World Cup 85 || RP Thread

[Vilita]

Tivali Ring Stadium, Alikki-Corra, Vilita :: The start of a World Cup Qualifying campaign is always the most unnerving part of the campaign for fans of the Vilita National Team. Whether it be a matter of Giant Flying Birds, Nacho Loving Conquistadors or anything in between, the Jungle Cat Faithful never really feel comfortable that they have avoided the dreaded curse of the qualifiers until they get at least three or four matches into the campaign.

This time around, four matches into the World Cup 85 Qualifying Campaign, not only were the Vilita Jungle Cats not faltering at the feet of statistically inferior opposition, but they were absolutely dominating their opponents having averaged scoring 4.5 goals per game through the first four games of the qualifiers. The Jungle Cats collected victories over Saintland, Lake Esper, North New South Wales and the Southern Esportivan Union spreading 18 goals across the four matches. Of course, it was great for the Jungle Cats to survive the opening matches against weaker opposition but then the question remained - would their leaky defense be exploited when more formidible foes came opposing?

 Vilita 4 - 1 Saintland	
	Goals:	:: 61' Intikko Kuhilana:: 68' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 77' Jyuola Mtalata:: 90' Sipke Tarala           
	Team:	Zelkki Milake, Inteali Koranjo, Jirak Trikala, Lohani Riiyaaw, Intikko Kuhilana, Limu Katarakhna (Jyuola Mtalata 45'), Cywrenta Vlintejni (Fishtii Blikala 63'), Polaox Torerun (Tenziki Kulakao 70'), Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, Sipke Tarala, Nii'arala Milaaso

 Vilita 4 - 3 Lake Esper	
	Goals:	:: 8' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 17' Polaox Torerun:: 40' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 86' Linvoi Warazil           
	Team:	Vernasa Sanamun, Rojara Tiones, Inbekira Ajhabekk, Mileke Drokasorna, Jyuola Mtalata, Polaox Torerun (Lentali Purama 45'), Cywrenta Vlintejni (Va'a-Rio Kiwavn 45'), Jurzen Devmiko, Cavuna Aquafek, Nii'arala Milaaso (Fishtii Blikala 45'), Linvoi Warazil

 Vilita 5 - 1 North New South Wales	
	Goals:	:: 29' Polaox Torerun:: 36' Limu Katarakhna:: 59' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 69' Enzoril Alabonni:: 91' Sipke Tarala          
	Team:	Vernasa Sanamun, Jirak Trikala, Inbekira Ajhabekk, Rojara Tiones, Lentali Purama (Jurzen Devmiko 71'), Polaox Torerun (Westii Yahaya 45'), Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, Cavuna Aquafek, Limu Katarakhna, Nii'arala Milaaso, Enzoril Alabonni (Sipke Tarala 78')

 Vilita 5 - 2 Southern Esportivan Union	
	Goals:	:: 18' Linkat Cjinder:: 20' Cywrenta Vlintejni:: 23' Enzoril Alabonni:: 45' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 48' Sipke Tarala          
	Team:	Mako Canopii, Linkat Cjinder (Intikko Kuhilana 45'), Inbekira Ajhabekk, Rojara Tiones, Cywrenta Vlintejni, Limu Katarakhna, Polaox Torerun, Jyuola Mtalata (Sipke Tarala 45'), Westii Yahaya, Enzoril Alabonni, Nii'arala Milaaso (Fishtii Blikala 45')

While still conceding a goal in the match, the Vilitan National Team cleaned things up against Omerica in a 3-1 victory led by a pair of goals from Sipke Tarala as the Jungle Cats established themsvels firmly at the top of the Group 14 table. Mako Canopii took the gloves for their second consecutive appearance after having conceded the starting spot to a combination of Vernasa Sanamun and the veteran Zelkki Milake to open up the campaign.

 Vilita 3 - 1 Omerica	
	Goals:	:: 14' Jurzen Devmiko:: 24' Sipke Tarala:: 57' Sipke Tarala            
	Team:	Mako Canopii, Linkat Cjinder, Jirak Trikala (Polaox Torerun 45'), Inbekira Ajhabekk, Jyuola Mtalata, Cywrenta Vlintejni, Jurzen Devmiko (Limu Katarakhna 72'), Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, Westii Yahaya (Fishtii Blikala 60'), Nii'arala Milaaso, Sipke Tarala

While it may not have been the most important game of the campaign on paper for the Vilitan National Team, there is no question that when the groups were drawn for the 85th World Cup Qualifying cycle and Vilita found themselves in Group 14, there was one opponent that sparked the imaginations of youngsters throughout the Cove region. Krytenia. Vilita's closest geographical neighbor outside of their Colonial offshoot Turori, Krytenia and Vilita have a long history of competition even if other regional rivals have taken to the forefront during that time. Of course, rivalries are often defined by championships. Defeating your rivals to attain great accomplishment at their expense is the ultimate way to notch a rivalry up a notch. However, when a side celebrates a championship they will have had to beat a slew of teams to accomplish it. Whichever team they beat last is just one of many. For the losing team, however, that one team that defeated them is a team they need to get revenge on. That rivalry instantaneously gets thrown to the top of the list fueled by the agony of defeat. It is for this reason that Krytenia themselves have a lot more rivals than there are nations who hold a truly rivalrous attitude towards Krytenia.

For the Vilitans, drawing Krytenia in the World Cup Qualifying is as much a novelty as it is a rivalry. With Andossa Se Mitrin Vega having withered away to the ether and Cosumar having recently had a forced interruption to their participation in internationstatal sport, there are very few Dragons left in Atlantian Oceania and everyone always enjoys the toys and knick-knacks that cane be found with Dragons on them at the merchandise stands - especially the little ones. The Jungle Cats were coming into the game riding a wave of momentum having won their first six matches of World Cup 85 Qualifying including a thrilling 6-3 victory over Qasden just one matchday prior. The Krytenia match would be the second of back-to-back games against Atlantian Oceania rivals that didn't seem to pose much of a threat to the Jungle Cats, but no one could have projected just how successful the Vilitans would be in front of goal across the two match spree.

 Vilita 6 - 3 Qasden	
	Goals:	:: 28' Cywrenta Vlintejni:: 59' Enzoril Alabonni:: 69' Polaox Torerun:: 71' Jyuola Mtalata:: 74' Va'a-Rio Kiwavn:: 86' Cavuna Aquafek         
	Team:	Zelkki Milake, Mileke Drokasorna, Inbekira Ajhabekk, Rojara Tiones, Limu Katarakhna (Cavuna Aquafek 68'), Cywrenta Vlintejni (Clarana Refiami 45'), Polaox Torerun, Jyuola Mtalata, Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, Sipke Tarala (Intikko Kuhilana 66'), Enzoril Alabonni

The Vilitan National Team was actually trailing at half time against Qasden, Cywrenta Vlintejni's first half goal having cut Qasden's fast start in half, but the second half was all Jungle Cats with Enzoril Alaboni, Polaox Torerun, Jyuola Mtalata, Va'a-Rio Kiwavn and Cavuna Aquafek all scoring in the final thirty minutes of the game to push Vilita to the six goal mark for the first time in the campaign. That would be nothing compared to the attacking prowess on display at the Lirai Asku Castle in Yeaddin, however, with Krytenia in town just one matchday later.

The site of the Fourteenth Winter Olympic Games, The ambiance at the Lirai Asku Castle had only increased since the Krytenian's last visit to the Northern Vilita fortress. It was a fitting venue to contest a match against a nation that competed along with Vilita in the inaugural AOCAF tournament and whom themselves had hosted Regional and Internationstatal olympic games on many occasions. On this day, however, there was a mismatch. Krytenia were only a Pot 4 team while Vilita were the defending World Cup Runners-Up and #1 Ranked team in the multiverse. The Jungle Cats had just stuffed six goals past Qasden, the second ranked team in the group and presumed favorite to qualify along with the Jungle Cats. If they could do that to Qasden, what could they do against Krytenia?

Unfortunately for the travelling Cy'un Army, the answer to that question was "Score even more goals". Unlike against Qasden where Vilita got off to a slow start then piled on the goals at the end of the game, the Jungle Cats came out "guns a'blazing" scoring three goals in the opening half hour. Still, however, the Jungle Cats were clearly a second half team as the 3-1 lead they had at the half didn't fully project what was to come in the second half. Cavuna Aquafek put in a pair of goals after the restart including a dazzling free kick from nearly 30 yards out while Nii'arala Milaaso got into the action as well before Enzoril Alabonni tallied a third to go with their first half pair, finishing off a hat-trick on the day. Vilita now led 7-1 and the despair was obvious on the faces of the Krytenia players - particularly on the face of debutant goalkeeper Stephen Varela. Although the match had been lost, it was now a matter of pride and avoiding embarrassment for the visitors with captain Stephen Mariner heading up a charge that did little to reduce the deficit, but certainly converted the scoreline at a glance from "An absolute Annihilation" to "A lopsided high scoring game". The goals from Mariner and substitute Selaphiel Kennedy came either side of Milaaso's second of the night producing the final scoreline of 8-3.

While both sides likely came into the night expecting an evening of competition and banterous singing across the Castle, what was left at the end of the evening was a night that fans from both nations were not soon to forget, and while not largely impactful in the grand scheme of World Cup Qualifying, it is certainly plausible that still images from the 8-3 victory over Krytenia will soon be found on display within the hall of heroes at the Lirai Asku Castle. The result will also be immortalized in the form of a giant scoreboard at the home of the Vilitan National Team in Alikki-Corra, an honor typically reserved only for World Cup Finals matches. In the wake of the big result, it has also been rumored that a number of Vilitan League Clubs had inquired about the availability of Krytenian net-minder Stephen Varela, perhaps confused by articles and news reports after the match quipping that Varela put in the best ever performance by a goalkeeper for the Vilitan National Team in a match against Krytenia.

 Vilita [8] - [3] Krytenia
						
	GOALS:	Vilita 	:: 11' Linkat Cjinder:: 18' Enzoril Alabonni:: 29' Enzoril Alabonni:: 51' Cavuna Aquafek:: 59' Nii'arala Milaaso:: 62' Cavuna Aquafek:: 68' Enzoril Alabonni:: 81' Nii'arala Milaaso       				Krytenia:: 33' Smith :: 76' Mariner :: 84' Kennedy
	STATS:	Vilita 	:: Possession: 88%:: Shots: 13:: Corners: 8	Krytenia 	:: Possession: 12%:: Shots: 7:: Corners: 11		
	Lineup:	[GK] Mako Canopii, [D.] Rojara Tiones, [D.] Linkat Cjinder, [D.] Jirak Trikala, [ML]  Cywrenta Vlintejni, [MC]  Limu Katarakhna, [MC] Va'a-Rio Kiwavn, [MR]  Cavuna Aquafek, [FC]  Enzoril Alabonni, [FC] Sipke Tarala, [FC] Nii'arala Milaaso					
	Bench:	[FC] Tenziki Kulakao, [FC] Fishtii Blikala, [M] Kudii Davasarii, [M] Polaox Torerun, [U ] Berali Tzufarei, [D] Inteali Koranjo, [GK] Zelkki Milake

---

[Farfadillis]

He dusted off his suit a bit. It had been years since he'd last had to attend a press conference, and the Farf clothes industry was currently not booming, so good luck getting a new one. That pesky stain from when he had one wine too many was still there, yes, but if he managed to sit quickly at the table nobody would even notice it.

Now, even as a Farf, this press conference felt quite outlandish. The reason for it did, at least. A cocoa drink that doubles as a performance-enhancing drug? Pretty contrived. What surprised him more, however, was that this was the most pressing matter regarding the World Cup's organization, and not the fact that the country had been nuked a few weeks back. "Better this way." He thought to himself. He didn't want the Banijans asking too many questions about the nuking, lest they found out there'd been no casualties and caught onto the fact that of course it had been a Farf intelligence operation.

Disheveled and with unkempt facial hair - yeah, barbers weren't doing that well in post-happiness Farfadillis either - he sprinted his way to the table and took a seat before anyone could get a glance at the wine stain and the whiskey stain and the vodka stain. With all eyes on him, he let the press conference begin:

"Hello, I am Alex Terán, president of the FFFF. I've called this press conference due to the incessant questioning regarding the Cocoa-bo controversy. I figured it would be better to field your questions in an official manner."

The foreign reporters, not used to disrespectfully interrupting people, sat in silence.

"Er, you may begin asking questions." All hands shot up.

"The lady over there." He gestured vaguely to his left. There were five different ladies in that general direction. "Uhhh, the blonde one, I guess?"

"What will be the government's stance on Cocoa-bo consumption during the World Cup?" The obvious, uninteresting question that everyone and their mother were expecting.

"Ok, first off: rude. Very rude. The least you could've done before coming here is familiarize yourself with our geopolitical complexities. I mean, I know you're a foreigner and all but "government"? Seriously?" He shook his head in contempt. "Anyway, the FFFF's stance will be to allow all Cocoa-bo consumption."

The reporter had a follow-up question. "What's the reasoning behind the decision?" Ah, another simple, uninteresting question.

"I'm glad you asked." He wasn't. "There are two equally important reasons for it: the first is that it's, as far as I could tell last night, just a cocoa-flavored drink. The second is that, even if it was a cripplingly addictive partial differential equation, we as a country have no functional government that could ever hope to enforce a ban on anything. We at the FFFF are having a hard enough time figuring out where each World Cup match will be played and assigning referees and whatnot; a cocoa drink is the least of our concerns." He looked to his right. "Over there, the guy with the top hat."

"Mr. Terán, you appear to have implied you consumed Cocoa-bo last night. I was wondering if you could confirm that?"

"Yes, I did indeed try Cocoa-bo last night. I figured I'd at least make an informed decision once in my life. I replaced my usual whiskey and vodka Friday night with a whiskey and vodka and Cocoa-bo Friday night with my wife." He paused for a bit before deciding if he should continue, before realizing nothing had ever stopped him from saying stupid shit before, so why start now. "Anyway, vodka and whiskey are very much performance-dis... dis? Disenhancing. No, that doesn't sound right..." He shook his head. "Whatever, my point is that those two are not performance-enhancing. It stands to reason, therefore, that if Cocoa-bo were performance-enhancing, there would've been a performance to speak of, but no sir, there was none."

An awkward silence filled the room.

"Any more questions?"

A gentleman at the back timidly raised his hand.

"Yes, you, bald guy."

"Wow. Rude."

"The Turnip?"

"The Turnip."

"Then that's it for today, ladies and gentlemen."

He got up and sprinted towards the emergency exit.

