cannot finish lower than 2nd spot on the table. If we actually beat them, they would be 2nd at worst depending on the other game.
Kaz: I got that
Cassie: If we lose or draw, we're still last. If we beat them like 6-0, we could slide into 3rd spot. Given we lost 4-1 today, not likely.
Kaz: Yes
Cassie: The Holy Empire vs Mriin. If they draw, South Covello retain top spot. If one of these teams wins, it would sink the loser to 3rd or 4th and push the winner to 6 points into the top 2. We can only finish 3rd at best.

Kaz: I get it now
Cassie: And our goal difference is -5 which would sink us to 4th anyway unless we win like 8-0.
Kaz: We can't score more than 5 in one game anyway.
Cassie: So there's only one way we can qualify. A black hole sucks one of 2nd placed nation into oblivion and we finish 3rd, and 2nd place team is replaced by us
Kaz: That's a bit drastic ...
Cassie: It's happened

Kaz: So we're just going home
Cassie: Yeah. Even if we won, the teams in the game would get points eliminating us since we can only finish on 3 points at best.
Kaz: I'll stick to managing the team instead of working out those scenarios
Cassie: It's my job to do that
Kaz: I guess you have to in order report the news
Cassie: I don't need experts to work this stuff out for me

Kaz: At least we haven't been scoreless in the two games
Cassie: True, conceding 7 goals in two games at this stage is pretty fatal.
Kaz: The next thing is, should I retire. I'm not getting any younger.
Cassie: You're not that old, you're only old when you have grandkids.
Kaz: I suppose I'm not that old
Cassie: Besides, what you gonna do when you retire?

Kaz: Good question ...
Cassie: It's not like you're running out on the field, that's for young people.
Kaz: I'm not that healthy either
Cassie: You haven't got anything fatal, you'll be fine
Kaz: Not that I know of
Cassie: You worry far too much

by **Starblaydia** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:05 pm

Now For Valanora
Starblaydia hit 100 World Cup Finals Wins

Viola Capodanno, Starblaydi captain, returned from suspension to
lead Starblaydia to their 100th win in World Cup Finals matches.

Ázëwyn Fëanáro's Starblaydia side kept their hopes of making it to the knockouts of the World Cup alive by registering a crucial 2-0 victory over Nova Anglicana, putting themselves into second place in Group E and firmly in the driving seat for qualification to the Second Round. The win, along with its resultant goal difference lead over Valanora, means that all Starblaydia need in their Matchday Three clash with the fellow five-times champions of the World Cup is a draw. Just a solitary draw, scoring or otherwise, is enough for the iconic team in white and purple to claim their place in the last sixteen. Nova Anglicana fell to Starblaydia, just as they did to Valanora, but Starblaydia's margin of victory was one greater. Audioslavia toppled both teams to send themselves through, of course, but more importantly they scored an extra goal against the Vanorian side, too, giving Starblaydia the advantage over the home side.

Without their captain and coach for the Audioslavia match, thanks to their dismissals at the end of Qualifying, Starblaydia lacked the cool heads of leadership required both on and off the field and ultimately suffered their 70th loss at the World Cup, out of the 208 games played up until that point. Despite the likes of Aaron Cole, Kota Sato and Sterling Renshaw taking the game to their neighbours in North Eastern Atlantian Ocenaia, the natural shithousery of the Bulls was just too much for the usual Starblaydi determination and composure to withstand. With their back-up defensive midfielder, Arnold Navarro, sent off and now unavailable for this match, Starblaydia welcomed back both their talismanic coach and foundational midfielder to help overcome a Nova Anglicana side who were looking to avoid being the whipping boys of the group. Sutter McCloud, Starblaydia's striking star, opened the scoring from an Aaron Cole pass to make it thirteen goals in twenty-six appearances for the nineteen year old. The lead was doubled and the three points secured by Capodanno herself, stealing a march deep into the box to slot home with a low right-footed shot from a Yamaguchi cross. It was her eleventh goal for her country, fifth of this campaign, in her fifty-eight caps so far and marked Starblaydia's 370th goal at the World Cup Finals to seal their 100th Finals victory of all time.

And this is the problem with Starblaydi football: the weight of history. Every game, Starblaydia are dragging along behind them the baggage train of more than seventeen hundred matches, each and every one of them documented in painstaking detail, highlighting each of the record-setting five World Championships, six AOCAF Cups, Olympic Gold, and more besides. Every time the white shirt goes on their backs, they bring with them the expectation of generations upon generations of their countrymen and fans around the multiverse who have followed the almost unsurpassed exploits of those who have come before them. You try playing the kind of technical, free-flowing and attacking football that Starblaydia are known for when there's that amount of history and expectation watching your every step. What sort of group of players would it take to overcome that and live up to the deeds of some of the greatest who have ever played the game?

Valanora's midfield could be described that way, too. They were there all those years ago, matching Starblaydia's achievements with titles of their own. Laborious Hawk, Espy Va Drake and Faeron Soldarian could easily make up an all-time World Cup midfield purely on their own. The difference between Starblaydia and Valanora is that their legends still walk the earth, their only millstone being their own memories of their career-defining and history-making achievements. The history of Starblaydia versus Valanora is well known, all the way back forty World Cups ago. Were it not for Starblaydia, Valanora could easily have won five world titles in a row between 40 and 44, defeated only by the team in white when it really mattered. The 47th World Cup Final has been documented time and time again, but it has interesting parallels to Matchday Three: it takes place in Valanora, at the Battleground, where World Cup 47 was decided. Starblaydia won that match 2-1 as the two titans of the game met at their respective peaks. We've had the best two teams in the multiverse playing each other several times in the Final of the World Cup, but this was perhaps the most gargantuan clash of all time. The Matchday Three encounter takes place between the 13th and 15th-best teams in the competition, on paper at least, which is still a fairly tasty match for the Group Stage, of course, even before you add in the history.

There's one piece of recent history, however, that Starblaydia will have to overcome. They haven't won on Matchday Three of the World Cup since World Cup 67. They don't need to win, save to have some sort of momentum moving into a Second Round clash, as even a draw will do. Tobias Möller's team, however, know that it has to be a win for them, or they will not make the knockouts of their own Cup. It's their old enemy, the other team with all the glory, all the history and all the attitude that stands in their way. Starblaydia are the team Valanora struggles to beat when it truly counts, but the team they have inflicted a heaviest ever defeat upon. This dichotomy, of world powers now lacking the teeth of the big beasts of the World Cup, a pair of ancient enemies who don't particularly hate each other. Matchday Three at the Battleground will not decide who wins this World Cup, it will not finally sort out which of these two teams in their storied rivalry will be seen as the most dominant and nor will it signal the end of careers, but it is the most important match that you'll see tomorrow.

by **Apox** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 1:43 pm

A strong delegation from Government House had booked out a couple of boxes for the second Apoxian game of the World Cup finals - a clash against on paper highest ranked group side Free Republics, formerly of Esportiva. The heads of the two biggest parties, Lorcan Oberhausen, Head of the Free Party and Leader of Apox and Matthias Sindelar, Head of the Green Party and Deputy-Leader of Apox, were amongst them.

Matthias Sindelar was of course well known in sporting circles in Apox, the great man having captained the national side in the first World Cup Apox had co-hosted, all the way back in World Cup 69. These days he was better known for his strength in politics - while the Green Party were nominally the smaller partners in the current coalition, his party was ahead in the polls for the first time in a decade and things were looking bright for the elections in a couple of months.

Lorcan Oberhausen was also a big football fan, although his coalition partner never pulled on a jersey for his favoured team, Gwinevra Barbarians. Unfortunately he wasn't able to fully concentrate on the game at hand today, as scandal was threatening to rip his cabinet apart after his Minister for Environment, somehow not a Green Party GW (Government Worker), had been recorded as saying that "the renewable industry could go fuck itself with a large pole" after a particularly gruelling press conference last week over the Free Party's lack of investment into the industry.

However, Sindelar and Oberhausen still had a good amount of respect for each other and were using this as a good excuse to have a chilled afternoon of relaxed work while enjoying having Apox firmly in the spotlight again. While they were surrounded by other dignitaries and all the respective aides, PAs, press assistants and security detail that goes with it, the Leaders chief of operations, the large and powerfully voiced Jurgen Folortyr was nervous over having so many high profile figures in close proximity. The Government had bought over 100 seats all around the stadium, where plain clothed security officers sat, attentively keeping an eye on the situation. Matthias Sindelar sat down next to Lorcan at the back of the box, beer in hand, a craft lager from hip distillery Chantile d'Fleurys which operated out of Mulhampstead, while handing Lorcan, who was strictly teetotal, a chilled glass of orange juice.

"Get that down you mate," he said, handing the glass over to his more senior colleague as he plonked himself down on the seat. Lorcan gave a hint of a smile, before taking a long draft from the aforementioned OJ, putting down his phone the email he was writing instantly forgotten.
"Got a good feeling about this match Matthias, Luxulya is doing good things with this team."
"Aye, that she is. This is probably, oh I don't know, the best team we've had since I was playing," Matthias said with a wry grin. Lorcan snorted.
"Such humility from you as always Matthias." They sat in silence for a moment, Matthias watching Brevin Scott warming up on the pitch, Lorcan watching Jurgen stand restlessly in front of them. Then it was back to business,
"I take it you saw the first draft my office sent through regarding the Climate Bill."
Matthias smiled ruefully.
"I did."
"And?"
"Ehhhhh, it's a start, but if you really want to silence your critics you'll finance the Tuffield Wind Plains initiative we put forwards."
Lorcan frowned,
"You know full well that..."
"... your supporters in the Plains region won't support that bill"
"Correct. I know you're trying to make up lost ground over the mess Clarisse made last week but we won't be able to support that bill in its current form. I can't help you out with what happens in your own party."
"And I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking for compromise from the Green Party on this issue."
"We've compromised damn well enough so far this term Lorcan!" exclaimed Matthias, turning a few heads. Both men immediately were all smiles, the politicians instincts coming right back,
"And we both know that this arrangement is... most likely about to finish in the short term." Lorcan frowned once again,

"Just because you're currently ahead in the polls doesn't mean you get to..."
"...I'm not rubbing it in goddammit, you've done well in charge, which is about as much as I can say being in a different party, but once the campaign gets fully underway you know how it goes."
"Two more weeks now until we start."
"Aye that it is. Look, I'll cut you a deal. Take out the shit about green gas - the electorate and the energy companies don't buy those fake green credentials you've been pushing with gas - and I'll see if I can get the militant wind to cut loose on the Wind Plains. That's the best I can do for you."

Both men agreed to discuss it further with their parties and were interrupted by the roar that went up around the stadium as the teams marched out onto the pitch.

by **Nephara** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 4:51 pm

NFX 3 - 3 Nephara
(4-4-2 / 4-4-1) 1 - Swoboda; 18 - Kielseng, 5 - Konoval (vc), 6 - Steelhenge, 3 - Close (19 - Vicelich 81'); 13 - Saroszi, 15 - Rosenthal (8 - Moxham 76'), 23 - Shone (s/o 42'), 11 - Strongbow; 9 - Hawke, 10 - Metzger (Rowland (c) HT)
Goals: Metzger 23', Hawke 57', Moxham 86'

Twenty-three minutes in, Tawny Shone turns off her mark, plays Rowena Strongbow past her fullback, the Directus winger hits a high, looping cross over the top. Metzger escapes his mark, angles a delicate header past the 'keeper, Nephara are up 1-0.
If it ends there, nobody talks. It just is what it is, Nephara doing what they do.
But it didn't. Instead, things end with Aidan Brosque hanging by a thread, fans sweating on an upset, results out of their hands. But at least there's a redemption story on the way.
The catalyst comes when Shone, our anti-heroine of the day, crunches all her studs at once into Diego Dodongo's shins.
Out came the red.
Shone didn't take the decision well, and with an Audioslavian efficiency, terracotta shirts flooded the referee. Konoval, wearing the armband for the day, waded in to try and haul his charges out, before they could follow Shone down the tunnel.
It was too late for Shone herself, though, her face as red as the card. "You're fucking joking, man!" she bellowed, volume belying her stature. "A red for that? I barely touched the cunt! If he wants to get up and stop crying, maybe he can tell you himself-"
Rosenthal and Saroszi managed to haul her away to the centre circle, from which point she strode off herself, seething on the way.

But with Shone went all the Nepharim order, and with half-time, its momentum. Shone still felt rancorous during the team-talk; "Back home that's barely a fucking yellow, boss-"
"This isn't home, Shone! This is the World Cup! Hadn't you noticed!?"
Metzger, the goalscorer, went off, feeling quietly resentful about it. Rowland replaced him, feeling quietly resentful about not starting, though Konoval handing her back her rightful armband did go some way to salve that.
But the gap in midfield wouldn't be patched over by just a single substitution. Worse still, their opponents' confidence was soaring, and it showed with a series of inch-perfect passes raking the field, right to left, culminating in Kaylee Moody cutting into the box and driving the ball across Swoboda to nestle into the bottom corner, just four minutes into the half.
Nephara fought back. Nephara always fights back. Saroszi took a snap-shot from distance that lashed viciously against the post, Rosenthal tested Hills from outside the box, an elegant flick that the young keeper did well to tip over, spilling into the net in the aftermath, but the corner went nowhere. More precisely, it went to where Metzger should have been attacking it at the front post, and was instead cleared effortlessly by Rhiannon Concord.
That theme would continue, to the Cormorants' downfall. Hardin, in a rare moment in space, tested Swoboda, who clawed her shot around the post. The corner swung in to an undermanned box, Rhiannon Concord free to chest it down and lamp a defender's finish into the roof of the net, scorching Swoboda's fingertips on the way.
2-1, but it wouldn't last long. The Concord sisters might well have expected Nephara to stop crossing into a box where Estrella Hawke was so outnumbered. But Rowena Strongbow knew it was a matter of execution. When she found the space down the flank, shown all the chalk in the world by Hooper cautiously standing off her, she took her time and placed a cross beautifully into Hawke's path as she raced past both defenders, put her head down and felt the ball slam into the net, moments before she and Hills slammed into one another.
It was her 70th goal, and could yet prove the most important.

