Cup of Harmony 77 - everything thread

[Sharktail]

Group 6 Matchday 4

Sharktail-2
Gaby (m 33)
Manaf (m 68)

Line up
David
Harold 
Hidawi
Yusri
Irfan
Chandra
Nik Akif
Farhan
Azaim
Gaby
Virman

Sub
Faiz 
Manaf 
Alfi 

Jeruselem-1
Reece Banister (m 84

SHARKTAIL POST EP18
THE BLUE PREDATOR, SWIM

The thing sometimes going really far from expectation. Let just narrow it to football. In world cup qualification, we can see how many suprise and unexpected event have happened. No matter how strong and good your team are, it never promises a good result. Not enough with that, the top team sometimes have a worse campaign than some lower-ranked team.

Miracle. That's how everyone describes Sharktail NT right now. The team who have made an unexpectedly good run in the International stage, starting from world cup qualification 85, grab 3rd place in Group 5. Getting invited to Cup of Harmony 77 with high expectation after a good run in WCQ 85 campaign. After the group draw announced, what more can they say? Having the same group with a good team, the situation may go worse. However, some miracle can still happen. Facing Eraman, the second-best team, who ever imagine this team can tie them 5-5. Playing a second game against Garifunya, expectation high for Sharktail to win as this team placed higher than them. And it goes the same as expected. Playing against Jeruselem, what can we call the do or die, everything on the line. No matter for Sharktail or Jeruselem, both need the point. Once again, a miracle happens to help Sharktail win. Sharktail book the ticket to next round.

Until now, Sharktail still survives. No one can ever tell how far this team can go. Something tougher will be waiting for Sharktail NT in the second round. Will this team will avoid being eliminated and continue their journey. Sharktail will focus on their last match against TJUnia and focus for the next round.

---

Near the last matchday of the group stage in Cup of Harmony, one news has been spread around the nation. This news not even shocking all football fans in Sharktail but also all the player and also the association. The news about interest showing by Eraman most powerful man, Tun Sengalang Petara to bring Sahami to Eraman as Eraman NT manger. Sound a bit ridiculous while this team in the middle of the tournament right now. Not just football expect but almost everyone has critic the ways Tun Sengalang Petara done. Some of them said, they may not have anything to do with this, but with this team still competing, it can affect the team performance." We don't really care about this, after all, we just can say opinion but the decision will be made by the Sahami himself. But I really don't he do it this way. He can still wait until the competition ends. What makes us angrier is how he can stat about how much they willing to pay Sahami. Even I will be interested in such an amount of money."

Some report said it can also be his strategy for the upcoming general election. Some politician said Tun Sengalang may do this because he wants to keep up his high profile. However, some politic expert from Sharktail predicts Tun Sengalang may have done some mistake. What gonna happen if this plan fails. It will almost affect his reputation. The best for now if he does not make any move about this matter for now.

Sahami, in a phone call with a reporter, said he doesn't give any attention to the rumours. He said his focus now to help Sharktail NT until the end of Cup of Harmony. But it somehow gave some question for reporter after Sahami chooses to not comment anything about his future with Sharktail NT. It likes to give people prediction he will leave after the tournament is done. Sahami have made some sensational after some good run with Sharktail NT. He may interested to try some mangemrnt job from outside Sharktail, but all the answer will be answered once the competition over.

---

GROUP 6 MATCHDAY 5 VS TJUnia

[Tequilo]

TAPALUPÉ, Tequilo - So many match days, so little time… don’t worry, when you don’t have time for the big read (and we don’t have time for the big write) let the GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL-a!!! Daily take the strain - all your favourite bits, in brief. But first - some editorial business:

[YET MORE RETRACTIONS]
Same same. But different. We are coming for you, phantom hacker, who keeps publishing private emails in the public domain to undermine the good reputation of GOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL-a!!! We will not stand for it. Oh, and, as ever, the content does not represent the views of… andallthat.¹

And, now on to the business of the day - first, let’s fire up the Copametro and find out how Los Pitxileros did in the Cup of Harmony.

THREE BADABOOMS IN A ROW AS TEQUILO HIT SIX, SECURE FIRST, AND JOVOES SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT - TWICE OVER
The Jovannic 2-6 TEQUILO HT: 0-5

Location: MIllenium Park, Redswyth [Att: 53,164 ] | Date: Bruming-23.° SB-621
SCORERS: Denigh 47’ Jovan 53’ | Eng (OG) 9’ Calvoecheaga 14’ 34’ Wesh (OG) 22’ Tafalla 43’ Tlacolotl ’64

Player of the Match: Alexandro Calvoecheaga
Booked: Simole, Fathe, Ilohil, Castra | Bienvenida & Huracan

In a wild game in Redswyth, young striker Alexandro Calvoecheaga had a debut to remember, hitting a brace and deservedly collecting the player of the match award as Los Pitxileros overran the shell-shocked Jovannic in the first half of this game, taking a 5-0 lead which is their best ever first half performance. It wasn’t helped by two first half own goals by Raye Eng and Nivario Wesh, those calamities coming early in the game sandwiching Alexandro’s fine first goal, as the pressure applied from the front overwhelmed the seemingly ill-prepared Jovannes. Calvoecheaga got his second and Mateo Tafalla added a fifth just before the break to ensure a wipeout by half time. Things radically improved for The Jovannic in the second half, perhaps after a few cups of tea were thrown around during the half time team talk, and two early second half goals perhaps had people wondering if an astonishing collapse might take place. It wasn’t to be: Tlacolotl hit the sixth to settle nerves and ensure the brief bubble of hope was comfortably burst; from then on it was game over, both sides - for different reasons - waiting for the final whistle.

With the surprising group win in the bag and a game to spare, the team can take a rest for the final match day and enjoy some downtime heading into a round of 32 knockout tie. Coach Isaac Martí won’t announce his team until nearer the time, waiting on the recovery of captain Mateo Tafalla and keeper Oscar Bienvenida, both nursing knocks from this game; Tutayan will be serving the second of his two match ban for that straight red against Ethane while Huracan picked up his second yellow and will also sit out the elimination tie.

---

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

---

Read on for the season one (Rúi Rebooted) extension of the famous old comic strip featuring Rúi Raza, the legendary footballer who is now 125-years young and still tearing it up in football as a superagent for the family business, the Raza Agency. In this episode we drop in on fifth-gen great great grandson Rodi Raza-Shearer, apprentice at Rúi’s old club Blackburn Rovers. Will Rodi emulate his family tree and be the big hero at Rovers, where success is so far in the past most Rovers fans think it was all just invented for a comic strip? Youth team coach Lofty Crouch is not so sure, but Rodi’s great Uncle Alan, himself an old Rovers legend, has used his connections to get him a start for the ‘first team’ in the meaningless Paintpot Trophy against southern dockers Portsmouth. When he gets kicked up in the air twice in the first five minutes, he does the unthinkable and gets himself sent off for retaliation. Rúi and Great Uncle Alan Shearer are grudgingly in agreement that this is a terrible disappointment - but Lofty Crouch is secretly impressed. Meanwhile, back at the agency, Rodi’s mother Rita is working hard to convince super club Glasgow Celtic that washed-up keeper Joe Hart can still catch a ball. Occasionally.

---

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Issues That Are Really Rattling Your Marbles Right Now

---

Writing to the editor has never been such a hot topic. After A.P suggested the editor offer a class on how to write to the editor, you’ve been writing in to the editor to let us know what you think about A.P. Bappa Tiza of Santa Clares wonders: Who does that Aurora think she is? I bet she’s from Antivador, looking down her nose at everyone! She’s clearly lengthist - alright she likes to write a long letter, but some people prefer it short - who is she to suggest the shorter folks need educating? Outrageous!

Ponce de Gluon tends to agree: Nothing wrong with a short one - he writes, briefly.

We have more international readers/writers! Following up on the education for writers theme, Aude Hezaispoir of Recesión² observes: I for one have no idea how to write to the editor, and I worry with every day that passes that the time draws nearer when I shall be compelled to but not know how. Perhaps for the benefit of other readers such as myself, you might let us know how exactly one is supposed to write in, or what precisely we must do to send you a letter? I can't seem to quite figure it out.

We entirely agree, Aude. Perhaps someone can write in with suggestions.³ Another international correspondent, Anon. of The Plough Islands, can offer some content inspiration: There’s a terrible storm up here, but at least we could do with the rain.

Thanks for the multiversal meteorologic message, Anon.! On the ongoing matter of the missing goalkeeper, García de Corcoles, Ambre de Xtrûs shouts: Please let’s not get all religious about a very average goalkeeper gone off the rails [H.C in yesterday’s letters - Ed.] - I’m pretty sure I saw him last week in a club in Bastion, FSSO, blowing a whistle and busting a groove. I was there on a stag weekend and man, was he going IN. No way has that fella ever been shot. Unless it was in the bit of the brain that coordinates dance moves.

Finally, Rubèn Curto from Chanco Cóndor despairs: Ok I give up, there won’t be a ‘Touchdown in Kelssek’ either because you haven’t at all, or because it’s time to come home already.

---

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

---

Coming soon - The draw for the knockout rounds of the Cup of Harmony: can Los Pitxileros go deep in their first cycle? Plus, ‘Kelssek - The Departure Lounge’ - a new article on our tour of duty; more Rúi de Los Rovas, and more letters to the editor - keep them coming! [That’s not an order, more of a suggestion - Ed.]

---

FOOTNOTES
1Screen-grab copy reads:

From: Cariño Niebla <carino.niebla@gola.teq>
To: The Chief <editor@gola.teq>
Cc: The Intern <juan-line.juataguay@gola.teq>
Subject: SUBJECT

Hello Chief

Thanks for your email. I can certainly see your point of view with regard the lack of submissions, and I’ll accept that I have made a terrible mistake in relying on my useless assistant, Todaspartes. I will certainly follow your advice and check the schedules just as soon as we have got this ‘Touchdown in Kelssek’ article out of the way. As I emailed before, we were waiting at the training camp in Sherwood for the team to come back from their stadium inspection in Vickery. Clearly this did not go well as the team never came back to the camp, and so far as I can tell, the match against Mercedini has been moved to Breton - I found this out when the security guard told us that’s where we would find them. So something must’ve happened here in Vickery, and when I have done the ‘Touchdown’ piece, I will be proposing a second work, an investigative piece ‘What Happened In Vickery.’ As you would expect, Todaspartes has been of no help in this matter and suggested anyone could find that out by looking at a four-day-old newspaper. I am really not sure what he is getting at there.

Anyway, once we established that the team had gone to Breton, I immediately set about organising travel by sending Todaspartes to work out the best route, balancing our deadline against price, knowing that I am both running out of time and budget. As seems to be his way now, he made it clear that he thought he knew better and claimed heading to Breton would be a waste of time. Naturally I reminded him that he will never make an intrepid reporter with such a defeatist attitude, and indeed if he didn’t get me cheap flights to Breton, he wouldn’t even be an intrepid reporter’s assistant for much longer. I think at the bottom of it, for some reason, he just wants to go to Redswyth. Don’t ask me why. Anyway I sent him off to the travel agent and pretty soon he was calling me up claiming there were no budget flights left, what should he do - honestly, where is his initiative? - And that’s what I asked him, after ordering him to get us business class to Breton. We head there now and although I am somewhat confused by this change of venue, I remain confident that I can get this ‘Touchdown in Kelssek’ complete before the opening game against Mercedini. You can trust me on that, Chief.

On another matter, I think you should look at Juan-Line Juateguay as your potential leak - he’s been getting my emails as back up in case you miss them in your busy schedule; and when I think of it, he’s never shown me much respect - I think he’s doing this to show me up.

Juan-Line copied in for complete transparency - don’t publish this Juan-Line, or I will come back there and break your bloody pencils.

2Reçueçn
3Or TG Tequilo - really, do! My thanks to Recuecn & The Plough Islands for doing just that… as reported above.

[Savojarna]

SavojarSports.sj - inside reports from all Savojarna
Savojarna keep fate in their own hands

By Jaukka Halonen
Following Savojarna’s defeat by the hands of Timuria, despite Rika Lundell’s first goal in the Northlights dress, chances were truly wide open for the team depending on how the other games in the group go. Following victories by South Newlandia over Electrum, and surprisingly also by the so far pointless Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom over favourites Timuria, four sides still have hopes to qualify, although for Zeta Reka the chances are low. Savojarna’s hopes, however, are quite intact thanks to the mode of play, leaving a road open for third-placed teams as well, making the road into the second round wide open as the Savojars did roughly as expected.

