Di Bradini Cup 48/U21WC69 Everything Thread

[Eraman]

DBC48.2
THE OPENING MATCH

The Di Bradini Cup is an exciting competition with worldwide coverage. It served as a medium for some of the best future stars to showcase what they can do to the world. For Eraman, the spotlight is on the front three of Era Hitam, Mulia Suci and Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara. The opening match against Ethane will be the first time the combination of the three will be tested.

Era Hitam was used as a supersub for the veteran Buisan Buayan in the national team while Putra Daulapura Wikra Petara had also made some cameo for the national team despite not playing a single professional club match yet. But the two have never had the chance to start a match together, let alone the three starting together when Mulia Suci has never even been called up for national duty.

Watching the 3, wearing the number 9, 10 and 11 respectively marching into the field as the match with Ethane about to start excites the whole country. But that excitement died down soon after the referee blew the kick-off whistle as it became apparent that a football match can't be won with 3 players.

It was the more reputable Ethane who controlled the match. Their young midfielders bossed the match. Eraman's midfield is nowhere to be seen, the defence is all over the place while the attackers are just spectators to the match. Ethane fully capitalized on their dominance and lead 2-0 at half-time.

Eraman was lucky to be awarded a penalty late in the second half against the run of play and Putra Daulapura made no mistake from the penalty spot. That proved to be no more than a consolation as Eraman lost their opening match 2-1 to Ethane. Defeat in the opening match raises a few questions on the government spending towards this generation of players but the masses is still fully behind the team.

That is not going to stay that way if Eraman can't improve in the second match. Riennic Isles is the opponent in the second match. Both Riennic Isles and Eraman lost their opening match in an identical scoreline and will be looking to bounce back immediately.

[Megistos]

Megistos 3-2 Savojarna
A win for Megistos proved a interesting result, seeing as it was Megistos' first U-21 tournament, there was beautiful play, but 'the turtles' eventually overpowered Savojarna, in the very last stages of the game.

Megistian Scorers: Lawerence 12' | Penn 54' | MacKay 90+1

- Lawerence (12'): "Rios with the dummy to Lawerence, what can Lawerence do? Lawerence sprints past Viipuri and Dmitriev... ? OH, HE'S GOT SOMETHING, A GOAL TO MEGISTOS!"

- Penn (84'): "Does the captain have a equalizer in the shot... HE DOES! THE EQUALIZER! THE GOAL THAT MEGISTOS NEEDED, IN THE LATE SECOND HALF! BEAUTIFUL FREEKICK AND SHARIN CAN ONLY WATCH!"

- MacKay (90+1'): "The last chance of the game falls to Megistos, the ball heading to MacKay, what does he have up his sleeve... OH HE'S GOT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL UP HIS SLEEVE, THE WINNER FOR MEGISTOS, IN THE LAST STAGES OF THE GAME, WHAT A BETTER TIME THAN THAT TO SCORE! BEAUTIFUL PLAY!"

Savojarnan Scorers: Dmitriev 27' | Jeraväinen 46'

Dmitriev (27') "Dmitriev with the header... AND A STUNNING EQUALIZER WITH A HEADER THAT BARELY GOES PAST BECKS!"

Jeraväinen (46') "What is Jeraväinen doing... OH HE'S DOING A GOAL! BACK OF THE NET, EDGE OF THE BOX, UNSTOPPABLE! THE COMEBACK IS ON!"

[Starblaydia]

Promising Start
Starblaydia open with routine Indusse win

After a mildly disappointing exit in the Second Round of the 85th World Cup at the hands of the team that would end up 4th, the Commonwealth of Baker Park, it's now the turn of Starblaydia's young guns to take up the mantle of trying to get another piece of silverware for the national team. Two championships at Under-21 and one at Under-18 level is not too shabby for any side, however when the senior team claims more major tournament victories than any other side in the multiverse, you know there's always going to be a heavy expectation to live up to.

If there's anyone that knows about living up to expectations, it's Ázëwyn Fëanáro. Manager of the entire national football team setup at all age levels since World Cup 78, she's guided her team back into the top ten in the world, to a World Cup Final, and to that Under-18 World Championship. That team, however, are starting to age themselves out of the player pool, and the onus once more falls upon the youth sides. She will need to use all her guile, experience and tactical nous to help this group of players achieve their potential. Gone, however, is Jerzy Makuszewski barking at the sidelines alongside her as assistant coach. The now octogenarian has finally hung up the JM jacket and decided to retire from the backroom staff after nearly sixty years of being associated with the national team in its various forms. 'The Chef' will be sorely missed, but in his place now stands the piercing blue eyes of former international striker Aaron Cole. Cole's style is markedly different, with more preparation and tactical change-ups than the simple shouting and swearing encouragement and disparagement of Makuszewski.

Cole's ascension to Assistant Coach has seen a solidifying of the 4-3-3 style that Starblaydia have developed over the past few tournaments. Now he's able to directly affect the team set-up, we see the high energy system of overlapping full-backs with a hard and high counter-press through the team, based on speed and athleticism. With Hayden Shepherd holding the midfield as the break-up player, Jewel Maddison pulls the strings and takes her choice of unleashing either Romaine, Stanton or the major threat of speedster Betanni Jetvanna in this attack-minded side.

As was evident against Indusse in the opening match of Group B in the claustrophobic atmosphere of the Turmondale Grounds, with the fervent crowd pressed right up against the touchline of the Raynor City stadium, Starblaydia's pressing and counter-attack is something to cause anxiety in even the most solid of defences. The all-ediraf matchup meant this was one of the more aesthetic of the opening round fixtures, but it was punctuated time and again by players in all-white slicing through the defence of those in white, orange and blue. Whether breaking up the attack, cutting through with an interception or simply countering with speed and purpose, Starblaydia found the back of the net four times, with one of those given offside against Stanton - just a gnat's whisker ahead of Mathias Paulson when given the pass down the line from Orvalee.

The opener came from the same combination, as Orvalle knocked the ball free from the feet of Antonio Mersias, but a lovely turn from Stanton saw him break into the Indusse half of the field. As goalkeeper, defender and supporting players in white all turned up to chase down the ball, all it took was a simpled square pass to Jetvanni, who slotted it, right-footed, into the bottom right corner. The second half was little different, as once a combination of Shepherd and Donald Royce hustled and hassled the ball from Alexis Budtedjson, Starblaydia were away with a quick ball over the top that Jetvanna only needed one touch on the half volley to lift over the stranded leghourn in the Indusse goalmouth. The icing on the cake was applied by Jewel Maddison with thirteeen minutes to go as she blasted in a shot from outside the box after Indusse failed to clear a messy corner. A bit of pinball in the box saw the ball roll to Maddison and she wasted no time in drilling it low into the corner.

Three goals to nil was the final score, as good as anyone on the Starblaydi side could really ask for. The Starblaydi fans and team will stay in Raynor City throughout the group stage, switching back and forth between the Turmondale Grounds and the unnervingly named Hellgate stadium, before finally being honoured with a game at the Battleground when they take on Pasarga, the only other team in Group B to win score a victory on Matchday One.

Final score from Turmondale Grounds, Raynor City (39,142):
Starblaydia 3 - 0 Indusse
(Jetvanna 21 & 54, Maddison 77) - (None)

Under-21 World Cup 69 / Di Bradini Cup 48
Group B, MD1            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
1 Starblaydia             1    1   0   0     3    0   +3     3
2 Pasarga                 1    1   0   0     3    2   +1     3
3 Jeckland                1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
  Libonesia               1    0   1   0     1    1    0     1
5 Staypftonia             1    0   0   1     2    3   −1     0
6 Indusse                 1    0   0   1     0    3   −3     0

[Sarzonia]

On the one hand, Nathan Hanifer was much more assured this time out.

After having a Di Bradini Cup under his belt as a manager, he'd guided the Junior Stars to a quarterfinals appearance after a group stage that saw the Stars win one and draw two matches. They'd met their end in the quarterfinals against Schottia, but were now back with more experience.

They were facing a different format from the one they traditionally expected from the Di Bradini Cup with 48 nations competing instead of the customary 32. This meant instead of eight groups of three, there would be eight groups of six teams competing for the right to hold up the trophy as the Under 21 World Cup champions. This meant the Junior Stars would have five group stage matches instead of three. It increased the margin for error, but it also meant that they would have a much more difficult trip in some senses.

The other hand? Hanifer was no longer the manager of a team that was an unknown. This time, the Junior Stars were familiar. They were bringing back the same team that lost in the quarterfinals the previous time out, so the team was bound to be hungry to get past that hurdle. Now he felt he had more to prove, both to the Incorporated Football Federation which put its trust in Hanifer and to himself that he was worthy of said trust.

They were in Group E and opened the tournament against Kita-Hinode. The Junior Stars engaged in what some American ex-pats might describe as a barnburner, finally prevailing when striker Thurman West slammed home a ball from the spot in the 87th minute to make the final margin 5-4 in favour of Sarzonia. Suzi Calderon scored twice, West added a 54th minute tally on a blistering free kick from just outside the area, and Rick Hadley scored Sarzonia's fourth goal to draw the match level in the 79th minute of play after it looked like Kita-Hinode had deflated the Junior Stars with a three-goal rally that culminated in the 66th minute.

