World Cup 85 || RP Thread

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Life in Twicetagria

We edited our logo to make it look fancier

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WinterFall: How this girl group is dominating the TNMC
By Jen Kim

You know these girls. Unless, of course, you don't know ANYTHING about Twicetagrian pop. Then that's a shame, cuz we have LOTS of stuff to offer you. Twicetagrian pop is undoubtedly very famous. Breaking records domestically, as well as regionally, Twicetagrian music is quite something if you don't know of it.
You still interested? Great! Now I present to you, the queens of t-pop: WinterFall.


WinterFall is a Twicetagrian girl group under Lynx Media. It consists of 5 members: Lyra, Octavia, Everest, Harper, and Kyla. First two names not a MLP:FiM reference.
They debuted in 26 September 2014 with their title track Dalla Dalla, a.k.a. Different.
Before we get into their discography, let's dissect the name.

Etymology
WinterFall is basically winter and fall together. The 'f' is capitalized l though there isn't a space.
The 'winter' part represents their more mature side, which includes their dress, music and concept. 'Fall', however, is the complete opposite: cheerful, sometimes calming ballads, make up most of the 'fall' category. Obviously there are songs that don't fall into either, but let's just get going.

Members
Lyra is the oldest of the group, as well as their lead rapper. She is known to be very passionate when it comes to music, and loooves to sing. She also has some kind of crush on Octavia, but we'll leave that for another time.
Birthday: 9 May 1992

Octavia, as her name says, is the main vocalist of the group. She can hit notes higher than Everest. Well, not that much, but her singing prowess is still widely known across t-pop. She is a confident gay; if she sees someone she likes, she never fails to confess that.
Birthday: 18 August 1993

Everest is ironically the shortest member of the group. She is also the lead vocalist, as well as main dancer. This makes her a double threat, which ism't that common these days. She is quite frank, and can be blunt at times, but she tries to curb her habit.
Birthday: 27 November 1995

Harper, as innocent as she looks, raps straight fire. She, the main rapper, can spit bars better than a lot of other boy groups. She also sings sometimes, but not that frequent. She is also known for her savage and outgoing personality, which makes her very fun in variety shows.
Birthday: 31 July 1996

Kyla is the lead dancer, as well as a vocalist. Learning gymnastics as a child, she had no problems taking up dancing at high school. Her position doesn't give her a lot of lines, but her dancing makes up for it. As the youngest, she is the cutest and most youthful.
Birthday: 8 February 1997

2014: Birth of Stars
26 September 2014 was the date of WinterFall's debut, and also the day when Dalla Dalla smashed the charts. It received a triple crown(in a music show, 3 wins) in 3 weeks, breaking past records set by dani and John Tyranny.
Needless to say, they quickly gained fans, as fan meets were sold out in 5 minutes.
They made a comeback on December with their single Ice Cream Cake. An instant hit, it lit up the halls of Christmas as everyone was hopping to the beat.

2015: Region-wide growth and first tour
That Twicetagria National Music Awards(TNMA), WinterFall managed time get Rookie of the Year, one of the Star Awards. Sadly, they weren't nominated for other awards.
That March, they returned to the charts with their single Wannabe. It got them 2 triple crowns, nearly breaking dani's record of 3 triple crowns.
They had their first full-album in September with the lead singles Dumb Dumb and One of Those Nights. One of Those Nights was their first step in the 'Winter' category. The lyrics for the latter broke many hearts, while Dumb Dumb had its first triple crown in the month.
After the promotions, WinterFall had their first tour around the country. Visiting a Twice Square, Legothria, Alphaxrie, and even Berese, they never failed to draw in crowds.

2016: Mainstream Success and Dating Scandal
January marked their spot in the regional charts, as Russian Roulette quickly became one of their, if not most, successful songs. 3 triple crowns equalized them with dani.
The TNMAs cane again, but they didn't win any awards, though they were nominated for 2 of them.
May welcomed Peek-a-boo, which was a hit. Though it didn't bring the same hype as Russian Roulette.
All the success was marred by one of the most bizarre scandals in Twicetagrian history: Lyra was dating Octavia. Yes, I know. Gay marriage was generally looked down upon then, and that landed the girls in hot water. Though the gullible public believed the doofus who made the news up, the girls were cleared after some 'people' made an inside search. The person who wrote and spread the fake news was promptly punished, but that left serious mental issues on Lyra. She took a 2-month break to recover, and their next album was delayed.
After all that ugtfytdufiyyb, came October. October brought us Rookie. Fans were glad to see Lyra back, but they were genuinely worried about their health.

2017: Awards, Awards, and Awards
The TNMAs returned again, but this time WinterFall left with two trophies to their name: Song and Album of the Year. Russian Roulette brought them both awards, which only makes it less surprising that it was their best song.
Shortly after in April, Red Flavor was released. As the group drew closer and closer to the Fall concept, fans missed their Winter concept, and demanded Lynx to do something. Nevertheless, Red Flavor did well commercially.
Lynx, unfortunately, didn't listen to the fans, as they released Umpah Umpah in August, which no offense, sounded like what Winky Wonka's Oompa-Loompas would say. It still bring them quite some cash, but it was probably their most underwhelming comeback.

2018 & 2019: Fame Region-wide
TNMAs came, and WinterFall claimed the award for Best Album, which Red Flavour gave.
On May, Lynx surprised the fans by releasing the banger Bad Boy. It was undoubtedly the SONG of 2018, as it got fans and non-fans alike to sing to the song. This was to the point that schools even played the song during National Day. They also broke the records by having 4 triple crowns, the most from a group act.
November 2018 gave them another full album, with Really Bad Boy and Power Up as the lead singles. This was a domestic hit, but also broke charts outside the nation.
March 2019 brought us Zimzalabim, which was supposed to sound like a witchcraft kind of chant. However weird it sounded, the fans weren't left disappointed as the girls looked fresh in the music video.
WinterFall took a 6 month break, to gain back a few breathes. They visited their families, traveled, and hanged out with old friends.
After a drought of no music, we came back to get our beloved Christmas present, as Psycho was released. The girls looked fresh, and we hope that something like this would be repeated again. They got 2 triple crowns. Also, don't forget Octavia's high notes in the bridge to the chorus.


Though the girls were supposed to comeback in March, but the coronavirus pandemic postponed it to June. Prepare your wallets, Spring Leaves(their fandom name) as More and More is set to be released this June!

[Tequilo]

TAPALUPÉ, Tequilo - Today in your new favourite magazine we start a new series for those unfamiliar with pitxi in Tequilo by looking at some of the biggest teams in the country. Rumour that these features are prepatory material for the new IFCF-focused blog are completely wide of the mark of course; they are here to help followers of the World Cup navigate the ins and outs of domestic football that underpins the new World Cup campaign.

In this series, we go state by state to look at the teams in that region that qualify for the nomination of 10-Nacional; that is to say, the top ten teams in the country based on the number of state championships won. In this first entry of the season, we look at the state of Ocotapa, in which is found the capital city Tapalupé, and the two teams that dominate state pitxi there - Fábrica Tapalupé & Argón Tacranza.

But first - what happened to Los Pitxileros in World Cup qualifying? Let’s fire up the Copametro to find out…

TAKE THAT! AND THAT! AND THAT AND THAT AND THAT! OK, JUST TAKE THIS THEN.
Ko-oren 0-1 TEQUILO HT: 0-1

Location: Orange Bowl, Schemerdrecht, Intermare Att: 53,709
SCORERS: Artechevarria 32’

The eighth group of World Cup qualifying has so far not been short on shocks, and not wanting to miss out on the action, Los Pitxileros came up with one of their own for a very first win in the World Cup, heading out to Ko-oren expecting a thrashing and coming back with three points in the bag. Albeit a tied-up, gagged, drugged and bumped-on-the-head three points, kidnapped against their will and redirected irrevocably from where they should have gone. This game was the Dragonflies for the taking, but Isidor Artechevarria’s fine strike against the run of play stunned the home nation, and though they continued to dominate possession for the rest of the game, they could not break down an unusually sturdy Tequiloan back line.

Adding to the uncomfortable outcome for Ko-oren, left back Garaitz Minha became the first Tequiloan to be sent off in an international match, earning a straight red card and the earliest of early baths in the seventh minute for a headbutt on Cole Train. He earns a three-match ban for his efforts, while the rest of the team get a mention in the national honours list for holding out with 10 men for the next 83+5 minutes.

Both Huracan and ancient debutant Urlegi Gorostola picked up knocks and will miss out on a tough home tie with early pace-setters Port Ember; Noxochinoch and and Narciso Cora will replace them, while Patrick Zambo is fit again and will take the left back spot vacated by naughty Señor Minha.

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Starting Line-Up for TEQUILO vs. Port Ember:
Teixidó; Zambo, Apeiztegui, Noxochinoch, Chicchan; Callañuapa; Artechevarria, Tafalla (Capitan), Tutayan; Cora & Tlacolotl

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
What ever happened to Adé Fredou?

In the first of our new mini-series, we take a look at teenage sensation Adé Fredou, the Dynamo from Sezalco who was already famous at 11 years old for his sensational skills, perfect passing, and visionary vision - someone marked for greatness. Indeed, he made his debut for AC Sezalco at the minimum age of 14 years and sixth months. Snapped up by cross-town rivals Cóndor before his sixteenth birthday, he was an immediate hit, and it is said agents from all over the multiverse had a file on him as thick as Chuco Tlalqui’s forearm. After two seasons in which he looked like ‘the world’s greatest prospect’ still just warming up, with steady progress, flashes of brilliance and the odd off-day (being as he was still only a baby) the financial muscle and flair of Florentino called, and he signed terms there for a record domestic transfer fee. But he never played. Whatever happened on the bus to Antivador, it sapped his magical powers and took away his potential. After two seasons of hapless performances in the reserves, when all the excuses about transitions and settling in were spent, he was released back to his first club, AC Sezalco, with hopes that at 20 he still had time to rekindle his future prospects. He never did. A handful of appearances followed in three seasons, and then he dropped into 3-Sección with Extremo Norte, and took up the role of average semi-pro, failing even to do that well. At 25 he quit football, unable to escape the burden of his superstar billing a decade earlier, and was last seen on a horse, shaded under a modest sombrero, driving cattle across the Maranco prairie with the vaqueros of the National Bovine Administration Board.

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10-NACIONAL
Part 1/6 - The Giants of Ocotapa

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The former nation of Ocotapa, now the home state of the national capital Tapalupé (population 13.3 million), sits in the central area of modern Tequilo, neighbouring sea, mountain, desert and steppe in the vast reaches of that land that unites two continents - Pletora to the north and Plataforma to the south. The second smallest state by area is also the most crowded per capita, in no small part due to the insane scale of the two major cities - Tapalupé and Tacranza (population 8.2 million). Not surprisingly, those cities have a good share of half decent pitxi clubs and have produced two of the nation’s most successful - the rivals of the Cálculo - that is to say ‘reckoning’, or derby, in your language - known as El Térifico: Fábrica of Tapalupé and Argón of Tacranza. One of the biggest fixtures in the pitxi season, right now it is one of the hottest too - these two sides are really at the top of their game and will be right in the mix for every bit of silverware. Ocotapa State could well produce the first national champion this coming season in the new Liga-TQ, and here’s a rundown on the two favourites to do just that.

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FÁBRICA TAPALUPÉ

Ocotapa State Champions: 18 times; most recent season 122 (last season - holders)
Copa Tequila Winners: 4 times (joint second most successful) most recent season 100 (22 years ago)
Stadium: Estadio Pablo Invocador (El Volcán), Distrito Santa Léa, Tapalupé
Capacity: 53,523
Nicknames: The Spanners, Las Llaves, The Factory Team
Colours: Blue & white harlequin quartered shirt with red trim, white shorts & socks with blue trim.
Alternate: All red with white trim.
Current Manager: Axel Cortés
Team Captain: Bruno Rodríguez (DC)
Young Prospect: Ricardo Bailén (AMR)

Though not the best supported in the capital city of Tapalupé - behind both Haïtiens and Galaxía - The Spanners are certainly the most successful, comfortably sitting in the nation’s top ten by state titles and a strong Copa Tequilo performer - indeed, overall in total silverware they sit equal second in the country with the much more celebrated Pitxi-Pitxi 77, both with 22 trophies in total, but some way distant of CF Frantxizki-A’s full haul of 27 trophies. Not recognised to the same extent as the ’77o and only the third best supported team in their home city, this is the club with a bit of a chip on it’s shoulder fighting for the same recognition as the other two giants. Even in Maranco state they sit second behind rivals Argón in most popularity poles, despite leading them by one title in the state championships. For the Spanners, it seems to be a constant battle for recognition, and the only thing they can do is win things… which they do, regularly. Right now is a good time for the Factory Team, a strong squad and lots of emerging talent means they are competing for titles right now - something even the big two haven’t done for over a decade. Certainly a favourite for the first national title this coming season.

First Team

Goalkeepers: Christopher Romero, Gael Aguinaldo
Defenders: Bruno Rodríguez, Raúl Carita, Sebastián Pozo, Joaquín Gallo, Alexis Magrina, Emiliano Rouco, Gael Obregón
Midfielders: Ricardo Bailén, Jaylli Ñahuis Quelka, Jaime Dengra, Óliver Abellán, Sebastian Arrabal, Joshua Dengra, Chuquimango, Ylla Ñaña, Juanito Mina,
Forwards: Gael Casaus, Héctor Molina, Macavilca, Abram Pardo, Felix Agramonte

ARGÓN TACRANZA

Ocotapa State Champions: 17 times; most recent season 121 (two seasons ago)
Copa Tequila Winners: 1 time, season 30 (92 years ago)
Stadium: Estadio Argonautas, Tacranza
Capacity: 48,000
Nicknames: The Argonauts, Los Argonautas; The Squids, Los Calamares
Colours: Violet & black striped shirts, black shorts & socks
Alternate: All white with violet trim
Current Manager: Luis Tenorio
Team Captain: Máximo San Martín (MC)
Young Prospect: Masango Sukè (AM)

Argón might be considered one of the glamour sides in Tequilo; a strong tradition of flamboyant pitxi, a draw for the glitterati of national society, a fancy new stadium, and always a healthy sprinkling of the most exciting and extrovert players in all the state championships. Blessed it seems with eternal wealth thanks to their connection to the Ixtal farming industry - whether that is all above board and regular is open to scrutiny - the club have always had a big budget by Tequiloan standards and have never been afraid of more exotic and experimental signings. The Tamarindian influence is clear, including the team captain and regular hero in these parts, Máximo San Martín - and Argón are well underway with their Atlético Refugiados project, which on the one hand is an admirable lower league club to support under-pressure influx populations - previously Tamarindia during the Fall, and more recently Farfadillis as it descends into anarchy - and on the other hand is a good way to scout for new talent. Everyone remembers Râmón Tüjânger as one of Argón’s favourite foreigners, and he paved the way for modern Farves who, like Tamarindians and Ipañemos in these parts, are considered inherently better at the pitxi than the locals. Watch out for new fancy foreign heroes soon…

While they have always been on the coat tails of Fábrica in the state championship, recently Argón have been the dominant team and have closed the gap between the two clubs to a single title. Los Calamares saw the title slip back to the capital and Fábrica last season, but they are in a good position to challenge for their third title in four seasons.

First Team

Goalkeepers: Pablo Correa, Aucapuma
Defenders: Estefanio Tassis, Pascual Amengual (TAM), Simón Illescas, Armando Chicote, Ito (IPA), Ignacio Cicerón, Francisco Morterero
Midfielders: Máximo San Martín (TAM), Mayhuasca, Ricardo Mancebo, Tomás Alemán, Kim Espiga, Alexis Barrueco, Germo Songthrush (WGT), Joshua Andino, Masango Sukè
Forwards: Edmundo Freixa, Kayara, Ansell Hussey (BSE), Cocha Quihue, Koyakusi

Next issue: We take a look at Maranco state's sole 10-Nacional representative, Resplendiente.