2-2, though, was still a disaster in this context. Particularly as in the other game Qasden had inexplicably crushed Cosumar. Indeed, a draw here meant that the Qads were already through, and Nephara, allegedly second in the world with a squad packed with talent, would be relying on their current plucky opponents to take points off Cosumar. Which meant it probably wasn't a great idea to be so cavalier with their safety, but the treatment was rough, regardless.
The bullying approach almost worked at the back, but Nephara still needed that extra goal, badly. And when an attack broke down due to a poor pass from Rosenthal, Alix Ajax swept onto the ball. They had time and they had space to look up and weight a long ball over the top, splitting Close and Steelhenge. Neither could keep up with the fresh substitute Venezia, though Steelhenge definitely considered just hacking her down... but they couldn't afford another red card, not with the score like this. Venezia shaped for the shot, but Swoboda still loomed... better idea, to cut across and hope that Micah Morrison was there, as he always was for his usual strike partner Hardin in training.
He was there now, too, and belted the ball into the top corner unmarked. And this could not be allowed to stand.
Brosque railed on the touchline, demanding a response. Immediately, he dragged off Circe Rosenthal, who went off without comment or complaint. Her embrace of Chimera Moxham seemed a little longer than usual. Bryony Johansen eyed them, but said nothing.
Moxham wasn't here to dwell on last time. She was here to be what everyone thought she was; flash, brash and arrogant. Her first touch came when Rowland slipped her a clever pass beyond Ajax, and she went for power, thundering it against the crossbar. Good, but she needed better.
She had help from the bench soon, Brosque's final throw of the dice. To the uninitiated, a straight swap of leftbacks seemed... really stupid, bluntly. But Vicelich was faster, fresher and more aggressive down the left than the exhausted Close, who had endured an indifferent game. For all people had criticised Brosque's tactics thus far, he still trusted his gut on this one.
Slowly, momentum started to build for Nephara as the 95X-men hung back. Parked the bus, as pretty much every twii put it. It's a joke, you see, because the country is known for its-
- but here now was Monako Saroszi, flashing down the right with menace, drawing out those last reserves of energy to punch past Moody... their way blocked by Claw, but Moxham ran in behind, and Saroszi flicked the ball over Claw's head to find her.
Moxham let it bounce once. Fatally, so did the Concords, that half-second too slow to stop Moxham from shaping herself, letting the ball drop to a comfortable height for her to thrash her boot through it with violence, skimming off the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.
It was a pretty good way to open her account at this level. And a pretty good time, too, bringing back a lifeline. It may only have been an equaliser. Nephara was still probably fucked. And there wasn't time to dive into the crowd - Hawke already had the ball under her arm as she hustled back to the centre circle.
But for Moxham, at least, it represented redemption.

by **Cassadaigua** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:16 pm

World Cup and Sponsorship News,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

Before we get to the World Cup, I have to mention two major sponsorship deals that have been recently announced regarding Cassadagan stadiums. We went through a lull in talking about this, because there was not a ton of interest from outside sources, and Cassadagan companies were too busy trying to one up other such companies, that the whole process just seem to take much longer then we thought.

We’ll start in Winchester, the smaller city known for its aging population and seniors who generally are not crazy about international sports in city, but they do love the money in which tourists bring in. Deerfield Equipment, a company that specializes farming equipment has won the rights to name Winchester Stadium the Deerfield Equipment stadium. They are best known for their line of tractors, but it is not exclusive to that. It is seen as a good mix for the city since there is a lot of farmland in the area surrounding Winchester. Danielle Black, the spokesperson of the company told us, “It will be an honor that the stadium in Winchester will be called the Deerfield Equipment Stadium. With all of these high tech and otherwise fancy companies being the ones to jump into opportunities like this, one can never forget that if there are no farms, there is no food. Deerfield Equipment is the brand of choice for farmers, and that will continue into the future. We are hoping that we can grow our base into other Rushmori nations as well, and perhaps even expand further then that.” Clyde Tasker, of the Winchester Central Bingo Hall tells us that they needed to get this right, “Winchester is a special city. Leave your smartphones at home. Ok, we have them too, but the point is, that is not the identity of Winchester. Deerfield is well respected here. I am happy to see them sponsoring the stadium.”

Then there is the interesting news out of New Lakeland. While many Cassadagans assume that Dagan Airways, the leading airline in Cassadaigua is going to sponsor a stadium (and perhaps they are targeting Concord Heights, but we’re just not hearing that), another airline has stepped in and agreed to terms with personnel in the western city of New Lakeland. Qusmair, a growing airline based in Qusmo, will the primary sponsor for the state of the art stadium in New Lakeland, which will now be known as Qusmair Stadium. There had been talks recently between Qusmair opening up flights to Scott City, Darmen; and for those not up on their Rushmori geography, Darmen and Cassadaigua are very close to one another on the map. Meghan Truitt, a spokesperson for New Lakeland Stadium told us, “Qusmair is an ambitious airline looking to expand within Rushmore. They are clearly targeting our area of the region, with the recent rumors of new flights between Qusmo to Darmen, and now just going a bit more south in the region into New Lakeland. Naturally, they plan on creating a footprint in Cassadaigua for themselves, and flights will likely be occurring between there and New Lakeland, as well as in the eastern part of Cassadaigua, to Concord Heights. I know that personally, I love to have options when flying, and they are an exciting new option for us.”

Brianna Crause, a spokesperson from Dagan Airways told us, “New Lakeland was not our top choice. I would expect that we will have something finalized pretty soon with the grand prize of this whole thing.” By that statement, we will assume she means Concord Heights Stadium, but a phone call to Concord Heights Stadium resulting in us being told, “we are no where close to a decision yet and there are many players.” There was some speculation that Spacebook was close to announcing a deal with Rutland, but who knows. As far as other international companies, we have read about a couple that are considering it, but are not aware of any official bids at this time.

So now, let’s talk about the World Cup. And when we reminded others not up on Rushmori geography that Darmen is very close to Cassadaigua, there is one nation that is even closer. Valladares, at least their westlands, are. Now, Valladares is the only nation in the way of keeping the Fillies from advancing to the round of 16 after an entertaining 1-0 win over Sargossa. Now, it’s actually not a win and we advance situation, as if Sargossa were to defeat Eura, then the three of us would be 2-0-1 and at the mercy of tiebreakers. Right now, Eura has a one goal win on us, and we have a one goal win on Sargossa. A Sargossa win by more then one goal sees them jump ahead of us, and then it comes down to us and Eura, and Eura would have the tiebreaker. That would be the case regardless of our margin of victory. So the story for the Dagans is pretty simple: make sure you get three points, and don’t worry about what cannot be controlled. That will not come easy as Valladares will be hungry to not be shut out during the group stage after a very good qualifying performance.

To get here, Cassadaigua defeated Sargossa 1-0, and Kelsey Morgan earned her first clean sheet in the official World Cup. It was an evenly played match, much like out game against Eura was. Shots on target were even for the match at 6-6, and possession numbers were close as well. Again, it seemed as though Cassadaigua controlled the middle portion of the field for long periods of time. The only score of the match came in the 32nd minute, when Zack Pierce picked up the rebound of a Hannah Ranucci shot and fired it home. Of the goal, Pierce told us, “We had sustained pressure there for a while, so I came in off the wing and beat my man. Hannah took the shot, and while the keeper (Roberto Penedo) stopped the shot, he could not control the rebound and it bounced in my direction. I was lucky to be in the right spot. I would like to tell you that my instincts anticipated that, but that was just good fortune.” Morgan’s toughest save came late in the match off Fabián Guzmán.

Manager Stephanie Sweeney was thrilled with the effort, “We have played two good matches, so I am certainly happy with the effort. We only have three points for it, and we don’t completely control our own destiny, but we are not going to worry about that. If we can get the win, we’ll go 2-0-1, and if the tiebreakers say that’s not good enough to advance, then we can still hold our heads high. We just need to take care of our own business.”

by **Bongo Johnson** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 8:53 pm

BongoBeat.net - Home of World Cup eliminated Bongo Johnson

IT'S ALL OVER BUT THE CRYING
Bongo Johnson eliminated from World Cup contention after MD2 loss

Cue up the Ink Spots, Bongo Johnson.

No one truly expected them to overcome the odds and break through the group stage, but that didn't make the national team's 5-1 loss against Baker Park yesterday any less painful for Incorporated football fans who are now dealing with the reality of being eliminated with zero points after the second matchday.

Hometown hero Bongald was able to pot a single goal for the Incorporated side, however the Commonwealth of Baker Park simply overpowered the Bongo Johnson defenders on their way to trouncing the Bongo Boys. Baker Park has put themselves in a prime spot to qualify with the win, giving them a three point advantage over Free Republics who still have a chance at qualifying pending the results of Matchday 3. Apox, the favorite, has already secured a berth into the knockout stage.

Bongo Johnson will close out their World Cup with a match tonight against Free Republic and hope to play spoiler. A win would be fantastic, but honestly, we know we're all just rooting for one more goal to celebrate at the World Cup. Beat on, Bongos!

by **Farfadillis** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 8:54 pm

Tuzzio stayed up all night, scribbling ideas to improve Farfadillis' game. He was a very dedicated manager. Ever since becoming crippled, he'd doubled and tripled efforts to find enjoyment in football. As a former world class player, football had been almost his entire life at one point, but his health issues had taken the enjoyment away from it. Slowly but surely, his career as manager had made him enjoy football ever so slightly again. He was always chasing that high. He missed being able to strike the ball as sweetly as only he could, but now he'd found a suitable replacement: living vicariously through his players.

For obvious reasons, he gravitated much more towards the attacking players. He recognized the talent of his defenders, and was thankful for having what he believed were better defenders at his disposal than the ones he had as teammates. It's just that, even though he put in a lot of effort in turning the Farf defense into a respectable one, he just didn't get any excitement out of it. It was like paperwork, in a sense. Trying to innovate and polish the attack was far more exciting, even though there was a lot less to be gained from it. He had to exercise restraint in order to give the defense due attention.

He was not focusing on the defense this time, however. They'd kept a clean sheet against Pasarga, so he figured he could focus on a side project of his. A side project that he wouldn't want anyone to find out about. It would make him look a bit creepy.

For the entire night, he watched videos of Faragó rue Cazade playing for both club and country, and thoroughly analyzed them. He wanted to turn rue Cazade into his successor. A better version of him. One that could do everything Ichi Tuzzio did and then more. For years he'd dedicated a lot of time to the thought experiment of how he would've managed himself. He had come up with a few ideas on how a manager could've improved his weaknesses and, having such a similar player under him now, it was finally time to put them to practice.

Faragó, much like him, was a pretty traditional Farf offensive midfielder. Lots of flair, good passing and vision, enters the box often looking for a goal and attempts risky long shots with surprisingly good results. He was also a player in Tuzzio's mold, because his long shots were specially refined. A few key differences stood out, though: rue Cazade's dribbling, while very good, was not on Tuzzio's level, while rue Cazade was definitely much more physically gifted. Tuzzio would've killed to have rue Cazade's explosive pace and apparently gigantic stamina. rue Cazade had taken to pressing and counterpressing like a Rulandese duck to radioactive water.

For some months now he'd been confusing rue Cazade with more and more instructions for each match, trying to see what worked and what didn't. He'd tried to make him emulate Fôrté Wínrôuge, but that only produced terrible results. Then he tried to make him play more like a static enganche, an Alex Terán type, so to speak. Results weren't as bad, but you could tell a lot of his talent was being wasted.

He then employed him as the team's main playmaker. A Matías Delafuente type. Results were pretty good. rue Cazade had a penchant for pulling off some marvelous through passes, specially to the wingers. He could also dictate tempo quite well for a player his age. But Tuzzio was still dissatisfied. He felt like rue Cazade's attacking prowess was being restrained.

That was how he eventually decided to play rue Cazade as a shadow striker (or false ten, as some call the position). An Ichi Tuzzio type. At first, he'd refused because of pride. He didn't want to see the kid playing exactly like him, but better. Thankfully for his ego, that didn't happen. At least not right away.

As a shadow striker, Faragó had torn apart a few defenses, and scored a few goals. His club started playing him in that role, too, and he began tearing apart the FFL. Ichi's proud was threefold: Faragó was following in his footsteps, Faragó was not better than him and a club in Farfadillis was copying him.

But Tuzzio was not satisfied. When he watched his protégé play, he could tell something was missing. He could tell he could reach greater heights. He just couldn't put his finger on it. For weeks he toiled away at his desk, watching footage and writing down his ideas. But he was coming up with nothing.

In the days leading up to the World Cup, he'd turned his attention away to a more general view of the challenge he was tackling. What tactical instructions tended to improve a Farf player dramatically? He researched for hours and hours, and eventually reached a conclusion: playing further up the pitch tended to drastically improve the performances of Farf players.

Friekder Dandalleion, his good friend, had started off as a left midfielder. He gradually moved up to left winger and then to striker. As a striker, he was fearsome. As a left midfielder, he'd looked like a promising midfielder with a lot of pace who could look forward to many illustrious years of crossing the ball into the box endlessly.

Risko Kâí had followed Dandalleion's footsteps, albeit late in his career as a result of losing his pace. Kâí moved from inverted winger to inside forward to pure centerforward. The first change improved him drastically, the second added three or four years of top performances to his career.

Alex Terán had started off as a center midfielder. A mediocre one, cause he was impossibly bad at defending. Eventually, someone moved him up to the attacking midfielder position and he became a world class player overnight.

There were many more examples. Like every fullback. Invariably, they all improved greatly when played as wingbacks. When Pekarik realized this in the WC's early-70's, there was a great paradigm shift in Farf tactics.

So, summing up, he'd learned a good bit about Farf tactics and Farf players, but absolutely nothing on how to help rue Cazade realize what he believed to be his full potential. He knew turning him into a striker - the only possibility left - would be a blunder. Faragó just didn't have Holsteiner's killer instinct. The Szoirsian was excellent at scoring as an attacking midfielder, but there was more to scoring goals as a striker, and he didn't have that.

And then, as he dwellt on this last thought, a crazy idea hit him. What if he gave him a more withdrawn role? No Farf in history had adapted fully to such a thing - Sasca and Zsase were recent examples - but there's always a first. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself this was what he'd been trying to come up with. A million different ideas were suddenly conjured up by his head. A sleepless night awaited him, because he was about to try to come up with a whole new tactical role.

A withdrawn shadow striker. A player that defended in center midfield but joined the attack very often. He wouldn't venture as often into the box, but he'd find himself taking more long shots. He'd be in the perfect position in the pitch to pull off defense-splitting passes. He'd press a lot. But he'd also defend much more than now. He'd finish every match absolutely exhausted.

But he knew he was about to ask far too much from him defensively. Press, counterpress and cover a sizable area of the pitch like a normal center midfielder would? rue Cazade had never paid much attention to the art of defending. For this reason, he'd tell rue Cazade to become a very violent player. He hoped the fact that most of his fouls would be further up the pitch would save him from getting sent off often.

This could pan out in two ways: disaster and back to the drawing board or paradigm shift in Farf football. Possibly both. For the first time, football was making him feel like a player again.

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

"Kahara with a long ball to Yitebarke. Teijeiro clears it. Holsteiner nods it to Êns. RUE CAZADE'S UNMARKED. ÊNS WITH THE PASS. FARAGÓ FARAGÓ FARAGÓ FARAGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. GOOOOOOOOOOOL. FARAGÓ RUE CAZADE. THE SZOIRSIAN SURPRISES THE BANIJAN DEFENSE TO SCORE WHAT COULD BE THE WINNER! FARFADILLIS TWO, BANIJA ONE. Just fifteen minutes to go!"

Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ Ӿ

by **Audioslavia** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 9:06 pm

^{RUTHLESS BULLS HUMBLE HOSTS}

We’ll spare you the details. You’ve probably seen a thousand of the videos come up on your YouTube feed over the past week. You’ve had to put up with every pundit on every channel throwing the same facts and figures at you and repeating the old Humiliation Derby line at you ad nauseum. Yes, when Audioslavia play Valanora, one team typically ends up with their tail between their legs. 0-4, 0-5, That Vanor AOCAF Cup final, that 2-5 AOCAF Cup final, inferiority complex, bUt We’Re RiVaLs and all the rest.

I put it to you that oft-repeated Aud/Val mantra is a poor reflection on the nature of a football match between Valanora and Audioslavia, and that the essences of both teams can be evaluated by viewing minutes eighty-six to ninety-four of the sides’ matchday two World Cup showdown last night.

Minute Eighty-six: Valanora 0-2 Audioslavia

Audioslavia full-back Dan Robertson shepards the ball out of play for what he thinks should be a goal kick. Espy va Drake, whose shirt Robertson has a fistful of to stop the midfielder from getting to the ball. The referee, the linesman and anyone else who’d seen Laborious’s through-pass deflect off the bottom of Valentini’s studs know that it’s a corner. Robertson, seeing the signal, hurls abuse towards the linesman and has to be shoved away and into the six yard box by Ilatxi, aware that his full-back is already on a yellow card. With the Bulls 2-0 up, Ilatxi demands nothing but professionalism from the players around him.

As Espy va Drake sets the ball down for the corner, twisting his navy shirt back the right way round, Ilatxi can be seen bellowing instructions to Robertson. It is a marked difference from the last twelve corners Audioslavia have had to face, wherein Ilatxi’s job was to man-mark the nigh-on two-metre tall Valanora legend Laborious Hawk and make sure that he doesn’t get his enormous head to the ball without at least losing a nipple.

The Valanora fans turn up the volume. The openness of the Hatire Memorial stadium in Capri doesn’t enclose the sound of a raucous crowd quite as well as other stadiums, but that isn’t so noticeable, largely because the Vanorans knew that and so have brought copious amounts of drums and alcohol with them to compensate. A gradually accelerating tribal three-over-four beat comes to a crescendo as va Drake curls a looping cross into the mixer, where Laborious Hawk is arriving. Ilatxi can only watch in horror as the six foot five inch Hawk easily out-jumps the ball’s claret-shirted suitors and powers in a header that, at long last, gets the home side onto the score sheet.

Hawk’s momentum carries him over the goal line and he gets to the ball before anyone else in order to sprint back and put it back on the centre circle. Daniel Robertson attempts to bat the ball out of his hands but is swatted away.

Summary: Audioslavia do something dumb, can’t decide whether to be furious or professional, decide to do both, it costs them. Valanora’s fans demand they persist and persist and finally they are rewarded. Audioslavia look stupid when trying to get physical.

Minute Eighty-seven: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia
The tens of thousands of the Valanora faithful rapidly press the ‘+1’ button on the decibelometer, which is definitely a thing, and demand their beloved Marauders go for the equaliser. For the home fans, Hawk’s goal is the first proper goal of the game. Audioslavia’s opener, scored in the second minute by Rickson Marañón, was the result of the Audioslavian striker having a handful of Fjørtoft’s shirt which allowed to him to pounce first on a prospective looped pass forward and direct it beyond an unusually leaden-footed Smørdal for 1-0, unseen by either linesman or the referee. Audioslavia’s second, a penalty put away by Jégou, was the result of Desya Kuznetsov throwing himself to the floor on his way past Vásquez as he tried to latch onto a through-ball, a humiliating act of shamelessness if you’re Vanoran or a laudable act of cleverness if you’re Audioslavian. Either way, Jégou made no mistake with the penalty and the Bulls were two up to the distain of the home fans.

Now, in the eighty seventh minute, Audioslavia are shaken. An attempt at controlling the possession ends with the ball being passed harmlessly out of play on the halfway line. The Marauders take it quickly, Lithvathar is instantly up-ended by Daniel Robertson and Valanora have a free-kick. Lithvathar gets up quickly and considers pumping a long ball into the box, but glances up at the clock first. It’s ticking over to eighty-eight minutes. It’s not quite time to be panicking and launching hopeful balls into the box and praying Hawk can do something magisterial. Lithvathar plays a cross-field pass to Soldarian, who starts an attack down the centre.

Summary: Audioslavia start to crumble under the pressure. Valanora seem to thrive on it, yet aren’t losing their heads just yet. Bulls dirty, Marauders wholesome.

Minute Eight-eight: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia

Soldarian finds Hawk on the ground. Hawk is instantly closed down by both Lomax and Valentini. Fresco bursts into the hole created at the back. Hawk can’t turn amidst all the pressure and lays the ball off for va Drake. va Drake dinks the ball instantly over the top of the defence, aiming for it to land directly in front of Fresco. It does. Fresco takes a touch to try to bring the ball under his spell rather than an attempt an off-balance shot while leaning back. He needs a second bite of the cherry, and there’s enough time for Zanardi to sprint forward and close the angle. Fresco tries to chip the ball over the advancing keeper, but Zanardi gets his hands up and beats the ball away. Boiteux is first to the loose ball and tries to sweep the ball away for a throw-in, but in his panic slices it away for a corner.

va Drake swings in another, but this time Ilatxi is concentrating and does just enough to ensure that Hawk can only get his head to the underside of the ball and send it high for a goal kick.

The resulting goal-kick sees Zanardi shank it out for a throw-in on the halfway line. The pressure mounts. The noise becomes deafening. Wilf Lidgley jogs up to the edge of his technical area and screams instructions at the field, but nobody can hear a word he’s saying.

Summary: Audioslavia vs Audioslavian Capacity to Bottle. It’s anyone’s guess who’s gonna win.

Minute Eighty-nine: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia

Audioslavia succeed in pressing Valanora enough that the ball is forced back to Smørdal. The big keeper launches the ball down the middle to where Valentini is waiting to head the ball to Boiteux, but the midfielder lets the ball squirm under his foot and Soldarian controls it at a canter and bursts through on the left. The midfielder checks right, puts Baran Kuznetsov off balance and looks up to see no obvious balls. He can feel footsteps behind him and to his left. He knows, instinctively, that it’s va Drake scampering up the wing on the overlap. Lomax takes a step towards Soldarian in an attempt to make the midfielder make up his mind, but Soldarian simply drags the ball back and waits for the opportune time. The ball is passed languidly to Soldarian’s left and into the run of va Drake, whose first touch takes him to the by-line. Lomax is forced to track back, considers jumping to try to block the cross but thinks better of it. He’s right to do so. va Drake checks back and looks up. An attempt to thread the ball through for the diminutive Skaar is blocked by a Lomax. va Drake recovers the ball and a burst of pace buys half a yard. On the winger’s right foot, va Drake shoots from the corner of the six yard box but can only find the goalkeeper’s shoulder with the shot. Valentini scuffs a clearance, but the ball rolls kindly for Marañón who scampers away with it.

Audioslavia can be lethal with counter-attacks. On this occasion they emphatically aren’t. Marañón tries to beat Hatsune for pace but finds the midfielder too clever for him. Hatsune gets a foot to the ball and shifts his weight into Marañón to put the Audioslavian winger off balance. Rickson bounces off of Hatsune and falls to the floor clutching his face. The crowd jeer loudly. The referee gives him a short signal to get up. Hatsune hurriedly puts the ball into the box at pace, only for Lomax to stretch towards it and get a head to it. The ball bounces out for yet another Valanora corner.

Summary: Audioslavia are getting desperate. Valanora are going from strength to strength.

Minute 90: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia

As Espy va Drake lines up another corner, Audioslavian television pundits, commentating over the footage being beamed back to Audioslavia, are loudly arguing about whether or not Valanora should bring their goalkeeper up for these corners. One is trying to convince the other that, in the last five minutes, you may as well throw everything you can at your opponent and hope for the best. The other is pointing at the Group E table. Assuming a Starblaydia draw or victory by the odd goal in the next day’s game, a 1-2 reverse here for Valanora would still mean the hosts would more than likely progress with a final-day draw against Starblaydia. Throwing your goalkeeper forward with four minutes of injury time on the board, as the fourth official has just shown, is a a risk. Valanora could take a 1-2 into the final game and still be in the driving seat. A 1-3 reverse would most likely mean a win is required on the final day.
 In the TV footage seen by most Vanorans, the analysts are praising Valanora’s controlled aggression.

A short corner results in Soldarian flashing the ball across goal, between the back four and the goalkeeper, but no-one can get a boot onto the ball. Audioslavia manage to convert a defensive throw-in into a slightly less defensive throw-in, which is the most effective passage of play they’ve managed for five minutes now. They do the same again, all the while running down the clock. Throw in number three takes thirty seconds to complete from the ball going out to coming back in again. The Marauders’s fans are frustrated by the events. The drumming becomes louder.

Minute 91: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia
Another corner is forced by Valanora after va Drake’s long-range cross is deflected towards the corner flag and out over the goal-line. va Drake tries again, this time with the ball falling short of Soldarian arriving at the far post and headed to relative safety by Lomax. Valentini helps the ball on its way forward, but Kuznetsov’s attempt at hold up play is foiled by Soltvedt’s quick thinking and Valanora can come forward again. Audioslavia, famed for their fitness levels, continue to press. Valanora are forced back to their halfway line until a cross-field ball sends Skaar away down the right. Skaar goes to check back as she approaches the by-line but is tackled by Robertson. The balls goes out of play. It is yet another corner.

Smørdal knows there’s barely a minute left, calls over to the bench and gestures towards the goal. Pasargan manager Tobias Möller shakes his head.

Minute 92: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia

Valanora earn a free-kick right on the edge of the eighteen yard box as another attempt at a short corner ends with Valentini lunging wildly at Soltvedt. va Drake signals for the defenders to come up for the free-kick, which looks more like a penalty-corner in field hockey than a free-kick. Smørdal again asks, and is again denied. Va Drake pings the ball low and hard and true right into the mixer. Two shins are hit before a sprawling Lomax defends against Hatsune’s attempt to sweep the ball goalwards from six yards. A more speculative effort from twenty-five yards is blasted straight at Audioslavia’s keeper from Laborious Hawk. The best Zanardi can do is push the ball up and over the bar for yet another corner kick.

Minute 93: Valanora 1-2 Audioslavia

With the end of injury time quickly approaching, Möller finally gives his goalkeeper permission to maraud forward. va Drake puffs out his cheeks as he waits for the keeper and the other big defender to arrive into the box. The crowd roars in anticipation.
 In any other country, Valanora would have been forgiven for not risking everything to get a result. The idea of taking a credible 1-2 defeat from the game and defending your goal difference in the final game was simply not able to cross the minds of any Vanorans in attendance.

With their big guns in the penalty box, va Drake swings in yet another corner. At the far post arrives Laborious Hawk, meeting the ball sweetly with a header back across goal. Zanardi is beaten and can only watch as the ball careens off of his left hand post and across the face of goal with nobody close enough to blow it over the line. Thirty centimetres from his own goal, John Lomax picks up the pieces.

The panicked clearance is on, but so too is a ball to the far right wing where he knows Marañón will have set up camp. A long, high boot is controlled by Marañón who has time to get the ball out of his feet and look up. The Valanora goalkeeper is off his line by about sixty-five yards.

The Audioslavian goes for glory himself, trying to score into the open net from all of seventy yards. The ball stops short, but the footrace is won by Kuznetsov who boots the ball into the net for 1-3.

Dejected but refusing to let their heads hang, the home crowd applaud’s both Audioslavia’s counter-attack, done in true claret style, and Valanora’s verve in going for it in the first place.

After the full-time whistle blows, Audioslavia celebrate in front of the small pocket of Audioslavian travellers while the Valanora players clap their own supporters graciously.

Full Time: Valanora 1-3 Audioslavia

Audioslavia are likely to play a weakened side against Nova Anglicana on Wednesday next week, with several players rested for the knockouts.

When asked whether or not this would affect the side’s momentum, Lidgley seemed annoyed, asking why reporters didn’t say this when a domestic team played twice in only eight days during the regular league season.

Audioslavia do not have the deepest squad they’ve ever had, but that is all the more reason to give them some practice and to rest the squad’s most important players.

by **Brenecia** » Mon Apr 08, 2019 11:38 pm

Brenecia 3 - 1 Turori
(4-1-4-1) 1 - Calhoun; 2 - Broxham, 5 - Heneghan, 6 - Szubanski (c), 3 - Quill (19 - Prentice 85'); 4 - Staunton; 7 - Crowther (15 - Garrard 76'), 21 - Case (14 - Ruskin 63'), 13 - Wheeler, 16 - Ashbrown; 9 - Riordan
Goals: Case 13' pen, Riordan 45+2' 84'

It was meant well.
When Tiferet Ashbrown raced down the inside of the left flank, Maddox tried to go for the ball, but the Rozelle winger was just that bit too fast. Her heels were clipped, she went down in a heap. The whistle was instant. Case was the designated taker, gathered up the ball in his hands and tossed it nonchalantly to Griffin Riordan like this was some spur-of-the-moment thing.
Riordan was... short of confidence. She'd scored precisely twice in qualifying, and her record was starting to look lean. It was a different task to get on the scoresheet for the national team, where she had to work harder off the ball, do her defensive yards, hold up the ball. At Mallox, the chances would come. For Brenecia... that desperation to get on the scoresheet was showing, and she was snatching at the few chances she got. She got two half-chances against Turori, dragged one wide and sliced the other over. Maybe for Mallox against Goldstaff, she gets another two or three chances after that, clearer ones. Against Turori, she was silent, and then hooked.
So, hey, here was her chance, gift-wrapped, for a third goal in... in more than she wanted to think about. In eleven. For charity.
She tossed it back. Case shrugged, and scored it nervelessly.

The neutrals groaned almost as much as the Darmeni. Everyone knew - everyone knew what happened when Brenecia scored first and early. They sat back and waited and absorbed pressure and the game petered out.
So there were cheers from the neutrals when the Darmeni levelled twenty minutes later. It was a slick move, Darmen's well-drilled, well-coordinated front six shifting forward, O'Cuilinn switching to Stafford, a one-two with Butler, a deft ball into the middle to find Blackwood who took a powerful shot and Calhoun, uncharacteristically, was unable to direct it away, parrying it straight back where it came. Skylar Hurst nipped in and tucked the rebound home. And now Brenecia would have to come forward again.
In... theory. Nobody appeared to have informed them of this, judging by the next ten sluggish minutes. Ashbrown and Crowther tested Campo from distance, but the Scott City goalkeeper, experienced beyond his years, was equal to the task. Beyond that, there was nothing. Until there was.
It came from a slip. Jean Virgo's heavy touch in possession, careless, and suddenly Riordan was on him. And then, bearing down on goal. And then, before her brain had even caught up to her motions, before she could think twice, driving the ball past Campo and wheeling away to celebrate with the rest of the team.