"It certainly wasn't an ideal start for us," Hanifer told the assembled media. "We want to make sure we're not embarrassing ourselves on defence, but I'm proud to see how we worked our way back after it looked like all hope was lost."

Hanifer was rightly proud of his team's never-say-die attitude. It was a value he preached on a daily basis in training. It was a value he and his assistant coaches all believed in fervently. To see it come to fruition with a result while the other two Group E sides played to draws, including Sajnur and Baker Park drawing 4-4 and Sarzonia's next opponents Sylestone and HUElavia enduring a goalless draw, was especially gratifying. Hanifer said the team was already looking at footage of the Chickens' goalless draw against HUElavia.

"They play a 5-3-2 formation and they're very defensive minded," Hanifer said. "We're going to have to earn our opportunities against them."

Hanifer said reserve goalkeeper Eleanor Keating would get the start against Sylestone, but added it had nothing to do with Glen Baker conceding four goals against Kita-Hinode.

"It was always the plan to start Eleanor on the second matchday. We want to make sure she's ready in the event we need to call on her."

[Megistos]

The Turtles have decided to change their formation against Mriin:

Rios Lawerence Schultz
Wilson Santiago Penn
Whitehead Fowler MacKay Dimvert
Becks

They will be playing a 4-3-3 while having a +1.75 style mod

[Springmont]

New versatile coach - Kovack by Ronald Spirro When Lee Timano resigned as head coach of Stowburgh United, many fans began to feel uneasy as he showed excellent records throughout the team. Fans were once again upset when Donte Kovack was announced as the new head coach instead of the former coach. Fans are worried about the performance and game patterns that will be featured. But for hardcore fans and teammates, Kovack's name is no stranger. He has been the assistant coach for 3 previous coaches. He has vast experience. Stowburgh United should be thankful that Kovack is on the team. This is because Kovack can be considered a missing gem that is very much needed as the team struggles with the team's internal problems. It wasn't easy to take on a star-studded team that lost its best import, but Kovack steered the team by risking new faces that kept Stowburgh United in the league. His tactics appear to resemble a Latin-style game that emphasizes ball control and fast movement. But the speed was often blocked in the attack as Stowburgh United struggled. However, Kovack has never made the shortcomings an excuse. He even formed the offensive line by trusting local players. Lorenzo Leibfried and Lerry Vanpoci were the team's leading scorers in every match. He also took the bold step by dismissing influential captain Lyon Polotas. He opened up a chance for Ravencloud Fjetland to navigate the midfield with James Mejia. They both did a pretty good job as the middle machinery. Not only did he trust young players to strike, but he also gave Jim Greybank the role of captain, although he had many players who had played the role of captain. Other News New chair for ENRC- Morgan Gearheart, MP was appointed as new Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman. Public Lands, Forests, and Mining Committee named new members- Zachery Rullman, MP been selected as head with Bertram Isonian, MP and Harlan Hulslander, MP as their members.

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung

National Report

Polls Reveal State of Country As Presidential Election Looms

As the United Republics of Siovanija & Teusland head into a new Presidential election, polling conducted nation-wide has revealed public opinion on recent events, as well as mid-term evaluation of the government of Chancellor Dominik Meier, and some projections for the Presidential elections.

The polling was conducted last week by a joint effort of the Stelburger Zeitung and the Borograd Dnevnik, reaching 2500 people across Siovanija & Teusland. We estimate the margin of error to be about 2.4%. Statistically, the demographic breakdown was virtually a perfect match with the demographics of the population: 56% of respondents were in Teusland, 44% in Siovanija, which matches the national demographics of 55.8% of the population living in Teusland, and 44.2% in Siovanija.

The first few questions were centred on foreign policy, and recent worldwide issues. 79% of the population believes the government’s response to the Banija-Farfadillis Nuclear Incident was a strong one, with particular praise for Joachim Fleiss. In total, 83% of the population believes the ‘Sudwestpolitik’ foreign policy approach of Chancellor Meier has been an overall success: 54% believe it has been ‘very successful’. Looking abroad, besides the two former Teus colonies of Sankt Konrad and Prinz-Eugens-Land, Banija was seen as the nation’s biggest partner on the worldwide stage. 91% of respondents said that Siovanija & Teusland’s alliance with Banija has had a positive effect on the country: that’s a 4% drop from last year, with the slight decline likely associated with the recent nuclear incident. Siovanijans & Teus overwhelmingly believe that further alliances should be developed in southwestern AO, with northwestern neighbours Valanora, the Busoga Islands and Farfadillis topping the list.

The next set of questions turned to domestic issues. A new question tracked this year, after the recent nuclear tension in the world, asked if Siovanija & Teusland should decommission its nuclear program. Only 6% of respondents agreed to this, while on the other hand, 58% of respondents said the nuclear program should be kept with more security put in place. Of the remaining 36%, opinions were split between no change at all and other possible solutions. On the subject of the Republic of Siovanija’s recent secularization legislation, 39% of the country was in favour - however, 77% of Siovanijans support Bill 47, which would see religious symbols banned for civil servants and in Siovanijan government buildings. There was strong opposition to the bill in Teusland, a traditionally Catholic nation. Speaking of which, 78% of the country views Pope Sylvester III, the Bishop of Stelburg, favourably - 96% of Teus Catholics held a favourable view of the religious leader. Largely atheist Siovanija saw the Pope receive a 36% favourability rating, likely attributed to his more modern approach to the job.

76% of the country support building a new pass through the Mittelgebirge mountain range for National Highway 1, the route connecting Stelburg and Borograd. The current tunnel, built in 1973, would be replaced with a new route blasted out 2.4km north, and the replacement process would take 5 years and cost about T2.5 billion. The route would shorten the distance of the tunnel from 19.4km to 17.1km, and has been a key part of Infrastructure Minister Rudolph Klauberg’s work so far.

Some of our favourite questions to follow each year are those regarding national unity and other territorial issues. On whether an autonomous province should be created in the area around the city of Pomorie/Marzig, which is split about evenly between Siovanijans & Teus and is under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Siovanija, 37% said yes - with most of the support coming from Teusland. The following questions were asked only to people in either Siovanija or Teusland. 14% of Siovanijans believe the republic would be better off as an independent state, down 3% from last year and a 10-year low number. Normally, Siovanijan separatists are at their strongest under more conservative governments, and while Dominik Meier’s government is certainly centre-right, they are more moderate than most National Democratic Union governments. The fact Meier’s government has not interfered in the Bill 47 debate has likely played a part in this.

On the other side, 20% of Teus believe that Teusland would be better served as an independent nation. That is a 2% increase from last year, but is still low in historic terms - Teus independence regularly polled in the 35% range throughout the 1970s and 80s, reaching a peak of 46% after the 2000 corruption scandal that saw President Radoslav Svetkov impeached. An interesting statistic here is that support for independence is rising amongst Christian Union voters - the party, which makes up part of the governing coalition, has always been viewed as the party of rural Teus Catholics who may feel upset about the Bill 47 debate.

Next, we turned to questions of elections and favourability. 44% of the population favours the current electoral system for National Parliament elections - the equal division of seats between Siovanija & Teusland. In Teusland, the majority were opposed to the system, which does give the nation a slight disadvantage as it has a larger population than Siovanija. Amongst opponents of the system, nation-wide proportional representation polled the highest as a solution, although it was mostly supported in Teusland and opposed in Siovanija.

There’s good news for Dominik Meier: if a Chancellery election were to be held today, he could expect to win big, with the support of 38% of the country. The Christian Union have seen increased support in Teusland, and also amongst Teus speakers in Siovanija, meaning that the NDU and CU, historic partners, might just be able to form a coalition without the help of the Free Liberal Party. The FLP have lost support in Siovanija, but there’s a bigger trend to watch out for: on the left, Labour are losing ground rapidly to the Republican Party. The Republicans have made big gains amongst unions and the working-class in Siovanija due to their economic plans, but they still face a big problem in Teusland. St. Jakob, the largest city in the country, has traditionally been a Labour stronghold, and that doesn’t appear to be changing. Many in the more conservative Teusland view Siovanija as too liberal, and the Republicans as a symbol of the political differences between the two republics.

And now, we turn to the Presidential election. Joachim Fleiss’ 8 year term is coming to an end, and elections to replace him are coming up shortly. In the United Republics, presidential candidates are independent of party, and run in a first round election. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote, a run-off between the top two is held. Over the years, the President’s role politically, while still important, has been reduced: today, the function of the president is as a moral centrepoint for the country, someone to represent us on the world stage, and also as a trusted leader to make important decisions for the country. Thus, the President is not always a career politician: President Fleiss, for example, was the director of the National Wildlife Association before running for office.