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RÚI de Los ROVAS
Rúi Raza & the family company are back!

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Big changes are afoot at the Raza Agency - where Rúi and son Roque have made a fortune in representing players around their fictional world, along with grandson Roni. But now Rúi is confronted with the idea of having to deal with women in football agency, as Roque and Roni suggest making his great-granddaughter Rita Raza a partner. He wasn’t best pleased when the ‘Premier League’ became a unisex competition sixty years ago, and now he’s having to face his old fashioned ways (ie. prejudices) once again, in the family business. Meanwhile, Roni and agency client Philippe Coutinho visit The Arsenal as they try to sign the ex-Liverpoolstar from ‘Spanish’ giants Barcelona… but can Roni convince him to give up any hope of winning something ever again to get the deal done?

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NEXT TIME
What’s Up In The Next Issue of GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL-a!!!

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Coming soon - In the next full issue, we’ll be a quarter of the way through qualifying - and GOLa will take a look back through the highlights of the first few games - but will we have got any more points on the board as the Pitxileros struggle to come to terms with the quality of world football? And by exactly how many goals will the Holy Empire have thrashed us?

[Barunia]

The Scarlet Standard
The newspaper of the Scarlet Army, the official Barunia Suns supporters club.

Trogg’s Blog
Trogg is the founder of the Scarlet Standard, and one of our regular columnists and bloggers.

First home game back, and Sam Garcia Field was going off! Best place to stage the comeback, great work by the NFB! It might be small, but there’s no ground in the country that brings out more passion from the stands. It truly is the heart and soul of Barunian football. Nothing gets the Scarlet Army excited like a game at Sam Garcia. Some people criticise the governing body for only sending no hope nations to play there, some poor wannabe country looking like a deer in the headlights. I get it, the NFB don’t want to host a major game in an out of the way city with only a few thousand seats. But hey, isn’t that the point? It is the true testing ground. If you are chosen to play here, we probably think we’re better than you. If you beat Barunia at SGF, respect to you. You’ve earned yourself a stripe, and if we meet in battle again, perhaps you’ll be promoted to a different field.

Have a look at this year’s schedule. Sargossa, Kelssek, and Cassadaigua are all playing at Sun Stadium. We might not have played all of them before, but it doesn’t matter. Their reputation speaks for itself. If any teams in this group have earned the right to play at the national stadium, it is these three.

Now, I was meant to be talking about the game. Who were our opponents again? Oh yeah, Audiasania - no relation to Audioslavia and no comparison to their style of football either. Audiasania’s style is best described as enthusiastic. They reminded me of a primary school phys-ed class. Somehow they still got 3 goals in, as the Barunians got a bit trigger happy. 5 goals, and already the Army is in love with Neville Swan. 2 goals to him, and 1 assist, but such a good presence in the middle. We were worried that Hannah’s boots would be tough to fill, and he isn’t her level, but he’s still really good. Oh, and forwards: two to Elwin and one to Cross. Barunia hasn’t had good forwards in ages, so good to see. I will want to see them against tougher opposition though. Audiasania’s goalie was well out of depth. I think the post saved more than he did.

As for the rest of the team: okay. 3 goals against this side is probably too much, hopefully the defence pulls their socks up. Speaking of defenders, I have a question for everyone, one that really needs to be answered: who the fuck is Tim Faulkner? I know, he played in 83, and yes he plays for Porthaven United. But he isn’t exactly a name you’d recognise instantly. But somehow this guy ended up with the captain’s armband. Why this guy?

Perhaps the question should be, who else was going to get it? Definitely not Azarola, the worst captain the Suns have ever had. Hell, Ruskin has a 100% loss rate in World Cup matches and he still ranks higher than Azarola, even without the coaching factored in. (Now, before you get all shitty on me, I love Ruskin too. But he only played 1 WC game and lost, meaning he has a 100% loss rate.) my money would have been on Mendoza to get the captaincy, but instead it went to the unheard of Faulkner. Most Barunian captains are at least well-known to the public, even those who don’t follow football, before they are made captain. Faulkner is still earning his stripes. I will try and reserve judgement until we see a bit more of him though.

Alright, time to hit the road again. Timuria up next, and this is the team that I want to see smashed to pieces more than any other. Up the sky-blue and scarlet!

Until next time, go Suns!

Troggs out.

[Timuria]

Red Wolves Produce No Surprises

Kelssek 2–1 Timuria
Custworth (27), Ó Tuathail (51);Ismail Burhan (69)

by Tufan Nursultan

The Red Wolves failed to produce any surprises as a flat performance led to a well justified 2-1 defeat away from home, leaving many wondering if there's any serious path to qualification for a team that appears to be running out of ideas this early on in the qualification stages. The Red Wolves found themselves 2-0 down as the crowd at Canada Stadium appeared to have them uncharacteristically shaken. Ismail Burhan did at least manage to put the last match's dismal performance behind him and got on the scoresheet, offering the team something positive to look at.

The first chance of the match would come from the head of target man Matthew Lister, who's powerful header needed to be tipped wide by Iskender Nur. The Red Wolves would get a half chance of their own, but Vatan Ercetin's poked effort was easily handled by Poirier who made sure they were positioned perfectly to deal with his effort so they weren't caught out. The deadlock would be broken in the 27th minute, as Brayden Custworth found himself in acres of space and managed to use his excellent technical abilities to chip Iskender who barely got finger tips to his shot, but was unable to tip it to safety.

The Red Wolves would enjoy a bit of momentum as the half began to draw to a close, Ertan Renda threatening from long range with a well struck, powerful effort that whistled just wide in the 35th minute. Next would come a well struck effort from Volkan Ayhan, but his effort would be tipped by Poirier onto the post. The final serious chance of the half would come from the head of Kemal Colak from the ensuing corner, his effort would be headed clear off the line by Ashley Douglass. The Red Wolves would go into the break 1-0 down and extremely frustrated.

The second half opened with the Red Wovles looking determined to close the gap, Reza Karaduman's pass found its way to Vatan who turned and managed to put the ball on target, but Poirier was more than equal to it, not only saving it, but holding the ball. Their excellent distribution came into play as they sprung a counter attack that led to Colm Ó Tuathail's goal that doubled the lead for the hosts as he placed the ball just out of the reach of Iskender. Iskender would be called on again as Kemal Colak gave away a penalty in the 58th minute shortly after the second goal. The penalty would be saved by Iskender who put in a good performance.

The Red Wolves would get a goal back with Ismail Burhan's half volley almost tearing the back of the net giving the Red Wolves a chance at clawing something out of this match. The momentum seemed to decisively shift in their favour in the final period of the match, with chance after chance falling to them. Tekin Yavuz who was thrown on to try to shift the match had his superb long range effort saved yet again by the host's keeper who had an astounding day. The final real chance would come to Atilla Acar who tried to bundle the ball over the line in a goalmouth scramble, but saw the ball cleared by the boot of one of the host's defenders.

The result leaves the Red Wolves with two losses and a win from their first three, with them rounding off their tough opening of their schedule with a home match against Barunia in Tashkent. Barunia are coming off a big 5-3 win over Audiaslania and sit in joint sixth with the Red Wolves after three. It appears that some media from this paper rattled them and they're desperate to get a win in Tashkent, so Bekir Altingunes' men will need to be keenly aware and take care of business in front of the home fans.

What They Said After The Match:

Bekir Altingunes: "It's frustrating to see your team get beaten when you've put in all the time preparing them for the match, but you have to hand it to Kelssek they wanted it more and if we were being honest, quality seems to have told here. That doesn't mean that it's all over for us, but these are the matches we need to win in order to have any real chance of getting to the next level and it seems like we just don't have 'it' whatever that may be. As always we're going to try to find 'it' and the chance to go back home will give us a nice atmosphere to do so.

Player Ratings:

Iskender Nur 7/10 - Made a series of key saves that gave Timuria a chance at getting a result.

Ozbek Sarikaya 6/10 - A rather dull day for the world's most dull left back.

Kemal Colak 6/10 - Looks like he's found his feet a bit more as a starter and is gelling pretty well with Berker.

Berker Balkan 6/10 - Didn't make any glaring mistakes, but didn't really excell either.

Gokdeniz Dag 6/10 - Had a better match than last time, avoiding mistakes.

Ertan Renda 6/10 - Yet again his various fantastic efforts seemed to come to nothing.

Reza Karaduman 6/10 - Conducted himself well and even made a bit of an impact on the offensive side.

Caner Turan 5/10 - Really struggled to make himself noticed and needed to be taken off.

Vatan Ercetin 6/10 - Looked reasonably dangerous this match, but just didn't have the final product needed.

Volkan Ayhan 6/10 - Did fairly well in the spells where he was needed and wasn't a liability in any sense.

Ismail Burhan 7/10 - A stark improvement from the Manat striker as he gets a goal and looked consistently dangerous.

Substitutes:

Tekin Yavuz 6/10 - Had one decent chance, but other than that, not much impact from the ageing winger.

Atilla Acar 6/10 - Was brought on to try to spark something with his energetic play, but failed to do so and squandered a good chance.

Person of the Match: Kai Poirier - To put it bluntly, this result is different if a keeper without Poirier's quality is on the other side, while the two goalscorers for the hosts also had excellent games, we feel like keepers get too little love and so hand it to Kai.

Schedule and Results:

Home stadiums will have capacity in brackets

MD1: @ Xuzaqiy W 5-3
MD2: vs Cassadaigua, Dev Halk Stadium (30,000), Demir L 3-2
MD3: @ Kelssek L 2-1
MD4: vs Barunia, Tashkent Belediye Isci Stadium (18,500), Tashkent
MD5: @ Audiasania
MD6: Bye
MD7: vs Olastor, Belediye Park (5,800), Demir
MD8: @ Patistan
MD9: vs The Mann Clan, Belediye Park (5,800), Demir
MD10: @ Grod Island
MD11: vs Sargossa, Hisar Belediye Sendika Stadium (27,500), Demir
MD12: @ Res Publica Nova Roma
MD13: vs Ziwana, Halkın Güneş Çiftliği Stadium (27,000), Elektriklestirme
MD14: vs Xuzaqiy, Demir-Is Stadium (5,500), Demir
MD15: @ Cassadaigua
MD16: vs Kelssek, Madenci Stadium (27,000), Uryan
MD17: @Barunia
MD18: vs Audiasania, Maden-Is Stadium (3,400), Uryan
MD19: Bye
MD20: @ Olastor
MD21: vs Patistan, Almat Jimnasyum (3,000), Demir
MD22: @ The Mann Clan
MD23: vs Grod Island, Tasova Belediye Stadium (2,000), Tasova
MD24: @Sargossa
MD25: vs Res Public Nova Roma, Dev Halk Stadium (30,000), Demir
MD26: @ Ziwana

[Jeruselem]

Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas with Queen Elsa of Jeruselem

Kate:
Hello, this is Princess Katherine Annabelle Dallas for Naked News Jeruselem once again.
We're back home at Dazza Dallas Stadium for another World Cup 85 qualifier.
Taking some time out from her schedule as our nation's leader is of course Queen Elsa I of Jeruselem.
She's no stranger to this World Cup business except she's now running the country instead.
Today was no ordinary game, we had visitors Darmen who are biggest threat in this cup.

Elsa: Hello subjects and anyone watching us. I forget foreigners do watch this show sometimes.
Kate: That's because there's naked women on this show
Elsa: I'm getting too old to do that these days
Kate: Let's have a look at the Group 7 results. And home teams didn't do well again, only two home teams won.
Elsa: Yes, that's a bit weird. I hope it's not a trend we want to follow.
Kate: Delaclava was a winning home team, beating South Charlia 2-1.

Elsa: I guess it's better than losing 6-4 at home like their last home game.
Kate: Acronius didn't lose at home, it was a draw with visitors Competitive Solitaire. Well, a draw!
Elsa: I think that's first draw in the group. Better than losing I guess ...
Kate: Simpralia winning streak was broken, losing to Sarzonia at home. Sarzonia winning 5-3. Sarzonia scores like zero goals last game.
Elsa: Sarzonia scoring 6, 0 and 5 goals so far. Very extreme.
Kate: Welzat lost their home game, to Huayramarca who won 4-1.

Elsa: Didn't sound even remotely close for a game. Have to pity Welzat there.
Kate: Nephara did bring it home, winning over Great Lausitz 2-0. The other home win.
Elsa: That win was kinda expected.
Kate: Yeah, you can guess we didn't win hey.
Elsa: Yeah, we lost 4-3 to Darmen but we tried. At least it was close.
Kate: Unfortunately we were outclassed as our defense didn't cope with world clas opponent.

Elsa: We made far too many mistakes from just being under pressure, a lesser opponent might not have taken advantage but any mistake against Darmen is not to be repeated.
Kate: We were rather disorganised from the start, maybe the occasion got to the team with stakes against a real opponent.
Elsa: Although we did improve later when started fighting back and team gained some confidence.
Kate: A slow start cost us, we should maybe tried push up the field earlier so they couldn't gain an early advantage.
Elsa: We did have slow start last two games, maybe it's the new strategy for this coach. I think against someone like Darmen, they love that.
Kate: To our credit, we did pick up the game later but it was kinda too late to win.

Elsa: I understand the strategy, you work out what they are planning and counter with your own.
Kate: But sometimes, the opponent decides how the game goes because they force the pace from the start.
Elsa: Some teams play one way, it's a simplier system.
Kate: Now, we got some relatives out there who aren't in Jeruselem.
Elsa: Yeah, we got Princesses and Princess in Quebec.
Kate: Oh yes, the Xaviers. The product of Princess Anna ...

Elsa: They are actually part of our royal family but they seem more interested in being the royals of Quebec
Kate: Yeah Marco Hertel is their team but I'm not in our team heh
Elsa: You're better just doing your current job. You don't get injured.
Kate: I guess so. I'm not that great anyway.
Elsa: We got enough of us in the team anyway.
Kate: Well, that's it from us here! We lost but hey it was Darmen who are the best team in the group.
Elsa: Hopefully we can be 2nd best.

Jeruselem 3–4 Darmen
Delaclava 2–1 South Charlia
Acronius 1–1 Competitive Solitaire
Simpralia 3–5 Sarzonia
Welzat 1–4 Huayramarca
Nephara 2–0 Great Lausitz

[PotatoFarmers]

(OOC: The players used for Qvardax are based on the squad they posted for the 72nd edition of the Baptism of Fire, considering that they have not make a roster post for the 85th World Cup Qualifiers.)

Qvardax 2
Kterra Ygundaer 31’
Micnaesa Okloen 80’
Poafmersia 4
Hansel Tang 17’
Bytia Hisel 43’, 65’
Pete Carisa 54’
Starting 11: Sandi Jaliaha; Graciia Warisian, Pasits Rikachz, Danzik Hoboson (c), Denise Pickford; Matthew Tibrise, Gisiik Moonar, Jessie Mchargarita; Hansel Tang, Bytia Hisel, Pete Carisa
Substitutes: Bolsto Nelison (D. Pickford 61’)

Poafmersia cruises to a 4-2 win over Qvardax
Report by Dalik Trikira
Poafmer Times Sports Reporter
Qvardax - Poafmersia’s pulled off their traditional “hit-and-run” strategy against Qvardax, and managed to leave with a 4-2 win and another 3 points ahead of a crunch tie against Damukuni on Friday.
Hansel Tang opened the scoring after a nice 1-2 with Pete Carisa, passing the ball left and right past the defenders before Hansel found a perfect opportunity to net it into the goal, past the hands of the Qvardax goalkeeper. As Poafmersia was attacking, they failed to catch Kterra Ygundaer who made a solo effort to score in the 31st minute. Bytia Hisel, however, put Poafmersia ahead in the 43rd minute after getting a cross from Gisiik Moonar. Pete Carisa then added one for himself after the break, scoring through a solo effort after dribbling past 3 defenders, before helping Bytia Hisel find another goal by sliding a ball across the box past the confused keeper. Micnaesa Okloen scored a late consolation in the 80th minute, but it was all too little and too late for the home side.
Adnan Suliaha was pleased with the way the side played the game, though he still finds the defensive issues rather glaring and problematic. “The goals that we conceded could have been avoided...first was that ridiculous solo effort from Kterra (Ygundaer). Nobody saw him taking the ball and coming down the line. If Graciia or Pasits saw him that surely Kterra’s goal would have been stopped. The second was a defensive error, where they didn’t coordinate on who to mark, allowing Micnaesa Okloen to remain unmarked and naturally they score a goal.”
Katiri Hedge chose to focus on the next match back home. “Some of the players didn’t play because we had to rotate them. Joel would definitely be back in the starting lineup. As for Shakira, he would probably start the match on the bench instead, while Gisiik would remain in midfield. Sticking to 4-3-3 would work just nice against Damukuni. They didn’t have a good night today (referring to their 1-6 loss to Filindostan) so they would probably try to rebound against us. With the Pickford siblings back in the defence, with Pasits and Danzik, hopefully the defence can improve. The issue of defence is something we need to work on these few weeks.”
Poafmersia next play Damukuni at home, hoping to get a good result. Meanwhile Qvardax travel to Shokpos, with both sides aiming to get their first point of the qualifiers.