[Recuecn]

With the announcement of the draw for the 85th World Cup, Reçueçn once again finds itself facing off against opponents with whom it is familiar. A lucky draw, in that the top seeds of the group are Mriin, who are on paper are the weakest Pot 1 team, but hosting the World Cup at home, they are likely to more than make up for their lower rank. The best thing about the Group E draw is that it is one of just two or three groups where "who will advance" indeed seems to be an open question. Any combination of the four teams is possible.

Reçueçn's first game will be against Drawkland. We've faced the Kick Corps twice before, both times in the IAC, and the first time on their own soil when they defeated us in the semifinal, two-nil. A cycle later, we played another semifinal, this time in Reçueçn, and again the hosts won, this time two to one (although this time, it was followed up by winning the final as well). Hopefully then, our opening game will more closely resemble our second meeting than our first.

Drawkland is not the only team in the group to have knocked us out of a tournament: Cassadaigua handily dispatched us when we met in the round of sixteen of the eighty-third world cup. Reçueçn, unranked yet having made it to the world cup knockout rounds on its first attempt, saw its fairy-tale story, as Cassadagan media has always so aptly put it, brought to an end one-nil at the hands of the Fillies. Since then, Les Licornes have not played against Cassadaigua, or even visited—during the last world cup all of their games took place in Baker Park. Cassadaigua looks to be just as fierce and fearsome an opponent as ever, but hopefully the ÉNRF has improved since the first cycle of its return to international football.

Finally, Reçueçn's group stage appearance will wrap up playing against the hosts themselves. Les Licornes have crossed horns with the Satyrs just once, but it was not long ago: just before qualification started Reçueçn played a short series of friendlies, and hosted Mriin to give the hosts an opportunity to play before the World Cup as well. Reçueçn edged by on a single goal from Franky Adams, and managing to remain undefeated throughout the rest of its friendlies, came away feeling far more confident than they probably should have. Mriin—already a higher-ranked, better-established team than Reçueçn—should be able to defeat the ÉNRF any day, but doubly so when playing at home with the support of their own fans, knowledge of the stadia, comfortable in their own space, and playing with no jet-lag. But Reçueçn will most likely come into the game against their hosts needing a win if they want to advance.

The opening game against Drawkland is also a must-win match. Reçueçn is pot 3 now, and they need to get their money's worth from their seeding if they are to have any hope when facing the top teams afterward. Will Les Licornes be able to do it? Hopefully. Reçueçn limped out of the end of qualifiers with three draws in four games, but one of those was against Brenecia, and the fourth game was an overwhelmingly confident win against an otherwise strong Quebec. Franky Adams, hwo had been benched for six consecutive games, is back in the starting line-up, and the team, once riven by differing opinions over the Cocoa-bo controversy, seems to have healed. Will it be enough for Reçueçn to advance past the group stage for a second time? Or are we still the underdogs we always have been?

[Turori]

"Better with Cocoa-bo" Campaign in Overdrive amid Record Sales

Cocoa-bo, Lpaka, Turori :: With the so-called "Independent Cocoa-Bo Inquiry" Well underway as led by the Holy Empire's Captain Sir Barsanauphius, officials at Cocoa-bo have yet to make any official public comments regarding the ongoing charade, instead basking in the wave of free publicity surrounding their product that has led to record sales across the multiverse with demand for pop-up locations in new countries expanding at a rate which even the world-class staff at Cocoa-bo can not dream of keeping up with. Of course, the Timing could not be better for the Cocoa-bo marketing team with the World Cup 85 Finals just over the horizon. The "Better With Cocoa-bo" campaign has always been strongly linked to the World Cup Finals and the Turori-based outfit are set to cash in once again playing off the allegations being lofted in the Independent Inquiry to once again wonder whether the various nations of the multiverse would be better with Cocoa-bo.

Of course the tradition for Cocoa-bo is to focus on the host nations of the World Cup when marketing in those nations but with Sales at an all time high and the "Better with Cocoa-bo" campaign budget seeing similar increases to support the Marketing and Outreach teams, the outreach campaign is being expanded to include the greater hosting team as well as each of the opponent nations of the Turori National Team at the World Cup 85 Finals.

As coincidence would have it, however, two of the World Cup 85 hosting group are actually in the Turori National Team's group for the World Cup Finals. Just as it were in the Qualifiers, Turori finds themselves in the very first Group, denoted in Qualifying as "Group 1" and denoted now in the Finals as "Group A". While the star of the group will be the home nation and defending World Cup Champion Farfadillis, the Turori Eels will start their World Cup Finals campaign off against Zwangzug. The two nations recently contested a home and away series at the Eagles Club giving an indication of how things might go in Farfadillis. Both sides won their home legs with the Turori National Team taking a 3-0 victory in Eelandii and Zwangzug edging out the Eels 2-1 in the return leg. Despite these previous meetings, the neutral venue match-up in Farfadillis could be the most important meeting between the two sides in their history as many believe that this opening match will be the key result in determining which nation will join defending World Champions and host nation Farfadillis in the Knockout Rounds.

So what of the Marketing Campaign? Luckily drawn in the chaotic Farfutian half of the draw, Cocoa-bo marketing team members have had free reign to plaster the cities with their "Better With Cocoa-bo" material. The first round of posters and handouts took a familiar two-tone form of the National Flag of Zwangzug with a uniquely Cocoa-bo inspired twist...

:: Cocoa-Bo Eatery
Cocoa-bo, an establishment taking its name directly from the beloved national animal of Turori, started as a small dessert shop in Kionao. However, it was only after they added chocolate topped drinks to their menu that their popularity started to soar. As more and more patrons scooped up their chocolate flavored pick-me-ups, demand for the Cocoa-bo product skyrocketed and soon new franchised locations were popping up all throughout Turori. Shifting to more of a social 'hang-out' then just a casual place to drop in, get a dessert, and leave, the new locations started adding small foods such as Bagels for the morning, Soups and Sandwiches for Lunch or Dinner and Salads for the entire day.

Cocoa-bo has expanded outside of Vilita & Turori. Their first regional location was opened in Andossa Se Mitrin Vega and Cocoa-bo has opened temporary locations during major internationstatal events such as the World Cup Finals with past locations appearing in Drawkland and Cosumar. Cocoa-bo has a permanent presence in South Covello and is also continuing to grow its presence in Starblaydia, the Equestrian States and the Free Republics. The company continues to further increase its image by partnering with Motorsport teams and expanding the company footprint across Atlantian Oceania and beyond. Cocoa-bo are also the kit sponsor for Mliona-Lpaka AFC in the Vilitan League. Cocoa-bo's largest current markets are, in order, Turori; South Covello, the Equestrian States, Vilita and the Free Republics. Cocoa-bo's most recent major expansion was to the region of Rushmore through its hub in Starksville, Cassadaigua. Cocoa-bo has also entered the business of product licensing and outsourcing after establishing an exclusivity agreement within the Commonwealth of Baker Park for bottling, distribution and local product with the BCEL Beverage Company to maintain a product line of Cocoa-bo drinkables in the Commonwealth.

Cocoa-bo have been a contingency associate sponsor for Vilita & Turori Motorsports since NSSCRA Season 6 which has included prominent placement on part-time entries for Turorian driver #77 iBen Toralmintii as well as full time Vilita & Turori Motorsports drivers. Cocoa-bo is the official sponsor of the Cocoa-bo Speedway in Starksville Cassadaigua that will be home to Race #4 on the NSSCRA Schedule and Cocoa-bo will also be the presenting sponsor of the event as well in one of Cocoa-bo's fastest growing markets. Cocoa-bo's current largest current markets are, in order, Turori; South Covello, Cassadaigua, the Equestrian States, and Vilita

[Pasarga]

What was luck? Was luck something that just occurred naturally and you were either fortunate enough or unfortunate enough to either be in its graces or on the wrong side of those who had bottled it? Or was luck something that you could subtly manipulate, to bring closer to your advantage so that when the time came, luck would be on your side and not the opposite? Could an individual or a team really do enough to sway the tides of the universe so that they could bestow a bit of fortune to themselves in otherwise dire straits or situations that would otherwise be unfavorable? It was often said that fortune favored the bold and if luck is part of fortune or the act of bestowing fortune to someone or someones, then surely those who are bold are then lending themselves to be on the right side of luck? With the draw for World Cup 85 in Farfadillis and Mriin, the Wanderers of our dearly beloved Pasarga will be hoping that they will be able to capture a bit of that luck like lightning in a bottle and propel themselves from a very difficult group and into the knockouts. It is a heady goal for the side but with that star that adorns the crest, there is every reason to hope that they could win another.

After their two cycles of missing the Finals, the Wanderers find themselves in Group C and playing themselves in Farfadillis, traveling once more to southwest Atlantian Oceania, a subregion that most Pasargans are very familiar with given the Young Wanderers' success in the Di Bradini Cup that is held every other year in the Eternal Empire. While it will not be anything close to the same sort of "home advantage" that the Wanderers might have felt if the tournament was played in the dual islands or even in Rushmore, the fact of the matter is that the side and fans will be very used to traveling to this part of the footballing world and should be able to acclimatize to the weather and time zones a bit better than most. There is a small amount of hope that they familiarity and supposed ability to adapt to their surroundings quicker will allow the Wanderers' to spring a surprise or two against the rest of their group and find points in a group that looks on paper to be out of the Wanderers' reach to be able to advance. The old saying goes though, that the games are not played out on paper, they are on the field and anything can happen out there.

It does not start out easy for the Wanderers, as they will be taking on a Free Republics side that seemed to coast towards the qualification and group winning without much of a sweat. They are a foe that need no introduction and they are the first side that the Wanderers will be playing in Farfadillis, the only other side in the group that is not from Atlantian Oceania and the whole reason the team believes their familiarity with the subregion may allow them a small advantage. The Republicans have adapted to a very attacking 3-4-3 formation and will no doubt be looking to overrun a defensive line that had its fair share of question marks during the qualifiers. The Republicans will think to have that attacking advantage to push forward and break down the Wanderers' backline, with Deli Ács looking to be the big difference maker for the side. If the young captain is able to steady his line and help the attack going forward, springing counters against what will no doubt be a pressing Republican attack, then the Wanderers' will have a chance. It is a big ask of the twenty-six year old, but there was a reason he was handed the armband before the qualifiers, and this is the time for him to earn that leadership and respect that the managerial staff trusted him with.

Things do not get any easier in the second match, as the side will be playing off against another Southwestern Atlantian Oceania nation in Banija, a side that seems to be many betters dark horse to go on and win this tournament. Banija has exploded onto the footballing scene like a whirlwind and they have rocketed their way up to the top with a display of skill, tenacity, and discipline that any footballing nation would be very proud of. Playing in their own backyard of their subregion is no doubt going to work in their favor, with the stands likely to be packed with their supporters. If we're honest, getting a win over Banija seems very unlikely, they are the group's top seed and have been in pretty decent form during the qualifiers, although they did show a bit of sign of weakness in their friendlies leading up to the Finals. A draw is the most that the side can realistically expect to get out of this match but if the side is able to get a win in that first match against the Republicans, then a draw will suffice. The midfield and backline will once again be tested in the match against Banija and it may be a case of a rotation policy to get the most fit players out to stand a chance.

And then there is the last match in the group, a match in which their opponents will no doubt be looking to get a little revenge from the Cup of Harmony of two years past as the squad will be taking on Sarzonia. On paper this will be the easiest match for the side in the entire group stage but this is a Sarzonia team that has come out of a long hiatus and reemerged as a premier footballing power in only two cycles. It is an impressive display of raw footballing ability and when one considers that they will have that extra edge of getting a bit of revenge against the Wanderers after we bounced them in the knockouts during the Cup of Harmony, it is easy to see why this is a dangerous fixture. For the Wanderers, this match will either be a consolation match in which the side will attempt to get a win to boost their rankings and pot for the next cycle or one where they will need a result to have that slim chance of advancing. This match could ultimately come down to on who has what on the line and if the Wanderers still have that chance to advance out of the group, then Sarzonia will no doubt get a side that will be very hungry to right the wrongs they have felt of the last two cycles, as will the entire group.

[Mriin]

You'll never know what you'll find in Farfadillis. Maybe even rivers in the desert? Cutoff for Groups A-D!

[Taeshan]

http://chirb.it/xqMpFK

Taeshan 0-1 Equestria 
Den Mytologiska Maneter, Fröndt, Farfadillis
The Heck If I know. Still Managed to win the game without a roster so...Respect I guess? 68'

My Next Chapter

To say my mental health has been lacking these last few days would be an understatement. Isn’t this where I wanted to be, am I not doing the best I can? I don’t know and maybe that is the problem. Maybe this isn’t what I wanted to be. I find myself with the questions all the time. At what point do I hang up the boots because I am not having the fun I used to have. Kicking a ball around for money has gotten me a lot of it, but at what point does the fact that I am no longer making enough to make up for how unhappy I am kick in?

I guess I am unhappy. Maybe that is the first step, admitting it. It’s not a lot of joy kicking the ball around. Scoring goals. It’s a chore. At what point, at what point do I just stop? The grind of getting up every day working out, training, etc…It’s rough. I can’t keep up the rate forever and 29 years at this point has been incredibly rough. Kids want to do this for the love of the game, and I loved the game, but I had other goals.

I wanted to be a teacher. I found so much joy in reading. I loved writing. I loved showing my friends how to do things. But that got sidetracked when I was 16 and I had “talent”. I loved football but it wasn’t exactly what I imagined myself doing. But the opportunity to get out of where I was presented itself. Being poor is rough, making money can fix that. Or so I thought. I found myself richer than I ever was. I found myself moving to Equestria to play football.

But I still find myself happy. I still find myself wanting more. Maybe it is time to retire and go get my teaching degree. Football is a lot of people’s dreams, but it has just been my job for so long. I love my teammates, I love playing for my country, However, I’m too old for this shit. It’s time to retire. I served my country, I was a starter for 8 years, I reached 100 caps and now I’m doing my duty as a late game sub. It’s time for my next chapter.

Abriel Torres

[Valanora]

Groups of Death, Group of Life, they are one in the same if you ask me. The Marauders might be in one of the most difficult groups of the World Cup here in Mriin, but it is not an obstacle that can not be overcome and not something to cause undue worry or trepidation. So what if three of the four teams in the group are World Cup champions, the fact of the matter is that the Eternal Empire has five of those titles and had a very impressive run in the qualifiers to make it here to the Finals. Who cares if two of the three opponents that the Marauders are going to be taking on in the World Cup are from Atlantian Oceania and have been at different points in the Marauders history something of a bogey team? If memory serves, we've dealt massive blows to Audioslavia and 95X nearly as much if not more than they have done to us, it is merely the fact that they have done so repeatedly that makes them worth the remembering. So what if everyone wants to treat the Marauders as a has been team that is so divorced from success that even debut nations would want them as the first seed in their groups? The Marauders still romped the group and were easily qualified with several matches to spare.