The second half was a decent enough affair. More perspiration than inspiration, as they say, but 22 hard boys knocking each other around is still good fun for the neutral. For Brenecia, too, since those are the occasions they generally win.
Both sides ran a lot and kicked each other around a bit, but the Brenecian emphasis remained on not conceding another goal. Calhoun may have been found wanting for the first goal, but he made up for it somewhat by clawing a strike from the lethal Mordecai O'Cuilinn out of the top corner.
Clear chances, however, were hard to come by, as midfield clashes defined the match. There was plenty of blood and thunder to go around, as there always would be when Case was about. Still... as legs started to tire, both managers rolled the changes. Brenecia would be more comfortable with a goal, even if stretching for it would be suicide - Darmen had nothing to lose, and the quality to make the most of any chance.
In the end, it was the Patriots who won out. Corby Wheeler had endured a quiet match, overshadowed by the thundering challenges around her. It was all she could do just to keep intact, but she'd been kept on, Jim Reid knowing well she'd take advantage of any opening. One duly came, and she finally slipped the veteran Goldschmidt, feeling his sliding tackle whip behind her as she nipped past, found space. She had all the time in the world to draw out the Darmeni defence, then lay the ball across for Riordan, who muscled past Maddox, behind Abbey, into the new opening. Campo came out, but Riordan lofted the ball over him into the net. 3-1, job done.
But could it have been better for the Mallox striker? After the match, and the celebratory team-talk, the obligatory slapping on the back, Keziah Broxham reminded her she could've had a hat-trick if she'd only taken the penalty early on...
"Son of a bitch!" Riordan snapped her hands together and stared at the ceiling. It was true, she knew... but then, goals changed games. The goals would have changed her. If she'd taken that early charity, then would she have been ready for Virgo's gift?
She made a show, playing along as the others laughed, but she knew things were better this way.

by **Mercedini** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:33 am

#21 MERCEDINI
Ylinqar - "Occhi"
Tune: Mahmood - "Soldi"
Music: A. Titu, F. Gabrinelli, F. Vaunche • Lyrics: A. Titu, S. Borlaviac, F. Gabrinelli

Following ample speculation from WorldVision Fan Groups across the multiverse, Ylinqar was confirmed as the Mercedinian representative for the 72nd edition of the WorldVision Song Contest with his song 'Occhi', translating to 'Eyes' in English from his native language of Mercedinian. Little is known about the Mercedinian vocalist, with Ylinqar holding little previous experience in the realm of international music, or indeed, the realm of music within Mercedini. The Mercedinian delegation have been quick to defend Ylinqar's lack of discography, and is working with the artist to perfect his song and the eventual show that will be performed on the night of the 72nd WorldVision Song Contest. Mercedini's fifth place finish in the previous edition held in the Main Nation Ministry was seen as a disappointment in some senses, with a record breaking number of nations giving Mercedini 12 point, but still falling a solid twenty-three points behind Izmedu, the eventual winners. WorldVision has been falling out of favour with the general public as of late, with dissatisfaction at the same nations at the top end of the leader board edition after edition. It's hoped ENM can finally join the top table of nations in terms of results, but also in terms of lifting the title which has alluded them for nearly a quarter of a century since their debut at the 48th editions. They have come close on numerous occasions in the past, but in the end it's the points that count more than anything in these types of competitions. Ylinqar finished off a multi-legged multiverse tour next week to familiarise his song with those nations who will ultimately pick a winner of the 72nd edition of the WorldVision Song Contest.

The song begins with the opening piano chords ringing around the Nena Arena in Lipa, with the camera making quick cuts to different angles, all showing Ylinqar on stage with the three primary colours flashing in sequence with the silhouette of the Mercedinian performer creating a black human form for the viewers at home. Ylinqar is wearing all-black combat outfit and stands in the main portion of the stage, he lifts his microphone to his mouth as the introduction fades away to allow Ylinqar to being the Mercedinian entry to the 72nd WorldVision Song Contest.

Three backing singers are located at the side of the stage to accompany Ylinqar with the vocals, with two leather armchairs located to his left which will be used for the choreography later in the song. A close-up of his face begins the performance, with his face barely lit with a simple deep red background behind him.

Due cuori insieme ma distanto
Il ghiaccio scorre nelle loro veno
Non osando guardarci l'un l'altro
Ma vogliono ancora una voltio

Il suo caffè, è diventato fredda
Il suo truccei è stato lavato via
Scende la notte, e loro odia
Two hears together, yet distant
Ice flowing through their vains
Not daring to each other
But they want one more time together

His coffee has since gone cold
Her make-up has since washed away
Night falls, and they start to hate

Ylinqar rocks side to side as he repeats any words in the second half of the first verse, with a short cut over to the backing singers before returning to the action on the main part of the stage. White beams of light all converge onto Ylinqar and flash with the piano chords of the accompanying music. The colours subside, leaving only the white lights to rise from the floor and converge of his hand as he lifts it up into a fist in the air. For the final third of this part of the song, cameras switch from a left-view to a right-view before the first verse comes to a conclusion with the camera zooming in on Ylinqar from a central point

E loro odia, odia, odia
"Perché odia, odia, odia?"

Per un momento, una scintilla dentro di loro si accendai
Due anime in guerra si fermano per un respira

Lento, si avvicinano
I secondi sembrano'ro
Le stelle si uniscono
And they hate, hate, hate
"Why do we hate, hate, hate?"

But for a moment, a spark within them begins to ignite
Two souls at war stop for a breath

Slowly, they approach
Seconds feel like hours
The stars come together

The first chorus begins with a wide view of the arena, with everyone flashing their phone lights in the audience with Ylinqar singing in the back ground. The white beams of light flash downwards for each drum slap that sounds inside the arena and in the television sets for the people watching at home. For the duration of the chorus, the camera work shows shots of the stage from far away to show the viewers the scope of the arena. The audience watch on as Ylinqar walks over to the two leather seats for the choreography of the second verse.

Cosa vedono?
Ameriti occhi, occhi
Nessun ei, comprendiosi occhi, occhi
Condine, nun esso prami puti, puti

M'aleve odia, odia, odia
"Smettila odia, odia, odia"
What do they see?
Through blackened eyes, eyes
Nothing felt as they cover their eyes, eyes
Blank stares, he sees nothing but a prostitute, prostitute

But they still hate, hate, hate
"Stop this hate, hate, hate"

The second verse choreography consists of the single shot viewing the two leather chairs which were alluded to before, the shot doesn't move and is fixed on the seat for the duration of the second verse. A Computer Generated filter on the shot adds a woman to the shot who is sitting opposite, with a number of children running around the two of them, both in front of them and behind them. Ylinqar looks at the woman sitting opposite (who isn't actually there) who simply sits there and listens. The Mercedinian vocalist stands up, which triggers a reaction in the virtual filter and the fake-people on screen, as the darken and crumble into dust as Ylinqar walks away into the centre of the stage for the lead-up to the second chorus.

Il giorno dopo, nulla cambio
L'ignarenza riempie la dimoro
"Hai sentito quello che senta?"
"Se'mi 'tissi ero all'inferna"
Inizia una giornata normale

E loro odia, odia, odia
"Perché odia, odia, odia?"
The following day, nothing changes
The air of ignorance fills the home
"Did you feel what I felt?"
"If I felt, I was in hell"
A normal day begins

And they hate, hate, hate
"Why do we hate?"

White lights return to the staging and flickers as the song's piano notes move up and down to become apparent in the performance. Mirroring the staging of the first verse, the camera move from left to right and from near to far to encapsulate the message in the song with direction and visual clues to the audience at home, some subtle, but some a lot more obvious to give the people at home a viewing feast for those who are switched on. Ylinqar steps forward as the second chorus begins.

Per un momento, una scintilla dentro di loro si accendai
Due anime in guerra si fermano per un respira
Lento, si avvicinano
I secondi sembrano'ro
Entrambi sono stati qui primo
Non importei
But for a moment, a spark within them begins to ignite
Two souls at war stop for a breath

Slowly, they approach
Seconds feel like hours
Both have been here before
They don't care

The Mercedinian performer walks along the long catwalk through the centre of the arena with all the frills and trimmings included in the staging which was included in the previous chorus' staging. Flags are waving as camera across the arena in Lipa track the Mercedinian as he makes his way past thousands in attendance. The primary colours flash and change with each drum beat that rings around the arena. Ylinqar covers his eyes as the screen fades to black to conclude the second chorus. We are well into the song with the audience getting more and more into it.

Ameriti occhi, occhi
Nessun ei, comprendiosi occhi, occhi
Lui vede quancun altri, altri

M'aleve odia, odia, odia
"Smettila odia, odia, odia"
(As they watch through) blackened eyes, eyes
Nothing felt as they cover their eyes, eyes
He sees someone else, someone else

But they still hate, hate, hate
"Stop this hate, hate, hate"

Ylinqar stands at the end of the runway and on the connected island as the lights flash violently around the arena, catching on the lens and blinding the audience at home with the sheer amount of light that is being emitted by the lights, mainly from the stage. The camera adds a quick cut which shows the backing singers all watching on with their hands on the microphone, singing along as Ylinqar stands stationary, the only stationary thing in an arena of action and energy. He lifts his hand up to conclude the interlude with the light all stopping motionlessly.

Mamma chi? Mamma chi? Chi e qui per noi?
Te ne sei andato, non c'e niente quira
Papa chi? Papa chi? Chi e lei, ti figli, per noi?
Avamo, avamo tutto, ora nienai

Nessun ei, comprendiosi occhi
Mother who? Mother who? Who is coming for us?
You left, now nothing remains
Father who? Father who? Who is she, your children, to us?
We had everything, now we have nothing

No feelings, as the cover their eyes

He now turns his back on the audience to walk back to the main portion of the stage, which is tracked by cameras from multiple angles. A manned-camera now moves up on to the stage and circles the Mercedinian performer with the lights from the stage on one side and the lights from the audience on the other. Ylinqar steadies himself for the final chorus of the song, with audience deadly quiet to listen to the song and not disturb the emotion of the song which the Mercedinian delegation is hoping to translate to the international audience.

Lento, si avvicinano
I secondi sembrano'ro
Le stelle si uniscono
Cosa vendono?
Slowly, they approach
Seconds feel like hours
The stars come together
What do their see?

He covers his eyes with one hand while he is holding the microphone with his other as the primary colours which were present at the start of the song now bleeds into the screen behind the performer as the lights which illuminate him now fade into darkness, in a near perfect recreation of the opening seconds of the song. The lights whip around the arena one more time to the sound of the drum beats.

The primary colours now flash one by one once again as Ylinqar takes a step back from the stage and towards the rear of the stage. No lights are illuminating the people on stage as they become silhouettes in the coloured screen which lines the back of the stage. The final notes ring out across the stage as Ylinqar throws one fist into the air to finish his performance, following a long night of music and energy.

Ameriti occhi, occhi
Nessun ei, comprendiosi occhi, occhi

Nel mundira, influsci piu di te stessa
Due amanti, caduti nel nulla
M'aleve odia, odia, odia
"Smettila odia, odia, odia"
Through blackened eyes, eyes
Nothing felt as they cover their eyes, eyes

In this world, you effect more than just yourself
Two lovers, fallen to nothing
But they still hate, hate, hate
"Stop this hate, hate, hate"

The crowd cheer following an accomplished performance from the Mercedinian, he takes a simple bow and walks forward to wave at the crowd and thank the Besenian crowd in English and in his native Mercedinian. "Grazij, Thank You Besen!!" A quick cut to a group of cheering Mercedinians are shown on screen before a transition is made to the next portion of the show, live from Lipa in Besen.

by **Juvencus** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 7:35 am

November 12, 1986

Timoteo Abbatangelo
177 Casapueblo Avenue
Scudelli, Scu AD

Nathan Arthur
26 Gagliardi Road
Pomena, Pom AD

Dear Nathan Arthur,

I am writing you this letter to inform you about my current situation in Scudelli. The negotiations for the extention of the Scudelli port are up to par with our expectations and both sides will gain a lot from this project, which is expected to start January 22nd, 1987 and is expected to finish in the following dates:
[*]March 23rd, 1989
[*]March 24th, 1989
[*]March 25th, 1989
[*]March 26th, 1989
But no later or earlier than the afforementioned dates. The project will cost 3.5 billion pesos to come to fruition, however, the earnings will immediately surpass the immense costs for the projects, as the Scudelli port will become the second Juven port to open for the entire multiverse, as well as further strengthen our connections to other major Sonnelian ports.

I have also made contact with many other local land-owners and thus the port may be larger than inititally expected, however the cost will stay the same, as I'm using my personal earnings for the newly-acquired land and whatever gets to be built on it, however ownership shall be shared half and half between us. I look forward to further discussing everything with you in person.

Yours sincerely,
Timoteo Abbantangelo

by **Turori** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 9:15 am

Turori's National Citizen Squad [1] Qusmo [0]

Miner's Haven, Goldsan, Valanora :: From the second largest arena in the Atlantian Oceania based half of the World Cup Finals at the White Fortress in Galadriel, the Turori National Team made the trek to Goldsan for their matchday two group stage fixture against Qusmo at the second smallest stadium being used in Valanora for the World Cup Finals, Miner's Haven in Goldsan.

While Turori's National Citizen Squad failed to wow the crowds at the White Fortress with their defensive styling equal to those of their opposition, 5th ranked nation in the multiverse Brenecia, they accomplished what they needed to in failing to lose to the groups highest ranked side with two matches to follow against lower ranked teams and the opportunity to advance to the knockout rounds of World Cup 82 now fully within their control. While on the surface it had seemed that Turori's National Cocoabo Squad's 0-3 defeat at the hands of Kita-Hinode on the final day of World Cup Qualification was a relief for the Football Association of Turori and its president Mumau Atla-Siioai as it avoided the need to make hard decisions as to which team would represent the Turori National Team at the World Cup 82 Finals in Apox and Valanora, the reality behind the scenes was a little different as after a solid World Cup Qualification Campaign, fellow Atlantian Oceania nation Farfadillis had accumulated just enough points to overtake the Turori National Team in the official World Cup rankings knocking Turori from 6th to 7th in the multiverse.

This of course was a critical gaffe and oversight in preparation as the Cocoabo Squad's defeat coast the Turori National Team a spot in the first pot for the World Cup 82 Finals group draw. While Turori avoided heavy hitters such as the defending World Cup Champions and top ranked team in the multiverse Vilita and runners-up and second ranked team in the multiverse South Covello, there really would be no good team to come out of the put when you are talking about a match against a Top 6 nation or, potentially, a team outside the Top 10.