In this election, there are 4 main candidates. Bernard Ehrenfeld was the first candidate to announce his intention to run. Mr. Ehrenfeld once played in the Ehrenliga for the Stelburg Kaisers, and since retirement has been very active in supporting outreach to youth across the country, especially in sport. Magdalena Hoskova is another candidate in the election, Ms. Hoskova has been the director of the Republic Central Bank for the last 9 years, and has been widely praised in helping the strength of the United Republics’ economy. Ms. Hoskova would be only the second female elected to the office, after President Charlotte Winkler (1988-1996). Boleslav Dvorak served in the Air Force for 26 years, and later served as the Minister of Defence under Chancellor Kiril Kapanov. Finally, Richard Hauck is currently the director of the Edelweiss Society, which seeks to promote environmental stewardship and encourage citizens to enjoy the outdoors.

The two frontrunners for the election, according to our polling, appear to be Mr. Hauck and Ms. Hoskova. Mr. Hauck polled at 32%, Ms. Hoskova at 29%, Mr. Ehrenfeld at 20% and Mr. Dvorak at 14%, with 5% of the vote split amongst minor candidates. Mr. Dvorak’s association with politics was said to be a big factor in his lack of support, as the Presidency is traditionally viewed as a non-partisan position. Voters associated ideas such as ‘moral leader,’ and ‘good representative’ with Mr. Hauck’s campaign, while words such as ‘steady hand’ and ‘confident’ were used to describe Ms. Hoskova. In second round polling, Mr. Hauck has a 55-45 advantage, picking up most of Mr. Ehrenfeld’s support and some of Mr. Dvorak’s support. In Teusland, Mr. Hauck is favoured 70-30 while in Siovanija Ms. Hoskova is favoured 65-35.

The first round voting will be held next week, with a final short campaign period, which will feature a Teus language and Siovanijan language debate, being held before the final election. Traditionally, the current President does not make an endorsement, and it would be against protocol for the Chancellor to make an endorsement.

The Stelburger Zeitung will continue to bring total coverage of the Presidential election campaign.

Siovanija & Teusland 3-3 Lochario, @ Miner’s Haven, Valanora

Starting XI: Koprvic; Hartleben, Scherwey, Listner, Ronigsberg (Hausseger 86’); Martin, Breuer (Traeger 77’), Georgiev; Boltzmann, Peiper (Ambros 60’), Dezelac
Goals: Denis Dezelac 27’, Bastian Boltzmann 49’, Ludmil Georgiev 65’
Man of the Match: Ludmil Georgiev

[Sharktail]

SHARKTAIL POST EP 21
SWIM ON THE LAND

End of the first game in DBC 48, Sharktail start the campaign with a lose to Mavinet 1-0. Not the start the expecting. They are quote to describe their lose last night, 'Shark fail to find a water for swim'. Overall they have played good and have a quality but they failed to control a game and let Mavinet score the winning goal. The performance from Haziq Badrol and Tomasi Saleh failed to hype the match as they miss too much opportunity. Not a good start for Carol. A single Goal from Hoang Bao Lam have give Mavinet a good start with 3 point in their hand now while Sharktail U-21 fail to grab any point.

It no use to blame anyone after losing today. The best thing now is move forward and ready for the next match. We will facing one of the favourite team in the group Taeshan. They seem really strong and it will not be easy. Will Azaim anf his friend succes to challenge them? All will be known after the end of 90 minute .

Who will start today? Caroll may rotate a player to see what the best formation for this team. It may be a risk to this team but this is their first match together, so they still try to find a chemistry. Zami Zainal may start at the goal for next match. He may not good enough to be like Ahmad in Kota Lama but his skill is is good enough to become a backup if something happen to Ahmad. In defend, seem like not too much change. Karim may be rested and swap with Hatim, Hidawi will stay as center defend, Afifi Hadhari come as Aidil Irfan moved to the bench and Maqri will play as starter. In midfield, captain Azaim will keep his place as starter alongside balang, with the new pair witg Max badrul and Burhan. haziq and Tomasi both may be swapped off change with Win Azz and Zami Azrul. Caroll seem to make full rotation for the starter next match. Against Taeshan, something can be good or wirse, one mistake it will hard this team chance to pass the group stage. Sharktail U-21, wake up and win next match.

WE ARE BLUE,WE ALWAYS HUNT, WE ARE THE BLUE PREDATOR

[Kohnhead]

The Moderately Sized Brains suffer a 2-1 loss to Taeshan



Taking on the Lil ' (Purple) Knights from Taeshan the U-21s from Kohnhead were treated to a 2-1 close loss. While the U-18 team has done quite well at the SWC, the U-21s did not get off to the best of starts. Now a 2-1 loss isn't the worst thing in the World, and there's plenty of time for us to turn things around and I'm predicting we do.

The team had a case of the jitters really at the start of the game, and I personally am wondering why that is. Barber was supposed to have prepared them for the biggest tournament of their careers, yet they came out and gave up two quick goals in the 17th and 29th minutes. Alejandro Tedeschi scored the first goal for our opponent as he got around Taylor Rodar, passed it off to Geoff Swanson, who sent him a beautiful pass over Sanders' head which allowed him to head it in for the easy goal.

The second goal for Taeshan that I was talking about really showed that this team was nervous and playing way worse than they should. Sanders tried to pass it out to Manter but didn't see the approaching Taeshan player and just like that it was a 3 on 1 for our opponents and Sanders had no chance. She rushed the pass to Manter and didn't see the approaching opponent and that cost us. The goal was given to Addison Hartwright.

We tried to get back into the game in the 65th minute. Jeff Yunbet in the game for Matthew Morgan, played a ball up to Sophie Johnson. Johnson sent a cross into the box for John Smith who out leaped Foster Benjamin to put the header into the back of the net. Just like that the score was 2-1, and we were back into it. Unfortunately every other attempt from The Moderately Sized Brains couldn't amount to anything.

The lineup for our next match against Poafmersia who dominated Lovisa in their opening game will feature Jeff Yunbet in for Morgan.

[Valladares]

THE METROPOLIS HERALD
Metropolis, Monday, July 20^th, 2020

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DI BRADINI CUP | "There's a lot of work still to do", Valladar U21 NT manager after winning début

WEXAX, VALANORA (VAP) — The Valladar national under-21 football team opened up its participation in Group H of the 48th Di Bradini Cup with a tight and hard-fought victory over Waisnor by a 5-4 score at Castle de Mot in Wexax, with a hat-trick by new Ulsa signing Gabriel Riveros and goals by Adrien Trolli and Iván Valenzuela. However, and despite the highs shown by Riveros himself, as well as other players, manager Claudio Londero was critical of the defensive performance by his team in their first outing of the competition at the post-match press conference.

The fact that the Mininacional had to come from a two-goal deficit twice at the start of each half was described as "worrying" by manager Londero, who also declared that the team "seemed to have entered each half of the game unfocused and drowsy, which allowed Waisnor to take such early leads. We took too long to get our defense and midfield to be cohesive enough, but when we managed to reach that level of improvement in the game, it was much easier for us to do our job up front. This performance should not be repeated under any circumstances, and I should make sure this match leaves several lessons for the guys to learn and put in practice against the other teams in our group. There's still a lot of work to be done."

Then, Londero talked to the journalists gathered at the conference room at Castle de Mot about the substitutions he did to turn around fortunes for the Valladar side: "Waisnor had been showing a very intense and dynamic style of play, with combinations between their midfielders which at some point made our midfield line of Marcelo Escobar, William Alonso, and Fabio Cardetti struggle to put under control. Therefore, the best possible thing to do in that scenario was swapping our playmaker Trolli for a man who could provide us with more coverage in the middle of the field such as Andrés Abrigo. It was a risky move since we effectively sacrificed creation of offensive play, but it ended up giving us full control of the midfield, and the Waisnor players were no longer able to get closer to Steven Piatti. Then, I sent Aldo Pereira to the field instead of Cardetti to refresh the left flank of our middle zone, and replaced Valenzuela who had just brought us back to the game with his goal with a speedy player such as Caleb Bentley to hit them with counters and make up for the absence of Trolli to some extent, and precisely it was Bentley who caused the penalty scored by Riveros to equalize. All in all, I think the substitutions served their purpose and played an instrumental role in our victory."

Despite the aforementioned defensive blinks in the first minutes of each half, coach Londero still had words of support for his men, especially the ones responsible for the Valladar defensive effort: "Despite all that happened in this match, I am fully behind these guys who are just in the dawn of their careers, and if they are here it's because they've shown with their clubs that they do have a lot of potential to be exploited, and that's precisely my job: use that potential to the fullest to the benefit of the Valladar flag they're representing here. I know many might be already crucifying Steven, Michael (Lloyd), the Daniels (Martín and Barrichelli) and Pablo (Núñez) for having conceded four goals, but we have to remember they still have a long way to go and soon they will have a chance to make up for those mistakes and improve: our next match against Savojarna. I'm sure they will be determined to show their quality and get a better result there."

And to wrap the press conference off, he also had words of praise for team captain and top scorer Gabriel Riveros, who was deservedly the MVP of the match: "I know Riveros since he was playing at the U-15 tournaments in Junín and I know he has been working so hard all these years to become a great attacker and scorer. The hat-trick he scored tonight is just a sample of everything he still has to offer not just here in this tournament, but also in his professional career, and I would like to congratulate him on his transfer to a top team in Eura such as Ulsa. I am sure he will be able to exploit with Ulsa all that potential he's got and if he does well here and there, he could be getting a call-up for the senior NT sooner than we could expect."