There is this idea that has been prevalent for over forty cycles of the World Cup that the Marauders are some sort of boogey man, some form of a monster to be fear and reviled, for them to be en entity that sends terror to others but elates massive glee for even garnering a result against the squad. They have become the villain of the World Cup despite never really stepping forth into that role that so many had earmarked them for, a role that clearly had its mental toll on players throughout the years as they kept seeing the same things over and over again. Even the tolerance and stoic nature of the elves was tested and eventually worn away as what had been resolute, world class players slowly saw themselves slipping further away as more and more of the mental toil and pain worked its nefarious way through their confidence and demeanor. It is no big surprise that the majority of the elven players for the national team and even for domestic clubs decided to depart this realm of existence during the last Calling, and the few who had remained eventually grew tired of all that strain and retired as well.

So we come to this squad in this group that has all the writings of an upset, of seeing the Marauders once more cast as the role of the villain to be slain by the heroes of Nephara and Audioslavia, the champion nations of the World Cup. For many tournaments, the team would shy away from this role that the rest of the footballing community cast them as, rather looking inwards on ways to improve themselves and ignore all the static coming from the rest of the tournament. However with this group and all that is at stake, there seems to be an inkling that the team may be willing to indulge the role of the villain that so many see the Marauders as and cast down their wrath upon the group. It may well not be enough, it could be their very undoing with the skill of Nephara and the bullish nature that is the Audioslav national team, as well as the way 95X just has a way of turning up in big occasions against the Marauders to ruin their runs. It all may be for not, but if the World Cup community wanted the Marauders to be a monster and villain, then who were they to deny the community of its wants.

[95X]

Qualified. With Interim Coach.

The 95X players entered the locker room during qualifying for the first time since their Head Coach was arrested, and to their surprise is an older-looking man with a dark complexion, black and gray hair, and thick-framed black glasses.

"I'm Luke Trenton," he introduces himself to the players, who'd been assembled. "Now I've been brought on to help you compete in the rest of the tournament. I've coached for over thirty years and I'm from a nation that no longer exists, but that's besides the point. Oh, personally I'm happily married to my wife of twenty-seven years."

Mr. Trenton would go on to lead the 95Xers to the top of their qualifying group and into the World Cup itself.

[Eura]

emplor.eur/main/sport/football
EURA QUALIFY FOR WORLD CUP
Improved form in second half of qualifying campaign praised by Brandon
Report by our Euran international team correspondent Isabel Haynes

An air of frustration permeated last night as Eura completed the marathon qualification round for the 85th World Cup. Their final two games had been a disappointment; rotated, experimental sides fell to an underwhelming second defeat to The Jovannic (prompting many journalists to spend time looking up the last time a team did the double over us in qualifying), and then a similarly disappointing draw at home to Wanarpu.

However the overall story of qualifying was a positive one. Eura had topped their group with games to spare and, before experimenting once progress was mathematically assured, Michael Brandon’s side had seen a positive uptick in form. He was full of encouragement for his team after the final match. “The last couple of games have maybe not been ideal results, but it’s our strong performances earlier in qualifying that have allowed us to try new systems and give some of the younger players a run out. I’m pleased with where we’ve got to and we’re confident ahead of the tournament.”

Eura performed better than the first half of qualifying. On the negative side they dropped points against the same lower-seeded teams that they did last time, including further poor results against Sabalonia and the Jovannic and conceding a lot of goals in the process. On the positive side they maintained an excellent record against the stronger teams, and key players like Brian Bond are in fine form. Before we set off to Mriin and Farfadillis, we’re going to go back through the second half of Eura’s qualifying campaign.

MATCHDAY 13
Northwest Kalactin 4–6 Eura @ a stadium in Northwest Kalactin
Bond 8, 52, Bevan 15, Griffiths 44, Woakes 57, Bowman 62

When Northwest Kalactin visited Eura the spectators were treated to four goals, two apiece. Clearly someone had a word with both sides that this somehow wasn’t enough, because on the return trip, we saw ten goals in an absolute horror show for both sets of defenders. It started early with Brian Bond’s 10th goal in 11 qualifying games, diverting a low Griffiths cross through a group of defenders and Wendell Jakerein’s fingertips. Jakerein was then caught out for a second Eura goal; Bond created it this time, shrugging off a Matt Hall challenge to burst into the box and cut the ball back from the touchline. Jakerein tried to smother it but was too slow, allowing Frank Bevan to steal a poached effort under his body from only a few yards out.

Eura were subjected to a taste of their own medicine not long after. Kevin Belgrave doesn’t make many mistakes these days but here he had a shocker. Belgrave received a simple passback from Charles Roberts and put his foot through it, only to skew the kick out horribly, straight to the feet of Jimmy McCarthy. The young striker had been bullied out of the game to this point by the stronger Euran defenders. He took his first chance with aplomb, chesting the ball down and striking it hard past an embarrassed Belgrave from way out. Scott Coles then made an error – of all people – chopping down Will Sanders to concede a cheap penalty. Sanders converted.

There was then a few minutes where Northwest Kalactin had briefly completed one of the great comebacks against Eura, maybe even challenging the like of Nova Anglicana’s 4-3 win in Bastion, when Sanders found Luke Dillan with an exceptional long ball, Dillan then charging into the box and finishing clinically. It was 3-2 to the home side with three goals in ten minutes. Unfortunately for the home side Eura struck a hugely important blow just before half time, Coles making up for his earlier error by setting up Griffiths with a sublime through ball.

From there Eura seized control and left their opponents in a daze, dominating possession for the first twenty minutes after half time and doubling their goal tally. Bond scored a tap in, Moira Woakes another, and Damion Bowman scored the finest of the bunch – a flat drive along the ground from 25 yards that raced past Jakerein. The hosts bravely fought on and attempted another comeback but it was not to be, although a further defensive error (Bevan the guiltiest party this time) allowed Sanders to score a consolation fourth. How often do you get to say that?

MATCHDAY 14
Eura 3–1 Eshan @ Bastion Arena, Bastion
Bond 29 (pen), Coles 60, Underwood 67

After the chaos in Northwest Kalactin, Eura returned home to an intriguing battle against Eshan. A side that had apparently been on the decline in recent years were suddenly looking rather good again and had racked up an impressive win streak to surge up the qualifying table. It was a game that had the potential to be a major challenge for Eura. Instead, it was an anti-climax for sixty minutes. Eura took the lead in the first half through the most marginal of penalty calls, Bowman tumbling from a light challenge and Bond converting.

Other than that little happened until the sixtieth minute when Eura won another penalty, this time with no controversy as an Eshan defender slid carelessly into Bowman right in front of the referee. He was shown a red card and with Bond off the pitch for Underwood it was up to Scott Coles to calmly score the penalty. Underwood then added a third to rule out any threat of Eshan making a comeback, in spite of them scoring yet another frustrating late consolation.

MATCHDAY 15
Alba and Cymru 0–1 Eura @ Seumas Field Stadium, Edinburgh
Underwood 20, Howell s/o 82

Ahead of crucial games against The Sarian and Chromatika, Brandon opted to give players including Dean Steele and Anthony Townsend starts. Underwood and Bond started as a front two as the formation took on a more conventional 4-2-2-2 shape. James Howell also came into the squad for one matchday to replace Tommy Sutton who was out with an injury. The defence held firm against a high performing Alba and Cymru side, while Belgrave enjoyed a man of the match performance and a return to his usual high standards. The midfield dominated possession and the forwards took the one chance they needed to ensure victory.

It was a memorable goal. Underwood left Johannes Werner with little chance with a superb solo effort, gaining possession by himself in midfield, running through and then curling the ball past the goalkeeper. Sadly the game would be marred by a moment of controversy as the match slowly tailed off. Howell, on as a substitute for Bond, was given an opportunity in the box to snatch a loose ball and make it 2-0. Howell charged for the ball at the same time as home goalkeeper Werner, and they clashed – leading to an excruciating injury for the latter. His fractured leg caused no shortage of concern in the stadium and thankfully medical staff were able to get him off the field without making the injury worse, but the Eurans were left aggravated by the questionable decision to send Howell off for the incident.

MATCHDAY 16
Eura 4–1 The Sarian @ Bastion Arena, Bastion
Woakes 6, Bowman 33, 47, Bevan 41

The sour mood left over from Edinburgh was soon displaced by Eura’s fifth consecutive victory in an important tie against The Sarian. The visitors had been the dark horse in the group to this point but were run ragged in Bastion by a refreshed and confident Euran first team. Goals from Woakes, Bowman and Bevan put the tie beyond The Sarian’s reach by half time, before Bowman added a sensational fourth right after the break, curling in a long range shot from 25 yards, leaving Oodel Duoztiun rooted to the spot. There was some relief for “De Bondsaari” when Lach Houten’s goal denied Belgrave a clean sheet once again, but this was a convincing Euran win.

MATCHDAY 17
Chromatika 0–2 Eura @ The Capitalizt Dome, Chromatk City
Bond 59, Townsend 78

Chromatika’s calamitous start has been one of the biggest stories of qualifying for the 85th World Cup. However by this point they had started to build up an impressive run of form, threatening to complete one of the greatest ever comebacks by a second seed in qualifying – after what had been one of the worst starts by a second seed. For Eura the task was simple; avoid defeat, keep marching on. Eshan were now beginning to crumble meaning Eura simply had to avoid defeat against the big teams. Chromatika could afford to lose one more game, especially against the top seeds, but beyond that they couldn’t take another defeat.

As a result of the above the Eurans arguably had something of a psychological edge in this game with less pressure on to get a result, whereas Chromatika looked unable to cope with the pressure. Bond’s deadlock breaking 59th minute strike seemed to demoralise them quite severely, allowing the Eurans to shut the game down ruthlessly. There was also time for a second goal, Anthony Townsend coming off the bench to gently nudge a ball across the goal-line from the right ahead of an attempted Henri de Aea intervention.

MATCHDAY 18
Eura 0–0 Sabalonia @ Bastion Arena, Bastion

The lengthy qualifying campaign format was now taking its toll on all sides, which is possibly why this game turned out to be so dire. Both teams struggled in thirty degree Celsius heat as Bastion was subjected to its latest “microclimate heatwave”, as the government are calling it. Fans and players alike seemed to be hazy and confused allowing Sabalonia to get away with a point, a disappointing result for Eura – only one point from six against them. The only bright star was the performance of Dean Steele, who again looked assured in the back and likely to take back his place from Harvey Blake sooner rather than later.

MATCHDAY 19
Savojarna 1–3 Eura @ The Bjurman, Sjoedrhavn
Fletcher 56, Bond 68, Underwood 84

Like Chromatika, Savojarna are a strong side who were unlucky to be drawn into a tough battle for second place in this qualifying group. With a tough run in ahead of them a positive result against Eura at home was going to be vital, while Eura were looking to continue their unbeaten run. Unlike the game in Bastion, Savojarna did not struggle to create chances and were the better side in the first half. Eura-based Jashkin was much livelier this time, perhaps spurred on by media speculation linking him with a big money move to Directus. The real star though was captain Victoria Maersk who looked impervious in midfield, and who gave her team the lead with a belting effort from just outside the box on the stroke of half time, just as her team were running out of energy.

Eura had not been impressive and Brandon made two changes accordingly. Fletcher and Coltrane were in for Griffiths and Woakes as Eura switched to two up front. The change in tactics worked a charm and was rewarded with an unstoppable equaliser, Fletcher lacing a shot home off the outside of his powerful right foot. Bond then supplied Bowman with a beautifully timed lobbed through ball, before the winger returned the favour, sliding the ball through the gap between Iiro Pakanen and his defenders for Bond to rush in and finish. Bond was withdrawn for Underwood as Eura set up to defend their thin lead. This change worked well too, and would eventually secure the win as Underwood raced away from the team chasing the game, waited for Pakanen to commit their balance and placed a shot to his right accordingly.

MATCHDAY 20
Eura 2–0 Terre Septentrionale @ Bastion Arena, Bastion
Woakes 26, Patterson 82

Eura finally mathematically secured qualification for the 85th World Cup with a win at home against Terre Septenrionale, with the added bonus of a third clean sheet in four games. It was a game of few chances, yet the ones that did come Eura’s way were made to count. Bond was unusually wasteful in front of goal and came off early, unable to add to his superb return of 14 goals in qualifying in his 18th appearance. Eura’s midfield supplied the goals instead, Woakes chipping in with her sixth of the campaign before substitute Henry Patterson hammered in a free kick, his first goal for Eura.

MATCHDAY 21
Sanctanus 3–4 Eura @ a stadium in Sanctanus
Fletcher 17, Wright 30, Humphreys 66, Coltrane 79

Visiting Sanctanus was a tough ask as fatigue was beginning to show in the Euran squad once again, leading to some further rotation. The mixed Euran side that faced Sanctanus were poor defensively – once again Ryan Bull struggled in goal – but dangerous going forward, scoring four goals that offset the three conceded. The pick of the goals was undoubtedly Freddie Wright’s 30th minute stunner, hit hard from 25 yards with the fury of a man made to wait a long time for a true international breakthrough.

MATCHDAY 22
Eura 5–3 Adyatin @ Bastion Arena, Bastion
Robshaw 2, Bond 6, 70, Griffiths 32, Woakes 38

At home against Adyatin the Eurans were back to nearer full strength, though notably Vincent Robshaw came in for Frank Bevan. Robshaw couldn’t have done more to take advantage of his rare starting opportunity. After just 72 seconds he had made it 1-0, sidefooting in from Griffith’s shot-turned-cross. Remarkably, every midfielder in Eura’s squad had now scored during qualifying. It was one of the faster goals in the history of the Euran international team and was followed up by another not long after, Bond exploiting a weakness in the repertoire of visiting goalkeeper Serhiy Makhulin; he met a floated ball into the box with perfect anticipation, catching the keeper off his line and powerless to stop the header sailing in.

The rest of the first half was a complete goal glut. Almost every shot on target was going in. Griffiths made it 2-1 with an own goal while defending a corner, but made up for it not long after with a goal in the right end to make it 3-1. Slavomir Hautarovich then made it 3-2 with a header not dissimilar to Bond’s goal, before Woakes floored Konstantin Sirietko with her skill on the ball and drilled an unstoppable shot past Makhulin. Six goals had been scored in the opening period. The second half was much quieter, but even so two more goals were scored as Bond and Hautarovich both scored second goals at each end. Eura did enough to hold on to the win as much of the first team made their last appearances of qualifying.

MATCHDAY 23
The Jovannic 2–1 Eura @ Great Jovannica Stadium, Jovannica
Hall 64

Not many of the Euran press corps could believe what they were witnessed in Jovannica. A fully rotated Euran team put in a poor performance against The Jovannic and fell to an embarrassing defeat. This was the first time a team had done the double over Eura in qualifying for many years (that we are aware of from memory – the dreadful experience of the 83rd World Cup may be an exception but we’ve largely tried to purge that from our minds).