Luckily Turori's defensive lines held and they got the hardest part of their group stage schedule behind them surviving their opener against Brenecia with a point. That point earned wouldn't be worth much, however, if Turori did not take care of business in their remaining two group stage matches against 17th ranked Darmen and 34th ranked Qusmo. Up first for the Eels would be Qusmo who came into the match as the Group F leaders having defeated Darmen 1-0 on the opening match day.

A team lucky to have qualified for the World Cup Finals having lost nearly half of their qualification matches, Qusmo have caused a flurry amongst the circles of meaningless statisticians as they looked to find comparisons to any previous sides that had such bad qualification campaigns then not only qualified for the World Cup but put themselves in position to advance to the knockout rounds. Certainly a victory over Turori at the Miner's Haven would do just that and secure Qusmo's place in the knockout rounds likely at the expense of Turori's National Citizen Squad who would be unlikely to overcome such a result.

Luckily for the traveling Nigel's Army of Turori National Team supporters donning their Neon Nigel Green in the West End of the stadium, it wouldn't take long for Turori to get on the board as Starblayida based striker Mirana Gotuai of Iskara Daii opened the scoring for Turori not only for the match but for the entire World Cup 82 Finals with their third minute screamer past KF Trosoc net minder Xynat-Evela Cuf that set the early tone for the match. It was the first goal for Gotuai of the cycle and first for the Iskara Daii striker since the World Cup 81 Semi-Final when Gotuai saved at least some minuscule ounce of embarrassment for the Turorians with the lone goal in their deflating 5-1 defeat at the hands of neighbors and regional rivals the Tropics of Vilita in the Turori National Teams first ever World Cup Semi-Final appearance.

Throughout the campaign rumors had persisted surrounding Gotuai's contributions to the squad and whether they were considering retiring at the end of the cycle but the former Mist City Floatzels and Sardin United attacker - one of the few Turori National Team players to have never played a single game in the Vilitan League, answered some of those critics by scoring what would eventually be the game winner for the Turori National Team in their World Cup 82 Group Stage match day 2 fixture against Qusmo.

From the moment the ball hit the back of the net just 3 minutes into the match, it was clear that the Turori National Team were changing their look and ratcheting up the defensive posture with Qusmo managing just three quality scoring chances during the match, each of which was stopped by Cedniavella Turori net minder Wiyau An'maude who had now posted four consecutive shutouts as the goalkeeper of record, 360 minutes and counting without conceding a goal since conceding three times in Turori's shocking 3-1 upending at home to Kelssek on World Cup 82 Qualifying match day 13.

Turori [1] - [0] Qusmo

:: Turori Goalscorers ::
:: 3' Mirana Gotuai

:: Turori Statistics ::
:: Possession: 55%
:: Shots on Target: 3
:: Corner Kicks: 3

:: Qusmo Statistics ::
:: Possession: 45%
:: Shots on Target: 3
:: Corner Kicks: 4

Turori Eels Lineup v. Qusmo ::
[GK] Wiyauw An'maude, [D.] Yitizo Mpala'a, [D.] Tarek Edgeli, [D.] Amakli Inuro'o, [D.] Lulu Pumaziiri, [ML] Indelli Nura'amura, [MC] Daliora Toru'u, [MC] Mbdiai Akarenaa, [MR] Saito Koshiki, [FC] Wiztsana Iretziia, [FC] Mirana Gotuai
BENCH::
[FC] Meldi'ita Mungwaii, [FC] Nua'oma Aikiki, [M] Nubara Moafalia, [M] Kentu Umaka'a, [U ] Oani Moralziia, [D] Biliki Rona'atu'i, [GK] G.Q Disterfred II

The 1-0 victory put the Turori National Team in both a very similar and very different scenario than they had encountered just one cycle prior during the World Cup 81 Finals that ultimately led to their best ever showing in a World Cup Finals. Like World Cup 81, the Turori National Team now sat on Four Points after two of three World Cup Group Stage matches. Thats about where the similarities end, however. While Wiyauw An'maude was the goalkeeper of record for the first two matchdays of the World Cup 81 Group Stage as well, the Cedniavella Turori net minder had conceded five goals in the first two matches of the World Cup 81 Finals compared to zero goals conceded in two matches thus far in World Cup 82. The impressive defensive record for the Turori National Team thus far is matched only by defending World Cup Runners-Up and number two ranked nation in the Multiverse South Covello who are the only other team in Apox and Valanora to have not conceded a goal at the World Cup Finals thus far. South Covello sit atop Group C on six points yet like Turori are in the midst of a three-nation battle for two spots in the knockout rounds with a future that is very much uncertain and dependent on their final match day results.

The Turori National Team go into the final Group Stage match sitting second in Group F on goal differential behind their Matchday 1 opponents, Brenecia. While on paper Turori's National Citizen Squad may be sitting in a good position with their final group stage match fixture against Darmen at the 49,000 capacity Castle de Mot in Wexax, there should be nothing taking for granted as defeat against Darmen on the final match day could see the Eels eliminated from the World Cup depending on the result of the Brenecia-Qusmo Finale.

Group F              Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Brenecia               2   1  1  0    3   1  +2    4
2 Turori                 2   1  1  0    1   0  +1    4
3 Qusmo                  2   1  0  1    1   1   0    3
4 Darmen                 2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

While there has not been many meetings between Darmen and Turori during the Cocoabo Era, and even fewer of those meetings have been between Turori's National Citizen Squad and the Darmeni, there is still a rich sporting history and rivalry between the two nations. While the most recent meeting of note was the Final of the Summer Olympic Games in Kelssek and Vekaiyu where the Cocoabo Squad, having lost the right to represent Turori at the World Cup 78 Finals, were sent off to the Olympic Games and nearly stole the show before losing the championship finale against Darmen by a 2-1 scoreline. The last meeting of consequence between Darmen and the Turori Eels, however, came on Matchday 11 of World Cup 65 qualifying when Turori were defeated 2-3 by Darmen. It was a result that would be looked back on as, similar to the Eels 1-3 defeat at Kelssek during World Cup 82 Qualifying that has motivated Cedniavella Turori net minder Wiyauw An'maude to post four consecutive shutouts as a response, also elicited a response from the Eels with Turori posting seven consecutive shutout games following their 2-3 defeat to Darmen, an impressive run that would lead the Eels to the best record of any team that did not otherwise automatically qualify for the World Cup Finals.

Turori would ultimately Qualify for the World Cup 65 Finals with a 3-1 Aggregate victory over the Sandwich Territories but it would also temporarily close the book on a rivalry between Turori and Darmen that included the Turori National Team granting eligibility to the Gibbons Brothers as Abraham, Jake and Aaron Gibbons had all joined the Turori National Team setup under the guidance of their father Mikael who had signed on to coach the team during the early 60's. The Gibbons family of Darmen had risen and then swiftly fallen having been exiled completely from Darmen after a vote-buying scandal at Eau Claire Aris Football Club. The Turori National Team, then struggling to adapt to a modern international footsport scheme, took on the Gibbons players and their tactical mastermind father in a successful effort to bring Turorian footsport into the modern age. While the Gibbons Family is no longer involved in the Turori National Team, the impacts of their efforts during the 60's are still seen to this day and will be put to the test on the Final Matchday of the World Cup 82 Group Stage when the book is re-opened and Turori take on Darmen at the Castle de Mot with a spot in the World Cup 82 Knockout Rounds on the line.

by **Banija** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:18 am

Banija falls to Farfadillis by a score of 2-1, leaving everything to play for against Pasarga

The Banijans celebrate Kizza Okafor's 40th minute equalizer against Farfadillis

GLADERIAL, VALANORA- The Banijans came into this match, against their next door neighbors, Farfadillis, with hope and excitement. Banijans filled the stadium, but knew, of course, of the challenge that lay ahead of them. One of the best attacking sides in the multiverse, a team that was on a high, who had legitimate aspirations at not only being dominant in this group, but at actually winning their first ever World Cup title here, after winning AOCAF LVII in Mriin. Superstar players all over their roster, none greater, of course, than Xíxì Êns. He, of course, cannot be actually stopped- just slowed down, just contained. It is what happens whenever the Banijans are playing a team with a superstar player such as that one, how do stop them? The Banijan talents, of course, are all on the wings- Kahara and Afolayan are the ones who will make and break this team, respectively. And the best players are not in the back. But the Farves send so many players forward, and all with such lethal finishing ability, that you must adjust your game. How do you stop them?

That was the challenge that the Banijans were faced with. And they made four changes in their starting XI to prepare for the unique challenge that Farfadillis would give them, to allow them more defensive flexibility. And, of course, while both teams were coming off of positive second half performances, with both putting three second half goals past their opponents on Matchday 1, it was Farfadillis who came away with all the accolades in the group, with their stunning performance coming against 12th ranked Pasarga. With the changes to the starting XI that Marcus Waters made, with Kizza Okafor coming in to the number 10 spot, Gugulethu Feza starting at left back, Brehanu joining the back line and Stofile starting in the midfield, he went for a more physical, more defensively oriented lineup than normal. Try what could be done, if anything, to stop the flying Farves from putting a boatload of goals past the Banijans.

In the opening half hour, the game was all in favor of Farfadillis. The Banijans were planning on sitting back and trying to absorb, not something that they’re exactly comfortable with, but what choice did they have? They expose themselves against a team like Farfadillis, and they’d allow 5. Regardless, it was a tough style of play, and Farfadillis had some decent chances, though not too good, as Bereket was not excessively challenged.

The idea of using a similar strategy against Ens, that they used against Pristina Shine, surely came to fruition. As he ran around, he was certainly battered the entire game. It would be Stofile, who would lean his body into the smaller man. The referee was letting quite a bit go, and they were able to do this on numerous occasions. Kizza Okafor, the aggressive Lakiska SC midfielder, did the same thing, when coming back- made sure to make contact with Ens. But while Farfadillis got off a few long shots, they either sailed well off target, or straight to Bereket. He wasn’t forced to make any crazy diving saves, though they had one effort from 25 yards where Bereket was at full stretch, but it went just above the crossbar.

In the 25th minute, however, Farfadillis was finally able to break through. A corner kick was served into the box, but it was Brehanu who was able to rise highest in the box and get a head on the ball. Unfortunately for him, however, it went to the feet of another Farfadillis player. After he played a through ball to Holsteiner, the player ran towards the touchline and served another ball across the face of the goal, but his was also too strong. The ball was quickly played back in the middle to Ens, who lost his man marker, and headed into the back of the net to give his team the lead. The Farfadillis fans at this stadium, of course, cheered loudly and excessively at this development, as of course, they were up 1-0 early and largely controlling this game. Would this be another stroll towards three points, emphatically punching their tickets to the Round of 16?

It would not be. The Banijans, after 25 minutes, were on their heels, but they were certainly not finished. They didn’t want to be run off the field in one of the multiverse’s biggest stages, so they were here to get serious, and get back into the game. And that, they would do. Afolayan was fouled in the 33rd minute, about 25 yards from goal, and he bent a wicked shot towards the goal, only to hit the crossbar. The first real opportunity of the game, but the closeness showed that Banijan was ready again. But the goal itself was a thing of beauty. Kahara played a beautiful ball to the center, to Yitebarke, who saw the defense close in on him about 40 yards from goal. He played it back out to Kahara, who beat a defender on the dribble, and who then played a beautiful ball across to a streaking Kizza Okafor, who was unmarked. He received the ball on his chest, brought it down, and then buried the ball into the bottom corner. All of a sudden, the score was 1-1, and the Banijans were the ones who were ecstatic.

The second half was much more evenly played, with the Banijans having confidence. Of course, the fouls started to add up for the Banijans, and cards were flying out of the referee’s pocket. It was Stofile who first got a yellow card, for what was clearly a push in the back of Ens. Then it was Kizza Okafor, the goalscorer, who saw yellow, in the 59th minute, when he pulled down Sürgân t'Öéséné. Then, of course it was Abate Brehanu, the grizzled veteran, who saw yellow, when he had a particularly vicious slide tackle on Ens. The player was getting battered, of course, and this was the tactic used to try and slow down the Farfadillis offense. In the 63rd minute, Okafor, who was exhausted, came off for Okonkwo Okparro, and two minutes later, it would be Ensa Camara coming in at left back, to give more energy to the back line. Could the Banijans do it?

In the 70th minute, the Banijans almost got a stunner. Kahara had been coming down the sideline, and had crossed in a beautiful ball to Yitebarke. Yitebarke had an incredible diving header effort, and like any good coach teaches, had headed it back across where he had came from. However, an incredible diving effort by goalkeeper Íüé Tgô, who, leaping back, just barely got a fingertip to it, enough to bring the header around the post, to keep the scores level at 1. And just a few minutes later, in a devastating counter-attack, it would be Brehanu who made the crucial mistake. With Kahara bringing the ball up as the Banijans tried to take advantage of space, a Farfadillis interception turned defense into offense quickly, and the Kadongo Kamu were the ones scrambling. Ens played a beautiful through ball to a wide open Faragó rue Cazade, who had escaped Brehanu and was now in on goal. Bereket, in this one on one, didn’t have a chance, as the shot was buried into the back of the net to give Farfadillis a 2-1 lead.

The Banijans would really have one last opportunity to draw level in this one, when Brehanu, trying to make up for his mistake of losing the match winning goalscorer, launched a powerful header towards goal, but it ended in the arms of the Farfadillis goalkeeper. They kept up their strategy, of course, of trying to stifle the offense by stifling Ens, and Stofile paid the price in the 1st minute of stoppage time, when he knocked Ens over. He was shown his second yellow card of the game, as Ens was clearly in space and Farfadillis had numbers. It was fair, and there was no complaints- Stofile was the recipient of the first Banijan red card in the history of the World Cup Finals.

Marcus Waters had this to say at the end of the match. “Farfadillis showed why their regional champs with their display today. There’s no quit in them- they had the ability, the team spirit, and the drive, to go a long way in this tournament, and achieve their goals. Now, of course, you cannot be happy after a loss- we strive to win every game. However, there are positives to take away. We were able to stay disciplined for a large majority of this match, and even though we lost, we proved that we can defend, we’ve proven that we can hang around with the contenders.”

“Going into the tournament, if you would have told me we had everything to play for on the final matchday, I would have told you that is good. And we do- if we can get a result, against this talented Pasarga side, we can move to the knockouts. This will not be easy. We all remember the last World Cup, where they beat us in Hoima in the group stages. And now, of course, another matchup on the multiverse’s biggest stage. It won’t be easy- they’re a top 15 side for a reason. But reaching the knockouts is the goal, and it is something that we firmly believe that we are capable of doing. We want to keep climbing the ladder, and to do that, we have to compete well against the best teams in the world, and that includes Pasarga. Everyone’s a big time opponent at this stage, and when we get to Raynor City, it will be our chance to prove that we belong on this stage.”

by **Alasdair I Frosticus** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:42 am

Oh! I Die!
By The Stentorian (Holy Empire WC 82 squad)

Oh! I die!
Felled by a coconut!
A young and awesomely named coconut!