In addition to Valladares' 5-4 victory over Waisnor, the first matchday of Group H in this edition of the Di Bradini Cup witnessed the triumph of Nephara over Mriin by a 3-1 score, and Megistos defeating Savojarna 3-2. Precisely, the latter side will be the next rivals for the Mininacional in this competition, in a match that is scheduled to be played at Hatire Memorial in Capri. A victory for Valladares will start paving the way to qualification for the next stage of the competition, while a defeat might not be the end of the world, but might start to complicate things for the Valladars ahead of critical matches against Nephara and Mriin.

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[Chromatika]

Chromatik City Courier
Jordan Lawless, Sports Columnist

Written with Input from Quebec on the Lineup

DBC 48 Matchday 1: Chromatika 7, Quebec 0
HARAMOS PARK, CARTMOT, VALANORA -

Well... That was not expected. Who expects to defeat an opponent by more than three goals? Who expects to defeat one by seven?

Sometimes, you just have a team's number. Or, a player's number. So, who was at fault?

Not McGibbon, the keeper, despite having conceded all seven. Not Manitopyes, despite missing on two tackles. No, the player, or players, most at fault for this loss for Quebec were their midfielders: Cyr, Yi, and Cauchon. For the Quebecois midfield was all out of funk. Quebec lost the time of possession battle by a very large margin - Chromatika possessed the ball 85% of the time.

It should also be commended that Haley Hauser and Renate Huggard had magnificent debuts - Hauser with four assists and Huggard with a hat trick. Hauser's combination with Yi, Linville, and Amory really clicked to get up to the forward three; Juxton Fillar really didn't have to do much.

Oberour Ar Moro is the next opponent, and they drew with Springmont; likely to be a harder challenge, not that Quebec wasn't a challenge - it was just a fluke, really, right?

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

DBC Opener leaves room for improvement
Scott McCrae
The Daily Mail Soccer Writer

The Under-21 National Team ramped up their preparations for their second Group E match at the DiBradini Cup 48 with a spirited 30 minute closed door scrimmage against a side of reserves from AS Sharala, the Vanorian club that has hosted the Baker Park U21's at their training center in four of their five previous visits to the country.
When the fixture list was released ahead of the tournament, a fortunate coincidence arose that threatened to change the arrangement, but in the end, the status quo won out; the Bees will have the luxury of playing exclusively at the White Fortress stadium in Gladerial, the 70,000 seat venue where the first Baker Park U21 squad that appeared in DBC42 played two of their group stage matches on their debut.

This raised a question about whether it would be more convenient to have a base closer to the city, which was quickly dispensed with as a "solution in search of a problem" by FAC Deputy Executive Director Allison LeFleur.
The fact that the Sharala-Gladerial line was a direct, hourly route that had served the FAC's needs over the entire history of participation in the competition; that the club had always provided unrestricted use of the training complex--with the governing body contributing to a fund for the construction of an addition to the physiotherapy facility--at a rent that embarrassed many of the FAC officials as being well below what would be considered 'fair market rate'; and the goodwill, camaraderie, and friendship that had developed from the supporters of the club, as well as other local residents were all deemed more important than saving a few thousand dollars on travel costs.

"We'll never skimp on the expense of having the best circumstances for our national team squads, when familiarity and trust based on previous experience factors into decisions about selecting bases of operations", LeFleur told me in a Q&A conducted through e-mail.
"We put a lot of work into building close relationships with people across the multiverse for occasions like this. We go out of our way to guarantee the very best options for visiting national teams in terms of training and accommodation; AS Sharala have been beyond generous to the FAC over the years, one of the reasons Dave (Carlson, FAC Executive Director) presented the club with an Honorary Membership in the FAC after the last DBC."

BP will face off against HUElavia, Los Amarillos playing to a scoreless draw against Sylestone on opening day, and Manager Liam Sullivan will change the lineup for the second match, bringing in a starting XI who will be all be making their debut in the U21's, save for midfielder Kurt Taylor & forward Karrie Price, who will captain the side.

starting XI vs HUElavia

Albertson; Slater, Obodime, Jorgensen; Logan, Taylor, Shanahan, Ryan; Price (C); Moorman, Knight

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independents sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Football Fallacies
with Graham O'Doherty

YOU REALLY CAN'T WIN ANYTHING WITH KIDS

Yes, yes, I know that this statement has been proven wrong, time and time again, by the master of winning Premier Leagues himself. David McTavish. But it appears that we will need someone of McTavish's calibre if we are ever going to actually win a youth football tournament. Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Football Fallacies with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. After the absolute shitshow that was the 11th Under-18 World Cup, we are going through essentially the very same thing here in the Under-21 World Cup, aka the Di Bradini Cup. Now right now you might be thinking, "Hang on, the Di Bradini Cup? I thought Abanhfleft weren't going to go back there ever again!?" Well, guess what? The SFA went back on their word and decided to jump back in anyway. Even though there's most certainly going to be more of the same heartbreak we've always experienced in this particular competition.

Trust me, no one gets why the SFA decided to not join the DBC for two straight editions either. Yeah, yeah, we all know the debacle against Nilrahrarfan (and not Nilrahranfan as I've been typing out all these years. Goddamn you nearsightedness!) Those fascist weirdos who have teleportation technology that's somehow powered by coal. Remember them? Yeah, me neither. But what we (or more accurately the SFA) haven't forgotten is the fact that aside from the fact that we lost to those far righties by scoring own goals, not once but twice (TWICE!), the Valanoran referees also apparently "blatantly" dismissed all of our claims of handballs and penalties on the part of the fascists, not even bothering to kick it up to the video assistant. After all the shit we've been dealt in the DBC, this was apparently the last straw for the SFA, who made the decision to walk away from the DBC and never look back. But I do think we could have handled the matter much better than forfeiting every single qualifying match of DBCs 46 and 47.

But the breakup didn't last too long, didn't it? The SFA resisted and resisted as hard as they could (or whatever, I dunno what goes on in those old farts' heads) but eventually, they caved in. They finally begun allowing the under-21 teams to play again, and this time it's the girls' turn to get their hearts broken in Valanora once again. Don't deny it. You know just as well as I do that there's only two ways this campaign will end: either we'll do so shit in the group stage that we won't even make it out of here, or we're going to advance to the Round of 16 where we're going to get knocked out by a nation that we've never heard before and we'll never hear from again. Those are the only two ways Fleftic youth football have ever known, and if you tell yourself any different you're just deluding yourself.

And it looks like we're about to go down the "shit group stage" route once again in our return to Valanora. Up against Pemecutan, we'd have been fancied a little bit as the slight favourites even if we are only making our first appearance in the DBC in three editions. And of course whenever Abanhfleft are favourites, they know absolutely bloody well to cock it up because whenever we're favourites, we never take advantage of the situation! They've been taught this since a very young age by none other than their predecessors in the DBC! And everyone wonders why we're so shit at football. It's because we're training our players to know nothing but defeat right at the earliest stages! Fuck!

If you haven't noticed just yet, I'm still so fucking salty. I bet you would be salty too if you just lost to a spectacular own goal at the very last minute. I mean, let me just set the scene. The ninety minutes are up. We're just playing a few minutes of time added on at the end. The game's scoreless, though not for lack of trying. Both teams have just been defending superbly, and based on that a draw between these two teams might be the fairest result of them all. Pemecutan are hiking up their shorts for one last attack. One of their players sends a ball into the box, but fortunately for Abanhfleft the ball is too fast (or the Pemecutan player is too slow) to pick it up. At this moment you would think, "Oh, that's an easy pickup for the keeper." But then this numpty pops out of nowhere and decides to kick the ball out, but she doesn't get the best of contacts with the ball and instead of kicking it away for a throw-in or a corner kick or even just letting her goalie pick it up, this clever girl chips the ball over her keeper's head and straight into the back of her own net. Ninety-plus minutes of defensive hard work and effort, all gone and wasted just because one girl wanted to make herself a little highlight video. Well, congrats girl, you've just made yourself a highlight. For fools!

Well, at the very least we didn't lose seven goals to nil like Quebec did against Chromatika. Haven't watched that game yet myself, but conceding seven goals just sounds like an absolute capitulation, doesn't it? Especially from a side with the pedigree of Quebec. Then again, I believe they dropped off the face of the earth for a little while and didn't take part in any sporting competition, not just the DBC. Maybe not being in contact with other opponents with different strategies and training regimens did a little number on their own footballing prowess? Or am I just talking straight out of my arse again? Not the first time it's happened, mind. This tends to happen when I've run out of words to actually say and am just trying to find a way to close out this post without making it too sudden and surprising. But oh well. Some things just can't be helped. XOXO from Graham....