MATCHDAY 24
Eura 1–1 Wanarpu @ Bastion Arena, Bastion
Townsend 23

Some of the first and second teams came back into the side for this game, and Eura also gave starting appearances to three of their reserves – Jarrod Jenkins, Adam Woodman and a returning Dean Sharp. “Sharp Junior” was given a roaring welcome back to the red and gold shirt by the fans in Bastion Arena, and Jenkins put in a decent performance, however the occasion belonged to Woodman most of all. The 19 year old is a huge prospect at Directus and even a threat for the not too distant future to the mighty Rowena Strongbow. He looked lively on his senior international debut. However Eura were unable to finish off qualifying with a win against the bottom team in the group, rounding off what has been an inconsistent if successful qualifying campaign.

GROUP 3 TABLE

Group 3                                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Eura                                         24   17   4   3    62   33  +29    55 Q
 2 Terre Septentrionale                         24   12   7   5    51   45   +6    43 Q
 3 Eshan                                        24   14   1   9    38   34   +4    43
 4 Chromatika                                   24   12   3   9    56   37  +19    39
 5 Northwest Kalactin                           24   10   9   5    63   56   +7    39
 6 The Sarian                                   24   11   4   9    38   33   +5    37
 7 Savojarna                                    24   10   7   7    40   35   +5    37
 8 The Jovannic                                 24   10   3  11    41   47   −6    33
 9 Alba and Cymru                               24    7   6  11    17   24   −7    27
10 Sabalonia                                    24    6   5  13    29   42  −13    23
11 Adyatin                                      24    6   5  13    38   53  −15    23
12 Sanctanus                                    24    3   9  12    38   51  −13    18
13 Wanarpu                                      24    3   7  14    27   48  −21    16

Player Stats: WC85 Qualifying MD1-MD24
Does not include friendlies

1 - Kevin Belgrave - GK - 31 – Directus – 18 apps
13 – Ryan Bull - GK - 32 - Brinemouth (Nephara) – 4 apps
30 – Vance Simm – GK – 23 – Lajuno – 3 apps

2 – Scott Coles - RB - 34 – Ulsa – 18 apps, 1 goal
3 – Stanley Burns – LB – 25 – Holdenberg – 17 apps
4 – Charles Roberts - CB - 29 – Bastion – 18 apps
5 – Harvey Blake - CB - 31 – Spartangrad – 18 apps – 1 goal
15 – Dean Steele – CB – 26 – Brinemouth (Nephara) – 11 apps
19 – Samuel Hopkins - CB - 30 - Eastweald (Cosumar) – 7 apps
21 – Steve Fox – RB – 28 – Sabrefell Athletic (Nephara) – 6 apps
23 – Ben Hall - LB - 31 – Oakstone – 9 apps, 1 goal
25 – Jake Newton - CB - 27 - Baskita FC (Pasarga) – 6 apps
27 – Alex Ingram - LB - 23 – Spartangrad – 4 apps

6 – Monica Rowland (F) - CM - 29 – Bastion – 20 apps, 1 goal
7 – Oscar Coltrane - AM - 35 - Sabrefell Athletic (Nephara) – 9 apps, 2 goals
8 – Frank Bevan - CM – 29 – Holdenberg – 18 apps, 2 goal
11 - Damion Bowman – LW – 25 – Crisisbless (Nephara) – 18 apps, 7 goals
12 - Rhys Griffiths - AM - 29 – Revolutionaries – 19 apps, 5 goals
16 – Anthony Townsend - RM - 31 – Oakstone – 10 apps, 3 goals
18 – Vincent Robshaw - CM - 26 - Northern Union (Brenecia) – 7 apps, 1 goal
20 – Moira Woakes (F) – AM – 26 – Crisisbless (Nephara) – 18 apps, 7 goals
22 – Harry Humphreys – CM – 29 – Raynor City United (Valanora) – 7 apps, 1 goal
24 - Liam Armstrong - CM - 32 – 1830 Cathair (Audioslavia) – 9 apps, 1 goal
28 – Henry Patterson – CAM – 27 – Directus – 5 apps, 1 goal
29 – Freddie Wright – RW – 28 – Brigham – 5 apps, 1 goal

9 – Brian Bond - LW/ST - 29 – Oakstone – 19 apps, 16 goals
10 – Dion Underwood - ST - 35 – Bastion – 11 apps, 5 goals
14 – John Fletcher – CF – 30 – AFC Treason (Nephara) – 10 apps, 5 goals
17 – Morgan Fox - CF - 31 – Olask Islanders (Cosumar) – 4 apps
26 – Tommy Sutton - ST - 24 – Falourr – 3 apps, 1 goal

Reserves

James Howell – ST – 29 – Holdenberg – 1 app
Jarrod Jenkins – CB – 25 – Falourr – 1 app
Adam Woodman – LW – 19 – Directus – 1 app
Dean Sharp – ST – 33 – 1830 Cathair (Audioslavia) – 1 app

[Sarzonia]

This Sarzonia national football team is not your father's Stars. Or your grandfather's. Or great-grandfather's.

This team as led by manager Kevin Connelly knows its chances of advancing to the knockout rounds are realistically slim at best. World No. 4 Banija, a team the Stars have never defeated despite being competitive in every match in spite of being hopelessly outclassed. Seventeenth-ranked Free Republics, in a match more notable for the rapidly escalating tensions between the countries, and No. 26 Pasarga, a team that Sarzonia certainly remembers from the previous cycle's Cup of Harmony semifinals all are in Group C with the Stars.

Connelly relished the role of the underdog. He was fully aware of the perception that he was not the coach to lead a team into the World Cup or to do anything notable while there. The role took away enormous pressure from the Sarzonian bench boss, and that lack of pressure showed up in training. It also loosened up the team itself as it got set to face a Kadongo Kamu side that lost just once and only drew a single match in 24 World Cup qualifying matches.

That relaxed demeanour paid enormous dividends as the Stars as they garnered a penalty kick save from their youthful goalkeeper Carlton Sandt and a match-winning goal from Brady Reynolds with time running out in stoppage time for Sarzonia to emerge with a 3-2 victory over the Kadongo Kamu to kick off the group stage of World Cup 85.

The heavily favoured Banijans struck first in the fourth minute through a rocket off the boot of Gitonga Kahara, who managed to get defender Russ Howard to overcommit to an onrushing Madu Okparra. Defender Charlie King didn't pinch off attacking middie Namakula Kawesa to help out, expecting Howard to maintain his mark.

The confusion would rear its ugly head again in the 27th minute when King got caught trying to switch off onto Okparra when he saw Howard slip and fall. Sandt attempted to run onto the ball and launch it out of the Sarzonian end, but Sandt saw King in his peripheral vision and hesitated at the last second, giving Kawesa just the opening she needed to make it two-nil.

Clayton Wilson then gathered his team and decided to draw a page from the playbook of Delaclav captain Keaton Durbridge and cajole his team.

"They're NOT better than us!" he shouted above the din of the noisy Kadongo Kamu supporters to his team as he sensed the beginning of dejection in the players in the away navy kits. "We can play with these guys! Let's show some fucking life out here!"

Wilson took his own speech to heart and made an uncharacteristically aggressive run after collecting the kickoff from Carlos dos Santos. Shocked by the Stars captain's run, the Kadongo Kamu defence collapsed onto Wilson, but that played perfecly into the hands of the heir to the Wilson line. He passed the ball to striker Cayden Aguirre, who fired a shot that was saved by Kadongo Kamu keeper Jumu Sanneh, but Jake Campos was right there for the rebound and the senior Stars were on the scoresheet against Banija for the first time ever in the 37th minute.

The teams ran into their respective dressing rooms, and Connelly took an encouraging tact.

"We're in this match even though we haven't been perfect," he said. "We have no reason to be in awe right now. They're a great team, but they aren't unbeatable. We just need to turn the tide."

In the 56th minute, that tide began to turn as Connelly sent on Holly Cambrio for dos Santos. She attempted to tackle the ball away from Okparra in the Sarzonian box, but she got called for a penalty for a tackle well inside the area. Connelly sat down on the bench and looked down for his water bottle, hoping the act would cause him to miss what he expected to be the eventual penalty kick goal off the boot of Ilman Jawara.

However, when he heard a roar from the Sarzonian end of the stadium, he saw King clearing the ball toward midfield. He looked up and saw Sandt guessed correctly and made a spectacular save. Four minutes later, Aguirre would find the scoresheet with a header off a cross from Cambrio and the Stars were suddenly level.

Connelly decided to continue to press the attack, knowing the Kadongo Kamu would be dangerous and desperate to salvage the two points they were suddenly in danger of letting slip. He even got Mek'hi West to take off his warmups and prepare to get in to be part of what would amount to a 3-4-3 lineup.

As the final minute of the four minutes of stoppage time seemed to be close to its conclusion, West fired a long range shot that Sanneh parried away, but Reynolds quickly swung his boot at the rebound and slammed the ball into the net. He and the rest of the team converged in a hug as Sanneh quickly grabbed the ball and fired it hurriedly toward the centre of the pitch.

Just two more kicks from the boots of Kadongo Kamu players later, the three bursts of whistle rang out. The Stars added proof to the adage that there's a first time for everything with a dramatic comeback from a two-nil deficit for a 3-2 victory.

The Stars wouldn't care that a potential new enemy in Free Republics won the other Group C match in a nine-goal slugfest. They wouldn't care about much else tonight. For this night, the Stars once again shocked the football world by rising up and knocking out a heavyweight.

As for Kevin Connelly, he would make his case for establishing his own football legacy, no matter what the results looked like from here on out.

[Farfadillis]

Some Uruguayan music while we await results.

[Ko-oren]

In a rare match against Main Nation Ministry, we have gotten the most Ko-orenite scoreline of... 1-0. A win, that is. Regardless of what the rest of the Multiverse is doing, the most important thing is for us to ignore the rest and focus on our own results. We've been doing the opposite for a while and it hasn't worked for us all that well.

Thankfully we haven't had to send our fans out to the slightly draconian nation of Main Nation Ministry, though in fact its rules are close enough to ours - they're just phrased a little strictly. 'Don't misbehave' is what it comes down to, except in Ko-oren you'd be escorted out of the stadium. There's no way to tell what would happen out there. Anyway, we're lucky to play them on neutral ground.

From the first moment onwards, the Chessboards sought possession and hoped to keep it for as long as possible, carefully carrying the ball from one side of the field to another, just to find a gap in the Dragonfly defence. Fritjof and Plamen were allowed to go on an adventure, leading to loss of possession and often launching a counterattack. The further the match went on, the more comfortable Ko-oren were in possession, aided by a 1-0 lead after the 61st minute. That's not to say that Main Nation Ministry never had a decent opportunity. Ulderico started a few decent attacks, leading to Davor missing a header, and Theophil getting three shots on goal in the same attack, ending up on the post, against Van Schelven's knee, and in Cholmondeley's hands. Davor had another two opportunities at the death, a strike from distance that barely made it into the box, and then the second ball that flew comfortably over the bar.

Ko-oren's front 5 weren't toothless either. Vallotton and Turner were posted up front to exploit any long ball coming their way. Vallotton isn't a speed demon, but Turner has some pace in him. Longchambon and him formed a decent duo to test Gulumbu and Singh, but the Chessboards' defence was always back in time to snuff out a serious attempt. At the end of it all, Davor alone recorded as many shots on goal as all 11 Ko-orenites - but that was the gameplan.

Kita-Hinode and Vilita had a much more eventful match between them. They scored more goals than Ko-oren and Main Nation Ministry had shots on goal - 9 versus 8. Ko-oren takes second place behind Kita-Hinode, who had won 5-4, on the completely biased and wrong rule that puts goals scored over goals conceded.

In other groups, Sarzonia enjoyed an upset over Banija, and Qasden kept Starblaydia to a draw - all other matches were more or less as expected, some scorelines were definitely closer than others though.

---

(OOC: the points raised by Kadanu Lirthingen do not reflect those of the user behind Ko-oren. This is an entirely IC piece.)

Almost lost to time and space is that weird little abbreviation that determines why Ko-oren is in Pot 3 of the World Cup since the beginning of time and until the heat death of the universe. KPB. Often explained as standing for anything from 'Kampioenschapsplaatsingsbulletin' to 'Ko-oren Placed at Bottom', it actually stands for Kaze Progressa - Bedistan, as in 'the ranking deviced by Kaze Progressa and further perfected by Bedistan', the latter known for appearing on obscure wiki lists for previous World Cup winners. Hereby it's time to further revise it, giving teams such as our own a chance to break into that elusive Pot 2 promised land. I present to you:

BACKPACK

That's

Bedistan's Adjusted Calculations by Kaze Progressa, Attacked, err, Corrected by a Ko-orenite by Kadanu Lirthingen, a friend of Lunaro Tsukida of Numbers' Game fame amassed during World Cup 84

First point is a simple one: it takes so long to find the KPB Formula. And that formula is tiered, per competition. The Baptism of Fire has a different yield to the Cup of Harmony, and both pale in comparison to the behemoth: the World Cup. Oh, and the qualifiers also have a formula that basically counts for most of our points anyway, since qualifiers are leagues by themselves now. 26 games? There have been Top League seasons that were shorter.

In qualifiers, you get your points per game (points divided by games played), multiplied by how recent the World Cup was. In the World Cup finals, you get three free points, then after that you get all your group stage points added to that, not even divided by the number of games played. You get another three points for all knockout games you survive (which, in our case, is zero). Complaints from Cup of Harmony heroes boil down to the following: imagine winning the Cup of Harmony on penalties in a few knockout rounds, and getting very few points from the group stage before that. Say, that's 4 points in a three-game group stage, and 1.5 points per knockout round survived. That's a whopping 10 points divided by 7 matches played, for 1.43 points total. Most Cup of Harmony winners end up with fewer points than if they just had made the World Cup and flew out dead last in the group stage.

In fact, that's what happened to Pasarga. They got fewer than 7 points from their near-perfect Cup of Harmony run. Then remember our less-than-perfect group stage exit in World Cup 84 - and yeah, that got us almost the same number points.

We keep saying that one Cup of Harmony we won was such an amazing achievement. God, in KPB terms, it actually set us back quite a bit. Thank heavens we managed to qualify for the World Cup that followed immediately. We should scold that generation of players for celebrating that trophy.

So, that's my first order of business. Make the Cup of Harmony Great Again! You shouldn't be penalised for being in there, it's a fantastic tournament full of fun teams! Or rather, make the World Cup slightly less worth it. Vilita sitting up there with a 6 point cushion, smh. Has nothing to do with them being in our group at all, of course.