---

WCQ85 Preview: Poafmersia vs Damukuni
Analysis by Jabik Henderson, Sporting Daily Guest Columnist
Typically I don’t like writing previews, considering that previews are often a terrible indicator of what the match entails, and as a former football player, I understand how players feel when analysts say things like “Oh I think XXX team would definitely win this match” or like “to beat XXX team, we need to make huge improvements”. However, this match is no ordinary match, and as such, I am doing something out of the ordinary here. Unlike traditional analysis, I would do away with the predictions, but rather, keep this short and sweet, pointing out the strengths and weakness of both sides.

85th World Cup Qualifiers
Matchday 4: Poafmersia vs Damukuni
Location: Libira National Stadium, Fiskadaha City, Poafmersia
TV Broadcast: Live on PFBC Sports 1 on Friday, at 7.45pm
Poafmersia
Form: WLW
Position: 6th

Starting lineup: (4-3-3) Sandi Jaliaha; Alex Pickford, Pasits Rikachz, Danzik Hoboson (c), Denise Pickford; Matthew Tibrise, Gisiik Moonar, Jessie Mchargarita; Joel Haodao, Bytia Hisel, Pete Carisa


Damukuni
Form: LWL
Position: 10th

Starting lineup: (4-4-2) Shoryū Enomoto; Poli Roarki, Mercianna Gaulans, Lani, Akuoru Sasaki; Portius Darvish, Amy Ortberg, Kazuo Ueshiba, Morihei Yoshiki; Julie Coelho, Jillianna Rodríguez

Defence has been a problem for this Damukuni side thus far, shipping 5 goals against Reçueçn and 6 against Filindostan. Which makes Poafmersia’s job slightly easier - just score goals! No matter how you do it, why you do it, when you do it. On paper, although Poafmersia may have just gotten a good opportunity to play Damukuni, it does not look as simple as you think. Julie Coelho is a particularly good player, and when Julie is on form, you need to defend really well to prevent your team from conceding a few goals and there. While we talk about Damukuni leaking a large number of goals, Poafmersia’s defence has never been really good. Just consider how the team leaked their 2 goals yesterday night against Qvardax - one was because they failed to catch a player running in with the ball, the other was because they failed to mark another player and allowed him to grab the rebound and tap it in. Thankfully, Qvardax wasn’t used to playing fast sides who push you again and again, so Poafmersia could score 4 and grab the points. Against Damukuni, I highly doubt that Poafmersia can repeat such a performance and get away with it. Joel Haodao is back in the starting lineup after not travelling to Qvardax, while Pete Carisa performed nicely against Qvardax with a goal and an assist. Bytia Hisel’s finishing was also on point yesterday, so starting her again should be no problem. Starting Gisiik means Poafmersia is probably going for a push-and-attack strategy, so we have to see if Adnan and Katiri can pull off another win to stabilise the players’ morale ahead of the bigger match against Filindostan.
WCQ85 Review: Roundup at Matchday 3
Commentary by Roisig Hansa
Sporting Daily Main Editor
Poafmersia may have won against Qvardax, but did you know that there are a total of 21 teams who are still pointless at this stage? I shall not waste your time here by telling you what happened elsewhere, since you can find out for yourself in our microsite. Today, however, I am here to provide queer facts and give you information about what happened thus far out of 3 matchdays.
First, let us look at these 21 teams who have lost every of their game thus far.

Pos    Team Name                           P    W    D    L   GF   GA   GD    Pts   
01-13  Necosia                             3    0    0    3    1    7   -6      0   
02-12  Wreckeria                           2    0    0    2    5    9   -4      0   
02-13  Balaslandia                         3    0    0    3    5   11   -6      0   
03-13  Chromatika                          3    0    0    3    2    7   -5      0   
05-12  Adsuri                              3    0    0    3    3    7   -4      0   
05-13  Sharktail                           2    0    0    2    7   11   -4      0   
07-12  South Charlia                       3    0    0    3    3    6   -3      0   
07-13  Great Lausitz                       3    0    0    3    3    7   -4      0   
08-13  Indusse                             3    0    0    3    1    9   -8      0   
09-12  Olastor                             3    0    0    3    4    9   -5      0   
09-13  Audiasania                          3    0    0    3    7   16   -9      0   
10-13  Bolgano                             2    0    0    2    6    9   -3      0   
12-11  Havynwilde                          2    0    0    2    3    6   -3      0   
12-12  Baggieland                          2    0    0    2    5    9   -4      0   
12-13  Jerauuk                             3    0    0    3    4   11   -7      0   
13-13  Tamgu                               2    0    0    2    3    5   -2      0   
14-12  Drunk People at the Local Tavern    3    0    0    3    1    5   -4      0   
14-13  Krytenia                            2    0    0    2    2    7   -5      0   
15-11  Shokpos                             3    0    0    3    4    7   -3      0   
15-12  Qvardax                             3    0    0    3    4    8   -4      0   
15-13  Revatnagar                          2    0    0    2    1    6   -5      0

For readers who are reading this table for the first time, you may want to understand how the “Pos” column is read. The first 2 digits represent the group number, while the last 2 digits represent their position number in the group. Of course, there are some teams which may share the same position (such as Adsuri and Sharktail being tied 12th in Group 5), but we insist on assigning every team a unique position number. Anyways, we can see two clear things - Groups 4, 6, and 11 do not have teams here, which means every team in those groups has gotten a point, while Groups 12 and 15 have the most number of teams with 3 teams. Among the names seen, you can see a few unexpected names. Chromatika (30th ranked, Pot 2), Krytenia (58th ranked, Pot 4), Tamgu (79th ranked, Pot 5) and Bolgano (97th ranked, Pot 6) immediately stands out. If you want to know what is brutal, just understand how Chromatika get their 3 losses out of 3 games played - an opening 2-3 loss at home to 3rd seeds Terre Septentrionale, then a 3-0 trashing by BoF72 participant and 10th seed Sanctanus, followed by yesterday’s match where they got beaten 1-0 at home by another BoF72 participant, the 8th seed Adyatin. Whatever the reason for their losses, they need to get back on track as soon as possible so as to prevent an early exit.
Meanwhile, out of the 195 teams, 60 teams continue to remain unbeaten, with 29 teams maintaining their perfect 100% win record.

Pos    Team Name                           P    W    D    L   GF   GA   GD    Pts   
01-01  Audioslavia                         3    3    0    0    5    1    4      9   
01-02  Turori                              2    2    0    0    6    3    3      6   
02-01  Drawkland                           3    3    0    0    7    2    5      9   
02-02  Busoga Islands                      2    2    0    0    9    5    4      6   
02-04  Kita-Hinode                         2    2    0    0    3    0    3      6   
03-01  Adyatin                             3    3    0    0    5    2    3      9   
04-03  Taeshan                             2    2    0    0    4    2    2      6   
05-01  Commonwealth of Baker Park          3    3    0    0   14    4   10      9   
05-02  Zwangzug                            3    3    0    0    7    2    5      9   
06-01  Banija                              3    3    0    0    9    0    9      9   
06-02  Lisander                            3    3    0    0    9    4    5      9   
06-03  Hampton Island                      2    2    0    0    4    1    3      6   
07-01  Nephara                             2    2    0    0    5    0    5      6   
07-02  Darmen                              2    2    0    0    7    3    4      6   
08-04  Quakmybush                          2    2    0    0    8    3    5      6   
09-01  Cassadaigua                         3    3    0    0   10    2    8      9   
09-02  Kelssek                             3    3    0    0   10    5    5      9   
09-04  Sargossa                            2    2    0    0    4    0    4      6   
10-01  Abanhfleft                          3    3    0    0    5    1    4      9   
11-01  Equestria                           3    3    0    0   12    4    8      9   
11-02  Xanneria                            3    3    0    0   11    7    4      9   
12-01  95X                                 3    3    0    0    9    4    5      9   
13-01  Valanora                            3    3    0    0    8    1    7      9   
13-02  Ottoman Syldavia                    3    3    0    0    8    3    5      9   
14-01  Vilita                              3    3    0    0   13    5    8      9   
14-02  Legalese                            2    2    0    0    8    5    3      6   
14-03  Qasden                              2    2    0    0    6    4    2      6   
15-01  Independent Athletes from Quebec    3    3    0    0    9    3    6      9   
15-03  Reçueçn                             2    2    0    0    8    2    6      6

It is probably too early to say anything about these teams, but considering that these teams manage to keep their perfect win record, other teams would be looking to hand them their first defeat. For Group 15, at least we are sure that Poafmersia would want to get a result against Reçueçn when both teams meet.
Nevertheless, we go to the other standard statistics. At 14 goals from 3 games, or 4.67 per game, Baker Park from Group 5 maintains the record for the most number of goals scored (per game or absolute) thus far. On the other extreme, Sylestone from Group 4 has yet to score in 3 games. Audiasania of Group 9 (NOT, I must emphasise, Audioslavia) may have shipped in the most goals (16 goals from 3 games), but Sharktail holds the record for most goals shipped per game (11 goals from 2 games, or 5.5 goal per game). There are 7 teams who have yet to concede a single goal, with Banija of Group 6 and West Pocono of Group 4 the only teams who conceded none out of 3 games. How impressive is not conceding? Just look at how many goals were scored on average. Out of 270 games played thus far, a total of 1073 goals were scored, which translates into 3.97 goals scored per game. Now you know that teams in the multiverse love to score and score.

[Ko-oren]

Ko-oren - Tequilo

Teixidó; Minha, Apeiztegui, Huracán, Chicchan; Callañuapa; Artechevarria, Tafalla, Tutayan; Gorostola, Tlacolotl

Cholmondeley; Hellegeland, Van Schelven, Lampshire, Mizuno, Basquez; Yokota, Janoreirinthen, Longchambon; Vallotton, Turner

Tlacolotl, Cora, and Artechevarria had found the net for Tequilo against Atheist Democratic Freehold, an opponent the Dragonflies had yet to face. In the end, despite a half time lead and three goals, the match ended in a 3-3 tie. Tequilo had a fragile enough defence, it seemed, but it's worrying how easily they score as well. From those three goal scorers, two were in the starting XI versus the Dragonflies. Ko-oren, meanwhile, slipped up at home at the start of the campaign but then beat Indusse. The second home game was a place to retake the initiative, defend the castle, and start working on the way to first or second place.

Preparing for the 'marquee' matchup against us, Tequilo substituted Cora out for Gorostola. Minha wasn't the first choice leftback, but will have to make due after injury trouble at the position. This knowledge was handily used by Juliasterinthen and the rest of the staff. The weakest link has been found, the assignment now is to exploit it. The other reconnaisance missions yielded nothing with such storied players as Pinto, Tün, Toran, and Bienvenida all not listed on the team sheet. Anyhow, with Van Schelven personally guarding Tlacolotl to make sure he couldn't do anything and the attack focused on forcing the ball to Minha and then piling on the pressure, the Ko-orenite gameplan was set and that was it.

However, it wasn't.

Martí had some tricks up his sleeve, which means, he had his midfield constructed very well. Between Callañuapa and Tafalla, there was always an outlet for the defence, and the four-man midfield meant that there was always numerical advantage up to the imaginary Ko-orenite 30 metre line. Adventurous and indomitable, the Pitxileros managed to keep the Dragonflies out despite very decent streaks of possession for the Ko-orenites at times. Ko-oren didn't exactly play bad, or uninspired, but Tequilo sank in their teeth and didn't let go. It's been a while since Ko-oren was taken aback and looked so poorly prepared, Tequilo playing with a flair that the Dragonflies haven't had in the last century of organised football. Of course, the idea behind the Dragonflies isn't flair. Instead it's ...

It's ...

Wait, I got this. The Ko-orenite gameplan...

Well, it's easy. The gameplan is just not to concede, score a single goal, win everything 1-0. I mean, that's clear as day. But the idea behind it... well, it's winning, of course.

Beyond that, right...

But I mean, flair, not so much. Uh, a never-say-die attitude? No, we're rather world's most arrogant bus station. But again, that's our strategy. That's what we do on the field. What is our vision for the sport? For our team? For which players will be in green and blue in the next 10 or 20 years?

Who are we?

---

NS World Cup Fantasy Qualification

Standings after MD3

KitKat [OME]	109
South Newlandia	98
T. Septentrionale	97
Cassadaigua	87
Filindostan	86

---

Diversity. Strategy. Yeah, those are adjectives describing the team, sure. The players speak different languages and are always well prepared for their job that day. But individually, who are these guys? Collectively, what is their personality?

Anyway, Tequilo scored a single goal after 32 minutes, which they managed to defend until the end. At one win and two losses, against much worse opponents, the questions about Juliasterinthen's longevity arise once again. The national team has been better than ever, or at least, it should, after an AOCAF win and two consecutive World Cup appearances. Keeping Juliasterinthen at least guarantees us decent regional showings and the occasional World Cup qualification - but what can take us further. Maybe we shouldn't focus on results for a little. Maybe we need to figure out what we are, what makes us, and maybe then we can leverage that into a new team.

This is going to be a long campaign. Our biggest personality trait is that we're blue and green. This is going to be a long campaign. Colours aren't a personality trait. Yes they are. This is going to be a long campaign. Our second biggest personality trait is that we defend. This is going to be a long campaign. Defence isn't a personality trait. Yes it is. This is going to be a long campaign. This is going to be a long campaign.

This is going. To. be
a

long
Campaign.

[The Sarian]

De Telegraaf Sport presents...

ON LEFT FLANK
The Rolling Football Blog

The Sarian throw away three goal lead: three thoughts
Stefan Struik, Football Writer

They went three goals up...
For sixty minutes, The Sarian actually looked good. Or at least, like a reasonable team playing an unranked opponent. The midfield particularly impressed - arranging themselves almost diagonally, they dominated possession and were the backbone of the team. This might sound like just describing the role of a midfield in the game of football, but after the terrible performances of late it was something on note. Mohammad Islam, in particular, impressed. Finding space in front of the defense, his killer instincts provided the assist for both of Lach Houten's goals. The first, after just twelve minutes, was a beautiful, looping pass which the striker just one touch to convert past the net. The second was a clever cut-back. Jodi Lauri had played a great through-ball which had put Islam in on the box, but the angle was tight. Instead of risking it, the cut-back left Houten with an empty net from which to double the Bustard's lead. Finally, Islam got his own name on the scoresheet: an effort from distance after fifty-six minutes. Unlike most long-shots, this travelled menacingly along the ground - finding its way into the bottom left hand corner before Joshua Li in the The Jovanic goal knew how to react.