ABANHFLEFT 0 - 1 PEMECUTAN
                 SINGLETERRY (90+4' og)

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Abanhfleft: 50%
Pemecutan: 50%
Shots
Abanhfleft: 8 (4 on target)
Pemecutan: 9 (4 on target)
Corners
Abanhfleft: 6
Pemecutan: 5
Fouls
Abanhfleft: 23
Pemecutan: 14

[Springmont]

FOOTBALL AND MEDIA TEAMS NEED EACH OTHER by Sports Desk Football and media teams are a very important element in conveying information to football supporters and fans. Without the media, the existence of a football club may be bleak because there is no content that can be conveyed whether the news is good news or in the form of controversy. Recently, Project Lion Manager Dillon Matsumoto invited the media to watch the Project Lion training session at Haramos Park, Cartmot. The media was given the opportunity to hold an interview session for him and the coaching staff of Project Lion. Many are aware that the media has been one of the natural ‘haters’ of the national team since time immemorial. Hot writing and analysis is often used to streamline newspaper sales or increase 'likes'. Of all the journalists who accepted the invitation, not all were ‘haters’. In fact, the majority are writers who are smart and do not use emotions and maintain journalistic ethics when making reports. This should be a benchmark for coaching staff, players and media partners. We need to be fair and report the right things instead of acting according to emotions. The media needs material and the team needs publicity. Together we are moving towards the progress of local football. __________ The Forty-Eighth Di Bradini Cup a.k.a The 69th Under-21 World Cup fixture MD2: VS. Terre Septentrionale

[Nephara]

Ivy Herrick's desk was her castle. She fortified her towers; her nameplate, her showy book on the history of kontrapuntzeka, her candles made from wine-bottles. The boss was coming. No, not the NFA suit - the big one, no doubt with her silver medal hanging around her neck, eager to find the guys who were gonna get her gold.
The boss arrived. Tall, though not quite to Herrick's degree. Slimmer, a striker turned hourglass turned greying fox. Herrick was still, at heart, a greasy churner. Six years that had really been like twenty years (even if nobody believed her...) had been spent accordingly. She'd still back herself to beat any of her squad in a fight, and had, in fact, kept her hand in by wrestling Tryphon Archer into a sleeper hold on some pretext the other night.
Some managers thought it was a matter of respect or fear, but Herrick didn't see why you shouldn't have both if you could pull it off.
But Strauss had success at the big table. Dodgy red card away from another World Championship, and it was fresh enough, the chip was very much on her shoulder. Success was what mattered in Nephara. Silverware. Or goldware, if you could swing it.
Strauss put her feet up. Nice shoes. "Good win," she opened after the brisk pleasantries. "Some good kids out there. Fletcher, the half-breed, the... the fat little winger."
"Bellona? Well, the camera adds five kilos."
"I was in the stands, Ivy."
"So you can imagine how fucking relieved I was to see her in person."
Strauss chuckled grimly. "Good country air in the Vale. Doing her maybe too much good. Hell of a cross, though."
"Oh, yeah."
"Both of 'em. Two headed goals against fucking satyrs." The Nephara manager whistled appreciatively. "Sadler looks good. Belgrade, too, though everyone saw her coming. What's she like, ah? Another scrapper from westside?"
"You know it. She knows it. Arrogant bitch. She'll be as good as she thinks she is, someday. Between her and Anselm from last catchment, you got some headaches coming up."
Strauss chuckled. "Good, good. I like headaches. More you can produce for me, the better. Hey. What about up front? Forget me, you've got some calls to make. Archer doesn't even get minutes, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm just tryna avoid a position where one of the Fletchers sets him up and literally every hack pundit in the fucking multiverse reckons she 'gave him the ammunition' or whatever the fuck."
Strauss' lip quirked. "True, but you'll have to give in at some point. Archer's a gun and so're the Fletchers. It's... a good squad. Nobody I'd hate to give a cap to in five years, you know? And I think those of yours I've had the chance to work with... they've been better for it, I think."
Herrick raised an eyebrow. "You think so, huh?"
"You've got a way of breaking people down. They come to me knowing how to fight for something bigger than they are. I could use that. Somewhere closer, perhaps."
"Uhm. I'm flattered, but I think the power imbalance would make things awkward."
"I... what? No. I meant..." Strauss' glance, looking for Anything Else, flicked onto a record. "Wait, you really listen to Carsten Blass?* On vinyl?"
"I'm an old woman, Daniella," said Herrick defensively. "I like the classics."
"Sure. Just took you for... less sappy classics."
"... Are you trying to neg me?"
Strauss shook her head violently. "Look, fuck, no. No. All I'm saying, right. Focus on this."
"I'm focusing."
"Monica Brightwater's gone to her fucking... cabbage field in Port Christopher or whatever, retiring, gone. I need an assistant. This--" Strauss leaned across the desk and stabbed a bony finger into the schedule carelessly lying across it. "This is your audition."

* Carsten Blass was the absurdly wealthy heir to a mining empire, and had squandered his immense inherited wealth over the past sixty years becoming the self-styled 'last of the lounge lizards'. Paying bars all across the world to host him, Blass - now in his late fifties - tends to show up staggering drunk and, in between attempts to lech on the front row, does occasionally manage to belt out something halfway presentable. Blass' story confirms that all one needs in life to become a millionaire is to start with a billion pounds.

[PotatoFarmers]

Poafmersia 7
Aleka Dufour 12'; 37'; 60'
Nero Wood 26'
Makana Tuft 45'
Wayne Simpson 72'
Monesty Erdos 85'

Lovisa 3
Player #10 19'
Player #6 77'
Player #7 89'

Starting 11 (4-1-2-1-2): Nicole Potts; Ariel Casey, Erin Vance, Clara Brivio, Wayne Simpson; Woden Sweet (DM); Zelda McKenna, Lucia Stuart; Nero Wood (AM); Aleka Dufour, Makana Tuft (c)

Substitutes: Havel Ljungstrand (Dufour 62'); Monesty Erdos (Stuart 76'); Sharlene Beltran (Wood 80')

For Makana Tuft, he felt particularly happy to have had such a performance on his first match as captain of a team. Coming into this match extremely wary and worried, Tuft aimed to get a smooth sailing match without much drama. He experienced the horrors of losing the Premier League title by a slip, and so would understand how every match in the group stage is important.
The game started out really slowly. Both sides were really afraid of approaching the other side, for fear of getting exploited and rushed down with a huge counter attack. It was Tuft who begun the onslaught, making a good run towards the opposition defence before getting stopped by the opposition keeper in the 9th minute. Having seen how the opposition aren't as quick as them, the Young Panjias rushed forward. Aleka Dufour opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with an assist from Nero Wood opening the scoreline. 7 minutes later, Lovisa exploited a defence mistake during a Poafmersian corner to counter-attack and equalise. After that, the floodgates opened. Wood put Poafmersia ahead after taking the ball away from a Lovisian defender and shooting from 30 yards. Dufour made an solo effort to score in the 37th minute, before Tuft took a rebound from McKenna to score the 4th goal.
After halftime, defence was largely ignored as Poafmersia aimed to rake up the goals. Aleka Dufour finished his hat-trick with a header from a corner, before being substituted off to rounds of applause. Right-back Wayne Simpson got in another goal after a bicycle kick of the ball from a free-kick taken by Nero Wood, before Lovisa got one more back through a corner. Substitute Monesty Erdos scored the 7th for Poafmersia, before Lovisa got another consolation.
Despite the defence not being at their very best, the gameplay worked, and that made Nelson Sanchez really happy. "The players are fantastic today. There may be defensive mistakes, but I feel happy with their performance. No game is perfect, but this gameplay is a solid 9 out of 10 in my opinion. If anything, they should carry this on and hopefully they do even better against Kohnhead. Kohnhead should provide another test for our team, and if our team can seal their second win, it would be the best outcome for us. One more win means even more confidence for the players."
Poafmersia would make 1 change, playing Hollis Stephenson instead of Casey in center back. Hopefully, Stephenson would be able to showcase his experience of playing for a foreign club in the match.

Starting 11 against Kohnhead (4-1-2-1-2): Nicole Potts; Ariel Casey, Hollis Stephenson, Clara Brivio, Wayne Simpson; Woden Sweet (DM); Zelda McKenna, Lucia Stuart; Nero Wood (AM); Aleka Dufour, Makana Tuft (c)

[Cassadaigua]

Team Responds Well To Byers,
by Kaitlyn Scoville, Concord Heights Times

Brittany Byers has some success on the senior team as a defender, but unfortunately for her, Cassadaigua returned to international soccer too late for her to have the extended career. She was the captain of the World Cup 79 side that surprisingly qualified for the big tournament, so perhaps she could have had a longer legacy. It was not to be, as time was not on her side as a player, but she has been successful as a domestic coach at a relatively young age for that, at 44. This has put her on the radar to get the chance to manage the Di Bradini Cup side, an opportunity that became available for her for several reasons. Senior team manager Stephanie Sweeney would focus on the Copa Rushmori, and younger manager Hannah Shanley would focus on the Sporting World Cup. Jessica Curran, seen as the hottest young coaching prospect in all of Cassadaigua has gotten her chance now as the senior team manager at Valladares. Curran will be managing that side in the Copa Rushmori. In a way, it could be argued that Byers was the fourth person down the list, but for her it does not matter. It is an enormous opportunity for her, and one that she was excited to get.