The second point, then: while we're at it, the Baptism of Fire sucks. It's hyped up to be 'the place to scout new talent', but it's more like 'the place where maybe some teams will be in the World Cup in a decade or so, and it's not even the winners of the Baptism of Fire, usually'. Playing your heart out for a measly two-and-a-half points if you're lucky.

In a 24-game World Cup qualifying stage, to get 2.5 KPB, you need to get 15 points. Among 195 nations, only 9 didn't get to 15 points. You're better off skipping the Baptism of Fire, avoiding injuries, then score one or two extra goals in that monstrous 24-game campaign. That'll get you from 15 points to, say, 18, giving you a whopping 3 KPB instead of the 2.5 KPB you would've gotten from 15 points.

So that's the second one: Make the Baptism of Fire Great! I could add the 'again', but really, it was never great.

Props to Tequilo and Trolleborg for being in the BoF so recently and still contend for the World Cup. I'd give props to Baker Park too for qualifying for the World Cup straight from the Baptism of Fire, but instead of props I'd like to start an investigation into a possible Cocoa-Bo scheme in that nation, that's just not right.

[Audioslavia]

Click the image to watch the video

Script

At a few points over the last couple of chapters you might have looked at a player’s name and thought “that looks kinda familiar”. There’s a reason for that. Delaclava’s Simon de Braden and The Holy Empire’s Simon Brades are two examples of what we call Belmorization. Belmorization occurs when a character becomes so well-known - for good reasons or bad, that they start to become reused and recycled at home and abroad. Imitations start to appear elsewhere in the multiverse. Some flattering. Some not so much.

As the most famous footballer, manager, writer, political figure and video narrator of one of the multiverse’s most prominent sporting nations, Simeone di Bradini has been parodied, and paid homage to, plenty of times throughout history, but he’s not the first character to have been put through this mill.

The Belmore Family were one of the most prominent teams in the ancient cycles, qualifying for the World Cup finals in eight of their first nine attempts between World Cups 5 and 13.

As the name suggests, there was a familial element to the nation and the national side.

“When commenting, I use their first names as all of our players’ surnames are Belmore.”
:- The Belmore Family, WC7 RP thread

Notable figures in the Belmore Family were star striker Alan Belmore, national team manager Alan Belmore and the Prime Minister of the country, whose name is Alan Belmore.

They are not the same person. That’d be silly.

Striker Alan Belmore, of Alan City Football Club, was the star player for The Belmore Family’s national team between World Cups 5 and 12, though he’s first mentioned in World Cup 7, scoring a hat-trick after half-time to overcome the mighty Dyelli Beybi on matchday 3 of qualifying.

From that point onwards, Striker Alan Belmore became almost unstoppable.

“Alan Belmore ran rings around them, demolishing them 2-0 with 2 fantastic goals, the first came only after 3 minutes of play, Alan Belmore took on 5 defenders, beating them easily to fire a shot high into the top left hand corner of the goal. Goal number 2 came after another 75 minutes of solid Belmorian possesion with Alan Belmore scoring a stunner from a free kick. The curl took it round the keeper and secured a 2-0 victory, silencing the manager's (also named Alan Belmore) critics.”
:- The Belmore Family, WC9 RP Thread

By the end of World Cup 9, Alan Belmore had become a hero in his home country, but a target abroad.

“Team captain Fernando Green recounts the events of the Wonderteam goal that happened in the 72nd minute.
"I was movin' downfield, seeing the Belmorian keeper going after the ball; then I saw Alan Belmore, and seconds later, I heard this loud cheer. Torrence then told me that Alan Belmore had just scored on his own keeper. I was shocked."
For Alan Belmore had intended to give his keeper the ball via a short cross; only the intended keeper missed it; and the star-striker had scored a goal on his own team.
Oglethorpian Wonderteam players mobbed the Belmorian striker -- there was an attempt to lift him into the air in celebration, but Green broke it up.”
:- Oglethorpia, WC9 RP thread

“Then, in the 72nd, Alan Belmore picked up the ball with his hands inside the Oglethorpian box and started running. Officials didn't blow the whistle because they wanted to see what this inbred would do. After three gene-related seizures, he eventually reached the Belmore box and threw it into the goal. Covered in his own drool, he lied [SIC] on the ground, half seizuring [SIC], half watching the ball bounce in."
:- Kingsford, WC9 RP thread
“Their Scandinavian colony always beats us in field hockey. I think it's because no one can tell all those Belmores apart. In fact, that's probably why Alan scores all their goals. My theory is that they actually have a balanced attack, but their players all look identical, so the officials just put down Alan. Also, it may be easier for them to spell.” [/i]
:- Tanah Burung, World Cup 10 RP thread

The World Cup was a different place before RP permissions existed.

Perhaps the cruellest reaction to the rise of Alan Belmore was the appearance of *this* image, which quickly became the de-facto avatar for all forms of Alan Belmore from World Cup 9 onwards.

With Alan’s continued dominance on the football field, it wasn’t long before other teams started to analyse the ‘Alan Belmore’ formula, and create Belmores of their own.

Usania started the trend in World Cup 10, fielding young striker Quentin Belmore in their attack, though more out of a lack of creativity than either parody of homage.

“I couldn't think of a a good name for him and so I looked into the WC9 rosters to get inspiration. He isn't anyhow related to TBF.”
:- Usania, World Cup 10 RP thread

Audioslavia followed suit in the guise of midfield super-sub Craig Belmore for World Cup 11. Commerce Heights defender Alan Belmore (no relation) and Gaddland winger Alan Belmore (no relation) appeared in World Cup 12. Also bursting onto the scene in the twelfth World Cup was Alan Belmore’s opposite number, Alan Belless, an Insanician striker and an example of Total n Utter Insanity’s typically subtle humour.

“Super-dooper-ooper striker Alan Belless scored once in the first half and twice in the second half to gain his 50th hat trick in 4 games. Unfortunately changing ends at half time confused him so much two of the goals went into his own net.”
:- Total n Utter Insanity, World Cup 12 RP thread

“When all three TnUI goalkeepers were run over by a runaway bus last night, and then trampled by pursuing police, Alan Belless stepped up to the plate. He was then told we were playing football not baseball and put on some gloves.”
:- Total n Utter Insanity, World Cup 12 RP thread

In World Cup 13, another Alan Belmore emerged onto the scene. His name was Alan Belmore and he represented The Belmore Family. Yes. This was a different Alan Belmore, with the previous incarnation having retired after his seventh World Cup.

“Name: Alan Belmore (The statisctical chance of another CF AB is quite likely.)
Posistion: Centre Forward
Number: 11”
:- The Belmore Family, World Cup 13 Roster thread

Another Belmore had come through the ranks at NEWI Cefn Druids in the guise of number 8 Trevor Belmore, who later would go on to manage the team and become one of the most influential players in Druidian football history. By this time, things had started to get a little silly.

“In a strange twist, Alan Belmore was killed again, just a week after rising from the dead. Witnesses say that he was trying to construct words of
more than one syllable, when a man that looked just like him came up and said "Come back from the dead will you? I'll show you who's the real Alan
Belmore!". He then proceeded to pull a trout from his pants, and beat him senseless with it.”
:- Spaam, World Cup 13 RP thread

“How this state of events managed to occur is still under wraps, but it is said to have to do with half a pound of butter, a penthouse apartment, and ‘Seedy Joe Belmore's S&M Club’”
:- The Weegies, World Cup 13 RP thread.

“A stretcher was rolled out onto the field and Not Ronaldo was swiftly carted off. Dwayne Belmore would take over the head officiating duties for the remainder of the match.”
:- Brazillico, World Cup 13 RP thread

“Eventually 15257 is freed. A replacement is called in: prisoner 1337, Alan Belmore. He is tortured by Progressan guards chanting '4-1, you *******' in his earhole.”
:- Kaze Progressa, World Cup 13 RP thread

[align=center]“Hicks: I can't...it's patent pending...but you know, what they say on that stupid Belmorian TV show with Donald T. Belmore?
Trevor: You mean, "You're..., uh, permanently removed from work?“ “
:- Commerce Heights, World Cup 13 RP thread

The Belmore Family weren’t exactly fond of the memification of their heroic Alans, denouncing “Rouge nations such as Commerce Heights and Oglethropia” but by then it was too late. Not only was the growing Alan Belmore army becoming too powerful in world football, but world football had also been forced to welcome a called The Alan Belmore Army for World Cup 13. The Alan Belmore Army finished 7th in group 6.

Tensions came to a head with the assassination of Belmorian president Saint Alan Belmore. Now, no matter what you think of Alan Belmore or the nation he represented, we can all agree that politics and football should not mix.

Here, in its entirety, is the news report of the president’s death straight from the pages of The Daily Belmorian.

“The Belmore Family
24-03-2004, 07:36
St. Alan Belmore shot outside Compound Interest match

Crowds were shocked last night as a sniper “took out” Saint Alan Belmore after TBF’s clash with Compound Interest. It is expected the assassination was carried out by the NCO (Northern Capitalist Organisation), or a capitalist nation. The ambulance arrived within minutes but Alan Belmore was announced dead at the scene. Tomorrow will be a day of mourning across TBF and The Holy Belmorian Church.

A commemoration service will be held for Alan Belmore at Alan Cathedral, lead by Pope Giles. There will not only be the 900 seats inside, but will there be room in Alan City parks to host another 100,000,000 people to watch the service on giant erect screen. All other cities will hold about the same amount. The funeral will be held in a week’s time, it is expected to be a family affair and they will not allow the public in. The Daily Belmorian asks you to respect their wishes.

The next Belmorian match will be boycotted in remembrance of Saint Alan Belmore. All premiership games will continue but all players will wear black armbands. Alan City is expected to boycott their game.

A few words of coumfort:

"Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names."

~The Bible"

Life is a great sunrise. I do not see why death should not be an even greater one."

~Vladimir Nobokov

"Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other."

~Mohandas K. Gandhi“

Okay. Wait a minute. So.. two things. First: When someone quotes from the bible they usually say which book and which chapter they’re quoting from, they don’t just put ‘The Bible”. Secondly, according to google, this isn’t even a quote from the Bible. Perhaps The Holy Belmorian Church had a different god. I wonder what his name might have been.

On a serious note, it’s easy to laugh at The Belmore Family’s posting style - and that *is* one of the reasons why we’re covering them - but it’s important to remember that this was the era of bad roleplays. The idea of what made a sports roleplay a *sports roleplay* didn’t exist at this point. Even people you might have become respected roleplayers were posting, and acting, like idiots. Spellcheckers and second drafts have never been particularly common on NS Sport. They were non-existent in 2003.

The Belmore Family’s star began to wane after World Cup 16, beginning to see diminishing returns with each incarnation of Alan Belmore until Belmorian club side Alan City, in a surprise move, decided to replace star striker Alan Belmore with a foreign import built from a similar mould.

“10. Simeone Di Bradini, Striker, 27 - Alan City (The Belmore Family)
Experience: U21WC3, WC16Q, CoH15, CoH16, IRC1, AOlympics1, EC3 Goals: 13
Notes: Iskara asked for an outrageous price and Alan Belmore shelled out without blinking an eyelid. A 40 Million Credit transfer later and he's wearing Belmore's old shirt. The boy done good.”
:- Starblaydia, World Cup 17 Roster Thread
https://nationstates.ermarian.net/jolt/1223/355620

The Family have long since retired from international football, but you’ll see the name ‘Belmore’ here and there, still, if you know where to look.

Extras / Notes

Originally entitled We All Dream of a Team of Alan Belmores
Written around March 2nd/3rd 2020
The title card should say '11:42' instead of '12:04'. I made it before I finished editing the video.
The email address on the top right of the google image search says ‘fuck.r.niblick@gmail.as’, a reference to Jeremy Jaffacake's arch enemy Rameses Niblick.
Low-res music-only version here. I upload these to make sure the music isn’t going to get copyright-struck for the full version. The cuts are entirely in time with the music, which isn’t always the case for the final versions.
Music-only version credits ‘A Taeshani’ with narration, which was the original plan. Audio finally got a microphone that worked, though, and wanted to make sure this chapter wasn’t mocking TBF too much. Tae may make an appearance in TIP4 instead.
Images from episode

---

”We Just Need to Beat Nephara”
…Says Patterick, before Gutlaughter and Ridicule

There’s something in the petrol in 95X these days. After walking a group containing Starblaydia, Osarius, Cosumar and the up-and-coming Zeta Reka, the side arrived at the World Cup still comfortably fourth favourites to qualify from Group 6. Not any more.

It’s only the ninth goal conceded by Audioslavia in the last twenty five games, but it’s a fifth one-nothing defeat and it’s a result that puts Audioslavia at the bottom of everyone’s lists at the bookies. And why not. The overly defensive formation, the inability to create scoring chances from open play, the habit of going a goal down early and being unable to break down their opposition, and the fact that, well, it’s cycle 85 and the Bulls haven’t really been relevant since 75.

Nephara await Audioslavia in the second game, and it really is a must. not. lose. game for the men in claret and green (I mean our group in claret and green, not the tall loud ones over there). A draw will likely leave Audioslavia requiring a miracle, and several snookers, in the final game against Valanora. As any Audioslavian will tell you: that isn’t going to happen. If you go up against Valanora needing to thrash them, you’ll likely be on the end of such a scoreline. Even the old rough-house and shit-house tactics aren’t likely to work this time out, with the Marauders overcoming their previous addiction to honour and nobility and tapping into their own dark side, one that shimmered ominously in their 4-2 demolition of the Nepharim.

Audioslavia, then, go into a game against the demonstrably superior Cormorants needing to get a first ever win against the ‘Rushmori’ foe, and hope that the Marauders are already qualified, and thus less inclined to smite the Bulls into the netherworld, on the final game.

As for me, I’ve booked the plane home already. When Patterick arrives back to Audioslavia in a few days time, I hope to lead the largest and most sarcastic slow golf clap in history as he gets off the plane.