...and threw it all away.
And then The Sarian decided that the game was over. It wasn't. They should have been dispossessed of this fact when The Jovanic pulled one back just three minutes after Islam's goal. Thomas Behine used his pace to his considerable advantage and flew easily past Ceutiz Maazden before cutting and and hitting past Oodel Duotzin. That Duotzin, widely revered as an almost legendary keeper amongst some Saari fans, was unable to command his box was cause for concern. That he gifted The Jovanic a second goal just six minutes after their first with a goal kick is another matter altogether. It's almost indescribable. The man whose metal had led De Commons to three consecutive LegaSaari titles sending the ball straight to the feet of Ianu Fathe. No-one had a chance to react before the visitors were just one goal behind. And still The Sarian didn't notice the danger. They almost deserved it when Raye Eng towered above the usually omnipresent Jaxon Pieurz to level the scores with five minutes left on the clock. The marking was terrible. Duotzin had no control of his box and The Sarian players looked like all the colour had drained out of their faces.

The boos rang out
This is only the second home game The Sarian have played outside the capital (they have both ended in draws), so it might not be the best measure, but no-one expected the boos. Yes, the crowd in De Commons will always be less polite than their capital equivalents - the LegaSaari has shown that - but no-one expected that to turn against The Sarian. The banging of feet on the tunnel as players walked out, the spectators being so fucking close to the ground. That's peak home advantage. Yet the national team, comprised largely of players who play in De Volkenstadion for their club, couldn't live up to the billing. Indeed, the two players who thrived - Mohammad Islam and Lach Houten play for Bondstad Treason and CF Bondstad respectively. It's almost unimaginable for the hyper-patriotic, Florican voting De Commons to turn on the team like this. And they did. The atmosphere and discourse around the National Team is getting ugly and something needs to change soon. Miccal Druiven getting off with a slapped wrist after his tirade doesn't help matters. To make things worse, the run of easier games is coming to an end. How will this tinderbox of an atmosphere cope if The Sarian go potentially nine games without a win until their next 'easy' game away at 330th ranked Sabalonia? Things need to change, but your guess is as good as mine as to how that can happen.

The Sarian line-up versus Wanarpu(3-5-1-1): Lex Horn / Zej Zamuuol, Jaxon Pieuz, Criuzi Siwaad / Wictor Buul, Hugo Sint Lo, Luc Bisop, Jodi Lauri, Maeri Beniut / Mohammad Islam / Lach Houten

[Vdara]

PAAAAAAARTY TIME!

Vdara 2-1 Nooooooooooooooo

The dressing room is as loud as ever. Vdara’s first win of the tournament. Where could they go from this? The whole squad is there, having a mini-party before the big party. However, a notable absence is Valentinos Giannakos, who will not be available til the game against Equestria due to a straight red card. As for now, the players are seeing Væñøœrëñbérghüïś in a good mood for perhaps the first ever time.

“I f**king knew it, lads! I knew yous could f**king do it! A f**king win, finally! I don’t normally say this to you guys, but I’m f**king proud of every single f**king one of yous. You guys are the reason I get up in the morning. Well, you guys and my lovely, lovely wife. I should bring her to meet you guys one day, she’s f**king sexy. Ginger hair and all, y’know? Anyhow, since yous have got a win, I think it’s time to f**king CELEBRATE! Congratulations to Galanatos as well, the new boy got an absolute stunner on his debut, a volley from range!”

Galanatos got up from where he was sitting and took a bow, while other players were clapping for him.

”Thank you, thank you everyone! I dedicate that goal to the fans, they don’t see enough goodness from us as it is.”

Væñøœrëñbérghüïś took a swig of his juice and started speaking again.

“That’s mighty honourable of you, Nestoras. Anyhow, do you f**kers wanna party? I am in the fucking MOOD to party and none of yous can stop me! If you can’t beat me, join me! My wife’s on a business trip and I’ve got a big f**king house, y’know? Lots of alcohol too! If you wanna join me, say YEAH!”

To the surprise of Væñøœrëñbérghüïś, almost everyone said yeah.

”Let’s fucking go, then! Just follow me on the road to my house, I’m the one in the dark blue sports car!”

From then on, what can only be described as as the most scandalous event in Vdaran football occurred. Was anybody punished? Was anybody injured? Were there prostitutes? Pfffft, no, no and no. It was scandalous because the manager gave permission for the whole squad to have a party at HIS house after one single win. If there was a big party after one win, how much bigger could it get after two? Well, find out today to see if Vdara can beat out-of-form HUElavia!

[Sharktail]

Second lose for Sharktail as losing to Khazajamal in home,this team still not gained any point.From two game,this team score 7 goal and concede 11 goal in just two game.It really a bad start for Maxter as he just gained tge NO 1 position.His mistake and miscommunication with the defender ruined his career a bit.

Maxter goes to manager office after been called by Sahami.He ready to hear anything from Sahami.Maxyer know he not performing well in the first two game so if he being dropped in the next game is natural.He enter Sahami office.

Maxter(M):Hello coach,can i come in?

Sahami(S):Oh hello maxter,come.

Maxter enter the room and take a sit in front of Sahami.He try to remain calm but he is a bit nervous.He dont care if he being dropped in the next game or whatsever except being dropped permanently from the tournament.He know after two match he playing,manager and staff have received a lot of comment to drop him.He make a silly mistake like not being in the right position when the opponet shot that gave them easy goal.He wake up from his imagination after Sahami slap his hand.

S:Hey are you okay?

M:I 'm okay coach.

S:Okay good.So i have a few question for you.What do you think about the past 2 match?

M:gulp.....I think they are strong opponet sir.

S:No i mean what do you think about your performance in all 2 match so far.

M:I dont know...

S:Let me straight forward.You performance is bad,you know its bad.Do you understand what i mean?

M:I unsderstand sir but...

S:You move out to early,you not be in the good position to watch and catch the ball.You even miss to punch the ball from corner kick.How can i descrube it.I give you the starting position cause you really good and performing well in nation league but now you not even close to the national team standard.If you keep performing bad,not just i will drop you from matchday squad but also from the roster,remember that.

M:Yes sir.

S:You will be dropped from the next few match.You will not in 18 md squad.You will stay here when squad fly to Darkmania for match 3.Just be glad i still keep you on the roster.

M:Yes sir.

S:You can go now.Remember come to training even you are not playing and training when we having a match.Watch back you played in the past match and know you weakness.You can go now.

M:Yes sir,thank you sir.

Maxter out from the room.It nerve wreaking.It like he almost lost way to breath.But he still glad to remain in the squad.He leaves the offive and go to his car.While walking to there car,his phone on and show some pop up new."Second lose for Sharktail NT","Maxter doesnt suit the national team","Fans want change in squad","11 goal concede in two game,who's to blame".He cannot read it anymore.He off the phone power.He get into the car and leave the NT training complex.

---

Sharktail NT will back in action with the third match against Darkmania.They will play as away side.Sharktail NT searching for the first win in this world cup qualifying campaign.Will they gained the first win,or share 1 point with Darkmani or will they lose streak 3 time.Tommorrow the the tough match but important for Shaktail NT.

Key player.
Gaby and Shakir.
This duo will become a weapon and main part of Sahami plan to win against Darkmaina.Gaby have scored 3 goal while Shakir with two goal.Their sharpness in front of the goal will become a treat for Darkmaina.

[Nephara]

Nephara 2 - 0 Great Lausitz
(4-4-2) 20 - Provost; 18 - Longship (2 - Sanger 63'), 5 - Verlander, 22 - Lockheed, 3 - Close (c, 19 - Katarec 77'); 7 - Kuepper (vc), 15 - Rauch, 21 - Moxham (8 - Chalk 55'), 16 - Deventer; 14 - Tzorvas, 23 - Lovelace
Goals: Tzorvas 13', Kuepper 75'

THE HERALD
HISTORY OF THE PREMIERSHIP PART 2: THE WILDERNESS
Leonora Fischer

It is the closing period of the season, and the Moths lead 2-1 at the Barbarossa. Athletic's title defence has been a disastrous failure, and they languish midtable; they will almost lose as many games as they will draw. Teenage midfielder Yupanqui Sarracena, a rare bright spot on the season, is tackled hard by Richard of France. It should surely be a free kick, but it isn't given. The Rams, caught midway between remonstrating and actually defending, are left off-guard when Chalker plays Asquith down the left with the loose ball, and young firebrand striker Rook Cathar steams in at the last second to ram home a cutback to seemingly nobody. He runs in front of the home fans where they are thickest, and there is a precise moment the camera shows on his face where he realises the crowd are going to run back at him.

It had all started so well, with foundations formed that would define the era and the duumvirate of Brinemouth and AFC Treason. Brinemouth had a relatively quiet window, but Larissa Garrotte took over the reins and would instill the patient possession game that had punched well above its weight in Cranequin. Future Buyan and Nephara manager Reinhard Shale joined Treason from Stahlburg Rovers, bringing Catheline Harper with him; in addition, the Stags snapped up Tosca Marlowe, the playmaker Josephus Flaccus and strike partners Cheney Bittencourt and Elior Schneider. All would stamp out their legend, but it would take time to gel.

Surprisingly, North Laithland would ultimately win the league on the back of Damien Arragne, the Sicoutian striker a record signing for the league, but be made to sweat for it. Not the title itself, though they had to wait until a 2-0 win over Parrhesia United on the last day to confirm it - this itself was cause for controversy, with the Saints resting most of their best players for the coming Cup final which they ultimately won - but with UICA ultimately placing a two-year ban on the Premiership's involvement, fairly quickly reduced to one on appeal. The primary reason was the recurrent crowd and street violence, though there were a number of minor offences such as inadequate corporate facilities, overly permissive refereeing and failure to serve UICA officials their alloted two courses of lobster. It meant the Spiders would miss out on their first UICA experience, and local fans still believe it put a curse on the club as a whole, dooming them to mediocrity until fairly recently. Damningly, it also meant a dead zone in Nephara's coefficient for five long years.

Perhaps that somewhat overshadowed the league's activity in the transfer window, most remarkable for Audioslavia defender Jack Walker being signed for a really nice rock that Daniel Brunet had found in his garden. He put the final piece in the strongest defensive line the league had ever seen, and Chardonnay Rangers winger Eloise Parrish added more service for the lethal Čalrek. Brinemouth, for their part, had never quite successfully converted possession dominance into goal threat. Mild-mannered Darek Norgen arrived from Valhallan yo-yo club FK Viipuri 56 to change that forever. The Polar league was the strongest in the world at the time, and the best Premiership players - hard man Uli Alsatian and the aforementioned Rook Cathar, this window - would seek to arrive there. Norgen, on the other hand, went from mediocre at that level to a merciless destroyer of worlds in Nephara.

North Laithland did not defend their title, or really come close. They did, however, set a record victory by slaughtering Chenworth Harriers 9-2 a couple weeks into the season. From the outset, however, it was clear that Stahlburg City and Treason would be contesting the sharp end of the table, powerful squads unstretched by international competition. The Smiths, in the penultimate matchday, hosted the Stags. The game is ill-tempered, scoreless, short on chances and excitement. 83 minutes in, neither goalkeeper has had much to do. William Čalrek goes in hard and late 'pressing' Treason winger Cheney Portsmouth, who springs back to his feet, goes chest-to-chest with him, whispers something in his ear. It is still in dispute what was said. Čalrek, naturally, headbutted Portsmouth full in the face. Shorn of their best striker, they could still close the title with a win against South Laithland on the last day... but a defence that remains the record-holders for fewest goals conceded lost 3-1, closing out a run of one win from their last five. Treason narrowly defeated AFC Integabad, last of the foreign clubs and soon to fold completely, and claimed their title. Stahlburg City have never forgiven them, or recovered their stature.

Treason had not only claimed the title, but made a run to the semifinals of the Globe Cup. Despite the gap in the league's history, this run finally gave Nephara its second Champions Cup place. Brinemouth looked ready to capitalise, without UICA football as a distraction. At the halfway point of the season, Treason, Stahlburg City and Brinemouth were deadlocked on 48 points, with the Chariots just a point off the pace. Brinemouth secured the title with a game to spare, and though for a second consecutive season Norgen ended a goal shy of the Iron Boot it was clear he was the final piece of the puzzle, with Player of the Year Kunibert Mathias - an intriguing figure who made 24 caps for Nephara after defecting from Felix during its Corvidae rule, before returning to Felix after its liberation - supplying the bullets. Sabrefell Athletic, humiliatingly irrelevant, finished 17th. Their best defender, Arron Stewart, would refuse to sign an extension and join Brinemouth after the season. Rochford, at the very bottom of the table, repeated their earlier feet, pulling their feet out of the fire with three wins from their last seven games to end up on... four wins.

Stewart was Brinemouth's only signing of the off-season, and similarly, Asbjorn Tachibana on a free was Treason's only acquisition. The biggest signing in terms of profile was former Tern Vadim Illich-Svitych turning out for South Laithland. Acquiring a Valhallan international, even a washed-up striker who was notoriously un-prolific, was a huge deal for the league. Up front with another towering hulk in Buyan international Elmo Havelund, South Laithland started the season incredibly slowly but would ultimately win the Cup, Havelund scoring the only goal against Goodfeather to outshine his countryman, Andrey Rettinger. South Laithland and Goodfeather are just two sides who were considered remarkably consistent back in the day, before assuming their current yo-yo status. The season was also notable for the debut of Ritter Town, probably the smallest side to have played in the Premiership by any objective measure. With young future Cormorants in coltish striker Felix Keller and taciturn defender Esther Cardiff, the Stallions defied the odds to survive, albeit no side had ever survived with as few as 46 points before.

At the business ends of the table, Southfell's relegation was a serious talking point. While not exactly a power, the Tanners had become a standard name to see floating around upper midtable, and so their sudden sinking like a stone took everyone by surprise. But their traditional flowing attack had been sacrificed to the route-one brutalist altar of Clint Hemingway, a failed Brenecia manager - the formula worked at first, but capsized this season. It seemed almost a parable when compared to Brinemouth, who became the first club since AFC Treason to defend their title and the first of any club to break the hundred-goal mark. Spearhead Darek Norgen, at last, won the Iron Boot, with the inexorable supply line of Mathias and Watt simply burying sides who could barely lay a glove in response. Curiously, the Chariots were second. They'd hovered around the UICA places for the past few years, but here, they managed to take the other CC place thanks in large part to fortune. Hot prospect Rutger Locke had been picked up by Royal Rumiatzi and then released following the league's withdrawal from UICA.

The Chariots picked him up on a free, promptly raced up the league (despite conceding just one goal fewer than aforementioned seven-win Southfell), Locke got Player of the Year honours before being snapped up for twenty-five million pounds by Tannenberg FC. He became the most expensive Nephar in history, eclipsing Cheney Bittencourt's sale for 22 million to Fontvielle Impact only days before - and Locke's move, it has to be said, was the happier of the two. For all that, it was only the second-most significant transfer of the off-season, because AFC Treason had just made the most earth-shattering deal in the history of the league.

These would become the years of Roque Acosta.

NEPHARAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 2
Goalkeepers: 1 - Hesterine Mercator (Eastweald, COS), 12 - Acatha Feldman (AFC Corvistone), 20 - Fasolt Senninger (Creed United)
Defenders: 2 - Rovena Stride (AFC Treason), 3 - Marcin Close (Brinemouth, c), 5 - Roxelana Thorn (Revolutionaries, EUR), 6 - Ilyana Brosch (Brinemouth), 18 - Valeri Longship (Crisisbless), 19 - Sander Katarec (Starling), 22 - Gabriel Lockheed (AFC Treason)
Midfielders: 4 - Tawny Shone (Sabrefell Moths), 7 - Marica Kuepper (Jungle Strike, VIL), 8 - Malachi Chalk (Falourr, EUR), 11 - Rowena Strongbow (Directus, EUR), 13 - Monako Saroszi (Ulsa, EUR), 15 - Mercurio Kastriot (Crisisbless), 16 - Morena Deventer (Brinemouth), 21 - Chimera Moxham (Crawford City FC, COS)
Forwards: 9 - Kurtis Bastable (Ulsa, EUR), 10 - Aristide Metzger (AFC Treason), 14 - Arista Tzorvas (CA Paulinthal, PAS), 17 - Voska Avetisyan (Cornellians, SCT), 23 - Konrad Lovelace (Revolutionaries, EUR)

SCHEDULE
Welzat 0 - 3 Nephara
[Bye]
Nephara 2 - 0 Great Lausitz @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
Huayramarca vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Sarzonia @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Competitive Solitaire vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. South Charlia @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Darmen vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Aimena @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
Jeruselem vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Delaclava @ The Gauntlet (Treason)
Acronius vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Simpralia @ The Iron Hill (Vermillion)
Nephara vs. Welzat @ Ebony Lane (Cranequin)
[Bye]
Great Lausitz vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Huayramarca @ Phoenix Rise (Corvistone)
Sarzonia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Competitive Solitaire @ Ludd's Hammer (Stahlburg)
South Charlia vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Darmen @ Farham Arena (Sabrefell)
Aimena vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Jeruselem @ Eagle's Club (Brinemouth)
Delaclava vs. Nephara
Nephara vs. Acronius @ Godswatch (Crisisbless)
Simpralia vs. Nephara

[HUElavia]

HUElavia falls flat with B-Team in a Disappointing Loss

South Concepthuania 3–2 HUElavia
(REDACTED 18' 39', REDACTED 78' | Almeida 25', Villca 70')

HUElavia came into Matchday 3 looking to extend their good run of wins after a close home opener against Ancherion. This time, Los Amarillos traveled to South Concepthuania, looking to get another win, which they felt very confident to obtain. So confident, that Coach Mendieta-Martinez felt that the B-Team was appropriate for the match. On the other side, South Concepthuania fielded their best XI, in front of a sellout crowd. HUElavia used their away alternative for the match, which made its uniform debut. Once again, a sizable amount of HUElavians traveled to watch the team play.

The match kicked off and both teams played cautious to each other. Passes were made and some shots were taken, but were saved by either REDACTED or Vallares. The opening goal would come in the 18th minute when Acosta fouled REDACTED to give a free-kick 18 yards away from the goal. REDACTED took the kick and it curved over the wall to get past Vallares to make it 1-0. The crowd celebrated while Los Amarillos were shocked by the goal. Although, this goal would be short lived, as HUElavia went on the attack and the equalizer would fall in the 25th minute, when a cross by Sissoko met the head of Almeida, who headed it past REDACTED to tie the match at 1-1. The crowd was silenced, while the sizable portion of HUElavians celebrated the goal while Almeida celebrated with his teammates. Despite the goal, South Concepthuania went on the attack and really got under the skin of HUElavia, as they would take the lead once again in the 39th minute, when a pass by REDACTED met the head of REDACTED, who headed it past a diving Vallares to make it 2-1. The crowd went crazy and HUElavia felt furious from the goal, going on the attack once kickoff resumed, but to no avail with shots being saved by REDACTED. The first half ended 2-1.

The second half kicked off, and HUElavia was playing fully on the attack for the vast majority of the half. Although the shots were saved by REDACTED or blocked by one of the defenders. The tying goal would come in the 70th minute, when a cross by Salgado met the chest of Villca, who chested the ball down to the ground and blasted it past REDACTED to make it 2-2. Villca celebrated with the team while the HUElavian fans celebrated with joy. Although, this joy and false sense of security was short lived, as a corner in the 78th minute was taken by REDACTED, where it landed on the head of REDACTED, who put it into the goal past Vallares to make it 3-2. REDACTED was mobbed by their teammates while Los Amarillos were shocked of going down for a 3rd time. They went on the attack once again for the rest of the match, putting in the substitutes of Hamada, Navarro, and Rossi in order to tie the match, but it was to no avail, as the referee blew the whistle after 4 minutes of additional time, ending the game at 3-2.

With the loss and both Equestria's and Xanneria's victories, HUElavia falls to 3rd Place, just 3 points off from both teams in the Top 2. HUElavia's next match will be against Vdara, which will be played at Estadio Verde in Gikoji, another recently built and opened stadium that will be blessed by the appearance of the National Football Team. HUElavia is in a "must-win" situation in order to avoid falling behind both Equestria and Xanneria, as they will use their best XI for the match. The regular Home uniform will be used for the match, meaning the Home Alternative will debut in Matchday 6. All of the country has hopes that the team will pick themselves up after this hiccup, and there is still confidence that the team can still qualify to the World Cup, especially since we're still in the early stages of the Qualifiers.

FORCA HUELAVIA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Electrum]

The Turnip: We declare an unholy crusade!
by Billiam Maskey, blogger

As the chief-editor-in-chief of The Turnip, the standard bearer of the best news in the multiverse, I have a few things we have to say on the record.

A rival publication from Omerica has recently caught our attention. The proscribed, fraudulent, corrupt and dishonest publication The Beet has been profiting off their association with The Turnip. For centuries, we have cornered the market for root-vegetable related media, and now the upstart editors of The Beet have come waltzing in and are making a mockery of us with their brand of news media. That really rustles my kevins.

For years, scientists have debated which root vegetable is the best, and the answer is unequivocal - The Turnip. Quite simply, beets are far more fattening than turnips for many reasons, with the main reason being beets contain more calories per 100g: 43 kcal to 20 kcal. Meanwhile, turnips contain less carbohydrates and more dietary fibre compared to beets, making you feel fuller for longer, and making you less likely to stack on the pounds. Also, beets provide only 27% of the recommended daily intake of folate, compared to 30% for turnips. Turnips provide far more vitamins than the average beet per 100g - including Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, C, E and K. Simply put, the turnip is better than the beet in terms of nutritional value. Because of these reasons, there's little wonder why the scientific name for the beet is the Beta vulgaris. We rest our case. Case closed.

Case reopened. People of The Beet have ate The Turnip once before. A previous Turnip publication has once tricked the entire nation which sprouted The Beet. Indeed, the hashtag #StupidTurnip became trending across the country after a Turnip article went viral. Meanwhile, we have never ate the beet, nor would we ever eat a beet in a million years, because if you do, it just stains your shirt red and then you have to bring it to the wash, it's really too much of a hassle. You've never heard of someone needing to wash out a turnip stain before, but we bet your bottom dollar you've heard of at least one person needing to wash out a beet stain.

We call on the multiverse to support The Turnip in our holy crusade against The Beet. We must destroy all beets, and all beet-related vegetables including the sickening shocking spinach and the chewy, stomach-churning Casaran chard. As many of our readers are aware, we have defeated a rival publication previously: the Dreamed Realm publication called The Mammoth Compendium of World Cup Lies during the glorious World Cup 78. In fact, our readers will know that our monumental defeat of the Mammoth Compendium was the main reason that Electrum defeated Eura in that World Cup Final. By challenging the Mammoth Compendium to a naked wrestling fight, and winning by sacrificing myself to the cloud of gas that turns people inside out that they had sent, we took the holy high ground. The Electrumite team, impressed by my martyrdom subsequently defeated Eura. That victory marked my return from the dead, thanks to the four Turnip Gods. We see there are similar parallels in this situation right now. Should our holy crusade against the dastardly Beet be successful, we will surely qualify the Electrumite national football team into the World Cup Proper. The Turnip Gods will will it.

Breaking News

If you aren't inspired by that call to action, you may want to reconsider. We have heard news of the crazy Beet-Barsanuphius the Bold axis forming against the Cocoa-bo drink. We wholeheartedly support athletes' rights to drug up and use as many performance-enhancing stimulants as possible, including Cocoa-bo. It is just a case of Cocoa-bo FOMO, imo. They probably don't even know the smell of a freshly boiled turnip being dipped into a cup of Cocoa-bo in the morning. For those who have not tried it, it is a known aphrodisiac, and it smells like turnips dipped in chocolate. Let's just say when you're in the bedroom, everyone's burps smell like chocolate turnips. We think you get the gist of it.

We stand on the side of Turori on this matter, and we look forward with working with them in promoting the many performance enhancing benefits of the Cocoa-bo. And, if those guys at Cocoa-Bo are reading - we wouldn't mind a sponsorship or an advertisement deal coming over here. We desperately need it.

The Casaran chard is also known as the Swiss chard.

[Cassadaigua]

Getting To Know The Royal Family: Queen Cassie II
by Hannah McCarthy, Concord Heights Historian

In this edition of the series, we are going to take a look at the current leader of Cassadaigua, Queen Cassie II. Moving into the present day situation does not mean that we will not have more past leaders to talk about, but she is the logical person to follow Princess Caitlyn as she was the second oldest child of Queen Courtney I’s five children. Most of us have formed our opinions of the Queen right now as she governs the land, and generally the opinion of her is favorable. Those who disapprove of Queen Cassie II fall into the same category, typically: women who do not like the progressive stance that the Queen has taken towards men’s rights. There will be some exceptions to that, but eventually the story of Queen Cassie II’s legacy will be highlighted by what she has done for men.

Growing up, Cassie II never expected to be the Queen of the nation. As the second person in line, she knew that it could be a possibility, but her older sister, Caitlyn was always going to be ahead of her. Cassie had a good relationship with her sister, who was older then her by four years. Caitlyn was always a bossy one, but aren’t all older sisters like that? Going into the same school system that Caitlyn would, Cassie’s teachers were often impressed by how much mature Cassie seemed to be, then Caitlyn. She got along with everyone, no matter what their upbringing was. Rebecca Scuderi, Cassie’s fifth grade teacher told a reporter years ago that, “I was honored to have the opportunity to teach both Caitlyn and Cassie. With Caitlyn, there was always a sense of arrogance about her. She expected to be Queen, and while I never was involved with any of the other incidents that would be reported about her, she approached certain people with a sense of superiority over them. Cassie was never like that, she talked to every single kid in the class and wanted to make friends with them. If she overheard anyone being mean towards another student, she would be the first one to stand up for them. The nation is in much better hands with her on the throne.” Cassie II was in Mrs Scuderi’s class at the time of the first red flag incident concerning Caitlyn I occurred when Caitlyn was in a freshman in high school. “Cassie’s reaction to what her sister did was pretty telling. She was really taken aback by it and told a lot of people in the class that she would never do such a mean thing. I don’t think anyone was really worried that she was would, but she was disappointed, though in a sense, not surprised.”

Cassie II continued to show a great heart, and in eighth grade she organized a clothing drive to help the less fortunate in Concord Heights. She would have no shortage of elegant attire, and her classmates who attended the same elite private school system for the very wealthy had plenty of clothing that they could spare as well. The clothing drive was held for the less fortunate in Concord Heights, and received a lot of positive press. This clothing drive would become an annual tradition right at the start of every school year, and still occurs today. In high school, Cassie II would only play one sport, baseball. She was not very good at it, and would have a minor role on the team. She liked sports a lot, but was just not that great at them, and had more of an interest in other things. Cassie II was part of the debate club and would become the captain of it, not because she was second in line to be the Queen, but because she was knowledgeable about almost every possible topic. Cassie II took her studies very seriously, and this would rub off on a lot of her friends and classmates who used her as their role model. At no time did she feel like anyone wanted to use her because of her status in the Palace. Eventually, Cassie II graduated as the valedictorian of her class, and chose to go to the University of Concord Heights instead of Concord Heights Beauty School, which is where most members of the royal family had chosen to go.

At the University of Concord Heights, Cassie II continued to excel as a student. At this point, some of the mischief that her older sister was getting into was more commonly known, and many were hoping that something would happen to get Cassie II ahead of Caitlyn. Her professors in school were impressed by her commitment to learning. Melissa Bernhardt, a Professor of Rushmori Studies at UCH told us, “You will meet many students who are greatly committed to their studies at a level to where they tune out pretty much every possible distraction that can exist on a college campus. Cassie II was one of those kids, and it was very admirable to me, knowing that she was second in line to become the Queen. If everyone did not already know that just by name and face recognition, you would never have known otherwise. At no point did she use her status to try and get any kind of special treatment, whether in the classroom, or socially from what I saw.” As a junior at UCH, Princess Cassie II met a man named Charles, someone who had a similar high commitment to his studies, and would be the person that she would ultimately marry. Upon graduation with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Cassie II was highly regarded by everyone she came across.

After graduating, Queen Courtney I assigned Princess Cassie II to govern the central area near Grande Mountain. There was more then met the eye to this decision, because Cassie II was always seeming interested in the plight of men as she grew up and improving their status within the country, and there was no better place then Grande Mountain for her to see this first hand. Protests organized by Male Equality Now (MEN) were still strongest in Grande Mountain, but members of that organization considered it a positive step when Princess Cassie II was assigned the region, knowing that the Princess cared greatly about their plight. There is no question that this made Cassie II a better person, but this would only last for four years, until she was 25.

At that time, Caitlyn I’s incident with the teacher occurred in South Granby. When it occurred, Cassie II expressed her disappointment with her sister in a public manner, and offered her support towards the teacher in question. Within days, Courtney I asked Cassie II to return to Concord Heights, as it became obvious that Caitlyn I was going to serve jail time, something in which Courtney I was not going to assert any of her authority over, to the chagrin of Caitlyn I. They would discuss the likely declaration of the transition towards Cassie II, but in order for Courtney I to do this legally, there had to be an official conviction. There would be, and almost immediately it was declared that Cassie II would be next in line to become the Queen of Cassadaigua. This was good news to many, and while pretty much everyone empathized with the situation of the teacher, many Cassadagans quietly saw that incident as a blessing in disguise, because had it not happened, there would not have been a legal way to move Cassie II ahead of her sister. This move meant that Cassie II would remain in Concord Heights instead of heading back to Grande Mountain.

At 28 and three years after being declared next in line, Cassie II and Charles got married in an extravagant ceremony in Concord Heights. They had dated for eight years, making many wonder when they eventually would get married, and the answers would always be that they would, and were not going to rush anything. Four years later, Cassie II gave birth to her first child, Cassandra. It would be the first of four children that the couple would have. Chelsea was born two years after Cassandra, and it was then three more years to Caspian, and one more to Chester. Some wondered why the couple did not have a child sooner, but like their waiting to get married, the answer was that they did not want to rush anything. Cassandra, or likely Cassie III eventually (though she currently still insists that she will want to remain being called Cassandra) is the next in line to throne as seen by the Royal Palace. However, there is likely a dispute in the making by the first born child of Caitlyn I, Princess Brianna, that is her, and not Cassie III that is next in line to the throne due to the fact that she should not be punished for her mother’s actions, but most importantly to the meat of this argument is that Brianna was born prior to Queen Courtney I’s declaration of moving Cassie II ahead of Caitlyn I due to the arrest of Caitlyn I. Presently, Cassie II is 61, and in good overall health, so right now, this is not a serious matter to address, but something that will be more of an issue in the future.

Cassie II officially became the Queen of the nation at 41 years of age in royal handover of the crown from her mother, Queen Courtney I. Like had occurred with Queen Cassie I and Courtney I, it was an arranged coronation while Courtney I was still alive, and Cassie II was able to learn from her mother. In the now twenty years in which the Queen has reigned, she is very highly regarded and has made many friends of international leaders throughout the world. She will frequently travel to other nations for all sorts of events, whether political or economic in nature, or to sporting events.

Our next look in this series will be focused on King Charles. What was it like for a regular man growing up in Cassadaigua that would eventually fall in love with the future Queen? We’ll get to that next, but in the meantime feel free to check out Chelsea Dufresne’ coverage of Cassadaigua’s 2-0 win over Olastor in World Cup qualifying action on our website. It was a great game for Meghan Wolcott, who scored both of the Fillies goals, coming in the 16th and the 40th minutes. Cassadaigua is now 3-0-0 in the group and travels to Patistan next.