“When Taylor (CASE President Taylor Connolly) called, I felt that in itself was a little unusual,” Byers said, “We have not always had a reason to talk anymore, even though we are friends. Usually, it is just to socialize when we converse, or perhaps for me to make an appearance at an event. So, I thought that is what it was. I was surprised when I was offered to coach the Di Bradini Cup team. It is not something I had thought about, not that I was not interested, but because I just figured the role was covered with other people.” Byers said it did not take long for her to make her decision, “It was an instant, yes. Naturally, I had to change some other plans, but this really is an honor.” Byers went over some things with Stephanie Sweeney in putting the team together, but the player decisions were all hers. The first look was to the past Sporting World Cup, even though that team did not fare all that greatly. It was a short tournament, and there could be many reasons for that, so players who aged out of that, but were still eligible here were the easier choices.

Brittany is a tactician. She will often to look to out-think her opposing coach, and in a tournament for younger players, that could be a little harder. Byers has said that she will take less of a chess match approach that we are used to seeing from her at home, but it still be something that is present in the game. She is also known for being a bit of a disciplinarian, and for younger players, that could make her a great fit. Against the Riennic Isles, Cassadaigua played a smart game throughout in the 2-1 win. We’ll see now if Byers can get more results just like this one.

[Terre Septentrionale]

OOC: I'm not in a good RPing mood anymore but I signed up for the DBC with the intention to participate.

Terre Septentrionale blanks Equestria

Mar Sara, Valanora - The Di Bradini Cup 48 has started and on the first matchday, Terre Septentrionale played against Equestria. Our U21 team, with Catherine MacClintock in goal and our three central defenders, is more defensive than the professional and the U18 teams.

The Nordiques attacked at the 26th minute when Dzsenifer Szenteleki-Csoka passed to Krasnodar Schildenfeld who dribbled with the ball and made a cross to Kieron Cockerill-Docherty who kicks the ball and it's a goal. 1-0 Terre Septentrionale and this is the score at the halftime.

Equestria almost scored at the 55th minute when Player #8 passed to Player #10 who shoots but Catherine MacClintock made a fantastic save, the kind of save you will see in sports news all around the world. Equestria atatcked again at the 79th minute when Player #9 tried to pass to Player #11 but Arkadiusz Krzykowski blocked the pass and the ball was loose. Alexandre Massicotte gets the loose ball and made a long pass to Kieron Cockerill-Docherty who dribbled with the ball and passed to Krystyna Walczykiewicz who also dribbled, she passed a defender and kicked the ball and it was a goal! 2-0 Terre Septentrionale and this is the final score.

bOXSCORE

26th minute: Kieron Cockerill-Docherty assisted by Krasnodar Schildenfeld
79th minute: Krystyna Walczykiewicz assisted by Kieron Cockerill-Docherty

YELLOW CARDS

38th minute: Walter van den Dikkenberg

RED CARDS

None

Top 5 best U21 players

Here is the top 5 players on this U21 team.

1. Arkadiusz Krzykowski - CD: Arkadiusz Krzykowski is a central defenseman and he's a wall. Almost no one can pass him, he's a great tackler, has good anticipation, good speed and can make a good first pass. He has the potential to be on the starting XI on the national team, but the team currently use one central defender and he would have to beat Zdzislaw Brzezanczyk or move to side defenser to be on the starting XI.

2. Catherine MacClintock - GK: MacClintock is a goaltender, she never allows a bad goal and you need to be creative to beat her. She has great reflexes and lateral moves. She projects to be the starting goalkeeper of the future, she could be even better than Georges-Kévin vainqueur.

3. Alexandre Massicotte - CD: Massicotte is also a central defenseman, also a good tackler with good anticipation. He projects to be on the national team in the future, but not on the starting XI.

4. Dzsenifer Szenteleki-Csoka - SD: Szenteleki-Csoka is a side defender, she has terrific speed and a good first pass. She also have good anticipation. She currently ranks lower than Massicotte but have greater potential than him and she's expected to be on the starting XI on the national team in the future.

5. Krystyna Walczykiewicz - S: Walczykiewicz is a central striker, she had a great shot, she's good on penalties and free kicks. She have good speed and can move back easily to prevent opposite defenders from attacking. In the future, she will fight with Sandie McCracken, Zvonimir Kordic and eventually Gabriel Pinsonneault to have a spot on the starting XI alongside with Fryderyka Cwierczakiewiczowa but eventually, Pinsonneault could earn that spot and, at worst, she will be on the national team but not on the starting XI.

Kieron Cockerill-Docherty is another player to watch in the future, but, at 19 years old, he's currently not in the top 5. However, he played a really good game on matchday 1 against Equestria.

Karine Gingras,
La tribune Septentrionale

[Darmen]

National U-21 Football Team of Darmen
presented by the
Darmeni Football Association

Record (Modern-era only, since Di Bradini Cup 40): 27 matches, 11 wins, 6 draws, 10 losses, 52 GF, 50 GA, .481 Win %

Caps
1 Avidan Tobias    16
2 Halli Vaughn     12
  Codie Armbruster 12
4 Cyrus Spalding   11
5 Kelan Lyne       10

Goals
1 Halli Vaughn    7
2 Craig Blackwood 6
3 Darnell Halle   4
4 5 players tied  3

Coaching Staff

Position          Name           Age
Manager           Isaiah Atwater 56
Assistant Manager Lucien Brant   45

21 Player Roster

#  Pos Name                   Age Club                          Caps Goals
 1 GK  Simon Toro             21  MTK Kingsville                0    0
 2 LB  Cooper Johnson         21  Haiti Border Dogs             1    0
 3 LCB Oneida Ellington*      20  National Christian University 0    0
 4 RCB Sadiq Lucas            20  Chippewa Valley United FC     3    0
 5 RB  Mattheus Freeman       20  Sportklub Palerma             3    0
 6 LDM Briony Butler*         20  National Christian University 0    0
 7 RDM Braden Pottinger       20  National Christian University 0    0
 8 LM  Marvyn Grosse          21  Royal PFC                     3    0
 9 CM  Ian Wilkinson          21  Blacklake Blues (TAE)         3    0
10 RM  Malachy Aartsen        20  Bloomer FC                    3    0
11 ST  Kennard Hale           20  Scott City FC                 3    1

12 GK  Konrad Joseph          21  Rogerton Whitecaps            3    0
13 LB  Eardwulf Chaves        20  Sportklub Palerma             3    0
14 RCB Cináed Böhm            20  Atlantea Hurricanes (TAE)     2    1
15 RB  Erskine Tittensor      21  Chippewa Valley United FC     1    0
16 RDM Rowan Simonson         20  University of Lionsgate       0    0
17 LM  Kerr Park              19  Project Olimpo Darmen         0    0
18 CM  Lennart van der Vennen 20  Olympique Chuckio             3    1
19 RM  Gwil Danell            20  Royal PFC                     1    0
20 ST  Asim Espenson          19  Project Olimpo Darmen         0    0
21 GK  Maina Olayinka         19  Centre for Excellence-Darmen  0    0

Tactics
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Style Mod: +1
See: Brian Schmetzer and the Seattle Sounders.

-----------------Hale-----------------
----Grosse----Wilkinson----Aartsen----
--------Butler-------Pottinger--------
--Johnson--Ellington--Lucas--Freeman--
-----------------Toro-----------------

Team Roles
Captain: Ian Wilkinson
Vice-Captain: Marvyn Grosse
Left Corner: Marvyn Grosse
Right Corner: Malachy Aartsen
Penalties: Kennard Hale
Free-kicks: Kennard Hale

Team Personality
The Darmeni team will never argue with the referee. Indeed, if anything needs to be brought to the attention of the referee it will be done by either the Captain or Vice-Captain in a respectful manner (or to the fourth-official by the Manager). With regards to foul/dirty play, the Darmeni team will not provoke, or retaliate against any opposition player. Darmeni's expect each team to keep to itself and deal with its own trouble makers; any opposition player who attempts to prevent a conflict by pushing or pulling a Darmeni away from the scene will be promptly told off, as that is the duty of the Darmeni Captain.

Nonetheless, Darmen will play in a relatively aggressive manner. Tackles will be conducted in a way which ensures the opponent ends up on the ground, but causing injury will be avoided as much as possible. On set pieces, Darmenis will stand their ground and will not be easily pushed around, they will not however engage in hugging. In fact, if any opposing player tries to push past them, it is not uncommon for the Darmeni player to feign resistance before simply stepping aside and watching as the opposing player stumbles past on their way to ground. This occasionally backfires however, as the referee may mistake the incidence as having been a foul in the box.

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: YES PLEASE!
Choose my scoring events: YES
Godmod scoring events: YES. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
RP injuries to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod Injuries to my players: NO
Give Yellow Cards to my players: YES, no more than two per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Give Red Cards to my players: YES, no more than one per match. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Godmod other events: MAYBE. If you have anything major planned, give me a heads up.
Style Modifier: +1

[Sylestone]

The Chickens were drawn into a group with HUElavia, Baker Park, Kita-Hinode, Sajnur and Sarzonia. It looks a hard group, with four of those teams qualifying for World Cup 85 and Sajnur, who looked en route to at some points. This leaves us, a side that is more known for their Appliance lineup and complete mayhem whenever a goal is scored. So it seems that Sylestone will have to resort to yet another thrashing against some quality sides in Group E if the DBC. After one game, that seems not so. They dominated with 64% possession in a goalless draw against HUElavia. Maybe, just maybe, Sylestone’s youth might one day make their national side as good as some of the rest. We can only wait and see.