[Nephara]

Valanora 4 - 2 Jeruselem
(4-4-2) 1 - Mercator; 2 - Stride (18 - Longship 62'), 5 - Thorn, 6 - Brosch, 3 - Close (c); 13 - Saroszi, 4 - Shone (15 - Kastriot 62'), 21 - Moxham, 11 - Strongbow; 9 - Bastable, 10 - Metzger (23 - Lovelace 75')
Goals: Thorn 24', Bastable 53'

"Shut the door, Rutger," said Daniella Strauss. Duly, the goalkeeper coach did so. Now it was just the 23 players - eleven bruised and sweating from their exertions on the pitch, twelve eager to be shifted in, ready to make the difference.
Strauss let them sweat a couple seconds. She mopped her brow. She was sweating too, just from watching it all go down. And down was, in fact, where it had gone.
"That was a shower of shit. We all know that, right? Twenty-five minutes of slack play. I won't abide by that. Slack."
Where Strauss seethed, her veteran assistant Brightwater shouted, the willing yang to her yin. "It was a fucking disgrace!"
"Two goals? Yeah, we got off lucky for it just to be two. Complacency, fuck, we try so hard to beat it out of you in qualifying. You put people away so professionally. I was so proud. I thought, yeah, this is a well-oiled machine, this. Barely even need to touch it. You'll have it all worked out." She clicked her tongue. "Guess not."
"Kvaal tapdanced on your fucking head, Rovena!" bellowed Brightwater. "Took you half an hour just to wake up!"
The young Treason fullback bit her lip. Was she close to tears? Strauss grunted. "Let's go back over them. First goal; Hessi's goal-kick, Larsen wins the header. Hawk charges it down, takes it past Tawny--"
"Yeah, Tawny, next time you're in fucking doubt like that? Kick the cunt. It's what you're here for yeah? No wonder the Moths are in the shit back home."
"-- and plays in Kvaal, we got our rightback asleep at the fucking wheel, little flick with the outside of the boot and Moller stabs it home at the near post. Accidents happen, but can't happen twice. Second goal, Hawk gets so easily-- and I mean so fucking easily! Did we not brief you? Did we have to circle his fucking name on the whiteboard for you? Tawny, seriously, hack him, stop him! But no, he just burst on through, and just... just..." Strauss put her fist into the whiteboard, hard enough to leave a dent.
"Who was there to take responsibility, hey?" Brightwater demanded. "Skipper, saw you sliding along, but were you really gonna put your face on the line if it came to it? You were hedging. Needed to commit."
Close stared at the floor. He wanted to bite back; that was fine. So long as he had the sense to keep his head down for now.
Strauss leaned on the dented whiteboard, massaged her temple with terracotta-manicured nails "You know, by then-- this was, what, sixteen, seventeen--"
"Nineteen," supplied Brightwater.
"Nineteen minutes in, right, and it's looking like we're gonna get shredded. I'm thinking, fuck, what's it gonna be, five-nil by half-time? We're still half asleep by the time the goal happens. The goal's a fucking miracle. But no, Chimera plucks up her first decent strike of the ball in the game, Roxi flies from fucking nowhere and heads home, glory be. God is with us. Totally against the run of play. But you do start to play! You start to bloody live up to it! And you know, ten minutes or so we've got 'em on the ropes, and then Nora bloody Kirkus swings in that cross... you know what I'd do, Yana?" Her eyes flicked up, boring into the centrehalf's soul. "Yeah? And bear in mind, I'm, I'm, you know, fifty fucking years old. My knees are shot. And I was a striker. But even me, if I'd been out there, I would've stuck to someone. Wouldn't just sort of wait for the ball to make it to Kvaal, then make a sad face when he volleys it into the top corner, hey. That didn't do much, hey. Hey-- LOOK AT ME, DAMN IT. Thank you. So. You're pretty much all lucky to be given another chance to go out there. We're still in this. There'd be no doubt if Monako's shot at the end, there, had come in just a little inside the post. Go out there. Fix it."

For a time it felt like maybe they would.
Certainly they played better. Stride and Shone, who had been slightly off the pace in the first half, both picked up cautions crashing into eager challenges. Moller tested Mercator early, but after that, the pressure was on Sean Smordal. Metzger's header flashed across goal and forced him into action, early; Moxham tested him direct from a corner, the Starling goalkeeper quickly reacting to claw the ball off the line. Jakob Larsen in midfield pulled off heroics in trying to stem the tide, but he couldn't be everywhere, and he couldn't be in the way of what Marcin Close would rather presumptuously call in his Annals his 'redemption cross'.
It was a good cross, though. Dead on Bastable's chest, the burly striker trapping it down in flight, taking two good touches, leaning gently outside of Fjortoft before hammering the ball past Smordal. 3-2. The result within reach. A lot of people thinking back to Saroszi's shot against the upright, to which they almost added another, creating a good opening and shaving a slightly rushed shot into the side netting.
But, well... it just didn't happen.
Stride and Shone headed off around the hour mark, both on cautions, and that may have been an error. Shone had, eventually, mastered Hawk. Kastriot would not. The pendulum swung back towards the middle, and Hawk found his way towards the centre of the game. Not only literally, and in fact, not always literally. He was everywhere, and in the 72nd minute, that included a foray to the edge of the box. Brosch came across, desperate to redeem herself. Great, but she came in with too much momentum and Hawk was able to flick it back across her, and here comes Thorn trying to lead by example and fuck plows right through his foot--
Careless. She doesn't make mistakes like that. Or she didn't. But it was undeniably a penalty.
Mercator was nearly a hero. She sprang, early and hard to her left, to parry Hawk's penalty. But she could only send it back towards him, and the seasoned elven playmaker beat everyone to the rebound to hammer home the decisive fourth.
Valanora had started with two goals in sixteen minutes. Nephara now needed two from eighteen. They did not materialise.

"This thing-- ? Yeah, you got it on? We're ready? Good."
Strauss settled into her place in the presser. She'd somehow managed to escape the immediate post-match interview, mostly out of principle; she knew what she was going to say. That was, something to the tune of;
"I'm happy with seventy minutes of the performance. Seventy minutes, I thought, the game was even. It's not a seventy-minute game. We started shambolic, and the Marauders took full advantage. We recovered, but we needed to step on their fucking throat, not just tread water."
Producers across the world sighed and mashed the button to bleep for transmission on the slight delay. The Nepharan lack of a profanity taboo was a nightmare, sometimes.
The rest of the interview went in the same vein. No, Strauss lied, she was not concerned. But, yes, obviously this meant every result mattered. But every result had always mattered, this changed nothing. They would still win the next two matches, then the next four after that; yes, the aim still remained, and had to be, the World Cup itself.
Her media duties were done. Natasha Sutter guided her gently onto the bus, where she fretted all the way to the team hotel, waving away coaches and accepting no word from anyone.
Panic was useless. Concern was only natural. So she'd stick to concern, then, and how to adapt her plan for the future, and how to make sure this didn't crash and burn. Strauss had overseen two World Cups before, lost both first matches. One had gone on, unexpectedly, to be what was statistically Nephara's best-ever performance. The other... well, the other had just crashed and burned into Nephara's worst ever performance.
It was one defeat, to the second seeds. More pertinently, to fucking Valanora, who could beat anyone in the world on their day. But they'd already lost a third of the matches they'd get. Victory over Audioslavia was imperative. Defeat to NFX was unthinkable.

[Zwangzug]

"Ms. Ari--Arya--Ark--Captain?"

Joshua suppressed a smile. Given how diacritic-heavy the Ferdullaelan language was to outsiders, it was only fair for their journalists to have some difficulty interviewing other players.

"How does the team prepare, physically and mentally, for a trip to Farfadillis?"

"Well, in terms of physical preparation, I think we've had a very long campaign and so we're all in form, ready to take on the world's best," said Chevanthi. "In terms of the acculturation, I mean, there was a fifty-fifty chance we'd have been drawn in Mriin, so I don't think it's a good use of energy trying to speculate about one culture or host city's climate versus another. Play the game on th efield. Personally, I'm looking forward to visiting La Fantás, it's said to be, uh, quite the place these days."

"You mentioned the length of the campaign," said a Regency writer, "are you concerned about the effect it'll have on your domestic form?"

"Not really," said Chevanthi, "all of us are going through the same thing. I'm not as young as I used to be, but who is?" Someone in the back muttered something about time dilation before getting an elbow.

"Ms., uh, Stefred?" asked a reporter in a garish brown shirt that Joshua assumed had to be Turorian. "What are your thoughts on Cocoa-bo?"

Sydney blinked. "What?"

"It's a chocolate-based beverage that was named after the national animal of Turori. Who, uh, sometimes play for the team but that's a different issue. Have you had any?"

"I don't think so," she said. "But I like chocolate milk, and milkshakes and stuff, so I assume I'd like it."

"There's been some, uh, backlash against it elsewhere in the world, governments critical of its use." Joshua winced. They would mention the Holy Empire and Sydney would start cussing something out that had no relation to the question. He wondered if he could find a way to interrupt first. "--impact in Zwangzug?"

"Not that I know of," said Sydney. "I mean, I assume there would have to be pretty tight regulations on environmental impact and workers' rights before it got imported."

"But the chemical itself, its mind- or body-altering properties?"

"Those too."

"It...hasn't been a controversy in your country?" The reporter sounded disappointed.

"Not that I'm aware of. I mean, I've been on the road for all these away qualifiers, so maybe something happened that I missed."

That went surprisingly well, Joshua thought, and almost missed that the next question, from a tired-looking Hinodejin reporter, was addressed to him.

"Excuse me?" he said instinctively.

"Simulations of the World Cup in alternative software have suggested that you and Ms. Banach are likely to be the leading scorers should Zwangzug triumph in this tournament, do you find that realistic?"

"Uh...I'd be flattered," he said, "but I think even this group is going to be a difficult fight to get out of, we saw last cycle the strength of some of these teams."

"I guess I would say I consider myself more of a defensive player," said Satenik. "But at this level, anything can happen."

"Mr. McCollins," asked a HUElavian pundit, "have you been following the ongoing Cup of Harmony in Zwangzug and Kelssek?"

"Not in detail," said Jonah. "Uh, Ozbek and the Timurian lads got off to a fine start, and I know the Bassabook fans are going to be excited to see him when they play there, but really I think we saw in the qualifiers how deep this field goes, so it's really anyone's tournament, innit."

After a few more cliches in a similar vein, the team was at last dismissed so they could get down to preparing for La Snerra. Unfortunately, the Turorian side--performance-enhanced or otherwise--was very prepared as well. Mbdiai Akarenaa (Akhil said it wasn't pronounced much like Mkabia, but who knew?) scored fifteen minutes in, and Yitizo Mpala'a doubled the scoreline after halftime. With a few minutes left, Zwangzug scored against the run of play. Some fans thought it wouldn't matter unless goal difference became the tiebreaker for the other teams, as it had a cycle before. Others, however, noted that Satenik had gotten credit for it, and hoped against hope that the Hinodejin were onto something...

[Terre Septentrionale]

Terre Septentrionale loses to Baker Park

Vidial, Mriin - Terre Septentrionale started off the World Cup with a 6-4 loss against Baker Park. Georges-Kévin Vainqueur had 4 clean sheets in the final 4 games of the qualifications and didn't allow 3 goals or more since matchday 16 (which, honestly, is exceptionnal for him) but this time against Baker Park, he allowed 6 goals. I don't wanna talk about Baker Park's goals because they just scored too much so here's Terre Septentrionale's goals only. The Nordiques attacked at the 13th minute when Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed the ball to Sandrine Fontaine who made a short pass to Sandie McCracken who kicks the ball and she scores! Terre Septentrionale was leading 1-0 at this time. The Reprezentacja Nordycki attacked at the 35th minute when Élisabeth Normandin passed to Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk who dribbled and passed in the penalty area to Sandrine Fontaine but Tracy Vasillias tripped her and it's a penalty for Terre Septentrionale. Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa takes the penalty, she shoots and it's a goal!

Terre Septentrionale scored their 3rd goal at the 68th minute when Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk passed to Tymoteusz Swierczewski, who subbed in for Élisabeth Normandin at the 54th minute. Swierczewski made a header pass to Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa who heads the ball right into the net. The Northmen attacked at the 72nd minute when Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz passed to Sandrine Fontaine who dribbled with the ball and passed to Roksana Kolodziejczyk who kicks the ball on the post. Derick Briggs gets the loose ball and clears it but Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz intercepts the ball and he dribbles with the ball and shoots from 30 meters and the ball is in!

TERRE SEPTENTRIONALE BOXSCORE

13th minute: Sandie McCracken assisted by Sandrine Fontaine
35th minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa (penalty)
68th minute: Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa assisted by Tymoteusz Swierczewski
72nd minute: Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz (unassisted)

YELLOW CARDS (BOTH TEAMS)

18th minute: Wlodzimierz Waclawczyk
35th minute: Tracy Vasillias
49th minute: Jamari Bozeman
81st minute: Weronika Zubrowska

RED CARDS (BOTH TEAMS)

None

Painful loss

This is a painful loss against Baker Park and it will now be harder to make the round of 16. The next game against Eura will be another loss as we don't see how the Nordiques can beat them. Our only chance would be if Baker Park lose to Siovanija and Teusland by one or two goals on the next matchday and us winning against Siovanija and Teusland by three goals or more on the final matchday. And with Eura winning all three games. We would have a triple tie in 2nd place and the tiebreaker would be the goal difference.This looks easy explained like this, but it won't be easy. All these teams are better than the Reprezentacja Nordycki and we don't see anyone pulling a Chromatika. With no injuries or suspensions, the starting XI will stay the same against Eura.

Wlodzimierz Pietruszewski,
Senior writer,
La tribune septentrionale

[Free Republics]

La Gran Avenida, Farolera, Farfadillis

A sizable Republican contingent made the trip to Farfadillis, some of whom may have been carrying the so-called "Sherpa Cold Virus" with them since Republican medical experts largely shared the substance of Samuel Izmailov's opinion of the virus even if others would not have used Izmailov's tone. With the election ongoing, the Republican government had ensured that overseas Republicans could vote online via secure online absentee ballots if they registered for absentee voting before leaving the Free Republics. The policy of blocking Republican news web sites outside of the Free Republics due to certain foreign data protection laws had been ended after the passage of the Prevent Foreign Legal Harassment of Our Media Act which declared all Republican web sites and media outlets immune from being sued in foreign courts and authorized any measures necessary to enforce this immunity, up to and including military action. The restrictions on access to foreign media were also undone as they had failed to stop Izmailov from winning a plurality of the vote in the first round. Consul Scarlett Nicholls released a statement blaming the outages on "an attack on our Internet infrastructure by foreign hackers" and that had been the end of the matter as Izmailov took the bait and started talking about how he was going to retaliate by hacking foreign countries once he was consul.

This all set the stage for increased attention on Soccer General Rule Theriault's team. The stadium was deep in a forest and cars were banned on the path to the stadium which was known to be highly dangerous. Thus, to protect the safety of his team, Theriault coordinated with a large number of the Republican fans to march into the stadium together as an army. Every member of the Republican National Soccer Team, LLC contingent and most of their fans were carrying firearms for protection against wild animals and the local criminal element. Farfadillis was notorious as one of the most dangerous nations in the multiverse and this was an especially dangerous area in the country so the Republican National Team would take no chances en route to the stadium. To anybody who didn't know any better, they would have seemed like an invading army marching through the forest, expecting an ambush at any moment. Fortunately, nobody was harmed as they made it to the stadium.