[Brenecia]

Brenecia 5 - 2 Andromeda Island Group
(4-3-3) 12 - Cairncross; 2 - Shepherd, 5 - Horgan, 22 - Leadbetter, 19 - Prentice (3 - Watermark 67'); 8 - Matheson (14 - Caitiff 67'), 4 - Townsend, 13 - Wheeler; 15 - Speaker, 17 - Lindauer, 16 - Fletcher
Goals: Speaker 28', Lindauer 33' 78', Matheson 60', Wheeler 90+1'

Barrett Kerr took the news of Bardsley's ascension well. That is to say, after a brief flirtation with the idea of shooting himself - doing the honourable thing, as it were - he packed his bags, got his team to shred every file they could get their hands on, set the records office on fire and ran for it.
He would not get far. He clambered into a white limousine, knew something was wrong as soon as he took a seat and couldn't do anything about it, since the garrotte was already around his throat. A Marcher voice whispered something into his ears as he thrashed, but he'd never get the chance to figure out what she was saying.
His body was found in a river the next day. It made Page 4. His clandestine profile and obscure role within the Ward government - nominally still in charge, at the time, albeit with dead-man-walking status - meant he commanded little attention relative to the speculation around what exactly Bardsley would do.

It was no easy thing when you were a conventional social democrat taking over the seat of a crazed, despotic warlord. One had a short window to use their position for unilateral decision-making before the expectation to reduce one's power became overpowering.
Quickly, she and her cabinet ran into an issue; Brenecia was broke as fuck.
Conversations with various aides - holdovers from the prior regime - revealed that Clarisse Ward pretty much wanted things done, and whatever she wanted done had to be made to happen. Was Brenecia's military in need of rehabilitation? Yes. But her five-year plan - aborted, now, by necessity - to fund it into a legitimate power was unsustainable and, worse, of little practical use. It had come all this way to still probably get rolled by Apox if it came to it, and certainly by Nephara, and absolutely by the Terranean bloc if Nephara tugged on the CRC's sleeve for backup. So the tap had to be shut off, the flow stemmed, and a lot of people with very shiny new guns became very angry.
No matter. She fired anyone who disagreed with her. There was no time for messing around when she had a country to run.
She made surprisingly few public appearances, preferring to work hands-on, only reluctantly delegating and too hesitant to trust anyone tainted by involvement with the prior regime. Taxes were hiked, the royal budget was cut by a third. Traditionalists grumbled, but she could appease people later. She had a slight but present majority, and the minority could fuck themselves. Things had to be done.

In all the excitement, she'd barely even processed that qualifying had begun. How could she? There was no room to breathe.
Still, eventually some aides hustled her into a car and men in shades hustled her to a corporate booth. A little dazed and a lot sleep-deprived, she had to be nudged to wave when the cameras found her.
God. Football, again. Who were they playing? Who was new? A helpful aide had to fill her in. A young thing, who perhaps thought Bardsley was maybe too old for sport, tried to get a little too patronising and got told off sharply for it.
"Lady, I fucking invented the high-pressing 4-3-3 for this team. This is my fucking blueprint." She looked down at the little blue shirts, like ants, beneath. Andromeda pushed forward, and little blue men swarmed them. Andromeda passed sideways, and little blue men swarmed them. Andromeda passed backwards, and only found little blue men swarming forward, passing quickly down the flanks, infiltrating the penalty area. A shot from Speaker thudding into the side netting.
She watched the crowd, hanging on every pass. A crowd expecting goals, flashes of brilliance, entertainment. A crowd accustomed to watching the likes of Lauren Cheney, a world-class winger, and Scathach Wright, the RCU goalkeeper. A crowd watching World champions. Accustomed to success.
Perhaps... she had to smile. Politics be damned. Yes, perhaps this would be her legacy to the nation after all.
The next time the camera swivelled to her, she didn't have to be prodded to wave. The crowd cheered - in unison, no sliver of majority. She allowed herself to bask.

BRENECIAN NATIONAL TEAM SELECTION - FORTNIGHT 2
Goalkeepers: 1 - Cass Farrell (Northern Union), 12 - Opal Cairncross (Marketville, EUR), 20 - Scathach Wright (Raynor City United, VAL)
Defenders: 2 - Caithe Shepherd (Northern Stallions), 3 - Deimne Watermark (Northern Stallions), 5 - Garrett Horgan (Northern Union), 6 - Keane Mathers (Northern Stallions), 18 - Sorcha Lonergan (Northern Union), 19 - Morwen Prentice (Farrenton Athletic, EUR), 22 - Finn Leadbetter (Holdenberg, EUR)
Midfielders: 4 - Finn Townsend (North Hall), 8 - Elysse Matheson (Hornchurch, EUR), 13 - Corby Wheeler (Goldstaff City, COS), 14 - Esther Caitiff (Southern Star), 21 - Riona Parker (Galatica, PAS), 23 - Ronan Fallon (Newrook City, NPH)
Forwards: 7 - Lauren Cheney (Spartangrad, EUR), 9 - Mhacha White (Farrenton Athletic, EUR), 10 - Kara Ciogach (Lajuno, EUR), 11 - Tricia Pace (Northern Union), 15 - Nuada Speaker (North Hall), 16 - Ceridwen Fletcher (Holdenberg, EUR), 17 - Creidne Lindauer (Cazadores Cathair, AUD)

SCHEDULE
Brenecia 2 - 3 Poafmersia
Shokpos 1 - [b]2 Brenecia
Brenecia 5 - 2 Andromeda Island Group
Revatnagar vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Crystalline Caverns
Emastalia vs. Brenecia
[Bye]
Brenecia vs. IA Quebec
Qvardax vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Damukuni
Recuecn vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Grearish Union
Filindostan vs. Brenecia
Poafmersia vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Shokpos
Andromeda Island Group vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Revatnagar
Crystalline Caverns vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Emastalia
[Bye]
IA Quebec vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Qvardax
Damukuni vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Recuecn
Grearish Union vs. Brenecia
Brenecia vs. Filindostan

[Cheergirls]

Meghan Banks went over the response of Sir Barsanuphius the Bold over and over again. He seemed like a nice guy, albeit with a rather intimidating presence about himself. She couldn’t help but think, “is cheerleading really that dangerous?” Growing up, she never had any injuries. Ok, at ten years old, she hurt her ankle pretty bad when she missed a jump. She blamed herself for that, and knew she would get better at her jumps. Three years later, she broke her wrist catching a fall, but blamed herself for that too. “Cheerleading is not dangerous", she thought.

She called up Daniella Catti, one of her best friends on the team to ask her if she ever had any kind of injuries while cheerleading and if she thought it was dangerous. Daniella laughed at the question, “No, cheerleading is not a dangerous sport, that is silly.” Daniella responded. But then Daniella went over her injuries. She broke her ankle when she was twelve, also broke one her wrists when she was thirteen in a mishap that also saw one of her bases fall and hurt her knee. Catti shrugged it off, “It happens in our sport.” Banks and Catti had a normal conversation afterwards. Following that, Meghan called up other members of the team to ask them if they thought cheerleading was dangerous. The answers were all the same, it would start off that it was not dangerous, and then pretty much everyone she talked to has had some sort of injury which they brushed off as being something that happens and were not worried about it.

With everything they talked about in regards to injuries, maybe cheerleading really was safer then playing a man dressed in a full suit of armor. She was not completely convinced by that, though, but thanked Sir Barsanuphius the Bold for his reply. Meghan was confused about the end of that response though when he talked about cheerleading not being morally wholesome. Yeah, she knew those videos existed.

She sighed, and then realized her team needed to get better. This whole team will have cocoabo, yet they are not doing very well right now in their games, so clearly it does not provide an advantage to them.

[TJUN-ia]

In a tournament like the World Cup, you can never know what is about to happen. You can prepare all you like for a game but at the end of the on-field performance counts.

It's a trap that we have fallen for, as the Jags were upset on the road against Porticalia, a nation so unknown that we don't actually know who scored the goal. I know it was in the 12th minute but no one as yet has notified me of who the scorer was.

Questions need to be answered and fast - our next game is very historic. 57th ranked Sajnur will be in Tiankong and will the opponents for the first-ever TJUN-ian involved sporting event held outside of JagBase TJUN-ia. They currently sit 3rd in Group 1 while TJUN-ia finds itself in tied-10th. I know I said that this was the "Marathon Cup" but TJUN-ia needs to find it's feet before we all fall down...

---

SCHEDULE (Updates on stadiums will occur as soon as we get them)
MD1: @Audioslavia (22) - Arena Kirola, Cathair L 1-2 (T-9th)
MD2: vs Euran Oceania Territories (84) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City D 2-2 (T-9th)
MD3: @Porticalia (330) L 0-1 (T-10th)
MD4: vs Sajnur (57) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD5: @Jeckland (UR) - Jecken Stadium, Rack City
MD6: vs Natanians and Nosts (131) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD7: @Villablanca (235)
MD8: BYE
MD9: vs New Lusitania and the Algarves (42) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD10: @Necosia (341)
MD11: vs Turori (12) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD12: @Astograth (303) - Castle Hill, Gesterlake
MD13: vs Muradil (212) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
-----------------------Off Day---------------------------
MD14: vs Audioslavia (22) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD15: @Euran Oceania Territories (84) - Flynn Arena, Fligsive
MD16: vs Porticalia (330) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD17: @Sajnur (57) - ?
MD18: vs Jeckland (UR) - Tiankong Stadium, Tiankong
MD19: @Natanians and Nosts (131) - Stadion Nacional (?)
MD20: vs Villablanca (235) - Beregozera Stadium, Szensky
MD21: BYE
MD22: @New Lusitania and the Algarves (42) - Estádio da Anta do Dragão, Porto
MD23: vs Necosia (341) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD24: @Turori (12)
MD25: vs Astograth (303) - National Stadium, TJUN-ia City
MD26: @Muradil (212)

[Talamia]

Matchday 3 - Group 12
match report
Starblaydia 3-1 Talamia
S. McCloud 9'‎‏‏‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎
S. McCloud 33' ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎
C. Apelles 52'‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎
‎‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎81' S. A'apt

---

Talamia's line-up and players ranks

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages.
Here is Auxe Aggelia, and Gian Gianvilipendio lies on this bed next to me. We speak to you from the hospital in Clinepalas, where Gian was hospitalized after the nervous crisis he had last night. Another game, another defeat. We certainly didn't expect to be able to win easily. We were hoping for a draw, maybe. And instead it went as expected: Starblaydia defeated us 3-1. After the game, Gian decided to turn to alcohol once again. Pro Diorux staff - Are you a sports devote? Pick up your TV remote! - decided to urgently transfer him here to Talamia. Gian will recover, don't worry. But the real question is: will Talamia recover from these two defeats? In three games we have accumulated only one point and despite the seven goals scored, perhaps we have to surrender the obvious: it is still too early for us. The team has yet to grow to tread international fields. We are however confident."

*Gian makes incomprehensible sounds*

"Thanks for your contribution Gian, as always. Now rest and drink a lot of water. But let's move on to the match!
The team seemed frightened from the first minutes. In front of a crowd of 190 thousand people, the players seemed intimidated. Ready, away and immediately a goal for the hosts: in the ninth minute he scored Sutter McCloud, to crown a wonderful offensive action. Twenty-four minutes later, thanks to a beautiful shot from outside the area, McCloud repeated himself, finishing the first half on 2-0. In the second half we tried some flicker but without success and Calindra Apelles took advantage of it: 3-0. We can however be proud to have scored the consolation goal, nine minutes from the end the newly-entered Mesacro Diodos guessed a nice cross for the header by Stern A'apt. 3-1 the final result.

Tomorrow we will face Garifunya. The red-and-blacks, just like us, have so far accumulated four points, winning a game, and drawing and losing just as many. We will have Talamian fans on our side but will it be enough to get out of this losig streak? In the meantime, Pedalisismi has announced that it will do some turn-over for the next match:

#1 Aha Diepeir
#2 Tjin Herev Eo
#23 Stizo Stiba Stroma
#13 Timo Fulatto
#3 Eter Katek
#21 Kof Vottetheis
#14 Fjössi Rooura
#17 Mesacro Diodos
#20 Upe Bainika
#10 Kata Dioiiké
#9 Stern A'apt

Subs:
#12 Psal Arpaz
#5 Yante Skatezzo
#6 Calin Mestithemi
#7 Ptirn Lagios
#15 Timo Theosbes
#11 Ptirn Enripto
#19 Neaniaõ

That's all I have for you today, unfortunately. See you tomorrow! Only here, on Pro Diorux Sports."

*Gian mumbles again*

[Riennic Isles]

The girl awoke with a start and opened her eyes wide.

The first thing the girl noticed was that her surroundings were swathed in a brilliantly pure light, a light so intense that she had trouble making anything else out within its shimmering halo. The girl reflexively brought a hand up to her face, a painful grimace writ large across her face, as she shielded her watering eyes from the harsh light. As her strained eyes slowly began acclimatising to her painfully bright surroundings, the girl started to perceive unfocused, yet distinct, lines and shapes in her field of vision. She squinted hard, trying to make out the nature of these geometric features around her, and little by little, her blurred surroundings began to resolve into a clear image.

The girl blinked several times and gingerly eased herself into an upright position, surveying her surroundings as she did so. She appeared to be sitting on top of a bed, in a room that resembled a bedroom. The only difference was that every last inch of this room seemed to be dyed in pure white. The girl hadn't seen anything remotely similar to this room before. The walls and the door were made of a white, ceramic-like material. The sheets covering the girl's torso was white. The porcelain vase perched on the nightstand next to her was white, and so were the fragile flowers that sat daintily in the vase. Even the light that was shining in through the steel-paneled windows were white.

The girl held her hands up to her face, and realised that her own skin was coloured white - a powdery alabaster white.

This is weird ...

The girl found herself oddly composed in the face of the whitewashed, colourless world she found herself in. She didn't have the first idea where she was, but somehow, the girl's instincts told her that her presence within this whitewashed, colourness dimension was the most natural thing in the world. She felt a strong affinity for this world and all that it contained. A sense of deja vu swept over the girl as she strained her eyes, trying to take in every last inch of the room that she was in. Perhaps there would be some minor detail that would help her remember where she was, something that would help her unlock a faint memory sealed away in a dusty crevice of her mind. The girl had a nagging feeling that she had been in this room before, but search her mind as she might, she simply could not recall when or how she had come to spend any time in this room. Was it just her sleep-addled mind playing tricks on her?

I guess the best way to find out for sure is to do a bit of exploring.

Pushing the heavy sheets off her body, the girl carefully eased herself off the bed. But as soon as the soles of her bare feet came into contact with the tiled floor, the unpleasantly acrid odour of chlorine and carbolic washed over her like a tidal wave, suffocating the breath out of her in a heartbeat. Rattling coughs shook the girl's frail frame as she choked back the rising wave of nausea building up within her. She hastily covered her nose and mouth with her arm, and held her breath, trying her utmost not to inhale any more of the sickly chemical fumes. A quick glance around the room suggested to the girl that the best way to escape the fumes was to leave the room and venture outside; and so, the girl shuffled across to the door and, with some effort, heaved it open. As the door slowly swung on its hinges, the girl stumbled through the portal and into the unknown world beyond her sterile room.

The girl found herself standing in what appeared to be a long hallway. Just as her room had been, this hallway too was entirely monochromatic. The walls seemed to be made of flawless marble, stretched as far as the eye could see, only punctuated at regular intervals by white, wooden doors, much like the one the girl had just passed through. The girl shook her head with as much vigour as she could muster, ridding herself of the nauseating influence of the sickening fumes, and set off down the hallway at a leisurely pace. She didn't have an inkling where the hallway would lead her, but that didn't matter too much to the girl. After all, she had all the time she could ever want to explore the otherworldly, yet fascinating, world she found herself within.

Humming quietly to herself, the girl ambled along the interminable hallway, enjoying the sensation of cold marble against her bare feet. She walked on and on, until she lost track of time; but still she kept on walking. She couldn't quite put it into words, but the girl had an inexplicable feeling that there would be something waiting for her at the end of this hallway. The nature of that something which awaited her at the end of the hallway was a mystery to the girl herself, but she was determined to see it for herself, whatever it turned out to be. And so she continued on her solitary journey, feeling neither pain nor fatigue in her muscles as she headed towards the end of the hallway, resolve burning bright in her heart.