For, behold!
South Covello do field a coconut!
A Coconut Charles!

Is he a coconut?
No, I do declaim!
He is no coconut!

Forsooth, I say!
He is merely named after a coconut;
He is no real coconut.

For see! Look!
No coconut could strike the ball
So sweet and sure!

I do declaim!
His 5th minute goal shall win the game
We have no response.

I cringe, I cry!
Our team so ineffective.
Our first loss of the campaign.

'Tis true!
Outmatched we are
No hope we have.

And now!
We must defeat Mriin!
We must win the next match!

Or else!
Home shall we go
Lost for words; filled with shame.

Oh! I die!
Felled by a coconut!
A young and awesomely named coconut!

Did I mention the coconut?

by **Qusmo** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:09 am

SPONY LUQ TELEVISION

Hello, all. Welcome to Spony Luq Television, broadcasting from Qanz, Qusmo. After a hard-fought qualification process in which Qusmo needed every point they earned, Qusmo has qualified for a World Cup for the first time. Qusmo battled back from eighth place in Group 11 with just five matchdays to go to earn second & an automatic qualification place to World Cup 82. Now, they find themselves in a group with Brenecia, Turori, & Darmen &, having beaten Darmen, Qusmo could secure an historic knockout round appearance with a final matchday win over Brenecia. With that, let’s get to our first question, from a Qad viewer in T.V. City, Qasden.

Wait - did Qusmo not have any friendlies?

In fact, Qusmo had just one. Fuzpon Qusma has built a bit of a reputation for scheduling quite a few friendlies, but instead of its typical three-match March to the Cup friendly series that it scheduled before the last Cup of Harmony, Qusmo played only in one friendly before their first-ever World Cup. The name of the match might help explain why: the Centennial Celebration. This was Qusmo’s ninety-ninth match, making its first-ever match in the World Cup - a win over regionmates Darmen, to boot - the hundredth match Qusmo’s national team has ever played.

The team selected was very specific, as well. For their ninety-ninth match, Fuzpon Qusma recreated, in many ways, Qusmo’s first-ever match. Qusmo made its international debut in World Cup 80 Qualifying, & their first match was against Wolves Clans at Mastad Qusma in Qanz. So, Fuzpon Qusma invited Wolves Clans back for a friendly at Mastad Qusma in Qanz.

One thing was different, however: the score. While Qusmo defeated Wolves Clans one-nil both times they played in World Cup 80 Qualifying, Qusmo raced out to a six-two victory in this match, equalling the largest margin of victory Qusmo has ever achieved, alongside four-nil victories visiting Beepee & Axuva on the second matchday of World Cup 80 Qualifying & World Cup 81 Qualifying, respectively.

Fuzpon Qusma scheduled significantly fewer friendlies in this window than in previous ones because there was simply less need. For the first time, manager Avarn-Oxolt Ban employed precisely the same twenty-five-player roster throughout the entire qualification process; there was no doubt, then, who would make the roster once the team arrived in Valanora. Though Avarn-Oxolt made many changes over the course of the qualification campaign, too, they used the same Starting XI in each of Qusmo’s final five matches, when Qusmo won four of five to scramble from eighth to second & clinch qualification. That would clearly be the team to take the pitch at the Angelotic Temple against Darmen.

While Wolves Clans have not been widely seen since World Cup 80 Qualification, Qusmo has begun to make a name for itself, with qualification for the World Cup their crowning achievement thus far. Though the teams were in adjacent pots in World Cup 80 Qualifying - two hundred fifty-sixth-ranked Wolves Clans in Pot 8 & unranked Qusmo in Pot 9 - they have now become quite separated, & a clear gulf in class was evident. Qusmo’s attack, at times beleaguered, lit up in a way it has not since Qusmo’s six-three away win over Eastfield Lodge in World Cup 81 Qualification.

Most of Qusmo’s big victories, however, have come away from Qusmo. Qusmo’s two previous four-goal wins each were in away fixtures, as was the only previous time Qusmo has managed to score six goals in a single match - & the match in which Qusmo qualified for their first-ever World Cup. The home supporters were able to enjoy this match to the fullest, in part because of the result, & in part because they were able to see it for themselves in their home stadium.

Of course, a friendly match isn’t on the minds of most Qusmi’y now; let’s get to our next question, from a Turorian viewer in Gladerial, Valanora.

Turori wrote:It is not known the last time a team advance to the World Cup Finals without the aid of a playoff while also having suffered seven defeats in qualification.

We were curious, too, so we did some research. Here’s what we found.

First, let’s look at just how statistically extraordinary Qusmo’s qualification was, on a variety of fronts. Of course, as has been highlighted before by our viewer, Qusmo lost seven times over the course of qualification - including six times in a ten-match span, which saw Qusmo earn only eight points. That means that in over a third of the matches Qusmo played, they lost. Qusmo was able to recover by having very few draws &, instead, earning all three points in all but one of their matches outside that span.

However, the sheer amount of losses isn’t the only statistic to find here. Thanks to being in one of the most difficult groups in which to go through, in which there was a clear frontrunner in Cosumar but eight other teams were all very serious threats, Qusmo was able to qualify with only twenty-nine points. That is just short of five points taken every three matches: a good figure, but not usually good enough to qualify for the most prestigious sporting event in the Multiverse.

However, the statistic that perhaps most confounds common sense is that Qusmo was able to qualify with a negative goal differential. Thanks to large margins when they lost & small margins of victory, the team conceded two more goals over the course of the eighteen-match campaign than they scored, yet they still managed to not only finish in the top half of the table but qualify for the World Cup.

How historic is this? Well, let’s run the numbers. We looked at all thirty-six World Cup Qualification processes in the modern era - since World Cup 47 Qualifying - to determine which other campaigns had seen nations qualify, or at least advance to a playoff (or interzonal phase, in the case of World Cup 54 Qualifying), with one of four criteria applied specifically within the group stage: they earned less than 1.66 points per match; they had a negative goal differential; they lost more than a third of their matches; or, of course, they lost at least seven matches. Let’s start with the most important statistic of all in any World Cup Committee-sanctioned event: points.

Here are the minimum numbers of points with which teams qualified automatically or qualified by any means throughout the past ten editions of World Cup Qualifying.

WCQ     Automatic Qualifiers              Points          All Qualifiers      Points          Matches
WC82Q   Qusmo                                 29          Qusmo                   29               18
WC81Q   Valanora                              41          Saltstead               37               18
WC80Q   Cosumar                               36          Abanhfleft              29               18
WC79Q   95X                                   35          95X                     35               18
WC78Q   Starblaydia & Osarius                 32          Starblaydia & Osarius   32               16
WC77Q   Osarius                               36          Osarius                 36               18
WC76Q   Savalen                               25          Chiata                  23               12
WC75Q   Matthewsiania                         21          Pridenestrovia          18               12
WC74Q   San Llera                             25          Banguela                22               12
WC73Q   Barunia & Free Republics & Schottia   26          Krytenia & Abanhfleft   23               12

Looking at this list, we see that Abanhfleft was able to qualify with just twenty-nine points from eighteen matches, too, & only two cycles ago. Going back further, in World Cup 75 Qualifying, Pridenestrovia managed to qualify with only eighteen points from twelve matches - the only team to manage to qualify with just a point & a half per match or fewer on average in the last ten cycles. However, neither Abanhfleft nor Pridnestrovia qualified automatically during those campaigns; we’ll have to go back further to see that. In the meantime, let’s see how Qusmo stacks up with regard to point differential.

WCQ     Automatic Qualifiers          Goal Diff.          All Qualifiers          Goal Diff.          Matches
WC82Q   Qusmo                                 -2          Qusmo                           -2               18
WC81Q   Ko-oren                              +20          Nova Anglicana                 +18               18
WC80Q   Electrum & Darmen                    +18          Juvencus                        +7               18
WC79Q   Kita-Hinode                           +8          Kita-Hinode                     +8               18
WC78Q   Sargossa & Super-Llamaland           +12          Sargossa & Super-Llamaland     +12               16
WC77Q   Electrum                             +13          Electrum                       +13               18
WC76Q   Gregoryisgodistan                     +8          Gregoryisgodistan               +8               12
WC75Q   Matthewsiana & Abanhfleft             +7          Pridenestrovia                  ±0               12
WC74Q   Schottia                             +11          Banguela & Gregoryisgodistan    +8               12
WC73Q   Schottia & Vilita                    +14          Equestrian States               +9               12

With this list, we see that Qusmo is unique among automatic qualifiers over the past ten cycles for not having achieved a positive goal differential in qualifying; indeed, no other nation in the past ten cycles has qualified through any means with a negative goal differential, with Pridenestrovia’s World Cup 75 Qualifying campaign again coming closest, having scored precisely the same number of goals as they conceded over the course of qualification. We still have to go back further to see a true parallel, however. Before we get to that, let’s look at the maximum number of losses each qualifier & automatic qualifier has been able to take & still qualify, per cycle, for the past ten.

WCQ     Automatic Qualifiers                   Losses      All Qualifiers                      Losses      Matches
WC82Q   Qusmo                                       7      Qusmo                                    7           18
WC81Q   Valanora & Ko-oren & Mercedini              3      Nova Anglicana                           4           18
WC80Q   Cosumar                                     4      Abanhfleft                               7           18
WC79Q   Starblaydia & Kita-Hinode                   4      Starblaydia & Kita-Hinode                4           18
WC78Q   Starblaydia & Osarius & Ethane              4      Starblaydia & Osarius & Ethane           4           16
WC77Q   Semarland                                   4      Semarland                                4           18
WC76Q   Savalen                                     3      Savalen & Damukuni & Chiata              3           12
WC75Q   Matthewsiania                               3      Bonesea & Ficiscea                       5           12
WC74Q   Kernansquillec & Omerica & Nova Anglica &   2      Apox & Szavoda & Equestrian States &     3           12
           Semarland & Flardania                              Stvoto Latoli & Gregoryisgodistan &
                                                              The Sword Bloke
WC73Q   Nephara & Schottia & Osarius                2      Polkopia & Krytenia & Abanhfleft &       3           12
                                                              Crystal Empire & Flardania

Now, we see that seven losses is quite many for a World Cup qualifier. In the past ten cycles, it has only been achieved by Abanhfleft in World Cup 80 Qualification, but that was achieved only through a playoff, not quite answering our viewer’s question. Of course, part of the fact that Qusmo lost so much yet was able to qualify automatically is the fact that eighteen matches were played; expanding our analysis out to nations which qualified for the World Cup in the last ten cycles despite losing more than a third of their qualifying matches, we see that Bonesea & Abanhfleft managed just this in World Cup 75 Qualifying, with five losses in twelve matches. Still, this, too, required a playoff. We need to look back farther to see an automatic qualifier.

So, our research team at Spony Luq Television looked through the records of every World Cup Qualifying campaign in the modern era. That adds up to thirty-six qualifying campaigns, dating back to World Cup 47 Qualifying. What we found puts Qusmo’s qualification process into perspective. Let’s take a look.

First, let’s look at points. We already know that Qusmo qualified automatically just this cycle with fewer than five points per match; with twenty-nine points in eighteen matches, that comes out to 1.611 points per match. Let’s put that into perspective, looking at every team to not be eliminated - advancing to either a playoff or interzonal phase, or qualifying for the World Cup itself, until we reach our first qualifier with fewer than five points per three matches, on average.

WCQ     Nation           Points    M   Pts/M      Status
WC82Q   Qusmo                29   18   1.611      Qualified Automatically
WC80Q   Abanhfleft           29   18   1.611      Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Pridenestrovia       18   12   1.500      Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Bonesea              19   12   1.583      Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Ficiscia             19   12   1.583      Qualified via Playoff
WC68Q   Schiavonia           22   14   1.571      Advanced to First Playoff
WC68Q   Kalumba              23   14   1.643      Advanced to First Playoff
WC61Q   Soviet Canuckistan   25   16   1.562      Advanced to Playoff
WC54Q   Saugeais              9    8   1.125      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Unitopolis           10    8   1.250      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Jalanat              10    8   1.250      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Burchadinger         14   10   1.400      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Jesselton            13    8   1.625      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Arda                 13    8   1.625      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC51Q   Krytenia             29   18   1.611      Qualified Automatically

Here, we see a pattern begin to emerge that will be reprised later. Certain World Cup Qualifying campaigns featured so many outliers that they weren’t really outliers; these are often attributable to the qualifying campaign’s format, such as in World Cup 54 Qualifying, when sixty teams advanced to the Interzonal Phase; this is a record for most teams not eliminated after the group stage of qualification, & it is reflected in the records above. However, only a few actually managed to qualify. In addition to Qusmo in World Cup 82 Qualifying, Abanhfleft in World Cup 80 Qualifying & Pridenestrovia, Bonesea, & Ficiscia in World Cup 75 Qualifying have managed to qualify to the World Cup without reaching five points per three matches. One has to go all the way back to Krytenia’s campaign in World Cup 51 Qualifying in order to find an example of a team which managed to automatically qualify to the World Cup with so few points per match, however; just like Qusmo, they earned exactly twenty-nine points in precisely eighteen matches.

With one mystery solved, we now turn to another - which turns out to be a rarer feat in the modern era. Let’s look at every team since World Cup 47 Qualifying which has advanced to a playoff, interzonal phase, or the final tournament without having a positive goal difference.

WCQ     Nation               GD        Status
WC82Q   Qusmo                -2        Qualified Automatically
WC75Q   Pridenestrovia       ±0        Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Hasznia              -1        Advanced to Playoff
WC61Q   Soviet Canuckistan   ±0        Advanced to Playoff
WC54Q   Unitopologis         -3        Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Churchma             -3        Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Saugeais             -2        Advanced to Interzonal Phase

That means that Qusmo is only one of seven teams in the modern era not to be eliminated with a nonpositive goal differential. In addition, Qusmo is one of just two teams to qualify to the World Cup despite having a nonpositive goal differential. However, Qusmo’s feat was more impressive even than Pridenestrovia’s break-even goal difference in World Cup 75 Qualification, because Qusmo managed to not just qualify automatically, but to do so with a negative goal difference. After thirty-six qualification campaigns in the modern era of the World Cup - adding up to 1080 qualifiers - Qusmo is the first to qualify with a negative goal difference.

With this discovered, let us now tackle the original challenge that our fan set forth for us: Whether any nation has ever qualified to the World Cup without a playoff & with seven losses. Here, we’ll look at every nation in the modern era to advance to a playoff, interzonal phase, or final tournament with at least seven losses, or with losses totalling more than one third of matches played.