The match itself was a shootout from the start. Pasarga would open the scoring early on as Mária Vöröss set up Alexander Jager with a perfect opportunity at the Republican net and Jager nailed it. Minutes later, Pasarga would add a second goal as Taras Sergeyev batted away Júlia Müller's shot right at the feet of Jan Gersten who would finish to put the Wanderers up 2 goals to nil. The Republicans would answer with a 30th minute free kick goal by Johnny Smith after Love Holm dove near the scoring area and fooled the official into thinking he had been fouled by Lazar Meier. Pasarga would retaliate by converting a corner a few minutes later to go up 3-1. Theriault's team would respond right before the half with Kalervo Peltola scoring off an assist by Love Holm.

After halftime, the Republicans came out a completely different team. Whereas Pasarga had the better of possession and scoring chances in the first half, the Republicans were on the attack from the very start in the second. At the half, Theriault had brought in Archie White, the talented attacking midfielder from the youth side, for struggling centerback Zack Josef who had made many mistakes in the first half. Maxim Izmailov moved to centerback and White moved into the midfield. This would pay off almost immediately as White and Smith dominated the center of the pitch while the strikers and the wingers attacked. Eventually, White saw Love Holm wide open in the scoring area and delivered a perfect cross. Holm's shot would be knocked out for a corner. Smith walked up to White and told him to take the corner. The 18 year old delivered a picture perfect corner, allowing Usman Eldarkhanov to head it into the back of the net. The Republicans had equalized.

Just minutes later, Pasarga would go on the attack. Vöröss saw Müller wide open in the scoring area but made a critical mistake, botching the cross and sending it straight to Maxim Izmailov who would quickly launch it down the pitch to Love Holm. Holm beat Szöllössy and Meier and had a 1v1 with Wanderer keeper Ambrus Galambos. Holm fooled the keeper with a fake shot and then kicked the ball into the net for the chip shot go-ahead goal.

While the next 20 minutes or so would see a number of scoring chances from both sides, all of them would be stopped by the keepers. The stalemate would only be broken after Theriault replaced Lydsson and Peltola with youth team strikers Faith Marshall and Amy Ashbolt. The younger, quicker, fresher Republican strikers had a massive advantage late in the match against a tired Wanderer defense that had been running all over the pitch. The 5th Republican goal would come in the 77th minute when Marshall made a couple of defenders miss and then set up an Ashbolt one-timer for the goal. It appeared that Ashbolt may have been offside but the officials ruled that she was not. Moments later, Pasarga would secure a corner and would bring their keeper forward to assist. This would end badly as Izmailov would head the ball away to safety. Marshall would run towards it, unquestionably onside, and nobody else on the pitch was going to be able to catch her as she dribbled it into the net for the 6th Republican goal.

With goal difference being the first tiebreaker at this World Cup, the Republicans were not going to stop attacking no matter how many goals ahead they were. Nonetheless, Galambos would save a Love Holm shot in added time that looked like it would be the 7th Republican goal. The final score would be 6 to 3 in favor of the Free Republics.

After the match, Theriault grabbed a microphone to address the Republican fans in the crowd:

Rule Theriault - Today, we did it! We came back from a 3 goals to 1 deficit to score 5 unanswered and defeat Pasarga. They gave us a really good game and showed why they belong in the World Cup but we were just that much better than them because we have the support of all of our great fans who made the trip here. I know it wasn't easy to get to this stadium. Farfadillis is more dangerous than the slums of Latroit and Farolera is more dangerous still but we came prepared and we marched into this stadium in the middle of a forest together. The people watching at home may not be aware that Farfadillis bans the use of cars in the area around this stadium and requires players, coaches and spectators to walk through a highly dangerous forest filled with dangerous wild animals and quite a few local criminals who act like wild animals! I'm sure you've seen the images of these people burning things down before. But, there is something to be said for that. The hard environment of this country of Farfadillis produces a strong and tough people and it is an environment where only the strong, the tough and the virile can survive! All 16 teams in this half of the tournament will be tested like never before and only the one team that is tough enough will make it to the finals.

Theriault paused for a moment before resuming.

Rule Theraiult - Last year, we were robbed by an upset loss to hosts Baker Park on the 3rd and final matchday of the group stage. This year, in the home of the defending champions, we have a chance to right that wrong and prove that we are the best. The next opponent in our way is one we know well. We hosted the World Cup with them 4 years ago and we respect them and their talent even if they fell short today against that country that shut down their lives over the newest cold virus. You know, the one that thinks Senator Izmailov is currently our leader! Well, I respect Senator Izmailov and I did vote for him 16 years ago but, and I apologize to Maxim for this, I'm supporting Nova Hellstrom-Hancock this year because she is a long-time friend of mine going back to the days when she was covering us for Sporting World. I encourage all of you to watch the debate tomorrow night and to cast your vote for Izmailov or Hellstrom-Hancock in the second round. I believe either of them would make a great consul. But most of all, we promise to do our part, to the best of our ability, to Make our Federation Great Again and bring about a new Golden Age! I hope to see as many of you as possible in Azureña for the match against Banija. I don't understand why they're allowed to host World Cup matches in a 15,000 seat stadium but that's the way things are. Thank you once again for your support.

The Republican cheerleading squad performed Rule Theriault and, following the conclusion of the song, the crowd would file out of the stadium as the Republican fans prepared for the long walk back with the National Team as the giant mass of Republicans sang patriotic songs all the way back to the city...

[Kita-Hinode]

A question rang into Tokei's head as he and his teammates went through a press conference after the game, another moment where the Hinodejin had more or less taught one of the best teams of the multiverse another lesson in flair and creativity, outlasting the Vilitans in a possible record-breaker game as far as goals were concerned. It wasn't the first time that happened but it did have a first-time taste thanks to how this was at the very start of a World Cup. Ever since returning to the international fold, the Hinodejin were fans of pushing out teams that had a better standing in the international rankings. Whether they played in blue, red, yellow, green or purple, the Hinodejin were totally fine with scalping them and moving on to whatever opposition they would have to take on next.

Just as fun as raining on someone else's parade, however, was to watch those two jewels of Hinodejin flair. Ikki Tokei and Choji Matsumono-Gide did have very different backgrounds: the first was born in Somei-Yoshino to a rather normal family of locals but with unnatural ease to learn tricks in the beautiful game while the latter descended from a line of respectable merchants and also happened to be the child of one of the most gifted runners of the southwestern portion of the Hinodejin mainland. Tokei's debut in a noteworthy manner was as a member of the Elite Mashu HS squad while Matsumono-Gide would spend the same time running and learning Hinodejin. The two would finally clash at the university level. This is where that question ended up touching as a reporter from Zwangzug asked "How do you make it look so easy?"

Each matchday was basically a quest to one-up each other in terms of how much they'd pull out of the bag. Tokei pulled a step over one day, Choji pulled a nutmeg the day after. Saturday saw Choji hit a rainbow flick, Sunday saw Tokei hit a rabona pass. It got to the point where Tokei infamously went through five opposing players by constantly keeping the ball in the air, a display of keepie-uppie that was seemingly impossible to surpass... only for Choji to create his own version of the move, except by threading in and out of the box, hoofing the ball upwards whenever it was too much of a risk for the goalie to try and advance.

Suffice to say the international football community did not expect the duo to become the sort of pain they would be when playing together. And yet, few were able to stop them. It's even arguable if they even play to win games: some of their more elaborate moves clearly show a couple of players that couldn't care less about the score. And yet, here the Hinodejin duo was, being interviewed about how they had essentially dressed down the number one ranked team of the Multiverse.

"Eh, practice, I guess."

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

BP storm out of the gate
Frank Armitage
The Daily Mail Chief Soccer Writer Emeritus

Commentary from Vidial:

If, as the saying goes, space is the final frontier, then the Commonwealth National Team have trailblazed their way into this World Cup much as the earliest settlers of the country marched across the fields & forests in 1881.
I came up with that metaphor while observing the final training session ahead of the first match here, against Terre Septentrionale, because the biggest question that nearly everyone has pondered since Ichi Tuzzio took up his spot in the dugout has been 'what exactly is different about the team today from the end of World Cup 84'?

It requires a keen eye for tactics, the subtleties of movement and position, as well as understanding how the Maestro worked his magic on his countrymen to bring Farfadillis their first ever World Cup title.
However, it was my colleague (and soon to be replacement) Scott McCrae who made the comment that got me thinking--although I'm certainly not implying that Scott doesn't possess the qualities I outlined above--and led me to have a short conversation with Tony Weiss, who is Tuzzio's left hand man (as his longtime Assistant Manager Friekder Dandalleion is the right hand) as First Team Coach.

Weiss explained that the differences between Pamela Scott, Trevor Richmond and Tuzzio on a tactical level are not far apart at all. "If she was here observing, she'd be beating herself up for not realizing what the key to unlocking the potential of this side during the last Cup. Of course, sometimes you're standing too close to the forest..." His point was understood--the goal of maintaining consistency through the system was probably to the detriment of experimenting with different, unorthodox ideas during the buildup ahead of the Finals.

In the end, it wasn't the Maestro, Dandalleion, or Weiss who had the lightbulb go off with the solution; ahead of the quarterfinal of the AOCAF against Equestria--in Farfadillis--Jen Prescott & Will Barnard hypothesized an adjustment to the shape of the 3-4-1-2 that was a defensive stopgap and an attempt to jumpstart offense against the Ponies, against whom BP have struggled to compete.

When they presented the idea via video chat with the Men's staff in Qasden, it got wheels turning in the minds of all assembled. When it produced a result that shocked everyone, the 'tweak' moved to the front burner of possible tactical adjustment.

The change required a different approach to how space on the pitch was utilized; one thing obvious to anyone watching a NT squad is the spacing between players when in possession, which shrinks and expands as the ball is passed within various zones. What has evolved through the course of qualifying has been an adjustment in the spacing between the lines, with less distance in front of defense and a bit more open area in front of the midfield for the forwards to operate.

The good, bad and ugly of this plan was on full display in Vidial against the Nordiques; start with the bad--a switch-off mistake allowed Sandie McCracken to put Terre Septentrionale ahead in the 13th minute before the high defensive line paid it's first dividend, a lightning transition that resulted in a 3v2, Daisy Callum playing a seeing eye pass to Lorenzo Taborn, who hit it cleanly, 1-1 on the 20 minute mark.

It was then time for 'Ladies Night' at The Pub, the uniquely named "3rd stadium" in the city; the Commonwealth had previously played at Gold Field & Flaneur--the site of the final two group matches--during AOCAF LVII, but perhaps they may want to return here at some point.
Callum worked with Annabeth Westmoreland and Jamari Bozeman on the left side of the attack, and a free kick just outside the farthest corner of the box saw Westmoreland run through the ball, and Callum finding Sabrina Patton, who fired low to the near post, beyond Georges-Kévin Vainqueur, who didn't know much about it until it was past him. 25 minutes gone, 2-1 BP.

Then Callum and Bozeman worked a slick combo with DeAngelo Simmons, who teed up Westmoreland with a soft roller that she hammered into the top corner from 15 yards on 30 minutes, 3-1.

The ugly came a few minutes later as Sandrine Fontaine went down in the box after a Tracey Vasillias trip that was more clumsiness than intentional--she immediately raised her hand in contrition--and after a yellow card, Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa put the penalty past Caroline Gordon to cut it to a one goal deficit.

From the restart, the forward attack from the Bees put the Northerners under pressure in their defensive third; Taborn, Maria Fernandez, and Simmons created nasty triangle near the corner flag on the right side which the fullback and the left wing were hard pressed to withstand.
An ensuing corner saw Westmoreland sprint to the flag for a quick word with Fernandez, who ceded the kick; the two time Galactico long lister floated an inswinging cross that Callum ran from outside the box to meet with her head cleanly. 4-2 with 5 minutes left before the break.

It was nearly 5 when Taborn won a header that went straight to Bozeman, who saw Fernandez break sharply towards the box, but her shot was just wide of the far post.

Jamari Bozeman saw yellow for a questionable tackle just 4 minutes into the second half, but less than a minute later, he won the ball clean and Westmoreland took off on a run, slowed for a second, then swung through the ball from 22 yards, leaving Vainqueur helpless as it beat him to the far post. She ran towards the supporters in the stand behind the goal, and gave a bow of her head. 5-2 with 38 minutes left.

The Reprezentacja Nordycki looked to slow down the pace and hold possession, but the press continued on, with unforced errors, poor decisions and a sense of frustration setting in. Just past the hour mark, there was another forward push from the Black & Gold clad side.

Taborn and Westmoreland in the center of the pitch began to track back deeper, allowing the space between themselves and Bozeman to widen, while Callum and Fernandez on the wings varied the press on the fullbacks intermittently; it was an errant pass from the Nordique left back that triggered a counter-attack that was so quick, only 10 of the 22 players were within 20 yards of the goal at the finish.
Bozeman intercepted the loose ball, found Simmons, who held up for a second until he heard Patton yell, then made a blind pass which the Chenoworth Harriers star ran onto, then blasted home for the sixth goal; the forward pair celebrated their teamwork and the rest of the team, save Gordon, joined in.

Terre Septentrionale, to their credit, continued to play with pride and energy; on 68 minutes they cut the margin to 3 when Cwierczakiewiczowa got her second of the match off a header, then four minutes later Yannick Ksiezniakiewicz knocked in a 4th Nordique tally.

At that point, JC Bartok replaced Westmoreland and Nicki Stone came on for Patton, and the defensive clampdown took hold; on 82 minutes, Junior Ngoba replaced Taborn after a challenge from Weronika Zubrowska for which he saw yellow.

The final whistle signaled a successful conclusion to the first step of the World Cup journey.

[Sarzonia]

Scene: ISS Furious, a Stalwart-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, submerged and sailing with Task Force Foxtrot.

Commander Devin Barkley paced the bridge of his ship, studying the controls that he would be the first to tell you he had seen thousands of times. The boat's executive officer Lt. Commander Monique Lewis (no relation to the former president) looked at her commanding officer with concern. He was wound tight and she could tell the tension was rubbing off on the rest of the crew.

"Captain," Lewis said, "may I see you in your ready room?"

"Yes, commander," he said. Addressing Lt. Commander Oscar Munoz, the ship's tactical officer, he said, "Munoz, you have the conn."

"Aye, sir." The two officers then walked into the captain's ready room and Lewis shut the door.

"Captain, you're nervous," Lewis said, putting her right hand up when she saw Barkley begin to respond. "Your nervousness is rubbing off on the crew," she added. "I know these are tense times with the situation in Free Republics, but you can't show your nerves to the crew like that.

"This crew looks to you as the voice of calm, as the voice of reason. If you're too tight, they're going to be too tight."

"We're on the brink of war, in case you've forgotten, Commander," Barkley snapped back, then hesitating when he saw the look on Lewis's face that he knew meant that he proved her point for her. He inhaled slowly, then exhaled.