The girl wasn't sure how long she walked for - it could have been an hour, it could have been a fortnight, it could even have been an eternity - but there seemed to be no end to the hallway. Instead, as she passed yet another nondescript door, the girl heard a faint sound coming from the room beyond it. Her curiosity piqued, the girl sidled across to the door and cupped her ear against it. Amplified by the unyielding wood of the door, the low, haunting keening emanating from within sent a thrill of horror running down the girl's spine. Even though every fiber of her being was screaming for her to leave well enough alone, the girl somehow found her hands pushing against the wooden door, which swung open silently to reveal a featureless room, much like the one the girl had woken up in.

The only difference was the waxen effigy with its head bowed low over the bed. With its back facing the girl as she slipped into the room, it kept up a low, plaintive wail that threatened to split the girl's head into two. With her hands over her ears, the petrified girl found a morbid curiosity urging her towards the effigy, step by leaden step. As she edged closer towards the waxen monstrosity, its neck contorted, and it turned to face the girl - who instinctively recoiled in pure terror.

Thin streams of crimson blood trickled from the effigy's hollow eye sockets, staining its ghastly waxen features dark red. The red liquid dripped sickeningly, drop by sticky drop, onto the linen sheets, which had long since been caked with dried blood. Almost as though compelled by a supernatural force, the petrified girl found her eyes drawn to the bed, where a second wax figure lay supine beneath the sheets. Its face was shattered beyond recognition, to the extent that the girl could no longer make out any of its facial features. Crying out in fear, the girl clapped a hand to her mouth as the waxen banshee, inconsolable in its sorrow, continued her unearthly wailing.

The girl gathered the last vestiges of her courage and fled from the room, the sounds of her footsteps chased by the echoes of ghoulish keening.

---

1 • 2 • 3

[Timuria]

Snap Election Called

by Samet Uryanli

Embattled TIOC leader and Prime Minister Sabuktigin Imamoglu has gone to Grand Vizier Rahim Muhadow to request an early election after his governing arrangement with the Communist Party (TKP) and the minority interest Banijan and Minority People's Party which Mr Muhadow was a member of broke down over the latest budget, meaning both minor parties withheld confidence from the government prompting Opposition Leader Ahmet Yusupov to table a vote of no confidence in the government which TIOC barely won thanks to abstentions from fellow left parties and aligned independents, but left them with no working majority.

The government has been an unstable arrangement with TIOC leaning on either of its partners at different times to push through sections of its agenda, leading to the opposition being able to defeat the government when it was unable to bring its allies with it on crucial votes including a controversial law that would have allowed some private enterprise to be engaged in at a limited scale outside of cooperatives, despite support from the main oppositon a humiliating rebellion from his backbenchers led to a total depletion of Mr Imamoglu's authority. This has precipitated this budget crisis, with him torn between competing forces on either side of his own party as well as the demands of his confidence and supply partners.

With the snap election scheduled for four and a half months from now (significantly shorter than the usual 6 month period leading to an election) meaning that TIOC will be the first minority government that will be granted executive powers once the parliament is dissolved in two months. The coming period will be used by the government to pass uncontroversial elements of its program that it hadn't been able to achieve, symbolic votes and will be used by some opposition parties to win symbolic votes of their own.

Snap polls provided to this paper by our polling partner Illerim indicate that TIOC are currently polling above their previous total and have now opened up a lead over OK, who have also gained under their new leader Ahmet Yusupov. The major winner of the previous parliamentary period, at least in terms of the first preference vote has been BAHP who managed to get their former leader, Rahim Muhadow elected Vizier as part of a deal with the TKP and TIOC, they sit an astonishing 4.8% above their previous performance their hold on the Viziership and the impressive performance of Ayla Afandiyeva as their new parliamentary leader. The TKP has also made modest gains, holding steady around 12.7% as their voters generally approved of their alliance with TIOC. ALTI were forced to replace their previous leader as she had lost her seat and the first term GMV Canan Yazici has floundered as she has failed to stamp her authority over the party's old guard, falling a solid 5.2% from their previous performance. No party has suffered as badly as the SC, the isolationist, protectionist, self idenitifying "left-of-centre" party kept their embattled leader Alparslan Timurtas, now 70 and his personal toxicity after credible links to fascist groups were revealed have sunk the party to a record low 2.6% in the polls.

The most stark difference these polls would make to the Volunteer's Assembly is that two parties are projected to fall out of parliament entirely, both ALTI and the SC would find themselves as extra-parliamentary forces. The other stark difference would be the rise of OK, who are set to gain 83 seats at the next election if the polls hold. BAHP and the TKP look set to lose seats because of the popularity of the two main parties as second choices for those of almost every persuasion. A result similar to this would likely lead to Mr Imamoglu confirming this is his final term as Prime Minister, but would be a vindication of his leadership that in his fourth election that he would be able to gain seats.

Most expect the issues of Timuria's integration into the international community, demands for more worker control of the economy and bread and butter issues such as healthcare and efficiency in government to dominate the coming election, favourable ground for the left bloc who are sitting at 54.4% and as of this poll have gained 9.4% since the last election.

First Preference Voting Intention (Change from the previous election):
TIOC 27.4% (+3.8)
OK 26.4% (+2.8)
BAHP 14.3% (+4.8)
TKP 12.7% (+0.8)
ALTI 8.7% (-5.2)
SC 2.6% (-7.2)

Seat Projection:
TIOC 263 (+18)
OK 234 (+83)
BAHP 30 (-44)
TKP 23 (-20)
ALTI 0 (-7)
SC 0 (-28)
Ind/Oth 2 (=)

[Audioslavia]

Sue Dysos closed her laptop, clicked the ‘on’ switch on the TV and went to the fridge to get a yoghurt. From the kitchen, she could hear the news being delivered from what she assumed would be a conventionally attractive 40-something woman in a pants suit.

…and our main news tonight. The World Assembly has voted almost unanimously to commend Audioslavian journalist Jeremy Jaffacake for services to football and journalism. The decision comes only three decades after Jaffacake was implicated in the cash-for-votes scandal that resulted in his expulsion from the NSWCC and subsequent temporary exile, which has raised a few eyebrows in…

Sue didn’t even realise the yoghurt had fallen onto the kitchen floor. She ran from the kitchen without even registering what had happened and rounded the corner to the living room. There, displayed on the television, was the gaunt, monochrome face of Jeremy Jaffacake. Below his face, in big, unmistakeable yet similarly unbelievable letters the clear phrase: World Assembly Commendation: Jeremy Jaffacake

What.

The.

”For quite a long time now, I’ve been expecting this acolade” said Jeremy, beaming. He stood centre-stage, drinking in the attention he was receiving both from the auditorium and the cameras. His hair was improbably brown, his face improbably tanned but for the clearly pale parts underneath his greyish white beard. “For a man such as I, it only follows reason that this, the World Assembly, the most prestigious organisation in the world, would finally recognise what it is I have done for… for [i]humanity. I humbly and graciously and, if I may say, gracefully accept this award, along with the secondary title that you have given to me: World Assembly Ambassador for Peace and Journalistic Integrity.”

“I don’t believe I need to tell you how important journalistic integrity is to me. It’s as important to me as the security of my own computer. This is why I recommend using Viking VPN. Viking VPN protects the integrity of your laptop, smartphone or alternative screen device, and for the low price of $2.99 a month, I mean, that’s only a cup of coffee, you too can…[/i]”

Sue switched off the television.

—

Bulls Brace for Turori Test

First half goals from Moses Moxey and Kyran Knudsen were enough to maintain Audioslavia’s unbeaten start to qualifying last night, as Patterick turns his attention towards Wednesday evening’s game against Turori.

Going on history, the match should be easy. Audioslavia have played Turori on eight occasions throughout history, with the Bulls winning all eight.

CYC19 - Eagles Cup V MD2: Bulls 3-1 Turori
CYC19 - Eagles Cup V MD5: Bulls 3-1 Turori
CYC19 - World Cup 19 QF: Bulls 1-0 Turori
CYC21 - Jurassic Invitational Cup QF: Bulls 1-0 Turori
CYC21 - World Cup 21 QF: Bulls 1-0 Turori
CYC25 - World Cup 25 2R: Bulls 1-0 Turori
CYC60 - Cup of Harmony QF: Bulls 3-1 Turori
CYC69 - World Cup 69 QF: Bulls 3-0 Turori

Going on the rankings, there can be no mistake that Turori, world number twos recently, will have the upper hand and, no matter what’s written in the history books, will be the clear favourites to take at least a point at home.

Patterick himself believes the 100% record will fall, saying “I have a job to do, and that job is to keep Audioslavia at the top of the table. I don’t care about the record. If we come away with a draw, I’ll treat that as a success”

Patterick has been feeling the pressure, but even he has to be excited about the idea that, if the Bulls can cause an upset, the national side could be four to six points clear at the top of the group at this very early stage. Qualifying is a marathon, sure, this cycle more than ever, but the fans, and the squad, may start to relax if Audioslavia can pass the test in Turori.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Flashback: July 17, 1958 - Ankaran Island, Siovanija

The military aircraft touched down at the airbase on Ankaran Island. Located in the at the far end of the southern archipelago about 300km west of the city of Vrnovo, it was one of the most important bases the air force possessed. It was the early morning, and the sun was prominent in the clear summer sky. President Milan Dimitrov stepped out of the plane accompanied by a few aides and military officials, and took note immediately of the large number of air force personnel gathered on the runway.

In the coming decades, Dimitrov would become widely regarded as the greatest President in the history of the United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland. He had been able to push aside all of the ethnic conflict and revenge-driven politics that had plagued the country in the post-war era, and bring forth new national unity and reconciliation between Siovanijans and Teus. He had stopped the ultranationalist Marwin Laufer’s attempt to form a bastardized version of the old Teus Empire. He had taken steps to enshrine democracy and freedom into the United Republics’ constitution. It was the 14th year of his presidency, however, and he knew it was coming to an end. He planned to resign ahead of the 1960 general election, and then live a quiet life in a villa outside Borograd with his wife, gardening in peace. He wondered if he’d miss the stress of leading the country.

On this day, however, Dimitrov’s focus was on a new weapons test taking place at another island about 350km west of Ankaran - Sozopol. There had been rumours for years about the capability of what Teus military strategists called ‘weapons of the Gods.’ Kaiser Heinrich III, the last ruler of the Teus Empire, had put his leading scientists on the case in the final days of the Civil War. They were years away, though, from where they needed to be. The development would continue, however, and in the early years of Dimitrov’s presidency there were consistent reports from scientists of new breakthroughs. In 1949, he’d opened up the State Strategic Weapons Institute in Chernovets, which was declared a closed city and became the hub of the new project.

The ‘weapons of the Gods’ were more real now than ever, and the new SSWI rapidly made new advancements. It seemed at least once a month a new design or prototype appeared on Dimitrov’s desk, and with uranium readily available in a deposit located in the Mittelgebirge mountain range, the project quickly succeeded. The first Director of the SSWI, Dr. Ernst Konigsberg, called it the ‘Woden Project’, named for the figure in Teus pagan mythology who was the ‘God of Gods[. The Woden-1 saw Siovanija & Teusland produce its first ‘A-bomb.’ President Dimitrov had been on hand for the test.

Perhaps emboldened by the great success, the SSWI continued to take steps forward and attempted to make major new developments in the field of nuclear physics. At times, the motto of the institution seemed to be ‘bigger is better’ at all costs. And so, a prototype came across Dimitrov’s desk for a 100-megaton nuclear bomb. The Grosser Woden. The President had been a little hesitant about this one, and it was agreed to first perform a test with a 50-megaton capacity. Still, it would be far more than even the previous biggest bomb tested by the army - 25 megatons.

“Welcome to Ankaran, Mr. President,” began Colonel Ivo Zak of the Air Force. President Dimitrov felt at home around the air force men. After all, he’d served in the Siovanijan Air Force during the last weeks of the Civil War, and had continued on in the new United Republics Air Force in the years afterwards.

“It’s been a while, Ivo. Good to see you again.”

The Colonel continued. “We’re expecting it to rain later on today, Mr. President, so we’d like to get this done as soon as possible if that’s alright. We’ve got a Vyr-51 bomber here ready to go, as well as a Sokol-54 to accompany it and film the test. I’d like to introduce you to this brave man here, Lieutenant Stanislav Rehak. He’s going to be flying the V-51.”

President Dimitrov looked at Rehak, and the two shook hands. They made quick small talk, the President wondering if the instruction in training camp at Stavropol was just as rigorous as it used to be in the days of the Siovanijan Republic. Rehak assured him it was, to which both men laughed. Dimitrov wished him good luck, and began to head over to the control centre at the airbase with Colonel Zak. He couldn’t help wonder, however, what the odds of Rehak surviving this mission were.

Entering the command post, there were several officers from the air force present as well as representatives from the SSWI. Colonel Zak began to speak to the visitors.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Ankaran Air Force Base. Today, we will carry out the first test of the Grosser Woden atomic weapon. The overall design is for a 100-megaton nuclear bomb, which would be by far the largest produced by this country. Today’s test will see a 50-megatons of TNT bomb detonated on Sozopol.”

The scientists and officers looked amongst themselves, each trying to see the reactions of their colleagues to the announcement, and many were particularly interested in President Dimitrov’s reaction. Colonel Zak continued. “Lt. Rehak, a courageous pilot from the 114th Bomber Squadron, has volunteered to fly the V-51 bomber that will contain the bomb. Escorting him will be a Sokol-54 which will be equipped with a camera to film the test.”

There were whispers within the gathered crowd now - whispers that the survival chance for Rehak couldn’t be more than 50/50, given the size of the weapon being detonated and the speed of a V-51. One of the pilots in the room assured President Dimitrov that all the proper precautions had been taken, but still…

“Once the V-51 is in position above Sozopol, it will be dropped. The bomb will be carried by an 1800 pound parachute, which gives enough time for both planes to safely exit the area of the explosion.” Colonel Zak had clearly sensed the tension in the room. “The time from take-off until the return of the aircraft should be about four hours, at which time we’ll be ready to view the film of the test.”

There was silence in the room now, nothing more to do than give the command. Colonel Zak now invited the President forward. “President Dimitrov, would you like to give the order?”

“Of course,” he replied as he stepped forward to applause. The President put on the headset, and nodded.

“Lieutenant Rehak, are you ready?”

“Yes sir!,” came the enthusiastic reply through the headset.

“Then let’s begin. Good luck, son,” said the President as the room applauded again. Looking out the window, the two planes could be seen taking off.

Now it was the waiting game, as the visitors mingled and awaited the results. The visitors soon moved to an underground bunker for protection from the blast. Colonel Zak, meanwhile, as the commander and supervisor of the test, was operating the switchboard. President Dimitrov took the opportunity to converse with the country’s top nuclear physicists, and see which direction they felt the future of the nuclear program would be best served in heading. One hour and fifty-four minutes after take-off, a radio signal came in signalling the bomb had been dropped.

Released from a height of 11,500 metres, the bomb detonated by airburst about 4000 metres above the island. Residents of coastal Siovanijan villages would soon report window panes breaking, and there were rumours of a massive earthquake off the coast. On Ankaran, the above-ground buildings shook greatly and the visitors each noted the tremor. Shock waves were observed from the Vrnovo University’s observatory.

Soon, welcome news would come in from the skies: Lieutenant Rehak radioded in to announce that he and the escort plane had both made it out of the blast zone. The plane had dropped nearly 1 kilometre in altitude after the blast, which had forced Rehak to be at his best - he joked with President Dimitrov that it was all the instruction in Stavropol that had got him through. The President smiled, mostly out of relief that Rehak had survived the test. Within 2 hours, both planes would arrive back at the base to land.

The dignitaries now filed into the conference room at the base, now accompanied by Lt. Rehak, as the video of the test began to play on the screen. The black-and-white reel showed clearly the drop, the parachute, and eventually, the mushroom cloud. It was a remarkable sight, really - the most physically powerful force ever experienced in the history of the United Republics. But it was also a reminder - with bombs like this, you could cause the end of the world.