Picking up a win over the fifth seed Electrum, and being stalled to a scoreless draw by South Newlandia thanks to the strong performances of the two goalkeeper as well as the defensive midfields, the Savojars lost to top seed Timuria narrowly and were left with four points. Commonly, it is expected most third-placed teams would be finishing on either six or seven points, beating the two teams below them in the groups and managing at most one point against the top two. The Northlights so far perfectly fit the pattern, assuming that they manage to pull off a victory over the Zeta Reka side. Savojarna’s chances fully depend on beating Zeta Reka, however, the results in other teams are heavily affecting how big that victory needs to be in order to seal the deal.

As it stands now, Electrum are in the fifth place without any games left, and have been eliminated early despite some spirited performances by the side, but the differences between their players seem to have harmed the extent to which they were able to seal victories, and they were first to fall in a difficult group. Ahead of the duo, Savojarna and Zeta Reka play a duel of last hope whereas Timuria and South Newlandia contest the group victory, with neither of the lower two sides still able to clinch it. As things stand now, the top two lead with a +2 goal difference each, Savojarna behind on equal GD. This means that they, for all intents and purposes, need to beat Zeta Reka with two goals of difference. If that happens, a winner in the parallel game will lead to an immediate qualification for the Northlights as they would either pass Timuria on points, or pass South Newlandia on goal difference. In case of a draw, however, South Newlandia would secure group victory, but Timuria and Savojarna would be tied on seven each, and it comes down to goal difference. As Savojarna lost to Timuria, a draw would require a three-goal victory, difficult to achieve but not impossible.

What would happen in the fairly likely case of the Savojars, for instance, repeating their 2-1 victory over Zeta Reka of last summer, and there being a draw to push Savojarna down to third place? This would still ensure qualification, with the Savojars being on seven points and needing to beat four teams. Balqia, Jeruselem and West Pocono all have fewer than seven points, and no longer have any games in hand; even a draw would keep the Northlights ahead of those three. Then, Group 7 has three teams that can no longer achieve more than six points, leaving them behind the Savojars as well. So, while a victory over Zeta Reka would be sufficient in any case, it would only ensure a third place. This means that our second-round match would be played against one of the eight best group winners, threatening a meet with the likes of Krytenia, Darmen or Tequilo who have achieved near flawless campaigns.

Now, what is the worst result that could still see us through? A loss is a certain out, as it would have Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom pass Savojarna to get into third place, so let’s not talk much about that scenario. A draw, however, is not unlikely as both teams play a strong defence, and may stall each other out. This would net Savojarna an awkward five points, again needing to beat out four teams that end up in third place. It gets extremely complicated to calculate the game there, but there are certainly scenarios where this is enough to qualify. However, to our readers at home, we suggest to assume a victory is necessary in order to break through to the second round, preferably in second place where we may snatch another second placed team to line up against in the knockouts.

So what is the key to beating Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom? The side is highly compact in the middle, and has shown some defensive proficiency as we have expected. They failed to score against both South Newlandia and Electrum, but found some offence in their clash with Timuria, scoring three into the offensive Red Wolves. However, as Savojarna are a defensively oriented team, we’re somewhat expecting them to go back to the performances of the first two games, likely to struggle offensively especially if the Savojars manage to shut down playmaker Rybki. This will be the key to locking down Zeta Reka, and then, the wingers of the Savojar team may make the difference as they allow the Northlights to bypass the typically tight Zeta Rekan central midfield. In the centre, it looks like Lundell may get another shot after her strong performance in the match against Timuria; up front, Jotansson can provide some much needed physical presence. Watch the final game of the group stage tonight at 22:30 live on STV 2!

[Trolleborg]

For our team, this match –and no one predicted this at the beginning of the tournament, – was a serious test of strength. Only one point after two games is not the result that we all counted on, frankly, and in order to maintain at least some chances for a playoff spot, it was imperative to win. But most of the fans were not interested in the question of the tournament position, albeit unenviable. They were interested in the quality of the game. And quality was today at the proper level.

Our guys started fast and twice in the first ten minutes they could have scored, but we had to wait with that. Only in the 27th minute, Kerr, having received pass from Finnsnes, and finding himself in a rather unfavorable position for the strike, made a clever pass by the defenders to Skaloed, who was left completely without attention, and he scored the first goal.

Opponents could quickly make score even, in general in this match they beat the foul kicks very dangerous, and several times it could end up very badly for our guys, that's how it is in this episode.

There were still questions about how the game would develop further, but soon after the start of the second half, Gulbranden scored a ball in his own style: he imposed on defenders a fight in the air, won it and just struck ball right into the far corner.

And again, opponents could quickly score a goal, but the ball after another very dangerous free kick passed our net slightly.

But the pressure on our goal was still felt, the tension was growing, and although the opponents had no obvious, 100 percent, scoring chances, in such circumstances one mistake could lead to the collapse of the whole game.
But finally, at the very end, Skaloed made a double: taking advantage of the mistake of opponents who ran to score goals, calmly play the ball and use circumstances, and shot precisely into the far corner.

Fans of the team, of course, celebrated the final whistle in good mood

However, questions still remained. With this victory, our guys regained some chance of catching on the playoffs, but for this they must at least not lose to their direct competitors, who will undoubtedly try to rehabilitate themselves for such an unsuccessful and unhappy tournament.

And here you can not do without philosophy. If our team lose last game, it will be completely logical, because this lineup will just to confirm the reputation. Lads constantly and unnecessary losing in key games, be it the defeats by Atlantic Republic and Brigantii in WCQ-84, defeat from minnows Oceani at IAC- 9 at the time when it was enough put a draw, a draw with Vdara at the last Harmony Cup, which put an end to the hopes for playoff, a nightmare defeat from Anserisa in the Pan-Pacific Cup semifinal and draws during the WCQ-85, each of which separately seemed like an unfortunate accident but all together they turned out - with what? A big annoyance or a quality pattern? We’ll find out tonight.

[Vdara]

Onwards and upwards!

Following Vdara’s last game against Filindostan, hopes were high. Vdara had just rinsed the top seed of the group 5-1, and now they were up against Kandorith, who they had faced in the World Cup already.

In the dressing room at Griffin Park, Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was preparing to give what could have been his last team talk until the next World Cup.

”Well, it’s been fun so far. We’re coming up against Kandorith, one of these teams who we ALWAYS struggle against. However, we are yet to lose to them, so there’s always hope for us. As long as we grab a point from this game, we should be through. Keep that in mind. Right, get out there and get ready for this game!”

The match report is as follows:

1: Well, the atmosphere at this stadium is tense, and the game has just started. Can Vdara gain qualification from this match, or will they crash out of the Cup of Harmony? Only time will tell, and we shall let it tell you from here on out.
3: Vdara have started this game nicely, as Vlahiades takes the ball forward from the back. He skips past Yamaguchi, and passes the ball forward to Karalas. Karalas flicks it forward to Fotellis, who flicks it up and hits it... straight past Kiyotada and into the net! It’s a lovely move from Vdara, and a lovely goal to finish that move!
7: The Kandorese have seemed dangerous since this game kicked off again, and Hirano has the ball. He’s dribbled past Vlahiades, cut inside, hit the ball... and it’s off the post and in! Kandorith equalise, and it looks like this game is going to be quite entertaining!
10: It’s a rubbish tackle from Takahashi, who earns himself a yellow card, and gives Vdara the chance at a good free kick. Vlahiades steps up to take it. The players in the Kandorese wall are Masatake, Takahashi, Miyake and Tanaka. Vlahiades hits it to the right, it deflects off of Tanaka’s head and goes to the right instead... and it’s into the goal! Vdara lead again, and Takahashi will be annoyed at himself for conceding that free kick!
15: Hayabusa has his players on the attack here, and for good reason. Nakajima has the ball in a good position, dribbles past Xeniadis, takes a shot... which is yet another equaliser! It’s 2-2 after a lovely move from Takayama Nakajima, and Ken Hayabusa will be happy with that!
27: Stamatelis has the ball in the middle of the park, and he’s put it to Vlahiades, who’s making a run on the left side. He keeps going, puts a lovely cross into the box to Lazelis... who smashes it past Kiyotada with a lovely back-heeled volley! 3-2 is the score, and Lazelis is the scorer!
35: Matsushita is making a lovely move here on the left, and he’s showing great determination. He’s zipped past Giannakos, he’s through on goal... and he’s scored! This game is only getting better, as Vdara and Kandorith are equal yet again!
41: Oh, dear! Athanas has given away a free kick to Kandorith with that rubbish tackle. It’s Hirano who will step up, as he gets ready to take it. He’s hit it hard, he’s hit it well... and it curves past Moustakakos! Kandorith have taken the lead for the first time today, and it’s 4-3 here at Griffin Park, remarkable!
44: Halftime beckons, but Vdara are gunning for an equaliser, as Xeniadis is making a lovely run forward from the back. He’s left Tanaka for dead, he’s still going, he hits a shot from range... and it’s in! Kiyotada got a touch to that, but there was nothing he could do to stop that blitzing shot from the young centreback! It’s 4-4, and the referee is about to halt the game!
45: Well, the ref has blown the whistle for half time, and this has truly been a spectacle for the fans so far!

Back in the dressing room, Væñøœrëñbérghüïś looked confused, and he looked like he was pondering something.

”See, this is an odd result. If we draw, I think we still qualify. But, if we lose, we’re fucked. We need to win this one, and we can’t do it by playing a ping pong with the scoreline out there, no? Get this victory, and get it now! We can do this, lads! We’re a great team, and we’re only getting greater!”

46: The halftime break is over here at Griffin Park, and the game restarts with the scoreline at 4 goals to 4.
52: Matsuda is making a fantastic move here, he’s beaten Xeniadis, sidestepped Giannakos, taken a powerful shot... which beats Moustakakos and makes it into the net! Kandorith lead yet again, and it’s now 5-4!
60: Væñøœrëñbérghüïś is shouting for his players to “get creative”, and it looks like some of them have responded quite well to that, with Fotellis looking quite motivated.
70: Karalas has put Lazelis through on goal, but he’s been dispossessed by Takahashi.
78: Kandorith can finish this game off here, as Nakajima is making a lovely run through the defence here, Moustakakos is running towards him, Moustakakosgoes to ground... and gets the ball off of Nakajima! Good recovery by Moustakakos!
87: Fotellis has the ball in the box after a lovely pass from Karalas, he takes a nice shot... and it goes in! It’s 5-5, and it’s game on in the 87th minute!
89: Giannakos has taken Nakajima down in the box, and it’s a penalty! Nakajima’s stepping up to take it... Moustakakos saves! Nakajima tries to put it into the net again, but Moustakakos saves again! Absolutely astonishing! Now, here come Vdara with the counter attack! Athanas is running forward, and he’s put it forward to Karalas. Karalas puts the cross in, Fotellis heads it to Lazelis’ feet... and he’s scored! Do not scratch your eyes, this is really happening! Lazelis has whipped his shirt off, and he’s swinging it round over his head! He’ll get booked for that, but he couldn’t care less! Chirstoforos Lazelis has made it 6-5 in the 89th minute, and the Vdaran fans are celebrating like mad!
90: It’s all over! Vdara have seized victory from the jaws of defeat, and it’s all from a lovely counter attacking move! Væñøœrëñbérghüïś is celebrating with his players on the touch line, he’s absolutely delighted!

There was singing in the dressing room, and Væñøœrëñbérghüïś was joining in. The players were gleeful, he was gleeful, everyone was gleeful.

Kandorith - 5
Kanetoki Hirano 7’, 41’
Takayama Nakajima 15’
Hikoshige Matsushita 35’
Toki Matsuda 52’

Vdara - 6
Alexis Fotellis 3’, 87’
Tryfon Vlahiades 10’
Chirstoforos Lazelis 27’, 89’
David Xeniadis 44’

”Congrats, lads! That’s our highest scoring game, and that result means... we’ve qualified! Maccian’s result means that we’re staying top of our group through the bye day, and it’s all thanks to that great save from Moustakakos and the counter attack from you lot! Absolutely glorious play out there, and I hope you guys can keep that up against our opponent in the round of 32, yeah? Anyhow, I think it’s time for a qualification celebration, because you’ve all earned it!”

With that result, Vdara had indeed qualified from their group, and would make it to the round of 32 with ease. Question is, could they do any better in the knockout rounds? Find out... in a couple of days, when Vdara finds out who there opponent will be.

[South Newlandia]

ELEPHANT VALLEY MAIL
Sports -> Soccer
Elephants clinch knockouts with a game to spare!

South Newlandia played Electrum, the WC78 champions, in a game with great significance for both teams. Electrum needed a win to stay in contention, while the Elephants could secure qualification for the Round of 32 here. Because the Elephants still have Timuria to play, it might be their last chance for a win as well.