"As the captain, my decisions could send 155 souls to their graves, never mind potentially millions of lives," Barkley said. "I don't trust that Izmailov, and I don't have faith that the people of Free Republics won't elect that clown."

Lewis gave her commanding officer another look. Then she spoke again.

"Captain, I need to remind you that if we're going to launch missiles at Free Republics, it has to be a decision that you, I, and Commander Munoz all agree with. If even one of us says no, we abort the launch." And potentially save millions of lives in the process, she thought.

After the two wrapped up their conversation, they stepped back onto the bridge. The lieutenant at the periscope then got Barkley's attention.

"Captain, I'm getting a signal from Admiral Gardiner," he said. "She's ordering us to surface."

Barkley nodded. "All hands, prepare to surface."

Barkley knew the meeting with Admiral Gardiner would be important as Task Force Foxtrot and the rest of the Sarzonian fleet continued its course toward international waters near Free Republics. He was sure Elysse Gardiner wasn't calling for the meeting with him to bet on the Sarzonia-Pasarga match in the World Cup.

For starters, Gardiner was not interested in sport. For another thing, as a commander used to surface ships, he wasn't 100 percent sure she knew how well oiled the machinery of his boat and her crew were.

If she had concerns that the ISS Furious would be a bunch of overeager warmongers, he would allay those concerns. But for right now, the meeting aboard the ISS Antietam would be a strategy session, and perhaps the last time he or his crew would see the surface for now, and possibly forever.

[Kelssek]

My name is Ruslan. My world is football and also football. As we arrived in Farfadillis, it was hard to know who was more crazy... me, or everyone else.

The radiation detecting badges had yet to change colour, reassuringly. Although what exactly they were going to do if they did, none of the players were quite sure. Leave halfway through the World Cup? In any case, that wasn’t the relevant environmental problem right now. The merciless Szoirsia weather was so scorching hot, they could see the heat coming off the ground.

It was hard playing in such heat. Even the air felt thick and heavy, whether trying to run in it or when inhaled into the lungs. And Sir Barsanuphius glinted in the harsh sunlight, but at least he was, presumably, momentarily blinding his teammates too.

Argh, did they lose the ball again? The Holy Empire were just packing the passing lanes here. Come on Lappy, you didn’t get a Galacticos shortlist for a crap ball like that... Ruslan backpedalled, almost certain they were about to get countered on. And they were, the full backs had put on the burners and were already racing upfield at speed.

Alexander Ceraluso had put his shoulder down and was charging forward. Ruslan Demetriev could see Damien Halliger had been dragged out of position trying to mark Mouzalono. Why have you done that, Hally?... Fortunately, Sir Barsanuphius had been on defensive duty and was still clanking his way upfield – not a threat just yet. Ruslan knew he was the only one who could really stop Ceraluso.

“Oh what a day! What a lovely day! I am the man... who grabs the sun... riding to Valhalla! WITNESS!” Ruslan was almost certain he didn’t actually scream that out loud as he took off as fast as he could to cut off the striker’s path.

Ceraluso had to break stride to control the pass, but Ruslan had no such concerns. In a few strides he was just about in reach, but Ceraluso was accelerating again. There was nothing for it. Ruslan lunged into the tackle, sliding across the grass, Cerlauso giving an aggrieved “grraagh” as their legs tangled together and he hit the deck unceremoniously. The ball skittered away, as if cowed by the force of the tackle.

Kai Poirier pointed and cried, “Witness him!”, the shout taken up by Ashley Douglass and Mason Curtin as they caught up. “Witness!”

Wait. What? Oh no, that might be delirium already. A definitive blast of the referee’s whistle returned Ruslan to lucidity. He heard angry shouts and a succession of shorter whistles attempting to discourage any potential extra-curricular activity. Already the referee’s other hand was reaching for the shirt pocket. Ruslan realized, this might be bad.

The card was yellow. “Come on, I got the ball,” Ruslan complained without much conviction.

I live, I die, I live again! Why’s everyone walking over to- Ah, drinks break.

---

FOOTBALL
Holy Empire overpowers Kelssek in World Cup opener
Any thoughts that qualifying for World Cup 85 meant Kelssek had finally arrived at football’s top echelons evaporated in the scorching heat. Indeed, there was no helping Kelssek as they were flattered by a 2-1 loss in their opening match of World Cup 85.

The Holy Empire got the bulk of the chances and had reason to rue poor finishing that denied them a bigger victory. The four-time champions had squandered two clear-cut chances by the time Miguel Tzanicites found the back of the net in the 29th minute. Alexander Ceraluso hit the crossbar from range early on, while Constantine Curcuaso was put through on goal on a counter-attack but fired his shot straight at Kai Poirier.

Kelssek were barely hanging on but had reason for hope when they seized an equalizer six minutes later. Brayden Custworth took a cut-back from Thamior Liadon with a measured half-volley to slot the ball home. A dogged defensive effort saw out the first half but clearly more was needed.

More was not what Kelssek came out with after the interval. The ponderously slow pace of the second half worked entirely in The Holy Empire’s favour. Kelssek’s stars couldn’t supply much; Colm Ó Tuathail was withdrawn after 58 minutes for Rémy Dionne as manager Andrea Crowe rolled the dice on a tactical change. Ruslan Demetriev was flying into tackles and surely testing the referee’s patience by the time he was taken off.

Going more narrow helped to get Kelssek’s best chance to go ahead. Dionne tucked into the channel and took the ball to the byline, fizzing a ball across the six-yard box that was met by Shaheen Taleb, but blocked on the goal line by a desperately flailing Christopher Phocaso.

The Holy Empire got the goal they needed with just a quarter-hour remaining. This time they passed Kelssek to death and while Kai Poirier managed a point-blank save on Jose Sphrantzes the ball fell to Jorge Tornices, who applied the finish.

THE HOLY EMPIRE 2 – Tzanicites (29’), Tomices (76’)
KELSSEK 1 – Custworth (35’)

Kelssek: Poirier, Liadon, Halliger, Curtin, Douglass, Demetriev (Blueman 72’), Lapierre, Ó Tuathail (Dionne 58’), Champetier, Custworth (Lister 70’), Taleb.
Adar Jak, Szoirsia (attendance: 31,870)

[HUElavia]

HUElavia Holds Out Reigning Champions in Opening Match!

HUElavia 0-0 Farfadillis

HUElavia came into the World Cup facing their most important match yet: Against the co-host and reigning Champions, #2 Farfadillis in the opening match of the World Cup. The match was held at La Fantás (70,000) in the capital city of Ferdullaele. The opening ceremony was held that highlighted the cultures and traditions of Farfadillis and Mriin, while reliving memories of both their football traditions. There was also a spectacular fireworks display which miraculously, no fire broke out in the stadium and nobody got hurt. It was sold out as Farves had filled out 60% of the stadium, while the remaining 40% were visiting HUElavians that took up an entire endzone to themselves. Both teams fielded their best XI, but HUElavians were unpleasantly surprised to see Toni starting in centerback while Smirnov was on the bench, which they felt she was more in form and should have had the start.

The match kicked off, and to say the least, both teams were at each others throats throughout the match. Attack after attack after attack, shots being done left and right, but not going to the net. Hamada found herself several times in front of Phelede only to have her shots blocked or narrowly miss the goal. Navarro and Cristiano also had their headers and shots saved by Phelede several times, which left HUElavia's front 3 in frustration. On the other side of the pitch, the veterans Êns and Holsteiner also tried to get shots and headers in, but Lobato refused to concede goals and did spectacular saves that had earned applause from not only HUElavians, but impressed Farves as well. During the second half, Toni had suffered a cramp and had to go off, sending Smirnov into the match, which had high praise from the HUElavian crowd. From there, Smirnov and Hierro's defending shut off the attacks from Farfadillis, but HUElavia also had their attacks snuffed out, as eventually the match ended on a 0-0 draw, the first time in a long while that an official match ended in a goalless draw for Los Amarillos/Os Amarelos. The Farves booed the performance while the HUElavians applauded their team for standing their ground and getting a point against the powerhouse that is Farfadillis.

The next match will be against Zwangzug, another rematch from WC 84. Smirnov will start for Toni, while all the starters against Farfadillis will also start. HUElavia is hungry for another victory, and hope to achieve it once again at La Fantás. HUElavians will flock to the stadium as it is expected to see now 60% of the stadium filled with Yellow, Blue and Green with flags and banners in the stands. HUElavians have good faith in the team and hope to see them get another good result in their next match. Regardless of what happens, the fans and the country are in full support of the National Team.

FORCA HUELAViA! VAMOS HUELAVIA! GO HUELAVIA!

[Brenecia]

Hampton Island 1 - 3 [b]Brenecia
(4-3-3) 20 - Wright; 18 - Lonergan (2 - Shepherd 81'), 22 - Leadbetter, 6 - Mathers (vc), 19 - Prentice; 13 - Ridenton, 4 - Townsend, 8 - Matheson (c, 21 - Parker 79'); 7 - Cheney (15 - Speaker 70'), 10 - Ciogach, 16 - Fletcher
Goals: Leadbetter 7', Ciogach 52', Cheney 57'

Catherine Bardsley settled, with some difficulty, in her seat. Sure, there were affairs of state going on back home, but the Prime Minister could be briefed from Rozelle. And they could wait if they had to. The World Cup was only on every couple of years, after all.
Her leg was a struggle. Nothing about her age, or her weight, which remained lean to the point of gaunt. Just that an assassination attempt that had flipped her campaign bus had pulled it some way it shouldn't go and somewhere it couldn't click back from.
"Hunh. These ages can't be right. Must be a typo."
An aide leaned in to whisper in her ear. "No, ma'am."
"They're... so, they're, what, half-elves? With names like 'Ted'?"
"Purportedly not, ma'am."
"Hnh. Well, our boys should..." She leaned forward in her chair and squinted onto the pitch. "Yeah, that's Lauren Cheney. She's starting, good. Wouldn't take that Qus... m... the manager, right, could've messed up by taking out his best player for the future. Won't be a future if we take out our best players. So Cheney's here, good." She settled in, shifting her rear. Something in her spine clicked.
As a two-time manager of a national team on top of a constitutional head of state role, it would have been easy for Bardsley to become jaded in football, but now she found more meaning in it forever. Three reasons. She was a voracious student of the game and was absolutely fascinated by the tactical and logistical advances made since her time. She was a genuine patriot who loved watching her country win. And a bleak period as a political prisoner in Sameba had really, really reinforced to her the luxury of the little pleasures of life, football among them.
And there was a fourth reason, this time. This was the first time it would be her Brenecia in the World Cup.
Ah, good. There was the opener from Finn Leadbetter, the big centre-half hammering home Fletcher's free kick.
Brenecia had of course been under the iron stiletto of Clarisse Ward for the past few years, a decaying democracy under a would-be autocrat, snapping at the heels of passing first-world nations. Obviously, she had taken power through a strong, principled stand against this. But her Brenecia was not the old, pre-Ward Brenecia, either. That had been a crumbling country, half-abandoned, greedy politicians clinging to power for its own sake rather than any interest in forming or debating new ideas.
2-0? Or... no, offisde, that was offside from Cheney. Not that she was taking it gracefully.
Bardsley's party had been called the League for Democratic Renewal, a grand title more commonly shortened to the LDR. Democratic renewal was what she had promised, and what she had hoped to deliver. Some of her hopes were to wind back many of Ward's toxic 'reforms', though sometimes keeping the baby out of the bathwater where it suited her. Yes, a Directorate with some control over internal security was a good idea, so too the new Federal Army. For all Ward's evils she had been right that Rozelle had to be strong for the nation to be stable; her ultranationalist wave to power had come off the backs of genuine fear of revolution.
Hrm. 1-1.
The natural avenue, one that some were proposing - especially from the old Progressives that the LDR had defenestrated from the Overton window - was to try and cozy up with the shags again, but that bird had flown. Better instead to talk with Eura, better-resourced, no baggage. Hell, even Ward had respected Eura. The Fiana Cove project near Falkner was one step towards a greater bond, she hoped. But at the same time, the shags had to be kept a little happy. They had helped her to power, covertly, and covered their trakcs beautifully. This would not be a service for free.
Ahh, it was hard. So many spinning plates...
To hell with it all. This was football! What did the geopolitical situation of northwest Esportiva matter when Lauren Cheney was right there, cutting inside Haywood, working herself space before cutting a strike just, just over the bar...
For all Catherine Bardsley's ambitions, and the titles she had one, well... what she wouldn't give to be back on those sidelines again.

[Hampton Island]

(CEO and assistant chat from their luxury suite at the Brenecia match)

CEO: Nice to see that people traveled here to support the team. From what I can see, it looks like most of our traveling fans are older.

Assistant: I don’t think we should be surprised by that.

CEO: They are the ones with the money, obviously. The younger fans have been eating up the merchandise, though. I was actually able to pay Hannah’s $5,000,000 bonus without worrying about it.

Assistant: Yeah, I remember when you put that bonus for qualifying in the contract. It was really just something stupid to make it look like a fair contract.

CEO: Well, now I won’t have anyone complaining that I didn’t give her a fair contract. All of the added monies from this are just incredible. This match right now, historic, for our country.

Assistant: I like that our first game is against a regional power in Brenecia, too. Our fans already know who they are.

CEO: Then Starblaydia after this. A completely different thing we can market towards. Imagine if we actually stole a point against one of these countries.

Assistant: What’s great is that we don’t need to worry about the outcome of these games, but these others are like scared about dropping points to us.

CEO: It’s all in fun. We’ll probably sell more merchandise then anyone in our group, because for us this is different and new. We can sell so many variations of attire and other stupid crap that people don’t really need, and that’s been going really well. I don’t care if Brenecia beats us, that doesn’t mean anything. For us, it is all about the experience.

Assistant: Are you going to buy any property while you are?

CEO: I have been looking around a little but still have to devote more time to it. I do know that Hosingr isn’t for me. I do love the oceanfront views and all, but there is too much of that factory thing going on here. There is never money in that.

Assistant: I agree.

CEO: Maal is worth a look, but that whole place seems a little too established, so not sure of the opportunities to purchase a growing business there. Kaalen is very intriguing.

Assistant: Why is that?

CEO: An area where people that have money have gone for the whole escape urban life deal. Great place, especially since I hear there is some urban sprawl trying to move their way. Eventually, that will happen. It always does.

Assistant: Going to go there, then?

CEO: Yeah, when our three games are done here I’ll head out to that area. Not sure how much I like this country as an investment opportunity, though. There are some nuances about it that don’t scream money to me.

Assistant: Would you have rather gone to Farfadillis?

CEO: No, I am glad to be here. Too much chaos in Farfadillis. I don’t know how anyone runs a business in that country.