WCQ     Nation           Losses    M     L/M      Status
WC82Q   Qusmo                 7   18   38.9%      Qualified Automatically
WC80Q   Abanhfleft            7   18   38.9%      Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Bonesea               5   12   41.7%      Qualified via Playoff
WC75Q   Ficiscia              5   12   41.7%      Qualified via Playoff
WC72Q   Nova Anglicana        5   14   35.7%      Qualified via Playoff
WC68Q   Schiavonia            6   14   42.9%      Advanced to First Playoff
WC68Q   Kalumba               5   14   35.7%      Advanced to First Playoff
WC68Q   Filopines             5   14   35.7%      Advanced to First Playoff
WC68Q   Milchama              5   14   35.7%      Advanced to First Playoff
WC68Q   Kericia               5   14   35.7%      Advanced to First Playoff
WC58Q   Saugeais              6   16   37.5%      Qualified via Playoff
WC54Q   Unitopolis            4    8   50.0%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Jalanat               4    8   50.0%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Burchadinger          4   10   40.0%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Swartaz               4   10   40.0%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Saugeais              3    8   37.5%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase
WC54Q   Churchma              3    8   37.5%      Advanced to Interzonal Phase

This is our largest list, aided by two World Cup Qualifying campaigns in particular: World Cup 68 Qualifying & World Cup 54 Qualifying. World Cup 54 Qualifying had the potential to create the modern era’s most improbable qualifier on the basis of losses per match, with both Unitopolis & Jalanat advancing to the Interzonal Phase despite losing fully half of their matches. However, none of the five World Cup 68 Qualifying teams nor any of the six World Cup 54 Qualifying teams on this list qualified for the final tournament. On the other hand, all six teams in the modern era which managed to not be eliminated after losing more than a third of their matches in tournaments besides World Cup 54 Qualifying & World Cup 68 Qualifying have qualified. Still, Qusmo & Abanhfleft are the only teams on this list with seven losses, & Qusmo is the only team on this list to have qualified automatically. We will need to dig even deeper.

First, though, let us reflect on what ground we have covered so far. The modern era has seen over one thousand successful campaigns, but Qusmo has experienced a qualifying cycle which is almost unique among them all. The most immediately similar campaign would be that of Abanhfleft just two cycles ago, in World Cup 80 Qualifying, as they, too, earned twenty-nine points in eighteen matches, alongside seven losses, to advance to the World Cup; however, they did so only after a playoff. The World Cup Committee could have easily set the standards of qualification in the way they did for Qusmo this cycle &, under those standards, Abanhfleft would have been unsuccessful, just another team in the dustbin of World Cup history.

Perhaps the most similar qualification campaign to Qusmo’s World Cup 82 Qualification experience, then, can be found all the way back in World Cup 53 Qualifying, with Dorian and Sonya’s experience. Dorian and Sonya did not make any of our above lists, but they were not far off; in eighteen matches, they earned thirty points amidst six losses to finish with just four more goals scored than goals allowed; however, they qualified automatically to the World Cup.

Thus far, we have discovered the last team to have qualified automatically despite earning fewer than five goals per three matches on average in qualification, but no other team in the modern era has qualified automatically having conceded as many or more goals than it scored, having lost at least a third of their matches, or having lost at least seven times in total. Now that we have gone all the way back through World Cup 47 Qualifying, let us venture even deeper, to the ancient era of the World Cup.

For most of the statistics we seek, we do not have to go too far into this era to find a parallel to Qusmo’s experience. In fact, World Cup 44 Qualifying satisfies two of our three remaining questions - & both in triplicate. That cycle, the three nations of Kosovoe, Taeshan, & Peisandros all lost five of their fourteen qualifying matches, for a rate of 35.7%. None of the three nations had a positive goal difference, either; Taeshan & Peisandros conceded precisely as many goals as they scored, while Kosovoe actually scored one goal fewer than they conceded. Thus, we now know the answers to nearly all of our questions.

However, one still persists. It is the one which motivated this quest in the first place. We were asked when the last time a nation qualified automatically, without the need for a playoff, despite losing seven matches in the main portion of qualifying. It took us quite the effort in research, but we have finally found it. The answer to our viewer’s question is that this feat was last achieved by the Lowland Clans, all the way back in World Cup 13 Qualifiers. Of eighteen qualifying matches, the Lowland Clans lost eight of them, only one short of half; however, the team managed to win all ten of their other matches, without playing a draw all cycle, & they were able to qualify to World Cup 13 automatically.

Since we had already journeyed so far, we were curious to see where things ended up. Of course, some of the teams which made these lists were not successful in the World Cup. However, the Lowland Clans was. They rebounded in the final tournament, & they advanced out of their group & into the knockout stages. They advanced out of Group F.

Qusmo will be hoping it can replicate that feat. It is still possible; all they need is a win on the final matchday, or they could advance with a draw if Darmen defeats Turori. Still, earning any points will be a very tall order for Qusmo, as they prepare to face the fifth-ranked nation in the world & the World Cup 80 Champions: Brenecia. After participating in group stages in the UICA Series B Champions’ Cup, UICA Globe Cup, UICA Champions’ Cup, Di Bradini Cup, Copa Rushmori, & Cup of Harmony - twice each - every Qusma senior football team & every Qusma national team has advanced out of every group stage they have ever faced; however, that streak is certainly in jeopardy now. We don’t think that Qusmo will be able to overcome the tremendous odds - & the tremendous players - which face them in Valanora. If they could, it would be nothing short of historic; perhaps that is for the best, however, as this team has a bit of history with history.

Already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since Abanhfleft in World Cup 80 to qualify to the World Cup with at least seven losses, with at least one-third losses in qualifying, or with fewer than 1.66 points per qualifying match. Already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since Pridenestrovia in World Cup 75 to qualify to the World Cup with a nonpositive goal differential. Already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since Krytenia in World Cup 51 to qualify to the World Cup automatically with fewer than 1.66 points per qualifying match. Already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since Kosovoe, Taeshan, & Peisandros to qualify to the World Cup automatically with at least one-third losses in qualifying. Already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since Kosovoe in World Cup 44 to qualify to the World Cup automatically with a negative goal difference. &, already this cycle, Qusmo has become the first team since the Lowland Clans in World Cup 13 to qualify to the World Cup automatically with at least seven losses.

Perhaps they can conjure up one more moment of magic. Perhaps they can make history again.

by **Vilita** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 11:47 am

Jungle Cats take down Ponies in Wofford

Ground of Champions, Wofford, Apox :: The Vilitan National Team returned to the Ground of Champions in Wofford, the site of their opening match day group stage draw with Juvencus for a chance at redemption against the Equestrian States in what was effectively a must-win game for the Jungle Cats if they were to maintain control of their Group B destiny heading into the final group stage match day ahead of the World Cup 82 knockout rounds.

The Jungle Cats opponents for the second match of the round robin group stage would be a familiar regional foe, the Equestrian States. The Ponies were coming off a 1-0 victory in their World Cup 82 opener at the Garganaut in Dwile, Apox in front of a mix of 50,224 Ponies, Locals, Independents and Neutral Observers. While the Equestrian States are best known for their pony-fueled prowess in the sport they dub 'hoofball', it would actually be the contributions of some of their players of non-equine origin that would make the difference against Mercedini's Golden Eagles in the opening match of Group C play between the two sides.

The breakthrough for the Equestrian states would come inside the first ten minutes when a pair of humans linked up with left back Brix Hamilton of Sabrefell Moths fame in the Nepharim Premiership set up twenty nine year old Vanorian Premiership based Aarón Aiza of Hondo FC for the games opening goal. The rising importance of the human players on the Equestrian side perhaps signaled a changing of the guard even though nearly the entirety of their coaching staff is of Equestrian origin - the lone exception being the Fitness Coach Craig Jackson.

The 1-0 victory was clearly a product of the defensive-based system put in place by the teams interim manager Pearly White who sent the Ponies out in a 4-5-1 formation with Pristina Shine as the lone forward and the tactic was executed flawlessly in Dwile as the Ponies got the goal they needed early then worked to squash the Golden Eagles in the final third to take defensive control of the match and hold on to collect three points.

When they arrived at the Ground of Champions in Wofford, however, they would be up against an entirely different opponent. While it took a victory on the final matchday of World Cup Qualifying before the Vilitan National Team had secured their place in the World Cup 82 finals, the Jungle Cats were certainly not a "Glad to be at the World Cup" kind of team. They had set their sights high and their confidence even higher, even more motivated to prove their way on the pitch after they faltered with a 2-2 draw in the opening match against Juvencus.

When the match got kicked off the Equestrians put the pressure on early looking to get the jump on the defending World Cup Champions, put in a goal and then take three points to the bank by hunkering down defensively as they had done against Mercedini. They weren't able to do it however and the few quality chances they could generate in the opening fifteen minutes were dealt with confidently by the ageless Lonngeylin Coast net minder Cilamara Issah who had started the match in place of Yeaddin Owls net minder and first choice Vilitan goalkeeper Mako Canopii who was yanked after conceding a pair of debatable goals in the Jungle Cats opening matchday draw against Juvencus.

About fifteen minutes into the match the call came from the Equestrian Sideline to stop the push. Their formation wasn't built for the front attack and after it failed to yield glory they were settling in to the match for the long haul, perhaps even being content to settle in for a draw if need be.

Not long after they took their hooves and feet off the gas, however, the match was turned on its head after Gentle Breeze could only get an outstretched wing onto a tricky attempt by Nii'arala Milaaso. Va'a-Rio Kiwavn delivered the resulting corner kick and it was the former Tropicorp trainee Monner Vileai who scored their first ever World Cup Finals goal and 6th career internationstatal goal heading down to the center of the goal just out of the reach of the two post-guards collapsing on the header.

While the Jungle Cats would go up 1-0 as a result of the goal it would also cost them a defender as Vileai, who hadn't scored an internationstatal goal since the opening matchday of World Cup 82 qualifying when Vileai scored the 7th of 8 Vilitan goals on the day. The Eastal Lunar defender apparently was caught off guard while attempting to leap over the corner flag as the flag in the North West corner of the ground was either improperly installed or lacking lubrication and it had far less flexibility than the Vilitan defender had envisioned when making contact with it, sending Vileai spiraling off balance to the ground. After a few minutes lying on the pitch the game got moving again as Vileai was replaced by the experienced Westii Yahaya who had been appearing more and more with the defensive corps in their advanced age.

After the swing from jubilation to chaos on the Equestrian end of the pitch, the match settled down a bit and both sides seemed to content to see the game play out to the half time interval where they would have a chance to re-group, re-assess their tactics and make whatever changes they needed to in order to take control of the game over the final forty five minutes.

The Vilitan National Team made two changes in the Second Half bringing on another defensive minded option in Jurzen Devmiko as well as the two-way player Enzoril Alabonni who, as one of the tallest players on the Vilitan Roster and in the history of the Vilitan National team, frequently plays both as a target striker and a towering center defender. The Ponies had some changes of their own to regain possessions however and quickly began threatening Issah's goal once again from the restart. Within five minutes they had gotten the breakthrough they were looking for as long-time Vilitan League and Makosile United midfielder Rainbow Blitz set up the Ponies lone attacker Pristina Shine who wasn't going to miss the chance, leveling the scores and setting up for an outstanding back-and-forth second half that showcased both the talent of the hoofballers and footsporters in the Equestrian States and Vilita, but also the outstanding athleticism in two of the multiverse's most accomplished net minders in Gentle Breeze and Cilamara Issah.

No matter how good a goalkeeper is, however, there are only so many ways to defend against height and that was the advantage that Enzoril Alabonni had over every player on the pitch, unassisted aerial prowess. It would be that height that would allow Alabonni to flick a simple looking cross just prior to the incoming punch out from Gentle Breeze in a scenario that resulted in a not-so-simple punch to the head of the Marine Coast United attacker but the immense pain of a hoof to the side of the head was immediately erased by the sight of the ball in the back of the net as Alabonni wheeled away in celebration of one of the most meaningful goals of their brief career thus far.

While their goalscorers may have paid a price for their success, it was a price well worth the sacrifice as the Vilitan National Team would hold on for the 2-1 win to maintain control of their own destiny in Group B, rebounding from an opening match day draw against Juvencus to now head to The Garganaut in Dwile where the Mercedini Golden Eagles would be waiting and looking to spoil the Jungle Cats World Cup Title Defense Campaign.

Vilita [2] - [1] Equestrian States

:: Vilita Goalscorers ::
:: 18' Monner Vileai
:: 70' Enzoril Alabonni
::

:: Vilita Statistics ::
:: Possession: 53%
:: Shots on Target: 7
:: Corner Kicks: 11

:: Equestrian States Statistics ::
:: Possession: 47%
:: Shots on Target: 7
:: Corner Kicks: 12

:: Equestrian States Goalscorers ::
:: 48' Pristina Shine
::
::

Vilita Jungle Cats Lineup v. Equestrian States ::
[GK] Cilamara Issah, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [D.] Monner Vileai, [D.] Rintala Sekagaya, [ML] Kudii Davasarii, [MC] Cavuna Aquafek, [MC] Polaox Torerun, [MC] Jyuola Mtalata, [MR] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso, [FC] Sipke Tarala
BENCH::
[FC] Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Fishtii Blikala, [M] Cywrenta Vlintejni, [M] Westii Yahaya, [U] Jurzen Devmiko, [D] Kwuimekii Hentetii, [GK] Mako Canopii

With their first victory of the World Cup 82 finals now under their belt, the Vilitan National Team will look forward to their third and final test of the group stage against the bottom side in Group B, Mercedini. Despite being bottom of the group the former Independent Associations Cup champion still control their own destiny in Group B as a victory over the defending World Cup Champions would ensure that Mercedini would progress while eliminating the Vilitans in the process. A defeat by any scoreline would eliminate the Vilita National Team from the World Cup 82 Finals. Luckily for the Jungle Cats, however, Mercedini is a side that they are very familiar with and much of the run up to both their World Cup 77 and World Cup 81 titles ran through Mercedini either indirectly or directly head to head.

The Jungle Cats were drawn along with Mercedini in the World Cup 77 Qualifiers and once again during the World Cup 77 Finals, one of the great performances of the Vilitan National Team. During World Cup 77 Qualifying the Jungle Cats outscored Mercedini 10-5 in two qualification victories that resulted in the Jungle Cats qualification for the finals before Vilita were triumphant in those finals with a hard fought victory over San Jose Quayabal in the World Cup Final. The two nations wouldn't play each other again until being drawn against each other for the World Cup 81 qualifiers where Vilita & Mercedini met on Matchday 9 with a pair of unblemished 8-0-0 records. The Jungle Cats would reign triumphant with a 2-0 victory thanks to a pair of goals from Berali Tzufarei. The rematch would take place in Mercedini with the Group 13 title on the line. However, as both sides had already secured their place in the World Cup 81 finals, it may not have been as tightly matched an affair as the Vilita National Team took top spot in Group 13 with a 5-2 victory, their third five-goal performance against Mercedini in the previous five meetings between the sides. and the fourth time in five meetings that the Vilitan had put four goals past Mercedini.