South Newlandia 1-0 Electrum

The game, as the two other South Newlandian games so far, started rather slow. Both sides knew that if they gave up a goal, it could mean game over already. In the 17th minute, Electrum went ahead first, with Roland McCourtney getting a dangerous shot in. Mikhail Trischuk managed to get his hand on the ball in time.
The match didn’t feature a lot of goal scenes, and South Newlandia took until the 31st minute to get one. After a nice pass by Corban Green, Simon McCabe got a shot in, but it was blocked by Ralph Mills, the Electrumite goalkeeper.

There was only one more chance ahead of half-time, and it happened after a free kick for Electrum. Raphael Moreno, whose injury against Zeta Reka thankfully wasn’t a big problem, fouled the Sentient Energy Ball, somehow. He appeared to be fine, however, and Alan Moore got a free kick in. The ball flew into the penalty box, but Mikhail Trischuk came out of his goal and caught the ball before Nindethana Nindethana.

At half-time, the game was all tied up at no goals. Robert Wolverine hasn’t quite happy with that, he wanted a win. Despite Adam Weiss demanding to get to play, he let Abdurahman Bishop on the pitch for an underwhelming Finnley Wallis.

The game couldn’t begin again instantly. Before the game, some fans, mostly neutral ones from Trink, have been seen with fireworks. After seeing a boring first half, some of them shot them inside the stadium, just before the second half was supposed to start. The noise and smoke made play impossible, and until the chaos was contained, the players had to stay inside. Because of that, the second half of the game was delayed by 20 minutes.

Despite the obvious statement by the fans, the second half featured more of the first one, with few chances for either team. In the 57th minute, it was once again Corban Green initiating a good chance, this time after a corner. His flank came into the penalty box, and Dhruv Roy got a header in after having snuck away from his defender, A big ol' egg-shaped rolling being (literally). His header was unreachable for Ralph Mills, but hit the crossbar and bounced behind the goal.

Electrum kept pushing, as they would probably need a win as well. In the 65th minute, Electrum’s Einarsson took a shot from about 37 metres. Everyone in the stadium could hear the ball hitting the post at high speed; Trischuk would not have stood a chance.

Robert Wolverine, still pushing for the win, decided to make another offensive substitution after 68 minutes. Simon McCabe was done for the day, and replaced by Bjorn Cohen, despite protests by Weiss and Brandon Irving.

A few minutes later, the result from Bassabook reached the stadium in Trink. Zeta Reka and Hügeltadom had beaten Timuria surprisingly, by three goals to two. This had direct consequences on the game, as every Electrumite player knew that a draw would not be enough for them in any case. They threw everything on the offense, and the most entertaining minutes of the game began.

Electrum got a chance first, in the 77th minute. A nice header by Nindethana Nindethana after a flank missed the goal by just a little bit.

South Newlandia was able to use the opened room well, and they got quite a few counterattacks in. After a successful defense, Dhruv Roy kicked the ball far away from the South Newlandian penalty box, and suddenly, it was Bjorn Cohen and Michael Glossman alone against A big ol' egg-shaped rolling being and the Electrumite goalkeeper. Bjorn Cohen dribbled around the defender, and the two strikers were pushing on Ralph Mills’ goal. Cohen had the ball, and passed it to Glossman at the last possible moment. Glossman was not offside, and he scored inside the empty goal easily in the 87th minute.

With that, South Newlandia managed to beat the 78th World Electrum, eliminating them and insuring qualification for the Elephants. They can be quite content with that result, as they now got 7 points against strong opposition, and never conceded a single goal as the only team in all of the Cup of Harmony. They hope to maintain this statistic in the last game, but against Timuria, that will be hard.

Player Rankings

Mikhail Trischuk (GK, Captain) 9
A third clean sheet in a row, he is in fantastic form.

Dhruv Roy (LB) 8

Jack Schroder (LCB) 8

Manuel O’Neill (RCB) 7

Raphael Moreno (RB) 8
His injury doesn’t seem to affect him anymore.

Kevin Mohamed (DM) 7

Corban Green (LM) 8
He improved his game compared to the last one.

Patrick McMora (RM) 6
He didn’t.

Finnley Wallis (OM) 5
He was rightfully taken off of the pitch.

Simon McCabe (ST) 7

Michael Glossman (ST) 8
He is adapting to the team well, scoring in his second game.

Abdurahman Bishop (OM) 7

Bjorn Cohen (ST) 8
As always, he lights new fire in the team whenever he comes on the pitch.

The last part of the interview with Manuel O’Neill will not be printed due to insufficient space, but can be found on our homepage. We apologize for any inconveniences.

Starters against Timuria

Having secured the knockout rounds, Robert Wolverine still wants to field his strong players. Two changes were made compared to the last game, as Abdurahman Bishop and Jarod Stuart join the starting eleven for Finnley Wallis and Patrick McMora.

Results for Group 11, Matchday 4

Zeta Reka and Hügeltaldom (98) 3–2 Timuria (44)
We already briefly mentioned that, Zeta Reka remain in the game.

South Newlandia (101) 1–0 Electrum (128)

Current standings

* Group 11                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 South Newlandia                       3   2  1  0    2   0  +2    7
2 Timuria                               3   2  0  1    6   4  +2    6
3 Savojarna                             3   1  1  1    2   2   0    4
4 Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom             3   1  0  2    3   4  −1    3
5 Electrum                              4   1  0  3    1   4  −3    3

Schedule for Group 11, Matchday 5

Savojarna (59) vs. Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom (98)
Zeta Reka needs to win to keep chances to qualify for the knockouts, and even then, it might not be enough, but there is nothing else to try. More goals would help.

Timuria (44) vs. South Newlandia (101)
You might think that this game is only to decide the group winner, but Timuria actually isn’t through yet. 6 points aren’t guaranteeing advancement, as very unlucky circumstances could eliminate them after a defeat. If they manage to draw, they will be secure in any case. With a win, they win the group. South Newlandia wins the group with a draw or win, but with a defeat, they might even drop into third. They will look to avoid that, and the easiest way to do so (if there is one), is to maintain a fourth clean sheet.

[Kandorith]

Shinonome Kyoai - International
News From The Empire

---

Hayabusa Threading Difficult Line

  Group 4                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts
1 Vdara                       4   3  0  1   18  14  +4    9  Q
2 Kandorith                   3   1  1  1   13  13   0    4
3 Filindostan                 3   1  1  1    8   8   0    4
4 Maccian                     3   1  1  1    8  10  −2    4
5 Delaclava                   3   0  1  2   10  12  −2    1

While the stakes and hopes were both high, an utterly disappointing result has put the Kandorese side in a difficult position. An eleven goal match was the result of the night, while there were much cheers to be had; the game ended in a confusing bewilderment with the fans lashing out in anger at the team failing to hold Vdara at bay. The question now remains what the team, and especially manager Hayabusa will do to turn back the tide for the last match and to keep the march to the round of 32 alive.

"I understand the disappointment completely and I know more was expected" Hayabusa replied. "This was a learning moment and we were out of shape slightly. We let the defense down as we tried to set everything on winning the match and this was our downfall in the second part of the second half. I want to ensure the fans I take full responsibility for the defeat and don't want them to blame the players. I should have seen the signs on the field earlier and should have used substitutions more carefully to adapt to the game. I realise how disappointing this is and especially after we have faced Vdara before, who technically eliminated us from qualifying for the World Cup.

In the upcoming match against Maccian is a must win scenario now. Sadly I wanted to keep this match day as a more resting day to let the more experienced players have a day of rest. Now this will not be a possibility and we need to put everything on the game to secure an absolute win. The aim for the game against them will be to score at least one more goal than Filindostan at least and go for the seven points to ensure our spot to get to the phase of 32. I think we need to focus more on our defense and play a more flowing game to get back on our usual performance. Where the tournament was of to a good start we are now faltering in keeping up the performance we should have. The team will be somewhat turned around and I will be bringing in the more experienced players in favour of younger players. We simply need the win."

Hayabusa ensuring how critical the win is in the upcoming match is not an understatement. Even the Kandorese Football Association has pressed on their disappointment with the performance of the team. The Kandorese team only managed to get four points in three matches which echoes tournaments of the past; where the team sped off to a good start only to completely fall apart in the end of the campaign. For many fans it is still a faint memory how the Kandorese teams of the past failed to keep up in the last parts of qualification campaigns and sometimes failed to even score at all.

The match against Maccian should be an easy game for the Lotus Warriors on paper but with the result against Vdara even the analysts are rather cautious. The real question is if Hayabusa can return the team to their performance of the second part in the World Cup Qualifiers; if so, it should be easy sailing throughout the match. If the team does not return to their previous form however, an exit for both the team and Hayabusa as manager is more likely. In a strong worded statement the KFA also said if the team does not perform according to expectations, round of 32 or not, Hayabusa will most likely be let off to make way for other candidates.

Fans, disappointed, still have hope for Hayabusa's team. For now he has been one of the more successful managers in Kandorese history, being the only one who has even come close to winning a title for the nation. It's also a wide known fact that for the Kandorese nation a performance in the Cup of Harmony is more important than the World Cup. Hayabusa always claims he manages better when under stress, it will become evident in the match against Maccian if this is true.

---

Kandorith - 5
Kanetoki Hirano 7’, 41’
Takayama Nakajima 15’
Hikoshige Matsushita 35’
Toki Matsuda 52’

Vdara - 6
Alexis Fotellis 3’, 87’
Tryfon Vlahiades 10’
Chirstoforos Lazelis 27’, 89’
David Xeniadis 44’

[South Covello]

List of Lawsuits Filed by Jonathan Lee Moneybags

The following is an incomplete list of lawsuits filed by Jonathan Lee Moneybags, the self-proclaimed King of Legalese, who despite the song by the Legalese soccer supporters is no longer in prison for mail fraud. However, many of these lawsuits were filed while he was in prison. Surprisingly, he has not yet sued the Legalese soccer fans for slander for saying he was in prison. We are just listing the most hilarious lawsuits, there are over 15,000 of them so we cannot list them all.

1. Moneybags sued a long list of plaintiffs, none of which were actual people but which were various celestial objects such as the Moon, the Sun, Mars, and Sonnel, for conspiring to cause him to miss a solar eclipse because he was suddenly stricken with a bout of diarrhea as the eclipse was occurring. He also sued the restaurant that allegedly gave him diarrhea by force feeding him 666 fish sticks topped with laxative laced cheese. The case, like all of Moneybags' lawsuits, was dismissed

2. Moneybags sued Pieter Pieper, owner of Pieter's Pie Shop, for pieing him in the face with a poisonberry pie and causing him to suffer neck and back pain after allegedly mistaking him for Maria Polus. As this was a complete fabrication and there is no such thing as a poisonberry pie, the case was dismissed

3. Moneybags sued South Covellan President Luisa Benitez, alleging she kidnapped him, sold him into slavery, and used the proceeds to purchase nuclear weapons from the government of the Free Republics so she could achieve her lifelong dream of nuking Saintland. Unsurprisingly, this was dismissed as well as it was a total and utter lie.

4. Moneybags sued Busty Daniels for not telling a slanderous sensationalist story about him in any of her books, because she told them about everyone else and he felt left out.

5. Moneybags sued the South Covello Soccer Federation for turning him into a coconut and writing an insulting song about him for the Supporters Group to sing.

6. Moneybags filed a lawsuit against the South Covello Book of World Records for naming him the person who had filed the most lawsuits.

7. Moneybags filed a lawsuit against Cocoabo, Incorporated, alleging that he was fed a poisonous milkshake at one of the restaurants that was laced with rattlesnake poison and turned him into a ghoul, during which time he was forced to eat 619 babies. He sought 600 octilllion liberos, one of the highest sums he has ever sought. It failed as well, like all of his lawsuits.

8. Moneybags sued King Paulus III of Saintland (sic) for kidnapping him, changing the laws of time, and forcing him to worship Jesus for 32 hours a day. The lawsuit was dismissed as absurd and because King Paulus III is long dead.

9. Moneybags again sued the moon, this time for mooning him during a baseball game and causing him severe emotional trauma and also ruining the lives of several children he was with. He sought 625 decillion liberos. The lawsuit was dismissed as the Moon could not be served.

10. Moneybags sued Gertrude Pullman of Electrum Diplomatic Offices, alleging she rented an airplane, filled it all with gruel, then dumped the gruel on his home and destroyed it. He further alleged that Pullman then parachuted from the plane and forced him to eat all the gruel and that since she was no longer flying the plane, it crashed into Revolution Stadium in the middle of a soccer match and killed 600 trillion people and 500 trillion puppies that were in the stadium. He sought one million liberos for each perso killed and another 500.000 liberos for each puppy killed, plus 600 trillion liberos for the destruction of his house, which he alleged was worth that much.