[Oberour Ar Moro]

You are Jean-Pierre le Lancier, the newly named "Football and Technical Director" for the Oberour Ar Moro Football Management Committee. You have a massive set of responsibilities: Development of Oberour national football, growing the number of coaches, introduce sports science and medicine to the sport, improve facility infrastructure, work with amatuer leagues, and focus on administration. Looking at all of this, it almost feels like the chairman of the committee hired you to do his job.

But no matter! You had worked as a management consultant dedicated to sport and physical activity in the private sector, and this is a first-of-its-kind post, with unique powers, and a real opportunity to shape the future of football in the Dominion.

Task one is a major one. The Football Management Committee has long outgrown their headquarters at the luxourius, though now incredibly cramped, Jardins des Dechaume Orangerie in Regium. Instead of just renting larger office space in the city, you've imagined a completely different concept. A headquarters for the FMC and the Football System, a new home of the national coaching academy, with a high-performance youth training complex and development program, advanced data analytics, all the bells of whistles. And the FMC was intrigued with the concept. But where to place it?

You're the kind of person who, when faced with an issue, likes to have a quick debate with a few choices to decide from, so you've gathered the representatives of the finalists in your office.

The Debate

1. "The natural home of Obeorur football is in Regium," says Louen Rimeaux, from the Office of the Mayor of Regium. "Obviously it's the capital. The FMC is already located in the capital. All the ministries are located here. And in football terms, the Dragoons play in Regium at the Parade Grounds, and the most recent Football System champion Patrons play here. We can find a area in the city that can stand for development.

✔ Accept

2. Senan de Bondyes from the Ministry of Works spoke next. "We at the Ministry have gone over the maps and long-term planning options, and the Tourbillon Forest seems ideal for the FMC. It's about two hours southwest of Regium, and it's been a target of development for several years. There is a lot more space available than would be Regium, and is out-of-the-way, so everyone can focus without distraction."

✔ Accept

3. As your two guests attempt to leave, an FMC staffer fell into the office. "I wasn't trying to listen at the door, I was just stuck against it. This office is way too cramped, and I'm not sure we can have too much space. You should look for a location in the Menezurzh. There's no way anyone could be crushed against an office door out there."

✔ Accept

4. After you cleared the office, you got a call from Guy le Fontenier, the Aide-de-Camp of the Minister of Culture. "I understand you have big plans for the FMC headquarters, but perhaps you should think about the Ministry's budget? We don't have unlimited money, and the Minister's interest in overspending on football is very low. Maybe you can just fire some staffers, that would solve the overcrowding problems at the Orangerie.

✔ Accept

[Pasarga]

Player Profile
Name: Gillen Madrigal López
Age: 19
Position: Left winger/Attacking Leftmid
Domestic Club: CA Paulinthal
Favorite Club: CA Paulinthal (domestic) | Spartangrad (foreign)

López is a rare steal of the Hurricane from their city rivals of Santos, getting one of the hispanic youngsters to sign into their academy at age fifteen despite most players of such origins choosing to represent the Ticos instead. Santos will be rueing that failure to capture the signature as the attacking midfielder has slowly started to blossom into a true talent on the left side of the pitch. Gillen was the key to CA Paulinthal's youth team winning their regional championship and then winning the in the playoff to be crowned as the best youth team in the nation, a title that is traditionally has been held by another rival in Baskita. There is little doubt that in another year or two he will be pushing to be the first team starter for CAP if he continues to play at the level he has the past two years. He has gone from just a decent promising talent out on the wing to perhaps being a key part of not only CAP moving forward but perhaps that of the senior national team, being a piece of the puzzle to getting that side back to where they wish to be.

Having lived their entire life in Paulinthal, Gillen has been exposed to a lot of different cultures with the amount of trade vessels that come through the port city. He has apparently taken to Euran culture and football, with the side of Spartangrad being his favorite team not in the dual islands, citing the number of Pasargans who have gone their and made their way into the senior national team. It seems fitting, given that Gillen seems to have that same sort of hard working, industrious personality that a lot of us in the dual islands tend to ascribe to our Euran allies. In that way, they do not seem too dissimilar to our own culture and it makes a lot of sence as to why many Pasargan footballers do ply their trade there and why young players like Gillen would idolize them. However he has made clear on numerous occasions that his favorite club is that which he is already playing for in CAP and trying his best to work his way into the senior team.

His best attribute is a cross that makes you think that he has the ball attached to his boots on a string, such is the control of his crosses into the area. Add in a bit of pace and a hard work ethic, it becomes clear as to why he is considered the brightest star on the Young Wanderers as they participate once more in the Di Bradini Cup in the Eternal Empire. He will have a stern test to overcome in the group stages of the tournament by the way of Starblaydia, the very nation who founded the tournament in the first place. However it is those big occasions on the big stages that players usually perform to their most true of selves, where heroes and villains are made. Gillen seems to have that easy going attitude that moments such as those should not be something to greatly affect him and that sort of personality should serve both him and his teams well moving into the future. Getting players who can live up to the big occasion and not falter under that pressure is a rare and treasured thing, and so when the Young Wanderers do take on the Starblaydi, there will be many curious eyes cast to see how he will handle that moment.

[Valanora]

Shall we proceed? Matchday 2 cutoff!

Matchday 2

Group A
Krytenia 2–3 Lochario
Pemcutan 0–3 Siovanija and Teusland
Devonta 2–5 Abanfleft

P Group A                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Siovanija and Teusland      2   1  1  0    6   3  +3    4
2 Lochario                    2   1  1  0    6   5  +1    4
3 Abanfleft                   2   1  0  1    5   3  +2    3
4 Krytenia                    2   1  0  1    6   5  +1    3
5 Pemcutan                    2   1  0  1    1   3  −2    3
6 Devonta                     2   0  0  2    4   9  −5    0

Group B
Pasarga 3–0 Indusse
Libonesia 0–5 Starblaydia
Staypftonia 3–0 Jeckland

P Group B                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Starblaydia                 2   2  0  0    8   0  +8    6
2 Pasarga                     2   2  0  0    6   2  +4    6
3 Staypftonia                 2   1  0  1    5   3  +2    3
4 Jeckland                    2   0  1  1    1   4  −3    1
5 Libonesia                   2   0  1  1    1   6  −5    1
6 Indusse                     2   0  0  2    0   6  −6    0

Group C
Equestria 3–2 Quebec
Oberour Ar Moro 3–3 Chromatika
Terre Septentrionale 3–6 Springmont

P Group C                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Chromatika                  2   1  1  0   10   3  +7    4
2 Springmont                  2   1  1  0    9   6  +3    4
3 Terre Septentrionale        2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
4 Equestria                   2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
5 Oberour Ar Moro             2   0  2  0    6   6   0    2
6 Quebec                      2   0  0  2    2  10  −8    0

Group D
Nagore 2–3 Tolopel
TJUN-ia 3–1 Vdara
Darmen 2–1 Geektopia

P Group D                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Tolopel                     2   2  0  0    4   2  +2    6
2 Darmen                      2   2  0  0    3   1  +2    6
3 Geektopia                   2   1  0  1    4   2  +2    3
4 TJUN-ia                     2   1  0  1    3   4  −1    3
5 Nagore                      2   0  0  2    2   4  −2    0
6 Vdara                       2   0  0  2    1   4  −3    0

Group E
Baker Park 7–1 HUElavia
Sarzonia 1–0 Sylestone
Sajnur 2–5 Kita-Hinode

P Group E                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Sarzonia                    2   2  0  0    6   4  +2    6
2 Baker Park                  2   1  1  0   11   5  +6    4
3 Kita-Hinode                 2   1  0  1    9   7  +2    3
4 Sylestone                   2   0  1  1    0   1  −1    1
5 Sajnur                      2   0  1  1    6   9  −3    1
6 HUElavia                    2   0  1  1    1   7  −6    1

Group F
Eraman 6–3 Riennic Isles
Blouman Empire 1–1 Cassadaigua
Ethane 0–1 The Jovannic

P Group F                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 The Jovannic                2   2  0  0    6   1  +5    6
2 Cassadaigua                 2   1  1  0    3   2  +1    4
3 Eraman                      2   1  0  1    7   5  +2    3
4 Ethane                      2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
5 Blouman Empire              2   0  1  1    2   6  −4    1
6 Riennic Isles               2   0  0  2    4   8  −4    0

Group G
Kohnhead 1–4 Paofmersia
Mavinet 6–3 Lovisa
Taeshan 1–2 Sharktail

P Group G                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Paofmersia                  2   2  0  0   11   4  +7    6
2 Mavinet                     2   2  0  0    7   3  +4    6
3 Sharktail                   2   1  0  1    2   2   0    3
4 Taeshan                     2   1  0  1    3   3   0    3
5 Kohnhead                    2   0  0  2    2   6  −4    0
6 Lovisa                      2   0  0  2    6  13  −7    0

Group H
Savojarna 1–3 Valladares
Nephara 1–0 Waisnor
Megistos 3–4 Mriin

P Group H                   Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Valladares                  2   2  0  0    8   5  +3    6
2 Nephara                     2   2  0  0    4   1  +3    6
3 Megistos                    2   1  0  1    6   6   0    3
4 Mriin                       2   1  0  1    5   6  −1    3
5 Waisnor                     2   0  0  2    4   6  −2    0
6 Savojarna                   2   0  0  2    3   6  −3    0

[Springmont]

Project Lion: Edition N° 2

Group C
Terre Septentrionale 3-6 Springmont

The Project Lion further their grip on Di Bradini Cup 48/U21WC69 by beating Terre Septentrionale  with goal fiesta 6-3.