Prior to the World Cup 81 Finals, the Jungle Cats squared off against Mercedini once more in the Cup Of Champions which Mercedini had qualified for by virtue of their victory in the Independent Associations Cup. This would be the most closely contested meeting between the sides as The Vilita National Team made some changes for the match swapping out some of their younger forward for their top goalscorer Tzufarei but putting some more inexperienced players in defense including in goal with Kiiarana City's Vernasa Sanamun. In the end, a second half free kick delivered by Turoki Tide midfielder Cavuna Aquafek was the only tally on the day as Vilita increased their winning streak over Mercedini and progressed through to the next round. While the Jungle Cats would be defeated in the Cup of Champions final 5-4 by Brenecia, it proved to be the perfect warm up for the World Cup Finals themselves as the Vilitan National Team would win six of their seven matches in the World Cup 81 finals including the final itself against South Covello at the CoCoCo Stadium in Orlandia, Free Republics.

Now, just like they had during World Cup 77 and World Cup 81, the Jungle Cats have already dropped points against lower ranked opposition and now look to rebound by securing their second win of the group stage in order to progress to the knockout rounds. While some viewers around the Vilitan Cove may be tiring of seeing either Vilita or Turori square off against Mercedini in major internationstatal competitions, the Vilitan players know that if they are to advance they will have to beat all comers and Mercedini will be just another team on the list of their ultimate goal of returning to the World Cup Final and having the opportunity to defend their title on the pitch. If they can avoid defeat to Mercedini on group stage match day 3 then Vilita will march on to the knockout rounds again with a chance for another run at the World Cup Final.

by **Qusmo** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:21 pm

A Blog

WE’RE REALLY GONNA DO IT

I TOLD YOU WE WOULD WIN THE WORLD CUP. I TOL DYOU. & NOW WE’RE GONNA DO IT.

I SWORE OFF this blog because I REALiZED that the GOVERNMENT OF QUSMO was trying to USE ME for thier own benefit. Well guess what? WE’RE IN THE WORLD CUP, SO I”M BACK.

I was hearing some “statistics” from Spony Luq Television about how Qusmo is special. WELL GUESS WHAT? WE ALL NOW WHY QUSMO IS SPECIAL< & IT’S BECUASE IT”S QUSMO.

So when you’re looking at “statistics” about the World Cup don’t look at World Cup 13. That’s a whole SIXTY_NINE TOURNAMENTS AGO. hehe

Speed it up a whole FIFTY tournaments, all the way to WORLD CUP 63. Because that is where the MOST MAGICAL STORY EVER that did nt have Qusmo happened.

It was WORLD CUP 63 & it was Audioslavia’s FIRST WORLD CUP. WEll not really. They had been around for a while & then they stopped showing up for a while. In fact they had bottled somewhere around sixty-two World Cup finals before then. But whatever anyways Audioslavia had qualified for its FIRST EVER World Cup since it came back. & guess what? SOMEHOW SOME WAY - ITS UNBELEVABLE I KNOW - THEY DIDNT SCREW UP THIS TIME. THEY ACTUALLY WON IT. Well guess what: QUSMO is in the EXACT SAME POSITION. QUSMO is also in its first world Cup. & QUSMO’s going to WIN IT TOO. The stage is perfectly set. Let’s break it down:

GROUP STAGE: Qusmo faces Darmen & Turori & Brenecia. Well GUESS WHAT? Turoi is BASICALLY just VILITIA JUNIOR & BRENECIA is BASICALLY just NEPHRA JR so THEY DON”T EVEN MATTER. Qusmo’s not Qusmo JR. QUsmo’s QUSMO SR. Actully theyre not that either. They’re just Qusmo. But hey’re not Qusmo Jr either. & Darmen? Well GUESS WHAT? I dont actually know what they’re the junior of. Hmm... green & in Rushmore... maybe Pasarga? I dont know. I feel like Pasaraga something unor though...

WELL GUESS WHAT that means that Qusmo is going to CRUSH Group F & then they’ll play the SECONDPLACE TEAM from GROUP G in the ROUND OF SIXTEEn. & GUESS WHAT? PRASAGAs THERE. & so is FARFAFARFIS. We can’t lose to FALALALALA; one of those people PLAY in Qusmo & they STILL havent won a championshi. Guess which nation has won EVERY SINGLE TROPHY EVER AWARDED by Fuzpon QUsma? QUSMO. NEXT.

Then we get to the QUARTEFINAL & GUESS WHAT? Qusmos gonna win THAT TOO. Let’s look at who we have. Maybe Valladares? Well guess wht we did last time we played them? WE BEAT THEm. Maybe the other Val, Vallanora? Well guess what? First we lost to them & then we drew against them so NOW we have to WIN because SYMMETTRY!!!!

So now we’re in the SEMIFINAL. ut it’s not over yet. BECAUSE GUESS HAT? I think we’ll get TUOUI. Tououoou you say? DOn’t they always lose in the quarterfinals? Well GUESS WHAT? in the LAST World Cup they ACTULLYY did make it in but then they IMMEDIATELY LOST. PROBABLY to APOLOGIZE for DISRUPTING THE NATURAL ORDER OF THE MULTIVERSE. SO GUESS WHAT? THEYLL LOSE AGAIN & THEN QUSMO WILL GET TO THE WORLD CUP FINAL.

& GUESS WHAT? JUST LIKE AUDIOSLAVIA QUSMO WILL WIN THE WOLD CP. We’re going to face SOUTH COVELLO & EVEN IF WE CAN”T SCORE THEY CAN’T EITHER. & GUESS WHAT? THAT MEANS WE GET TO A PENALTY SHOOTOUT. & THAT MEANS ILINX-KEPEX ZEV & XYNAT_ELEVA CUF GET TO WIN IT ALL FOF US. WE”RE GONNA WIN!!!!

Just you watch.

by **Eura** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:53 pm

Shaking from a spot of turbulence woke him up. The advisor straightened up in his seat, looking out of the window to see darkness, broken up only by flashing lights on the wingtips of the plane and its escorting EAF fighters. A drop of perspiration gracefully streamed across the glass which he watched with an acute sense of calm. It had been a very long tour and he was eager to go home. Unfortunately he still had work to do, not least for the Prime Minister, who was standing over him now with no warning. 'Henning. I hope you're going to be with us in Busukuma?' Henning desperately wanted to yawn but made sure to stow it. 'Of course, ma'am, though I have prepared a very focused summary of the written briefing as requested.'
'Great. Have we got a printed copy? I could use a refresher before we get there.'
'Of course, of course. Let me...hold on...' Henning plied through the ream of papers at the adjacent desk and found what he needed. 'Here you go.'
'Thank you Henning. You look tired. Get some more rest.' The sleepy civil servant took note of the Prime Minister's advice and duly drifted off to neverland, as she returned to her seat, and gave the briefing a quick skim.

SENSITIVE
EURA-BANIJA HEAD OF GOVT SUMMIT: SUMMARY OF BRIEFING

Expected participants

On the side of our delegation, the Prime Minister (PM) will be joined by the Federal Government's Ambassador to Banija (AM-BNJ) and his deputy (DAM-BNJ), the Permanent Secretary to the Primary Governor of the Euran Oceania Territories (PS-EOT), and the Minister for Atlantian Affairs from the Foreign Office (M-AA), as well as a supporting team of officials. On the Banijan side we are expecting the PM to be greeted initially by the new Kabaka (King) and the current Katikkiro (Prime Minister), along with numerous members of the Royal Family and cabinet for the greeting at least. See Annex A.

Continuity of government

Usual protocols are in place during PM's absence. Foreign Secretary and Deputy PM are both on home soil.

Goals

As directed by the PM and agreed upon in recent Cabinet sessions, our goals for the meeting are to:

- Build a closer personal relationship between political figures and officials at highest levels in Eura and Banija. The PM will offer the sincerest condolences in light of the terrorist problem given its particular impact on the Royal Family.
- Establish better understanding of current internal dynamics of the Kabaka's court and government, linking in with Foreign Office work on Banijan domestic and international political situation. The FO are content that they have a thorough understanding of Banija's key driving factors, however the workings of the leadership's inner circle remain somewhat opaque.
- Lay groundwork for a deal with Banija concerning commercial, military and political opportunities, to be ratified by the end of the year. The in depth specifics of this deal can be found in Annex B.

Core offer

The key components of the core offer the Government will be making to Banija are detailed in Annex B along the lines of three categories - commercial, military, political. In brief:

- COMMERCIAL: Euran state entities and government-steered private entities will invest heavily in Banijan economy, above all natural resource exploitation including oil. A trade agreement will set the guiding principles of this scheme. Euran expertise will also be deployed, and partnerships can be established with key Euran industrial and academic institutions.
- MILITARY: Eura will establish a Common Understanding Agreement (CAU) similar to those we have established with other mid-tier allies and partners. This will permit private and state export of goods by Euran aerospace and military goods industries. Euran-Banijan military contacts will be established. In the medium term, we will give a commitment towards playing a major role in modernising and re-arming Banija's military; this could prove especially persuasive given Banija's anxieties about its positions following the Busoga Islands conflict. Offer a partnership between the OSI and Banijan intelligence services; our expertise and formidable record in intelligence gathering should make this a clear gain.
- POLITICAL: Eura will assist Banija in overcoming anti-democratic domestic political opposition, and visibly support their government in doing so to lend credibility in the public eye. Media opportunities will be used to demonstrate Euran commitment to Banija and the region - it will be crucial to stress support for Banija's territorial integrity given recent events. Eura will commit to establishing a more permanent relationship between the Oceania Territories and Banija.

Targets

In return for the guarantee of commercial, military and political offers, our targets are to achieve the following initially, with further gains expected in the next phase:

- Secure buy-in to our positions from Royal leadership and officials once key relationships are strengthened.
- Construct low-key relationships with variety of key players within the Banijan state to ensure continuity of relationship should there be further instability or a change of government.
- Achieve specific COMMERCIAL gains in return for our offer: Euran access to a fair portion of Banija's key new industry openings, and potentially further financial agreements. Further detail in annexes. However, it is key that our messaging indicates we are willing to make "losses" in the short term in return for long term mutual gains.
- Achieve specific MILITARY gains in return for our offer: Banijan agreement to a draft CAU. Agree an outline of what Banija will acquire from Eura in terms of military and intelligence infrastructure and support, and ensure Euran entities are compensated adequately. Access to Banijan intelligence that could be valuable to Eura. Agreement to joint military exercises within a year would also be desirable.
- Achieve specific POLITICAL gains in return for our offer: Crucially the agreement must secure a lasting form of close relationship between both countries rather than a short term one, without Eura being attached to a binding alliance of military or political nature at this stage. Banija will meet its commitments towards relations with Oceania Territories. Although the development of this relationship is not intended to reduce the influence of other countries, we should aim to gain assurances that other nations with an investment in Banija (eg. Eshan, see Annex C) do not possess guarantees that supersede our own.

Contextual concerns

There are no specific contextual concerns that make this a complex set of discussions. However, the PM and officials should remain conscious of the need to be mindful of our relations with nations that also have links to Banija. There should also be consideration for the fragile political situation in Banija after the previous monarch's assassination. The new monarch's level of experience and expertise is well known, but their intentions may not be fully clear at this stage.

by **Darmen** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 1:22 pm

Darmen eliminated from Cup
Future employment of Abascal under question

Darmen has been eliminated from the 82nd World Cup following a 3-1 loss to Brenecia at the Turmondale Grounds in Raynor City. Skylar Hurst was the lone goal scorer for the All Greens, while a number of mishaps from Darmeni defenders allowed the Patriots to score three against Hyman Campo.

The defeat follows a disapointing open to the Cup against Qusmo, with the Qusmi’y emerging on top in a surprise 1-0 victory. The two losses leave Darmen without a single point in the group stage and the All Greens will want to avoid further embarrassment at the hands of the Eels before they return home.

Manager Godefroy Abascal has been at a loss as to how the All Green's should play. While the team has remained in its 3-1-4-2 formation, despite talk of experimenting with a 4-2-3-1 setup, Abascal has been routinely tinkering with the strategy. In the opening match against Qusmo, the team sat back for much of the match, absorbing attacks and trying to catch the Qusmi’y on the counter. When that didn't work, Darmen shifted to play a high line against Brenecia, only for that to not work either. There is a general sense that the higher ups at the Darmeni Football Association want Abascal to pick a tactic and stick with it. Its even thought that the upcoming Copa Rushmori will be Abascal's last if he can't lead Darmen on a deep run.

Darmen 0–1 Qusmo
Darmen: Campo - Virgo, Abbey, Maddox (Spalding 86') - Goldschmdit - Ó Cuilinn (Mac Pharlain 71'), Winton, Butler, Stafford - Hurst (Lucanus 78'), Blackwood
Qusmo: Xynat-Evela - Cunix-Betva, Zenon-Gerol (Ozolx-Alfan 69'), Yelto-Alfan - Yunal-Julad - Helek-Nenzi, Ilinx-Kepex, Forzu-Ralox - Ilinx-Vulav (Gavax-Nenzi 74') - Paliv-Xilit, Xilit-Zaxac (Prant-Pertz 78')

GOALS
D-Q
0-1 Ilinx-Kepex 67'
Brenecia 3–1 Darmen
Brenecia: Calhoun - Quill (Prentice 85'), Szubanski, Heneghan, Broxham - Staunton - Ashbrown, Wheeler, Case (Ruskin 63'), Crowther (Garrard 76') - Riordan
Darmen: Campo - Virgo, Abbey, Maddox - Goldschmidt (Ramírez 85') - Ó Cuilinn, Winton (Cardoso 66'), Butler, Stafford (Freud 78') - Hurst, Blackwood

GOALS
B-D
1-0 Case 13' (pen.)
1-1 Hurst 33'
2-1 Riordan 45'+2
3-1 Riordan 84'

Lineup vs. Turori
Abram - Espinosa, Coghlan, Spalding - Goldschmidt - Mac Pharlain, Svendsen, Butler, Stafford - Hurst, Borde
(SUBS Falkenrath, Abbey, Maddox, Cardoso, Freud, Lucanus, Blackwood)

by **Apox** » Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:10 pm

Here Be Dragons

Who's gonna be joining me and my friends in the Round of 16?

MD3 Cutoff for Groups E-H

WC 82 RP Thread

At Least We Won Something During This Edition

WC82F - MD2 v. Qusmo (1-0 Win)

WC82F - MD2 v. Equestrian States (2-1)

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