11. Moneybags sued Carter Redwin, alleging that in a parallel timeline where Redwin was not assassinated, he had Moneybags executed for insulting him. As Redwin was dead in this timeline, the case was dismissed.

12. Moneybags sued Caleb O'Relly of the Free Republics, alleging that he invented the Dumpy O'Rumpy nickname and O'Reilly stole it, then kidnapped him, had the cBots rape him, and threw him off the top of O'Rellly Tower. As there was no evidence of any of this, or of O'Reilly even using the Dumpy O'Rumpy nickname (which he reportedly hates), the case was dismissed.

13. Following South Covello's Cup of Harmony draw with The Sarian, Moneybags sued The Sarian National Team as well as every politician in The Sarian for causing him severe emotional trauma due to being forced to watch such a boring match on TV while allegedly being held at gunpoint by several Sarian maids who allegedly forced him to hire them. The case was, unsurprisingly, dismissed.

14. Moneybags sued the government of Equestria for fraud, claiming that talking ponies aren't real and it was all a hoax to promote the color pink, which Moneybags claims to have invented. He sought his largest lawsuit sum in history, 500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,003 (500 million decillion and three) liberos, which he alleged was one trillion liberos for every pink thing in the world, all of which he was entitled to royalties on, plus three liberos because they refuse to make their “imaginary talking ponies” wear clothes. Of course, this lawsuit was dismissed as well for being totally and utterly ridiculous.

15. In the final lawsuit on this list, Moneybags sued the governments of Mriin and Farfadillis, as well as the World Cup Committee, claiming that by hosting World Cup 85, and calling it that, they infringed on his registered trademark “World Cup Champion of Suing.” As he did not register such a trademark, and such a trademark would be invalid due to existing World Cup trademarks, the case was dismissed.

[Kelssek]

IMPORTANT OOC NOTE
The RP by Xanneria about a stadium collapse is to be ignored. It should be treated as if it never happened. Zwangzug made a post about this in the WCDT, but I am now highlighting it here to ensure everyone understands this and to avoid anyone incorporating it into RPs.

Xanneria, that was a total breach of roleplaying etiquette. You should never do this. And you especially should never do this in a way that is a thinly veiled political and/or personal attack.

Since we can always do with making things clear:

It is never ok to RP serious disasters or damage to another player/nation without discussion and their explicit approval. This isn’t just an NS Sports thing, it applies generally to the whole activity of roleplaying. For example, see this guide from International Incidents.

And again for clarity, this is not just a matter of different interpretations of what is “godmodding” which people can reasonably disagree about. RPing a fatal disaster in another country crosses the line in a completely obvious way.

In real life, similar tragedies like Heysel and Hillsborough led to an entire country being banned from competing in European football competitions, as well as decades of tramua, inquiries, prosecutions, and sweeping policy changes. Don’t RP such things lightly - it would be unreasonable in-character if major consequences did not follow from something like this.

Checking with the other person is not only good manners, it may even lead to collaboration and trading ideas that improves your own RP. For example, hiring a national team manager from Nephara, I asked Neph for some notes about the manager’s personality and character and now I take it from there. I checked with Farf about whether flying jellyfish would leave slippery patches on the field and asked about the giant scorpions and got the reply, “feel free to come up with something”. Great.

To summarize, if you are going to state that something bad happens to another player, that something bad happens in another player’s nation or to their characters, and anything that requires a response from the other player’s characters/nation, ask them first.

Thank you for your attention. Please take any queries to the World Cup Discussion Thread, not here.

[Jeckland]

ROSS CALLS FOR COMMITMENT IN DEAD RUBBER

Kayden Ross has urged his Jeckland team to continue to put in maximum effort despite their elimination from the Cup of Harmony.

The Spuds went into the tournament as one of the less fancied teams, but unlike the Campionato Esportiva, it proved to be the case. Opening up with a close game against Darmen, the Spuds lost 4-3 but showed the form they had in World Cup Qualifying against one of the tournament favourites. Expectations soared following the performance, with bookmakers in Jeckland slashing their odds on qualification for the Round of 32 by the Spuds. However, two underwhelming performances followed, meaning the Spuds will be on their way home after their concluding group match against the Cheergirls.

The second group opponents, Riena, ran out comfortable 2-0 victors. The match had been pinpointed as one in which Jeckland could cause an upset, but a flat performance devoid of any productivity or creativity made things far too easy for their opponents, who have all but qualified alongside Darmen. Balqia were expected to be tougher opposition, so on the face of it a 2-1 defeat could be viewed in a similar light to the Darmen game. But opportunities were wasted and mistakes made. Even a draw could have kept the Spuds in contention for third place and a potential qualifying berth, but defeat means they are one of only eight teams already out of the competition.

Jeckland's final opponents, Cheergirls, have much more to play for than the Spuds. A win would secure third place for them, with the best eight third placed records securing a spot in the final 32. A win for Jeckland would see them overtake their opponents and finish fourth in the group on goal difference. With both sides relatively evenly ranked, Cheergirls are seen by most to have a slight edge due to the poor form of the Spuds thus far.

Whatever happens, the below par performance will not mean the end of the line for Ross, who has a huge amount of credit in the bank from his past successes in the Campionato Esportiva and World Cup Qualifying. This will go down as a blot on his record however, and may come back to haunt him if the team isn't successful in the future.

[TJUN-ia]

By Peter Davis

Latrobe, Kelssek. A cultural hub full of both history and culture. And tonight at it's Macquarie Docklands stadium, TJUN-ia could make history of its own. It's 2 vs 1 as the Jaguars 'host' the Blue Monster of Sharktail to decide our fate.

It is pure and simple: Sharktail lead the group by a point to us and Jeruselem, who have already played their games. Eraman are two points back but could move into contention with a win over pointless Garifunya in Ulyanof. In order to make it into the knockouts for the third time in our history, we need to take points away from Sharktail tonight.

If we win (though no one had beaten the Blue Monster thus far), we win the group
If we draw, Sharktail wins the group but we will be in the Top 3.
If we lose, it all depends on what happens in Ulyanof

The pressure is certainly on David Seems' shoulders, but many think he has a chance. Sharktail are the 4th seeds and have overperformed thus far. We could make a statement of intent by winning...but we could also show the class of the Blue Monster by not winning.

No matter what happens tonight, it will certainly be a great night of TJUN-ian sports. Eyes will be on Latrobe, Ulyanof and New Washington across the International Community and I wouldn't ask for it any other way. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE
MD1: vs Jeruselem (42) - Griffin Park, Novonaya (39,200) W 2-0 (1st)
MD2: BYE (2nd)
MD3: vs Eraman (60) - Canada Stadium, Neorvins (66,300) L 0-2 (4th)
MD4: vs Garifunya (157) - Community Stadium, Arvika (34,700) W 3-0 (2nd)
MD5: vs Sharktail (109) - Macquarie Docklands, Latrobe (cap. 55,700)

[Port Ember]

---

Top Score Magazine: Exclusive Online Article
A Look At The Clubs of the New Port Ember Football Association Premier League

---

As discussed during the article ”The Launch of the New Port Ember Football Association Premier League, thirteen new Football Clubs have been established and registered, whom will form part of the brand shiny new Port Ember Football Association Premier League this year directly following the conclusion of the 77th Cup of Harmony. As promised, we will release an article to introduce each new Club with every issue of Top Score Magazine (Online).

Just to serve as a reminder, each club who is now registered within the Port Ember Football Association Premier League has met the following requirements:

1. The applying club must appoint a Head Coach who has passed a International Accredited Coaching Clinic.

2. The applying club must own a stadium which can seat at minimum 50 000 spectators.

3. The applying club must ensure that this stadium maintains all utilities which would be considered up to international standard.

4. The applying club must establish and maintain training facilities which adheres to international standards.

5. The applying club must establish and maintain medical facilities which adhere to international standards.

6. The applying club must establish and maintain a merchandising and equipment factory which adheres to international standards.

7. The applying club must establish and maintain a Youth Academy which adheres to international standards.

Without further ado - the introduction of the next club...

---

Greenfields Bulls FC

---

Geographical Center of the Club: Port Ember Megalopolis; Greenfields Borough.
Home Stadium of the Club: Greenfields Stadium
Team Colors: Green
Main Sponsor: Ember Agriculture Corporation Ltd
Team Manager: Zander Matthews

Signed Players:
Goalkeeper: Ilbert Moses
Goalkeeper: Hughie De Jong
Defender: Fachtna Hearn
Defender: Sholto Baldwin
Defender: Jason Lee.
Defender: Adam Reynell
Defender: Porter Hathaway
Defender: Roland MacBride
Defender: Case Beck
Defender: Olaf Tracy
Midfielder: Rufus Buchanan
Midfielder: Columban Ananias
Midfielder: Ian Meadows
Midfielder: Dennis Tuft
Midfielder: Smith Mitchell
Midfielder: Ricky Saunders
Midfielder: Jaiden Shakespeare
Midfielder: Bob Darrow
Forward: Kip Hughes
Forward: Jason Status.
Forward: Kenelm Dyer
Forward: Roibeárd Dean

Star Players signed:
Defender: Jason Lee.
Forward: Jason Status.

This Club managed to sign two Star Players ahead of the first season. The Club managed to sign Defender Jason Lee – arguably the best defender on the starting roster of the national team. He is a talented, skilled, passionate defender who is also a very skilled playmaker in the backline. Jason has been a part of the national squad since its inception in the form of the Port Ember Youth Development Program. The next star signing is bench striker for the national squad, Jason Status (yes yet another Jason). Jason is a bench Striker for the national squad (also since its inception day), and although he is only a bencher, do not underestimate this young man’s abilities! He is regularly used in the national squad as a late game impact player. An added bonus would be the great chemistry that these two signed star talents appears to have on field, working together like a absolute machine when creating counter attack opportunities.

A Word

This club seems to have a strategy to place some emphasis on equal and balanced play, evident with the signing of Star Striker Jason Status and Star Defender Jason Lee. The team managed to sign Ember Agriculture Corporation Ltd as their head sponsor, which is a great sign that there is potential in this squad’s ability to rise to the top. For this team, I personally hope that they manage to build equally on progressive attacking and defensive play and skills in order to grow the potential talent pool for the national squad in the long run.

About the Home Town

The Greenfields Borough of Port Ember Megalopolis is situated on the northern edge of the super city, its borders touching the vast tropical jungle of Ember Rainforest. The Borough garners its name from the rolling green grasslands which makes up the geographical area of the Borough. This Borough is known as the cultural heart of both the city and the nation as a whole, possessing world renowned academic, technological and cultural institutions, playing host to some of the largest, most successful and pioneering zoo’s, nature conservation ranches, museums, concert halls, art galleries, theatres, nature parks and film studios.

About the Stadium

The Greenfields Stadium is a modern grass & luxury stadium which seats 70 000 spectators. This stadium is a very large, modern an luxurious with many Executive Suites, reflecting the wealthy upper class nature of the geographical area.

Kit Revealed

Accepted Clubs of the PEFA Premier League:

- Waterstad Pirates FC (Covered in Issue 1)
- Lilly Black Kings FC (Covered in Issue 2)
- Gold Coast Raiders FC (Covered in Issue 3)
- Blacklake FC (Covered in Issue 4)
- Greenfields Bulls FC
- Nirvana FC
- Eden FC
- Thurston FC
- Thurston Bergians FC
- Amanaki FC
- Amanaki Coast FC
- Beras City FC
- Real Beras FC

[Mercedini]

77th Cup of Harmony MD4 Review & MD5 Preview
The Jovannic vs. Mercedini
@ Waterfront Dome - Kirkenes, Kelssek

It's crunch time at the Cup of Harmony, and we are down to the final round of games in the group stage, where we will find out which thirty-two nations will advance to the knockout stages and who will be on the early bus home to end their cycle. Last time round, Mercedini finally gave a performance worthy of their rank with a 3-0 win over the Euran Oceanian Territories, to lift their spirits and put their destiny in their own hands. Games against Ethane and The Jovannic will be the final stops for Mercedini on their group stage journey, one win will do. Let's see whether they can ensure safety with a game to spare as they faced Ethane in Neorvins.

Cup of Harmony: Hopes Vanished In a Puff Of Smoke Flammable Gas

---

FULL TIME

COH | MD4

---

ETHANE 4
Smith 19', 62', Ford 44', Wood 68'
MERCEDINI 4
Nymark 8', 86' (P), Chillotov 57', Garzallo 77'

---

Neorvins, Kelssek

Well then... it all goes down to the final match day in Kelssek as an eight-goal thriller is played out in Neorvins. It seemed as if Ethane would get the better for the Golden Eagles for much of the game, but they let a two goal lead slip in the dying embers of the game, a 4-4 draw seemed fair on the balance of play. Going into the match, Mercedini would want more than a point from the game, but Ethane came out swinging and seemed up for the upset, going up 4-2 with twenty minutes to go. That meant Dini were back in third with a game to play, which would mean Dini would be in a precarious position in the group. However, a header from Garzallo and a penalty in the final five minutes bought it back to level terms to put Mercedini back in second place and earn a point against the second best team in the group. That result, combined with Tequilo's results, mean Dini sacrifice the top spot in the group to the third-seeds, but they remain in the driving seat to qualify with a fina game against The Jovannic to come.