Springmont Scorer: Igor Parax 12'; 22'; 61 | Nestor Darkcloud 39', 78' | Clayton Lamb 90'

- Igor Parax (12): Keeper Catherine MacClintock misjudge his punch which went straight to Parax, he banged the ball straight back into the empty net from just inside the box.
- Igor Parax (22): Right footed shot from five yards.
- Nestor Darkcloud (39): Took advantage of an error by Sharon LaBonta to run clear and stroke a right-footed shot from 20 yards out.
- Igor Parax (61): Picked up James Mejia pass with his back to goal before turning and firing left-footed into the goal.
- Nestor Darkcloud (78): Scored with a low right foot shoot from eight yards.
- Clayton Lamb (90): A right corner from Prince Reyes saw Lamb leap high above the defence to head pass opposition goalkeeper hand.

Terre Septentrionale Scorer : Kévin Cauchon 66' | Grzegorz Hajdukiewicz 74'; 80'
- Kévin Cauchon (66): A left corner by Grzegorz Hajdukiewicz was headed by Cauchon.
- Grzegorz Hajdukiewicz (74): Turned sharply and shot home from close range
- Grzegorz Hajdukiewicz (80): Arrived on the right sending an unstopable volley into the right corner.

---

---

Focus Player: Igor Parax
Igor Parax 's been carrying the tag of "most promising youngster" since he broke into Palmworth FC's first eleven last season. Parax has played more this season because Palmworth Manager, Milford Benning think he is something special.

Focus City: Palmworth
History, romance, restaurants, a sizzling nightlife and many other attractions make Palmworth a must visit during your Montian vacation. Palmworth is considered by many as one of Northern Malaya's most preserved and beautiful colonial cities. You can spend days walking through the city, discovering sights that you've only seen in movies. Palmworth may also be one of the most romantic cities in the world. It's the perfect getaway for couples, who can walk hand-in-hand through gorgeous streets, eat at countless fine restaurants and stay in beautiful hotels. For night owls, Palmworth offers countless options for dancing, live music or for a few drinks (to be continue).

[Siovanija and Teusland]

Stelburger Zeitung

National Report

Close Contest Sets Up Hauck-Hoskova Runoff

The first round of Presidential elections in Siovanija & Teusland is complete, and two candidates remain to contest the final round of voting.

“It’s a great moment for myself and my family, and I’d like to say thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. There’s still work to be done, however - I’d like to congratulate Ms. Hoskova on advancing as well, and I look forward to our debates and the second round as we look to continue our campaign,” said Presidential candidate Richard Hauck from his campaign headquarters in Stelburg.

Meanwhile in Borograd, candidate Magdalena Hoskova had this to say: “We can all be proud tonight, and celebrate this big day together - but tomorrow morning, we have to get back to work so we can celebrate even more in a few weeks’ time.”

Richard Hauck was the first-place finisher in the election, with 30.7% of the vote, while Magdalena Hoskova finished second with 29.2%. In third was Bernard Ehrenfeld, who had 19.5% of the vote, while Boleslav Dvorak earned 15.1%. Minor candidates made up the remaining 5.5% of the votes counted. Overall, the nation saw a 74% voter turnout number - up 11% from the first round of the last election. That election, however, was very much an outlier for its low number as President Joachim Fleiss ran largely unopposed.

Mr. Ehrenfeld took the time at his campaign headquarters in Stelburg to thank his supporters, and also to endorse Mr. Hauck in the second round. Mr. Dvorak, meanwhile, endorsed Ms. Hoskova. The second round of the election will really begin to heat up now, with a Siovanijan language debate in Trkev Monday evening and a Teus language debate in St. Jakob on Wednesday.

What are the key issues in the election? Clearly, one of the biggest dividing factors here is language: Siovanijans overwhelmingly support Ms. Hoskova, and Teus overwhelmingly support Mr. Hauck. This has been an issue in Presidential politics for many years, and it seems to be continuing here.

The issue has been ever-present in the political history of the United Republics. However, particularly due to the Presidency of Milan Dimitrov, Siovanijans and Teus became more likely to vote for candidates from the opposite group throughout the 1960s and 70s. When President Evgeni Ivanov was assassinated by ultranationalists in the city of Pomorie/Marzig in 1971, however, it marked the beginning of a shift back to the old normal: Siovanijans voting for a Siovanijan candidate, Teus for a Teus candidate.

In fact, since Ivanov’s death in 1971, a Siovanijan candidate has only won the election three times. If you discount the 1972 election, which saw an outpouring of support across the country for Ivanov’s successor, Martin Borisov, only the 1976 and 1996 elections have been won by a Siovanijan candidate. Each Siovanijan President since Borisov has only served 1 term in office, never winning re-election.

This division became even more entrenched after the 2000 political scandal in this country. President Radoslav Svetkov was found to be re-appropriating government funds for his own personal use, as well as being involved in possible fraud relating to a bank account with the Bank of Siovanija. He was impeached just 2 weeks before the 2000 election, which ended up being moved to 2002 as his successor Ruslan Nankov was entitled to the constitutional minimum of two years. Nankov steadied the ship and was well-regarded, but did not run in 2002, an election won by Erwin Behrend. Since then, it’s been a series of Teus Presidents, including current President Joachim Fleiss.

It’s been 24 years since a Siovanijan was President, and 30 since a Siovanijan candidate won an election. Magdalena Hoskova clearly, then, faces an uphill battle. The big shift has seen rural Teus Catholics reliably vote for Teus candidates, especially after the Svetkov scandal, and looking towards leaders who more fit the presidential role of being a ‘moral leader.’ That’s one area where Richard Hauck will benefit, the director of the Edelweiss Society having high approval ratings with that community.

Many in Siovanija, however, feel that it’s time for another Siovanijan President. “I’d say it’s disappointing, really - in the last 50 years, there’s only been a Siovanijan President for 10 years total. I think a lot of people need to move past the Svetkov issue and look beyond what the first language of the candidate is,” said a Labour Party MP for the state of Borograd, Marcel Capek.

In Teusland, reaction to the idea was mixed: “I’d certainly vote for a Siovanijan candidate, but they have to understand that we have our values too and it’s important for that to be respected. I’ve not seen a Siovanijan candidate in the last few elections that has really been a unifying leader,” said one citizen of Stelburg.

Ms. Hoskova, if elected, would also become the second female President of the United Republics, after President Charlotte Winkler (1988-1996). When asked about these factors, the candidate told the Stelbuger Zeitung that “I’m not running because I’m Siovanijan, I’m running because I believe I’m the best person for the job - and that’s why I’m going to win this election.”

So, when the cameras are on Ms. Hoskova and Mr. Hauck on Monday evening in Trkev, what will be some of the important questions? Traditionally, Presidential debate questions are focused on hypothetical issues during a term in office, and how the leader would respond, given the President’s main role in the country. Given recent world events, you can expect the nuclear debate to be present - ‘Do you agree with President Fleiss’ reaction to the Banija-Farfadillis Incident? What other steps may you have taken?’ In Siovanija, a question will likely be asked about Bill 47, which is expected to pass in the Republic of Siovanija’s parliament later this year. Otherwise, expect questions on subjects such as foreign affairs, what projects you would emphasize within the country as President/causes you would promote, and why you should earn the vote of the people of the United Republics.

Latest polling shows a race getting narrower - 52.5% for Hauck, 47.5% for Hoskova. The debates, however, will be massively important in the race. With a good performance in Siovanija, Hauck could secure the election - he’ll need to avoid appearing too much a representative of the Teus elite. The key for him will be staying out of any quagmires relating to Bill 47. For Hoskova, the key night will be Wednesday in St. Jakob - can she boost her numbers in Teusland? Even a small increase would throw things up in the air, and give her a massive chance in the second round voting. It’ll be a tough challenge, however, having to balance the interests of Teus in cities like more liberal St. Jakob with the more traditional centres like Stelburg and those rural Teus Catholics we so often mention.

The Stelburger Zeitung will continue to bring complete coverage of the Presidential election, as the country elects a new head of state.

Pemcutan 0-3 Siovanija & Teusland, @ Miner’s Haven, Valanora

Starting XI: Koprvic; Zupanie, Scherwey, Listner (Polak 60’), Hausseger; Martin, Traeger, Georgiev (Viermetz 60’); Boltzmann (Mrazek 71’), Ambros, Dezelac
Goals: Denis Dezelac 14’, 56’, Samuel Ambros 79’
Man of the Match: Denis Dezelac