President Dimitrov thought back to his time in the Civil War. He’d been issued a Puska-97, a bolt-action rifle, and the planes he flew in were the earliest form of biplanes. Now, barely 60 years later, technology had advanced so far. Advanced to the point that the army could now drop a 50 megaton nuclear bomb on a remote island.

Milan Dimitrov thought about the benefits the rapid technological advancement had brought the country. Being able to watch Hockey Night in Siovanija & Teusland in colour, or the President’s Cup Final in colour, were important to all citizens. As were the countless other inventions of the period that improved the general quality of life. But something like this? The nuclear program had been started as a deterrent, a guarantee that no other country could consider attacking the United Republics without considering the principle of mutually assured destruction. Was a bomb this big necessary for that? The SSWI might be going too far, Dimitrov thought.

Colonel Zak came over. “Mr. President. In the coming weeks, we’ll send research teams to the island to analyze the results of the test. We’ll also conduct interviews with the pilots, and with residents of the islands and in coastal towns. I’ll have a report on your desk soon, sir, at which point we can make a decision on the future of the Grosser Woden program.

“Thank you, Colonel. When you come to Borograd, make sure to bring Lt. Rehak with you.”

“Of course, sir. I imagine you’d like to get back to Borograd as soon as possible, sir, we’ll clear the runway for your take-off.”

As Dimitrov boarded the plane and sat down, the discussion amongst everyone on board was what they’d seen today. The passengers were for the most part split down the middle - half thinking it was necessary for the security of the country, the other half thinking it was a step too far and that the program needed to be downsized. Dimitrov didn’t participate in these discussions - but he eagerly awaited Colonel Zak’s report, and the important decision that would follow.

Abanhfleft 2-1 Siovanija & Teusland, @ Abanhfleft

Starting XI: Heuser; Steimle, Thierse, Klopfer (Jager 64’), Helmke; Bahr (Ribbeck 69’), Kramer, V. Dimitrov; von Bergen (Kokalj 46’), Romanov, Kynev
Goals: Krasimir Kynev 58’
Man of the Match: Krasimir Kynev
Report: A disappointing night for the Goldhorns as they drop match 2 of the World Cup Qualifiers to Abanhfleft. Siovanija & Teusland appeared to be in control of the match in the first half, controlling most of the possession, but a poor giveaway in the attacking third led to a counter-attack from the hosts that enabled Kareem Dagen to send an excellent shot past Ewald Heuser. The Goldhorns struggled to get back into it after that, and the home side made their advantage 2-0 just moments into the second half through Cedric Pearson. After that it was a massive push from the Goldhorns to grab a goal, and Krasimir Kynev would do just that in the 58th minute to cut the lead to one. Even after the substitution of Michael Ribbeck, however, the Goldhorns just seemed to be out of sync in attacking build-up, and in the end failed to find the equalizer. Next up is a match with The Commuinist Republic of Chinatown in Vlaikograd. The visitors may have just done the Goldhorns a huge favour in group 10 with a 1-1 draw with Ethane. The Goldhorns will, however, be expecting a win in this one to reset their campaign. Thorsten Kramer spoke after the match, and encouraged patience: “No, I’m not too worried. It’s disappointing, of course, but there’s 22 matches still to be played, and we’re still confident.”

[Hampton Island]

(Scenario: Stadium CEO and Assistant watch West Angola match from their skybox)

CEO: Hannah is looking pretty good out there, has the team ready to play!

Assistant: What is up with you two by the way?

CEO: Nothing, why?

Assistant: You have not been reading the newspapers or watching the news then. It’s all over the news about her and you being together by yourselves watching the NSSCRA race.

CEO: For what?

Assistant: You know for what. Look, I am not saying that you can’t do all of these things, but the gossip mill is flowing now about you having an affair with her.

CEO: I’m not having an affair with her. Can’t I just discuss business with the coach of the national soccer team? We’re trying to make money off of people by thinking that we are making a concerted effort to qualify for the World Cup. I have the right to talk to her.

Assistant: You should, but there have always been questions about her qualifications to be the coach and I know she has not done a terrible job, but the media is beginning to think that there are other reasons that got her the job. I am surprised that they didn’t hound you with these questions before the game.

CEO: They were wanting to talk to me, but I waved them off. They were a little persistent, but I dismissed it as them being overly excited about the soccer match.

Assistant: Well, there were photos of you giving her a couple shots of vodka over the course of the race.

CEO: Who the hell was taking these photos? They are to be fired if employed me and sued if not! Infringing on my privacy.

Assistant: Then someone took a picture of you carrying her out to your car after the race. I guess she got pretty drunk off the vodka.

CEO: Let me see these photos. (Assistant takes time to retrieve them, and then shows him). This is an invasion of my privacy. They will be sued immediately after this game.

Assistant: Well they will probably argue that it was in a public space. What did you two do afterwards?

CEO: What do you think we did?

Assistant: But you said you were not having an affair.

CEO: Look, I don’t need this shit from you, either. If you like your job, you’ll back off.

Assistant: Fine, let’s watch the old guys.

CEO: All speedway security is going to be fired. At this instant! The media should have never have been allowed to get those pictures, and now I am going to have to answer to my wife when she finds out.

Assistant: Good luck, sir.


(About an hour later, over the phone)

CEO Wife: How could you do this to me?

CEO: I was just talking to the soccer coach, and needed to help her after she got drunk. It’s not what its being made out to be.

Wife: Oh, good. I was worried.

CEO (to himself): That was easy.

CEO: The intrusive photographers will pay, and all security at the speedway will be fired. I’ll make you a nice dinner when I get back.

Wife: Thank you!

[Emastalia]

Emastalia 4-1 Retvargax

Scorers: Willem Alden(8'), Robert Avénard(23')(40'), Jamus Aaldenburg(70'), Alexandre Phillips O.G(90+1)

Another win in the NSWC Qualifiers has brought joy to the Emastalian people who broke the record number attendance in the history of home stadiums for this game. Surpassing 134,328 to 197,504. Head Coach Adriaan Geerink is a national celebrity for his hardwork in perfecting the National Football Team. Despite a premature exit in the CIFA WC after being eliminated in the Quarterfinals, his reputation was thrown out of the window. This year however he has kept his team in the CIFA WC, after miraculously beating the Kamilistani National Football team in a 4-2 victory.

For today's match, the Emastalians have pulled off an impressive start utilizing an aggressive mentality in order to reentlessly pummel the defense with shooting attempts. Finally a quick breakthrough was made by the football star and Center Forward, Willem Alden. Emastalia held most possession of the ball throughout the first half, and as they specialize in cross field passes, and due to frequent and easy breakthroughs from the Emastalian offense, the young striker named Robert Avénard managed to pull off a beautiful header into the top left corner of the net with a marvelous assist from the 35 year old left midfielder Sean Gillapi!

Less than twenty minutes later, yet another goal was pulled off from Robert Avénard outside the penalty box with the assist from the defender Anders Vanderbilt. In halftime, Arnold Rosenau and John Mathieu switched out with Lourens ter Hofste and Heiko Rouvekamp, respectively. With an assist from Elijah Obinna, the forward Jamus Aaldenburg volleyed the ball into the back of the net in the 70th minute.

We hope that more wins come as we place in 3rd in Group 15

Unfortunately, a mishap took place as a Retvargaxian striker took a powerful on-target shot at the Emastalian net. Unfortunately, the defender Alexandre Phillips was in the wrong place at the wrong time and turned his back to the shot. This caused the goalie, Richard Llynn's line of vision to be blocked by the rather strong and tall build of Phillips and went in the opposite direction as the ball was defected off of Phillip's side and into the net. Fortunately, this was in stoppage time and no more goals was conceded

[Filindostan]

OOC Note: Scorer for match against Qvardax was based on latter's BoF 72 roster. Will make necessary changes if needed.

Quebec 4-1 Filindostan (HT 2-1) - The Reneegrad, Quebec City, Quebec
[Yi 13', 44'; Mancosu 76'; Kartawijaya OG 88' - Teterissa 24']
FID Lineup: Kartawijaya; Dekker, K. Weici, Pattiasina, Li; Rivas [vc], Tisang [c], Mohd Safri; San Lupe, Teterissa, Tuhuteru
Used Subs: Tessin -> Dekker; Herawan -> San Lupe; Alim Gui -> Tisang

Filindostan 2-1 Qvardax (HT 1-0) - Wardogs Ground, San Rafael, Filindostan
[Sta. Lucia 20'; Rivas 49' - Undol 86']
FID Lineup: Sitohang; Dekker, Damanik, Darmali; Manurung, Rivas [vc], Tisang [c], Cambo; Sta. Lucia, Teterissa, Herawan
Used Subs: J. Weici -> Manurung; Sinukaban -> Darmali; Batara -> Herawan

Damukuni 1-6 Filindostan (HT 1-3) - Atarashii-Damushuto International Stadium, Atarashii-Damushuto, Damukuni
[Rodriguez 23' - Batara 5', pen 36'; Teterissa 54'; Tuhuteru 28', 87'; Amomonpon 81']
FID Lineup: Vera; K. Weici, Darmali, Likumahuwa; J Weici, Rivas [vc], Tisang [c], Cambo; Tuhuteru, Teterissa, Batara
Used Subs: Amomonpon -> Rivas; Luiz -> Likumahuwa; San Lupe -> Teterissa

Coach Krisna Hendra Sudirman told his players not to celebrate too much when they score goals, as he tries not to make things worse for the sake of the nation. Having drawn with the very team which became bystanders and witnesses to the ugly side of Filindo football, Sudirman himself wanted to make sure that the events that transpired at the Filindostan National Stadium would not repeat at their opponent's home ground. Despite being involved in three of five red cards the Filindos obtained in that infamous match, the ex-Venividicci coach gave Philippe Batara a starting nod over Shai Escobido, with Tobias Sinukaban and Daneilo Amomonpon taking their spots in the bench.

Jeers can be heard around the stadium once the opening whistle had blown. Whenever Filindostan, and Batara had the ball, the jeers were amplified. The crowd fell silent though, when a quickfire passing play caught the hosts' defense off guard, and the Fortunas forward able to poach the ball beyond captain Shoryuu Enomoto in just the fifth minute of the match. Krisna's reminder not to celebrate too much came to his mind once the ball went past the goal line, and he met with his teammates to pat each others' heads and walk back to their side of the field. Despite being the more aggressive team, the hosts failed to convert most of their chances provided to them by the visitors. They were able to put the match at level pegging again, when Jillianna Rodriguez managed to lash a half-volley past the rushing Tonyo Vera, after a no-look pass from Kazuo Ueshiba fooled both Kadek Darmali and Casimir Likumahuwa.

The fans thought that the hosts had wrestled control of the match back from the Pula Garudas. They were sorely mistaken five minutes later, when they put too much players forward that Filindostan started a quick counter attack after King Tisang tackled the ball off Amy Ortberg, and found a long through ball to a running Seto Tuhuteru, masterfully beating the offside trap, and making an almost-perfect chip over Enomoto to give the lead back to the Filindos. He celebrated moderately with his teammates while running to the touchline to give Sudirman a high-five, which the gaffer duly acknowledged. Fans from the home side continued their support to their players and continued to jeer whenever Philippe had the ball in his possession. An errant pass caused the Filindo defense to initially collapse, but Yakob Rivas quickly recovered the ball from the streaking Rodriguez, which triggered another counter-attack when Yakob and King combined to give Seto Tuhuteru just Enomoto and himself at the face of the goal, but a charging Lani mistimed her tackle and brought down the Perokojak forward inside the box. As the referee determined that the foul was to prevent a goal scoring oppportunity, he had no other choice but to send off Lani, much to the disappointment of the fans in attendance.

When Batara took the ball and prepared to put the ball into the penalty spot, the jeers intensified. Unfazed by the distraction from the crowd, Batara hit a slightly weak shot leftward, which was almost deflected by the captain of the hosts, but the ball just bounced off his right gloves into the back of the net. No more notable events other than Damukuni keeping the attacks to Filindostan honest, but the Pula Garudas went into the dressing room with the advantage both in the number of goals and number of personnel in the pitch. Back at the room, Krisna reiterated to the team to keep celebrations down to the minimum, and no to let their guard down despite the advantages they have coming into the second half.

The second half did not start well for the Filindos, with Yakob complaining of a lingering pain in his thighs, with a precautionary substitution needed after just eight minutes into the second half. Despite being two goals down, the fans kept cheering and jeering, especially when Daneil was introduced to replace the vice-captain, with a loud, rousing chorus of boos pestering the Perokojak midfielder. It was obvious Amomonpon didn't mind the boos, as he provided a sweet pass to his ex-teammate, Ina Teterissa, to score her second goal of the qualifying campaign, to further put their stronghold to the lead. Both the neighboring nations traded chances, which were both thwarted by the respective keepers - the closest Damukuni were to scoring came in the 67th, when Julie Coelho evaded three defending players, and struck a piledriver, but her shot hit the underside of the bar and the ball almost crossing the line, until the Fortunas custodian grabbed the ball out of goal's reach. Krisna made his last pair of changes in the 79th, putting his two Galacticos shortlisted players to the bench, with Braham Luiz and Bochog San Lupe taking on the field, with Damukunian fans' energy starting to run out.

Until a complete and utter silence deafened the players after an unlikely and unlikeable character on the face of Damukuni fans scored Filindostan's fifth goal of the match. Daneil had a knack of scoring goals from way back from the penalty area, and his 'screamer' would have impressed Filindos watching at home, instead, he got a little bit of silence from the crowd and a little bit of booing from the side of the Damukuni goal. Despite repeated advices from their coach to tone the celebrations down, Amomonpon did not listen - he went near a small crowd that kept booing and he gestured his left hand around his left ear, making a 'I can't hear you!' taunt at the fans, earning him a yellow card and an admonishing from both his captain and his coach for his troubles. Filindostan was not done scoring goals, Seto neither, as his head was the first to make contact to a great delivery of a corner from Juanda Weici, giving Filindostan their sixth goal of the match and completely humiliating the Damukuni team in front of their home fans. To avoid any unnecessary run-ins with the crowd, the Filindostan contingent immediately boarded their team bus and left, sans Sudirman and Tisang, who gracefully faced the media, local and foreign with questions including those regarding the forfeited match, which they provided answers which satisfied them.

When King was asked on Daneil's excessive taunting. He at first answered the question seriously, "I gave him admonishment for what he did, and gave him a hard slap in the wrist". Later, he interjected, "His antics are similar to mine when I was younger, just a bit lighter.", which made the media attendees laughed. The last question that amused the manager is that: "What do you think of Cocoa-bo? Do you think it is a performance enhancing food and should be banned?" The ex-Venividicci manager just said, "I made sure Cocoa-bo is part of the player's diets, albeit regulated. If you are saying that these foods enhance players' performances, then we should have given Quebec a 10-0 beating." A Filindo reporter asked a follow-up question; "What if the Quebecois also had Cocoa-bo in their diets? Maybe it was the reason why you lost to them in the first matchday?"

"Eh, I'm not into a position to confirm that. It's a violation of a law to invade privacy of your opponents with knowing if Cocoa-bo is part of their diet. What I can say is that I don't believe on what the monastic priest, who was that again? Uhm... is saying."

"Do you mind having the cocoabo replace the symbol in your national flag?"

"Eh, Mr. Dutete will kill me if I allow it. Thanks for the questions." The room was filled with laughter when the media session ended.

---

With Yakob getting a slight knock in his thighs last match at Damukuni, Krisna decided to put him to the substitutes for their next match at Reçueçn, replacing him is King's longtime partner in midfield, Muhammad "Mohd" Safri, who is fighting for his place in the final 23, with Daneil and Mordecai Sitindaon close on his heels on his spot on the team. The latter might get a start in their travel to The Grearish Union, but it is Mohd Safri's opportunity to impress his former club manager... again.