The crowd seemed up for it, with Mercedini vising their third city in four match days so far, they were truly getting the tour and a flavour of what Kelssek has to offer. It was always set up to be the biggest match of the group with both of the top two in action, and the crowd responded with fans from both nations, and plenty of locals making a ruckus as the two former qualifiers came to town. The match started with all the fire and ferociousness you expect with two teams of this calibre. As the Golden Eagles took the early lead from Nymark from a scything move. Garzallo beat his marker before working his was to the side of the box before whipping the ball back to the arriving Nymark who side-footed the ball into the net before the ten minute mark.

That was cancelled out by two further Ethane goals in the first half, the first from the main striker, Smith, from a counter attack from a corner, before Ford gave Ethane their second to take the lead for the first time in the game, just before half-time. It came from another set-piece for Ethane as a free kick was floated in towards the far side of the box. A header bought it back towards the face of goal, and Ford was there to flick it home after a scrap featuring multiple players from both sides.

The half-time whistle blew with Mercedini a goal down and thoroughly exposed at the back on multiple occasions. Mercedini got back level just past the quarter-hour mark in the second half, as Chillotov bagged another goal for his nation with lovely curled effort after a flowing attacking move where Chillotov cut inside and beat the keeper as the ball nestled in the far corner of the net. All of that was undone with Ethane scoring twice in quick succession to all but seal the points for the team in purple. Billic was not pleased on the sideline as he saw his side capitulate for the second time in the game, they needed something quick if they were to pull something out of the game.

A life-line came from Garzallo once again, as the provider became the receiver to convert from close range. A vicious Dostalok shot stung the palms of the Ethanian goalkeeper, who could only parry the ball into the path of the arriving winger who slammed the ball into the net to halve the deficit with time running out. Something was brewing in the Waterfront Dome, and the fans and the players were ready for a blockbuster finished they were promised. Mercedini has to find a goal from somewhere, Ethane just had to hold out.

That 'somewhere' came from an unlikely source, as brace-grabber Smith bundled over substitute Alva in the box with less that five minutes to go in the game. The Ethanians had their head sin their hands as Nymark stepped up to grab a brace of his own and earn his team a vital point. A short run-up was met with a high effort which beat the goalkeeper's glove and just beat the cross bar to nestle in the roof of the net to bump the score up to 4-4. That goal was their get out of jail card, although they have one final code to crack before their group stage is concluded. Alas, there was no dramatic winner in stoppage time for either team, as the players shook hands knowing they gave their all for a point. Mercedini hold the advantage in their final game, although that could all be washed away if the results don't go their way.

There we have it, it all comes down to this and Mercedini have one simple job to do... don't lose to The Jovannic. With how the group is going, the Golden Eagles simply need to earn a point to secure at least a top three spot in the group, although a win will finalise things and mean Mercedini will definitely go through as a top-two side. A draw could mean Dini slip to third if Ethane beats EOT, although our group still occupies a 'best third place' spot to ensure Dini will go through in third. A loss to The Jovannic will mean they will leapfrog us, and we will have to hope for a favour from EOT to hold Ethane back as well. Both matches with so much to play for, we hope you will be back for more of the Cup of Harmony. Good night!

[Huayramarca]

OOC: Rewinding a past event, from ÑÑ Group perspective - Occurs before Part 9.

Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.
Part 4.
Part 5.
Part 6.
Part 7.
Part 8.
Part 9.

Rewind.

Part 10.
Part 11.
Part 12.
Part 13.
Part 14 A.

Ñucanchi Ñan - Part 14-B.

Huancaspata, Parcoy Department - 04/04/1980 - 1:30 P.M.

After spending some time in nearby Llacuabamba, where people ate their lunch and had some exploratory talks, the convoy reached their final destination, Huancaspata. The Village of Huancaspata, as officially known by the Huayramarcan Cartographic Institute is one of the remotest places of Huayramarca, officially placed at 4530 meters above sea level, pretty much a mile above Llacuabamba and being only 60 kilometers away, as known, the road was tortuous, heavily risky for those unexperienced on driving at the Andean roads. The situation was comfortable for the drivers, their all-wheel cars helped them a lot to reach their final destination, adding that some of those drivers are Serranos, hence they are used and know the road pretty much to the perfection, hence, they reached the village safe and sound.

Everybody had some ideas on mind and had already explored terrain back on Llacuabamba, the meeting itself was scheduled to last the entire weekend, hence they had to made something good and prepare the deal in order to face Mina and impede the mining drill on Illimani and protect the park; also, visiting some places on the surroundings to do a worthy trip, since the place itself is far away from Huayramarca’s Metropolitan District. They knew that Mina would try to be steps forward and have even a plan Z on his sleeves, he didn’t like to let things scape, even more when that stuff was related to money or involving personal dreams like he leaving to a better and more developed country like Québec, etc. The plan had to be well structured and be as risky as possible in order to put Mina between the wall and the edge of the sword and compromise his reputation with the neighboring nations, such as Québec itself and more into the Atlantian Oceania community, since he wouldn’t like to see Atlantian Oceania Regional Defense Organization doing a military intervention on Huayramarca, he would be done if that happened.

The people took some chairs and decided to sit near a sightseeing spot facing the majestic Quilotoa lake, a volcanic lake famous for its crystalline water and for also being one of the highest lakes in the region, being at 4500 meters above the sea level. One the hotel owners spoke and said “Well, if we offer our lives to stop that madness, Mina could stop all of a sudden.” Some voices sounded worried by the kind of proposal made at the very first talk of the meeting, a fellow owner said “Don’t you think you’re going too far?” Things heated a bit all of a sudden when Buendía said “We need to keep the struggle alive, there’s a lot of people behind us, they might continue it in case we get killed.” Ana said “No need to go that far, we could do a human barrier, I don’t know…” It was matter to considerate the potential outcomes of the situation and do some psychological background analysis, it was matter to hit Mina where he didn’t expect it and where there could be the greatest amount of consequences possible.

Human Rights, perhaps a matter where Huayramarca has never excelled on its region, nor in the multiverse, but enough to compromise any leader, since no one was actually capable to push that hard and kill people for their purposes, all those leaders and dictators wanted to keep a pristine image when it comes to the outsiders view of the nation. Fears of an intervention have been pivotal points to the formation of the Huayramarcan society as we know it, a nation built into the premise of self-defense in case somebody was trying to invade it, a collective effort from indigenous tribes from the coast, mountains and jungle in order to preserve themselves and try to be one. It was the tales of a dysfunctional marriage-like bond at the house but a union that seemed strong from the outside, hence the lack of will to kill civilians at Huayramarca from a dictator or somebody seeking for a vacuum of power.

Well, things were settling down where Buendía said “Possibilities are extremely low, I would say with complete self confidence that there’s only a 0.00000000000000001% of seeing a massacre against us, it’s something that Mina can’t cope with due to fears of an international backlash on him as an aftermath.” “That’s what I’m trying to say.” Said one of the Hotel owners, pointing to certain scenarios of the Huayramarcan history such as the 1950 revolution, where Serranos overthrew another Serrano dictator, in order to stablish a confederacy-like government where the three-headed presidency was rotated every year, for a period of 6 years.” (Two different years per each representative on command.) Walter, the techie of Ñucanchi Ñan asked for some words and said “Please, let’s wait upon time, let’s be patient and see if he really takes that machinery to the national park. I, for one, am skeptic on Mina doing that, I guess he doesn’t dare to do so, he will not be capable to do so.”

“There’s some truth into Walter’s point, to be fair.” Said one of the Hotel owners, perhaps, the most conservative one, since he didn’t want to engage in a full-frontal conflict “We don’t have tools nor capability to go full 1v1.” He was abruptly interrupted by another owner “Marco, don’t you remember that we have a militia of security guards in order to stop illegal timbers to get into our properties.” Marco, one of those owners said “Oh, the AK armed ones?” The rest of owners nodded, Marco replied “Well, we could have a chance but only as a last resort.” “There isn’t pretty much anything to lose since we wouldn’t be expropriated of our lands, law stands firmly against that, also, bribing could help and also, defending our forefathers land is a serious compromise.” Said one of the owners, while everybody was agreeing with him “Let’s do a human chain on when needed, and seize the equipment. The militia could be there, in support if we need said resource.” The improvised assembly approved said move and then decided to see the sun setting down on Quilotoa.

[Flavovespia]

Flavovespia confirmed their place in the Round of 32 in the Cup of Harmony 77, and kept up their perfect start to the tournament, with a win over the highest seeded side in the group, New Lusitania and the Algarves. The result in Breton was a key result for Flavovespia, in the context of Group 5 of the Cup of Harmony 77, and to some extent their wider ambitions to grow in international football stature.

Just the one change for Flavovespia, Stephen Shepherd slots in at right back, replacing David Blythe. The young Marthorpe City wing back seemed to struggle a bit against Alba and Cymru, and Richard Crawford chooses to make a change ahead of the match in Kingswharf. Flavovespia lined up in their yellow shirts, black shorts and black socks knowing a win would take them through to the Round of 32.

It wasn’t a classic start to the game by any stretch of the imagination. Flavovespia just seemed a half metre behind their opponents, failing to win many of the aerial duels, and the second balls. New Lusitania had the lion’s share of possession, but it seemed like their final passes were lacking, often falling to the feet of a Flavovespian, or simply being hit out of play. Jorge Mário, making a start for New Lusitania, was particularly lively down the left flank, but sometimes could be seen to be overplaying. Daniel Jota had the best chance in the first 30 minutes, but pulled his shot just inside the box wide, not giving David Meehan much trouble.

The deadlock was broken in the 35th minute. Flavovespia hadn’t impressed up to this point, but they took their first big chance of the game. Jonathan Feld made a good turn to get into space. He played an even better ball into the path of Scott Coleman. Diogo Leiteiro tried to block the ball with a slide, but got nothing on it. Scott Coleman accurately placed his shot into the corner past Rui Patríce and into the net. 1-0 and Flavovespia had the lead in a game they knew a win would send them through.

That goal seemed to bring the Hornets to life, and the rest of the half they looked like a team deserving of their lead. It remained 1-0 at half-time, but not before Ramon Martin narrowly shot wide. Flavovespia now looked confident, against a New Lusitania side who hadn’t scored all tournament so far.

Despite their late first half confidence, the start of the second half seemed to follow the pattern of the first half. New Lusitania had more of the ball, and the better passes, but couldn’t quite make it work, with Flavovespia’s back 4 looking solid. Flavovespia seemed to be reliant on counter attacks, but the New Lusitania squad seemed to have the better of the front four of Feld, Martin, Coleman and Hall. King and Richmond were solid defensively, but their passing forward left something to be desired.

Flavovespia put some of their nerves to rest however with their second in the 72nd minute. This time Steven Hall’s whipped in cross was initially headed just over the reach of Scott Coleman. However Coleman kept the ball in play, and was able to dribble to a wide enough angle to get a shot away. A great curling shot flew just inside the far post, and in. 2-0 now for Flavovespia, who had breathing room.

New Lusitania weren’t done yet. Francisco Gama was being held up well by Ronald Maddox, but still took a risky cross under pressure from the Flavovespia defender. It paid off, as Daniel Jota got in between Tony Gardner and substitute Neil Wright to flick the ball over Meehan and into the net. New Lusitania had finally broken their goal drought, and were back in with a chance this game.

There was a nervy 15 minutes ahead for Flavovespia. However it seemed past mistakes had been learned from. From the neutral perspective, Flavovespia looked relatively composed, and only an ambitious effort by Jorge Mário provided David Meehan with anything more than a simple save. Flavovespia did go close as well, with James King’s free kick just dipping too late and landing on the roof of the net.

The final whistle went with it at 2-1. Flavovespia had done it, their 3rd win in 3 confirms a Round of 32 berth for them. The team had no success whatsoever in their first Cup of Harmony, and drew almost all games last time out. Now, they’ve managed to progress beyond the group stage for the first time. The minimum expectation has been reached, and Richard Crawford and the Flavovespia side will hope to go as far as possible. Sadly for New Lusitania, the Pot 1 team end with 1 goal and 1 point. They go home at the first stage, a bitter disappointment for them. They may not be the only Pot 1 team looking for plane tickets out of Kelssek and Zwangzug. Squornshelan Remnant States are all but certain to join New Lusitania in that unwanted category. Chromatika face Krytenia to survive in the Cup of Harmony, and Port Ember must win at all costs. Some other big names are at risk still, including Mercedini and the favourites South Covello.

Of course there is still the matter of the final group game in Outineau. A 1-1 draw by Kohnhead against Alba and Cymru mean Flavovespia have the 2 point advantage going into the final Matchday. However with nothing to lose, Kohnhead will be gunning for a win, and likely to be playing with no fear. Flavovespia must be up for it, to make sure they don’t lose to take Group 5 victory. With a perfect dozen on offer, don’t expect the Flavovespians to start off looking for a draw either, in what could be a great game of football.

[Delaclava]

A cause for celebration: Phoenixes don't play, don't lose

The Delaclava national football team had perhaps its best day of the Cup of Harmony yet on Matchday 4, as they did not play and therefore did not disappoint themselves and the fans back home.

Contrast today's "game", or lack therefore, with the Phoenixes' previous performances. They lost a back-and-forth battle to Kandorith 6-5, in a match where the Phoenixes imposed their offensive style and ideally should have come away with that win - but alas, they fell short. Next, they blew a 3-1 lead to Vdara, completely stalling on offense in the second half. For Game #3, the Phoenixes held a 2-1 lead over Maccian with a man advantage, and just had to kill the clock, but got greedy and walked out with one point instead of three.

Instead, today they simply just did not play. A genius strategy, really. One might argue that was because of scheduling, and they weren't supposed to play anyway. But the Phoenixes could have taken the field, unauthorised, and that really would have been a mess, wouldn't it? So give credit where credit is due.

Scorers like Lukas Meyer and Artem Kohut failed to score in the non-match. But they also didn't not score. So it was a good result for them. They will try to keep up that pattern of avoiding to not score in future games, and that will be a significant marker of their continued development.

George Ross also tied a personal best by allowing zero goals. Even though he didn't have the opportunity to give up goals, he certainly took advantage of the chance to not give up goals, and performed admirably under the circumstances. Typically, when he has a chance to give up a goal, he does so. We saw him at lunch, enjoying a Cobb salad and iced tea and watching Vdara defeat Kandorith 6-5. That game had a lot of goals, and he must have been very pleased that he was not allowing any of them. A wonderful day for George Ross. No one deserves a performance like that more than him.

In the final game of World Cup qualifying, Delaclava defeated Great Lausitz 4-3. Since then, they have played nine games, losing six and drawing three. No doubt, when you look at how today's bye fits into that run of form, it's certainly one of the team's better games of late. One can only hope they will build on that momentum going forward. A betting man would probably not count on it.

If you're hoping to see Delaclava continue this recent dose of success, they will start playing a different kind of football tonight against Quebec. The Phoenixes have disappointed at many stages with a round ball, but things seem to take a turn for the better when the ball gets pointy. If you would rather be crying into your chicken wings after a Phoenixes game, the round-ball-playing Phoenixes do have one more match against Filindostan. Who knows what they will do. Will they carry on their not-losing ways? Or will it be business as usual?

More after the break.

[Valladares]

The Grand Debate for the upcoming Valladar General Election was ready to resume after a heated first half with Conservative candidate Maxime Gerrard and his entourage ensuing their Liberal and Labour counterparts in a not-so-civil exchange and 10 minutes of intermission that seemed to serve to calm the candidates' tempers. The remaining topic on the night's agenda was the Mega Bomba, another critical issue that had just strained Valladar-Euran bilateral relations.

Patrick Hollander: We're back with the Grand Debate for the 23rd Valladar General Election, in which the citizens will have the chance to listen to the views of our candidates for Prime Minister before they head to the polls in two weeks time! Having already addressed the domestic field, it's time for us to turn to international affairs: how will our prospective Prime Ministers handle the issue created with the Mega Bomba test with the straining of relationships with other nations? The mechanics will be the same as in the previous section: each candidate will be given a period of time to present their stance and then each will be able to make a reply to another candidate of their choice, who will in turn have two minutes to answer. This time we will start with Maxime Gerrard, representing the Conservative Party of Valladares.

Maxime Gerrard: Alright. As the candidate representing the party in power at the moment the Mega Bomba was tested, I must state that the Mega Bomba was a necessary action...

The debate continued with the Conservative candidate defending the nuclear test performed but trying to make some reassurances to any and all concerned parties, mostly the Eurans, that going to a nuclear war would not be in the interest of a Conservative Valladar government. The Liberal, Labour, and Green candidates all berated the test, labeling it as "an unnecessary attention-seeking act from the disastrous Pratt administration" and vowing to request a meeting with Euran government representatives to defuse the situation for good as soon as they are elected. Green candidate Alana Michel went even further by stating her will to set Valladares in course for "nuclear demobilization" under her potential government. Catholic candidate Father Pierre de Roux did not support the test, but stated that Valladares was in its right to test options for self-defense and said that a rapprochement with Eura should be pursued. And once again, it was moment for the replies, with the moderator giving the floor to Gerrard, the Conservative candidate.

PH: Now that we've listened to the stances of all the candidates, we will start with the replies with the Conservative Party candidate. Mr. Gerrard, who would you like to direct your reply to?

MG: I would like to reply to Mrs. Michel. I find your suggestion of demobilizing Valladares to be a dangerous prospect, especially now that the multiverse is through a process of uncertainty and we've recently seen incidents such as Banija's unintentional nuclear strike on Farfadillis, just to give an example. In that case, what would you be proposing to protect Valladares' sovereignty in the absence of a major deterrent such as a nuclear weapon?

Alana Michel: That is a good question, Mr. Gerrard, and I would like to answer it with merely one word: diplomacy. International conflicts could be easily solved if everyone sat down and talked about their differences and found a compromise between them. In this particular case, the Eurans are irritated because of the circumstances surrounding the test, and the fact that it did look like an unannounced provocation. This is definitely not the time to go to wars and petty military games with them, now that both countries are trying to get along with the other and are part of an attempt to shore up regional integration. Therefore, my intention is to sit down and talk with nations with which we might have controversies, explain them our points of view, listen to the others' ones, and reach agreements with them. Also, I would like to announce our intention to give up all nuclear weaponry. And if we can strike a similar deal from the Euran side and other nuclear nations, even better. After all, a world without nukes is a much better world for everyone.

PH: Time's up! Thank you, Mrs. Michel. Do you wish to make a reply now?

AM: I would like to reply back at Mr. Gerrard (addressing the Conservative candidate). Considering that the Mega Bomba incident has damaged Valladares' international reputation and mostly strained the relations with Eura, and since your party is an advocate of nuclear weapons, I would like to know if a Conservative government would really be in a correct moral stance to attempt a reconciliation with Eura and other nations that felt affected by the test.

MG: The Conservative Party of Valladares will always strive to have friendly relations with the rest of nations of the multiverse, and as I said already, we are not looking for wars and stuff like that. The Mega Bomba was just a needed last step for the Program of National Defense set up by the Pratt government, and supported by both chambers of the Royal Parliament, including...your own party, Mrs. Michel. And as part of a system of national defense, it is not to be used with offensive purposes. The thing is, perhaps we made a mistake and should have made the Eurans aware of our intention before performing the test, but our intention is to sit down with them, explain to them that the Mega Bomba was not, is not, and will not be intended to be used with offensive purposes, and reach an understanding on the matter. We need to dispel every doubt that might remain on the air regarding the test, but rest assured we will not use weapons such as that against other nations, unless they attack us first, of course.

PH: Thank you, Mr. Gerrard. Time for the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Florent Philippe, to make a reply.

Florent Philippe: Thank you, Patrick. And now, to Mr. Gerrard: now that your attention-seeking challenge in Atlantian Oceania got the intended effect, can a continuation of the "Pratt terror" (boos and jeers are heard from the Conservative retinue) be expected to progress on other issues in your agenda such as a possible annexation of Darmeni territories with strong Valladar-ethnic presence by force?

PH: I would like to ask the different entourages to remain quiet while the candidates are talking. Mr. Gerrard, your turn to answer.

MG: Thanks. To begin with, there wasn't a thing such as a "Pratt terror". As far as I know, the Pratt administration allowed all political forces, in coalition or opposition to speak their minds freely. There were no purges or massive arrests, either, so I don't really get why the former government would have been a "terror" when it was far from being a dictatorship as you clumsily try to imply. As for a possible preemptive nuclear strike in Darmen, the answer is a big no. I told that to our fellow Green rival, and I will tell it to you: we are not interested in brute-forcing our way into our goals with nukes. That's why things such as treaties are there, and we could always arrange a deal with the Darmeni government on that regard if the Darmeni Valladars want it, of course. I would like to counter-reply by asking my Labourist counterpart about his proposal to arrange a meeting with the Euran government as soon as you take office. Do you actually trust the Eurans?

PH: Mr. Gerrard, it's only one reply...

FP: Yes. And trust must be reciprocal or else we won't go anywhere. Besides, in the greater interest of the entire region of Rushmore it is needed to keep a balance of power between the main two powerhouses of Terranea. This is why we are proposing to sit down with the Euran government and talk: not only to acknowledge that a mistake was made, but also to try and find new ways to cooperate and keep the regional situation as stable as it was before this incident. In case you're not aware, your war games destroyed the work done by our late King Charles IV after the Ituyán affair! (cries of "¡Bravo!" are heard) A war with Eura won't benefit anyone here, and if it does, definitely not us! You should know it far better than any of us, Mr. Gerrard...

The Labourist entourage welcomed this response with claps, while the Conservatives fight back with more jeers.

PH: Okay, time for the Liberal Party candidate, Édouard Berthier to make his reply. Go on, please.

Édouard Berthier: I'm going to reply to the Catholic candidate. Father de Roux, would a potential Catholic League government be really supportive of nukes? If so, what would be your stance on surprise tests on foreign nations such as the one carried on by the Pratt administration? Would that be something acceptable to your eyes?

PdR: Thank you for your reply. In principle, we do not agree with the indiscriminate use of nuclear weapons. Remember that we are talking about devices with a countless potential for destruction of property and of course, lives. The Catholic League's platform has the defense of the right to life at its center and therefore we cannot support the usage of such heinous tools to cause maximum damage. We could agree that former Prime Minister Pratt should have acted better with the testing of the Mega Bomba, even though the former Royal Government asked the Royal Kingdom of Quebec for its permission for the test to take place. We do, however, consider that Valladares has a legitimate right to explore alternatives for self-defense. In my opinion, future tests in foreign nations should be coordinated not just with the host nations, but also with their neighbors, who should be given information on the scope of such exercises so that any concerns can be duly addressed and all doubts solved in order to avoid unpleasant responses such as the ones coming from Krytenia and Eura. This is something that should not be repeated and a Catholic Royal Government will take the appropriate precautions to achieve that.

PH: Thank you, Father. Now it's time for your reply, in case you wish to use that right.

PdR: Of course. Mr. Berthier, would the Liberal Party be willing to adhere to the proposal brought here by Mrs. Michel and pursue some program of nuclear demobilization or would you consider to stick with nukes despite the countless destruction and suffering they may cause?

EB: Father, I am not against nuclear weapons. The Liberal Party is not against nuclear weapons. But we do think that they should be used in a responsible way and only as a last resource against an imminent and powerful attack on the country, instead of being instruments for pointless gloating like the Mega Bomba basically was. Another example of irresponsible usage was the Banija-Farfadillis incident, with the difference that the Banijan government came quickly to apologize and explain. While I also consider nuclear weapons to be a bit "destructive", I think they're a good asset to deter other countries from trying to do some fool thing against the country. But again, the key for this sensitive issue is using them with responsibility and at the right moment.

PH: Okay, thank you for your intervention Mr. Berthier. And with this we have reached the end of this interesting Debate, I would like to thank all our guests for their presence here in Canalave. It's been two hours of interesting exchanges and opinions that will undoubtedly help Valladar citizens make an informed decision. Thanks to everyone for watching, see you at another place! Goodnight!

---

Valladares 1-0 West Pocono
(Lachlant 86')

Valladares: Gaviria - Pedretti, Delgado, Rueda - Rojas, O'Brien, Mickel, Barrios - Baume, Alexandre, Fortin
Subbed Out: Mickel 58' (ankle injury), Fortin 70', Rueda 82'
Subbed In: Lachlant 58', Benezet 70', Waldo 82'
Unused Subs: Dussan, Marrugo, Matheus, Castillo, Malicki, Padilla, Núñez, Pearson, Cross
Manager: Paulo Oliveira

Starting XI vs. Geektopia: Gaviria - Pedretti, Delgado, Rueda - Rojas, O'Brien, Lachlant, Barrios - Baume, Alexandre, Fortin
Bench: Dussan, Marrugo, Matheus, Waldo, Castillo, Malicki, Padilla, Núñez, Pearson, Benezet, Cross

[Chromatika]

Chromatik City Courier
Jordan Lawless, Sports Columnist

Cup of Harmony Matchday 4: Chromatika 2-3 Northwest Kalactin @ Stadium of the Stars, Ulyanof, Kelssek
Chromatik Scorers: Dragana ('48), Thorben ('85)
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Ria; Xiao - de Aea - Will - Ilya; Armageddon - Dias; Victoriane - Mora - Dragana; Andisori, K. (C).
Substitutes: Thorben -> Victoriane ('50), Kuzami -> Mora ('68), Vidal -> Andisori, K. ('81)

Stadium of the Stars, Ulyanof, KELSSEK -

Chromatik record between WC 81, 83, and 84: 41-9-12
Chromatik record so far in WC 85: 13-3-11

What has happened to Chromatika this cycle? A few articles have been written about the ills that have befallen the squad, but let's take a more detailed look:

In WC 85 Cycle:
Record in 1-goal games: 4-8
Record in 2-goal games: 2-2
Record in 3+ goal games: 7-1

In comparison, in WC 81, 83, and 84:
Record in 1-goal games: 15-5
Record in 2-goal games: 16-4
Record in 3+ goal games: 10-3

Chromatika remains a powerhouse in games decided by three goals or more, but both in games decided by two goals and especially in games decided by one goal, things haven't been going well for them at all. The 4-8 record is horrid.

This can be phrased in a few different ways: Chromatika has lost its focus. Chromatika has lost its killer instinct. Chromatika has lost its ability to close out games.

And now, unless the team defeats Krytenia and Talamia doesn't win against Blouman Empire, the team will drop out of the Cup of Harmony, and lose Evans and Everdeen, who would be sacked after such a horrendous, disastrous campaign.

[Timuria]

Red Wolves Look Poor

Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom 3–2 Timuria
Bogdan Rawić (27), Želmir Kolarowić (53, 67);Ismail Burhan (41), Caner Turan (80)

by Tufan Nursultan

The Red Wolves came into this match feeling confident having claimed two wins from their first two matches and looking set to advance. Unfortunately for them they were in for a shock dealt to them by a determined, vintage performance from Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom. While this setback is disappointing it isn't a fatal blow to their chance of progression and their fate remains decisively in their hands as they begin the turnaround to their final match of the group stage.

The early stages of the match saw the Red Wolves on the front foot, with Ismail Burhan getting an early chance that was tipped wide by Bosko Nowak who was tested early on in the fifth minute. The deadlock would be broken, however by a counter attack finished sublimely by Bogdan Rawic.

The Red Wolves would equalise with a well struck effort from Ismail Burhan, leaving a defender in his wake before picking his spot in the 41st minute ensuring the Red Wolves would remain in the match at 1-1 during the break.

The Zeta Rekans would take a two goal lead with Zelmir Kolarowic making a mockery of Gokdeniz Dag and scoring twice in the 53rd and 67th minutes. Caner Turan would pull a goal back in the 80th minute with a well placed shot, but that turned out to be little more than a consolation for the Red Wolves who succumbed to defeat.

The Red Wolves will now face their decisive battle against new group leaders South Newlandia, who sit one point ahead of them, the winner of this match will ensure progression and the top spot in the group.

What They Said After The Match:

Bekir Altingunes: "We knew that this was a side who was capable of upsetting us, we took every precaution and knew that their typical tactics were pretty well placed to neutralise us, but unfortunately, we let this one get away from us. We're going to be in a tense situation in the next match, but we'll be looking to win and win well to ensure we advance and have a bit of confidence as we go on in the competition. We're not overlooking South Newlandia they've been very good so far and we'll have a tough time breaking down their defence, even with the firepower we have.

Player Ratings:

Iskender Nur 6/10 - Will be disappointed to have conceded three goals, but they weren't really in his power to prevent.

Ozbek Sarikaya 6/10 - Didn't have much to do beyond mundane duties, which he performed adequately.

Kemal Colak 6/10 - Looked much improved on his last performance and had a quieter day.

Berker Balkan 6/10 - Wasn't terrible, but this 6 is generous and based on the fact he didn't make any serious mistakes.

Gokdeniz Dag 5/10 - Didn't have a good day and needed to be brought off due to his poor performance.

Ertan Renda 6/10 - Looked a bit invisible, but wasn't a liability.

Reza Karaduman 6/10 - He was a step off the pace, but played smart rather than hard today.

Caner Turan 7/10 - Got a goal that made the final period very nerve wracking for Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom.

Vatan Ercetin 6/10 - Looked a non-factor today, rather unusually for him.

Volkan Ayhan 5/10 - Went from hero to zero today, but hopefully he'll bounce back.

Ismail Burhan 7/10 - On a tough day for the Red Wolves he got a goal that allowed them to stay in the match.

Substitutes:

Yildiray Sabuktiginoglu 6/10 - Once again provided stability at a point where the defence needed it, but it wasn't enough.

Atilla Acar 6/10 - Came on for a floundering Ertan and didn't really change the course of the match.

Yerkebulan Suyumbayev 6/10 - Was thrown on late to try to bring a spark, but aside from one long range effort he didn't produce.

Person of the Match: Rybki Prodanowić - He commanded the midfield today and frustrated the Red Wolves throughout, a top performance for a player who rolled back the years to secure his side a famous victory.

[Astograth]

Previously

Astograth 3-2 Torisakia
Twineur, Zwangzug. The Bug House.

Lineup: Anzizar, Martel, Leskerre, Doyenard, Echeberz, Lekea ©, Gurina, Berdesagar, Malkorra, Duarte, Urdanibia
Substitutions: Sorrosua for Malkorra, E. Laurnagaray for Berdesagar, Narke for Lekea
Goalscorers: Urdanibia, Sorrosua, Urdanibia

---

After beating Torisakia in an epic bout, three goals to two, Astograth qualified to the second round of the Cup of Harmony for the first time since edition 60, when Ko-oren knocked out them three-nil. Celebration in the olive nation was afoot, given that they hadn’t come into the tournament with high expectations. One more match remained with the second-placed Poafmersia, which would decide the order of their seeding, but manager Louis Vaudrail thought this was the right time to concede the players what they’d been asking for: a night off.

The Sicoutian’s strict discipline allowed for few such instances so, of course, researcher Landerra Lazaga would tag along. Over the many long months she’d spent with the team, she’d become like one more of the staff, her actual role pretty much relegated to the background and not given much thought save for when she scheduled interviews – just perfect. The same could sadly not be said about the documentary crew, who could hardly blend in while also carrying a boom mic and a 10 kg camera rig.

For their last night in Twineur for the foreseeable future, the team scouted out Astograthian restaurants, and actually found one. Izeba Lideren, or “Aunt Lide’s”, seemed too small to accommodate the full party of 45+ people but, with some inventiveness, did manage to cram everyone in there – cellar included. The place’s concept was rustic cooking from the Astograthian countryside, complete with rough wood panelling; this was not necessarily to the liking of this very urban clientele, but the players were hungry for home and no five-star Zwangzugian locale could provide that.

The evening started with appetizers: meaty olives, purples and green, chistorra sausages, mashed aubergines on bread, sheep’s cheese with quince cheese and more, before ceding their place to a main course of thick soups and stews, rich in mutton and beans. Dessert, much celebrated, was cherries cooked in Iturributan palm syrup, topped with ice cream. The chatter flowed throughout the meal much as the alcohol did not, due to Zwangzug’s strict laws regarding its sale and consumption. Regardless, people would intermittently call all tables to attention, struggle to rise from their seats in these tightly-packed quarters, and offer toasts to the crowd of glasses, all drinking the finest imported Rumikola.

One such toast was offered by Egoitz Laurnagaray to his fellow striker Yasone Urdanibia, who against Torisakia had gotten on the scoresheet twice and raised his tally to 19 goals – one more than Laurnagaray. In doing this he’d become the active Astograthian player with most national team goals. On the all-time table, Urdanibia now found himself in good company, tied for 12th with attacking midfielder Eriz Bakaikoa: 19 goals in 105 matches, against Urdanibia’s scant 46. Likewise, Vaudrail found himself toasted by Sporting’s Mogel Doyenard, “despite being a Rumiatzi man”, assistant manager Ibai Kiriano by vice-captain Indartsu Lekea, Lekea himself by fading captain Narke, kit-man Moncho Echegoyenberry by Kiriano, and so on until all had been celebrated. Even Lazaga, squeezed between defender Selatse Yrigoy and goalkeeping coach Endira Goyo, found herself praised by Vaudrail: “our talisman”, she was dubbed.

It was a dinner to remember, of bonding, brotherhood and passing the torch – but some relationships were still beyond that. Gaitzka Gurina and Beltza Urkizo, both supremely talented midfielders who’d nearly come to blows several times during qualifying, remained well apart from each other throughout.

Eating out was not, of course, the extent of what the players understood by “a night off”, and upon leaving Aunt Lide’s embarked on their quest of having a good time. Some followed Vaudrail and co. back to the hotel, among them Urkizo, which Lazaga noted was met with some relief by Gurina and his friends. The rest formed a group of 17 players plus Lazaga and three of the younger lads from the technical staff; they headed to what the hotel desk called a “prime gathering spot” in this vibrant college town. Upon arriving at what initially looked like a brightly lit bar with good-looking people, the group lasted about 10 minutes before realising there was definitely no alcohol and the main attraction was playing a game of cards and dice about defusing bombs.

This time they figured they might ask specifically for a nightclub rather than “where people have fun”, and friendly staff directed them some blocks away to a suitably neon venue. Inside, the music was unrecognisable. Lazaga was into some niche music, but this was loud and weird beyond what she’d experienced. Judging by her companions’ faces, they thought the same. Regardless, there were people there in their twenties and thirties, and some members of the party ventured out to talk or try their luck with the locals. Lazaga mainly stuck with the group of Yrigoy, Urdanibia and Duarte, with whom she’d grown closer over qualifying and none of whom had tried to hit on her, which was appreciated. They had some fun trying to figure out how to dance to this music, yelling at each other over the blaring noise, before Yrigoy pulled out a tiny silver flask from his pocket. Lazaga’s eyes grew wide as he poured whatever was in there into his soda, that of his buddies, and what the hell, hers as well. She raised her glass and felt the sickly sweet scent of Pratarra liqueur.

“How the hell did you get that?” she asked, as Yrigoy swiftly shoved the flask back in his jacket. The player shrugged with one shoulder and held a finger to his lips with the other arm. Lazaga laughed, and wondered how much of this she could get away with putting on her dissertation.

[Omerica]

|national football| |club football| |basketball| |rugby| |volleyball| |lacrosse| |tennis| |cycling| |golf|

---

OPSL senior clubs unanimously reject an administration proposal to play in “FFI” tournaments
Clubs approve a joint United Philibiscostal–Malavan Romainbourg memorandum calling for the “Victors League” to be renamed and “Confederations Cup” abolished

Centre-Ville, Romainbourg — The thirty-two senior members of the Omerican Professional Soccer League have, as expected, unanimously rejected a proposal by the administration to enter “FFI” tournaments next season.

Under the OPSL administration’s proposal, the winners and runners-up of the Gold Division would have entered the Victors’ League next season on condition that all competition branding would be solely in Anglian for Omerican broadcasts and at Omerican venues. No clubs would have been entered into the Confederations Cup and would have “strongly encouraged” clubs dropping down into the competition to immediately withdraw from it. However, the proposed workarounds to clubs’ objections proved insufficient.

The clubs’ objections
Both Anglophone and Gallophone clubs objected to entering the competition for different reasons.

Anglophone clubs primarily objected to the “Confederations Cup”, which they perceived would further bloat their fixture lists and—in their estimation—probably die of disinterest like the Rushmori Copa de los Príncipes; Corona Christiana, Falcon United, Londonderry FC, Saint Anne Athletic and United Philibiscostal were all on the record with their opposition to the secondary tournament ahead of the vote.

“We like the idea of a Champions League for the Independent Associations,” Philibiscostal president Alexis Saint-Georges told the blog de football for their “Independent Associations Identity Crisis” series. “We dislike the implementation. If we had our way, we’d happily take part in the Victors’ League, but boycott the Confederations Cup. Of course, it’s a moot point without Gallophone clubs being onside, but that’s where we’re at here in Port Alexandre and we know the boards in Christiana, Londonderry, Saint Anne and Falconbarrow feel the same way. We just need to find a way to get our Gallophone counterparts on board.”

For Gallophone clubs, the name was the objectionable part. At best, the Lusophone names were seen as unnecessary and confusing; at worst, they were a direct slight against the Galliennais language. While they are the minority in the Premier and Second Divisions, they had more than enough votes to block the two-thirds majority needed to approve the administration’s proposal.

“We are a Galliennais club, true,” Malavan president Annemarie Evangelos told La Romainbourgeoise in an interview, “but we represent people who come from all around the world. All these people are doing is pandering to a small handful of nations—to the Lusitanians, the Huelavians, the Lisandrians—while ignoring people in the Romanique [Gallophone Omerica] or the millions of other people across the multiverse who may be Gallophones or Hispanophones or even Anglophones.”

“As soon as they chose the name, they slapped us in the face,” Républicains president Jean-Pierre Katsaros said to the blog de football. “We would understand if they chose to use Anglian as their language as they use that for the Independent Associations Championship, but they have chosen to ignore the Gallophone communities of Kelssek, Reçueçn, Lisander, Juvencus and the Northern Land, as well as the majority language community of Omerica. Everyone in Romanique is insulted by this and it will be difficult, if not impossible, to undo the damage.”

The memorandum
Before the OPSL’s general meeting, United Philibiscostal and Malavan Romainbourg released a joint memorandum that called for the “FFI” to use Anglian names for their competitions and themselves “for general purposes” and for them to abolish the Confederations Cup. The memorandum states that the current Lusitanian names are “unsuitable for general international usage” and should only be used in Lusophone nations, while Anglian names should be “in more general use”.

The memorandum was brought to vote after Malavan’s archrivals AS Républicains signed on as a seconder and was approved by OPSL clubs at-large in a 59–2 landslide; only Força Lisboa of the Premier Division and Swordsmiths of the Fourth Division voted against the proposal.

Força Lisboa stated that they “deeply regret the crusade of Gallophone clubs and the Anglophone clubs’ unwillingness to put a stop to it. The demand to abolish the Confederations Cup is reasonable, but the renaming proposal kills the memorandum for us.”

Swordsmiths, on the other hand, stated that they would prefer joining a “confederation of convenience” for club competitions, akin to Omerica’s participation in Esportivan tournaments prior to the dissolution of the Omerican Football Federation. “Let’s stop the words and deliver some concrete action,” the Free State club stated after the meeting. “Pick AOCAF or Rushmore and take the OPSL there if we have these problems that the so-called ‘FFI’ are never going to fix.”

“I think Swordsmiths’ idea is a good one. We have to keep all options on the table,” Saint Anne manager John Nicholas Rosencrants told La Romainbourgeoise. “It would be regrettable for everyone if we were forced to make this decision, but we are ready to pull a Schottia if we have to.” ⚜️

---

For your reading pleasure
▶ Cup of Harmony: The Incorrigibles advance to the last thirty-two in Kelssek–Zwangzug while sitting at the hotel
▶ Health Secretariat advise a ban on all travel to and from the Free Republics due to the government’s “criminal negligence”
▶ United Republican Soccer Federation officials forcefully condemn Sir Barsanuphius’s “baseless” crusade against Cocoa-bo

---

United Republican Soccer Federation
6 Jacques la Rouge Road
Port Alexandre, MS 18-A40
UNITED REPUBLICS OF OMERICA

---

Omerica v Twicetagria
Cup of Harmony 77 group stage — Matchday Five
Eglantine Park, Merano (FTC), Zwangzug
Omerica lineup (4–3–3): Rowan Greycastle; Alphonse Notley – Charity Kayode – Aristide de Felice – Lauren Kerry; Maxime Fournier – Elise Bianchi (captain) – Simone Bonfils; Maïa Bustos – Jean–François Fernand – Jamal Ahmad

---

[Zwangzug]

Cutoff!

Group 7
Poafmersia 0–2 Astograth
Port Ember 5–3 Huayramarca

* Group 7                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Astograth                             4   3  1  0    6   2  +4   10
2 Port Ember                            4   2  0  2    7   6  +1    6
3 Poafmersia                            4   1  2  1    7   8  −1    5
4 Huayramarca                           4   0  3  1    9  11  −2    3
5 Torisakia                             4   0  2  2    9  11  −2    2

Group 8
Cheergirls 1–3 Jeckland
Darmen 2–2 Riena

* Group 8                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Darmen                                4   3  1  0    8   5  +3   10
2 Riena                                 4   2  2  0    9   3  +6    8
3 Balqia                                4   1  1  2    2   3  −1    4
4 Jeckland                              4   1  0  3    7   9  −2    3
5 Cheergirls                            4   1  0  3    3   9  −6    3

Group 9
Trolleborg 0–1 Squornshelan Remnant States
Omerica 1–3 Twicetagria

* Group 9                             Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Twicetagria                           4   3  0  1    9   7  +2    9
2 Omerica                               4   2  1  1    7   7   0    7
3 Trolleborg                            4   1  1  2    5   4  +1    4
4 Squornshelan Remnant States           4   1  1  2    7   8  −1    4
5 Baggieland                            4   1  1  2    8  10  −2    4

Group 10
Busoga Islands 2–2 Xanneria
Mavinet 0–0 Sylestone

* Group 10                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Busoga Islands                        4   3  1  0   13   6  +7   10
2 Independent Athletes from Quebec      4   2  0  2    7   8  −1    6
3 Mavinet                               4   1  1  2    6   7  −1    4
4 Xanneria                              4   1  1  2    7   8  −1    4
5 Sylestone                             4   1  1  2    7  11  −4    4

Group 11
Timuria 3–3 South Newlandia
Savojarna 1–0 Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom

* Group 11                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 South Newlandia                       4   2  2  0    5   3  +2    8
2 Timuria                               4   2  1  1    9   7  +2    7
3 Savojarna                             4   2  1  1    3   2  +1    7
4 Zeta Reka and Hugeltaldom             4   1  0  3    3   5  −2    3
5 Electrum                              4   1  0  3    1   4  −3    3

Group 12
Geektopia 4–3 Valladares
Newmanistan 4–4 Barunia

* Group 12                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Geektopia                             4   3  0  1    9   5  +4    9
2 Valladares                            4   2  1  1   12  10  +2    7
3 West Pocono                           4   2  0  2    4   5  −1    6
4 Newmanistan                           4   1  2  1   11  11   0    5
5 Barunia                               4   0  1  3    6  11  −5    1

The top two teams from each group move on. Kelssek will post the list of qualified third-place teams as well as the seedings with the later scores tonight. (Some of you will switch nations for the bracket phase, so your cutoff times may change slightly.)

[Legalese]

“Good evening, Legalities! Joel Dondlinger here, as always with my trusted colleague Gabe Salomon. We’re coming to you live -- with only a brief delay from my very nervous producer -- here in Breton, the student capital of Kelssek, where the beers are about 2 thaler, and if I was under the age of thirty, I might consider a working holiday, which I read today is a thing that Kelssek offers.”

“It does sound great, Joel, but more important right now is the reason we’re here at Kingswharf, and that is to see our national team take on The Sarian with a lot on the line.”

“A lot indeed, but we can keep it simple for viewers at home. For those just tuning in, Legalese shocked world number 15 South Covello with a 1-1 win in Latrobe”

“A draw, Joel. It felt like a win, though.”

“Indeed, it did -- but still only worth one point to us, putting the national team level on points with The Sarian for third, but training on goal differential. With The Sarian tonight, the situation is simple: Legalese must in to get in to the Round of 32; a draw means a fourth place finish at best, and while the winner of tonight’s match could leap over South Covello for second in the group, the reality is that it probably won’t matter, as seven points looks like it’ll be enough from third, and that’s exactly what the winner of tonight’s match will have, should there be one.”

“Now, let’s turn to the keys to the match. Gabe?”

“Starting with the obvious: score more goals. It’s literally impossible to win if you can’t score more goals than your opponent, and it’s a mindset that can be liberating, especially for an attacking team like Legalese. If you just head at the goal with abandon, you might be able to accomplish my second key, which is that sometimes, the best defense is a good offense.”

“Finally, let Myles be Myles. We all thought that the assistant coach Myles Woodworth was the quiet, consistent, reliable trainer, and that was the piece this side was missing, their technical efficiency. Now we’re seeing that was not the full story -- what they really were missing was the spark, the fire that drove them out and pushed the team to their success against South Covello.
Woodworth may be the lightning in a bottle that Hardy Bolder was looking for, and if it transfers to the team again, we just may have a chance.”

“There’s the keys to the match, thank you for that, Gabe. Anything to add about any of our own players?”

“Not really, no. Either they’ll rise to the occasion, or fold like a cheap folding chair made with unsustainable materials.”

“...and that’s where we’ll keep future analogies to my bailiwick, thank you. We’ll be back for the kickoff in a few moments.”

[Krytenia]

GENERAL ELECTION - Coverage, Part V

1:33am

Lisa Storey: (victory speech, from her count in Aigburth) Today, we have seen people vote in record numbers for our party. People who are tired of the same old politics. People who want reform - true reform - and want to see this fine nation cleaned up, figuratively and literally. This is the start of a long march to a fair, responsible Krytenia. And we will walk together until we get there. Thank you.

David Hughes: Green leader Lisa Storey there, with a call to action following her retaining of Wavertree. Louise?

Louise Candara: We've seen this on the campaign trail, a real energy in the Green camp. They feel that they can take advantage of the Democrats being in disarray and become a real force in Krytenian politics. Ironically, a big Reform majority would have been even more beneficial; we'll have to see if the Senate reforms get passed, as that could give the likes of the Greens a bigger voice in the upper house.

David Hughes: Things happening fast here; it's over to Leston, where the MNP are hoping to unseat the Socialists for the first time in twenty years.

I, David Lee Simpson, being the Presiding Officer for the election of a Member of the Witting for the division of Leston South, can confirm that the election has been completed in a fair and legal manner, and that the number of valid votes cast for each canditate are as follows:

Bates, Andrew Stephen, The Greens: nine thousand, eight hundred and forty votes.
Francis, Simon John, Mercian National Party: forty-one thousand, seven hudred and nine.
Griggs, Samantha Alexandra, Reform Party: twenty-four thousand, three hundred and sixty-three.
Jones, Louise Norma, The Socialists: sixty-three thousand and two. (cheers)
Oswald, James Leonard, Krytenian Democrat: sixteen thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one.
Thompson, Anthony Stacey (muted chuckles), Conservative: ten thousand, two hundred and fifteen.

There were ninety-nine spoiled ballot papers.

I hereby declare that the above mentioned Louise Norma Jones has been returned as Member of the Witting for this division.

David Hughes: Louise Jones returned with an increased majority, the seat swinging the wrong way entirely for the MNP. Looks like Professor Jones - no relation, I'm assuming - has called it correctly with regards to the left-leaning parties getting a boost.

Stephen Scobie: Speaking of which, interesting news from Chirper; the Conservative candidate in Adanac North, Melissa Dumas, says there is a recount there with a three-way fight...including the Communist candidate. They've not had an MW in over three decades, but they did finish an admittedly distant second in the seat last time out.

David Hughes: One to keep an eye on then.

...to be continued...

[Kohnhead]

The Brains qualify in 1-1 draw

For the first time, Kohnhead did not pick up three points as they drew the Celts of Alba and Cymru at 1. For Kohnhead the goal was scored by Aaron Korkson, his second of the tournament and the assist was given to Erin Maltos who has been very quiet in our three matches. The biggest news to come out of this was Charles Laker leaving in the 32nd minute with Kohnhead up 1-0 (Korkson scored in the 16th). Fortunately doctors determined that Laker's hamstring injury was nothing serious and he will be back for the match against Flavovespia.

The Celts got their only goal from Not Lionel Messi, a great name in my opinion who has looked very good. He scored in the 46th minute three minutes before the half ended after 4 minutes of extra time. Not Messi had a brilliant strike which whizzed past Newcastle going faster than Mach 2. Unfortunately, Kohnhead could not score again despite some good attempts and five more corners, all of which were dealt with by MacNeill, and the defense.

In terms of the standings, this draw allows Kohnhead to qualify for the next round and the match against Flavovespia will determine who takes first in the group, and ends up with the favorable seeding. The Brains have done remarkable this tournament, but need a win to get that #1 spot in the group. Here is the table as it stands.

1 Flavovespia                 3   3  0  0    8   2  +6    9  Q
2 Kohnhead                    3   2  1  0    7   3  +4    7 Q
3 Eastfield Lodge             3   1  0  2    5   9  −4    3
4 Alba and Cymru              3   0  2  1    1   3  −2    2
5 New Lusitania               4   0  1  3    1   5  −4    1

The game will take place at Stade Outineau in Outineau, Kelssek. The starting XI for Kohnhead is the same that has been used throughout with Korkson, Maltos, Laker, Rallyton, Cogginter, Prius-Leonard, Atkinson, Porsha, Radison, and Newcastle being the starters.